KETTLE CREEK FISH AND GAME CLUB
Its First Fifty Years: 1923-1973
Transcribed by Connie Hembree Gaban
March 2016
Source: The
Frank Snyder Collection
Editor's Note: The Kettle Creek Fish and Game Club was and is a "hunting" club located in the mountains of north central Pennsylvania.
This document was found in the Snyder materials that were contributed to this site in 2010.
It appears, based on the initials "C. M. S." after the note at the end, that the
author was likely Carl M. Sprout, who was a long time member and lived in nearby Picture Rocks. In 2016, the Club was still in business.
The Clubhouse in 1973
It’s First Fifty Years
1923-1973
Looking
up stream from the mill. In
the foreground are the ice house, (with ladders), engine and car repair shop,
coal dock and sand house and oil shed. In center back ground can be seen the
end and roof of the Cheney house.
Fifty years
is not a very long time when you consider that this old earth is some four
billion years old and that man has been around for some few million years. Time
itself is of rather small importance by itself. What is important is what man
causes to happen in that time. Time, for what we now know at Kettle Creek, is
only a span of some seventy five years or so. Beyond that it was primeval
forest. The only trace of Indian occupancy is the mortar for grinding grain
atop the rock ledge on Oak Ridge. The white man only skirted the area with
roads on the South and East to Eagles Mere and Forksville. The timber in this
area was of little value until the more easily accessible forests had been cut.
The streams of the area were not large enough to float out logs or lumber and
the building of roads and the length of haul to the railroad or canal would not
permit a profitable operation. The soil was thin and the terrain rugged, so
farms were located elsewhere. Thus the land between Rock Run and the Loyalsock
remained practically untouched until the end of the nineteenth century.
A man by
the name of Fraley set up a mill in the lower end of “Fraley Hollow” sometime
during the 1880’s or 90’s. In fact he had two mills, the other being located on
Rock Run. There were “drag saw” mills with the saw being similar to a cross cut
saw and operating vertically. These mills were so slow in operation that he
could walk from one to the other to turn the logs between cuts. This lumber was
hauled by horse and wagon down the Rock Run road to the Williamsport and North
Branch railroad at Mawr Glen or to the manufacturing plants down the Muncy
Valley.
The first
mill in the Kettle Creek Valley was built by Jerry Stackhouse just below the
present Clubhouse. This was a steam powered mill with a circular saw. The green
lumber from the saw was hauled to the top of the mountain to the “Lumber Yard”
where it was piled and allowed to dry before hauling it down the Rock Run Road
to market. It was Stackhouse who built the pole road in “Pole Road” hollow,. In this way logs were transported to his mill as well as
by the conventional sledding and skidding. This road was constructed of poles
four to eight inches in diameter laid like railroad rails. The trucks were
fitted with concave wheels that moved laterally on the axles, thus allowing for
variations in width of the track. These trucks were pulled to the top of the
mountain by horses. The descent of the loaded trams was controlled by sprags
and snubbing ropes that were wrapped around trees and stumps.
The land
where Stackhouse was cutting belonged to the Union Tanning Company. This
company owned thousands of acres of woodland in the area but were interested in
only one thing; the hemlock bark that was used in the tanning of leather.
Consequently bark peeling and transportation also was a part of the operation.
A word
should perhaps be said here about the hemlock bark peeling operations that
flourished wherever hemlock grew. The bark was peeled from the trees in “bark
peeling time” (the spring of the year) piled, dried and hauled to the tanneries
where it was ground up and cooked to extract the tannic acid. The logs were of
little value – especially so if they were far from economical transportation,
and were often left in the woods to rot. During the first twenty years that the
Club hunted the land, many of these giant trees could be seen in the woods in
various stages of decay. The Union Tanning Company had practically a monopoly
on the tanning business and owned tanneries and timberlands all over the
Eastern part of the United States.
At the turn
of the century the logging of the “back country” became profitable. This was
brought about because of the development of railroads and especially the
logging railroads. These provided and economical means of transporting the logs
to the mill and the lumber to the markets. The mill operator would need roads,
railroads, and manpower to cut the timber. The tanning company would have a
means of getting their bark at a lesser cost and the mill operator could make a
profit when he had to pay only two to six dollars per thousand board feet for
timber on the stump. In 1900 the Union Tanning Company decided to cut its
timberland in the Kettle Creek area and awarded the contract to Charles W.
