The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-13
BEDDING INDUSTRY
 RELICS TO LIMBO OF BYGONE DAYS
Destruction of Buildings That Once Hummed With Man.
 ufacturing Activities.
Special to The F'armer.)

 ings on the former Stephen Sanford property in Pleasant Valley are being taken down and removed by the Bridgeport Hydraulic Go. There are some half dozen of these structures and most of them had served as shops in which buttons and combs were made from hoofs and horns
 When this industry was abandoned twenty years ago the buildings re- mained idle or were turned to use for farm purposes. Eae water company employees engaged in the clearing-up operations in the valley occupy quar- ters in the homestead residence.
 Beyond the removal of the old build ings, most of which had become un- slightly, no particular changes are at present to be made by the company in physical conditions. Their first inten- ton was to tear out all the dams. a consequence of which would have been the disappearance of the large pond that constitutes one of the valleys principal scenic attractions. Voicing the general sentiment of the residents N. F. Hoggson appealed to the com pany to at least allow the dam of the big pond to remain and the request was granted. The pond is to be tenn porariIy emptied but only for the pur- pose of removing the silt from the bot tom.
 The measles visitation at the Ridge
 
 the number of cases reported last week. The quarantine has been lifted from the Sanford school which was the headquarters of the outbreak, and all the pupils are again at their stud ies with the exception of two or three who have not recovered their normal powers of eyesight. Thettwo adult pa ltients, Charles Sanford and Mrs. Rob- ert Nichols, are also convaleseent., The last victim to be taken down was Day ton, son of Judge J. B. Sanford. He is still prostrated, but his condition gives no cause for alarm.
 l Unhappi1y there is official con1rma- l ton of the report that the Lonetown State road has been made part of a. trunk line connecting Bridgeport and Danbury, layout so obviously and Ipreposterously disadvant tageous as condpared with the more direct and better grade route by way. Of Putnam l Park that the first report was gener- ally descredited To make the situa- l ton worse a core hs@- of the layout can bemade only by the legislature in- stead of being within the power of the State Highway Department as would naturally be supposed. The designa- tion is said to have been made by for Iner Commissioner Macdonald even be- fore the building of the last mile of State road which filled in a gap be- tween Bedding Center and Bethel line The designation also included that part of the Ridge road between the Episcopal church corner and Pine Tree corner. No. line southWard from this point is to follow the right hand fork to Jump HiI1 and thence by the State highway which may be described as tho successor of the old Black Rock turnpike or follow the left fork along the old and narrow highway to Easton 1 Center and thence to Sport Hill. There 1 are possible other variations which
 
 hills, but these could not possibly be worse than the sharp turn at the I Ridge which carries the line westward lover two long and steep hills to the Center with the result of making it about two miles longer than a direct course northward. Tka Jump Hill route is by far the best in respect to 1 grades and calls for less new sconstr1c- ton than any other. Had there been general Knowledge of the serious error town road the present legislature would doubtless have been asked to set the matter right
 Four Boy Scouts of the Panther's Patrol, Bridgeport, left that city last Friday at 6:3O a. m. for a hike to Dan bury, going by way of Sport Hill and Reading Ridge and stopping at Put nam Park for dinner. They inspected the spots of main historical interest at the, park and then sresuming their march reached Danbury at 4.30 p. m. They slept that night at the Danbury jail taking breakfast the next morn 1 ing with the jaiIer's family. Return ing to the park they found lodgings Saturday night in one of the block houses and accomplished the return hike to Bridgeport on Sunday. The quartet were Oscar Clauder, Sanford Havens, Charles Hutchinscn and Rod Iney Grey.
 1 On Saturday morning last the Svas- tika Camp Fire Girls of the Baptist church of Danbury visited the park, l walking the distance from the Bethel trolley terminal. Lsuncheon was par taken of in the pavilion and after Iwards the girls visited the cave and bother places of historical note The party was composed of Marion Lyon, I Sarah Pike, Marion L.ounsbury, Elsie I Wright, Belle Robinson, Verolyn ISchoomaker and Ruth M. Hall About l a doezn members of a class of Beaver Brook Sunday school enjoyed an out ling at the park the same day. Their teacher, Mrs. W. J. Hamilton, accom- panied them.
 The lower end of ,the Ridge State lroad is receiving a liberal top dress ling of gravel brought from the farm lof A. T.. Livermore. Last fall the up iper section of the road received the same treatment and. when the present I job is finished the whole will have an Iapplica@on of either oil.- such as was put on last year, or calcium chloride, T a material said to be superior to oil in some respects. As the lower stretch of the Ridge road is now part of a trunk 5 line nothing should be too good for 1t and besides the State pays the entire bill. In connection with town road Irepairs something was said last week about faulty methods, in spots, due to
 a lack Of capable foremanship. An
 illustration of this defect is to be not ed on sherman HiH where last fall a
 rniry place or spring hole was filled in sl with stone with satisfactory results I A few days ago road machine crew Icarefully removed these stones and subsequently had a hard time finding enough dirt to fill the cavity And with the dirt there return the former
 Ilairy conditions.
 L. Moro ,nn,ra+Arion1e, if Eanr,ff,ir,rr e 4aao.