Ttlere are probably several Waterville families who CQuid have been called\u00a0trolley car fans half a century ago. know one of those families who were so\u00a0fond of trolley rl des that husband and:’ wi fe took many long trips entl rely by\u00a0trolley. One of their longest was from Waterville to ‘” Lynn\u00b7” Massachusetts, every\u00a0foot of the way by success I ve changes of tro I ley car.<\/p>\n
When that couple were married in 1903, they took a two weeks’ honeymoon\u00a0through various parts of Central and Weste~n Maine without using the Maine Oen~\u00a0tra I Road except for the return journey from Gard I ner to Watervl lie. The I r trl p.1: <\/em>.~ .: .\u00a0began by team from Waterville to\/}\u00b7 Augusta, then out to T99uS by trolley, f,rom\u00a0Togus to Gardl ner by the 01 d Kennebec Centra I narrow gauge, then by boat, to\u00a0Bath, by trolley to Brunswick, Auburn, Lewiston, Portland, Old Orchard and Btdde.:;.\u00b7\u00b7\u00a0I, ~” ‘,’ …ford; side trips to various towns, and eventually by trolley to Gardiner, where\u00a0t~y ~ok their one broad gauge rai I road ride on the whole trip back to Waterville.\u00a0That couple, married 48 years ago, are well known and great\u00b7ly respected\u00a0citizens of. Watervl lie, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Vose.<\/p>\n In light of the ceaseless wrangling about hours of business for the Water vi lie stores”It is Interesting to see how they handle such matters In <\/em>a.small\u00a0town in Scotland. I have already told you that I see quite regularly the weekly\u00a0issues of the Peeb lesh I re News, loaned me by the courtesy of that f.1 ne son of\u00a0Peebles, John Burgess. The News of March 23 of this year devoted two entire\u00a0col urnns to a meet I ng of the Peeb les Shopkeepers and Merchants Associ ati’on.\u00a0At that meeting someone made a motion that shopkeepers who desired to remain open on Wednesday afternoons during the summer months should be “I lowed to\u00a0do so. A member then pol nted out that such a vote would requl re an amendment\u00a0to the by-laws, which speci fical Iy cal led for Wednesday afternoon closings\u00a0throughout the year. Another member called attention to the statutory act,\u00a0passed by Parliament, requiring the shopkeepers in any locality to show a twothi\u00a0rds majorl ty J n each trade before putting into effect any change I n the exIsting\u00a0plan of half holiday in each week, and to give six weeks’ notice of such\u00a0change to all clerks.<\/p>\n The meeting voted to refer the matter to a conmlttee for consideration and\u00a0prompt report. They agreed that tl:le statute woul d be obeyed, and that a II merchants\u00a0would be bound by the outcome.\u00a0It is both a virtue and a fault of the New England Yankee that he is deter\u00b7mi ned to protect and preserve his i ndi vi dua I independence. But even we Yankees\u00a0are smart enough to know that, in order to get a long together, we must have the\u00a0freedom of democracy, not the freedom of anarchy. There come ti mes when, for\u00a0the sake of the common we I fare, we must bow to the wi ” of the major! ty. Where\u00a0those Scotch merchants have the better of us Is In their abi Iity to enforce upon\u00a0a re I uctant mi norlty the wi II of the majori tv. When wi II our Watervi lie storekeepers\u00a0wake up to the same need?<\/p>\n Last wi nter I wrote a letter to the editor of that Peeb lesh ire News, praising\u00a0one of his editorials which upheld the United States vigorously against\u00a0vicious attacks from certain quarters of England and Scotland. One never knows\u00a0how a letter like that will get around. I n the Peeb lesh f re News of March 23\u00a0appears another letter wri tten by an aged son of Peeb les now Ii vi ng I n Los Ange\u00a0les. He wrote: ”We out here on the Pad fl c Coast of the Un I ted States were\u00a0much interested in the letter of Dean E. C. Marrl ner of Co Iby Co liege, Waterville,\u00a0Maine. We are as far from that 0011 lege as you are in Scotland. But the\u00a0unusual thing about a letter from Waterville is that the News is read in all\u00a0corne rs of the wor I d. Dean Marri ne r menti oned the Burgess fami Iy, we I I known to\u00a0ne In rtPf young days. Far away In the Mohave Desert in California, I have a young\u00a0friend naned Carolyn Burgess. On my next, visit to her town I shall ask her If\u00a0she I s a re I at:. w of the 0 I d Peeb les family and of the p resent Burgesses of Waterville,\u00a0Maine.”<\/p>\n I thas been some tl me s I nee we have mentioned the Kennebec town of Benton.