The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-11-09
Il BUNDLE
OF MuRRH
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c.xynsAa. isz1. b. n. h.os-zisa CO.
WILLIAM ALLss WHITE


town Untii be knows aho i kin 70
whOln. and how. = reporter 10 likely
at any time 20 maze q bad break.
ssx. the kinology q country town
Ia 10 simple proposition- After 9
man has spent ten years writing uE
weddings births and dea;aA attend.
ing old settlers plcnios. family re-
unions and golden weddings, he may
run into q new line Of kin that opens
whole avenue u hitherto unex
piaInable facts 20 him. showing why
certain families line up In the ward
primaries, and why certain others are
fighting tooth and tOenail
The only person In town who knows
all OF our kinoiogy land most Of that
In the county. where II Is a separate
and interminable study-is Aunt"
Martha Merry6eld She has lived
here since the early hfiies. and was
Perkins, one OF the eleven Perkins
children that grew up 10 town; and
the Perkinses were related by mar
rage TO the Mortons. OF whom there
sre over nfty living adult descesdants
90 the townsite now. So one begins
20 see why she Is called Aunt Mar
tha Merryneld. She Is literally aunt
60 over hundred people here.
She lives alone In the big brick
house on the hill. though her children
aud grandchildren are in aud out all
day and most OF the night, so that
she Is not NJ all lonesome. She Is
the only person 10 whom we can loos
for accurate information about local
history. and when man dies who has
been at Oh prominent IN affairs OF the
town or county or state. we Away,
call up Aunt Martha on the phone
or send reporter 10 her. TO learn
the real printable and unprintablt
truth about him.
Aunt Martha used to bring us flow.
srs for the office table. and II was
her delight to sit down and take out
her corn-knlfe--as she called it--and
go after the town shams. She has
promised a dozen times 20 write an
article for the paper. which she says
we are not to print entitled Self
Made Women ! Have Known" She
says that men were always Dragging
about how they had clerked, worked
on farms. dug bitches and whacked
mules across the plains before the
railroads came; but that their wives
Insisted thdt they were princesses Of
the royal blood.
Her particular luminosity In the
town Is Mrs Julia Neal Worthlngton.
Aunt Martha told us that when Tim
Neal came TO town he had brogue
you could scrape with a knife and an
20" before his name YOU could hoop
q hogshead with. "And that woman"
exclaimed Aunt Martha. when she
was under fun sail. that woman be.
cause she has two bookcases IN the
front room ana reads the book re-
Views in the Deliueator thinks that
she Is cultured When her folks first
came 90 town They were as poor as
jobs turkey. which was not to their
dlscredit-eyeryon was poor In those
days The old man Neal was as hon.
est an old Mick as you'd meet In a
days Journey, or az a fair, and he
used 10 run lemonade and peanut
stand down by the bank corner. But
his girls. who were raised on II, UNI
I'll they began teaching school used
20 refer 20 the peanut stand as pa
pas hobby. pretend that he only ran
Il for recreation. and say Now why
do you suppose papa enjoys Tive
Just can't get him 20 give II upT And
now Julia Is president OF the Wom-
ans federation has stomach trouble
has had two operations, and Is suf-
ferlng untold agoBies with acute cul-
turltis And yet. Aunt Martha would
say through a beatifc smile. shes
good enough woman Ga many ways
and J wouldn't say anything against
her Tor ihe world
once Miss Larrahee. the society
reporter. brought back this from a
visit r. Aunt Martha = know my
dear that your paper says there are
no cHques and crowds IN society in
this toan. aud that it IS 50 demo
cratic but sou and ] know the truth
We know about society In This town.
We know thar if there ever vas
town thal looked lsc si1s 81 IS
eon-etTpak 81 lean and streak ~ rat
an the way down -t IS this blessed
place Cro9dsf--vhy. I've Used here
over ffty wears and q was always
crow3s Way haes N Abe days when
the boss used 10 plgk ms up and carry
us scros Elm Greek when we went
60 dances. there aere crowds The
girls abo crossed an tie boys backs
weren't considered quite proper b.
the girls nbo were carried over in
the hats arns Ard theg ddnt dance
90 fhe saline set
Miss Iarrubee Sass she booked Into
TIE elder gomaus eyes - IND WHOA
crowd Auat Martha belonged ta when
she aasaeI out
SOB. child. sou needn't ioJk a. me-
dla both q depeuiea ~ who was
hooking But IS { uas SAYING e