The Somerset reporter., 1890-06-12
Some Piscataquls Towns.

/ lOoke, ublrss 1t pe dlfsctly - the north.
lis eye rests upon the watrs 81 This
great inland sea, or catches away 10 thu
| distance the lowering mountain, rearing
ts lofty head % the sunlight and the
Storm. From the top Of Nj. kineo can
be seen In clear day, the eye aided Dy
a glass, the village at the foot Of The
| Lake, Bsa.ua AMI other ponds and a vast
extent Of Forest, altogether too large 70
| he brought within the circle Of ones
sight. A. one gszes upon these eoii,udes
Of nature, or seats himself there amidst
the quiet stiffness Of the place, undisiurb.
ed save t,y the rustling winds, the muir
muriDg bro u, the dsshug waterfall or
the music Of the birds, how can he shut
| from his heart the Inspiration Of the
hour, or fall To breathe one prayer 10
/ lin who male and governs all
u ne groyes were Gods hfs, Temples. Ere
man learned
! l. hew the shaft, and lay the sfehztraye,
/ And SPREAD the roof above them, ere be FRAMED
/ The lofty vault 70 gather and roll back
/ he sound 81 anthem, il the dsfkliDg wood,
| Amidst the eool aud silence, he kneli do~n
And offered to the Mightiss' solemn thanh,
4 And suppieation. For hi. simple hear; fnigif
not resist the sacfed influences
Which, from the Silly twilight Of the place
And from the gfs, old trunk. that hisa il
heaven
Mingled Their nossy toaghs, and rom tas
sound
/ or the in,isibe breath, tina. saayed at once
| All their green tops, stole oser him ard
/ His spirit bo@ed with the thought 81 Do4ldles,
power
And inaccessible majesty.
Here on a plateau in front of the
mountain. stands the Mt. kineo House,
large commodous building built in
modern style and having all the appli.
anees and conyeniences, which go &c
make up first class Hotel. 1t is desery.
edly popular under its present manage
ment, and is patronized during the warm
er season to the full extent Of its capac
! ity.
In reaching here. my route lay through
the village of Monson, Shirley anc
Greenyll. The last named is a beauti
full and thriving yillsge, located at the
foot of the Lake, and has an air Of neat
ness and business activity. There is an
other village springing up at West
Cove the terminus of the b. and 2
Railroad and where the Canadian Pacific
makes short stop on its way to Malta
wamkeag and the sea. The people OF
the town in the main are intelligent. in
dustrious and religiously inclined Theil
schools, including a High School art
well cared for, aud the Sabbath finds 8
goodly number of worshippers in the
House Of God.
The town of Shirley, situated between
Monson and the Lake. has growing vil
lage, at Shirley Mills. so called, through
which passes the Bangor & Piscataqui:
r. K. and where are located several gooC
water powers, used in the manufacture
Of long and short lumber. Although 4
little rough and stony, the soil is pro
ductive and on the whole, Shirley is {
good farming town. Here the famou:
"Bill Nye" was born, about forty year,
ago, and here he laid the solid foundation
Of his character, and twas no great fes
either, for rocAs were plenty there then
and enough remain to build an imper
ishable monument to his memory. A
mong he early settlers of this town Wa
1 family Big he aa.aa 81 haanAn h.
moved here from Poland in this State
about the year ls2S, bringing with then
four of their eleven children. The ole
gentleman first name was Simeon, anc
the old ladJs name was Rsbecca, auc
they were known to all the country
around as uncle Sim and aunt Becca
They were very estimable, kind hearted
people highly esteemed by all who knew
them, They were old fashioned, plair
spoken, Methodists aud were, beliey,
the grand parents of the present popula
proprietor Of the Mt. hineo House, ant
the parents of Joseph Dennen, Esq E,
prominent citizen of the town and wht
now lives on the old homestead.
As there We're few of their religious
persuasion scattered around in this theI
sparsely settled country, the conferences
occasionally sent minister upon th'
curcuit, who. when in the regular per
Torrance of his work, came into thi.
section was sure to tlnd hearty welcome
to the home and hospitality of Bro. anC
Sister Dennen. As the story runs, ont
of these ItineIants had come to preacl
his last sermon to that people, the Con
ference year being about to close. anI
as he was about TO leave, on Monda,
morning, he turned to his hostess ant
said, well Aunt B.cca, what shall
say to the COME ence for your "Yol
tell the Conference" replied the old lad,
that your Aunt Becca says If they can
send smarter minister to this Circuit
next year than they did last. they hsdn'
better send any" The minister quickly
mounted his horse and was II and wa.
never heard of in that section afler
wards.
The village of Monson about fourteen
miles from Moosehead Lake, is situated
at the outlet Of Lake Hebron and is on'
of the finest villages in Maine. Fo
beauty snd magnihcencef natural seen
cry it is hardly surpassed any town il
New England While it is a good farm
ing town and has good water-power
which are utilized to quite an extent, it
leading industry is the manufacture o.
slate. The quarries are turning GU
large quantities of this material and i
finds ready sale and is used in aimos
all parts of the country.
Monson Acadamy is a prosperous insti
tuition, and this. together with the Dis
trict Schools furnishes good educationa
facilities. There are two churches here
Congregationslist and Baptist, both o
which are supplied with able ministers
Swedes. of which there are large NUN
Der living here, are intending 10 build
church the present season. Their religion
| believe, is of the Lutheran type.
Menson is becoming quite attractive t,
sportsmen and tourists. Besides the axe
in the immediate vicinity of the village
there are within the radius of few mile
a dozen or more ponds, Astounding II
Ii h and the woods around are not want
ing in large variety of small game, an,
now and then moose, deer, and bear
sert possession aud the right of way. You
correspondent, not many years ago, saw
not many miles from here three bears to
gether in the highway at one time. and i
occasion required and he was hard press
ed and strongly tempted, he could tel
even larger story than this.
Lake Hebron Hotel Is a fine building
new and commodious, and is well patron
lied during the warmer season. 1t wa
my good fortune to spend Memorial Da
in Monson, and the exercises were of a
inter esting character. This town was tn
first In the county TO observe this day
1t sent to the war more than so soldier
and its roll of honor numbers more tina
40.
The very general observance of Memo
rial Day-the growing interest in it a
manifested from year TO year, are surel
favorable indications because they sho'
lively remembrance's And appreciation
of what our s)ldiers did to save the natio
and the nations flag, from the DANCE
: and ruin which threatened them. The
surely have rightful claim to our graz
itude and love: But for them our viz
tory would have been defeat, our glor,
shame, our freedom, slavery. But fo
them, We to-day should have no Countr
worthy the name of United States Q
, America.
Very truly yours,
S. A. PArrEN.
| n