Banner Graphic, Volume 14, Number 130, Greencastle, Putnam County, 7 February 1984 — Page 11

Banner Graphic gIPMgimWMI „ edition Putnam County, February 7,1984, Vol. 1 No. 1

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This group from DePauw University recently spent two weeks in Americus, Ga., at the international headquarters of Habibtat for Humanity. DePauw students helped in the construction of low-cost housing that is sold to the poor at no profit and no interest. Participating were (front row, from left) Rainey Otjen, Tricia Gilligan, Lisa Barton, Rick

Habitat for Humanity DePauw group aids housing project for poor

AMERICUS, Ga.-Record cold temperatures around the United States this winter have dramatized the fact that many Americans do not have a decent, warm place to live. A group of students from DePauw University in Greencastle experienced that need first hand by visiting a unique Christian ministry dedicated to the elimination of substandard housing around the world. The students spent two weeks as part of DePauw’s Winter Term mission program working at the international headquarters of Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Georgia. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY builds lowcost housing for sale to the economically poor at no profit and no interest. Habitat’s founder and director, Millard Fuller, calls it “a new frontier in Christian mission.” Homes are built by long-term and shortterm volunteers, such as the DePauw group, with assistance from families for which the homes are intended. Completed homes are sold to poor families on a no-

National Road: Grandpappy of 1-70 carried settlers to new life on the f rontier

By BORIS WEINTRAUB National Geographic UNIONTOWN, Pa.-Climbing to the top of Laurel Hill about sue miles east of here, a 1980 s automobile has to struggle and wheeze. How much harder it must have been for mail ponies and stagecoaches, Conestoga wagons, and pioneer settlers in the first half of the 19th century. They all made their way up the mountain, a twisting, arduous ascent on thenway between Baltimore and Cumberland, Md., on the east side of the Alleghenies; and Wheeling, Columbus,. Indianapolis, Terre Haute, and Vandalia, 111., on the west. Their route was the National Road. IN THIS AGE OF instant communication and rapid travel, it is hard to imagine the importance of the National Road to a young and growing America. But a drive along the road that opened the West brings it alive. A surprising amount of the old road, the first federal highway, can still be seen by a traveler who bypasses its modern successor, Interstate 70. Most common, perhaps, are the mileposts that precisely mark the distance between Cumberland and Wheeling, the 131-mile stretch that was the route of the original road. In Maryland and in Pennsylvania are old tollhouses with windows on all sides so the gatekeeper could see traffic in every direction; the tollhouse in Searights, Pa., is open to the public. Mount Washington Tavern, restored by the National Park Service, shows what a 19th century version of a hotel looked like. MANY OTHER OLD structures remain.

Smock, Jennifer Vaughn and Betsy Nelson; (center, from left) Kim Munro, Bruce Coriell, DePauw Associate Chaplain, Lisa Jacks, Beth Morehead and Thomas Zulanas; (back, from left) Tim Huston, Jon Locke, Andy Jones, Gerry Davis and Jeff Ballentine.

interest, no-profit basis. Money paid by recipient families is channeled back into the housing fund. The cycle of giving and receiving and co-working continues. The DePauw group included Jeff Ballentine, Lisa Barton, Gerry Davis, Tricia Gilligan, Tim Huston, Lisa Jacks, Andy Jones, Jen Locke, Beth Morehead, Kim Munro, Betsy Nelson, Rainey Otjen, Jennifer Vaugh, and Thoms Zulanas. Bruce Coriell served as chaplain, and Dr. Richard Smock was the faculty advisor. “HABITAT HAS FOUND a worthwhile way of spreading God’s love,” remarked Lisa Jacks, student leader of the group. “I’m glad I got to participate in its ministry.” Tim Huston commented, “It was a great opportunity to help other people. This is a fantastic program.” During their stay in Americus, the students performed a variety of tasks, including digging foundations and pouring concrete, laying floor tile, varnishing and staining, and collating the 35,000 Habitat newsletters that carry the message of this ministry around the world. They worked

THE NATIONAL fSg]' Main Street of IjUl®. Rates of Toll l Pittsburgh Every score of sheep 6<t Every cart or wagon whose wheels OHIO I 1 HOUSE " " " Hogs 6< exceed three inches and does not INDIANA A X / UniontOWfl " " " 'Cattle 12C exceed four inches in breadth, nil / / Raltimnrf> " Horse and Rider 4< for every horse or pair of oxen Wneei,n 9/V--Jf , * drawing the same " 4 * ILLINOIS . „ . ColUHlbuS NECESSITY. 4Every led or drove Horse Mule or Ass IndldfldpoliS - Oy* / | Jr SJ " Sled or sleigh drawn by one Every cart or wagon whose wheels exceed I * T ) I QS f horse or pair of oxen four inches, and do not exceed six I I ZdnCSVIIIS J I Ja? " Dearborn, Sulky Chair or Chaise inches in breadth for every horse I M/truflnW S fumharlin/l J > A with one horse * 64 or pair of oxen drawing the same Vandalia I*™* \ NOrWICtI f Cumberland ✓ /J. ( S " Horse In addition J 4 , Lsf" a \ Haute V"\ Washington. D. C. {J it E’'ery cart or wagon whose wheels exceed J V-y _ I 'wvN'Ov Every Chariot, Coach, Coachee, Stage six inches and do not exceed eight S||l / M/ecv / a a " Phaeton or Chaise with two inches in breadth, for every horse / J / j / jV:ARYuAiND horses and four wheels 12<t drawing the same 2$ \ C - / KENTUCKY V " Horse in addition 3a \ “ c k , • X V J VIRGINIA < Every cart or wagon who** whtel* do All cart* or wagon* who** wh««l» *xc*cd I O 100 200 > TKJ not exceed three inche* in breadth, eiqht inches in breadth FRF.F. MIMNII I • I . I V W drawn by on* hors* or pair of I • ■>P' I T7 7771 — / Any person refusing or neglecting to I (NATIONAL C * * 0 leS J " Horse in addition 34 pay toU a fine of $5.00 | (GEOGRAPHIC , —— ( -

