Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1901-12-10
|NoRrH HARTFORD "REMINISCENCES.
sIxTY-sEvEN YEARS
AGO, WHEN THE WRITER WAS A BOY
OF ELEVEN YEARS.

ITHANKsGIvING srXrY-sEvEN YEAR
AGO, WHEN THE WRITER WAS A 30
OF ELEVEN YEARS.
Our annual harvest had been gathere
in; the granaries, barns, cellars wer
full to repletion. The governor ha
issued his proclamation for Thanksgiy
ing, calling upon the people to assembl
in their various places of worship an
give thanks for the many blessings re
ceived. 1--WE are at peace with all tn
world" he said, land plenty reigns II
our borders"
When Thanksgiving Day came, 1t wa
bright ard clear. The earth was covere'
with the leaves of the forest as carpet
and there was no snow.
My father had got up at daylight ant
and started the fires in the brick ovel
and the open fireplace, and when I CAM
down stairs the kettle was singing.
At eight o'clock we had breakfast
brown bread and beans, which had beer
taken all steaming from the oven, ant
mince pie, apple pie and squash pie.
After breakfast my fathers task was
to kill and dress the turkey, standing
by and watching as he picked the
feathers, while my mother made prepa
rations for baking him in the brick
oven, which had been going for week
with the Thanksgiving cooking.
The rivers and ponds had frozen over
safe for skating, and by 8 o'clock all the
boys were on the ice. We went to a
place known as the Bog Brook, mar
row piece Of water two miles long may.
be, smooth and nice for skating. There
were Charles, Franklin and John Glover,
Stephen Cannon, Joshua Young, my
brother Josiah and myself. Josiah was
too young to skate. / had, by saving
of the pennies through the summer,
of skates. Every one got along well
enough to buy myself cheap pair
but me, and I fell and hurt my head. 1t
was terrible fall, and never put on a
pair of skates afterward. Twenty years
later saw those skates in little box at
home; they had never been used.
Dinner was at o'clock. The turkey
came out all right with rich gravy to 60
with it, and everything to match-all
kinds of vegetables, butter and cheese,
plum pudding, and three kinds of pie.
The turkey was served on large pew
ter platter. The other dishes were of
crockery; one kind, l remember, had a
brown deer on it, head up and on the
run. The cups and saucers had green
sprig of some kind on three sides. The
table cloth was of my mothers weaving.
There was meeting at the school
house in the afternoon, and my father
and mother went.
At o'clock we had supper, for which
mother made hot biscuit, baking them
in the tin oven in front of the fire.
Mother had the name of making famous
biscuit.
In the evening we had company; Mr..
people came down and
stayed while, and Mr.. Tyler came
TWO or three miles to make call.
At 9 o'clock we retired, perfectly sat
SIZED with our Thanksgiving.
That winter we had great reforma-
ton in Hartford. Gideon Perkins, a
noted revivalist, came, and had meet
ngs every day and evening for a fort
night. Many were converted, among
them my father and mother. 1 remem-
Der the day of their baptism. The ice
was four inches thick on the pond where
hey cut it out to 60 in and be baptized.
stayed at home to take care of the fire
md have it all a-blazing when they
should come. When they came out of
he water they hurried home as quick
IS they could and never took any harm.
There was great excitement. The day
# the baptism we had company in the
evening, Mr.. Samuel Tobin, a convert of
dr. Gideon Perkins. My father said to
lad good meeting to-day" "Oh, yes"
he says. "Wonderful! have been per-
nitted to look into the very portals of
heaven and see that happy throng around
he throne" l remember well what a
ceiling of awe it gave me.
The same year used to 60 to mill,
bushel of corn. Mr.. Increase
Robinson was the miller. His mill was
n East Sumner, set on White River.
There were only two or three houses
here. Later, Mr.. Robinson had saw
mill as well as a grist-mill, and went
,ack and forth from one to the other to
end them. When rode up he would
ome out and take off the grist, carry it
n, put it into the hopper, take out his
oll-so much of grain-then grind it,
,ut it into the bag, put it on to the
lorse, and help me on, and would 60
home. 1t took me half day to 60 to
Mill.
About that time my father subscribed
or paper called the Morning Star, de-
Ioted to the interests of the Baptist
societies in New England, published at
Dover, N. H.; now published in Boston.
t came on Thursday of every week, and
{ used to be my business to 60 on horse
Jack and get it.
The post-office at North Hartford was
lept by Cakes Thompson, and his
mother managed the mail. She would
,pen the mailbag, turn the mail out
IN a large table she had, take out the
North Hartford mail, and put the rest
back. The mail carrier was Mr.. Allen,
Who went on horseback, mail bag across
he horse. He started from Paris and
vent to Dixfield village, up Thursday,
back Friday.
The first thing after I got home,
ather had the paper to read, then
mother had her turn, then came the
children. And every word in that paper
was read.
How we'll l remember the old gray
school house that sat on the corner, and
ny first day at school! The teacher was
, lady from LivermOre, Miss Mehitable
FilOon. She called me up and asked
ny name, the name of my father and
mother. Then she said, "You have
earned your letters, and now I'll be
faithful teacher, and do the best by you
can" / had new arithmetic and
new first class reader. Father bought
hem for me. didn't study arithmetic
much, but had one. There were two
rows of seats with an alley between. I
visited the school house a few years ago,
md it was little changed, excepting that
now there were two alleys and three
rows of seats. The teacher boarded
staying a longer or shorter time
1t each place, according to the number
Of scholars in that family.
In the winter of which / write, the
school room was full, there being forty
scholars, of all ages. Some of the boys
were men grown; they had been away
working all summer and came home in
the winter, and having nothing to do
went to school.
want to mention here, Israel Fetch
or, as nice boy as ever lived, my early
playmate, the friend of my youth. We
attended school together, attended
parties together, and were very close
friends all our lives. He died in South
Paris, nearly year ago.
remember one evening in winter Of