The Courier-Express from Dubois, Pennsylvania • Page 9

The Saga Of The Lonesome Grave On Rock Hill BY JIM ROSS For 132 years the occupant of this grave who at death was 108 years old, J. D. Lewis, has rested in peace high on the rugged mountain top near the Lewis farm above Medix Run, Elk County, in what has been termed for years as "The Lonesome Grave on This peaceful rest may soon be disturbed by the noise of huge earth moving machines and the traffic of trucks as the area is to be coal stripped. Already the timber that shaded the grave has been cut, with one giant red oak top almost covering the marker. The timber cutting and proposed stripping renewed my long time interest in the "lone grave" because there were many facts that I had never learned about it.

Although I knew Winfield and Ella Lewis, and their daughter Ruey, who was the last of the family to live on the Lewis farm, but that was many years ago and before I began to take an interest in the pioneer families and early history of this area. By good luck I recently learned of a gentleman, S. L. McCracken, whose great-grandfather, Thomas Lewis, came up the Susquehanna River, and the Sinnemahoning, and the Bennetts Branch by canoe from below Lock Haven to Benezette in 1817 and were the original settlers of the Lewis farm. Mrs.

Jean Lewis who was Post-Mistress at Weedville for 42 years, and now lives in the "Towers" in DuBois, was married to William Lewis, a descendant of this family. FINE HUNTING AREA To get to the grave you turn left off Route 555 up Butter MiJk Run a native brook trout stream at Rockhill a mile west of Medix Run. This is one of the finest hunting areas in the Bennetts Valley and as the name suggests, very rough. There have been many black bear killed there through the years. At one time a hunter from Pittsburgh, who was boarding at our farm home at Medix, killed a large bear there and since he was by himself he could not get it out.

He stayed with it until dark so that no one would take it, and when he told us it was near a grave marker, we knew how to get the team near to it to haul it out. Through the years many nimrods have ran on to the marker nad been mystified and amazed by the dates on it. The proposed stripping will ruin some excellent deer turkey and bear hunting and most likely pollute Butter Milk Run. Leonard Dollinger of Medix Run, a long time friend, whose parents were neighbors of the Lewis family and I recently made a trip to "Lonesome Grave" to get the above picture (we marked the inscription with chalk so it would stand out) and then spent the day checking on other land marks on Gray Hill. We went on to the site on the Lewis Homestead.

We located the foundation and near it a black walnut tree which is not a native to this area. We recalled how as youths, we had hunted black and grey squirrel there because at that time there were two huge walnut trees near the old house and the squirrels big as cats would come to feed on the tasty and strange nuts. In those days the native chestnuts were still plentiful and with my great Collie Cap I could get the limit of squirrel for a pot pie in short order there. We also talked about those walnut trees, and how in World War I a great old lumberman S. W.

Munn cut them for gun stocks but never hauled them out. Years later I cut a stock blank out of one of the logs that I still have. STRANGE LOCATION As we returned back to the Wagoneer parked on the Rockhill road about of a mile, we pondered the strange location of the grave. It is a half-mile from the farm and a fourth mile from the Rockhill road, and just forty feet from the road leading to the farm. It is just on the Lewis land on the sunset side of the mountain.

At the date of 1842 this mountain was surely cloaked with virgin timber. The mighty white pine that was to be cut and first rafted down the Bennetts Branch and all the way to Williamsport to the mills and later sawed at Medix Run, Caledonia, and Benezette. At this early date the true Americans, the Indians were in this area, as we know a main trail crossed below Medix Run and the Indian Mills where they camped have been located along it. Many arrow-heads have been found through the years, and there is a burial grounds at Medix Run that is said to be the site of Indian graves. WHY BURIED HERE Why was J.

D. Lewis buried here, when within a mile or so there were two "THE LONESOME GRAVE ON ROCK HILL" established cemeteries. One, at Mt. Zion where still stands the first Protestant Church in' Elk County, which was completed in 1856. The ground for this church and burial grounds were donated by Peter Pearsall in 1832, and he was buried there in 1838.

He first came to this area at the same time as Tom Lewis, in 1817, and surely must have been acquainted with him. Another burial site, even closer, is the Goff Cemetery where Capt. Potter Goff is buried. He fought in the Indian war of 1812 and came to this section in 1817 also. The land this cemetery is on was at one time owned by Raymond Nelson of DuBois, and he donated it to the Elk County Historical Society.

