The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1903-09-10
SOMETHING IN A NAME.

There is q tendency on the part of
Vermonters, and doubtless this is true
of others, to be dissatisfied with the
names their fathers bestowed on the
mountains, streams and lakes of the
State, and in many cases the dissatis-
faction is entirely commendable, for
these natural features were not count
ed as of great importance in the
earlier days, and it mattered little
whether their names had any partic-
ular appropriateness or not so long as
the purposes of Identification were
served. Later generations, however,
have observed that whatever is beuti-
full in the landscape is of value to
rural State and the people have set
about making reformations in the
matter of names. Usually good re-
suits have been obtained, for while
the new names are as meaningless as
the old in most cases, they are almost
always more attractive and that is
something to be valued Occasional
ly too, the new appellation is more APP
propriate than the old as is the case
with Lake Morey in Fairlee. 1t is
not many years ago that this beauti-
full sheet Of water was called simply
Fairlee Pond, which indicated nothing
more than the fact that it was body
Of water located in the town of Fair
lee. The name Lake Morey, how
ever, means a great deal, and as time
goes on it will serve to keep alive the
story of Captain Morey, and how sew
eral years before Fulton launched the
Clermont on the Hudson, this man
ran boat by steam on the Connecti-
cut river and on the lake which bears
his name.
This is an instance where the spon-
sors did good thing but oil the other
hand there are instances where the
opposite is true. The Journal wishes
to call attention to one of these, and
indeed it may be said that the subject
is mentioned only for the opportunity
it affords to do this. The instance re-
ferred to is the growing habit of call
ing Joe's pond in Danville by the
more euphonious. perhaps. but certain
ly by the less significant name of Lake
of water deserves the title of lake as
much as do scores of others like it in
Vermont, but in adopting the name of
est. Joseph" instead of plain un-
adorned Joe" much is sacrificed and
little gained. The name st. Joseph
means absolutely nothing in this in
stance unless it be wise to canonize
an ignorant New Brunswick Indian
who century or so ago made the
region around about these waters a
part of his hunting ground. Joe, the
Indian, and Molly his wife were char
acters that will ever be associated
with the history of northwestern Yer
mont because, long after their fellows
of the Coos tribe had disappeared, they
| lived as relics of the settler days,
| Many stories are told of Joe and his
dusky wife in all that region from
Newbury, nominally their home, to
the Canadian border for Joe wandered
far and wide there in search Of fish
and game, or perhaps to merely crafty
the nomadic instinct that was part
of his nature. In this way the two
became known to all the earlier set
tiers of these parts, and someone with
a splendid sense of the fitness of things
called two ponds in the heart of the
region in honor of the Indians. The
larger body of water situated in Dan
vile and Cabot was called Joe's pond,
while the smaller just over the water
shed in the latter town was named in
memory of Molly Thus for genera
tions have the names and memory OF
Joe and Molly been kept fresh in the
countryside far and near.
In recent years Joe's pond, like SC
many other Vermont lakes, has become
popular as a summer resort, and cot
tages dot its shores everywhere. With
this influx of cottagers has come the
desire for higher sounding name
than Joe's pond and so one frequently
hears and sees the place mentioned al