Radio Script #532

Little Talks on Common Things

April 1, 1962

Lots of local people remember the electric car line from Waterville to Fairfield, but I wonder how many there are who remember when those cars were propelled by horses, not by electricity. When that line was built in 1888 it was indeed a horse car line.

Recently it was my privilege to see a statement that must have been one of the last ever made out in the name of the Selectmen of Waterville. It is dated December 1, 1887, less than a month before Waterville became a city and the office of selectman went out of existence. Anyhow, it was on that first day of December, 1887 that Charles Redington and Howard Morse, as selectmen, signed the following papers concerning the horse car line to Fairfield: “Whereas the Waterville and Fairfield R.H. Company is authorized to construct and maintain a horse railroad from such point in the Town of Waterville, upon and over the streets thereof, as shall be determined by the selectmen and assented to by the corporation, it is hereby determined that the most southern terminal of said railroad and the starting point thereof shall be in Main Street opposite the present site of the Post Office in Milliken’s Block in Waterville. The company is permitted to construct and maintain its railroad upon and over said Main Street, from the starting point of the railroad northerly to where Main Street intersects College Street, thence upon and over College Street to the boundary line between Waterville and Fairfield. The railroad shall be constructed and maintained upon Main and College Streets in the center thereof, from the said starting point to the northerly College Street railroad crossing; and over the remainder of the route, from the aforesaid railroad crossing to the southerly line of Fairfield, the track of the horse railroad shall be laid upon the easterly side of the street, and the track shall be laid as near to the shoulders of the ditches as may be convenient and prudent.”

Hard pressed by a town debt accumulated through the necessity of caring for impoverished soldiers’ families during the Civil War, Waterville began in 1867 to be zealous in searching out intangible property for taxation. Just as today corporations are required to report the names of recipients of dividends and the amounts received to internal Revenue, in the late 1860’s a new Maine law required Maine corporations to report to towns the stockholders of the corporation residing in the particular town.

Of course the longest lists reported to the Waterville assessors were from the companies located in Waterville itself. One of these was the Ticonic Bridge Corporation, for it was much later than the 1860’s when that bridge was freed and became the property of the town. During and for some time after the Civil War it was a toll bridge owned by a private corporation.

On April 1, 1869 the Ticonic Bridge Corporation duly reported to the Waterville selectmen that 28 Waterville residents owned stock in the bridge. The largest owner was the Ticonic Bank with 10 shares. Dr. N. R. Boutelle had 7 shares, Meader and Philbrick had 6, as did Samuel Doolittle. President Champlin of Colby College held a single share, while Prof. George Keely held two. Among the women who owned stock in the bridge were Sarah Nudd, Hannah Elden and Florence Plaisted. James Stackpole — he was the third Stackpole of that name to be a prominent citizen of Waterville -had three shares in the bridge; and Samuel, son of Dr. Moses Appleton, had five shares. The paper, giving the whole return with its 28 names to the selectmen, was signed by A. A. Plaisted, clerk of the Ticonic Bridge Corporation.

In a recent broadcast about Norridgewock I mentioned that town’s famous woman writer, Sophie May. Mrs. Helen Louise Currier of Nye’s Corner, Fairfield, tells me that her mother had an interesting association with Sophie May. Mrs. Currier’s mother was Mrs. Mark Claflin, who graduated from the William Smith Grammar School in 1882. For her graduation part she wrote an essay on Sophie May. To get information the girl wrote to the Norridgewock author and received a courteous reply, in the course of which the Norridgewock woman said, With her well known playful humor, Sophie l-f..AYwrite another book and Sophie MAY not.

The Waterville Historical Society has recently received a valuable set of photographs of local street scenes taken at the time of the centennial celebration in 1902. It hardly seems possible that few persons are still living who remember that celebration. Since it occurred exactly 60 years ago, and since few people remember distinctly anything that happened before they were five years old, a person would have to be at least 65 years old to have any clear remembrance of that event.

This collection consists of 41 mounted photographs, and they certainly reveal that Waterville was gaily decorated for the historic occasion. One picture, taken from near the Elmwood Hotel, shows triumphal arch erected across the street where College Avenue joins Main Street, and it gives one of the best views I have ever seen of the brick building with its long flight of granite steps that stood in the triangle where the Waterville Post Office now stands.

One unusual fact is revealed by others of these pictures. I had always supposed that parades uniformly went down Main Street.

These pictures show the centennial parade moving not down, but up Main Street. One such picture is taken from a spot near what is now the corner of the J. C. Penney store,and shows the entire east side of Main Street from the Haines mansion to the City Hall square. At that time neither the Professional Building nor the old Savings Bank Block, now owned by Lewis Levine, had been built. On the site of the present Professional:’~Building, at the corner of Appleton Street, was the stately home of William T. Haines. On the other side of Appleton Street was a vacant lot, where the picture shows tents set up for the centennial celebration. All the buildings, including the Haines home as well as the business blocks, are gaily festooned in bunting, and huge banners hang across the street every few yards all the way down town.

