Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-04-08
LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA.

Mr. Editor:
For fear that some of my letters
have been misleading allow me to
answer all inquiries by saying while
think California almost Paradise
cannot advise any poor man to come
here: First, land is very high and
water rents still higher and beyond
the reach of any common man. 1t is
only the rich who can own $4,000
orange groves. The chances are not
as good to-day as they have been in
the past. California has been filing
up year by year until the iaboring
man, unless he is an expert, has to
work cheaper I think than IN New
England. School teachers, ministers,
doctors, lawyers, and musicians are
here in abundance. l would say to
one and all if you have business from
which you are making a good living
remember the old adage: "24et we'll
enough alone," and stay by what you
have got. Some have come here it is
true and made fortunes, and here let
me mention one, o. w. Childs, who
came here in 1850 from Sutton, Ver-
mont. and was one of the founders
of the city of Los Angeles. Many
people in Sutton and Barton will re-
member, back in the forties, one Jacob
Childs who kept hotel on the Summit
in Sutton. w. Childs was his oldest
son, a small, curly headed boy who
L =
on the farm, so his father sent him up
to BrowmDgton to the Twilight acad-
emy to see if he could get education
enough to keep the district school.
He developed into a bright scholar
but his first debut at school teaching
was in an unruly district, and he being
a light weight the big boys carried
him out, as that was the style in those
days. 1 think he taught only one
school, and as heavy weights were
more in demand he gave up school
teaching and learned the tinsmith's
trade, and when the gold excitement
in California broke out in '49 he with
a party struck out for the gold land.
Two of the party died crossing the
Isthmus, with yellow fever and ne
was left behind with an old German
woman to keep the flies off and bury
when dead as they would not allow
him on the boat; but he lived through
the fever and took the next boat
three weeks later and joined his COM
pany in San Francisco. From there
he came to Los Angeles and started
the tin business. He went from that |
into real estate business and built the |
first opera house in the city and many |
of the best blocks. He reserved tea |
acres in the center of the city for 6
home; which his widow lives on to- |
Gay. He owned a controlling interest |
Ia the electric light plant, also in the
city water plant, and was the leading
man in all the banks of the city up to
the time of his death. l felt very
proud to have the honor of knowing
such a business man whose native
home was among the hills of Vermont
His estate at one time was valued at
six mili on dollars and would exceed
ludI zAOG U00H OlVlQ0O
among the heirs.
Vermont has many other good men
here. All seem to be doing well. At
Pomona we find 0. F. Rice nicely
located on a fruit farm that will bring
him an income this year of about one
thousand dollars. In the city we find
Heniston & Root, two young men
from Craftsbury, doing a wholesale
and retail business in physicians sup
plies and surgical Instruments. They
are made of Vermont stuff and are
sure to win. Capt. w. 81. Fletcher,
formerly of Lyndonville, has just sold
four more of his oil wells for S32, 800,
and he says he has nineteen OF the
best ones left, that are not for sale
yet. This is another score for Yankee
pluck. We called last week on Mrs.
|. h. Drew and her daughter, Mrs.
sterling, whom all Barton people will
SO well. We had pleas I
int visit and found them nicely
ocated in beautiful home in the
residence part of the city. We I
also met Mrs. Emma Hall Jones and {