Mr. Nelson is a former resident of the Bennetts Valley and a great student of its history. Mrs. Dot McPherson Flack of DuBois, whose parents were early settlers at Benezette, told me that her father gave the plot in the Benezette Cemetery where Winfield, Ella, and Ruey (Lewis) Irwin are buried. We also learned that there are two more graves at the Lewis farm, but we were never able to locate them.

GRAY SCHOOL-HOUSE When we passed what is now known as the Jake Schmidt farm house, Mr. Dollinger told me that it was where his mother Ella (Uhle) Dollinger had been born. When we came to the site of the Gray Schoolhouse he said that his mother had gone there with Edwin S. Gray, an early owner of the DuBois Courier, and father of Jason Gray Sr. and Rosanna (Shields) Gray.

Mr. Gray was born on a farm near the school. This was the second school in Elk County and taught by Capt. Goff in 1822. In information I received from William Anderson of Weedville, who was at one time superintendant of Elk County Schools, the Gray school was closed in 1927, and the last teacher was Victor D.

Benigni who is retired and now lives in St. Marys. The first school and also the first Postoffice in Elk County was at Medix Run. Cephas Morey opened this school in 1821 and taught three students. I understand there is a law that forbids the disturbing of a grave by stripping.

Mr. Dollinger and I plan to soon go to the "Lonesome Grave" and clean the site of tree tops and erect locust posts and paint them white to clearly mark the site. We also will erect a sign on the Rockhill Township road that will enable people to find it. I hope to put together the complete history of the Lewis Clan with the aid of Mr. McCracken and Mr.

Nelson, and give it to the Elk County Historical Society, so that it can be published in the Elk Horn Magazine of the Society. The thrilling story of this pioneer family should be chronicled for posterity. Two of the Lewis men of early days. Notice the Flint Lock or Pennsylvania muzzle-loading rifle (erroneously called the Kentucky Rifle), heavy cowhide boots and watch chains on the vests which were standard equipment of those days. The last of the Lewis men, Winfield, was a famous mountaineer fiddler for square dances as many old-time valley residents will recall.

Utility Tax Rebates Reported C-E Harrisburg Bureau HARRISBURG Political subdivisions within Clearfield County last year received a total of $73,263 in utility tax to the various governmental units throughout the state for their inability to levy property taxes themselves against public utility real estate. Under the Public Utility Tax state revenue sharing state collects taxes from public utility companies on their real estate and land holdings and then distributes the money according to law to the various local communities and school districts throughout the state. In the case of Clearfield County, the $73,263 in utility tax rebates was returned to its governmental units on the basis of total collections within the county of $8,857,246, according to State Department of Revenue records, with distribution as follows (total utility tax collections noted in parenthesis): City of DuBois, $3,440 BOROUGHS: Brisbin, $49 Burnside, $7 Chester Hill, $202 Clearfield, $2,748 Coalport, $104 Curwensville, $929 Glen Hope, $22 Grampian, $93 Houtzdale, $320, Irvona, $110 Lumber City, $29 Mahaffey, $73 Osceola, $314 Ramey, $79 Troutville, $26 Wallaceton, $39 and Westover, $49 TOWNSHIPS: Beccaria, $124 Bell, $58 Bigler, $209 Bloom, $36 Boggs, $158 Bradford, $306 Brady, $207 Burnside, $98 Chest, $58 Covington, $86 Decatur, $333 Ferguson, $50 Girard, $64 Greenwood, $55 Gulich, $144 Huston, $158 Jordan, $48 Karthaus, $31 Knox, $76 Lawrence, $1,511 Morris, $229 Penn, $157 Pike, $291 Sandy, $1,271 Union, $59 and Woodward, $203 SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Clearfield Area School District, $11,688 Curwensville Area School District, $3,662 DuBois Area School District, $18,992 Glendale Area School District, $1,878 Harmony School District, $826 Moshannon Valley School District, $2,817 Philipsburg- Osceola Area School District, $6,050 and West Branch Area School District, $2,322 Clearfield County government $10,395 JEFFERSON COUNTY A total of $38,801 in utility tax rebates, according to the department, based on total collections within the county of $4,690,455, with distribution as follows: BOROUGHS: Brockway, $1,032 Brookville, $1,399 Corsica, $42 Falls Creek, $389 Punxsutawney, $3,811 Reynoldsville, $874 Summerville, $172 Sykesville, $259 Timblin, $14 and Worthville, $13 TOWNSHIPS: Barnett, $25 Beaver, $61 Bell, $92 Clover, $38 Eldred, $123 Gaskill, $26 Heath, $20 Henderson, $134 Knox, $78 McCalmont, $120 Oliver, $43 Perry, $137 Pinecreek $127 Polk, $32 Porter, $19 Ringgold, $54 Rose, $136 Snyder, $432 Warsaw, $144 Washington, $190 Winslow, $184 and Young, $172 SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Brockway Area School District, $4,760 Brookville Area School District, $9,601 and Punxsutawney Area School District, $9,001 Jefferson County government, $5,047 Throughout the state as a whole, 102 local government entities failed to apply or failed to qualify for the utility tax rebates, department records show. Social Security Benefits To Increase In Two Steps Monthly social security benefits will be increased in two steps starting with checks sent out in April, according to Joseph Kreczkowski, social security district manager in DuBois, Pa. The overall increase will amount to 11 percent for most beneficiaries.