Sones.
“Charley”
Sones was born and raised near Picture Rocks and after trying the teaching
profession for a couple of years, became a bookkeeper for the Edward Lyon
Lumber Company just up the Muncy Creek from Picture Rocks. Sone was a “Smart
Cookie” and soon learned the business. He left the employ of Lyons and teamed
up with a man named Paulhamus and together they had lumber operations in
Clinton County, Pennsylvania and in West Virginia. The operation in Clinton
County, Pennsylvania and in West Virginia. The operation in Clinton County was
on Cook’s Run. Cook’s Run flows into Kettle Creek, in Clinton County that is.
When he was awarded the Union Tanning contract, he moved his operation and some
of his key men to Sullivan County and the men brought the name Kettle Creek
with them and what had been known as Bear Creek now became Kettle Creek. The
old name is still applied to the stream east of the Forksville Road.
Typical log train halted below the preent road at
"Italy"
Sones
purchased the mill owned by Stackhouse and commenced his operations but he was
soon to see that to make it profitable, drastic changes would have to be made.
The circular saw mill was replaced with a band mill with a shotgun feed. A shot
feed was a steam powered system of moving the log into the saw and then
advancing it toward the saw for the next cut. Incidentally, the circular saw
cut a quarter inch kerf and the band saw only an eighth inch kerf so every
eight cuts a board was saved – so there was an immediate twelve percent
increase in production. It was also very expensive to haul small loads of
lumber to the top of the mountain to dry, and then re-handle it to haul it to
the railroad at Glen Mawr. There just wasn’t enough room in the Kettle Creek
valley near the mill to permit drying there.
In 1892 a
narrow gauge railroad had been built from the W. &N.B. railroad at Sonestown up the mountain to Eagles
Mere. The line terminated at the outlet pond of the lake. Sones induced the
owners to extend their rails to the rear of the Forest Inn at the other end of
the lake and he then constructed a railroad from his mill to meet this
extension. Sones’ railroad was constructed with wooden rails and could only
haul light loads and then transportation was treacherous when the rails were
wet. A small narrow gauge engine- a Climax
class A
weighing twelve tons was used to haul the flat cars loaded with lumber. The
problem of space for a lumber yard for drying purposes was met by establishing
one just across the road from the present Club gate. The wood rails were
replaced within a couple of years and a larger engine could be used. A third
rail of narrow gauge width was laid from Sonestown to the tannery at Muncy
Valley on the W. & N.B. line and then bark could be transported there
without reloading. Lumber was reloaded onto standard gauge cars at Sonestown.
This condition remained until Sones later extended his narrow gauge line down Kettle
Creek to Hillsgrove and still later on to the Susquehanna and New York railroad
at Masten.
Engineer Joe Bird
stands in front of the Climax “A” engine – the first
engine used in Kettle Cree. Log Scaler on left is Harry Diffenderfer. Scaler on
right is Jack Layton. Seated between is Charley Fry, woods boss.
As the
cutting of timber moved farther away from the mill, Sones constructed railroad
spurs into the woods. To do this he employed immigrant Italians and provided a
separate camp for them. This camp became known as “Little Italy”. Sones had an
arrangement with a prominent Italian family in Williamsport to secure these
laborers. The Williamsport people would recruit the laborers in Italy and pay
their passage. Sones would employ them for a dollar a day and their board. The
dollar a day was paid to the “importers” until the passage and their profit was
paid. After the passage was paid off, many of these men deposited their
earnings in the Italian bank in Williamsport and saved enough to send for their
families.
Many
interesting stories are told about these Italians. Perhaps the most interesting
was told by Harry Diffenderfer during his visit to Camp during the summer of
1972. It seems that at Christmas time, Sones paid his men in gold – nothing
extra as a gift – just their regular wages. Soon after Christmas one of the men
and his gold mysteriously disappeared. Diffenderfer and many others suspected
foul play but the Italian community wasn’t talking. The man was never heard
from and Diffenderfer said, “I suspect he may be up there (in “Little Italy”)
yet.”
Barn
and livestock at Mountain Camp prior to the fire Sunday, April 3 1905. All but one horse perished in the fire. It
was rumored that the fire was caused by a mixture of poker and fire water.
