Norwich bulletin., 1912-09-17
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Tributes to Norwich Men.

Mir. Editor: Kindly permit some rem iniseences of Norwich thirty years tgo, and especially a. grateful tribute to some of it's prominent citizens of that period.
 In the early sixties I was green country boy on farm in West Hart ford. My uncle, Amasa c. Hall, had retired from business in Baltimore and returned te> Norwich, his former home, ito spend the remainder of his life. He was interested in me, and offered to pay my expenses If would go to a preparatory school and college. In 1879 when l was teaching school in my native town he urged me to come to Norwich and assist him in his real estate business. 1 compiled, not as a matter of choice, but as an expression rof my gratitude to him for what he had done for, me He had at that tinte nearly two hundred houses and tenements, located in all parts of the city from East Great Plain to Spauld. ing road and from Occum to Trading Cove. I traversed all the streets of the city collecting rents, superintend- [ ing repairs, etc. Soon after my ar rival in Norwich found that Mir. Hall was in financial straits. His property was heavilN mortgaged and l. was as his clerk also, because of arrange ments which I do not need to explain 1 in sense responsible to the officers of some of, the banks, especially the ] Norwich. Savings society I became acquainted in business way with such men as L. w. Carroll, Amos w. Prentice, Lewis A. Hyde, Costello Lip l pitt, John Mitchell and John Brewster of Ledyard, men of a noble type of character, influential and highly re- 1. spected citizens. On several occasions there were complications in my un- cle's financial relations with the banks, Iwhen these men might readily have suspected me of dishonesty and un- | fair dealing. But they did not They were extremely kind and considerate ! in their treatment of me, and I shall always hold them in grateful remem- l brance for their kindness.
 1 While 1 resided in Norwich, at East Great Plain, I had as neighbors Asa 1 Backus and George Gould. They were fine neighbors and kind to the new corners. At that time Horace Whita- l ker was a frequent caller at my un- llcle's office. They had in earlier days
 been associated in business in Nor wich. MT Whitaker had gone west l made a fortune, lost it, and returned 1 to Norwich. One day my uncle said ? ences and fortune; what part of vouI | life do you look back upon as the hap ! piest period? ?p The instant reply was 'aWhen I was just married, had a snug home of my own, and was earning q good, living"
 Rev. Dr. Leonard Woolsey Bacor
 was the pastor of Park church, and
 one of my uneles neighbors. tWitf
 his characteristics courage and ener- I BY, he instituted crusade against ' Sunday excursions down, the Thames
 in the steamer Ella. The proprietor:
 of that boat, or perhaps some of tht
 excursionists in part, as a joke secur-
 ed Dr. Bacons arrest for riding ou
 one Sunday afternoon with a friend
 in a carriage. A few years ago 1 heard
 Dr. Bacon's son and namsake, a pro
 lessor at Yale, relate ithe incident O.
 his fathers arrest at a Legislative
 hearing in the capitol, at Hartford, o1
 Sunday observance, and attribute th'
 arrest to the prevalence and exercise
 of the Puritanical spirit on the part O
 Christian people In Norwich.
 s I was interested in the Otis libra,
 ry, founded by one of my mothers un
 cles, Joseph Otis, and often wished that I could aid in perpetuating ant enlarging his gift by a liberal contri
 button.
 My family found a very cordial re
 ception in the Second Congregations church. and held Rev. Dr. w. Palme
 and his wife in highest esteem. , During my residence in Norwich first became acquainted with that no ble Christian man, Nathan l.. Bishop fand a friendship was formed whicl
 continued through all the after years found that he was indeed one 0 f Gods own children. and in educationa :, matters he was always 0 helpful guid
 and inspiration.
 Pardon me if I have written to
 much, Print only So much of 1t a
 you see fit, but do not omit my trib ute to the memory of those men wh were so kind to me. Yours truly. : ", H, HALL.
 West Hartford, Sept. 16. 1872