Radio Script #1149

Little Talks on Common Things
January 22, 1978

It is a long time since this program referred to one of the region’s old weekly newspapers, the Clinton Advertiser. Recently I was reminded again of that paper when I had a chance to examine all 26 issues of its Volume 3, from June 19, 1879 to June 3, 1880. Because the whole volume contained only 26, not 52 issues, it is clear that the paper was not then a weekly, but came out only every fortnight.

The masthead of that Volume 3 does not give the name of the editor. It says simply “Clinton Advertiser, published semi-monthly at Clinton, Maine. Terms 50 cents a year. For special rates of advertising, address the Clinton Advertiser.”

As was common for those village papers a century ago, the first of the Advertiser’s four pages was devoted to moralistic prose and poetry of the kind printers called boiler plate, that is material obtained from outside sources and circulated from some central point, much in the manner of today’s syndicated columns. For instance, Page 1 of the Advertiser issue of June 19, 1879, was featured by an essay on “Laziness”. The next issue had a long poem entitled “Be Careful What You Say”.

News items were confined to the two inside pages, many of them clustered under a common heading, “Home Items.” Here are a few samples. “Charles Fogg has had a fence built around his house.” “Potato and cucumber bugs are now busy in the gardens.” “Crows have been unusually vociferous this spring.” “Blaisdell and Wentworth have had a new refrigerator put into their store so they can keep meat on hand in hot weather. We suspect people will prefer to patronize them rather than the iceless meat carts.”

The editor wanted Clinton people to know who were the well-to-do men in the community. So he published a list of, citizens who paid a total tax of more than $50 in 1879. The list was led by E. G. Hodgdon, who was taxed for $136, followed by Gideon Wells with $130. There were altogether 14 names. Well remembered among them are Daniel Cain, Thomas Low and Zimri Hunter.

Now let us note a few items the Advertiser’s editor considered important in 1879.

“The Maine Central has been grading their extension on the Skowhegan branch, and they did it none too soon. It was a bad and dangerous piece of track. ”

“Volney Chase, visiting friends here, interfered in a quarrel between Lewis Roundy and Bill Libby. Roundy turned on Chase with an open knife, cutting a gash in Chase’s abdomen about three inches long. Partially warding off the blow, Chase saved his life. He then walked from the scene of conflict near the depot to the residence of Dr. Whitten who dressed the wound and sent Chase home where he is now recovering. It may be some time, before he interferes in another quarrel. We may add that rum was the cause of the fracas.”

Clinton was good sheep country in 1879. At that time George Flood, founder of Waterville’s well known Flood Fuel Co., was an office employee of the Maine Central in Waterville, and had only shortly before superintended the changing of the gauge between Waterville and Bangor from its original 5 feet 6 inches to the standard 4 feet 8 inches. Born in Clinton, Flood never lost his interest in that town nor in Somerset County’s leading product, sheep. At the very time those 1879 issues of the Advertiser were coming from the press, George Flood was making regular trips over Somerset and northern Kennebec buying wool. In 1880, Flood was known as one of Maine’s most active wool traders. In July 1879, the Advertiser had this to say about sheep: “Dogs have killed or wounded many sheep and lambs on Clinton farms. Sumner Flood has lost eight, Francis Chamberlain six, H. M. Bean three, and Ira Whitten two.”

I wonder now many school children today would like to have their classroom records published in the town paper. That’s what happened in Clinton in 1879. Of course those ranked “Excellent” were glad to have their names in the paper, but what about those marked “Poor” or even “Fair”? There were 23 with the only “Fair” designation. It was in fact true of the only two pupils bearing the historic Clinton name of Hunter, and likewise true of two Browns, whose family gave the community its Brown Memorial Church. Among the few pupils graded as “Excellent” were Martha Richardson, Blanche Dixon and Carrie Jaquith. Not a single boy in the whole list had that distinction.

Did you know that Clinton’s neighboring town of Burnham once had a shoe factory? The Advertiser tells us: “The shoe factory in Burnham has started up fall trade with a prospect of good business, and they intend to turn out six cases of shoes every day.”

Traffic accidents, seldom fatal and less frequent than today’s auto crashes, did occur in the horse and buggy days, like this one in the summer of 1879. “On Monday, Jeremiah Dixon and his daughter were driving home when the colt, not long broken to driving, was frightened by a train whistle near the depot crossing. She kicked herself clear of the carriage, breaking shafts and whiffle tree. Miss Dixon was thrown out and carried unconscious to the home of John Holt nearby. Dr. Whitten was called, found her not seriously hurt, and took her home in his buggy. She was badly frightened but fortunately not injured beyond having the wind knocked out of her.”

