The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1910-04-01
PROMOTION COMES
TO AUSTIN W. ROEL
Brattleboro Retreat Gardener
Takes Charge of Big Farm.
NEW DUTIES TO BEGIN TODAY
Came Here from West Dummersion 80
Years Ago With Few Cents IN His
Pocket Development Of the Garden
Under His Supervision.

pf.mo,ion comes 10 Austin ". Roel,
gardener Al the BfaitlebOfo Retreat, to-
,isV when H. assumes ehafg" 81 the farm
III addition 10 the work that be- has had
charge ~ for nearly 81 wears. Since the
death nf George ". Pierce. snpefin'
srndeni oi the Retreat farm. b. son, NH
ton " Pierce ha. hoen ia charge Mr:
rirfrc viii remain IA town iof a time and
will lye in the house occupied by has par
ruis during their life un the farm,
Mr. Roel came from West Dummerslon
IA 1878 Ia enter the employ Of the Re-
treat. lie arrived in Bfatileboro with
% cents IN his pocket but rich In expec-
iations as be- had the promise Of steady
employment. lie worked AT odd Jobs for
4 wear and 10 1870 was appointed gard
encf. Ai that time not quite hVe acres
were devoted 20 vegetable garden.
Nav over nine acres OF vegetables are
raised hy Mr.. R0cl and his assistants
every wear. The value of the products
uf his vegetable garden ai wholesale
prices amounts 10 about $4,000 year.
10 get an idea Of the quantities OF veg
ctablcs that are raised II may be men
TONED that the celery crop amounted 10
- wagon loads last season. In ad-
li,ion 10 having charge Of the vegeta.
hlc gardens Mr. Roel has developed the
flower gardens about the buildings of
he Retreat into artistic effects and has
dahlias have won "A reputation 10 be
envied.
Early in the administration of DR..
l.awion n superintendent he gave TO
Mr.. Roel IS kernels of Squaw corn,
which is the variegatcd sort shown by
Mr. Rocl in his annual exhibit at the Val
lev fair. From those l3 kernels hun.
dreds of bushels have been raised and
the seed of this strain Is IN great de-
mand, in fact in greater demand than
the supply will meet. In addition to
his work among the vegetables and flow.
ers Mr. Roel has had charge of all of
the landscape gardening, and the miles
Of walks through the woods to the west
of the Retreat buildings have been laid
out and beautifed under his direction.
One of the elaborate pieces of work that
stands as n small monument 10 his IN.
gennity is the cold spring beside the road
beyond the Retreat farm. The stone
work about the spring is a bit of elabo-
ration that adds greatly to the spot.
As the raiser of the mammoth Poteri-
an and Green Mountain pumpkins Mr..
Roel. stands a champion. He has de-
veloped these strains of pumpkins from
one weighing l0Ole pounds up to the
one shown at the Valley fair last fall
sumcd charge of the first exhibit of veg
otables made by the Valley fair "a years
ago last fall and has continued as the
superintendent of agricultural hall
every wear since While the increased
duties of his new position will allow
him but little time to himself 1t is hoped
that he will continue in charge of this
department of the fair for many years
to come.
The grading of the lawns about the
Retreat buildings was done many years
ago under Mr.. Roel 5 direction and over
5000 loads of material were used in
making the grounds beautiful. Though
he has been officially known as the gard
ener he has devoted himself to beauti-
fving the surrounding territory and the
many beauty spots to be found through
the woods bordering the Retreat prop
erty are the result of his labors. In the
past Mr.. Roel has worked with his own
hands and while his new duties are
rather more of an executive nature he is
equipped for the work from practical
standpoint.
Mr. Roel was born in West Dummers-
ton in 1853 and came to Brattleboro at
ter finishing his studies in the district
schools. He is a member of Protective
grange and is past master in the order.
ne 10 Hldut FilNE,t Vi WY
encampment of Odd Fellows and. one Of
the trustees of Wantastiquet lodge of
Odd Fellows. While he has well-de-
fined policy that he intends to inau-
ourate in the operation of the big farm
he hardly feels like stating just what
he intends TO do at this time. 1t is well
known that he is firm believer in rails
ing more grain than has been done here
tofore and as he has developed the strain
of Squaw corn mentioned above it is to
be expected that he will plant con-
siderable acreage of this cereal the COM
ING season and in the years to come. He
will occupy the house on the Retreat
farm when vacated by Mr.. Pierce. He
will place an assistant over the gar
dens and in the future will be unable
to give as much personal attention to
this department as in the past. He will
have from 10 to 20 men under him as
superintendent of the farm.
II H.,