<\/p>\n
People could sometimes travel at little expense 80 years ago. On September 1, 1878 Charles Keith, the Winslow diarist, went on an excursion on the A. and’. K Railroad to Winthrop. The round trip fare was 50 cents. No wonder Charles said he had a good time. Charles was always encountering speakers of whose discourse he did not approve.<\/p>\n
On October 8, 1878 he wrote: “This evening I went to Waterville to hear an essay by Mr. Park on amusements, followed by a full discussion. It was interesting, but I cannot see who will be benefitted by it.” In November there was trouble again from high water. Charles said the river rose higher than it had in the flood of 1869 and within six inches of the 1855 mark.<\/p>\n
We already know that Charles Keith never was one to remain silent in political or religious controversy. We recall his belligerent stand against the two Garlands and their Abolitionist views. Many years later, in 1878, Charles was heading a movement to get rid of the Winslow minister, Mr. Dinsmore. Ten years earlier, Charles had written in high praise of this minister and had told how generously the people contributed to a donation party for the pastor. But the intervening decade had seen growing coolness between Dinsmore and Keith.<\/p>\n
On December 31, 1878 Charles wrote in the diary: til think the affairs in our church are most unsatisfactory. If it is the will of Providence, I hope Mr. Dinsmore will leave us soon.”<\/p>\n
A year later, in November, 1879, Charles wrote: “Mrs. Keith went to meeting today, but I stayed at home. How long this will continue I do not know. I desire to go, but am unwilling as long as Mr. Dinsmore presides. It was not until August, 1880 that Mr. Dinsmore finally resigned. Keith’s troubles with the church, instead of being over, were then increased. On September 16 he confided to the diary: “Mr. Dinsmore left town for good today. I will not rejoice when a faithful minister leaves, but I am glad he has gone.”<\/p>\n
Two weeks later Charles attended a business meeting of the church. He says it was the first such meeting he had attended in several years. flI could not feel”, he wrote, “that a Christian spirit was manifest by some of those present.”<\/p>\n
October 3rd was a Sunday and Charles Keith ought to have been in church. Instead he stayed at home, and his diary tells us why. lIAfter Mr. Dinsmore left us, I hoped to go to meeting and labor with others for the gl~ry of God, but from the feelings manifest at the business meeting I think it is not the wish of the majority to have me go back. I know not what course to take. Today I am unhappy and pray God to give me wisdom and direct my steps. I wish to have charity, but fear there was revenge in one of Mr. Dinsmore’s last acts and in some others.”<\/p>\n
In spite of Charles Keith’s experience with the church, he found that he had good neighbors. When he was sick in March, 1881, even some of those who had Violently disagreed with him about Pastor Dinsmore joined in a neighborly act. This is the way Charles tells about it in his diary: “This afternoon J. P. Dunbar, Frank Mathews, Warren Shurtleff, Ward H. Chamberlain, Samuel Chuffee, Harry Drummond, C. C. Hayden and J. C. Drummond cut and split my pile of wood. I felt very grateful .for their kindness and hope they will be rewarded.”<\/p>\n
In spite of the warmth of good feeling engendered by that neighborly act, Charles could still make caustic comment the very next day about another event. He wrote: “Henry Turner of Boston, aged 28, and Ada Drummond of Winslow, 20, were married at her mother’s by Rev. G. W. Jones. A bungle!”<\/p>\n
In September, 1880 Charles went to Winthrop to hear the famous infidel lecturer,Robert Ingersoll. We would like to know what Charles thought of that lecture, but he does not tell us.<\/p>\n
The winter of 1879-80 was the time of Maine’s notorious count-out election. Listen to what the Keith diary says about it: “Republicans have been glad of their success in election, but now they are angry because the Governor and Council have counted out enough Republicans to give control, of both houses of legislature to the Democrats. Nothing has ever been done in this state so despicably mean. Indignation meetings are held everywhere. Even some Democrats admit the action is wrong. We know not what the end will be.”<\/p>\n
It was not until January 31 that Charles could record: “State difficulties settled. The Fusion legislature has adjourned.”<\/p>\n
On August 11, 1879 Charles went to a religious camp meeting in China. He wrote: “There were two ordinary sermons and some good speaking. 34 tents and a great number of people. A few probably came to worship God, but the majority were there out of .curiosity. I have a low opinion of such meetings.”<\/p>\n
In 1881 a national tragedy caused several notations in the Keith diary. On July 3 Charles wrote: “Everyone is sad to think a man was bad enough to shoot Pres. Garfield yesterday at Washington.” Then on September 26 the diary says: itA meeting at Waterville and in many other places held at the same hour as the funeral of Pres. Garfield in Cleveland. Thousands were draped in mourning. At the Waterville service Mr. Spencer of the Baptist Church addressed a packed house. The crowd was so large that not more than half of them could get into the hall.”<\/p>\n
At the end of 1881, when Mr. Dinsmore had been gone for 15 months, and though he seemed to like the successor, Mr. Jones, Charles Keith was not satisfied. He wrote: “The religious societies in this region are not prosperous. Our own society is much reduced, with no prospect of improvement. We have a good man for our minister, but the leading members of the church are greatly at fault .. Other denominations have failed. The hard winter turned into a backward spring. On May 31 Charles noted that a few plum blossoms had appeared, but not a single apple blossom. Few farmers had planted any corn and there had been only one warm day during the whole month. As late as June 15 Charles noted that not half of the farmers had finished planting and some were still sowing grain. But, he added. liThe apple trees are at last in full bloom .. ” On the next day he observed that there was a circus in Waterville, that he and his wife rode over, but did not go in.<\/p>\n
