The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1911-11-16
INDEPENDENT REPORTER REPRESENTATIVE
PAYS VISIT To OLDEST ORGAN|sT IN US,
Mrs. Maria Hopkins of Norridgewock has Held
Position 62 Years. Interesting Stories

My mother seemed surprised and
kind of scolded my father for letting
me do it. i have been organist at
that church ever since, with but a few
vacations"
To reckon out the number of Sun
days alone that Mrs. Hopkins has
played the organ at one service in the
day it would be nearly $500, but that
isn't all she has played. She has done
it Sunday evenings and at the mid
week services.
At the age of IA Mrs. Hopkins, who
was then Maria Sawtelle, was given
her piano-organ which has in combina-
ton keys that give the organ sound
and those that give the piano tune.
She began playing music when
she was but four years old and
her precociousness showed that she
was a natural born musician. She
first began on an accordion and her
modesty was such that when she
played before company she was al
lowed to go behind the door and there
she would play to the entertainment
of her guests.
Mrs. Hopkins comes from one of
the most distinguished families in
Maine. She is descendant of the
famous John Ware who was one of the
first settlers of the town and she was
the daughter of George Sawtelle who
was chorister at the Congregational
church for many years, distinguish
ed citizen of the town. Her grand
father, Rev. Josiah Peet, was pastor of
the Congregational church there for
38 years Prior to that he was
travelling missionary and stayed at
different places from time to time
During one of his stops at Norridge-
wock there came heavy rain and he
was obliged to stay longer and thus
followed his call to become pastor
of the church. He built the Congre-
gational parsonage on the south side
of the river and the public square
near the parsonage was named for
him and now goes by the name of
Peet's Corner 1t Is believed that he
then foresaw that South Norridge-
wock would be the principal part of
the town in future years and that was
the reason that he built the parson-
age so far from the church.
Mrs. Hopkins, who is the widow of
the late Samuel Hopkins who died
many years ago and was Register of
Deeds of the county for some time,
was born in the house that she now
lives in, and is the one that her father
was born in and lived in at the time
of her birth. This house is one of
the Oldest in the town and in
the dooryard is the old big willow
that was set out in 1900, being 26
feet in circumference and claimed to
be the biggest one in the state. In
this house the Masonic lodge which
was the outcome of the Skowhegan
chapter and the Norridgewock chap
ter was instituted. The hall was on
the second floor and ran from one
end of the house to the other, it
having arched ceiling. Many inter
esting stories are connected with it
of how the boys and girls would try
to listen to the secrets and would
be met at the door by a man with a
gun. One fellow was caught one time
up in one of the big willow trees
trying to look into the window He
was punished in way that it re-
manned fresh in his mind all his life.
Mrs. Hopkins still has the same love
for her work She is a genial per-
son with a remarkable personality.
She meets all with a smile and the
sweetness of the music that she has
played during all her life seems to be
imbedded into her being.