Document text
7/7/27
Mr. G.O. Dunnell hay, Grain
and Feed Man
STATE
iALE .1F WORKER
ADDRESS
SU3cECT
NALLE F IMFORL4INT
AJDRESS
Paper 15
MASSACHUSETTS
ROBERT WILDER
NORTHFIELD, IlitSSAChUSETTS
LIVIG LORE,
DUNITELL
NORThFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS
Name: Robert Wilder
Title: Livink Lore
Assignment: Northfield
Topic: G.O. Dunnell-hay, Grain
and Feed Ian
Paper 15
I stopped in to ask kr. .iAinnell if he would like to go along with me
on an errand to Lake Pleasant, our "resort" lake beyond killers, Falls. mr.
Lunneil's rheumatism was "botherin", business was dull and the excursion
proved to oe a pleasant diversion.
Az we jogged along in 4 ancient puddle jumper Jr. Dunnell reminsced.
The only time I ever went to iake Pleasant was when I was working
in :Deerfield, and the railroad run an excursion from Greenfield one Sunday.
I wanted to hear Nellie Brigham. She was a Colrain girl. Nope, I never
took much interest in Spiritualism.
"They was a feller up in Colrain that felt somethin' the way I do
now. he had no use for Spii-Itualists. But his wife was a real devout one.
Used to go to all the meetings, and to the camp meeting at Lake Pleasant.
"Lake Pleasant was quite a place in. them days that is, summers.
They wan't nothin' out a few caretakers there winters. The cottages set
ri' ht side by side, close enough so that you couldn't walk between most
of 'em. And they wan't anywhere near the lake, 'cept a few of 'em. They
was all thro' h the woods, laid out in olocks with streets and nlimers
and things. ihey was a common, somewheres near the center, where they had
balloon ascensions and parachute jumps, sometimes. And they was hotels and
stores and boarding houses everything in the pine woods. And, of course,
a railroad station. They was a steamboat landing, toe, where you could get a
ride around the lake for ten cents, and wooden swings, with backs, that would
hold two people. They wae a couple of amphytheatres in the woods with
wooden seats, where if it rained, everybody would get wet except the speaker
Name: Robert wilder Assignment: Northfield
Title: Living Lore Topic: G.O. Dunnell-hay, Grain
and Feed kan
Paper 15
or the band, which had a little house of their own, Uown it the center.
And, of course, they was the Temple, which was a kind of a church for the
Spiritualists. They was also a circle of wooden benches around a.flag
pole, 'way off in the woods, where the 'mystic circles' was held. And
practically every house had a fortune teller in it. iost of 'em wan't
Spiritualists at all. They ws only in the thihg to make money. Oh, it
was some place. They built a trolley line out there, too. And on Sunday
afternoons %ten the weather was right, the place was ,jammed like Coney
Island. People doing nothing but walk up and down 'til they was tuckered
out, then sitting down and watching the rest go by.
"They was wuth watc.hin', too. The gals had hair that was done way up
high, 60 that their big hats, with flowers and garden truck on 'em,
stood right up edgeways. Their hair made an arch above their faces that
lookeu sunthin' like a fat sausage, or maybe, part of a life preserver- I
mean the hair, not the faces. They had on shirt waists with high collars
that had bones intern and ruchin' around the edge. They had heavy black,
skirts that dragged in the dust, and when they held 'em up a bit, yc;u'd
see a little of a white petticoat with flounces on it. Some of 'em carried
parasols, but mostly the fellers carried 'em for them. They was pretty
busy, what with holding up their skirts to .keep 'am from dragging in the dust
and feeling around back, slily, to see that their shirt waist hcidn't,parted
company with their skirt. 'Course, I didn't see any, but just the same,
I know that they all wore str ight front corsets, 'cause that's what give
'em the funny shapes they had.
Name: Robert dilder
Title: Living Lore
Assignment: Northfield
Topic: G.Q. Junnell-Hays Grain
and Feed Lan
Paper 15
"Oh, yes, I guess we'd laugh at the fellers now. But they didn't
look funny, then. Those curly brimderbies would be good for a laugh.
And we had long hair, except that it was trimmed -'blocked' we called
it over our ears and 'round in back, and then our necks shaved, so
when we had our derbies on, it looked from the back, s if we was wearing
felt wigs. And maybe we didn't have some collars' The feller who could
wear the highest was best man, I guess. Anyway, some of the collars was
stiff, white ones three four inche
igh. Our coats was padded i n the
.shoulders regll r feather bed on each side. And our britches was
tops.' Don't know where the name come from but the pants was fairly
small around the ankles the flaring in the seat. Then most of us had
'oull doge' for shoes. They was mostly bright yellow. And they had turned
up toes with knobs on 'em. Fairly high heels, too. And we wore detachable
cuffs, and ready tied neci:ties, and 'm.o. watch chains with things hanging
on 'em.
"But I'm getting pretty fur away from that feller up in Colrain
thet'L had the Spiritualist wife, and didn't believe in spirita himself.
He lived on the Shelburne Falls -Colrain rAoad where the trolley used to
run. Shattackville was the name of the place.
"One mo rning before he got up Ile was lying there thinking about
spiritualism, and how devoted to it his wife was. And what a comfort it
seemed to pe to her. fay Georgelt he e ays, right out loud, '1 wish that if
they's anything in Spiritualism that it would take hLLi of met He said,
next thing he knew sunthin' grabbed him. Yes, sir. Yanked him up right out
'peg
Name: Robert Wilder
litle: Living Lore
Assignment: Northfield
Topic: G.O. Dunnell-haY, Grain
and Feed Lan
Paper 15
of bed and left him standing shivering out there in the cold. That settled
it, he said. He became a believer. Anyway, he built a temple on his place
where they used to hold meetings large building it was, with blue glass
winders still standing, I guess, 't was the last time I was up that way.
Folks laughed though. No wonder he believed in Spiritualism. He was a
practicing spiritualist all right. had peen right along. Yer see, his
ousines was making cider brandy. And he had his digtillery right there
next the tempie.. And as cider brandy is what spirits they is in cider, he
was pretty familiar with 'em. They say that that combination of a spirit
temple, and a apirit distillery, alongvith a picnic grove was a pretty
profitable thing. And that the spirits made him good and prospersys.
don't know anything about it, out that's what the talk was. Laybe it was
the idea of- the money he'd make that yanked nim out of bed.'