Seven percent of that will be included in checks delivered in April. The other 4 percent will be included in checks delivered in July. People getting social security don't have to do anything to get the higher payment. The increase will be added to checks automatically. The increase will enhance the financial security of about 30 million people who get social security retirement, disability, and survivors benefits.

Average social security retirement payments will increase from $167 to $179 a month starting with payments in April and to $186 starting with payments in July. Average social security disability payments will increase from $184 to $197 a month starting with payments in to $206 starting with payments in July. Average survivors payments to a widowed mother with two children in her care will increase from $391 to $418 starting with payments in to $435 starting with payments in July. The percentage rate of social security deductions from covered earnings remains 5.85 percent each for employees and has been reduced from 8 percent to 7.9 percent for self- employed people. The amount of yearly earnings subject to social security deductions has been increased from the first $12,600 to the first $13,200 for 1974.

People earning over $12,600 will pay more in deductions this year, but they also can expect higher social security benefits in the future as a result. Benefit amounts are based on average earnings on which social security contributions have been paid. The DuBois Social Security Office is at 127 N. Brady Street. The phone number is 371-8250.

The Social Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Friday, March 29,1974 Page Nine Elk County Aging Office Receives State Grant Candidate McCormack Declares Opposition To Gun Control Richard McCormack, opposing Albert Johnson for the Republican nomination for United States Congress, announced today that he opposes any new Gun Control Legislation. "There are an increasing number of individuals from the big metropolitan areas who neither understand nor like our rural tradition of hunting. Ideally, they would like to restrict our possession of hunting weapons.

It is important that we have representation in Congress that will wage an effective campaign against these elements. "Hunting is an important link to the tradition of self reliance which made this country a Nation of strong individuals. It is important that this tradition be preserved." "Some of the finest hunting and nsmng in the nation is in the 23rd District. Many of our citizens are accomplished marksman and hunters," McCormack said, noting that he enjoys both hunting and fishing. "The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Constitution.

I do not feel that the citizens of this District are in need of more restrictive gun legislation." McCormack noted that many private organizations, as well as the National Rifle Association spend great deals of time, effort and money training citizens in the proper use and care of firearms. He added, that if elected, he will sponsor legislation to expand existing training programs and do everything he could ta aid the educational programs aimed at showing the people of the country how to use the weapons they buy. tte cited the effectiveness of these existing programs by revealing statistics of the National Safety Council; accidental deaths with firearms have been cut in half during the last 40 years. "Continued emphasis on safety training can contribute to even better results." Only 30 Percent Believe Print Media On Issues HARRISBURG (AP) Low press credibility is invitation for the government to move in with regulations, the executive director of the National News Council told an editors' seminar Friday. William Arthur, former editor of the now defunct Look Magazine told the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors that a recent survey showed that only 30 per cent of the American public believes the print media and 41 per cent the broadcast media.

"We worry about our credibility, and well we should," Arthur said. "It is becoming increasingly apparent that to hide the truth is inviting disaster." The National News Council provides one way to deal with the problem, Arthur said. It was established last May to preserve freedom of the press and to check complaints against the press. However, lacking powers, it can only publish its findings. He remarked that the council has not been condoned by the entire press establishment, and "has even been called a threat to the press." Cub Scouts And Brownies To Go Kite Flying Members of Cub Pack 35 will be joined by the Brownies of Troop 574 for an hour of kite flying this Saturday afternoon, Mar.

30 at 1 p.m. The two groups will meet at the Beechwoods Presbyterian Church. During the recent March meeting of Cub Pack 35, "Communications" was the theme which was developed in a skit and tape recording. In preparation for the cub scout's tree planting project next week, Cubmaster Todd Kalgren discussed the proper method of planting seedlings and showed "before" and "after" slides of typical strip mined areas. This will be the third year that the scouts and their parents have devoted a Saturday to tree planting in the Toby Creek area.

