We have more than once on this program said a good word for old-time Yankee\u00a0thri ft, for the pol I cy of spendi ng Just a little less than you earn. In\u00a0this connection, that valuable contributor to our program, the man who calls\u00a0himself One Eleven, has a novel suggestion concerning the prlgin of Installment\u00a0buying, what folks used to call the partial payment plan. He points out that\u00a0in the early 1900’s It became the fashionable thing to have a plano in the par_\u00a0lor. A piano cost a lot of money, and the people who felt that they had to have\u00a0one to keep up with the Jones, were much more numerous than those who could pay\u00a0cash for the instrument. So the piano dealers worked out a plan of Installment\u00a0payments, based on the catchy slogan, “Pay as you play”. The result was, as\u00a0One Eleven puts it, “Up and down the street the du I cat <\/em>tones of practl cI ng prod\u00a0i gi es were heard at a II ~ours of day and even I ng.”<\/p>\n Just as happened so often in later years, even the Installment payments\u00a0proved too much for some fo I ks, and the word “repossess i on II carne I nto our commercial vocabulary.\u00a0Speaking of vocabulary, some of the misuses of common words in the old-time\u00a0advertiSing are amusing. There was, for instance, the ad for Stryker’s Kitchen\u00a0Soap. Because It was,\u00b7made i n far away San Franc I sco, it was p robab I y not common\u00a0in Maine stores, but it was sold in 1910 by at least one store in Augusta.<\/p>\n It was a strong soap. If used in sufficient strength, cut up and bol led in\u00a0water, it would remove several coats of paint. It was advertised for brightening\u00a0tin ware, removing stains from marble, and was especially recommended for\u00a0washing the hands of printers, blacksmiths and bot ler makers. Then the ad says:<\/p>\n “It wi I I remove stains from garments quicker and more cOl’f1) letely than any known\u00a0eras i ve.” of course, what they meant was abras i ve.<\/p>\n Town reports can be pretty dry publications~ but after the years go by\u00a0they reveal some interesting items. Two reports of the town of Winslow at the\u00a0turn of the century recently came into my hands. The Winslow town farm did\u00a0pretty well fifty years ago. Produce of the farm sold for $483 \u2022\u2022 The largest\u00a0single item was hay, Though milk, cream and but1er, taken together, exceeded IT.\u00a0Apparently the town farm kept chiefly a dairy herd, because they sold fourteen\u00a0calves for $95. Think what a calf brings today; then think of selling them in\u00a01900 for less Than seven do I I ars a piece.<\/p>\n In 1901 only one person was supported on the Winslow town farm for the ful I\u00a052 weeks of the year. For three weeks a woman and her four chi Idren were kept\u00a0There. 8esidesthose children, only five adulTS were at the town farm at any\u00a0time during the year. Somebody figured out that the average cost of keeping\u00a0a I I the town farm paupers for the who Ie year was $2.26 a week — nOT $2.26 each,\u00a0but for the whole lot. The superintendent and his wife received a Joint salary\u00a0of $275 a year.<\/p>\n Town reporTs in those days were pretty thorough. The voters wanted deTai\u00a0led information about the expenditure of every tax dollar, and they got it. \u00a0Three full pages are needed to give the list of expenditures for the Winslow\u00a0town farm in 1901. Among the unusual items are: mending tin ware 20 cents,\u00a0sled pole 55 cents, sulphur and camphor 45 cents, ironing sled $1.25.\u00a0The superintendent and his wife did a thrifTY Job. The total cost of articles\u00a0purchased for the place came to $469, whi Ie the articles sold amounted\u00a0to $483, a neat prof i t of $14. But of course the re were othe r expenses bes ides\u00a0articles purchased, so that it cost the town some $350 to operate the town farm.\u00a0Among the deaths recorded in the 1902 report is Daniel Taylor, ninety years\u00a0old, who had been born when Thomas Jefferson was President of the United States.\u00a0The Board of Health report for the same year contains the following section:<\/p>\n “On the outbreak of sma II pox In Watervi lie 1 n June, one house In <\/em>th I s town became\u00a0infected, but was thoroughly fumigated at once. Thirty persons In this\u00a0town who had never been vaccinated were exposed. By pro~t and successful vaccl\u00a0nat I on, an outbreak of the dl sease was stopped.”<\/p>\n When we cons I dar what a fl ne school WI ns low HI gh is today, It is hard for\u00a0us to realize what it was like in 1902. When the town books closed in February\u00a0of that year WI ns low High Schoo I had a tota I of Just twenty students. Not one\u00a0of them was a senior; seven were Juniors, six sophomores, and seven freshmen.<\/p>\n The names of a II students were gl van I n the town report, and I am sure some\u00a0of our I I steners w I I I recogn I ze such namas as Everard Grl nda I I, Freeman S I~son,\u00a0Fred Colby, David Herd, Clarence Howard and Alfred Pltterson. Among the\u00a0girls were Amy Withee, Katie Larkin, Jessie Whitehouse and Lulu Smart.\u00a0The superintendent of schools was no less. a person than Winslow’s veteran\u00a0teacher and librarian, Jennie Howard. She was In charge of fourteen Cllfferent\u00a0schools and 19 teachers, only one of whom was a man. Total pupi I enrollment\u00a0was 290. The largest school was Number 18, where Emi Iy Garland had 60 primary\u00a0pup I I s and May Ho lmas had 24 .1 n the granrnar grades.