Show E 0 the 1 year and 2nd 0 in by i W D pennypacker T WAS more than a quarter century ago that john a CT young man then saw the present century ushered in As a nian man of mature years now tie he looks back to that epochal midnight will ith In interest lerest it s bews acus strange that that thai new years eve appeared different from frol any other in his life and yet the reason Is not far to seel seek there could be no do other such midnight in all ills his life no other century would be ringing for him with such clamorous din of bells and whistles As he draws bis char close to the cheerful wood fire the he smoke fron from which has given the rojin an aroma as of resinous incense he bo cannot but bill become reminiscent before him are mental pictures imprinted upon hla his mind twenty nine ears ago pictures which the coming and going of many winters and the joys of as many summers con can never dever efface for more than a decade prior to 1900 john his pare parents lits and groups of younger and older folk in a small town met diet for a social evenin evening AIM IP T and remained to welcome in the new year it was in those the old fash boned times when young folks and their elders frequently spent social evenings together As john peers into the lie ruddy eni eln tiers he wonders if such things could be lit possible isible no now w lie ile knows that IM parents and children ure tire rarely if ever seen together now DOW at social functions and that t they iley are seldom seen at theaters or in church to in the same groups hut but we did it anyway he murmurs in a tone of soine somewhat what sup pressed wonder that it 11 could ever have been possible 1 and this Is as he be ree recalls alls it the evening was cool and crisp the sky eky bright and cloudless the ground covered with snow heavily crusted consciously he was not aware that this was different from any other night yet subconsciously be realized something was us unusual fin might see many more now new years eves as indeed he has beets been privileged to do but he would never again see the passing of an old ren century turY with its great epochal struggles and moment ous achievements atrul ail tie arrival of a new orie with a clean state slate upon which humanity must transcribe its record of accomplishment what vital would the next one be white mille and unmarked the ange of tin an unwritten book the year spread before him lie he was to t be one of the lie worlds billions of people to 0 o have part in transcribing a new record ct the thought was impressive 0 0 0 0 0 0 A brond grin sweeps hla his anc face nn n noticed by others in the groota the adhn light and me tb cs ackling warmth rf nr the fireside made all drowsy late houra and wild festivities are no part of the present ufa life of one who had readied reached adult life when the bella clanged and whistles tooted and horns blew as 1000 was ushered in children and in some cases grandchildren are out in the lb wild jazziness of the night every one la is doing it tie he thinks hut but A world pleas ure mad la Is seeing a new years arrival amidst a gaiety and thoughtless frivol that is astounding it Is all in the way we are brought up he admits to himself and Is broadminded broad minded enough to recognize that with the turning of the wheel of time a gradual but none the less lese effective evolution has taken place lie ile Is conscious that the young man and young woman of today those of the flapper age he calls it are as different in ili their thoughts and mentill mental reactions as are our present highly bred domemco animals ami their prehistoric ancestors anc estora of the stone age As he be takes another long pull on his hid friendly pipe there Is a glow followed by a dense cloud of the curl ing rings ascending in the half light of a lessening fire give the appearance of and in reality cause the lie full effect of dreaminess his mind flies backward and tie he la Is again in the itie happy events and great accomplishments of the p past ast how long john slops sleeps in the quiet room while younger members of his family are out to welcome a new year we could not say eay in the oppressive silence the tick of the mantel clock can be heard distinctly its regularity would not suggest that a y year ear to Is dying nor would it suggest the joy of the colln of a new year and the possibility of 1930 1030 being one of earths happiest new years save ave for the clock all to la silent then there Is the outbreak or of whistles wl the din of tin horns anti and bells for a moment protracted into ten minutes ot or more the darkness of the night ts Is rent with distracting noises noise 9 john rouses with a start ills his pip has fallen to the floor and the fere Is 19 out ile he Is still alone As he be had dozed away john had in fancy been back in ili the old days II 11 v had returned to hn his R y young 0 it n g manhood rind and the big reception everyone every one gave to the coming in of the new century it Is only another new year now Mlle posts seem much closer than they did then lie ile has seen many of them so many in fam fact that they menn mean little except to suggest in ill its widest sense a common brotherhood of all mankind when alice and jack jach returned home in the wee hours the color was just coming into the eastern sky they wished dad a happy new year and they meant it sincerely though both were conscious that he belonged to a ilif different ferent epoch the breaking day with an auspicious opening was a happy one for the entire ross family and all were conscious that it marked more than a new year they sensed that it the beginning of another cy cycle cle in the evolution of the race M 1929 western newspaper New paper union |