A great man has gone. Franklin Winslow Johnson, foremost citizen of Watervi lie\u00a0and founder of the New Colby on Mayflower Hi I I, died last night after 85 years of a\u00a0rich, rewarding life, al I of whose adult years were spent in the service of youth.\u00a0Mayflower Hi II is his monument, but the literally thousands of men and women scattered\u00a0allover the world, who were influenced by him as teacher and administrator \u00a0— those grateful men and women are his reward.\u00a0Frank Johnson was The first of what have been cal led the modern principals of\u00a0Coburn Institute, for he was the first to follow Dr. James Hanson, whose name had\u00a0been a synonym for Coburn for more than forty years. Little did Frank Johnson\u00a0think, back there in 1894, that the day would come when the name Johnson would win\u00a0even wider and more illustrious renown as a synonym for Colby.<\/p>\n
When the great Wi I liam Raney Harper became president of the University of Chicago,\u00a0he cal led one by one four Colby graduates to assist him in bui Iding a national\u00a0university in the Middle West. He cal led Nathaniel Butler to be dean of the undergraduate\u00a0col lege, Albion Woodbury Small as dean of the graduate school, and Shai ler\u00a0Mathews as dean of the Divinity School. But the university also planned a private\u00a0high school to prepare students for university admission, and Dr. Harper needed\u00a0someone to head it. He selected another Colby graduate, Franklin Winslow Johnson.\u00a0During his ten years in charge of the Chicago school, Frank Johnson’s successful\u00a0administration became so wei I known that Teachers College of Columbia University\u00a0cal led him to the chair of Secondary Education at that famous institution,\u00a0where he remained unti I he came to Waterv; I Ie as Colby’s president 26 years ago.<\/p>\n
When Dr. Johnson took office at Colby it was already a good col lege, strengthened\u00a0especially by the devoted, sacrificing labor of his predecessor, Arthur\u00a0Roberts. But Colby was then a col lege almost unknown outside a narrow circle in\u00a0New England. What a difference today! National magazines, the motion picture\u00a0screen, radio and television have carried the name and fame of Colby allover America\u00a0and into distant lands. Others have had a part in this wider recognition of\u00a0Colby, but it could not have happened at all had not a big man persisted against\u00a0al I disappointments in his vision about a little col lege. Frank Johnson proved to\u00a0al I the doubters and critics that the impossible is only a little harder than the\u00a0difficult. The bui Iding of Colby on a new site could not be done. It was foolish\u00a0even to talk about it. What a crazy, impractical dreamer Frank Johnson was! But\u00a0here today, on the heights of Mayflower Hill, stands the college of which every\u00a0Watervi lie citizen, as well as every Colby graduate, is justly proud. And it is\u00a0there because a boy from Wilton, Maine caught a vision about the college in Watervi\u00a0I Ie which was his alma mater, and in devoting himself to that vision, Frank Johnson\u00a0forgot hi mse I f into i nmorta II ty \u2022<\/p>\n
The executive head of this radio station, WTVL, Mr. Carleton Brown, has prepared\u00a0a memori a I program for Dr. Johnson wh i ch wi II go on the ai rover th i s stati on at\u00a0seven o’clock this evening. Mr. Brown graduated from Colby early in Dr. Johnson’s\u00a0presidency and is now a trustee of the col lege., Listen tonight at seven o’clock\u00a0for WTVL’s tribute to Franklin Winslow Johnson.<\/p>\n
Here’s some more information about old Lincoln County, not the comparatively\u00a0sma I I area that now goes by that name, but the whole vast territory between the Androscoggin\u00a0and the St. Croix. The county seat of Pownalborough originally embraced\u00a0al I the territory now in the towns of Wiscasset, Dresden, Alna, Perkins and Swan\u00a0Island. The first town meeting was held not at Dresden, where the court house was\u00a0later bu i It, but at the garr i son house in Wiscasset, on June 25, 1760. The very\u00a0next year, however, the court house was erected on the east bank of the Kennebec.\u00a0Because court was held there for a very large area, no place in Maine, previous to\u00a0the Revolution, was more distinguished for its able and talented young lawyers.It was Wi Iliam Cushing of Pownalborough who administered the oath to George Washington\u00a0at the President’s second inauguration.<\/p>\n
Two of the most prominent non-English settlers at Pownalborough were John\u00a0Polereczly, a soldier from Alsace, who came with General Rochambeau, the first\u00a0town cler~, and Frederick,Theobald, chaplain in a German division of Burgoyne’s\u00a0army at Saratoga. It was Theobald who gave the community the German name of\u00a0Dresden.<\/p>\n
On September 21, 1775 Arnold’s expedition stopped at Dresden. There Major\u00a0Samue I Goodw i n supp lied Arno I d wi th a p I an of the Kennebec “to the severa I\u00a0heads thereof”, and of carrying places to Arrmeguntick Pond and the Chaudiere\u00a0River, as wei I as the passes and carrying places to Quebec. He also gave Arnold\u00a0a copy of a journal which described al I the quick water to and from Quebec, showing\u00a0a west way to go, an east way to return.<\/p>\n
