The Newtown bee., 1900-03-23
Our Neighbors.
BETHEL.

THE wAsHINaToNIAN TIMES RECALLED.
The old market building now standing
at corner of Chestnut and Film streets
was built by Eli Taylor, one OF the early
matters of Bethel. The. shop stood near
his house in Sandy Hollow or on Mil
waukee street. Soon after Capt Taylor's
death about 1910, Israel ID. Wilson, then
a young man and cabinet maker by
trade, purchased the building and moved
Il to its present site for work SHOP Inc
upper room was used for making furnl-
tura, cofflns and other useful articles.
Mr. Wilson employed one man, Benjamin
Brooks, who viii be remembered oy tne
older people. About lS4l there was
great demand for temperance nall ana
Mr. Wilson was prevailed upon TO nt up
the lower story for q hall TO noIo puollc
meetings In instead OF using the old
church. A temperance society was form
ed about this time and regular weekly
meetings were carried on by local speak
ers. The Washlngtonian temperance or
Ranizationa had spread like wild hre over
the country. People Joined the society
and signed the pledge to neither make,
drink or cell intoxicating liquor, wine or
cider aud TOR number or years many OF
the farmers neither made nor drank cider.
Old men are still living in town who
ingtonlan times in 1S4l and believe their
temperate habits have prolonged their
lives to four seore years and ten. One
OF these old men said to the writer :"rhe
first half of my life was given up TO In
temperance, the last half thank God
have tried TO be q sober man." Russell
Ration, now In his SSth year, says that
Washingtonian times beat any thing that
be remembers. Nearly every person In
Bethel signed the pledge, The matters
and comb makers all came to the meet
Ings and took the pledge and we had first
rate times. Men that you would not
think of came in and talked and some Of
them became pretty good takers. Uncle
Joe Lockwood (the father OF Ben, the
popular shoe dealer was one of the great
est "spouters" of them all, but the great
trouble with ''Uncle Joe" was he talked
so long he tired his hearers all out.
When "Uncle Joe" got wound up he was
like an eight day clock. 1t seemed as
though he would never run down. MIR
Eaton was at one time q vice president OF
the society and was an earnest advocate
OF temperance, and II the writer remem-
bers right, he was quite talker. During
the temperance excitement many promi-
nent speakers came to Bethel to lecture
and the good work was kept up for many
years.
July 81, 1912, the old Congregational
church was burned, which for time
seemed to cast gloom over the place.
The question was on every tongue what
are we going to do without church and
without a minister Rev john Green.
wood had been dismissed In April that
year. The church society hired the tenn.
perauce hall of Mr. Wilson where the
meetings were afterward held until q
new chutch WAS built the following
year. 1t was during the occupation OF
the hall that one of the most fruitful re-
vlVals ever known in the history of the
church took place. When the ne " church
was ready and dedicated all were glad to
leave the hall for q larger and better
place to hold church services. The ref
Ormation in the temperance cause
brought about q reform In the churches
which was good and lasting. In few
years q new temperance hall was built
by Henry Banks, a stirring young mar
In those days. This hall took the place
OF the old hall which went into disusC
and has been used for other purposes
since. The second hall was burned about
1916 or lS47, together with a dwelling
house and the yellow store formerly
built by z. L. Barnum. Judd's hall wal
afterward used for temperance meetings
and society purposes.