The Republican journal., 1915-11-04


church will hold its opening meeting for this
season today. Thursday. at 8 p. m. at the home
of Miss Charlotte W. Colburn. Church street.
Rev. A. E. Wilson will speak on "Utopias Old
and New"
All the men of the First Parish (Unitarian)
and any others interested in the project are
invited to meet at the parsonage, 7 Church
street. this. Thursday. evening at 7.45 for the
purpose Of forming Mems Club. Rev. Frank
L. Phalen Of Waterville will speak on "Our
Escape from the Jungle" Refreshments will
be served by the pastor and wife.
Mr.. and Mrs. o. E. Frost and little daugh i
ter Katherine, with Mr.. and Mrs. ]. C. Dur
ham a. guests. returned Thursday from a most
delightful auto trip. They went to Boston via
Portland. Mr.. and Mrs. Frost and Katherine
spent Sunday with their daughter Myrtle, q
student at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass,
and the party returned home via the White
Mountains and Fryeburg. When in the noun
tains they took walk of about three quarters
of q mile to see the Flume.
W. ]. Ryan will soon start from Portland on
Farmers Almanacs for the coming year.
Though totally blind he has made IS yearly
trips. AS this is his 36th annual trip he wishes
to make it banner year. His second 2O-year
contract will be up in 1920 which will be his
last trip. Kindly save him your orders; he
will appreciate it. Mr.. Ryan as general agent
for the Maine Institution for the Blind, and also
president of Maine Fraternal Association for
the Blind, would like the address of all blind
persons in the State. Address 70 Avon street,
Portland, Me.
IAN OLD-TIME GENERAL STORE. We were
shown in the store of A. A. Howes & Co. the
other night the daybook of general store for
the year 1882. The charges were most inter-
esting as sffording comparison with the prices
of staple articles today, and because of the
frequency with which rum, gin and brandy
appeared in the accounts. One quart of brandy
was "a cents; one half gallon of rum % cents.
One man got two quarts of oats (for his
horse). Is cents in cash. and there was charge
of cents for rum-evidently drink for HIM
self. Oil (sperm, of course, as kerosene was
not then in evidence) was 81 so per gallon
White sugar, Is cents pound. One man
who looked over the book found an ancestor
charged with sheet of gingerbread and said
he would look no further as he was afraid the
next charge would be for rum. The store
was the general store of Edwin Beaman at
the Head of the Tide, and the bookkeeper was
Augustus Perry, who died in this city Dec. %.
1912, aged 81 years and months, having won
the merited distinction of "Befast's Grand
Old Man." Mr.. Perry was born in Camden,
his parents moving to the Head of the Tide in
1881 In 1888, then 18 years old, Mr.. Perry
entered the employ of Mr.. Beaman as book
keeper and when 21 years old bought an inter-
est in the business, and in 1s41 it was moved
to Belfast. In 1882 Mr.. Perry sold out to
Charles Baker and retired. and this account
book had passed from his possession to that of
his successors in business and was brought to
light in overhauling the books and papers of
the late firm of L. T. Shales & Son. Perhaps
we should add here that while liquor was sold
in the store in which Mr.. Perry was the book
keeper, and later proprietor, that he attributed
his longevity to his never having used alco-
holic drinks or tobacco in any form, and to his
having kept the Sabbath Day holy.