Document text
CRIGI14L MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Cheek one)
PUB. Living Lore in New England
(Massachusetts)
TITLE, Old Irish Mill worker Edward OfWeil
WRITER Louise G. Bassett
JUTE 11/08 IDS. PP. 5
CHECKER DATE
SOURCES GIVEN Interview
COMMENTS
Lalschusetts
ktE OF 'Louise G. Bassett
D ES Brookfield, ,.assach.cisetts
DATE Hovember 1938
LOT Living Lore
AiLAND Ajr.DREaS OF INFOATT. Edward O'Neil, Brookfield,
Lassachusetts.
Edward O'N'eil was born in Brookfield, Lassachusetts,
-Lie son of Daniel O'Neil, an Irish immigrant and
Sarah Pritchard, daughter of a I'oreign%iissionary.
Daniel O'ITeil a railroad -orker anCL famier vas a
hani bitten man with little education and a
jecided contempt for any one ho ha. Lrs. O'Neil
was gentle and sweet, but completely terrified by
her domineering husband. For 'oars tl, lived in
a small house in an isolated part of Brookfield.
Edward O'Neil has always lived in Brookfield.
Jhen very young he refused to go to school aii_. no
one in thetaily made him. He has never done much
:iork oda jobs now and again, but has depended on
his hardworking sisters to keep n s. he scorn any
art in the community affairs except to criticize
something he does well and often.
(2)
3TATE' Lassachus ett,s
..::ALE OF .ii0a:raa'R Louise G. Bassett
Brookfield, -assachusetts
DATE Noveiaber 8, 1938
Living Lore
ki\TD OF IiFuaudTT Edward O'Neil, Brookfield,
Lassachusetts
His only "special skills" are negative a
large an. colorful vocabulary of cuss words
and a flaming temper ahich he does not attempt
to control.
is tali and rugged with keen blue eyes
ani.L a voice that can be heard all over
town. He aays he is eighty-three years
all, in spite of the town records which
liet his birth as 'November, 1858. The
town records are wrong, of course
Name: Louise G. Bassett Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: An Old Irishman tells
about Christmas
Edward O'Neil, who lives on the "old North Brookfield
road, is one of Brookfield's oldest but most vigorous inhabitants.
I met him the other day just as he was finishing a five
mile walk, his hancs full of bitter-sweet) lovelier than I have ever
seen around here. "Oh, where did you get it)" I exclaimed. "I won't
tell you," he snapped at me)" if I did you'd tell E.- ()rue one else
then they'd tell someone and purtty soon every fool in town would
be goin' there to get some an' there wouldn't be none left. I like
it myself an' I'm &An' to keep it fer myself long's I kin. I'll
give you a piece though) long's you want some so bad." He selected
a long branch with care.
"I'm saving this for Christmas" he added.
"What was the first Christmas you actually remember?"
I asked.
In his faded eyes I saw a far off dreamy look. "The
first Christmas I remember was when I was four years old. The
reason I remember it was because my mother gave me a big lump of
brown sugar with a few drops of peppermint on it. I nibbled at that
sugar a little bit at a time all day long and I can taste that
peppermint to this day. You see, we were sort of pioneer people
and we didn't have much nor not much to get anything with. Every
-inter in my early days was hard times.
Name: Louise G. Bassett
Title: Living Lore
Page 2
Assignment: Brookfield
Topic: An old Irishman tells
about Christmas
RThe only other present my mother had to give that
Christmas was a quarter of a dried orange peel and she give it to
my sister to put in her bureau drawer to make her clothes smell
sweet. 1,y father didn't know much about Christmas. He'd been
brought up by the Indians. His parents had been killed by redskins
and he lived with the Indians until he was nearly twenty. My mother's
parents were missionaries and of course she knew all about Christmas.
"I don't remember much about the Christmas's that came
after that one when I got the lump of sugar with the peppermint on
its until I was twelve years old when my father gave me six boughten
fish hooks. We made most of our fish hooks by forgin"em ourselves
before the fire. About that time my father got to flat boatin'
down the river. some time he'd be gone three or four months and
when he came back he'd bring back things like store clothes and
boots, and once he brought me a tie and then my mother'a hide 'em
away and kee, 'em and give 'em to us for Christmas, And from
September 'till Christmas us kidsla have lots of fun huntin'
around over the house and wonderin' what we was goin' to get.
"When I was fifteen my mother gave me a rifle of my
own for Christmas, My father'd got it in Boston and this, with
the exception of the one when I got the peppermint sugar, was my
best Christmas.
"I was a grown man almost twenty-one before I ever saw
a Christmas tree. A German family moved near us and they had a tree
Name: Louise G. Bassett
Page 3
Assignment: Brookfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: An old Irishman tells
about Christmas
every year. They dipped the little candles themselves, colored 'em
red with pole berry ink and fastened 'em on the trees some -how with
iild turkey ribs. I never'd seen anything so purty in my life as those
Christmas trees. We had to work awful hard in them mays but we had
our fun same as we do now. Well, if I aon't run acrost you again, I
wish you ilerry Christmas." Ana away he went, being stopped at every
half block by someone who wanted to know, "Where did you get that
lovely bitter sweet?"
But he only snapped "I won't tell you."