Celebrating the ‘Red, White and Blue’

As most of us are aware, the Fourth of July, or Independence Day, is the anniversary of the day the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, in 1776, announcing to the world that the 13 American colonies were declaring their independence from the mother country of England. The first celebration, one year later, took place in the then-capital of Philadelphia. The city's night sky was ablaze with bonfires. Candles illuminated nearly every window, making them glow golden. Church bells rang out, and volleys from ships, docked in Philadelphia's harbor, exploded in commemoration. The 'city of brotherly love' was celebrating the founding of the United States of America, and the Fourth of July soon became the new nation's principal patriotic holiday. Veterans of the Revolutionary War initiated the tradition of gathering on the Fourth to celebrate their miraculous, exhilarating victory. The newly adopted Stars and Stripes flew over villages and towns, and shops took to displaying the official red, white, and blue with bunting over doors and windows. Almost immediately, Americans began the tradition of marching in parades, followed by public readings of the Declaration of Independence, and in 1941, Congress declared the Fourth of July a federal legal holiday.

America has experienced many changes in the past 225 years, evolving from an agricultural nation to the leading industrial nation in the world. However, the more I write these Chronicles, the more I discover that there are special little time warps throughout America, some of them right here in Fayette County. Recently, I came across the friendly village of White, nestled in the extreme northeast portion of the county, in the township of Saltlick, which has for its northern boundary Westmoreland County, for its eastern Somerset County, from which it is separated by Laurel Hill. On the south is Springfield Township, and on the west Chestnut Ridge, which separates it from Bullskin. White's picturesque, post-card setting is mountainous. Along the streams are luxuriant, deep valleys.

Flowing through the township from northeast to southwest is the main waterway, Indian Creek. Fed by numerous springs, it was known in Colonial times as the Great Salt Lick Creek. Saltlick Township is heavily timbered, and the sawmill and lumbering are still the main sources of industry in White and its surrounding area.

White's early pioneers were, as in other Colonial Pennsylvania settlements, mostly of robust German, English, Scotch-Irish, Irish, or Welsh stock. The Schlater family, some of whom moved to the Saltlick region, were among the first settlers in Ligonier Valley, where they encountered numerous adventures with the Native Americans. One of the Schlater's married one of Ligonier's Ulery girls, whose family also had some spine-chilling encounters with the Indians. During the bloody Revolutionary War era, a painted war party surprised the three Ulery girls whilst they were hoeing corn. With their fierce pursuers close on their heels, the young women sped toward the cabin, the two oldest making it inside, slamming the door and barring it, thinking their sister captured. The youngest dashed behind the cabin into the woods, leaped down a hole, from which a tree had been uprooted, and pulled a pile of branches and leaves over her. It is believed this was the daughter who relocated to the Saltlick/White area. From inside the cabin, the father shoved his Pennsylvania Rifle through a hole in the door, fired and hit one of the Indians. The rest of the war party then retreated, taking their wounded companion with them. The following day, the Indians returned and tomahawked the two older Ulery daughters, while they were out working in the same field. Both were scalped and left for dead, but the younger one recovered and became the mother of a large family. Her scalp never healed. Bearing the scars of bullets and gashes made by tomahawks, the Ulery-Schlater cabin door has been preserved and passed down through the years. Today, this door is on display at Fort Ligonier.

There were blockhouses/fortified cabins round about where the settlers could take refuge during Indian attacks, if - and that was a big if - there was time enough to get away. Therein is the 'Red.'

The sleepy village of White is peaceful and serene today, and probably looks nearly the same as it did 100 years ago. The post office was established in 1882 with Minerva Flack White serving as the first postmaster. Formerly, postal business had been conducted at White's farmhouse, which was located a mile from the village. Minerva's husband, Issac White, was a squire, the son of Hugh and Clarinda White. Minerva White served a total of 13 years as postmaster. During this era, the mail was delivered by horseback once a week over the winding, mountainous byways to Champion Post Office.

In 1895, White Post Office moved to the home of S. M. White with Samuel White serving as postmaster. His wife Sarah assisted him. Samuel served his community for 28 years, until his death in 1923, when his son Earl took over his duties. Earl's wife Nina worked as his clerk, and they retired in 1961, after 38 years of service. Earl's daughter, Velma Flack, was then commissioned postmaster, with Mildred Mowry (whose mother was a White) serving as clerk. After 14 years, Velma, in 1975, passed the reins to her son, Mack, with Gleneda White as postmaster relief clerk. Gleneda is still the relief clerk, and, to this day, there are several White families who reside in the area. So now you know how the village of White acquired its name.

In addition to the post office, there is the Buchanan Church of God, named after President James Buchanan, our 15th president, the only president who hailed from Pennsylvania, and the one whom Abraham Lincoln succeeded. Before the church was dedicated in September 1905, on ground donated the previous year by Cyrus White, worship was conducted across Buchanan Road in the schoolhouse, which was built by volunteer labor during Buchanan's Presidency, circa 1857, and is today the Ridge Community Center. The Dunkards shared the school for their meeting-house, until they built their church, ElBethel Church, on Breakneck Road, which is a stone's throw from the Buchanan Church of God.

Another building of interest is Fred Brown's store at the crosspoint of White and Buchanan Roads. Several years ago, I bought, at a local flea market, an old reverse-glass image of a snowy, Christmas scene with a steepled church and horse-drawn sleighs. The nostalgic, framed likeness was an advertisement/thermometer/Christmas gift to customers from 'C. M. Mowry and Son.' 'Boots, shoes, clothing, groceries, dry goods, hardware, gasoline, oil, lime and fertilizer.' Little did I know at the time, I'd actually visit 'Charlie's' old store! Things haven't changed much, because Brown's is probably one of the few places left in America that still sells horseshoes and nails! The rambling white building known locally as the 'Country Store' has existed for more than 100 years. Fred Brown purchased the mercantile business from his wife's family 36 years ago, and 'they had it some 70-80 years before me,' Fred related. A step inside is a step back in time, complete with potbelly stove and wooden benches. 'If only those benches could talk!' exclaimed Fred's wife, Doretta Mowry-Brown. Doretta's mother was a White. 'Deer season is the time to gather here for the real stories,' Fred told me. Glancing round, I saw everything from soup to nuts and bolts, just as the pretty little turn-of-the-last-century 'advert' had suggested. And that is the 'White' of it!

The 'Blue' is the loyalty the people of White and other Fayette County communities have for our country. Fayette County folks are traditionally patriotic, ranking highest in the state for its number of veterans. 'Blue' is also the sentiment I felt when I saw the wee village of White in my rearview mirror. White, along with its warm, amiable, hard-working people, is a veritable Norman Rockwell-small-town-America time warp. And it's cached away right here in the lush green hills of - our Fayette County!