Total trees planted to date is 10,000. Prior to the program, Willie Snyder received his Bobcat badge; Eric Reiff was awarded his Webelos Citizen pin; and Greg Lake was graduated from Cub Scouting into Troop 35. It was reported that six members of Troop 35 participated in the browse cut held at Camp Mt. Run last Saturday. These scouts are enrolled in the Environmental Science merit badge course at Jeff-Tech.

The monthly committee meeting for the pack and troop will be Tuesday, Apr. 2 at 8:30 p.m. At that time there will be a report on the sale of seeds and plans will be made for summer activities. RIDGWAY The Cameron-Elk- McKean Office of Aging Adult Programs, 208 Main Street, Ridgway, has received notification of Grant Award for the beginning phase of the Planning and Service Area Agency, from the Bureau of Aging, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, Harrisburg. The grant totals $52,000 for a one year period, and is a matching one, 75 percent or $39,000 provided by federal money, 25 percent or $13,000 local share provided by the Commissioners in each county.

Distribution of costs were computed on a percentage base, related to the total numbers of elderly persons (age 65 and over) in each county. Those figures follow-Cameron, 1,044, Elk, 5,664, McKean, 9,450, Potter, 2,990, Jefferson, 8,381, and Clearfield, 8,905. Figures were obtained from a study done by the Rural Sociology Department of the Penn State University in conjunction with the Bureau of Aging on data derived from the 1970 census. The grant is a result of a direct mandate of the federal government in distribution of monies appropriated for the Older Americans Act. This required pre-determined geographic areas characterized by common interests, with prior history of common organizations and a voluntary association of county governments.

For the first time, also, the mandate spoke to the need of a strong planning component in the development of direct services to the aging, thereby establishing a two fold goal. The first priority being to avoid the duplication and overlap characterized by earlier developments of human services, for the agency, with a minimum of administrative cost, the second to concentrate limited resources in those regional areas where need is the greatest. The grant will expand the existing tri- county Office of Aging Adult Programs to a 6 county structure, adding Potter, Clearfield, and Jefferson, to the already existing counties of Cameron, Elk, and McKean. It has a far reaching significance in that, for the first time, allocation of available funding will be done on a direct formula base, rather than categorically. It will, then, become the decision of the Board of Directors of the regional structure to determine expenditures of all future allocated monies.

The Board of Directors is comprised of one County Commissioner from each county and two older persons appointed them. The existing board consists of Loretta Harrington, Commissioner; Dean Williams, Commissioner; Francis Higgins, Commissioner; Elmer Schaberl and Frances Turack, Elk County; Gladys Costello and Clarence McCaslin, Cameron County; Helen Harmon and H. J. Heitzinger, McKean County. Mona A.

Snell Enlists In AF Miss Mona A. Snell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Snell, of 8 Washington Falls Creek, has recently enlisted in the United States Air Force Delayed Enlistment program and will leave in March this year.

i)uring Mona's six weeks of basic training she will receive training in a wide variety of subjects including proper wearing of the uniform, physical conditioning, military law, safety, first aid, and history of the Air Force. After basic training she will advance on to a specialized training as a weather observer, her chosen job under the Air Clearfield Co. Outing Club Organized It's here and growing! The newly organized Clearfield County Outing Club, known as the C.C.O.C., is busy growing. In February Philip Rhinehart of the Clearfield County Development Council called a meeting of interested "walkers." At that time Carl M. Hild was elected as chairman and Dianne M.

Hild as secretary. March 24 the walkers got together for an extremely interesting walk at the Rolling Stone Tree Farm near Kylertown. A business meeting was held after the walk and the group decided upon the name as the Clearfield County Outing Club. This name was chosen looking toward the future. It is hoped that with time and growth the C.C.O.C.

will branch into divisions. The Club will have walking, hiking, overnight camping, bicycling arjd canoeing groups in the future. Memberships will be available at the next outing. The Clearfield County Outing Club welcomes people with ideas and energy of all ages and interests. Come to our next gathering at Parker Dam State Park.

It will be Sunday, April 6, at 2 p.m. For more information call 765-8075. David A. Crooks Reports To Squadron PATUXENT RIVER, MD. Seaman Apprentice David A.

Crooks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Crooks of 27 Jenks Brookville, has reported to Patrol Squadron 30 at the Naval Air Station here. He will be assigned to duties as a Disbuijsing Clerk.

Disbursing clerks military pay records. A 197.3'graduate of Brookville High School, he joined the Navy in Sept tember 1973. Force's Guaranteed Job Program. Mona was graduated from Clearfield Area High School in 1973..