From the diary of Ms. Marjorie Rose Ghering Geary, daughter of Tompkins Ghering and Mary Swaney Ghering of Old Mission:
We had a wonderful horse named “Barney.” He was black and of medium size. Mother and I drove him to town on a mid-Winter day with a light sleigh. The days were short, as even now, and it was getting dark when we started home. The snow was so deep that Barney leaped and broke the whippletree out of the sleigh.
He was worried about Mom and me and blew his nose at each of us trying to sympathize and converse. The he resolutely started home and went to a window and whinnied until Dad noticed him. Dad knew what must have happened, so he harnessed a team and hitched them to a big flat sleigh and came after us. We would have frozen! No traffic!
Dad kept Barney and his mate long after he had a tractor.