Sones
system of railroading was rather crude. He would construct a main line and then
run spurs out into the woods where the logs were being cut. The grades were
steep as only empty cars need be taken up hill. Ballast was seldom used between
ties on these spurs. Gullies were crossed by log cribbings and as little
excavation as possible was done. These spurs had a very short life span - sometimes
only a month or so. The Italians would construct a spur into one area and then
move to another area and construct for future cutting. When an area had been
cut, the track was torn up; and moved to another site. The rails, used, weighed
only 30 lbs. to the yard and were ot
intended for continuous heavy traffic.
The
railroad engines were all of Climax manufacture and the largest weighed only 48
tons. They were of the geared type and had two speeds, slow and slower. The
huffing and puffing of these little engines sounded as if they were breaking
all speed records but their gearing reduced their speed to a top of from seven
to fifteen miles per hours. The log cars were simply two sets of trucks with a
wooden bolster between. These cars were taken into the woods in the morning and
sported at sidings, skidways or log collection points. At places where the
steam log loader was used, the boom would pick up a car, place it behind the
loader, load it and then repeat the process. Some logs were placed on skidways
that were car height and loading was done by hand. Each car would hold about
1500 feet of logs and the little engines could only pull four to eight cars,
depending on the grade and condition of the track and the size of the engine.
Runaways and derailments were frequent. The coupling system of a chain link and
pin sometimes failed and there would be a wild runaway back down –grade ending
in torn up track and a jacksaw pile of logs and cars.
When the cars reached the mill, they were unloaded into the mill pond to remove
the dirt accumulated during skidding which would dull the saws.
C.W. Sones in straw
hat and vest, pays a visit to his log loaders in the woods. Logs are without a
doubt hemlock since they have been peeled.
At the mill the logs were drawn by
a chain or cable up the “jackslip” into the mill. The
sawn lumber was loaded on small mill trucks and pushed by manpower outside to
be piled for drying or loaded on flat cars of the rail road. The mill in Kettle
Creek only operated until 1908 as by that time the railroad had been extended
down the creek to Hillsgrove and thence on to Masten where two large mills –
one for hemlock and another for hardwood – had been constructed and connections
made with the Susquehanna and New York Railroad. Sones continued to cut logs in
Kettle Creek until 1921. While awaiting the completion of the railroad to
Masten, Sones stockpiled his logs near Hillsgrove and the skidways reached a
total of over six million feet.
The mountain side directly across
from the mill was too steep for railway operation so here Sones constructed a
log slide. This was a “V” shaped trough formed by three logs. Logs were skidded
to this and rolled in and gravity did the rest until they ended in a rough-and
–tumble pile on the bank across from the mill. In summertime the logs were
greased or “tarred” to keep the friction from setting them on fire. In winter,
the slide was sprinkled with water so that ice would form a slick surface. To
keep the logs from running too fast on the steeper places an arch was built
over the slide and sharp steel spikes were set to slow the speed.
Log slide at the top
of ‘Slide Path”. Team started logs over the brink by pulling on a grab in last
log of “Trail” and then pulled aside to free grab as logs plummeted down slide.
Note grease barrel and legs being greased. In winter slide was watered to form
ice.
Log
piles at Rymsnyder’s. Note hemlock bark piled at end of house. Spring that fed the pond is
still running.
Besides using his own forces to cut
logs, Sones also contracted several log “Jobbers” to cut the timber and place
it on skidways or at locations where it could be loaded with the steam loader.
Jerry Stackhouse, from whom Sones bought the mill, became a jobber. Other
jobbers were men with the names of Rymsnider, Nolan,
Johnson and Marcy. Outlying camps were established convenient to the section
where the jobbers were cutting and these sites still bear the names of the men
who operated them. Mountain Camp was operated by Sones and was named because of
its location. This camp burned to the ground Sunday evening, April 3, 1905 with
the loss of twenty some horses, 2 yoke of oxen and a number of pigs. Rumor had
it that the fire was the end result of a Sunday afternoon’s poker game in the
barn wherein a hot deck of cards and firewater got mixed.
Logs
being washed in mill pond prior to being drawn up jack slip to the band saw
inside mill. Note large piles of railroad ties above mill left.