In 1723 was bui It the first fort above Merrymeeting Bay. Erected northwest\u00a0of the ferry landing on the Richmond side of the Kennebec, it was cal led Fort\u00a0Richmond. It was continuously garrisoned unti I 1755, when Forts Shirley, Western\u00a0and Halifax rendered it obsolete.<\/p>\n
Fort Sh i r ley, erected on the Dresden side, near where the court house was\u00a0later bui It, was put up in 1752, two years before the bui Iding of Fort Halifax.<\/p>\n
A letter from Temp Ie, Bowdoi nand Gardi ner — three of the proprietors — to\u00a0Ne I son and Bo I I an in London, read as fo I lows: f’We have made a beg inn i ng at a\u00a0p lace on the east side of the Kennebec Ri ver, a I itt Ie above Ri chmond fort,\u00a0where we have about fifty men at work bui Iding a defense, as is customary in the\u00a0eastern parts, and we have sent down eight carriage guns and ammunition. We\u00a0sent down 54 Germans, and have agreed to supply them with provisions for twelve\u00a0months. The town we cal I Frankfort, and hope to have 150 or 200 fami lies of\u00a0Germans in the fa I I, as we sha II have then a house that wi II be safe from the\u00a0I nd i ans. I n honor of our governor we sha II name the defense Fort Sh i r ley.!f<\/p>\n
Scarcely a year goes by that some Maine town does not have interesting\u00a0communication with its namesake’town in the old world. Some twenty years ago\u00a0I was a speaker at a luncheon club in Newcastle when a message was read from a\u00a0companion club in Newcastle, England. Bangor, Maine and Bangor, England have\u00a0several times exchanged greetings. But, although we have several Maine towns\u00a0named for Italian cities, I think last November saw one of the few occasions\u00a0when communication passed between these municipal mothers and daughters. On\u00a0November 30″ 1955 a headline in Roma,”; leading daily newspaper of Naples, Italy\u00a0carried this headline: “La piccolo Napoli d’America saluta la grande Napoli”\u00a0(Little Naples in America greets big Naples). The story was accompanied by a\u00a0photograph showing Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Weston of Naples, Maine delivering the\u00a0greetings of that town to the mayor of Naples, Italy.<\/p>\n
Mr. Weston had conceived the idea of carrying greetings of the selectmen of\u00a0the Maine town to the Italian city as a mere stunt, and no one was more astounded\u00a0than he at the ceremony wh i ch deve loped. A forma I recepti on was arranged, comp\u00a0lete with uni formed servants, mi Ii tary guard, and other trapp i ngs. The Maine\u00a0couple toured the city in the mayor’s official automobile and on the following\u00a0day were given an official luncheon.<\/p>\n
Concerning the message signed by the selectmen of Naples, Maine, the Italian\u00a0newspaper ca lis the signees Phi lip C. Chute, presidente; James F. Flagg, primo\u00a0amministratore; and Chester Burnham, secondo amministratore.<\/p>\n
Whi Ie most of the nation, a hundred years ago, was seeing increased agitation\u00a0over slavery, Maine was more deeply absorbed in the liquor prob lem. In\u00a01851, under the leadership of Neal 0011, <\/em>Maine was the first state in the Union\u00a0to pass a state anti -I i quor law. Li ke most restri cti ve legis I ati on, the new law\u00a0immediately revealed defects. As a result the 1853 legislature passed amended\u00a0legislation and did, so good a job that in substance the Maine prohibitory law\u00a0remained effective for eighty years.<\/p>\n Recently there came to my attention House Oocument No. 23 of Maine’s 32nd\u00a0Legislature, assembled in January, 1853. The document, entitled HOrinking\u00a0Houses and Ti pp Ii n9 Sbop.s”, is the report of a joi nt se lect commi ttee of both\u00a0branches of the legislature, concerning amendments to the prohibitory law of\u00a01851 \u2022<\/p>\n The report says: “The ob je ct of the comm i ttee h as been to rna i n ta i n the i ntegrity\u00a0of the principal of the original law, which is the destruction of the \u00a0liquors and the certainty of the penalties; and to remove al I causes of doubt in\u00a0the appl ication of those principles to the law. The object of this law is not\u00a0to dictate to men what they shall eat or drink. If men wi II be so besotted as\u00a0to be drunk at home, and wi I I not thereby di sturb the pub Ii c peace, nor that of\u00a0the i r fami I ies or ne i ghborhood, the law shoul d not interfere. To reform such\u00a0cases is the provi nce of the preacher and the mora list. But when the drunkard\u00a0staggers into the open daylight, a nuisance to all beholders, disturbing, disgusti\u00a0ng, and ready to quarre I with peaceab Ie and i ndustri ous ci ti zens, it is ti me\u00a0for the law to lay a restraining hand upon him. It is time also for the law to\u00a0reach further and take into its iron grasp the manufacturer of such nuisances,\u00a0the shocking figure who draws his living out of such disgusting objects.”<\/p>\n One of the controversial factors in the discussiJOns, both in 1851 and in\u00a01853, concerned Maine’s native product, apple cider. The committee of 1853 re~\u00a0ported: “We see no reason why farmers shoul d not be permitted to manufacture\u00a0the frui ts of the i r orchards into ci der, and se II the same; but if ci der be\u00a0found in drinking houses and tippling shops, it must suffer the fate of the poor\u00a0dog in the fab Ie who fe I I into bad company.”