Radio Script #527

Little Talks on Common Things

February 25, 1962

It is interesting to note who were the big taxpayers in Waterville when it first became a city 75 years ago. Astounding as it may seem today, in 1888 only three corporations paid to the city of Waterville a larger tax than did several individuals. As you might suspect, the biggest tax was paid by the Lockwood Company, which shelled out to the Waterville treasurer §14,250. Second was the Waterville Water Company, whose tax was §1,005. Third came the Maine Central Railroad with $800. No other corporate organization paid more than $246, which was the amount paid by Webber and Philbrick, owners of what later became the Waterville Iron Works.

As for Waterville’s four banks, the local taxes collected from the Savings Bank were §187, from the Ticonic §135, from the Merchants $120, and from the People’s $112. Horace Purinton and Company, the contractors and builders, paid §162; G. S. Flood Co. §137; W. B. Arnold Co. $112; and Redington and Co. $62. The largest individual taxpayer was John Ware with $577. Next was R. B. Dunn and N. ~. Boutelle, taxed respectively for $494 and $413. Then came Mrs. J. H. Bangs with §399, followed by Charles F. Hathaway with §387 and Samuel Appleton with §333. By 1888 the Nathaniel Gilman fortune had become widely distributed, so that C. B. Gilman’s tax on property owned in Waterville was only $261. The only other persons whose taxes came to more than $200 were W. B. Arnold, Hall Burleigh, Mary and Hannah Elden, the two Gallert brothers, C. E. Gray, Martha Hendrickson, and W. M. Lincoln. It is of some interest to note the names of persons of later prominence in the community whose taxes in 1888 were less than $100. Among tbem were Heuben Wesley Dunn, William T. Haines, Christian Knauff, Increase Robinson and Julian D~ ~aylor.

Six short years brought some significant changes in the Waterville tax picture. By 1894 the Lockwood Co., instead of $14, 000 was paying a tax of $21,000. Over $1,600 was paid by the estate of Edwin Noyes. John Ware still paid the biggest personal tax with $753. His mother, Mme. Sarah Ware, paid $469, George Ware $307, and the Estate of Henry Ware §300. Altogether that one family paid Waterville taxes of $1,829. Between 1888 and 1894 a number of new names had appeared on the list of larger taxpayers. Among them were Lemuel Dunbar, C. H. Leighton, Reuben Foster, A. P. Emery, Mary Elden Mathews, Florence Plaisted, L. H. Soper, Frank L. Thayer and Frederick C. Thayer.

During those six years the Gilman taxes had substantially increased. The Estate of Charles Gilman paid $533 and George Gilman $320. One of the largest payments was still being made by a woman, $682 by Mrs. J. H. Bangs.

Until near the close of the 19th century, residents along the Kennebec River used to ‘pay much a ttention to the winter closing and the spring opening of the river. It Was important to know, not only when the longboats could ply between Augusta and Waterville, but when the ice would be out of coves and side streams to allow the spring flow to be neither too high nor too low to start the huge log drives down to the mills.

Careful records of the dates when the river froze over and when the ice went out in each year have been preserved. During the entire nineteenth century those records show that the earliest closing of the river was November 13, 1809 and the latest opening was April 28, 1812. The longest period in anyone year when the river was frozen over was in 1803-04, when the closing date was November 16 and the opening was April 12 a long stretch of 148 days. The latest recorded closing date was December 18, and that happened twice, first in 1807 and again in 1884. The earliest opening of the river Was on March 9, 1810, and never again in the whole century did it open earlier than March 12. The range of closing dates over the hundred years was very wide: from November 13 to December 18 — thirty-five days. The range of opening dates in the spring was even more extensive, from March 9 to April 28, a period of 49 days.

Today no one pays any attention to the freezing over or the thawing out of the Kennebec, but for more than a hundred years it was a matter of considerable concern.

This program is usually devoted to happenings of many years ago, mostly in the 19th century. Occasionally it seems well to refer to something that occurred nearer to our own time, well into the present century. Coburn Classical Institute has always meant so mucn to Waterville and Central Maine that an account of the school in 1928 is worth attention. It is difficult for some of us older people to realize that a man who celebrates his 33rd birthday in 1962 was not even born in 1928. Really a lot of changes have taken place in those comparatively short 34 years. Listen to what was said in a Coburn bulletin of that time, a third of a century ago: “Coburn is a strong college preparatory school with special courses in Household Arts, Music and Religious Education. Among the former graduates receiving honors at the last college commencements were the valedictorian at the University of Maine, three commencement speakers and two Phi Beta Kappa men at Colby, and one of four Bowdoin seniors admitted into the Harvard Medical School.