The living in Kettle Creek was
rather Spartan. The houses were of board and batten construction and without
cellars. They were mighty cold in winter despite the roaring wood fires in
kitchen ranges and parlor heaters. The typical home consisted of four rooms –
two up and two down. A kitchen and a combination dining-room
on the first floor and two bedrooms on the second floor. Caves were dug
into the hillside banks to provide storage to keep the butter and milk cool in
the summer and the potatoes from freezing in winter. There was a small icehouse
located at the mill but the ice stored there was only used for special
occasions. There were also houses for two and three family occupancy. There
were at least two boarding houses where men were boarded and fed. The first
floor of these was a combination kitchen, dining and lobby room and the second
floor an open dormitory.
There were no stores of any kind in
Kettle Creek. All necessities of life were brought in by the railroad or horse
and wagon. If a housewife ran out of bread she simply baked another batch for
there was no corner grocery to send the kids to. About the only thing that
could be bought was an occasional bottle of beer. Nick Casale,
who ran the “Little Italy” camp would buy beer by the barrel then bottle it.
The bottles sold for a nickel each. Some of the residents tried raising their
own potatoes – hence the “Potato Patch”. To go shopping - a rare occasion - any resident could board any train and go to
Masten or Eagles Mere for free.
Mr.
and Mrs. Harry Dieffenderfer sitting on their front porch. Diffenderfer was the nephew of C.W. Sones
and became his general superintendent of the Kettle Creek operation in 1904.
House was located across from and 100 feet west of present Club house. House is
of typical board and batten construction.
There was no doctor closer than
Picture Rocks. In case of serious illness or accident, Sones would phone ( yes Kettle Creek did have a phone line that followed the
railroad and has outside connections at both ends) Dr. Wackenhuth at Picture
Rocks. The good Doctor would pack his bag and take the first northbound W.
& N.B. train to Sonestown where Sones would have a narrow gauge engine
awaiting him. In case of childbirth or pneumonia, it was not unusual for the
doctor to spend a couple of days at the camp.
There was a school house where the
three R’s were taught for a couple of months each winter. Teachers were Earnie Benner, Harvey “Tars” Brink and Chester McCarty. The
scholars were mostly girls. As soon as a boy got big enough to lift one end of
a board, he went to work in the sawmill cutting and
bundling plaster lath. The teachers were dedicated if not well prepared. Chet
McCarty said that he took a two weeks summer course at Dushore to get his
teachers certificate.
Mill hands at West end
of mill. Second from right is Harry Dieffenderfer. Fifth from right is Charley
Fry. Note pile of plaster lath in background. Notice also the number of
teen-aged boys.
Sones completed his contract with
the Union Tanning Company in 1917 and sold his interest and equipment at both
Kettle Creek and Masten to the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company. C.P.I., has large tracts of timberland north of Eagles Mere in
the Shanerberg area as well as tracts close to the
Masten mill. C.P.L. continued the operation until 1921 and the railroad was
torn up and the Kettle Creek settlement abandoned
What the loggers left behind were
denuded mountain sides scarred with railroad grades and skid trails. Any tree
that would yield a profitable log or tanbark had been cut. Only crooked or
inaccessible trees were left. Brush and briars had begun to choke out the
sunlight from the forest floor and it was the survival of the fittest young
trees. It would take nature twenty or more years to cover most of the visible
scars and produce another crop of merchantable timber. This was the way it was
when a group of hunters and lovers of the outdoors decided to make this their
hunting grounds.
The close cutting of timber and the
resultant growth of brush and briars had one thing of value – it made food and
cover for game animals. Cottontail and snowshoe rabbits thrived on the young
shoots and grasses that now grew where once was a shaded
forest floor. Grouse thrived on the buds and berries. The tangled piles
of brush and tree tops made wonderful cover. The crooked and hollow beech trees
– unwanted by loggers- made dens trees for squirrels and raccoon and their
annual crop of nuts provided the best of feed. The beechnuts the game did not
eat sprouted into thickets provided cover and browse for deer. This was the
land that extended for miles to the North, South and West without human
habitation.
The
Charley Cheney house about 1917.
Remodeled into present Club beginning in 1924. Left to
right are Chester McCarty, Paul, Bessie and Helen Dieffenderfer, Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Cheney, Mr. and Mrs. Charles McCarty, Eleanor McCarty.
