Document text
ORIGINAL MSS. OR FIELD NOTES (Cheek one)
PUE, Living Lore in
New England
TITLE William Hall East Otis
WRITER Edward Welch
DATE 2/1/39
CHECKER
Pa. 10
•••=1111110•1•61••••••iiMin.i.
DATE
SOURCES GIVEN
'10MMEN'TS
Interview
Ihr
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112 -lattlh L6IALLT,
1, 13
VJL LortE
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Ltij 7 161 Oii XkJLLj
sill hall is forty-five years old, five feet
el6ht, one nunurea aria ei6hty pounus of handsome man-
noou. is once °lona hair is now 6rey$ out his olue
e,ies are as merry and -;ay as when I first knew him
over thirty jears a6o. ill saKs in u low voice
Jr nis words out with precision, carefully
selectin6 words and phrases. cpIrd and then he will
use a word or a phrase typical of the Jerkshire hill
towners. bill ana his wife own and operate the
Last otis :41-ocery 6tor e which is also the Post office,
the only PackaLe 6tore in ,,-LJ_s and the meetin8 place
for the whole town.
bill was oorn in 6prin8iield, the son of a pros-
Jerous florist. i-le bill was still youn6, his rather
lAk.t6 persuaded to enter the real estate ousiness on a
small scale. he was so successful in the new enter-
prise that the florist concern was soiu and -hall,6enior
devoted himself to ouyin6 seliin6 land and houses.
-ometnin unforeseen camel r. hLal could not meet
Certain ooli6ations and was forced into Oankruptcy.
The family moved to 'iolland, a berkshire foothill town
when bill was6pout ten years °la, epectin6 to return
to the city "sometime soon.". They never left lolland
and bill has oeen a berksnive all towner ever since.
1,-LbAL-hLbErilb
WELCh
ADDRESS 112 ic6RTH bihz.LT, FilT6iIELJ
OFL. 1VI FE3h-oARY 1, 1939
blit)12.(.1 LIV1G LLhE
1i iLLHALL
A.dohitlbb LAbl U1I6 EubTi)FFICE
Although not strictly a native of 3erkshire,
rnill hall is representative of tne younger men of Yankee
stock who have something to say out the way 3erkshire
is *run.* In the earlier days lankees formed the
oackoone of the county out with the coming of immigrant
stock in the :Lath century, their rule was seriously
challenged and more often than not wrested from them.
Jut some oi the younger men of iankee oackground have
managed to hang 011 to the reins of iJow.n.. Ao tnis
groL,p iiJ± hail oeiongs.
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
Bill Hall was in his combination Grocery Stare) Post Office and
Package Store when I dropped in for a chat. I've known Bill far years)
and since I used to live in Otis we had a good deal of gossiping to do.
In the course of chatting about this and that, we happened on our
youth, and I asked Bill about his school days.
"You didn't always go to school in the country did you) Bill?"
Bill settled in his old arm chair and stroking the black cat)began
talking in his slow) almost dragging voice.
"Well, I was only a kid when the folks moved up to Tolland from
Springfield. I'd had a few years in the Springfield Granular School and
I'll never forget how funny the country school was to me. Gosh) I
didn't know what to make of only one teacher teaching all the kids in
all different grades. The first day I went) the teacher told me I had
to do certain chores. There weren't many boys in the school that year
and we had to divy up the jobs of keeping tie wood box filled, sweeping
the floors, cleaning the blackboards and stuff like that. The one
job no one wanted to do was the work of policing the out_houses. We
hated that like anything. And do you know it was the first job the
teacher gave me. Didn't hurt me none. Good for kids to have work to
do, but was it a coma -down for me? I was a city kid and thought I
knew about everything though I wasn't over ten years old.
"I was mad as the deuce and I guess I was fresh enough to talk
back to the teacher and tell her so only she was pretty. I guess
most boys fall for a teacher sometime during their school years, but I
started out young. I thought there was nobody like her. She was a
beauty all the young bucks in town were waiting on her hand and foot.
-2
Name Edward E. delch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
I remember when summer vacation came, I was all upset because she was
going to her home down near Boston, and I wouldn't see her until fall.
