Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1911-12-01
BELLOWS FALLS NEWS
LOOKING BACKWARD so YEARS.

Kerosene Reduced from 90 Cents to Ct
Cents a calIon-News Of the Masor
and slldel Affair.
| An examination of some old files OF
papers dated 80 years ago this month
show some interesting facts as to Bel
lows Falls and its business at that time
a great sensation was made by the re-
| duction in the selling price of Kerosene
| by Arms & Wilson, who had a store
where the Howard Hardware company
! is now. The reduction was from &C
| cents to 60 cents per gallon"
George o. Guild advertised an extern
sive stock Of dry goods in his store in
| what is now Barry block on Westminster
| street, the building having been built the
| year before. 1t was occupied also by DR..
II. d. Holton, who had just begun the
practice of his profession here.
A severe gale occurred on the I'd day
of the month, so serious that the NJ. c.
Ladd house at the corner of Atkinson
and Henry streets, then in process of
erection, was moved is inches, breaking
off the founda lions and chimneys.
new issue of postage stamps was
made by the government and all the
postmasters in surrounding villages ad-
vertised on the 18th of the month that
they would exchange the new for the
old "for six days from the date of this
notice, and the old issue will not there
after be accepted in payment Of postage
on letters mailed at this office"
Messrs. Perry & Co., who were then
running the old stone wooden mill at
Cambridgeport, were running night and
day making cloth for uniforms of SOL
ders in the field, and one week early in
the month they made between 2900 and
5000 yards of flannel, army goods, weigh
ing between IL and II ounces to the
yard, and of fine wool"
The Vermont Valley railroad which
had its headquarters here, and the SUI
Ivan County Railroad with headquarters
at Charlestown, advertised but two pas
senger trains up and down the Connecti-
cut, leaving Bellows Falls for the south
at $50 a. m. and 235 p m, and for the
north at 1920 p. m. and 5.45 p. m. The
Cheshire road had only two trains to
Fitchburg, leaving at $50 a. m, and
2.25 p m. The Rutland & Burlington
road had trains arriving here at $50 a.
m. and 2.35 p. m. and leaving for Bur-
lington al $50 a. m, 1925 and $50 p. m
Franklin Henry, who was the village
bell-ringer, undertaken and sexton, ad-
vertised his book bindery In the rear of
Mammoth block in the old building that
had many years been the toll office of the
Canal company for collecting tolls from
boats passing through the canal.
The ladies of this and all surrounding
towns were working night and day maxi
ing comforts for the soldiers in the field
their principal articles being warm socks,
and mittens, handages and lint All
towns seemed to vie with each other in
the quantities which could be sent, the
express companies taking them to the
designated regiments free of charge.
Three Westminster boys who went out
in the 18th Vermont, Milton Pierce, A. a.
Fairbrother and y. :. Ellis, died during
the month of typhoid fever in camp.
Great rejoicing all through this section
was exhibited over the capture on
ship in the Bahama channel on the 9TH
of November of the Rebel commissioners
to England and France, James S Mason
and John Slidell. They were taken to
Boston and confined in Fort Warren.
Competition in price of kerosene be-
came warm and Messrs Gray * Swift
then general merchants in what is now
the Gray block, broke the price from 60
to 80 cents per gallon. a picture given
of the block showed it then exactly as
now. 1t had been built during the pre-
ceding year. 49,
The ground was first whitened by snow
here on the 23d of November that year.
and one week later it came in quantities
and sleighng lasted all winter.