\u00a0:,’,:\u00a0It is thei r turn toni ght, and for the i nformatl on wh I ch I pass on to you about\u00a0that town I am I ndebted to Mr. Chester E. Basford of Benton Station, who was the\u00a0chairman of the committee which arranged the celebration of Benton’s one hundredth\u00a0annt versary In 1942.\u00a0The original, Incorporated name of the town, when,lt got Its charter tn\u00a01842 was Sebasti cook. How the name happened to be changed In 1850, to honor the\u00a0great Democratic Senator from Ohio, Thomas H. Benton, Is not entirely clear, but\u00a0that comMiilitywhi,ch was to become, a strong center of Republican polities In later\u00a0days was, at any rate, ~amed for a prominent Democrat.\u00a0The tatn was ort gina Ily a part of Cltnton,and events which led up to the\u00a0separation Incl uded bt tter strl fe between Benton Falls and Hunter’s Mills over\u00a0the annual election of selectmen. Hunter’s Mi lis was the old nane of Clinton\u00a0Village. The original selectmen of the new town In 1842 were Daniel Brown” An …drew RI chardson and Andrew Grant. Benton ,!s fi rst representatl ve to the Leg’s …lature w\u00b7as Orrin Brown. A lot of men have gone to Augusta to represent Benton\u00a0since then, but I am told that the only man from Benton who ever serwd In the\u00a0State Senate Is Ralph W. Pillsbury.<\/p>\n In the old days Benton Falls was quite a place. The David Reed home, nat\u00a0owned by Dick Dyer, publicity man for Colby College, was a well known Inn on the\u00a0stage route from Port land to Bangor. Here Maine’s on Iy vi ce-p res I dent of the\u00a0United States, H~nnibal Hamlin, was a frequent visitor. Here were held community\u00a0neettngs of all kinds from pol itlcal gatherings to religioUs services. Here, from\u00a0the bar which stl II remains In the front room, the genial landlord dispersed\u00a0his beverages.\u00a0Hann I ba I Hamli n had other associ atlons with Benton bes I des stopping at\u00a0the David Reed tavern. In 1874 he was elected president of the Kennebec Fibre\u00a0Company, whIch started what was long to continue as Benton’s principal industry,\u00a0the paper ml II at Benton Falls, now unhapp I Iy defunct. The treasurer and general\u00a0manager of The ml II was Col. Francis E. Heath of Watervl lie. He used to\u00a0dri ve dally from\/hi s home In Waterville to the mill at Benton Falls. His team\u00a0was a sprightly pair of horses, and alongside ran his constant co.,.,anlons, two\u00a0beautiful seTter dogs. Col. Heath Is said fo have enjoyed especially fine relationships\u00a0with his employees, a policy carried on and even Increased by his son\u00a0and successor in the bus I ness, Edward W. Heath.<\/p>\n In 1899 was built one of the most un’.;que electric railroads in the country,\u00a0from Fal rfle I d to Benton Fa lis. On Iy Inci denTa lIy meant to carry passengers ~ Its\u00a0rna In purpose was to transport the products of The. ml II to the steam ral I road. The\u00a0I I tt Ie road was known as the lib roan stl ck tra in”. I t had a sing Ie car for passengers,\u00a0what carne to be called a funny Ii tt Ie car, wi th motorman and cooductor a II\u00a0the sane man ..\u00a0The Congregational Church at Benton Falls c\u00b7laimS file taSf f)etl cast at the\u00a0Paul Revere foundry In Canton, Mass. This was In 1828, several years after\u00a0Paul’s own deaTh. There 15 a legend, for which no-historical proof exists, that,\u00a0when the bell was being removed from the flat boat which had brought It up the\u00a0Sebastlcook River, It was dropped overboard, and that Its 720 pounds gave quite\u00a0a task to many. men and oxen before It was finally hauled up to what was then the\u00a0new dlurch. For 123 years that Pau I Revere be I I has hung and swung I n the be 1 \u00a0fry of the old meeting house at Benton Falls.\u00a0wonder t f any other Kennebec town outs I de of Benton has a memori a I school\u00a0desk? I n the. schoolhouse of what was long ca lied Dlstrl ct No. 5 at Benton Fa lis,\u00a0is a desk bearing a memorial tablet. It reads: “Asher C. Hinds, 1863-1919.\u00a0Scholar, statesman, parI iamentarian, when a boy studied at this desk.” Asher\u00a0HI nds was one of Benton’s most noted sons. He 1 s sti II known as the greatest\u00a0of Cong ress i ona I pa r I I amenta ri ans, se rv in gin th at cap aci ty un de r the two\u00a0great czars of the nati onal House of Representatives, Speakers Thomas B. Reed\u00a0and Joseph G. Cannon. So, 21 years ago, In 1930, the peop Ie of Benton honored\u00a0the memory of Asher Hinds by placing a marker on his old desk In the Benton\u00a0Fa II s school house.