I wasn't very good in school as a rule full of mischief and always
ready to play hookey when I had a chance. Well sir, I was so blamed godd
with that teacher the folks thought I was going to be sick or die. She
left after a year or two and I dontt remember that my streak of goodness
lasted very long. Boys sure are the limit."
Bill looked reflective stroking the cat slowly. I began to think
about a high school teacher I once had --but this wasn't getting me any
material for my work.
"Say, Dill, I've often wondered how you happened to get started
trapping like you do. The boys up town were telling me you made the
best catches in town this year. You must be darn good."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that. It's all in the hang of it. I been
trapping so long, I guess you just got to catch something once in a while."
Bill was plainly confused by the praise. "It was while I was still in
school that I began trapping. Might never have started if a fox hadn't
got my pet cat. Darn fox came right into the yard, grabbed that cat and
was off without a minute's wait. I was heart -broken. The cat was about
the smartest animal I've seen used to sleep on my bed nights and follow
me around like a dog. Well, sir, after that fox killed my cat, I was
ready to kill every fox I could find. I started out trapping and I've
been at it ever since. Of course trapping is just a side -line with me
never was anything else. It's a good business, but you have to have other
things to turn to because there's too much uncertainty in it. I've done
-3.
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
a lot of different jobs in my time. I wasn't very old when my father
died and I had to do my best to help support mother. They were running
a wood turning shop down in New Boston you know the old red mill down
near Dominick Competti's. I went down there and got a job turning out
handles for a hardware shop in Torrington. Mr. Deming the owner was a
fine man to work for. He was a typical old-time Yankee, always experi-
menting and building queer contraptions. Give him a piece of steel,
an old file maybe and he could turn out the slickest knife you ever
saw. On another floor of the old mill they made barrel heads. They
used almost any kind of wood for that stuff. I guess that was the
last of Sandisfield's real industry. I worked there until the shop
closed down and then did odd lumbering jobs.
"About 19132 after my brother had given me a banjo, I took a
correspondence course aria learned to play it. Then with Sammy Spring,
the town's fiddler, we ran dances at the Otis Town Hall. We didn't
make much money at first but we had a grand time. I've played with
Sammy, off and on, ever since. Every year during Exposition tieek we
play at the old barn at Stows Village at the Eastern States Exposition
Grounds. I was with San when he played for Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt
at the Annual Scouts Rally, Hotel Statler Boston and at several other
shindigs, sponsored by SOMR of the leading people of the country.
"Music isn't the only thing I studied by correspondence. I once
took a course of cartooning, just for the fun of it, from the Landon
School. I've had a lot of fun doing cartoons, but nothing commercial.
-4
/Tame Edward E. 'Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
Later) I took a course of drawing from the International Correspondence
School. That) too, was interesting; taught 1134 a lot. No I've never
done much with either of these courses) but I've had a lot of fun just
licking some of those tough assignments. I suppose if I were to live
in a good-sized city, I might go after some kind of an art job. But
why should I) living here. Small to life is my meat. Folks, city
folks, don't really live. They just exist. Every day of their lives
is rush, rush, rush. Always in a hurry and going nowhere damned fast.
Of course I'm particulRrly fortunate. The wife and I have a good busi-
ness here and we're making money. Not a lot but enough to live on,
real comfortably. And we don't have toxuah around like city folks
running a stare. We have to work hard sometime) but our work isn't a
continual grind. When we want to relax, we relax. City folk never
really relax, don't know how.
"You know I admire folks with college degrees. It must be pretty
nice to stru,gle through book after book toacquire a B.A., Ph.D. and
all that. Now that class of folks are the real backbone of a nation.
They're the thinkers and doers, they're the real brains of the universe,
but some one else is always capitalizing on their knowledge. For
instance) what would a big corporation do without the services of a big
time lawyer, an expert accountant) a master of English to write their
advertisements? But when you figure the income of these folks against
the income of the big corporation) there's a lot of difference. After
all we're all born to fill a certain niche in the scheme of things and
happy is the man who finds his niche. Sounds like real philosophy,
doesn't it?
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
"'Well, I've filled several niches.
"I guess the job I held the longest) fifteen years, was working
for the Van Dusen's as a handy man. They're people with more money
than they know what to do with. Mrs. Van Dusen is an heir to the
Singer Sewing Macnine fortune. Her first husband was a wealthy man,
but she divorced him toiMarry E. K. Lincoln, the old time star of the
silent movies. They have a big estate an Long Pond, one in New York,
one at Palm Beach, one in California. Guess what they do for diversion?
