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Larrison,WH_son Germania bark jobbers FB200225PLGMoKo

20200226HAv-
?Paul Lynn Gardner? to Mosch-Kortz Family Descendants
25 February 2020

Bark Jobbers - Germania, PA
W.H. Larrison and Son,
Germania Pa.,
Jobbers
photo by Caulkins Cammal Pa

· GERMAINA BARK PEELERS

The beginning of the harvest of hemlock bark and timber in the Potter County forest was about 1872, reaching full volume in 1892 then declining to finish in 1912. The hemlock bark was high in the chemical called tannin, which was used in the tanning industry. There were several tanneries across Potter County with a couple of rather large ones in Costello and Coudersport. Cattle hide and animal skin tanning was a natural side industry in Potter County and continued after the forests were depleted of the natural bark tannins and a substitution of chromium salts for vegetable tannins.

Our cousin, Dr George C Mosch, took an interest in the tanning procedure, writing one of the bulletins for the Potter County Historical Society on this very subject. I will share his article in my next post.
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Image may contain: outdoor and text
Image may contain: possible text that says 'Bark Peelers at Work'
Image may contain: tree and outdoor, possible text that says 'Typical Bark Peelers Shed'

15You, Larry Herbstritt, Brenda Kenealy Williams and 12 others
11 Comments
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Comments
Larry Herbstritt
I wonder if the chemicals Lee Howard Lincoln and his sons made for tanning was derived from the Hemlock bark.
Like · Reply · 1d

Paul Lynn Gardner
I'm not sure what their chemical was. I remember seeing a white powdery substance at their plant in South Coudersport. Not sure if it was a tanning product or some other substance in the finishing of leather. Interesting question.
Like · Reply · 1d

Paul Lynn Gardner
Larry Herbstritt, I just messaged Tom Shirey, who worked at Lincoln summers while in college. He replied with the following: "We made all kinds of stuff for the leather industry. "Bate" was a product used to take the hair off cowhides and prep the leather for multiple steps in the tanning process. Most of the goods we produced were to make shoe leather....we were offered a discount on dress shoes via some of the shoe makers. Lincoln's had 2 plants...Coudy and Port Allegany. We unloaded very heavy bags of quebracho out of boxcars in Port. This South American tree is/was used as a very rich source of tannin. That product was processed in a giant mixer. When it got clogged up...usually a fellow about our age...
Gary Draybert,
climbed up a ladder with a big rubber mallet and beat the sides of the mixer/vat. Sometimes, he stuck his head inside and whacked the inside with his mallet. After this chore ...he needed a break to be able to breathe again. Chances are good that he developed some sort of cancer, like the rest of us...including me and Dave Schaub. Quebracho is nasty. It was rec'd from Mexico in 100lb. burlap sacks. No "ears" or anything to grab onto.....just wrap your arms around the bag and LIFT."
My response: Thanks for laying out your experience. I'm in a discussion with some folks about the use of Hemlock tannin. Funny how LH Lincoln was in our back yards while growing up in South Coudy, but few of us really knew anything about about what that white powdery stuff was that we saw all around the place. I assumed it was all one product. Interesting to know that they produced more than one leather chemical. I also didn't realize, until recently, that
the guy who purchased the company from the Lincoln family, lived in our old house on S. Main St. from 1974 to 1991. Earl Bliss was an engineer from that large tannery in Elkland.
1Like · Reply · 18h · Edited

John C Wetzel
Paul Lynn Gardner Tom Shirey and Dave Schaub had cancer? Sorry, I did not know. I hope they've both beaten it. I was just reading about the site, its demolition and cancer stats in the neighborhood, but nothing scientific. I wonder. Per wiki- "The sulphited quebracho extract may be (carcinogenic) in mice." On the other hand, "Other recent studies show that quebracho tannins present a strong anti-mutagenic activity."
Like · Reply · 1m

Donna Murdock
Very interesting!!!
Like · Reply · 1d

Susanne Brown
I have the family bark peeler and axe and the Silas X Billings log stamp. Anyone know the story behind Silas X Billings?
1Like · Reply · 1d

Paul Lynn Gardner
From what I found, in the 1870s Silas X Billings had a sawmill along with housing and a store on Cedar Run (Lycoming County’s Pine Creek) and also had 20,000 acres of Hemlock Bark.
Like · Reply · 23h

Susanne Brown
My father said his father (Carl) was a peeler. I understand the peelers worked in May and June when the bark was loose enough for peeling (no matter when the hemlock had been cut down). Carl used a sledge or bobsleds pulled by his team of oxen because they would stand still for a long time.
2Like · Reply · 19h · Edited

Susanne Brown
Carl's son, Wilson, liked to say "...The Dutchmen (Germans) worked the woods, The Hungarians (any Slav i.e. Czechs etc. were called Hungarians) worked the tanneries and the Italians worked the railroads". Carl peeled tanbark right up to the end of the tanneries in Germania/Galeton area.
"
3Like · Reply · 19h

Paul Lynn Gardner
Susanne Brown, it does not surprise me that our family had something to do with Hemlock bark harvesting and the tanneries. Those old Germans were a hearty and ambitious lot. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Like · Reply · 18h

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