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14)
Fran1
is Don van
Thomaston, Conn.
Tuesday,Dec. 13
138
INEMENNOWNEX
1. -Mr. Botsford is absorbed tom in a "History of Plymou which I
loaned him WNOMORIpac on my last visit. As I enter,he looks u from the
volume. "I thought you'd show 1110 about now," he says. was just lookin'
through the book. Lot of folks here I remember well 01 Man Sutliffe here,
he built that hou,e over on Marine street --first hou on the street.
wasn nothin' but a cow
(7hen we first move '7 up here that street
track. You Graiiiiix could lonk righ across the eadow from here and
see old Sutliffe's house There used to be a spring up in back of there--
suprlied all the houSes in this section iIfler of 1870. Had a big droughth
that year. Driest period I ever knew.
two and those tlaat weren't dry were v
Al1 the wells were dry but one or
ry low. Used to get water for the
shop hands from that spring over t ere —big 'luckets of it,they'd carry down
to the shop. There was only one we left in Plymouth with water in it.
That well,furnished water for th whole town of Plymouth. Lots of folks here
ouldn't let nobody outside the families use
who had -water in their wells
em.
"Here's Old Baldwi2rS picture.
they us Ae call thei,aldwin section.
d to
He
came from over
back of
Plymouth —what
I remember him —first time ever
saw him was when I WIJI gain' to school. Old Baldwin was on the school
comrittee. He care down one noon —or four o'clock --I forget when it was —and
he called all the children out of school. He had a big long ash stick --seven
or eight feet long —and a wooden box. He opened up the box,and out slid a
rattiesnake—first one I ever saw. He kept proddin' that thing around with tici
stick,explainin' about it and how he'd caught it,and all us kids was rooted
through,
there -scared it would get away from, him. 7ut it d t
when he was
he lust steered it back in the brx as n
1.tbrju please.
"Herp's Dorrenc- At ter--t'iat's the man who kept the records in
Andersonville prison and helped Ilara Parton to ind the graves of 1the
Union -oldiers. Here's old Dr Ioodruf' and Judge Bradstreet and Frank
Etheridge. Some of them look just as natural-- Mr. Botsford closos the
book. "It's a real *Ow pleasure to look through that book again -1
haven't seen one of them in a 1-ng time.
"Now what was we talkint about yesterday. Nationalities,for one thing.
I told you how the Slaglish and the Irish came in here first,and then the
Germans and then the scotch and the Swedes and then the Russians and the
Polacks. le never got many Italian families and only one or two Jews.
The -e wls some Polish Jews came here a number of y7mrs agotworked in the
shop. They was always lookin' for live poultry and such that they could
kill ac-ordint to their beliefs—kosher,or whatever you cll it.
The Scotch used to hlve scme 7reLt times here. Had what they c'lled
ailiallex Caledonian society. :very summer they used to Sialliihe have picnioe
up to Ely's grove --sore called it Caledonia. They used to have running and
,Timning and nole v-,ulting,and tossing the caber,-nd hammer throwing. Old
Tom K:'11 ---he was young Tom then --he used to be best at pole vaulting. nd
old 7010 Innes -18 the champion at tossing the caber. He was as strong as an
by one end
ox. That caber looks like a young telegraph pole. They grab it
and hoist it up in the air,then they run a few' feet with it and Rive it a
heave--i, very interestint thing to watch.
Then they always had a greased pig chase,and climbin* a g -eased pole.
knd they had what they called a sword dance --and ol,old custom,came down fro
the Scottish Highlands. They'd lay these two swords down,with the edges up,
and dance in between tem. The idea was never to touch the edge. In the old
daysIthey say ,they did it with razor sharp sworda,and if you toucd one of
them it was too bad.
-3
"Had a Hibernian Society here,but they wasn't -!uite so active. They always
went to laterbury to parade on Saint Patrick's Day. They'd usually have rainy
weather, and thy'd have to wade up to their ankles in 31011K.mud. There
wasn t any pavements in them days.
"I ever show you my library? Might find somethine of interest." Mr.
Potsford leads the way into the front room. The "library" is a glass -enclosed
bookcase —half a dozen shelves crammed with books assorted sizes and
varied subject matter. There am is a set of "The American Cyclopedia;"
a number of Scott's Bibles; a huge vd1,:me entitled "The Living lorld',"
containing illustrations and descriptions of every an'mal known to manpand
which Mr. Botsford declares. came as a premium zpiftellic with the purchase of
-a suit of clothes: a s all volume of earl: American poetry; a number of
nüau histbries; a set of 100 "Famous Detective Stories," a
"Concordance," which Mr. Botsfa,d explains will give t you the exact
verses in the 73ible in which to find desired -uotes: and several other
v61 Imes.
"Here's something," says Mr. Botsford,pullinc out a thickish red
novered book entitled "The American Indian:" "Now this was a favorite
of mine when I was a kid." He turns the pages,disclosing brightly colored
prints of the famous Indian chieftains--Tecumseh,Joseph Brant,King EMOMMIOX
King Philip. Mr.Botsford points to Joseph Brant. "He was a white man --the
skunk--masouerad'n' as an Indian." There is gariadiligiankIPPIPIPx a vivid re-
production of Capt.John Smith's harrowira experience,which Mr. Botsford
confesses was allays one of his favorit2s. Shows Mr. Smith 4411111111.101111101%
AWN' being raiiimikletiwOOMMftcx rescued SIMPOMNOMMOW by Pocahontas. Most of
these books have been published in the 1850's.
"Here's somethin' else. Mr Botsford ridOIWOMOMit
reaches into the
bookcase,brings forth a small box,from which he re-oves the cover. "Visitin'
cards," says he. "It used to be an old habit to swap these cards with your
"There's a good story about them advertising m cards. You remember how
olc:1 Mr. T.,mmon,the druggist,used to stutter.
Then he first came to town
here and, went to work in the drug store,there was another fellow used to
aNMPIONOOmix stu-ter lust as badoname was Fred Birch.
"Birch went into the store one day,and he says,'G-g-g-g-imme, s -s -s -some
advertisint c-c-c-ards.1 Lemmon saysptYou g -g -g -get the h-hhell auta here.
Thought he m was mockin' him,you see.
",k17 the merchants handled them Cards. Sometimes they'd give you
one or two,sometimes,if they was in a Rood humor,they'd give you a whole
stack or 'em.
t_ "Cards came in cigarette packages later,the kids took to collectint
them. knd some of them gave out printed flags of all countries. Idea was
to pet al many differe-t flags as you could,and then the girls would m-ke
sofa nillows out of them.
C"Times change. In t'ae old days,there was so little to do,now its all
difrerent. The kids now have a million things they can do."