The Century Inn in Scenery Hill, Pa., still serves passers-by hearty meals in front of a roaring fire as it has since 1974. The sprawling Clarysville Hotel is a Maryland landmark today as it has been since 1807. And so is the Jesse Tomlinson stone house near Grantsville, Md., dating to 1815. The Rush House in Farmington, Pa., built in 1837, can be seen from the road. A shunpiker can also see some of the Sshaped bridges, built to provide the simplest crossing of streams and rivers. One can be seen far below today’s highway in Baline, Ohio. For the military history buff in Pennsylvania, a visit to reconstructed For Necessity, site of the opening skirmish

alongside volunteers from all pares of the United States and one from Germany, and met volunteers in orientation to serve in Habitat’s international projects. Among the most meaningful experiences for the DePauw students were meeting families for whom houses are being built and touring completed houses. They discovered what a tremendous difference a decent home can make in the life of a family. THE HABITAT MINISTRY is building houses not only in Americus, but in 38 other U.S. communities, including Evansville. Another group is in the process of forming a Habitat project in Indianapolis and interest is growing to start projects in Lafayette, Lebanon, and Fort Wayne. Habitat also reaches overseas with sponsored projects in Zaire, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, India, Papua New Guineau, Peru, Guatemala, and Haiti. More information about the work of Habitat for Humanity is available by writing to 419 W. Church St., Americus, Ga. 31709.

of the French and Indian War, is a fine way to spend a crisp fall afternoon. Today’s drive is a far cry from the road’s earliest days, and even later, when travelers on the Indiana and Illinois poritions were forced to detour around stumps. BUT THE ROAD permitted farmers in the West to ship livestock and produce to markets in the East, and fledgling industries in the East to ship manufactured goods west. Politicians, businessmen, and even European tourists traveled back and forth along the road, and newspapers, presidential messages, and mail were carried over it.

985 Putnam Co. farms counted in Ag Census

Special to the Banner-Graphic WASHINGTON, D.C.-Preliminary reports of the 1982 Census of Agriculture show 985 farms in Putnam County, a decrease of 97 since the 1978 census. All county land in farms totaled 219,378 acres in 1982, an average of 223 acres per farm. The United States Census Bureau defines a farm as any place from which SI,OOO or more of agricultural products were sold or normally would have been sold. PUTNAM COUNTY land from which crops were harvested increased to 140,519 acres since 1978, according to the Census Bureau. County farmers sold $45.1 million in agricultural products in 1982, according to the Bureau’s preliminary report. That figure represents an average of $45,806 for each of the county’s farms. The census reports that $27 million, of 60 per cent, of Putnam County’s total agricultural product sales were for crops, while $18.2 million, or 40 per cent, of the total came from the sale of livestock, poultry and related products. PRELIMINARY DATA indicate that expenditures for feed for livestock and poultry were $4.7 million; total farm energy Co6ts were $3.5 million; fertilizer costs were $5.5 million and seed costs were $1.9 million. Of the total farms in Putnam County, 252 had gross sales of $40,000 or more, the Census Bureau said, while 512 others reported sales of less than SIO,OOO. Farms operated as sole proprietorships represented 84 per cent of the total. In 1982, the average age of farm operators was 50.2 years. The proportion of operators reporting farming as their principal occupation remained essentially unchanged at 48 per cent since 1978. Data in the reports for 1978 and 1982 are directly comparable for acreages and inventories, the Census Bureau noted, but dollar values have not been adjusted for changes in price levels. FIGURES FOR THE STATE show that Indiana farms declined in numbers and increased in size between 1978 and 1982. Preliminary reports show 77,184 farms, compared with 82,483 in 1978. Land in farms totaled 16.3 million acres, an average per farm of 211 acres, compared with 204 in 1978. Total sales of agricultural products in Indiana amounted to $4.2 billion in 1982. The average value of land and buildings per farm in the state was $338,563, with a per-acre value of $1,610. Land from which

