The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1922-01-31

ernment's employ az driver for the
stage that plies daily between the two
| Nermonts towns Searsburg boasts OF
about 1870 inhabitants, and 10 located
fivo niles from Win ngton. Each
day the stage. carrying both mail and
passengers leaves al q. m. for tbs
little upstate town The daily ar
rival of the stage Is an event In the
life Of the community and the scan
dal that now enve opes the star
line is the chief topic for converse
ton among the natives Of Searsburg
Although the town Ia one OF the
smallest settlements In Vermont Il
has a place IN history as having
maintained q postOff CO, unique IN
character, and the source of pleasure
Tor summer yisitors who sought the
extremes Of rustic architecture, mes
ed on a hillside just off the main
and only street In the town, the post
lfice rudely bull, OF odd pieces Of
umber and little larger than. r. non
descript hencoop, had served the town
Tor a number OF years The post
master. Needham Bracket, an early
settler and leader In the community.
chopped fresh supply of wood each
morning and regularly kind.ed a lire
in the large sheet iron stove. The
wood came from the hillside. the
stove from an abandoned schoolbonse
When the chlll winter wind swept
drlfted snow against the little shack.
sometimes nearly hiding It from view,
the postmaster shoveled a path 10 the
street Men on snawshoes aud boys
with improyised skis came each day
for the mail and gathered around tho
big stove, which g!owed With warmth,
effected In the CHEEKY smile OF Post
master Bracket Many q yarn was
spun. many a lurid tale told, when on
those winter nights Searsburg's best
,alled at the postoflce II became the
enter of gossip. the principal meeting
place for the people whom II served.
During the summer Searsburg had
many visitors Automobiles from the
city. bearing sights.cr who had heard
" the postofiice. stopped IN the princi-
pal and only thoroughfare Men and
women of prominence IN the outside
word met the postmaster and other
TX. who told of the history OF the
oostoflce. Then came the calamity
or Il was just that--this destruction
( Searsburg's meeting place The one
thing Of which the town boosted was
destroyed early on the afternoon Of
he 10th.
The good people OF Searsburg are
thoroughly aroused. "Circumstautal
evidence" is what they have, and all
hey have, again the stage driver.
Word coming from the little town was
to the effect that al clements In the
,ase cast suspicion on Dandrow lie
was seen lettering about the postotfice
INST before the fire, at time, the in
hab tants claim, when Postmaster
Bracket was OF his home Dandrow
spent more time than usual on the
Dad that day, arriving IN S.
two hours after leaving Wilm ustou
An unprecedented delay, the town p
people think, Then, too, the postot1ce
inspectors found much money when
hey searched the man.
officials who arrested the stage
driver view the situation more calmly.
They agree that the charges probably
will be sustained, Deputy Sheriff Ley
don would not comment on the case.
He said that during the trip from
Greenfield 10 this city, Dandrow had
title to say. The deputy did state.
however, that Dandrow faced two SO
rious charges