St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1909-08-18
VERMONT NEWS
nnunle browning at Proctor.

Double Drowning at Proctor.
Two Young women, Miss Olga Bjork,
,on@hter of Mr.. and Mrs. August Bjork,
u uaJ Miss Helen Swanson, daughter of
a Mr and Mrs. Nils Swanson, both of
proctor, were drowned August 9 while
tatbing in small pond. They were.
o%ont II years old. The pond was con-
aatr,,cted by the late Senator Redfeld
i proctor for fish preserve. Miss Bjork
I'D Miss Swanson, both were good
omimmers, swan to the middle of the
oond. where there is spring of cold
Pt,oter The former was evidently seized
With cramps and went to the bottom
and did not rise again. Miss Swanson
swan to the spot in an endeavor to as
S;st her companion and she sank almost
IN the same place and did not come up.
Miss Digrid Sigrid Swanson, relative
If Miss Bjork, was on the bank at the
time and at once waded into the water
10 to her shoulders, holding a pole over
HE spot where the girls sank, but her
Efforts were useless. The bodies were re-
covered
A Huge Beech Tree
W.R. Paige, of Worcester, Mass, who
was lumberman in Vermont eighteen
or twenty years and who is now in Rut-
land tells of a great silver birch tree that
was cut and skidded in "No-town" in
his day (this gore was later annexed to
Stockbridge.) This tree cut up into three
logs, one 10 feet long, SIP feet of lumber,
one II feet long, also SIP feet, and one
10 feet long, 484 feet, making 1903 feet,
all told. Ten men stood on the stump,
including Warner Bates, who owns the
biggest feet in Rutland county. Other
wel[known men who were on the "job"
we're Orrin R. Packard and Arthur Niles,
of Rutland, julie Boutwell,, of Shelburne,
and Clarence Savage, of Brownsville.
The tree was sawed down and skidded
by Jules Boutwell, with his yoke of oxen,
Paige and Packard standing the oyster
suppers on the wager. Boutwell, used no
skids but "snaked" a number of or
binary logs over some beech roots wear
ing the earth away from them and
making a sort of natural skid.
Prominent Educator Killed.
Wilhelm Bernhard, prominent edu-
Gator and translator, of Washington, D.
G., and who spent his summers at Queen
City Park, was instantly killed there
Aug. -, by being run down by train.
Both legs were broken below the knees
and there was a bad wound on the back
of the head. Both of the mans shoes
we're torn off and his spectacles were
found beside the track uninjured. Some
silver coins and his cane were also found.
Mr. Bernhardt had been a visitor in
Burlington during the summers for
about Is years and was familiar figure
about the streets. The body was sent
to Washington for cremation.
Foul Play Possible.
The lifeless body of William c. Wheeler,
aged 35 years, was found August 1 1, at
Windsor, hanging in wire fence down
steep embankment from the railroad
track. The neck rested across a wire
and the tongue was sticking out of the
mouth as though he had strangled to
death. There were few bruises on the
head. The body was found about 10
o'clock by Benjamin Wlint, who was
walking on the track to his home. The
seectmen were notified and the body
taken to the undertaking rooms of Cabot
Brothers. Wheeler is survived by his
mother who lives in Windsor and by a
daughter who is with relatives in the
west. I
Attracted Much Attention.
A dispatch from Salt Lake City dated
August II said: Headed by the Lyn-
donyille band, the delegation from the
Green Mountain state is attracting much
attention and favorable commeat at the
6. A. R encampment in this city. The
veterans, 151 of them, appear we'll as
attiuent and staunch citizens of which
any state would be proud. Their green
badges, martial carriage and clean cut
appearance causes them to be singled
out from the multitude of veterans
here as they throng the streets.
Woman Goes up in Balloon.
The first balloon ascension under the
auspices of the new Vermont Aero club
was made at Rutland Thursday at $50
o'clock and ended at 5.54 o'clock with a
safe landing half mile from Brandon.
The balloon Heart of the Berkshires"
was used and its passengers were Pilot
William Van Sleet, Postmaster Ezra
Allen of Fowler and Mrs. Edith |. Saw
yer, reporter for the Rutland News.
The purpose of the trip was to cross the
Canadian border if possible and win the
trophy offered by La Patrie, but the
strength of the wind was too weak al
though what breeze there WAS came
from the right direction, due south.
superintendent oule of the Central Yer
mont railroad states that summer travel
OF the lines of that system is very large,
and he looks for rapid increase during
the next few years. This is gratifying
intelligence, for if our railroads continue
TO have crowded trains in spite OF the
large number of tourists who come to
Vermont in their autos. it proves con-
cluslvely that our summer visitors are
rapidly increasing.
Ernest James Rogers, giving his place
Of Of birth as Williston, applied to City
Glerk Merrill of Montpelier the other
gay tor license to marry Miss Annie
Bell of that city. The item was publish
ca in one of the local papers. and Miss
Bell was very much surprised when she
read 1t, because it was all news to her.
luis said no marriage will take place.
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