The same issue of the Advertiser told of another accident. “Mrs. Alonzo Goodrich and Warren Watling were driving into the village last Saturday, when the horse stepped into a hole in the bridge near Mr. Woodstock’s. The horse fell down and nearly rolled into the brook. The result, however, was only bruises on the horse’s legs and a broken shaft on the carriage.”

Persons of my age well remember the Italian organ grinders who brought their hand organs into Maine villages in the summer. In August 1879, the Advertiser said: “The hand organ man has come and gone. Friday evening and Saturday morning in our village, admiring groups listened to the dulcet tones. One of our locals says, if he were rich he would hire a hand organ man to play for him all the time.

In the fall of 1879 the Advertiser paid due attention to the state election. That was the notorious count-out election that put Garcelon in the Governor’s chair, though in the voting he had the lowest count among three major candidates. Two sides both claimed victory and went so far as actually to set up two governments in Augusta. A minor civil war seemed likely – at least some actual violence – when the hero of Gettysburg, Gen. Joshua Chamberlain was asked to take over under martial law. His wise control finally brought peace, but a governor not elected by the voters.

The Advertiser reported on a rally held in Clinton during that election campaign. “The last speeches of the campaign in Clinton were made Wednesday evening by Herbert M. Heath of Augusta and William T. Haines of Waterville for the Republicans, and on Friday by De la Mabyr for the Democrats.” In another column the Advertiser reported the final count of votes in the whole state: “Davies, Republican, 68,967; Smith, Greenback, 47,643; Garcelon, Democrat, 21,851.”

In Clinton the leader had been the Greenback candidate, Smith with 238 votes, and Garcelon, the man who finally landed in the governor’s chair, got only 34.

How could Garcelon possibly be made governor when he polled the lowest all-state vote of the three candidates, getting only 22,400 of the 140,000 votes cast? The answer is provided by the involved political situation in 1879. Although each of the three parties had a separate candidate for governor, in the resulting heated and even violent, contest, the Democrats and the Greenbacks agreed on so-called fusion candidates for most members of the Legislature. The result was that in the Maine Senate there were 20 Fusions and 17 Republicans. The House had 78 Fusions and 61 Republicans with 12 vacancies. Competing persons presented themselves at the opening of the legislature, holding certificates for the same seats. Getting behind Garcelon, the Fusion element seated him, but the Republicans strongly protested. Then the State Supreme Court passed on the legality of the contested seats and declared the Republican Davies the properly elected governor. Meanwhile the State House was under siege with ugly violence close to eruption – only the intervention of General Chamberlain saved the state from a minor civil war.

During all the fracas in Augusta, the Clinton Advertiser filled its columns with local news folks regarded as more important. In one issue there was a lot about stables. “S. G. Roundy is building a new stable. Joseph Ricker is underpinning his stable. S. S. Foster is shingling his, and A. G. Hodgdon Is giving his a new coat of paint.”

Long before Aroostook County’s fiasco with sugar beets in our time, those root vegetables were being traded in Clinton. In October 1879, the Advertiser sai,d: “J. P. Billings has an acre in handsome sugar beets.”

Like all Maine towns in the late 19th century, Clinton had its share of tramps. In October 1879, the paper said: “Last Sunday night there were several tramps in the village. They stopped around the church. After begging at several homes, they stole grapes from the vines of S. S. Foster.”

Another issue of the paper gave some historical information. It said: “When Thomas Hodgdon moved to Clinton in 1831, there was only one house in what is now the village, and it was used as a shoemaker’s shop. But not far away was the home of David Hunter on a farm of 400 acres. On the other side of the present village lived Jesse Barker. The next house built in the village was the present Clinton House, erected by Alfred Hunter, father of the present proprietor. Mr. Hunter lost his life while running logs over Sebasticook Falls in 1839.”

“The first dam across the Sebasticook was built by the first David Hunter who erected there a sawmill and gristmill. All the sawed lumber was rafted down to Hallowell, for shipment from that Kennebec port.”

Did you know that Clinton had a croquet factory in 1880? That is shown by the statement in the paper that the Hunter shingle mill once stood “where the croquet factory now stands.” A fraternal organization of some importance in 1880 was the Good Templars. In that year the Clinton Lodge put on an entertainment described thus in the Advertiser. “The entertainment by the Good Templars on Wednesday evening was a great success. Gratifying were the results to raise funds for an organ. About $50 was realized. The drama was well received, and all the actors acquitted themselves well. Let us give them a word of advice. The next time you are on the stage, raise your voices so you can be heard throughout the, hall. It is exasperating to watch persons on the stage but be unable to hear what they say.”

The whole year’s volume of the Clinton Advertiser has so many more interesting items than we can get into a single broadcast, that next week we plan to give you more. But for today, we must say goodbye until next week.

Year: 1978