“It looks as if the whole earth was traveling this way,” an adventurous Virginian wrote to his lady friend back home. A friendly Indian named Nemacolin first blazed a path from Cumberland over the mountains. George Washington surveyed it and then, in 1754, returned with a small force to tell the French to clear out of the region. He was defeated at the hastily constructed palisade aptly named Fort Necessity. Washington returned again in 1755 with the ill-fated English army of Gen. Edward Braddock, pushing up from Virginia to confront the French near Fort Duquesne, now Pittsburgh. Soldiers slashed a wider

INDIANA Farms by Size 52.5 YA 1978 P/T15.5 | \ 1982 yy r I 21.8 23.0 // in 1 Y Y .887 I m I vr\ Less than 50 to 499 500 acres 50 acres acres or more

1978 - 82,483 Farms 1982 - 77,184 Farms

crops were harvested increased to 12.1 million acres, and acres irrigated rose from 75,173 to 133,324 in 1982. SALES OF LIVESTOCK, poultry and their products were $l.B billion in Indiana in 1982, 42 per cent of total agricultural sales. Dairy products amounting to $264.6 million were sold from 5,211 farms. The number of milk cows was up from 184,413 in the previous census to 188,716 in 1982. The total Hoosier cattle and calves inventory of 1.4 million head on 36,908 farms was down from 1.5 million in 1978. The 897,439 sold were down from 1.1 million four years earlier. An inventory of 4.4 million hogs and pigs including 519,770 for breeding purposes was reported on 17,655 farms of which 2,356 farms had inventories of 500 or more and accounted for 60 per cent of the State’s total inventory. A total of 7.3 million hogs and pigs was reported sold, of which 1.1 million were feeder pigs. SOME 3,581 FARMS reported 98,457 head of sheep and lambs, with 88,885 shorn yielding 630,674 pounds of wool; 76,385 head were sold. . Sales of poultry and their products were $321.8 million. Some 5,567 farms reported an inventory of 22.1 million chickens three months old or older; 5,460 farms reported 18.2 million hens a:.a pullets; and 406 farms, 12.6 million broilers sold. In addition, 281 farms sold 6.7 million turkeys compared with 5.4 million sold in 1978. The sale of crops amounted to $2.4 billion. By harvested acreage, among the leading crops were com, with 712.3 million

path along the road, but the French routed them and killed Braddock. Washington came away convinced of the value of a good road over the mountains. BY THE END OF THE Revolutionary War, historian Archer Hulbert wrote, travelers still spoke “of ‘going into’ and ‘coming out of the West as though it were a mammoth cave.” The need for a road linking east and west, and the Potomac with the Ohio River, grew with the admission of western states to the Union. Congress authorized the road in 1806, and president Thomas Jefferson appointed commissioners to survey the route. A road between Cumberland and Baltimore had

1982 Market Value of Agricultural Products Livestock Crops products 6%

Total Value $4,231,670,873

bushels from 6 million acres; soybeans, with 161.5 million bushels from 4.4 million acres; wheat, with 37 million bushels from 892,879 acres; and hay with 731,599 acres. Other crops were corn for silage or green chop. 160,163 acres; and oats, 94,801 acres. AGRICULTURE CENSUS data for Indiana also revealed these facts: -Of the total farms in the State, 11,783 had gross sales of SIOO,OOO or more; 32,611 reported sales of less than SIO,OOO. -The average age of farm operators was 49.1 years; 14,377 were under 35, and 29,298 were 55 or older. -Women operated 2,868 farms or 4 per cent of the State total. -Fifty-two per cent of the operators reported farming as their principal occupation, but 48 per cent of all operators worked 100 days or more off the farm. -Eight-five per cent of the farms were operated by individuals or families as sole proprietorships; 8,908 by partnerships; and 2,422 by corporations, of which 92 per cent were family held. -Eighty-nine per cent of the farmers owned all or part of the farms they operated; 44,202 were fully owned: 24,369 partly owned; and 8,613 were operated by tenants. SINGLE COPIES of preliminary state and county reports may be obtained for $1.75 and $1.50 each, respectively, prepaid from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402. Price for entire set is available upon request.

been privately built, so the government stuck to the path of Nemacolin and Braddock. The first 10 miles were completed by 1811, the 131 miles to Wheeling by 1818. Columbus was reached by 1833, Indianapolis by 1850. The road eventually cost the federal government $6,824,919.33. CONSTITUTIONAL questions arose when repairs were needed. In the 18306, the government began to turn the road over to the states, which levied tolls: Pennsylvania charged sue cents for every score of sheep or hogs, 12 cents for a score of cattle, 12 cents for a stagecoach with two horses, 18 cents for a coach with four horses. The road had its hazards, including a western Maryland area known as the Shades of Death because of the many holdups and murders there. But taverns and inns were located at every mile, offering food and lodging for wagoners, drovers, and other travelers. Yes, it was primivitive. Wagoners slept on the floor in common rooms, their feet to the fire, their animals penned outside. Travelers slept two or more to a bed. There were compensations, however. “WHISKY WAS THE LEADING beverage,” wrote Thomas B. Searight, an early chronicler of the road. "The price of a drink of whisky was three cents, except at the state houses, where, by reason of an assumption of aristocracy, the price was five cents.” The real aristocrats were the innkeepers and the stage owners and drivers. “Land admirals” like James Reeside and L.W. Continued on page 7