<\/p>\n How grateful we should be to the good folks of a hundred years ago who\u00a0patiently kept diaries. Such a man was Wi I Ii am K. Lunt JI who was just starting\u00a0in the business of what was to make him Benton’s most famous storekeeper when\u00a0he recorded in his diary: “December 31,1842. This is the last day of the old\u00a0year; tomorrOil begins the new. It fl nds me in bus I ness for myse If, and I hope\u00a0by strict attention to business, I shall gain the favor, goodwi II and patronage\u00a0of my townsmen as well as personal friends.” William Lunt was 21 years old when\u00a0he wrote those diary lines. He kept that store at Benton Falls unt! I old age\u00a0compelled his retirement. At one time he had a rival in Leonard Alexander, but\u00a0how much a rival may be judged from a story Benton people used to delight in\u00a0telling. One day a nei ghbor chi Id came Into Mr. Alexander’s store and sai d,\u00a0“Alec, give me a cent.” ”Why, Edna,”, said Mr. Alexander, “what do you want of\u00a0a cent?”, at the same time pull lng a penny out of his pocket and handing it to\u00a0the little girl. The chi Id grasped the coin and started for the door. Turning\u00a0a roun d, as she was about to cross the th resho I d, she sa i d: “I’m tak i ng It ove r\u00a0to Bi II Lunt’s store; he gives more for a cent than you do.’!<\/p>\n Does anyone sti II I iving remember Benton’s old merry-go-round? Near where\u00a0the Foot Hill Cab I n now stands, near the east end of the three brl dges, there\u00a0stood, sixty years ago, the home of James F. Tibbetts. About 1890, when Mr.\u00a0Tibbetts was a mil Iwright In the old Toiman mills, he decided to bui Id a merry\u00a0go-round. It was the fl rst constructed In Maine, and Mr. Tibbetts took a tour\u00a0of the Maine fairs. It had no prancing or flying horses, but only chariots with\u00a0seats. In the center sat a Fat rfleld man, Nate Tuttle, turning a wooden crank,\u00a0providing the motive pOfer. Mr. Tibbetts’ most famous passenger Is said to have\u00a0been the heavy-weight champion of the world, John L. SUllivan, who proved hlmoself\u00a0a better prize-fighter than merry-go-round rider, for his ride on Mr. Tib ..\u00a0betts merry-go-roUAd at the Unity Fair made John L. sea-sick.<\/p>\n One of Benton’s great ciTizens died only a few months ago. He was John Reed,\u00a0who had been born in the George W. Reed home In Benton, had been a pupil In the\u00a0same No.5 schoolhouse that has the Asher HI nds memoria I desk, and had married\u00a0Ell zabetb” granddaughter of the fi rst Asher Hinds, who had bul It at Qentoo Fa lis\u00a0the attracti:’te. spacious dwelling where the Hinds ,fami Iy were so long to live. In\u00a0recent yea rs thl s has been the grac I ous home of John and E I I zabeth Reed, for back\u00a0to the old, home they came on Mr. Reed’s retirement from a distinguished career.<\/p>\n Graduating fran the University of Maine In 1889, with a degree In Clvi I Englneerlng,\u00a0he turned at once to rail road construction, working for various roads on the\u00a0Atlantic seaboard until 1901. Then began his notable career In foreign lands.”He\u00a0bul It the first electric rai Iways in New Zealand and In <\/em>the Phi lipplnes, and made\u00a0a survey and cost ana Iys Is of the much hera lded Tr.ans-Andean Rai I road In SO’uth\u00a0, …. :.,’.\u00a0America. For seven years he was engaged in the Federal Valuation of Railroads.\u00a0He was one of America’s greatest railway constructloo engineers.<\/p>\n Like most Maine towns, Benton once had an academy. On the site of ‘he presentNo.5 Schoolhouse at Benton Falls stood what was known In 1842 as, the CI in ..ton Academy.Op.ened in 1830, <\/em>I t carried on for 00 Iy 28 years. I t was bul It by a\u00a0company of citizens, who intended to make it a female seminary. Unable to com-plete\u00a0the job, the company irurned the building over to the Methodist society,\u00a0which finished It and opened a co-educatlonal academy. When the building was\u00a0destroyed by fire In 1870, its use as an academy had already ceased, but for\u00a0several years its new owners had reserved the right to hold a high school In It\u00a0two terms each year. Whether such high school terms were ever held, after the\u00a0academy ‘offlcl.aIIY ceased to function, we do not know.<\/p>\n Anyhow, Benton I s one of the Kennebec Va II ey ‘s fine 0 I d towns I <\/em>with a\u00a0memorable history and a prosperous present. All Kennebec citizens may be proud\u00a0of It.<\/p>\n Year: 1951<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Read the script for “Little Talks” program #109, broadcast on May 20, 1951<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":405,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/405"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7230\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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