Radio Script #923

Little Talks on Common Things
March 5, 1972

A century ago there was a flood of tiny news sheets put out by local printers. These were quite different from the full-sized newspapers. They had only tidbits of local news, but were filled almost entirely by local ads. In fact, their purpose was to give the print shop some income in addition to its revenue from commercial printing, and to give advertisers access to homes at a cheaper rate than the newspaper offered.

Such a tiny paper, called the News Boy, was put out in Waterville in 1880, every Monday, for a subscription of 60 cents a year, by Bangs and Wells, who announced that they did circulars and card printing at the lowest prices on College Street. Only the first two pages carried anything except ads, and the whole paper was simply a folder of four pages, 6 1/2 by 5 inches. The particular issue that came to my attention recently was Vol. 1, No.7, for April 12, 1880. Under the heading of General Notes appeared the following items.

“These are some of the days we missed last February. They are overtaking us too late for winter, and do not remind us at all of spring. The cold winds are, however, drying up the roads rapidly.

“Smith and Meader have altered their plans and will run their mill this summer as usual.

“The Assessors are busy making their annual visits. People are always poor just now who are well off all the rest of the year.

“There is still much work to be done at the Elmwood Hotel, but Mr. Seavey will put as many men as can work to advantage as soon as the walls are dry. He expects to open June first. Rooms are to be furnished at once for the occupation of Mrs. Seavey, and the work of furnishing all other rooms will be under her direction. The barn next north of the hotel will be removed, leaving a large yard on that side. The grounds on the south will be graded and arranged with taste and skill.”

Not to be outdone by the Elmwood, Editor Bangs got in his own plug. It said, “Bangs’ watering place – now ready for summer visitors.”

Who were the advertisers in this little paper? One was P. S. Heald, the clothier, who had competition from the Boston Clothing House, one door north of the Williams House on Main Street. Three doors north of that same old tavern A. F. Conners did custom tailoring. Mark Gallert had just got in 1500 pairs of French kid button boots priced from $ 1.25 to $ 2.00 a pair, and his brother David Gallert offered spring dress goods in great variety.

There was entertainment in town. One ad said: “Town Hall, one night only, Tuesday, April 13 – “All the Rage”, as performed five consecutive weeks in Boston and with the same scenic effects. Secure seats at Percival’s.”

Henrickson advertised window shades and wall paper. Hodsdon and Lord, in their store on Main Street just above Temple, offered boots, shoes and rubbers; John Ware sold fire insurance, and W. A. Boothby was ticket agent to all points, north, south, east and west.

We think of cooked meats as something altogether new, brought about by the spread of supermarkets. But listen to this ad in that tiny 1880 paper: “Corner Market. Lowest Prices. C. H. Mathews. Cooked meats a specialty.”

No longer ago than the first decade of this century, formal notices and invitations still used Old English words that had already passed out of common speech. Listen to the wording of an invitation to an event in Litchfield, Maine, in 1904. “State of Maine. Litchfield Reunion. August 24, 1904. In behalf of the Litchfield Alum Association and the Trustees of Litchfield Academy, you are most cordially invited to be present at a reunion of the former students and alumni of Litchfield Liberal Institute and Litchfield Academy, to be holden at Litchfield Corner on the 24th day of August, 1904. Interesting public exercises at the church at 10:30 A.M. and 2 P.M. Kindly inform us if we may expect you.”

How long has it been since you have seen that old word ‘holden’ in print? It is a good, old Anglo-Saxon word, retaining the ancient ten-ending in the participle. It sounded quaint, I’m sure, as I read it to you, ‘holden at Litchfield Corner’, but it brings back memories of such notices 70 years ago.

To the older generation of Colby graduates a well remembered figure was the professor of German, Anton Marquardt, popularly known as “Dutchy”. I was especially close to him because I was for three years his student assistant, marking the daily papers that he called TEMES, because German does not have the English sound of ‘th’. For “Dutchy” theme was always teme, and think was always tink. Well as I knew Dr. Marquardt, I have seldom seen anything that he wrote. I was especially interested, therefore, to see recently a recommendation that he wrote nearly 80 years ago for a young lady student at Colby. That girl was Bessie Smith, daughter of the then aged Professor of Rhetoric, Samuel K. Smith. This is what Dr. Marquardt wrote on June 28, 1893:

