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Robert Deaudette
39 Barre St.
Montpelier, Vt.
RETIRED SWEDISH QUARRYMAN AND LIFE
insistent imprint of the years was upon Arthur
Olmsen. His rich blue Swedish eyes stared aimlessly into
space; occasionally a smile flashed in them like a spark
from some dying flame. The heavy wrinkled skin, which
c:remiscribed the contour of his large bony face, was
partially covered by a growth of whitish stubble. Lelaw
the long flattened red nose, and touching part of the up-
per lip, was a thick, unkempt mustache; like his silky
hair it was pure white. His short body had retained its
,iassive appearance, and his hands were those of a quarry-
man, but it all seemed like burdened weight now.
-t seventy-seven Olmeen was in direct contrast to
his wife. She was the older by a few months. Zer body
was bent almost to a forty-five degree angle. Lut her
face had a surprisingly suooth and soft skin and her deep-
ly sunk eyes twinkled and saddened with her mood. She did
the talking: "Poor lad, le isn't hizzelf. Five years ago
he had a shock, and now his menory is not so good,' her
excellent English was flowered by her quaint Swedish ac-
cent. cihey said that he was one of the best quarrymen
in the country. lie see -zed to have the practical mind for
it.
'"Yes, we are both from the Old Country. Lad did all
kinds of work in Falma, that's a seaport in Sweden. Finally
he learned the quarry business and cane to Quincy, :lassachu-
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setts to work for the Marimount Granite Quarry Company.
came over about the same time. I left my home fifty-eight
years ago the twenty-second of lay and came to a place
called Caster Gardens in Eew York on the first of July,
1331e I didn't have a hone so I made one with the woman
not on the voyage. She had four children. The week
after we landed one of the children took sick. She died
in a week. The day that we buried her, the youngest child
took sick. She died in two days. ,ifter this misfortune
we moved to Chicago. I liked Chicago. I liked Chicago
more than any Place that I have lived in. Two years later*
came to Cuincy and met Arthur there."
A if shaken from his trance -like dream, r. Olmsen
sat up straight in his chair. His large frame expanded
with pride at the mention of his early days. broadly amiling,
he said, "I must have been pretty handsome. She went all
over the country and wasn't satisfied till she saw me."
Then he seemed to lapse back into a vacant daze.
"7:7e were married in nuincy?" she went on in an even
tone of voice as if she were reading from a book. "Then
Lad got a job with the 'Cetmore and :,a)rse Granite Quarries.
r:hen he came to the Hill, they were losing money. All the
good granite was covered by grout and all that they had to
cart it away in was a team. He built a box car to take
this grout away, and then they were able to get the best
granite. Put some of the men were jealous of Dad. You
know, he was from outside and they did not like that. But
old Jim Doutwell„ he was the manager of the quarry, he shoved
him up a feu pegs and told the rest of the men to obey his
orders. After two years bad had made lots of money for
them. One day Frank Corry told him that they had to pay
o 000 income tax. You can see that they made a lot of
money. ahen they made him the general superintendent of
the quarry. 1:e had five forentmn imder bin. put up
most of the derricks that are up there now. He never went
to school but he had _It in him to build things like that.
when he was engineering the building of a derrick, he
had this old carpenter working for him. Idienever Lad ex-
plained or had him do something the fellow would say 'very
sensible.' Lyon though the carpenter could not think of
those things himself, he could understand that they were
practical when explained to him. ahat gives you an idea
about Lad's ability. and he use to often repeat that
little story in Swedish later. Once in a while he does
now.
-1.n 1922, we moved to Lrattleboro. Dad got a job with
l'resbrey's. Vie stayed there till 1926 and then moved back
to LLa,ro. And he began to work again for Wetmore and Morse
and stayed there till the time of the fire. I think that
that fire must of scared him. It happened one day when
he was working at the office. They think that some one
set it. I don't know. 'but Dad suddenly became almost
crazed, and with twice his strength he broke through a
locked door to get a trunk that was in the next room.
The trunk was filled with valuable papers. It was heavy
enough for two men but Dad hollered out the window to be
careful, below and then he picked it up and threw it right
through the window. lie got out all right. Lut the next
morning he didn't know anyone except me. And then he
started to ask for the children who had been away for
years. ho could not understand why they were not at home.
Gradually he got well. Lut his nerves were gone. And his
ramzen looked at her husband. Pride swelled up
in heart and in her eyes, but her voice remained the
same, -4;:ad use to tell no not to became excited when things
went -Oad. I have done pretty well. Poor Dad...0