Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1905-07-29
Among the Quakers
Especial Correspondence

When former President Grover
Cleveland, writing about the attrac-
ton of his summer home In Sandwich,
N. H., referred to the people native
to the locality as fair in deal, accom-
modating, and, above all, have the
sense to understand that people who
come there for rest and quiet and
their own recreation do not need off,
cious volunteering of attention or un-
wonted interference" he very aptly
described some of the most striking
characteristics of the little Quaker
community in the mountains where he
is preparing to spend another summer.
The house in which Mr.. Cleveland
lives was built by a Quaker over 100
years ago, and has been in possession
OF the family ever since. 1t has come
down through several generations
from Silas Frye to his great-grand-
daughter, Mrs. Amy l.. Boyden of Bev-
erly, Mass, and one of the most mod
est of the farmhouses in Sandwich, It's
present owners refuse to make addi-
tons, even at the request of former
president of the United States. They
fear the old home might lose some of
the individuality which the original
owner and builder gave 1t. Changes
have been made, many of them in the
interior, and much of the furniture is
modern, but the old house Is in the
main much the same as 1t was when
occupied by generation after genera
ton of the descendants of Silas Frye.
The rooms are large and cheerful,
and the lower part of the house very
much given over to fireplaces and
ovens. A huge brick affair extends
from the dining room in the rear al
most to the front door, and tapers off
to the chimney, which projects above
the roof, and on which the original
Silas Frye carved his initials and
80 NJ, 1799," which, interpreted by his
descendants, means that the chimney
was built during the ninth month of
the year 1899.
Simple Life Led.
While in Sandwich the Clevelands
spend very little time indoors. Away
from the ''madding crowd" away even
from their Quaker neighbors, they
may roam through broad fields and
woodland free from intrusion, and en-
joy mountain scenery that cannot be
excelled anywhere.
Situated on one of the highest
points in Sandwich, the Boyden cot
tage, as it is now called, has a front
porch on which one might sit for
hours and always find something new
and interesting to look at. Mrs.
Cleveland's mother, Mrs. Folsom,
spent perhaps the greater part of her
time there last summer Mr.. Cleve-
land brought his chair out or sat on
one of the benches on either side of
the door for hours every day.
Great mountains, many miles away.
rear themselves on all sides. Off to
the left is the Ossipee range, in which
the mountaineers lead the strange
life of a rapidly degenerating people
Sweeping around to the right one sees
Hyde mountain, Black Shout Stanley
mountain. Mt. Lord. and away behind
them the Blue mountains. Then on
the inner range Red hill, Ashland,
Sandwich, Dome, Bald mountain,
Young mountain and Mt. Israel Com
ing around to the rear looms up the
Whiteface range, Paugus, Passacon-
way and splendid Chacurua, the pride
of all the people in that section of
New Hampshire. And within this
giant circle are beautiful stretches Of