The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-02-19
PARSON SOLVES
 LIVING PROBLEM Combines Business With Pas toral Duties AS AN EGG MERCHANT The Rev. Walter R. Curtis Is Said to Be the Largest Dealer in Eggs
 at Present in the State
 of Vermont
AS AN EGG MERCHANT

inarraige ceremonies and sick bed con- solations with dickerings in eggs, hens and produce, the Rev. Walter R. Curtis, minister of the country church in Clar- ondon, Vt, has become the latest expon- ent of new method of solving the poor y paid minister problem.
 MT. Curtis may be observed almost any day perched upon the top of load Of hen crates being logged along the snowy
 pads of his district. Some times he goes 40 miles on single trip.
 He carries his marriage ritual, and of ten hymn book along with his egg and hen accounts
 As a minister he has made rousing success with his parishioners. He is an earnest and enthusiastic advocate of the combination business and minister ial life for the poorly paid parson. He holds three church services on Sunday but he is regarded as one of the leading business men of his community
 A Varied Life
 To make a pastoral call at one house, buy dozen eggs at the next, attend a funeral at a third, and for a couple of way to make trade for couple of hens at forth Is no uncommon mat ter for Curtis.a %
 For six years this merchant-minister as been developing his unusual com 5ination of church work and business. The incidents which led to the establish
 fnent of the strange pastorel-businees arrangements were accidental Six years ago. MT Curtis, who fot many years had had charge of churcnes
 in various parts of Vermont, found him. self in failing health The cares of his shurch work and the confinement had
 Jed to breakdown which threatened to ,ncapacitate him for further work. He believed that If he could get out nto the country where the work would
 le easier and where he could be out oi lcors more he could regain much of his 'ost health and still keep up his place as
 l pastor. Several times he had supplied he pulpit at Clarendon for friend who aid the church at the time. and when l short time afterward. 1t was left vacant ie applied for the place
 Clarendon is six miles from the city oi ,utland in the midst of a great farmins .ountry. It Is town of not more thar 500 reople, and this population Is scat cred over miles of territory. The people If Clarendon welcomed the new pastor out admitted to him that they could pay i'm a salary only sufficient to pay 6 mall percentage of his expenses. How. ;ver, he had arrived, and he determined o remain.
 During the first week that the minister isted the people living in the distric bout Clarendon he was constantly i'm ressed with the lack of communication he farmers had with markets. Every me appeared to raise vegeta bles, keeI | heep and pigs and hens, but there wa 10 market available Why not buy thei | aggs and find market for them? sVs Within week the new pastor haf ,een before the church committee ant xplained his situation to them. After conference they formally gave him per rission to use his time during the weel he pleased. This was all that was necessary.
 Mounting large express wagon loaded with crates, the Rev. MT. Curtis started ut the next Monday morning. Laying ut route that would cover about hall ,f the territory within the town limits e visited score of farms, Introducing imself as the new pastor at Clarendon nd inquiring whether his amazed hosts ad any eggs to sell. Within a few hours he pastor had a wagon load and was his way back home.
 New Enterprise With one or two friends in various ities of Vermont and Massachusetts, he pastor announced to them his new nterpriee. Within 4S hours orders had toured in which took the entire supp's f eggs which MT. Curtis had on nand. The moment the eggs were shipped he set out on the road again, this time taking a new route and meeting with ven better success in buying up sup ply.
 With no effort other than that of at empting to keep up to the demands made upon him by his customers. tn. poultry minister worked through the en- ire week from sunrise to sunset. Eggs rad to be sorted and repacked farmers -isited, orders filled and customers com lunicated with. During that week and he next the rush continued. until as a natter of protection both to himself and ris church work, Mir. Curtis had to cut nut one of his trips about the district after eggs.
 Within month from the time of the establishment of the egg rqrte the pas sor found himself the most popular man in the community. While 4nearly cve1y , family In the township had always had land, houses, stock and enough to eat it was discovered that money was a scarce commodity. Actual currency oi specie was rare in many families. With the advent of the pastor as an egg dealer scores of farmers wives hurriedly made agreements with thell husbands that all the "egg money should be their. and then they hailcf the pastor as he drove by on his cart n few cases eggs had to be refused
 on account of late orders. Every. Monday morning at 5 o'clock h the morning in winter and 3 o'clock in the summer. the Rev Mir. Curtis arises feeds his horse, cow, hens and pigs and has breakfast. He then loads his cart with crates. loads on some hay and i.rain for his horses dinner and packs his own and drives away.
 En Route to Wedding In his pocket MT. Curtis carries list of people on the particular route he covers that day who must be visited Some of them are confined to their Homes by sickness. Others have special quosl.
 titles of eggs to sell. Many times. al though mounted on q pile of egg crates in an old express wagon, Mir Curtis Is CT route to n wedding or funeral, In which case, along with his account book and the crates. for hens, he carries his book con taining the marriage service and perhaps hymn book. Thus on an instant's mo-
 tice he can dismount from his cart and
 either buy few dozen eggs, marry a
 couple, attend 8 funeral or console a
 sick parishioner.
 Last year the Rev MT. Curtis handled
 between 300 and 600- dozens eggs each
 week and from 30 to 50 fowls In addition
 to his egg business he ha9 garden In
 summer which he works and where he