Douglas daily dispatch. [volume] (Douglas, Ariz.) 1903-1961, 1926-03-19

never was heard to take any credit
/ for it. When Cal was in school"
he once remarked, IT thought he
would make a good doctor, but his
main thought as youth was to get
a good education and did all in my
power to help him. AS boy he al
| ways went with me to the town
meeting, town caucus and such
| things and always when we had a
public examination for school teach
| ers. He was always interested in
such things. The point of it is, what
| ever he had to do he attended to it
and did the best he knew how,
whether he liked it or not, and
think that's what he has always
done"
Had Many Interests
Colonel Coolidge, although primari-
ly merchant during most of the
years of his active life, was man
ing at Black River Academy at Lud-
low which his son later attended, he
worked for the village wheelwright
cutting timber until he was % years
of age. Then he rented the general
store at Plymouth and conducted it
until 1918, when he sold the bust
ness to devote his time to insurance
interests and his duties as an officer
of the Ludlow Savings Bank & Trust
company. He was one of the organic
ers of the latter and a charter mem
Der of the board of directors.
Held Many offices
At the age of 81 Colonel Coolidge
was elected to the Vermont Legislature
and was the youngest representative
in the session. He served six terms
as representative and one as state
senator. In his home town he was
tax collector for 9S years, deputy
sheriff for more than 40 years anG
school ~director for long period. He
also served as moderator for the |
town meeting and was assistant post
master for 40 years. In the last
named position it was said in the |
village that he was the only person
there who was sufficiently familiar !
with the forms of the postoffice de-
partment to make out correctly the
detailed reports required. His SER
vices also were in demand in the
settlement of estates.
A visitor to Plymouth once remarked
that the colonel appeared "to have
everything in this town except the
undertaken" To this he replied that
as a youth working, in the wheel
wrights shop he assisted in making
collins. 'And we thought" he added,
that it was a cheat to use anything
but hardwood for collins in those
days."
Colonel Coolidge in 1868 married
Victoria Josephine Moor. They lived
in tenement in the rear of the store.
where President Coolidge was born,
until 1878, when upon the death o.
his father the colonel moved into the
latter's home, the present Coolidge
homestead. Mrs. Coolidge died when
Calvin was IL years old. The colo
nels second wife was Carrie a.
Brown, who died in 1920.
Speaking of the affection between
his second wife and his son, Colonel
Coolidge once said:
calvin was never SO busy but that
he wrote to his step-mother every
week and sometimes oftener. AMI
she could see more in him than /
could. She took more stock in his
some day becoming president InaH
did"
Used Old Buggy
Although thousands of automobiles
visited his home after his son be-
came president, Colonel Coolidge never
had desire for this modern means
of conveyance. Making the trips
which his varied business interests
demanded he stuck to his buggy and
old horse, which he remarked in 1922
was about played out" He took
kindly, however, to the radio and in'I
his later years abandoned his lifetime
practice of retiring early in order to
listen in, especially when an address
by his son was being broadcast. lie
was greatly touched when President
Coolidge at the close of an address
near the end of the 1924 campaign
said a public good night to his father.
The death of Calvin Coolidge, Jr.,
son of the president, greatly affected
the colonel and his friends said that
he never fully recovered from the
shock.
GRANDSON ON WAY