From Jan. 4, 2005 Rutland, Vermont, HERALD by ED BARNA, Correspondent: <precept> Joan, [email protected], emailed this to me. Jan Jean Davies' new book "Neighborly Notes (from turn-of-the-century small-town Vermont)" is self-published, in Rutland, Vermont -printed, 246-page paperback which draws on Davies' extensive knowledge of Pittsford, Vermont. ================================== Going to market The scene: It is the winter of 1887. Farmer Artemus Powers and his family decide to go to town with trade goods, using the new team of horses to pull the sleigh rather than the oxen, which need someone to walk ahead and lead them. Readers may want to remember this account the next time they sing "Jingle Bells." "Trading Day arrived. Artie got up, started the fires, put the soapstone into the oven to heat for a foot warmer and went to the barn. After breakfast, Artie and the boys loaded up. The sleds had sideboards 3 feet high so the children would not fall out, but could see over the side. There was a foot of clean straw in the bottom and lots of blankets. "Artie had half a hog, some beef, apples, 55 gallons of cider, oats, corn and buckwheat to trade. His wife, Juliana, had butter, eggs, maple sugar, canned foods, knitted things and dressed chickens. The girls had fancy sewing, cooking and Christmas wreaths. The boys had butternuts plus skunk, coon, fox and wildcat hides. "The road was not yet broken, so the going was slow ... They had to shovel through another drift. Crazy Jane began jumping around, putting the sleds out of the ruts. They turned over. Everything dropped out and the horses took off. Artie's vocabulary proved amazing, as he yelled his anger, running beside the sleds while trying to stop the team. "After a half mile, he did. With no room to turn around, everyone picked up the widely scattered pieces and lugged them to the sleds. Shaking off as much snow as possible, they reloaded and continued. "At the store, Juliana wanted yarn, calico, thread, needles, molasses, spices, coffee, shoes, butcher knives, button hook, shoe spoon, kerosene lamp wicks and a big brass kettle. Artie needed a 'JK' bit for Crazy Jane, leather boots, a barrel of flour, another of crackers, scythe, cattle salt, ax, horseshoe nails, colic medicine, wagon grease and spavin cure. They also picked up the weekly papers, mail and stamps. "They 'were a little short,' but the store keeper was willing to carry the balance until they returned in the spring."