Yes, Jan, I certainly concur there. Among other things I've really been watching for trans fats lately but there is so much today we are unaware of in our food, that was not the case when our ancestors grew their own food or purchased it in the town market from local farmers they knew. Still, they had problems in those days, too -- if you did happen to get seriously sick or develop a heart ailment or cancer, etc., there was almost nothing that could be done for you. Also "that dread disease consumption" (tuberculosis) plagued everybody in those days and I think for a while was the #1 killer. It was particularly a problem in towns where families lived close together, but took its fair share of deaths in rural areas, too. Those people just worked so hard physically that it is difficult for us to comprehend the amount of exertion involved. EVERYTHING they did or contemplated doing had to be accomplished by hand at each step in the process, and everywhere they went had to be walked or driven by horse, which involved physical effort as well. The old newspapers often have little "personal" items about residents walking 5, 10, or even 15 miles to town to spend the day, many of whom were in their 80s at the time. Distances were not a great impediment because they had the "gumption" to get up and make things happen -- they didn't know anything else. I just got a catalogue from Masthof bookstore, which specializes in Mennonite and Pennsylvania German genealogy, history, and culture, in southeastern Pennsylvania. One of the publications is apparently a reprint of a 17th century Swiss farming guide. It details advice on how to plant, various remedies, etc., and I'm sure would be interesting reading to those interested in the origins of this aspect of our history. On a related note, the old-time settlers, particularly the German settlers, had the tradition of Pow-Wow in some of the families, as well as a host of natural remedies. Everyone can form their own opinion and belief but I must state the facts so that researchers are aware of the tradition in the area. My late great-uncle David "Buss" Bilger (1907-2001) was very knowledgeable in this particular field in his time. A lumberman, he had extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region and knew a host of teas, herbs, and home remedies of all sorts, to fit just about any type of problem. This is an old Pennsylvania Dutch tradition, and there are still some in the area today. A cousin of my grandfather's, Leonard "Toot" Resides (1918-1992) was a Pow-wower, and is said to have been able to stop a nosebleed with a certain Bible verse. Jacob Breon (1798-1874) of Spring Mills was also a noted pow-wower in his day. The old German book, "The Forgotten Friend" details many such practices. The contemporary publications of Jeff Frazier, "Pennsylvania Fireside Tales," have some accounts of these types of events that Jeff collected among the old-timers of Penns Valley and elsewhere in the state back in the 1970s and 1980s, when the pre-automobile generation was dying out. The tradition of folk remedies, pow-wow, hex signs, astrological calculations, etc., was particularly strong among some of the German settlers in Brush Valley area of Centre County. John Buchtel (d. 1810) was the most famous practitioner of this art. Over in Bald Eagle Valley, John H. Watkins (1794-1879) who lived back "in the ridges" above Bullet Run, along the border of Howard and Curtin Townships, and whose family had come from Maryland, was a noted folk healer. He possessed a book which he would let no one see, and which he called "The Book of Knowledge," and it was considered to be the source of his remedies and practices. This is a very interesting side of Centre County history that I invite others to discuss, particularly if you have additional information on individuals, particularly pow-wowers, and their practices. Justin Justin At 07:56 PM 1/25/2007, you wrote: >Justin - agree with your premise of hard work and activity. There are a >couple other things that come into the equation for present day early demise >also: pollution and junk food. My father's family members all >lived into their >90's and some past 100 - ggram 107. Only 2 that I can think of who died >early - in their 70s - and they left rural life to live and work in >manufacturing >cities where pollution was poisonous; Akron and Detroit. > >Jan > > > >Blessed Be; Bright Blessings; Beautiful Beginnings; Big Boons; >Bodacious Blockbusters; Brilliant Brainstorms ; Boundless Benefits > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >[email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without >the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I remember going to my dad's place of business to get a ride home from town with him and as I walked in, I noticed an old woman leaving - dressed in black. This would have been in the mid to late 1940s. Dad said he just sold his wart (on his hand) to a pow-wower. I was very skeptical, but he showed me it was gone in just a few days. Also, my mother-in-law went to a pow-wower who was known for this "skill" in the Loganton area. This was also in the late 40s or early 50s. She claimed he took care of her physical problems. Gloria Harbach