A Year in the Life of a Village: Plainfield 1910

In 1812, tavernkeeper Michael Forner laid out lots on a piece of land on the road from Carlisle to Newville. He called the new town Plainfield. Plans were afoot for a Grand Turnpike from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, and Forney thought it "would more than probably go through his new town."¹ It did not. Often referred to as Smokey Town, the name Plainfield was officially adopted with the opening of the Post Office. The map of Plainfield in the 1872 Atlas of Cumberland County shows the locations of the shops, two churches, the school, the hotel as well as the houses. Plainfield grew, and by 1910, the village had approximately 200 residents.²

The newspapers of the day kept their subscribers up to date on the comings and goings of their friends and neighbors by way of village correspondents, thus letting us glimpse something of the life of Plainfield in 1910. On January 21, a sub-local institute was held in Plainfield by the teachers of West Pennsboro Township. Devotional exercises were conducted by S. H. Piper. Various topics were presented by the teachers with a discussion following each topic. "The program was interspersed with music and recitations by pupils of the schools.³ On the evening of January 22, the Republicans of Lower West Pennsboro Township met at the Plainfield School to nominate a ticket for the February election.⁴

The residents of Plainfield were saddened by the news that Edward Kell's wife Bessie died on February 9. She was just 32 years old. She was the mother of Harper, Rose, Harry, and Percy Kell, and the daughter of F. P. Brehm, coachmaker of Elliottson and his wife Kate.⁵ The Grammar School held a spelling bee on the evening of March 17. Clyde Scheaffer was on the sick list, and Mary Bell Line was confined to her bed with an attack of pneumonia. In April, Harry L. Kramer of Harrisburg leased the Bergstresser property in Plainfield and planned to open a general store.⁶

Those who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s may remember the springtime event called "Clean Up, Paint Up, Fix Up Week." It was likely a modern take on a long-standing tradition. In May 1910, quite a few of Plainfield's citizens whitewashed their houses. Mr. Cooper remodeled his house near the creamery. He put a porch on the front and east end of the house, and a balcony in the rear. Plainfield's Doctor David Van Camp raised the foundation on his house. Post 201 of the Carlisle G.A.R. held a yearly ceremony to honor veterans of the war by placing flowers at their graves. John Wire and Doctor David Van Camp were assigned to decorate the Line's and the Carothers' graveyards at Plainfield on May 29.⁷

A trolley line was being laid between Carlisle and Newville, and the newspaper reported that "Laborers are scarce in the country as many have found employment on the railroad improvements on the C.V.R.R., and on the new trolley line."⁸ As anticipated as the coming of trolley was to the residents of Plainfield, the newspaper reported that they were "incensed against the condition the company has left the streets of that town. In some instances, the road will have to be widened several feet to bring it in line with the width established by the court, which is forty fee...The trolley company has a force of men erecting poles in that vicinity...One of the property owners in that place, Thomas M. Derr, former sheriff of this county, is alleged to have cut down the company's pole in front of his home and was arrested this morning by Detective H. J. Bentley on a charge of malicious mischief, on information made by W. F. Pascoe, superintendent of the trolley company.⁹ On Sunday evening, June 12, part of Lamason's orchestra played at the Children's Day exercises of the Bethel Sunday School of Plainfield. Also in June, William Kissinger, the well-known painter of Plainfield, won the contract to paint the County Home barn.

On the 4^th of July Court House janitor, James W. Eppley went fishing with a hickory pole, a big can of worms, and a monster line, the newspaper reported. "It was thought by the people of Plainfield that no fish would be left in Burgner's dam."¹⁰ Eppley caught three fish!