Raise chow dogs to exhibit. Now there's nothing real constructive in
that kind of a life; but they think so. They keep a man on their Otis
place year round to supervise. This fellow is my brother-in-law Harry.
1411,
He really hasn't much to do) except look after the cows and see that
no one gets on the property. For a time the Van Dusens had or thought
they had exclusive use of Long Pond. Never allowed anyone on it. They
owned three of the finest motor launches you ever saw and I can't re-
member one time they were ever used. We'd put than in the lake during
the summer months and jack then up in the boat house in the fall. Sane
people knowing that these boats were never used)tried to buy them from
the Van Dusens by bargaining) such as offering to paint the house, barns
and sheds but there was nothing doing. A year or two ago, Harry) that's
my brother-in-law, was ordered to take those boats out to the middle of
Long Pond and sink them. Of course he did as he was told, and there
they are to this day. It just goes to show you how little some big
people can be.
"For years the Van Dus ens had a monopoly on Long Pond. Any one
who tried to go on it was ordered off by an armed guard. Well, every-
-6
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
body around here got to hollering about it and so the State Department
of Conservation, along with the town of Blandford cut a fifty -foot
right of way from the North Blandford Road to the lake and gave the
Van Dusens to understand that the lake was state property and open to
use by the public. That move set those high hats back on their heels.
"The Van Dusens treated their help well enough, though. I never
had to kick on that, but they were so eternally small. Well after Mrs.
Van married E. K. Lincoln they made a couple of silent moving pictures
on the property. "The Littlest Rebel," was one, in fact the only title
I can remember. The leading roles were played by Lincoln and a cast
of New York ham actors. The crowd scenes and extra parts were played
by the locals. While this all was going on the town folks went about
the village with their make-up on. Some of the girls wouldn't take it
off, because they thought it made them look better, I guess. The whole
countryside was movie crazy. We all got the biggest kick out of watch-
ing Lincoln direct the scenes. One lad, I guess it was the Snow boy,
was to run on and tell the soldier that their quarters had been set
afire. Every time he made his entrance he came on)his face wreathed
in a silly smile and would say calmly, 'Hey, Yr. your house has been
set afire.' I bet Lincoln worked with the kid for more than an hour
to make him act really upset. Wasn't the yolingster's fault. With all
the townspeople watching, the kid naturally felt embarrassed. In the
horse scenes where they'd show the cavalry on the gallop, that's where
the extras had a lot of fun. They'd come on, a -tearing hell for leather.
ITame Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
Don't forget country kids could ride horses in those days, bare-
back or any other way. Getting paid four dollars a day for being a
movie extra was darneu easy money for the local kids. I don't believe
the pictures made here amounted to much. I never heard anything about
any af them except one was shown in Pittsfield. No one from the town
went as I know of."
"What did you do after you left the Van Dusens, Bill?"
"Well, from the time when I was a boy in Tolland I trapped. I
wasn't too successful and had to do a lot of experimenting to get any-
where. I read every game magazine I could lay my hands ons ads and all.
You know most of those sporting magazinesprint articles by guys who
think they're expert trappers. They lead you to believe that they're
giving you the complete lowdown of their methods, but they always leave
the most important, 'how -to -get -then -in -your -trap', out. I tried every-
thing I read. Several times I sent ten or fifteen dollars away in
answer to adas offering to tell you the secrets of trapping. It was
good money thrown away. Ana the proper scents to use; why there are
thousands advertised and only three that are any good. Well, it took
me fifteen years to develop a technique that I consider one hundred
percent perfect. Come downstairs, I'll show you the result of three
week's trapping. Here's sixteen skins, ten reds and six greys. Here
are several coons and muskrats. I guess that proves my technique works.
In spite of this I don't consider myself an expert trapper. You know
when a fellow gets to the point that he feels there is nothing new to
learn, he's on the skids. Trapping to me is a hobby. I only set about
-8
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
fifteen traps. Why there are some folks in this town) the Bartons in
particular) that have trap lines the length and breadth of the county.
Sam and nis dad. Sam runs a garage during the summer) his father a
boarding house and during trapping season they work the trap line. You
know our trapping season is a short one. Last fall was a good season)
aidn't have any freeze -ups to amount to much and not much snow. Up in
the North they can trap the year round because the snow is much drier.