The Pennsylvania deer herd had been
depleted to insignificant numbers and at the turn of the century, and for some
years thereafter the Game Commission imported deer from Michigan to restock and
instill new blood into the remaining herd. Deer were still very scarce by
today’s standards. Often the first hunters in Kettle Creek would scatter out
before daylight to look for tracks or signs before beginning the organized
hunt. Hunters became as excited in that day at the sight of a deer track as
today’s hunter does at the sight of a ten point buck.
Sometime prior to the first of
October, 1923, a group of twelve men had decided to form a hunting and fishing Club,
for on that date the Central Pennsylvania Lumber Company leased to James
Magargle the one hundred foot square lot of land, whereon their house number
three stood, for the sum of one dollar per year. Magargle was one of the
twelve. The first minutes of the group are dated October 10, 1923 and at that
meeting Norman Brink was elected president, Harry Watts, secretary, and Aid Little, treasurer. The Charles Cheney house (house number
three) was purchased for the sum of fifty dollars. During the hunt that year
Aid Little killed a bear. No deer were killed. That
winter Ralph Brink and Raymond Watts had trap lines and used the Club house as
their headquarters.
In 1924 the former office of Sones
was purchased for forty dollars and moved about two hundred feet East and
joined to the Clubhouse. It was also decided to purchase the surrounding land
and negotiations were started with the C.P.I. That hunting season the first
deer were killed by Garrison “Dutch” Myers, Charley Brink and Ben Laurenson.
A
triple house located near the school house. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Layton (shown
standing on either side of baby carriage) were the lucky ones who lived in the
center unit and thus had heat from both sides. Mrs. Layton said that even that
was not much help on a cold winter’s morning. It was not unusual to find the
buckwheat cake batter frozen in its bowl on the kitchen table. Note the “cold
cellar” in the foreground and the manicured front lawn.
On January 14, 1925 the Club
purchased the Job Hoover and Paul Hunter tracts. Later that year the Ezekiel
King, George Ramsey, and Frantz tracts were purchased. Aid Little, Clayton
Dunham, Ben Laurenson and Harry Dieffenderfer purchased the Peter Ramsey and
Marcy tracts with the intention that sometime in the future these would be
purchased by the Club. The Club did purchase these and they were conveyed on
April 6, 1939. Having become the owner of such acreage it was thought best that
the Club incorporate. This was done and the charter was granted June 10, 1925.
In 1964 after the death of Aid Little, his farm of 85
acres was purchased and in 1966 the 17 acre woodlot of John Cryder
was purchased. This brought the holdings of the club to a total of some 1644
acres.
Downstream end of mill showing lumber piles
and houses of employees. Coal
Dock is here located on north side of main line track. Note piles of railroad
ties in right center of photo. Trestle from mill was for hand pushed lumber
trucks and not steam engines.
Improvements to the clubhouse
continued each year, some of the major proportions and others adding
convenience. In 1925 a kitchen was added to the rear and two bedrooms
constructed above it. A cave for the storage of fruits and vegetables was
constructed to the rear of the kitchen in 1931. This was to later also house
the storage batteries for the 32 volt lighting system. The fireplace in the
lobby was built in 1932 and the sleeping quarters and lobby renovated in 1935.
Until water was piped some 700 feet from a spring back of the clubhouse in 1945,
water for all purposes had to be carried from the spring across the creek. At
that time the toilet rooms and shower were built and outfitted. Also in 1945
the locker room was added. In the late twenties the clubhouse was wired for
electric lights and a Star automobile engine powered a generator. This was
supplanted by a Keroelectric, one cylinder generator and a thirtry-two
volt battery system. There was a succession of lighting plants culminating in
the four cylinder Kohler of Kohler generator that was fueled with propane gas.
These generators were fine – when they were working. They always presented a
problem so in 1967 a power line from the Forksville road to camp was built and
the camp converted to a 110 volt system. The power was turned on April 20,
1967.
The growth of food and cover plants
and trees proved to be too much of a good thing. Game propagated rapidly and
the demand on the food supply grew with the same proportion. The trees were
beginning to form a cover that kept sunlight from the forest floor and this
caused the brush and briars to die out. The deer herd had trimmed the lower
browse as high as they could reach and a definite “deer line” could be seen.
Without ground cover, the cottontail and snowshoe rabbits and grouse, so
plentiful at one time, had all but disappeared. On August 28, 1937 a special
meeting was called to discuss remedies for this situation. Many solutions were
proposed including cutting of trees for mine props, controlled burning of
certain areas, clearing areas of land and planting grain crops for game food
and the restocking of rabbits. It was finally decided that a program of
systematic yearly winter cutting would provide food and would be financially
self sustaining. By cutting in winter the browse would be available to the deer
and rabbits when most needed and help stave off “winter kill.”
