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NALE Ethelaa Stoddard. Richardson Page 1
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
In Adamsville, one of more hilly sectIons of the town of Colrain,
is a run down farm. The buildings and barns are neglected and lean-
ing inward and the farm land has grown up with brush and weeds. Any
resident will tell you how successful the place once was. "Why they
was a medda (meadow) so big on thet place thet it would take ya five
minutes to go from the Darn to the other end of the medda by machine.
They had about seventy or eighty head of stock and a big amount of
land, now 'bout all tf,ey is left on the farm is one caow and a pair
ot hoeses. The Old Charlie White, father to the boy that has the
place now, was "clost" on money. When he was livint they was plenty
at money in the fai_ ly and he kep thet big farm right up in apple-
pie order. Yuh, Charlie was thot to be pritty wealthy. But "Babe"
thet's what people call his son George,he watnt nothin like his
old man. He was the only boy and he got himself inta more fixes.
His Father had to pay most of his notes and then George went right
thru all the money his Father left him when he died. He spent his
money on hosses. He dealt foolishly you know, swappin' and tr dint
and a good team cost seven or eight hundred dollars a lick. 'Mounts
up but he never paid no heed and he's righ where we knew he'd ue.
He want like his Father ant none of his children are like him just
an oda one, I guess. They was an old Yankee family hereabouts too.
George is a great big fella, a little stooped L,houldered and he
wears big rubber boots. He sure looks funny. And he's got a swagger
that,ud beat all. he chews tobacca and while he's tellin/ one of his
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TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
yarns he will sway back and forth from side to side when he walks
across the floor to spit in the stove. he's the darndest bragger..
When he's tellin' one of his tall yarns his eyes will oulge and he
glares at whosever listenin' to him. His face gets all red and he's so
convincin, he believestis own tales. His stories are mostly 'bout
his big dealin's with hosses and he descrioes the teams and how hard
he worked 'em and then palma them off on someone when they wan't no
more use to him. He'd take a young team or just a "green" team and
work 'em so hard on a lumoer job without feedin, em right and when they
was done in, he'd swap em oack to the fella he got them from or some
poor cuss that didn't know what they'd been •thru. It wan't that he
aian't feed his teams out he didn't feed 'em right for the work they
was doin'. One day he'd fill them up with morel/a they could eat and
then when the feed was gone meoby they'd go three or four days without
anythin' and he'd still work 'em just as hard on the loggin, jobs.
Ijon't know how many hosses hey died on him. Now he's down 'bouts low
as -he can git.
One of George's favorite pastimes when it came the season, was
to go down to the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield, Lass. and enter
his teams in the pullin' contests. If he want entering a team, he
still hed to go and watch the contests and it was a good place to
swagger around and git in a mite of thet braggin, of hisin. I'll
lay thet more people know George than any other man in the County and
they don't know too much good of him neither. Yessir, George is a
NAIE Ethelda Stoddard. Richardson
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
great fella for hosses and oraggini."
Shelburne F las, home of Yankee families almost entirely since
1760 has a wealth of peculiar persons whose individual traits are
subjects of common conversation and amusement. Proud old English
families have degenerated thru poverty or certain members of the
families have oy their extreme differences separated themselves
from their families. Such4a one is Frank Knowlton, descendant of
a fine, old famay. They were once a wealthy frnrily. Frank's
father w s a plumber but the family was well-to-do for a numper of
years. Frankie is a town character and has been for a long time.
he is now almost eighty years old and has a string of pins for going
to Sunday School without missing a session for twenty-five years.
Frankie lived for some time in an old wood shed that he had propped
up to keep it in an upright position, he papered the outside in stra-
tegic places and lived a quiet, solitary life here. Frank's guardian
called the hill on which the old wood -shed home was situated, "Knowlton
Heights". It pleased Frank immensely and people accepted it seriously
and tho Frank no longer lives there the hill is often referrea to as
"Knowlton Heights."
Frankie h's an amusing voice. It is a distinct shock when one
first hears it and will cause a person to look in the direction from
which it is emanating almost instantly. One will smile too oefore
seeing the source of the sound and the smile unless subdued will
continue to grow as Frank appears in one's line of vision. Frank's
NAIE Ethelda Stoddard Richardson Page 4
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
VOice is well known too. He hangs around the different stores
listening and talking and some one is always ready to start a
conversation with him knowing it will provide amusement for every
one within range of his talking. It is a high, squeaky voice
with a slight nasal twang out Frank likes to use it and people
like to mimic him. So it is a vicious circle. Frank thinks it
is all very complimentary and so he talks even more and in an
higher and more excited voice.
To all appearances Frankie would seem to be a poor old man.
he isn,t but he wants to appear that way. His father left him
some money but Frankie prefers his poverty as long as he can keep
hie hobbies. he dresses in clothes almost as flimsy as he is him-
self and keeps them up in his own individual style. They are the
che pest clothes the stores in town sell and winter often finds
him in cotton trousers in his own effort to 3e economical in his
personal needs. Another example of his extreme -economy is his
determ:nation to live in places that barely afford a shelter.
Since his guardian persuaea him to move from his wood -shed on
Knowlton Heights because of the difficulty of reaching it in
the winter and oecause it was dangerous to leave such an old man
alone, Frankie ha e found an ideal place. It is, as Sheiburnites
locate places, two farms in b•ck of the Field !ansion. In an old
chicen house behind the farm house, Frankie has found a home to
his liking. The chicken house is in much better repair than his
old shed home and Frankie is stisfied. Here he "stirs up "his"
V.:SE Ethelda Stoddard Richardson
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
Page 5
vittles", carries on his "work" and his aLusements, entertains
"visitors" and his one "pal" and thus he lives a very full life.