“I hereby certify that Miss Bessie E. Smith, a special student at Colby University, has taken all the required and elective courses in the Department of Modern Languages, as prescribed for the regular students of the three higher classes of this college. She is a lady of high moral and religious character. Her excellent endowment for and her great interest in the modern languages, her indefatigable work, and her regular attendance, combined with a keen attention in the recitation room, made her so successful in this department that, in her examinations, she wrote frequently the best paper in the class. In both languages she has acquired a correct pronunciation and can translate different passages at sight, not only from the foreign languages into her own, but also from German into French, or French into German, and with great facility can translate from English into German. She has had some practice in speaking German and French. Under my instruction she has read the following books.” (Then follows a list of eleven books in German and seven in French). The statement concludes with these words: “I can recommend her with full confidence that she will give excellent satisfaction if she has an opportunity to teach German and French in advanced classes in higher institutions. (Signed) Anton Marquardt, Ph.D., from the University of Kiel, Germany.”

Some of the books Miss Smith read to satisfy Dr. Marquardt’s requirements are still read in German and French classes, long-lasting classics like Storm’s Immensee, Goethe’s Hermann and Dorothea, Lessing’s Minna von Barnbelm, Racine’s Athalie, and Hugo’s Hermani.

Old graduation programs of colleges and academies are plentiful, but seldom do we find one for a Maine academy graduation as early as 1833, which was 139 years ago. So it was with a thrill that I ran across the graduation program for that year at Waterville Academy, the school that later became Coburn Classical Institute. The cover tells us: “Waterville Academy. Order of Exercises for the graduation. July 29. – 2 o’clock P.M. The year is indicated by the eleven Roman numerals that translate into 1833. Graduation programs were long in those days. Besides two prayers and five musical selections, there were 21 speakers. There must have been a lot of nodding in the audience before they had all finished.

Some of those schoolboy speakers of 1833 later rose to prominence. One was Nathaniel Boutelle, son of the totin Squire and big land owner, Timothy Boutelle. In the mid-century he was Waterville’s leading physician. For him, at the time of his marriage, his father built the brick house on College Avenue later occupied by Colby presidents – a fine old house that will soon be torn down to make way for a new Waterville post office.

Another speaker at the old Coburn graduation was Edward Southwick of Vassalboro. He was son of Jacob Southwick, a Vassalboro pioneer, who developed the early industries at Getchell’s Corner, and to whose potash kiln settlers as far away as Skowhegan used to bring their ashes. Edward Southwick later became a successful merchant in fast growing Chicago.

Best known of all those 21 speakers to Colby graduates in the last half of the 19th century was John Foster, who became Colby’s much loved Professor of Greek, and whose grandson, Dr. John Foster of Waterbury, Conn., was one of my own Colby classmates.

Even as early as 1833, Coburn students were coming from places far from Waterville. On that program were boys – at that time the students were all boys – boys who lived in Turner, Bangor, Belfast, and Berwick in Maine, from Boston, Manchester, Charlestown, and Northborough in Massachusetts and one young man hailed from Woodville, Mississippi.

Most of the speeches were memorized selections such as Webster on the Union, Burke on the Stamp Act, and Adam’s Spirit of Freedom. But some of them were original essays. James Task of Manchester, Mass., spoke on “Necessity of Intellectual Improvement for the Laboring Classes”, a fancy title for what today would be labeled “Why Laborers Should Learn to Read”.

The topic of Sam Jewett of Gardiner was “Power of the Intellect”. The last one of those 21 speakers was Sam Bradford of Middleboro, Mass., who gave an address on “Slavery”. Bradford’s address was timely, because 1833 was the very year when the first anti-slavery society was organized in Waterville and when local people heard William Lloyd Garrison in the town hall on the common.

The collection of Boutelle papers at the Waterville Historical Society continues to grow. A recent discovery reveals that, among Timothy Boutelle’s numerous other interests, was shipping. It seems that Boutelle was in partnership with Jonathan Heywood of Hallowell in the operation of a cargo schooner. In July, 1807, Boutelle wrote to Heywood his concern for the safety of their ship. The Jeffersonian Embargo Act had just been imposed, and war with England seemed immanent. That explains the Boutelle letter worded as follows: “If the alarm of War, which it seems is sounding from one end of the nation to the other, be well founded, the situation of our schooner is critical. As I have no opportunity to know what steps our government may pursue, or the speculations and conjectures of commercial men, I am all together in the dark as to the expediency of insuring our vessel against war risks instead of simple insurance by the year. But, as there seems to be a prospect of war, and as you are in a better position than myself for watching its motions and ascertain its progress, I refer it solely to your discretion whether to insure my part by the year or by the voyage against war risks. I will confirm whatever you shall do.”

And with that old reference to insuring sailing vessels in time of threatened war, we must say goodbye until next week.

Year: 1972