Wooster…The Way it Was

  • January 4, 2010
  • 692
                        
December 1909 Buy New Machine The Kinney & Knestrick hospital directors purchased a new machine which will be used in the treatment of catarrh. It is an Oxyline machine and is needed for the manufacture of ozone. The apparatus is made by the Meal-Armstrong Co. of Akron, and will be installed at a cost of $1,000. “Billy” Barcus Dies Billy, the aged colored inmate of the Wayne County Infirmary, died Wednesday. This creates a new death record at the institution, for three inmates have died within 24 hours. Mrs. Margaret Weirick passed away Tuesday morning, and at noon Eli Smith, another aged inmate, answered the call. Wednesday morning, death again invaded and Billy was the victim. Billy entered the infirmary in 1863 and gave his age as 30 years. The records therefore show him to be 76 years of age, but Supt. Sleigh thinks he is older than that. Billy was one of the best-hearted inmates, always contented with his lot. He worked until a few weeks ago, but then had gone down rapidly. He had heart trouble of a peculiar nature. If suddenly scared, he would fall forward on his face. A sudden loud sound, even a loud clap of the hands, would cause Billy to fall, but aside from this, he was always in good health. He will be buried at the infirmary on Thursday. Poll Parrot Saves House A parrot prevented a fire at the home of Mrs. James Hill on the corner of Callowhill and Maiden Lane Monday afternoon, and now you couldn’t purchase Polly for any amount of money. Every time Mrs. Hill builds a fire in the sitting room stove, she points at the fire and says “fire, fire.” The bird learned the word and demonstrated its intelligence Monday when Mrs. Hill put some coal on the fire and opened the stove to give the fire a drought. While working in her kitchen, she forgot about the stove. Suddenly, she was alarmed by a shrill voice calling, “Fire, fire, fire!” When Mrs. Hill hurried into the sitting room, the stove was red hot all over, and in a few moments would have set fire to the woodwork. Polly probably doesn’t know she saved herself from burning up by giving the alarm, but her mistress does.


Loading next article...

End of content

No more pages to load