Another picture, taken directly opposite the Haines house, shows an important part of the parade,the contingent of decorated bicycles, evidently made up of members of the Waterville Bicycle Club, because they are all men wearing identical caps, white shirts and knickers.

Of course in all the pictures there is not a single automobile, but not all the spectators came on foot to witness the big parade. One photo, taken in the area now known as Hoberts Square, near the Maine Central Station, shows dozens of horse-drawn vehicles, one of them a milk wagon. In all the wagons and carriages, people are both sitting and standing to watch the parade.

Most of the other pictures are separate views of business blocks on Main Street, and they are happy reminders of the business men and women in this city sixty years ago. Of course there was the Arnold store, smaller than now, but in the same location. North of it was the well known ice cream and candy dispensary of W. A. Hager, and on the Temple Street corner was the firm of Alden and Deehan. ln a smaller building between the stores of C. E. Matthews and Mrs. S. E. Percival, was a stairway leading to the offices of Dr. M. Kennan Dwinell, physician and surgeon. On the southwest corner of Temple Street “was the grocery store of H. C. Haskell and the establishment of F. A. Fryait and Company, while upstairs was the office of the Boothby Insurance Agency.

Farther down Main Street were the stores of E. A. Harriman, the jeweler, W. R. Jones, the druggist, and G. S. Dolloff, clothier. On the third floor above them was the hall of the Knights of Pythias, and hanging over the street was a sign saying “The Cars Stop Here”.

On the same side of the street, next to Wardwell’s Dry Goods Store, was the Merchants National Bank. In the three story building up Main Street, just across the alley from what was then the big Unitarian Church lawn, was the Waterville Steam Laundry, and a few doors below was a place called the City Dining Hall. Across the street in the building now occupied by Alvina and Delia, and so long owned by Samuel Wein, there was located in 1902 the millinery establishment of the Misses Towne. On the second floor above them was the dental office of Dr. Toward, and on the third floor was the club room of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. At that time the Dekes were the only Colby fraternity having housing quarters. Not until 1907 were the Zetes, the D’ U’s and the A TO’s allowed to have sole occupancy of ends of the old dormitories and the Phi Delts were allowed to take over what had been Ladies riall, a residence standing where the A & P market is now situated. So in 1902 not only the Phi’Delts, but also every other Colby fraternity except the Dekes, had club rooms down town.

Down where the Montgomery Ward building makes such an impressive corner were the long, low, two-story structures that some of us remember so well. On the corner was the grocery store of Whitcomb and Cannon. Next to it was Pomerleau’s barber shop. Then came the store of William Levine, and next was the cigar manufacturer, P. P. Herbst, who had six big signs between the windows of the second floor, reading respectively up. P. Herbst, cigar maker and jobber in smokers’ articles; P. P. Herbst, dealer in pipes, largest assortments at lowest prices, pipes repaired; P. P. Herbst, wholesale and retail tobacconist; smoke the Silver Street 5t cigar; smoke the K. P. cigar; and P. P. Herbst, finest tobacco and cigars.

On the corner of Main and Silver Streets was the big store of Clukey and Libby, The picture shows Mr. Clukey in front of the store, derby hat on his head and an umbrella in his hand.

There is a fine picture of the Plaisted house at the corner of Main and Center Streets, another of the old Deke House, where the American Legion building now stands, and a very impressive picture of the rectory of St. Francis church, gaily decorated in flags and bunting. Just south of the Merchants Bank on the west side of Main Street was Hawker’s drug store and a stairway leading to the Free Baptist Hall and to the rooms of the Waterville Women’s Association. There is an excellent picture of the Unitarian Church and the Ware Parlors, with a black and white terrier sporting on the lawn. The most impressive building in all the pictures is the Dunn block at the southeast end of Main Street. Now occupied principally by the Crescent Hotel, in 1902 a hotel used only the three upper floors, and the entire ground floor was taken by stores, including the Fortier hardware store that featured Crawford ranges.

Not to be forgotten were the bakers. Best known was the German baker, Otten, with his place on East Temple Street, while on West Temple was the smaller Colby Bakery. Next to Otten’s was the paint shop of James Clarkin. One of the most lavishly decorated stores was that of L. H. Soper, which displayed no fewer than twenty American flags.

Between Haskell’s grocery on the southeast corner of Main and Temple Streets and the Wardwell store were Dorr’s Drug Store in the old Phoenix Block, the Ticonic Bank, the People’s Bank, and the clothing store of Perham Heald.

Altogether these 41 pictures are pleasant reminders of Waterville of an earlier day. And with a salute to that gay celebration of 60 years ago, we say Good Night for Old Time’s Sake.

Year: 1962