Daily Kennebec journal., 1904-07-26
WAY BACK.
lngraham's Corner and How Some
People Made History.

The stranger who arrives within the
city gates by way of the Electrics, looks
up and around when the conductor an
nounces: winthrop street. Post Of
flee and HalIowell House." If he is one
of the respected old-time residents,
coming back home for a squint at
scenes of his childhood. he will proba-
bly, look i'm vain for the old landmarks.
The building for many years a hard
ware store and then for tong term of
years the headquarters of the fire de-
partment is now the present modern
and up-tO-date post office. The City
hall of buff brick and granite trim
mingS looks neat, and ncater still with
the spacious lawn in front, but it can't
look natural. The HallOwell House, al
though built in 1892, is bright and fresh
in appearance and in it's remodelled
state, looks nothing as it did years
ago.
If we investigate little we will find
that Post Office corner has a history.
Previous to the hardware business con-
Quoted by Mr. Hathaway, way back in
1917. James NJ. Ingraham kept a gro
cery store in a wooden building there.
He was very polite gentlemanly sort
of man and wore broadclOth. An old
record says that he kept Il large as
sortment of goods in the front part and
| in the rear part "choice liquors. The
old authority further says that in the
| corner near where the spirits We're kept
was Il large open fireplace, in which,
in winter. a cheerful cracking fire was
always burning. Nearly surrounding
this fireplace were old-fashioned wood
Oh settees, built of plank, with high
backs to break off the cold air from the
| store. This was for the convenience
of his regular customers, and on any
winter evening about a dozen We're
| there, each occupying his own particu-
lar seat. The gathering was something
of the nature of the later day Cracker
Barrel Congress, at the cross roads
grocery. The news of the day was full
| ly discussed. The papers gave little
or no space to local news in those days
| so that gossip was necessarily the SUR
est and most approved method of des-
| seminating the news, until some one
| proposed to take a little something.
| The "cbOice spirits" consisted of the
best cog brandy at cents a glass. West
India rum, Holland gin and cherry rum
| at cents per glass. A tempting array
of casks decorated the counter and i'm
mediately in front stood the rum
| trough, containing copper measures
| from a gallon down to half a gill and
| little shelf Tor tumbers. Small boys
whose chins would but reach the
| trough were known to call for two
cents worth of cherry rum" and they
| would be served with as much suavity
as would be the older customers. Thus
the long winter evenings were passed
| till the proprietor commenced closing
| the shutters, which was a signal for
rising, yawning. stretching their limbs
and surrounding the trough, prcpara
tory to taking a parting glass. Mr..
Ingraham himself, was hardly ever
| known to imbibe. In summer evenings
| the scene was changed. Instead Of oc-
cupyng their old haunts around the
| fireplace his regular customers would
! cOngrcgate about the front door,
where they could enjoy the cooling
breezes. take improvised seats on nail
kegs and boxes, but still having clear
| walk to the rear of the store.
| The change since those days is par
tirularly welcomed. At that time his
tory relates, there was not a store in
town, except dry goods stores, that
did not have conspicuous place allot-
ted to display a row of casks. neatly
painted and labelled in large letters:
"W. 1. Rum" Jamaica Rum" Cog
| Brandy" Spanish Brandy" New
| England Rum" Cherry Rum" ''Hol-
land Gin," etc, etc. The local papers
of that time have various announce
ments of mercantile enterprise and in
number of the Hallowell Gazette.
printed, commencing 1914, 'Hallowell