The editor of The Valley Times Star of Newville hired artist J. Albert Hoover to visit several towns and villages in Cumberland County and draw cartoons of some of their prominent residents and include a tidbit about each of them. Hoover visited Plainfield on July 4^th, and his cartoon appeared on the front page of the newspaper on July 7^th. Barber Charles Powley appears in the center of the cartoon holding a razor. He was 37 years old with a wife and four children. By 1920 the family was living in Dauphin County. Blacksmith Theo Overholtzer appears in the lower right-hand corner. Theo was 65 at the time, a Civil War Veteran who had served as the Plainfield Postmaster from 1897-1903.¹¹ Om 1913, he and his wife Maggie moved to New Cumberland and lived with their daughter, Mrs. Don Mullen, for several years before their deaths. Tinsmith Edward McCoy Kell, aged 33, is pictured to the left of Charles Powley saying, "My business is growing very rapidly." He bought the tin shop in August 1900 from Elmer Lay.¹² On Sunday, January 19, 1936, Ed Kell died in an automobile accident at High and Wilson streets in Carlisle. "His auto collided with another driven by his neighbor, Harry Bricker, of Plainfield." Ed's son Harper F. Kell, took over his father's sheet metal business in March of that year.¹³ Born in 1852, Mose [Moses D.] Underwood, who was also a barber, appears in the upper left corner of the cartoon. Mose was a single man, and for many years made his home with Doctor David Van Camp. He was a charter member of the Order United American Mechanics. He died on December 3, 1919. Doctor David W. Van Camp followed his father, Dr. J. E. Van Camp as Planfield's doctor when he opened his own office there in 1900. As well as as serving the residents of Plainfield, he was a member of the staff of Carlisle Hospital. A past president of the Cumberland County Medical Society and an instructor at the Carlisle Hospital Nurses Training School, he died at his home in Plainfield on December 30, 1938.¹⁴

On Saturday July 23, a festival, a balloon ascension, and a cake walk, was sponsored by the OUAM. Herman E. Wolf, an agent for Rakestraw's had a contract to furnish 50 gallons of ice cream for the festival.¹⁵ Unfortunately, there was a large storm in the afternoon between Plainfield and the creek. Limbs were torn from trees; fences were damaged as well as the crops.¹⁶

Plainfield's residents were on the move and out and about in August. Henry Weigle held a sale of his household goods because he was moving to Atwood, New York to work for contractors Kerbaugh & Co. The misses Maude and Chloe Eppley returned from visiting their aunt, Mrs. Minnie Givler, in New London, Connecticut. Miss Eliza Werdebaugh was camping along the Conodoguinet Creek with Rev. H. H. Hartman and his wife of Sunbury. Miss Vera Greason, a dressmaker, went to Philadelphia to visit her brother Albert, and her sister Miss Edna Greason, who worked at the general store, was visiting friends in York.¹⁷

Thursday, September 8 was a big day for Plainfield residents when the first car on the Carlisle to Newville trolley line reached the village at 3:00 in the afternoon. Whatever fanfare heralded its arrival was not recorded in the local papers. The fare from Carlisle to Plainfield was ten cents.¹⁸ As autumn approached, railroad worker David Clay was ill with typhoid fever, twelve-year old Stuart Eberly was confined with black diphtheria, and Ed Kell's one-and-a-half-year-old son Percy was ill. By October, David Clay and Stuart Eberly were out and about, but sadly, little Percy Kell died on September 22, 1910. October was the month of yearly county fairs, and residents of Plainfield visited the York Fair and the Hagerstown Fair. The Southern District Council of the Order of United American Mechanics met at Plainfield on Thursday, October 20. The delegates were entertained by Council 163 of Plainfield.

In December, Eugene Keefer bought Ed Cuddy's greenhouse and planned to move it from Carlisle to Plainfield.¹⁹ A truck farmer and florist, Mr. Keefer attended Carlisle markets for over 50 years and died in 1964.²⁰ On Tuesday evening, December 6, "the Plainfield Bowling Clubs pulled off another exciting and well contested tournament on the Brady alleys. Victory went to the Finkenbinder team by a small margin of 59 points. The contest was stubbornly argued from the start, and the large number of interested spectators were called upon frequently to applaud the brilliant plays. The score: Finkenbinder team 2084, Eppley team 2025."²¹ On December 22, Edward M. Kell butchered four hogs and made 350 pounds of lard and 20 crocks of pudding. Mr. Kell entertained 16 friends and helpers for dinner that day. sup>22 Members of the Plainfield Lutheran Church presented Pastor Rev. Ira F. Brame gifts including "feed for the horse."²³ Friends and families celebrated the Christmas season, and guns were fired off at midnight on December 31.