During the winter of 1937-38 Ralph
and Oney Brink and Bud Watts cut mine props at the foot of School House Ridge.
The next two winters saw cutting of areas at Little Italy and Wood Lot. These
small areas helped but did not completely solve the problem. When more food
became available, game moved in from surrounding areas and kept the regrowth of
brush and briars from getting a start.
By 1941 there were some areas where
the timber had grown to a marketable size. Saw timber as well as mine ties
could be cut and much larger areas could be opened up. Various lumbermen were
contacted and asked to submit bids on the cutting. Minimum size was set at
eight inches except for white ash which was limited to twelve inches. Black
birch and fire cherry could be clear cut. The highest bidder was Cooper-Smith
of Wilkes-Barre. Saw timber was to be $5.00 thousand. Mine props were fifty
cents per ton. Six inch mine ties were two cents and four inch ties were one
cent each. Cutting started after Deer Season in 1941 and continued until 1944.
Selective cutting was started again in 1947 and each year thereafter some
timber has been cut.
The opening up of larger areas had
the desired effect in supporting the deer herd. Rabbits and grouse have not
come back as expected. Natural browse has been supplemented with corn and the
cutting of unwanted saplings in winter.
Some areas did not seem to
re-forest themselves as others had, so a program of tree planting was begun. In
1947 several hundred white pine seedlings were dug up at the old Eagles Mere
golf course and planted and in 1948, 10,000 commercially grown red pine
seedlings were planted. These plantings have for the most part done well and
have provided needed cover as well as improving the appearance of once barren
places. Starting in 1947 and at various times thereafter, plantings of barberry
have been made.
Some 100 apple trees were growing
on the club grounds – a living reminder of inhabitants long since departed.
Brush has been cleared away from these and they have been yearly fertilized
since about 1939. When nature is kind and Jack Frost doesn’t freeze out the
buds, a good crop of apples provides another source of game food.
Planting of multi-flora rose was
tried but proved a miserable failure. Frost and close browsing by deer took
their toll.
Salt licks have been maintained
since the beginning of the Club’s occupancy of the land. At first it was
thought that deer would only use salt that had dissolved into the earth. Consequently,
a pit was dug and rock salt mixed with the dirt. It was finally discovered that
deer would lick salt blocks and thereafter they were merely placed on the
ground. For the last thirty-five years a half ton of salt has been placed in
convenient places each fall.
In 1947 a dam was constructed and
the pond stocked with bluegills and bass. These fish have done well and
provided much pleasure. The dam at Belle Haven was constructed a few years
later and was never a success as a fishing pond but has been worthwhile as a
hunting spot for ducks and geese.
During the year 1972 the foresters
of Charmin Paper Company made a rather complete survey of our timberlands. They
have prepared a map showing how the various areas should be managed so as to
provide the maximum use of our land for the purpose for which it was intended –
that is the full use of it as a hunting land. They have recommended that some
areas be clear-cut so that reforestation can start over and that some areas be only
selectively cut. Their plan reflects the best in forest management in use
today.
This brings the story up to date.
Much has been omitted that could have been said. Many things were left out
intentionally and some unintentionally. We have tried to record things that
might bring a fond memory to mind and to leave to coming generation a record of
what has gone before. Those coming generations will find a trail of hard work
marked with plenty of sweat but blazed with unnumbered memories of pleasant
times spent in the great out of doors. We have tried to leave a land better
than we found it. Our trust is that you do the same.
REPORT OF THE 1932 DEER HUNT
By H.R. Dieffenderfer, President
Chester McCarty, Secretary
The Club House was opened November
27 and closed December 17 with Mrs. Harry Little hired to do the cooking at a
cost of $30.00 for 3 weeks work.
During the first week the camp was
open, 7 members worked 2 days brushing paths and roads. On December 16, 10
members contributed teams, wood machine and time to cutting sufficient wood for
the year 1933.
It is desired that the club bear
the expenses of the board for the members who contributed their time for this
work.
During the 1932 deer season, the
Club killed 4 deer as follows: John Brink a 9 point: Bud Watts, a 6 point: Oney
Brink, a 6 point; and Harry Dieffenderfer, a 9 point.
