The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1905-12-16
A GROcER'S NEST EGG.'
Valued at s5ooCoo, Is the Unique Pos
session Of MiddIcboro, Mass.


Grocer Thomas Peircc of Middle
boro, Mass, will not soon bo fOra0'tG.
hy the present and future residents 0
that beautiful Plymouth county town
He bcGHeath"d to the town Sa03,"eo.
tnner tn" terms Of h" viii, the il
come from ths roGuoet il to be rN
pended by three trustees TO- ~" bone
III OF the town, according 10 their n"St
judgment, Thomas SproI rcirc" r..
ccivci The bulk Of his feitunc from
fl@ father, who WAS a grocer in Mid
/ dlcboro Tor many q year. INC nid
store i'll which the fortune was made
| Is St!il a grocery In the old days 1t
was a general store as well. where
crockery, dry goods. molas.ses and
| New England rum were equally re-
| snected staples in the stock in trade.
Here Thomas S. Peirce spent his
: manhood days, bachelor. living over
his store, and wearing the same suit
OF pepper and salt clothes and the same
cld-fashioned plug hat the year round.
The suit he renewed from time to
time, but no man remembered when
the hat was new.
One of his peculiarities was his
aversion to spending money for lights,
and after nightfall only a dim flicker
OF a dip in tumbler of oil lighted the
interior of the store, which was large,
III fact, in it's prime, quite the finest
~, of IL,
the state.
When serving customer in the
evening, Mr.. Peirce went poking about
in bins and barrels with his little dip,
always with his hat on. He was
kindly man, though shrewd in count
ing the pennies-his pockets were his
only tlll-any many were the mort
cages he held on farms in the country
round He gave long credit and took
long notes, and nobody ever accused
him of being especially harsh with de-
linquents. He merely did business on
old-fashioned business principles, and
expected others to treat him as he
tried to treat them.
While he was spinning out his
years in the store his brothers-there
had been 13 children in his fathers
family-died one after another, and
at last he was left alone. Then he
moved into the old colonial family
mansion across the street, and spent
his declining days there.
His will was surprise to the towns
people. There were bequests to rela-
lives Of more than 100000, but the
bulk of the estate was for the town,
with $4,000 specifically set aside for
a public library, and $4,000 more for
a permanent fund to buy books and
periodicals for the library
After these bequests were paid it
was understood that the fund re-
mained something more than $780,
600. This is invested in various ways
in lands and houses in MiddlebOro,
in mortgages, in stocks and in bonds.
The income derived from the fund
is probably about $4,000, which is
nearly one-fifth as much as the total
Of money raised by the town
each year for taxes. The fund itself
is about one-eighth of the total as
sessed valuation Of property in Mid
dleboro.
the conditions of Mr.. Peirces will,
as they relate to this fund are I'M
usual, and give the trustees all the
power needed to act entirely on their
own judgment as to the expenditure
If the income.
The gradual building of mile after
mile of the finest modern roads, with
)ut expense to the town; the payment
of notes, that tighten the burden of
axatiOn; the helpful effect of lessen
ng school expenses through the en- |
,loyment of teacher at the expense |
If the fund-all these are beneficial |
hings that any community would be |
glad to have done for ii.
The importance of the PeirCe family |
n the town is manifest in every hand
n MiddlebOro. There is the old Peirce
academy building, erected by the
ather Of the late Thomas Peirce: the
I'D Peirce grocery store on Main
treet, with its pilared portico. like
Greek temple, the old colonial house
# the Peirce family across the street,
he new Peirce Public Library near
t, and on the best corner in town a
usiness building, recently construct
d, known as the Peirce block. In
his building is the postoffice, the Of
ce of the Peirce estate and Ma
onic hall.-New England Grocer.