Here we're liable to get a suaden thaw followed by a just as sudden
freeze and that ruins our season. For instance in trapping for fox
tne trap is set in a spring. Jell) if we had a sudden freeze-up over
night all your work is lost. Your set would freeze over. Now I'll show
you the perfect set for fox. First you locate a spring near a brook or
river. You waue up the watercourse
a flat stone firmly so it won't tip
that stone you place your trap with
to the spring. On one edge you set
or give. Then about a foot from
a small round piece of turf on the
trigger. Fox are like dogs) they like old rotted meat or carrion) but
don't like to wet their feet. Now a certain distance from the partly
submerged trap you put a rock upright and on that put your bait) just
as if some bird had dropped it there. The bait can be rotted cat
wood chuck meat with the fur still on it, and on the fur side you.
your scent.
"Mr. Fox trotting through the woods comes along sniffing and
a scent of the bait. He comes near it and steps on the rock and
or
put
catches
then
on the piece of turf covering the trigger of the trap and he's a goner.
You've got him cold as a cucumber. And that's all there is to it.
"Name
2u-vvaru E. ,elcn
Title Lore
,ssi6nment East (it is
Toile Bill Hall
"Tne way I'm going on you'll think ail I do is trek,.
I like tring-- and I get an awful kick out of catching some
really good lelts but I'm really a store keei_er. Ida does do
lot around 6it store. ,he's Lot a :,00d head for business
_ma-- and she knows ho. store ought to look. riwoman Ida.
"1 suobe business is rater dull these 6,1-„s with the
PC,LIS SO Isu."
"dell, it could be oetter but along in the middle of
the afternoon it'5, alsys i_retty quiet here. They'll start
Icoing inG o get the mail in about an hour or so. Of course Ltis
isn't like it used to oe around war time onen there W9S real
ousiness in this tolNh. I don't sui_Tose Otis ever saw such busi-
ness as it ,44144i.-roin II6o 1920. ..;hy there were seven saw
4
mill outfits coin g hi •it &thci day. The storekee,er uj,) at the center
tolo me ne used to sell most a thousand bushels of grain every
week to the lumbel4acks. eturday niht the town was full of them
burin at the stores going to the ,range dAces and just
getting' around. -2,verboey was cutting their timber and selling
it at to ,rices. 7::ut all that's gone now and I don't thinic it'll
ever cone oac?, 2ou:ose we get -long fairl well. JA'ere's a few
lair farms in the town and there's always rcau ouilaing and re-
jairin_ to tall oack on ,ihen times Let taught) but .e could do
with a littiu „_ros,erit."
The first customer of the afternoon arrived--- she was
evidentally bij iui uj. for the week ank:, was going, to nake a, long
,rocess of it. Ever article was exarainedldiscussed and argued
over before sne aLreeu to buy. Tt was time for me to go.
-9
Name Edward E. Welch Assignment East Otis
Title Living Lore Topic Bill Hall
"As I said before there are a good many kinds of scents, literally
thousands) of them on the market; and not over three worth a penny.
Lost of them are ma e of anise a skunk scent and other things like
that. I don't try to make any scents but send to Iowa for the kind I use
"Now that deer season is on, I have about ten fox pelts hanging
up in tne store. Deer hunters go for these like hot cakes; and those
pelts are dirt cheap at five dollars each.
"You know if I were one of these out -of -town -lads that come up here
for the deer season, I'd hate like hell to go back home empty-handed.
L:ost of these lads are pretty wise. If they don't get a deer, they at
least take along a fox pelt. You know how most wives are. They hate
like the dickens to see money spent without some return. In fact most
women would much rather have a nice fox fur neck piece than a deer,
anyways.
"It doesn't cost much to have one made up in a neck piece, about
ten aollars or so. That includes the price of tanning, processing and
the making up of it.
"I am going to give Ida) that's my wife, eight pelts so that she
can have a nice cape made of then. Tbey're to be made from the pelts
of grey fox. They make up the classiest of all, and they look pretty
ritzy. You know how women are they always want the thing other
women are wearing. Iaa says fox capes are the latest thing in New
York. Guess she'll have the latest right here in Otis all right.