<\/p>\n In the warrant for the 1902 town meeting we find the following Items: “To\u00a0see If the town wit I take action to establish a state road. To see what action\u00a0the town wi II take to establish price for entering the tOlim sewer. To see if\u00a0the town will take any further action In regard to a water system.” Those are\u00a0not unusual Items, but among the 36 articles of that 50 year old warrant are\u00a0two of historical interest: “Article 34 – to see if the town will authorize\u00a0the se lectmen to borrow a sum of money to repal r the te~orary brl dge I n case\u00a0It should be damaged by the spring freshet.” In the big flood of 1901 the Sebasti\u00a0cook bri dge had been swept away and had not been rep laced by a permanent\u00a0structure when the 1902 town meeting came around.<\/p>\n Now note Arti c Ie 29: “To see if the town wi II <\/em>take any acti on to care\u00a0for the block house or appo i nt anyone to mave I n the matter. II That arti c Ie\u00a0refers, of course, to Fort Ha II fax, and shows what a sad state of di srepa i r\u00a0the one remaining block house had fallen into unti I patriotic interests, especi\u00a0a II y the OAR ~ restored it.<\/p>\n Certainly some of our older Winslow citizens remember how a high school\u00a0began in that town. Because of the proximity of Waterville High School and\u00a0Coburn Institute in one direction and the then co-educational school of Oak\u00a0Grove in the other direction, Winslow was late In getting a public high school.<\/p>\n On March 13, 1899 the town voted, as the 1900 report puts It, “rroney for the\u00a0support of free high school u. Strange Iy enough, that meant not one high school,\u00a0but actually two high schools, for it was decided to establish one high school\u00a0on Sand Hili and another In East Wins low, at Schoolhouse No.7. In that fi rst\u00a0year of operation the high school on Sand Hi II had a total of 18 pupi Is, all\u00a0freshmen. The high school pupi Is at East Winslow numbered seven.<\/p>\n John Taylor, who was school superintendent in 1900, said in his published\u00a0report: “Mr. Charles Clement was employed as principal of Winslow High School.\u00a0The school has been more of a success than was anti cipated. Teachers and pupi Is\u00a0are looking forward to the time when they will enter high school and are eager\u00a0in their preparation for that event.<\/p>\n Now letts give Fairfield a chance on this program. What did the Fairfield\u00a0Journal have to say sixty years ago? Well, on January 2, 1894 the Journal published\u00a0this item: “Breaking an axle on one end of the electric cars opposite\u00a0the Free Baptist Church at eight o’clock this morning caused delay on one trip_\u00a0A barge with horses was put on to convey the passengers to th i s end of the\u00a0route. II When was the last ti me a horse car operated between Watervi I Ie and\u00a0Fairfield? Unless a simi lar mishap caused horses to be put on later, Just as\u00a0they were In th is case, the I ast horse car on that road ran Just fl tty years\u00a0ago yesterday.<\/p>\n Older Fa I rfle I d res i dents remember the I r famous seaman, Captal n Kreger.\u00a0The Journal for January 16, 1894 said: “One of the largest cargoes of Ice ever\u00a0shipped out of Rockport will be that of the four-masted schooner Sarah C. Ropes,\u00a0now I oadl ng for Wash I ngton, D. C. Her captal n I s Capt. W. R. Kreger of Fal rfield,\u00a0who is part owner and manager. She wi II carry 2,000 tons.”<\/p>\n That same week a new invention appeared In Fairfield: “Mr. Hadley of\u00a0Exeter, New Hampshire Is In town selling his folding bath tub. For convenience\u00a0and economy it surpasses anything of the kind offered to the public. Those des\u00a0i rl n9 a bath tub w II I do we I I to ava i I themse I yeS of th i s opportun i ty to save\u00a0money and keep clean.”<\/p>\n The Journal had something to say about one of the era’s new necessities.\u00a0”There were reports last fall of a substantial reduction In the price of bicycles,\u00a0but the ads of such reductions have not yet appeared. Bicycles are\u00a0gatt I ng to be as much a~’)necess ity as telephones , and the prj ce ought to go down. n\u00a0What memories are brought back to older minds by a statement made by the\u00a0Fa i rf I e I d Journa I on January 30, 1894. “BI II Nye and W I II I am Haw ley Smi th w I II\u00a0appear at City Hall, Watervi lie, tomorrow evening. It is the chance of a life\u00a0time to hear these two noted men. The e lectrl c cars will acoonmodate all from\u00a0Fa I rf I e I d \u2022 tI<\/p>\n On July 3, 1894 the Journal again referred to Captain Kreger. “Captain\u00a0Kreger of the Sarah C. Ropes arri ved home Frl day from a voyage to Cuba and other\u00a0ports. Among the things he brought from foreign parts was a parrot for Mrs.\u00a0W. J. Bradbury, which Is said to talk the Spanish language very fluently.”\u00a0And with that Item we say, with Mrs. Bradbury’s parrot, “Buenos noches”.<\/p>\n Year: 1954<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Read the script for “Little Talks” program #208, broadcast on January 3, 1954<\/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":[749,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7376"}],"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=7376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7376\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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