“Students listed with highest honors at Coburn are entitled to wear the ‘Ut Prosim’pin. To stimulate interest in scholarship, Prof. Julian Taylor of Colby, who graduated from Coburn in 1864, has recently presented a beautiful silver cup to be known as the James Hanson Scholarship Cup. At the beginning of the year the student body was divided into two groups, the Crimsons and the Golds, as nearly as possible of same average scholarship. The cup is to be held during the following term by the group with the highest average at the end of the current term.

“The Department of Religious Education, under a special director, Miss Vera Rice, aims to give all students opportunity to learn the great religious principles which form the basis of all right living, to know the Bible intimately, and to give proper emphasis to the spiritual side of life.

“The work in music is organized under three departments: special course, artists’ course, and teachers’ course. The first is for those who Wish to study music but do not seek the Coburn diploma. Artists’ course provides training in repertoire and public performance. Teachers’ course covers study of either piano, organ or voice.

“A household economics club has been formed, holding meetings monthly, with supper served cafeteria style, prepared by the girls of the Household Arts Department.

“The Coburn Culture Club is composed of girls of the senior class. Its purpose is to develop the cultural side of a girl’s life.”

So much for the published statement. Those were the days when Coburn boasted a strong athletic program, fielding boys’ teams in football, baseball, basketball, track, cross country, hockey and tennis~– not only varsity teams, but also two others known as second team and midget team. The girls had basketball and field hockey, and a spirited Outing Club, which granted insignia to a girl who hiked a total of 350 miles during the school year.

At that time Drew Harthorn was the Coburn principal, and the Dean of Girls, formerly called the preceptress, was Miss Clara Morrill. Fred Daye was the teacher of science — the last such teacher, I believe, to make use of the fine telescope that used to have its fixed place in the Coburn tower. Ray Haines was Director of Physical Education for boys, Harriet Pierce had the same job for girls. Ruth Abbott was the school’s popular registrar and office secretary. Closely associated with Coburn was the minister of the First Baptist Church, Rev. L. H. Hass, popularly known as Jake Hass. In fact he was so close to the school that he married its director of religion, Vera Rice.

One of my cherished possessions is a copy of the first issue of Maine’s first newspaper, the Falmouth Gazette. Recently I saw a later, but also interesting, issue of that old paper. This particular issue was No. 61 of Vol. 24 and dated April 16, 1822. tly that time Falmouth had become Portland and the paper had changed its name to the Portland Gazette. It had been continuously published since 1794 and was already 28 years old when the copy I now refer to came from the press.

It would be six more years — 1828 — before Andrew Jackson would be elected President of the United States, but Old Hickory was already getting into the political limelight, much to the disgust of Arthur Shirley, editor of the Gazette. In this 1822 issue he said: “General Jackson is announced in the Tennessee papers as a candidate for president. We hope it is for some other republic, Mexico perhaps.”

In 1822 progress was being made on an important new road, the route we now call the Airline Road from Bangor to Calais. The Gazette said:

“The road which was surveyed last year by a committee appointed by the Court of Sessions, is, we understand, cut and bridged from Bangor to within eleven miles of Plantation 15, and will be extended to that plantation this spring. There will then be only seven miles more to cut, in order to make the distance from Eastport, through a rich and fertile country, to Bangor 93 miles. By the old road that now runs nearer the coast, the distance is 175 miles.”

In these days when we find thousands of polio inoculations being given without cost, if the patient cannot afford the modest fee, it is interesting to learn that that sort of thing is not new.

This old copy of the Portland Gazette contains the following item: “We would inform the inhabitants of Portland that we have made arrangements to inoculate for small pox, and will attend for that purpose at the town house on every Tuesday and Friday from 11 to 1, beginning April 23. Anyone can be inoculated for 25 cents. Inoculation in the home for 50 cents. Those who feel unable to pay 25 cents will be inoculated gratis, if they will come to the town house at the assigned hours.”

As always, some of the most interesting features of this old paper are the ads. John Cox of Middle Street announced that he had just received 50,000 Havana cigars. Ed Greeley at Long Wharf had for sale l t 200 barrels of flour, three hogsheads of leaf tobacco, 70 kegs of manufactured tobacco, and a thousand bushels of corn. Lemuel Moody was ready to distribute 50 barrels of strong beer. Aaron Porter had re-opened his glazier shop at the corner of Hack and Federal Streets. Nathan Dana was ready to dispose of 100 casks of Malaya raisins, 20 barrels of superior cherry rum, 10 casks of winter-strained sperm Oil, 100 boxes of yellow dipped candles, two dozen Leghorn bonnets, and a trunk of Morocco skins.

And with that salute to good old Morocco leather, we must say Good Night for Old Times’ Sake.

Year: 1962