On June 17 Charles had to replant his corn. The crows got most of that which he had planted as early as he dared, while many farmers waited even longer. Charles rUE~fully commented: III might as well have waited.<\/p>\n
In August, 1881 Charles commented on his most recent experience with hired help: nAt night I carried Fred Canham home. He has been with us three months at $6 a month. He has been most unprofitable help.1I<\/p>\n
That year Christmas Day fell on Sunday. Charles went to church because he thought well of Dinsmore’s successor, Pastor Jones. But on this particular day the always particular Charles Keith was not satisfied. He wrote: “Went to hear Rev. G. W. Jones. Good audience, but small sermon.<\/p>\n
The last item in this volume of the diary is dated February 28, 1883. It reads: “February has been a cold month with good sleighing all the month. A great many mornings the mercury has fallen below zero, but there have been so few snow drifts it has been necessary to break the road only twice.”<\/p>\n
Well, we have had quite a time with these ten old volumes of diary, written by the farmer, teacher and religious enthusiast, Charles Keith of Winslow — a diary begun more than a hundred years ago and extending for almost forty years. It is a revealing story — that story of a Winslow man’s dealings with his neighbors, his fellow church members and his pupils. It is a story of joy and sorrow, of love and hate, of compassion and bitterness — a down to earth account of a lot of happenings in what Charles Keith called “our quiet town on the Kennebec”.<\/p>\n
I recently came into possession of a description of Maine towns made by a visiting book salesman 135 years ago in 1823, when the State of Maine itself was only three years old. Of my own native town of Bridgton the salesman said: “It is a fine town and has many wealthy people. I visited the log canal about two miles long. Two large ponds empty into the canal. The town has an academy with about 25 male and female scholars.”<\/p>\n
“Waterford is a hilly town and Albany is actually mountainous. The people are woefully poor and I made no sales. When I got to Bethel I found much sickness. Several children had recently died of dysentery. Altogether in this epidemic the town had lost fully one-ninth of its population.”<\/p>\n
In Canton the salesman encountered a bit of trouble: “The barroom was full of pranksters”, he wrote. “They bought my books readily, but made a great row about paying for them.” On the whole he found Canton residents good buyers, and he said of the town of Jay: “It is a pleasant town. I had a few subscribers, but those very punctual with payment.”<\/p>\n
“Farmington”, he wrote, “is a large, wealthy town on the Sandy River. I had about fifty subscribers in that town, where there is a good academy with thirty scholars. New Sharon has nothing but a handsome meeting house. No money, no subscribers. On Saturday about sundown I came to Norridgewock and put up over Sunday at Bodfish’s Tavern. The county town of Somerset, Norridgewock has a good court house.”<\/p>\n
From Norridgewock the salesman went to Anson, Solon and Bingham, which he said was newly settled territory, very hilly, and the people very poor. Coming back down the river to Skowhegan Falls, he commented: “This place includes parts of Norridgewock, Milburn and Bloomfield. From the Falls”, he wrote, “I took a short tour into Madison, a new country with the people very accommodating. I then proceeded to Athens. The first settler in this place was John Ware. He was a subscriber and took his books, but other people there gave me much trouble and would not take theirs.”<\/p>\n
The salesman spent the next Sunday with the family of Jonathan Robinson at Harmony. “This is a town newly settled”, he wrote, “with the houses far apart. The people are friendly, however, and I was well entertained.”<\/p>\n
The next week the salesman stopped a bit in Harvey Eaton’s birthplace of Cornville, then went back to Skowhegan Falls, where this time he paid a visit to Bloomfield Academy where James Hall presided over 30 pupils.<\/p>\n
For his business the salesman found quite a difference between Fairfield and Waterville. Of Fairfield he said: lilt is a large town on the Kennebec with a great number of inhabitants. They were very good pay.” But listen ‘to what he wrote about Waterville. He didn’t even get the name right. He called it Walkerville. “I passed through the west part of Walkerville (that would be the present Oakland) where I had four subscribers. I had no subscribers at all in the village. It cannot be because they do not value books, because the village has two colleges, but the number of students I know not.” Do you understand what he meant by the two colleges? Of course in 1823 Waterville College was the only collegiate institution in this community, as indeed it continued to be for many years.<\/p>\n
I think his phrase “two colleges” is, however, easily explained. As has been the practice at the English universities and at Harvard since 1636, each separate building at one of those institutions was designated a college, and in England the universities to this day are made up of separate colleges. Hence, after Harvard got more than one building, Cambridge citizens spoke of the colleges. In 1823 the college at Waterville had just two buildings, the old structures South College and North College, both of which are still standing on the now abandoned campus on College Avenue. As late as 1913, when I was a senior at Colby, I often heard some Waterville citizens say, “I went up to the colleges”.<\/p>\n
What book was that salesman peddling through Maine in 1823? Fortunately he has left us that record. It was “Sketches of Napoleon Bonaparte”.<\/p>\n
Year: 1958<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Read the script for “Little Talks” program #374, Broadcast on March 30, 1958<\/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":[744,35296],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847"}],"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=7847"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7847\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}