Norwich bulletin., 1911-04-29

Park. His boyhood days were spent in Schaghticote, thirteen miles above Troy, N. Y. His mother was mem Der of the Packer family of Groton and Packerville, and he came to Pack eryille when he was 13 years old. Later he went to work at his uncle's mill there, but in 1S48 came to Norwich and went west as a book agent for a year for Henry Bill. He returned to Norwich and in 1S49 entered the express busi- ness at which he was known as the pioneer and veteran in this city.
 The firm of Stafford 6 Park was then in business on Main street. and MT. Park had just been made agent for Adams & company, which had started the express business. He hired his the express end of the business and from that time until 1893 the latter was continuously in tha service of Ad- ans & company and it's successor, the Adams Express com pany. In 1857 his uncle died and MT. Slocum was made agent.
 Tn those early times in the express business everything was done by so- liciting, the agent going from house to house to find packages to send or commissions to execute. Those were the days of the forty miners and a large part of the business was the re- ceipt of gold dust from the west It H to trundle q whaelbarrow loaded with the bags of dust from the railroad sta ton on Ferry street to the express of- flee, which was then located in the Wauregan house building.
 For long time this wheelbarrow route was the only way of carrying the express matter from the depot to the office. Later the express company got the business of all the exchanges of the state banks and the express com pany was again the custodian of large sums of money, and it was his nightly practice to put up from $40,00O to $60,000 in a satchel and, walking in the middle of the street for greater safety to carry the money to the office. where he made the exchanges with the Bos ton boat trains.
 In Civil war times there were many stirring. days for Agent Slocum and many commissions for the govern ment were entrusted to him. all of which he fulfilled with notable abil- fty- As a result of his generosity in offering to send out free to the men of the Eighteenth Connecticut volunteers any packages which their friends might bring to the off1ce he found the Wau- regan house store enc morning cram med full from floor to ceiling. but he rose equal to the occasion and secur- ing a pass through the influence of Governor Buckingham he went in per- son to the camp at Falls Church. Va, and delivered every package.
 From 1892 to 1893 the Adams Ex- press company was shut out of Nor wich through the New York Central getting control of the Norwich and Worcester road In the summer time he ran a boat for the company from New London to Norwich and in the winter a big van. thus getting the ex- press business for this city and retain ing the business for the company until it ragained entrance to the city when the control of the Norwich and Wor- cester road passed from the hands of the New York Central. The office was at that time located en. Shetucket street. where it had been for about twenty years.
 In 1893. as the result of a shakeup in the Adams Express company MT. Slocum was relieved of his r,osition as agent and was succeeded by H. w. Hale. Since that time he has baen re- tired from active business life and liv-' ing quietly at hts Laurel Hill home He was married to Harriet Rebecca Story on June ?. 1856, at the parson-