The cost of each meal served during
the time the camp was open was a trifle less than 10¢ per meal. The following
is a complete record of the cost.
D. Kehrer
& Son, groceries 21.09
H.W. Bender, groceries
5.96
Frank Fenstamaker,
200 lb. pork and 3 bu. Potatoes 13.30
Walter Laurenson, maple syrup 4.00
Aid Little,
flour, milk, etc. 9.85
54.20
Sold quantity of land 2.00
Total cost of board 52.20
532 meals served at 10¢ per meal 53.20
Members present at various times:
O.C. Brink Josh Brink Walter Laurenson Raymond Watts
A.M. Little N.E.
Brink Chester McCarty C.R. Dunham
Harry Little George
E. Little Frank Fenstamaker Garrison
Myers
C.A. Brink B.H.
Laurenson H.R. Dieffenderfer Charles McCarty
HOW DID THEY GET THEIR NAME?
MARCEY PLACE & MARCEY RIDGE – John Marcey
owned this land. He was a log jobber, had his lumber camp here and farmed a few
acres.
DIVIDE: The dividing
point between Marcey Ridge and Porcupine Ridge.
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE:
The dividing point at the head of Pole Road, Camp five, Falls Run, and Brunderdale hollows.
PORCUPINE RIDGE:
Rocky ledges and numerous porcupine dens that were in the ledges.
BELLE HAVEN: Named
after Belle Clark.
KISINGER SPRING:
Philo Kisinger, a jobber for Sones, had a
logging camp near this spring.
FRALEY HOLLOW: - FRALEY RUN: Named from a man named Fraley who erected a
small dam and mill at the headwaters of this run.
REMSNYDER CAMP & REMSNYDER RIDGE: Remsnyder
was a loging jobber for Sones who had a camp here.
CAMP 5, CAMP 8, AND JOHNSON CAMP:
Were “company owned: camps that were established along the railroads to save
traveling time.
MOUNTAIN CAMP: The first camp at the top of mountain above Kettle
Creek. The barn at this camp burned on April 3, 1905 and all horses and oxen
were lost except one horse.
CHIMNEY RIDGE & CHIMNEY HOLLOW: Sometime prior to 1923
there had been a building with a stone chimney at this location. All that
remained in 1923 was the stone chimney.
COAL MINE RIDGE: About 1915 Sones opened a “drift mine” to
get coal for his locomotives. This coal vein was too low and they later opened
a drift on “Nettle Ridge.”
BOILING SAND SPRING & SWAMP: Named from the never
failing spring that bubbles up through white sand and forms the swamp.
SLIDE PATH: Named
from the log slide that started at the Mill Pond and ran to the top of the
mountain. This slide was iced in the winter time and greased in the summer.
MILL DAM: The pond
above the band mill where logs were washed before going through the saw.
SAND HOUSE: Sand was
dried here and used on the locomotives to “sand the rails” and provide better
traction.
ROUND HOUSE: Used for
storing and repairing locomotives and cars.
SCHOOL HOUSE POINT:
Named from the school house that set at the “foot of the point.”
LUMBER YARD: Lumber
was sawed at the mill, hauled to the lumber yard, piled and air dried. When
dried it was hauled to the W. & N.B.R.R. at Glen Mawr by wagons. After the
R.R. was built in Kettle Creek, the lumber was hauled to a new lumber yard on
the East side of the road at Bear Creek Hill.
LITTLE ITALY: The
railroads were built by Italian Immigrants. Railroad box cars were moved to a
siding here and each family of Italians lived in a box car.
PRICKLY HEAT: In 1923
this area was all black berry briars and almost impossible to get through.
POTATO PATCH: Used to
grow potatoes by some of the families in Kettle Creek.
BEAR WALLOW: This
small swampy area was used by bears to “wallow in the mud” during the summer
months.
BUTTER NUT SPRING & BUTTER NUT HOLLOW: Butter Nut trees were unusual in this part of
the country, but there were quite a number of these trees around the spring.
BEE TREE HOLLOW: One of the first bee trees was cut in this
hollow. We had a wash boiler full of honey. Trees were located in the summer
and were usually watched for two years to be sure it was a good colony that
stored enough honey to last all winter. A good bee tree would yield 50 to 60
pounds of honey.