Recognizing the ic.Ct that personalities are best shown by ance,
dotes this little one which almost everyone knows oout Frankie
may be told. Frankie does his own cooking and has done it most
of his life so by now he is a fairly good cook.
Le is as frugal with, his food as anything else in his scheme
of things. While he does not stint himself too much on his eating
he does make inexpensive dishes and is very careful to make every
inLredient count and there are no "left-overs."
One morning Frankie's bosom friend his only intimate com-
panion p-ia him an unexpected visit while Frank was cooking his
breakfast. Re was having pan cakes and had just turned over a few
nice brown ones when his friend si -led up to his cook stove. The
old fellow allowed that the pun cakes looked good but Frank said
quickly almost too quickly to be friendly YYou can look out
you haint goin, to git any!" The old fellow told of the incident
down town and the story "got around." People pothered Frank a
lot after theA oout being stingy with his "vittles."
Frank had little schooling out in some ways he showed interest
in things that more intelligent persons might choose. He is a
c-mera fiend. Pursuing the subject for some time he has never -the
less learned little of the actual rudiments of taking gbod or even
interesting snap -shots. he just has an idea that a picture should
oe taken and proceeds impulsively to do so. Pr_;.nk was a little
N;S1E Ethelcia Stoddard Richard.son Pace 6
TCPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
disconcerted when a store which he had taken some time to photo-
6raph from an unusual an6le turned out to oe upside down. Frankie
developes his own films and maintains quite a outfit for the pro-
cess in his humule auode. Not all of it is useful but it provides
atiLosphere. Another of Frankie's hoboies is playin6 old phono-
6raph records. he has quite a collection of ooth phonci,raphs and
records because anyone ir6 town who has an old phono6raph that they
don't really waalt to throw away, gives it and their stack of records
to old Frankie. Amon6 his collection is an old Edison cylindrical
machine with' a monstrous "mornin6-lory" horn attached to it for
amplification. he has one cylinder record for this machine of which
he is inordinately proud. It is a recorded speech oy Calvin Coolie
made when he WctE President of the Un:Aed States. Anyone who visits
Frankie is immedi,tely ushered in to hear this speech and one is
forever in Frank's 600d graces if they show marked enthusiasm for
the selection. When anyone i:,ives him a number of old records, he
plays them all and if he finds one that he likes very much he must
share it. He tries to interest his 612 rUian first of all out if
he is not availaole then his old pal "3ill" is sou6ht. Frank. spends
a lot of his time looking for son -eons with whom to share his "music
Prouaoiy Frankie 's Lreatest pas ,ion is 6oin6; to Sunday School re6u-
larly. It has Peen mentioned that he has cone for twenty-five years
of consecutive Sundays without missin6 ana ha s won all the attend-
ance pins several times. He is even I:Aire proud of these pins than
YAYE Ethelda Stoddard Richardson Page 7
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Fr,nkiin County
his President Coolidge speech recol.d. This is almost the
first fact one will find out out Frank.
All the time that Frank can spare away from his camera work
or his phonograph playing is spent in working. Frank mows lawns
whenever he hs the chance and for convenience and ese in moving
his lawn mower he has it mounted on two old baby -carriage wheels.
With this "riggin" he can.move from lawn to lawn with little trouble.
The other work that Frank does includes his crony Bill Davis,
better known as "Barnacle Bill the S ilor Man." Bill is almost
the character that Frank is, which explains their friendship some-
what. An identifying mark about Bill are his "puttees". He always
wears them. Bill differs from Frank in that he did find woman
who would marry him. They raised a big family of children out Bill
doesn't know where any of them are now. One very rarely sees Bill's
wife.he stays very close to the house. Once in a great while,
she may ue seen hanging clothes on the line.
Bill, however, "gets around."
takes then, around the town quite a
boxes for fuel. People and stores
His and Frank's work always
lot. They pick up rubbish and
set their old cartons and pack-
ing boxes out and the men pick it up. Sometimes Bill picks up a
little too_much so that if there is anything one doesn't want to
be taken they must lock it up. It's all grist that comes to Bill's
mill.
Bill and Frankie have a large two -wheel push cart in which they
ther their "fuel". It is an ingenious ffair and is somewhat like
NAME Ethelda Stoddard Richardson Page 8
TOPIC Study of Folklore in Franklin County
the convenient, movaole "table" that p per -hangers use. The cart
has large wheels and built up sides so that they can pile in ouite
a load. They did have one before they pickea up this newer cart
with huge "buggy" wheels on it. It became a little unwieldy how-
ever in the cramped spaces into which the'y had to go to get the
ru0oish. Frank and Bill are euite a sight tugging and pushing
their old cart around with boz.es and oad pieces of wood and cartons
stacked high on it. The men are getting pretty ola now. It shows
in their work. There is a long, out not too steep hill from Shelourne
Falls center up to where Frank lives and the two old fellows have
to push their cart up hill here of course. About half way up the
hill they have to stop and rest.
If this isn't evidence of native cleverness in practical affairs,
then nothing is. There is also not a little artfulness in them.
It is not necessary for either Frank or Bill to gather rubbish like
they do. Frank hs money but he wouldn't think of using it not so
keus
much that he is saving it to will to any relative because heAno very
near relatives. He just wants to keep it int. ct. And Frank will
never tell anyone he has money in fact he will impress one with
the opposite. Bill hasn't as much as Frank. Raising a large family
would not allow a less than orainary man to accumulate too much
money. However he hasn't had his favAly- for a few years now and
thru skimping and saving and accepting everything but actual charity
he must have a little "1 id by". Still, old as they are, and des-
cendants of a proud group of ancestors the Englith they will
almost
work
than their bodies can stand and degrade themselves
to salve other people's wast materials just to save a few dollars
they could well afford to spend.