<\/p>\n The 1851 law had forbidden any sale of cider, though not its manufacture.\u00a0The 1853 amendment read as follOtls: “Nothing in this act sha II be construed to\u00a0prevent any chemi st, arti st, or manufacturer, in whose trade or art they may be\u00a0necessary, from keeping at his place of business such reasonab Ie and proper\u00a0quanti ty of such liquors as his trade or art may requi re, but not for sa Ie; nor\u00a0to prohibit the manufacture or sale of cider in quantities not less than 28 gallons,\u00a0to be delivered and taken away at one time.”<\/p>\n The presence of an official liquor agency in each Maine comm~nity was given\u00a0up so long ago that only our oldest citizens now remember the practice. Let us\u00a0see, in the words of the statute, how these agencies operated in 1853. “The selectmen\u00a0of any town, and the mayor and a Iderman of any ci ty, may appoi nt sorre\u00a0suitable person, as the agent of said town or city, to sell at sorre central and\u00a0convenient place within the town or city, spirits, wines and other intoxicating\u00a0liquors, to be used for medicinal and mechanical purposes and no other.” The\u00a0law provided stern penalties for any agent who violated its provisions.<\/p>\n Of course the prohibitory law had its violators. Some farmers continued to\u00a0sell cider in lots much less than the legal 28 gallons; whiskey, rum and gin\u00a0were bootlegged, though on no such vast scale as in the 1920’s; and there were\u00a0told plenty of stories like the one concerning a Maine man returning home on a\u00a0train from Boston. Looking up at this man’s big grip on the rack overhead, his\u00a0seatmate asked, ”What have you got in your bag?” “A new pai r of shoes”, was\u00a0the rep Iy. ”We II, mi ster”, sai d the other fe II 011, <\/em>“your shoes is leaki ng.”\u00a0In spite of persistent violation, the social historian can compi Ie a lot\u00a0of evidence that the whole tone of moral living in Maine was, for many years,\u00a0better than in states which operated under various systems of liquor licenses.<\/p>\n There is one fault with the present system of state liquor stores that is\u00a0hard for some of us to accept. It puts you and me, as citizens of the state,\u00a0in the liquor bus i ness aga i nst our own wi II. We don’t have to patron i ze the\u00a0stores as customers, but as integral parts of the state of Maine, we are the\u00a0se I lers.<\/p>\n It is interesting to note hQII the legislators lined up on that amended law\u00a0of 1853. That information is provided in a clipping in the Saco Union of March\u00a024, 1853, which came into my hands together with the legislative document. The\u00a0two major parties were then Whigs and Democrats, with the latter in overwhelming\u00a0control of the legislature. Because the Whigs voted 49 to 4 in favor of the\u00a0law, and the Democrats favored it more narrowly by 41 to 39, and the four Free\u00a0Sai I legislators were al I in favor, the result was 95 to 43, or almost exactly\u00a0a two to one majority for continued and amended prohibition of liquor.<\/p>\n For Kennebec County, the representatives of Watervi I Ie, Augusta, Vassal boro,\u00a0and Belgrade favored the law; those from Albion, Clinton and China were\u00a0aga i nst it.\u00a0For Somerset County, the on Iy opponents we re from Bingham, Detroi t and Corn~”\u00a0vii Ie. The representatives from Harmony, Smithfield, Madison, Canaan and Fairfield\u00a0all voted for the bi II.<\/p>\n The law had some opposition in every county except Hancock, whose eight\u00a0representati ves a II voted for it.<\/p>\n Let us close tonight with comment on the origin of three more fami liar express\u00a0ions. How di d the term “pork barre I” get its pol iti cal app Ii cati on? Pork\u00a0is fat, and fat has for centuries been the symbol of abundance, especi a Ily of\u00a0unearned abundance. Anyth i ng especi a Ily I ucrati ve that doesn’t have to be pai d\u00a0for, is fat or pork.<\/p>\n What is a “ham actor”? About 1875 low grade actors, especi ally in mi nstre I\u00a0shows, were cal led hamfatters, because they used ham fat instead of cold cream\u00a0to remove make-up.<\/p>\n What about “ca lied on the carpet”? Carpets were ori gi na Ily tab Ie covers\u00a0of thick fabric. Aristocratic ladies began to use them to cover floors. Because\u00a0only the gentry and nobi lity of 18th century England had floor carpets,\u00a0to be reprimanded by the boss in his library or drawi ng roo~ was to be ca lied\u00a0on the carpet.<\/p>\n And there being no carpet in this studio room, we’ll just call it good night for old times’ sake.<\/p>\n Year: 1956<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Read the script for “Little Talks” program #293, broadcast on February 19, 1956<\/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":[790,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602"}],"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=7602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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