LONG SIDING: Railroad siding for loading logs and for
storing cars.
POLE ROAD HOLLOW: A tram car railroad from Camp 5 to the
Continental Divide. The rails were made of poles and the wheels of the tram car
were concave and were loose on the axle to follow the variance in width of the
rails. The loaded cars were snubbed by ropes or cables downhill and the empties
were pulled back up the hill with horses.
BIRCH STILL: Oil of Wintergreen was made here by distilling
the oil from Black Birch limbs and small saplings. Birch oil was used in the
making of liniment and soft drinks.
BARTON SWAMP, BARTON SWITCH AND SPOOK SWAMP: The Barton
Switch was a railroad spur that ran from Mt. Camp, through Barton Swamp and
along Spook Swamp. One of our members remarked that it was a ‘spooky’ looking
place and received the name of Spook Swamp.
WOODLOT: This area was cut off for wood and then planted
with rye and Hairy Vetch for deer feed.
McCARTY POINT AND BREWERS POINT: So named because they were
the favorite deer watches of Chet McCarty and Ed Brewer.
PAST AND PRESENT MEMBERS OF THE CLUB
Name Joined Present
Members
Norman E. Brink Oct
10 1923
Charles A. Brink Oct
10 1923
Clarence J. Brink Oct
10 1923
Garrison Myers Oct
10 1923
James Magargel Oct
10 1923
Frank Fenstemaker Oct
10 1923
Ralph Brink Oct
10 1923 x
Charles McCarty Oct
10 1923
John E. Brink Oct
10 1923
Clayton Dunham Oct
10 1923
Harry Watts Oct
10 1923
Aid Little Oct
10 1923
Oney Brink Oct 8 1924
C. Harvey Brink Oct 8 1924
Wilbur Fenstemaker Oct 8 1924
Bert Brink Nov
5 1924
Harry Dieffenderfer Nov
14 1924
Raymond Watts Mar
13 1925 x
Ben Laurenson Mar
13 1925
Walter Laurenson Jun 10 1926
Lee R. Kitzmiller Jul 12 1926
Dr. H. K. Davis Aug 9 1926
W.I. Taylor Nov
13 1926
Chester McCarty Jan 18 1930
Harry Little Jun 4 1930
George E. Little Jul 26 1930 x
H.B. Willaredt Aug 24 1934
Edward Brewer Feb 2 1935
Homer Laurenson Nov
20 1935
Henry Little Nov
20 1935
John K. Dunham Jul 11 1936
Walter Rother Nov 13 1937
Fred S. Holmes Jan 15 1938
John W. Drayton Apr 6 1939
Raymond Little Jan
17 1940
Andrew Willaredt Jan
17 1940
James Dunham Oct
26 1940 x
Carl Sprout Oct
26 1940 x
Robert Rother Jr. May 22 1943
Allen Bevan May
22 1943
Charles Coleman May
22 1943 x
Bert Fiester Sep 26 1944 x
Kenneth Lee Apr
24 1954 x
Joseph Smith Apr
24 1954 x
Walter Fratt Apr 24 1954 x
Dr. George Callenberger Apr 21 1957 x
Allen Bevan Jr. Jul
26 1959 x
Robert Rother III Oct 17 1959 x
Gerald Dunham Apr
24 1965 x
John A. Dunham Apr
24 1965 x
William Rother Apr 24 1965 x
Kenneth Bevan Apr
22 1966 x
Scott Lee Jun
19 1971 x
Thomas Brink Jun
19 1971 x
Richard Crouthamel Jun 19 1971 x
James E. Dunham Jun
19 1971 x
Carl Sprout Jr. Jun
19 1971 x
FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
AT THE CLUB HOUSE SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1973
THE COMMITTEE
Ralph Brink Raymond
Watts
George Little Carl
Sprout
AUTHOR’S NOTE
The author wishes to thank Bud Watts and Ralph Brink for
providing much of the information contained herein. A special thanks is also
due Harry Dieffenderfer for much of the data on Sones’ lumbering operations.
Harry’s memory recalls dates, names and events with remarkable clarity despite
his ninety some years.
If this booklet brings you some pleasant moments the author
is happy. If it disappoints you and you have some post-printing suggestions,
the author will be glad to hear your complaints upon pre-payment of $100.00 to
the Camp Improvement Fund.
C.M.S.
