® 
ANNUAL MEETING, 1897. 505 
good to realize that from the small beginning thirty years ago when 
he had the privilege of being one of the dozen members who organ- 
ized this society, today it has a membership of over five hundred. 
It makes him feel good to see that there is a disposition to improve 
the home grounds, the school yard and the last resting place of the 
dead. I would ask nothing better than to have an old apple tree 
planted over my last resting place. I feel gratified and proud to see 
the work our society is accomplishing, and I trust it will keep on 
doing good through all the ages tocome. (Applause). 
The President: I see the secretary has put the president on the 
program to makeaspeech, I am notin the humor to makea speech 
ifthat were possible. I feel as though I had enough to do without 
being called on to make a speech. I have considerable on my mind 
to digest, and I am hardly ina condition to give forth anything 
until I have digested what I have received. I can only express my 
heartfelt thanks to the members of the society for their kindness to 
me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the very 
considerate manner in which you have treated me and for every- 
thing you have done to make the meeting of the society a success. 
The promptness with which you have responded to the program 
has been very gratifying to me, andl am particularly gratified with 
the expressions you have given of your approval of the work that I 
have done. I heartily second the remarks that have been made in 
regard to increasing the membership of our society in our imme- 
diate vicinities. I know very much could be done in that way; I 
know it from the little that Ihave done myself; and it will be just as 
easy for any one to do the work that Mr. Bush has done. I have 
often thought I would make a missionary of myself in my imme- 
diate neighborhood, and perhaps in the year to come I will do some 
work of that nature myself. I hope you will all feel encourged to 
work for the welfare of the society, knowing and feeling that you 
are doing a good work for the community in which you live. I 
thank you again for your kindness and considerate treatment of me 
in my official capacity,and trust we may all greet one another at our 
next annual meeting. 
If there is nothing further to come before the society I will 
declare the annual meeting adjourned. 
