The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-04-09
SOUTH BRITAIN BRIEFS
(By Bill Garrigus)

SOmeWhere between SOuth Bflt- ain and the Land of the Frozen Grapefruit, diSillusioned old gentleman is tanning his foot hard on the gas, shifting the tang ill the air, and hopefully clocking the miles that roll beneath the spinning wheels. Sam Pierce, frost-bitten Florida vacationist, is coming home and he will be the gladdest guy to get home you've ever seen!
 Toward the butt-end of the week, just about the time suckers are running up Pennsylvania Brook, Squire Pierce will rOal over the too wide bridge approach to the village, tOOt his horn at scampering dog, wave his tOil- worn hand at Henry Mccarthy, and swing around the long curve that stretches from the graveyard clear to the Pierce doorstep. The power house chimney, the bumps in the highway, even the new sign on the Sam Pierce Cafeteria, will all be welcome sights to a gentle man who has spent the winter fighting off real estate agents, the chills, and the high cost of living.
 Squire Pierce will see a lot of new faces in the Hollow. Folks that he used to know have died. New people have moved in. Trail erville isn't quite as crowded. Jerry Tarbox limps and Stubby Clapp has some extra heavy wool. Even the Sam Pierce Cafeteria has changed since the squire went away; they call it "Ann's Inn" now but the hamburg is healthy, the drinks are cool, and the five-cent candy bars still sell for half a dime.
 Scouts will report on the return of the native. MT. Pierce will take a walk up onto the state training school project and remark about the progress or the delay. He will stop at the cafeteria and make a few guarded queries about cash receipts and expenditures. He will look over the corn stubble in the garden and wonder if it's too wet to start blowing, and he will prob ably order a mess of day-Old chicks just to have some livestock on the place for the motorists to run over as they speed to and from the job.
 Come evening, MT. Pierce will repair to McCarthy's store. sit on that stool that backs up against the ice cream cabinet, and wait for the arrival of the evening pa- pers. As the squire awaits, the news he will cast an appraising eye over the shelves and price tags, and will be pleasantly sur- prised at the low price of victuals. Maybe he will be able to talk little the first day; perhaps he will have some new stories? One thing is certain, Sam Pierce will not buy any oranges without first inspecting them and telling all hands how cheap citrus fruits are in Florida.
 It's going to be mighty comfort ing to have Sam Pierce back here in time to visit with him 8 little while. Travel brOadenS a man and gives him a broader perspective. The squire will have as many new ideas as he brought back from Springfield after he had taken delivery of the Stanley steamer he once drove. He will be able to tell us about the new motion pictures, the spring styles in bathing suits, the state of industry along U. S. 1. and the taxation picture down where the South begins. Maybe he will have some comment on the chances for one or another of the several dark horses that are now training for the November sweep stakes. Perhaps he will fetch a jug of cOcOanut juice, or little vial of mountain dew with the snakes in it. You can never tell about Sam Pierce but you can bet your last thin dime that anything he says or does will be interesting.
 Gosh, We wish Sam was young enough to go fishing! The State Department of Fish and Game have been planting trout in the Pomperaug, and, as we hear it, there's an extra heavy mess of them over Poverty way where the hard road invites travel. Maybe we could let the city folks fish there in the cluttered waters while we sought a secluded hole on an old muddy thoroughfare. Anyway, it would be fun watching Sam play big native brook trout that had developed naturally.