The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-08-08
HERE AND THERE
ABOUT BARRE

: !
20 Tempora! q Mores!" Which, be-
: ing literally translated means how the
: dickens things do change. Finstance, a
/, Barreite returns after half century and
: finds his old homestead still standing,
but an Italian barber shop occupying his
> mothers best parlor the room where the
curtains were kept drawn to prevent the
carpet fading, and an odds'and'ends
store holding forth in the old sitting.
room. The former Barre man entered
and just for the novelty OF the thing,
had shave in that which used 20 be the
Iparlor. IL was indeed a novelty, and he
wondered what his mother would have
thought could she have seen her best
room" in these present days.
This same Barreite has spent a month
in Barre and vicinity and he found
something like 90 old friends, or relatives
Of old friends or acquaintances OF old
friends; and the names Of each he has
carefully put away in little reference
book, so when he comes again he can
look the people up. He's in his 74th year
but he hopes TO make at least one more
visit 10 the OLD place,
About the last job about Barre that
this man did before leaving for the West
50 years ago was to drive team from
the quarries TO Montpelier hauling the
monument for Senator Foot. He had
eight horses and three yoke of oxen
hitched TO the sled NATURALLY, then, twas
winters and ii was quite n trip. Sew
eral men were sent on ahead with heavy |
poles to prop up all the wooden bridges |
10 make sure the great stone did not |
plump down through into the river.
There was no railroad TO Barre in those |
days, as the advent of the steam horse
into Barre did not come till about dec
ade later.
This man had only a short time before
that returned from the Civil war, IN
which he had served his country for three
years, being in 81 battles beginning with
the first battle Of Bull Run, and serving
under several generals. He has visited
several OF the old bsttlefelds and he says
he can tell almost exactly where his po
sition was then, so vivid is the memory
OF each engagement On being mustered
1
Tor a short time and then set his face
westward TO grow up with the country
BY the way, he was one OF the first
nine Barre boys to enlist in that war, be
ing then a student under Uncle Jake
Spaulding in the famous Barre academy.
He was but II when the call for volun
teers came but he was able TO convince J
the recruiting officer that he was Is, hav Ii
ing, in addition, his parents permission g
to go to war. He and his eight compan {
ions in arms were held in varied repute .
because of their enlistment. In those c
DAYS there was very considerabl BILE mum n
Der OF Vermonters who opposed the war \
and there were others who insisted there o
would be no actual fighting The anti
war people looked upon those boys with )
disfavor and were not backward about A
showing their dsfavor. Fl
Eventually company was formed in D.
Barre, this Barrete relates. but the I'M j.
a to the likelihood of there be r.
ng actual warfare was such that il was II,
impossible to keep the company together
n Barre. So these nine, having heard NJ
alter that a company was being recruited h,
n Waterbury. went to that town and II
we're accepted in the company. Their de- ia
larture from Barre evoked a variety OF a,
opinion. The anti-war element was in h
lined to look upon the enlistment as ~
more or less of q madcap venture, and a =,
newspaper published in this vicinity went 10
o far. according to this veteran. as to print Sf
rather derogatory statement, to the eff ho
ect that the enlisted men were trough
cuff" of the community anyway and the NJ
eople were not sorry to get rid of them, ,b
Perhaps was little wild" soliloquized ba
he veteran in reminiscent mood; "but ~
hey didn't buy me a suit of clothes to -, ~
ct me out of town" The referred to an e,
dded assertion in the paper to the trend -.
bat they had given them suit of -. -
othes to get rid of them). 81 paid for -
" suit of clothes later" declared the
eteran with considerable emphasis;
after had been in the army short 20
me-" en-
10
1t was not, therefore, a wholly unani- no
ous ovation which the boys got when me
lev departed for the war; but those who -
I'd spoken in derogatory words OF the -
,ys and their valor lived to regret their
ords, no doubt, because those same
ough scuff of the community served
,eir country valiantly and well. BE it
lown. too, that all of the nine original
cruits from Barre. excepting one. lived 8
return to Barre and get the common
Ition which they so richly deserved.