The Bethel Journals
Bethel Maine History
1897
Journal
Chapter One
February 26, 2010
Newspaper articles, Town Reports, biographical sketches, the
year’s key events and places in the news.
Highlights:
Work
began on Maine’s most ambitious musical program ever—the Maine Musical
Festival. Bethel singers formed a Bethel
Chorus which was part of the grand festival.
All in all, William Rogers Chapman won Bethel’s “Man of the Year” award
for his state-wide acclaim in producing the 1897 music festival.
A.D. Ellingwood sold his interest in the
Bethel News to Ernest C. Bowler. Whist parties seemed to have taken over as the
top form of social entertainment. Dr.
Gehring announced the opening of his medical practice in Bethel; the Gehring
residence became the Gehring Clinic.
Frank E. Hanscom, an experienced Oxford County teacher and
administrator, became principal of Gould Academy. In October West Bethel
village’s Chapel Aid Society were thrilled to dedicate a new Union church,
thanks largely to major financial help from Mr. and Mrs. Alpheus Bean. There was a flurry of excitement over the
possibility of creating a Civil War monument. The Navy had set aside two Parrot
cannons and cannon balls for a town monument.
But, like before, in the end the initiative died. News of a proposed Oxford County Railway
(actually a feeder line into the Grand Trunk) from Bryant’s Pond to Rumford
Falls plus a second branch to Andover was brought before the Maine Railroad
Commission. No decision in 1897.
The town replaced the bridge over Pleasant River on
the West Bethel to Gilead road with a new iron bridge. (See town
reports) A petition to open public roads to the old West Bethel ferry
crossings was acted on and a request sent to the County Commissioners. At
Rumford Falls the Rumford Falls Paper Company was making ready for the
installation of what would be the world’s largest paper machine – capable of producing
a sheet of paper thirteen feet and nine inches wide. A group of 23 Bethel Hill men were in the
process of forming a Bethel electric light and power company at the end of the
year.
January 1897
Bethel: The Bethel
Chair Factory has been down three weeks for repairs. Young people are enjoying
fine skating evenings. Abial Chandler,
Jr., is not so well. He is at the Insane Asylum in Augusta and will remain
there until mid March. Last week two
assistant GTR engineers went through this place on a hand-car checking culverts
and bridges. The Methodist church ladies have organized a literary circle that
will meet weekly. Middle Interval: Mrs.
E.P. Kimball is having some pine timber cut and hauled across the river to
Thurston’s mill (at Swan’s Corner?).
The
Bethel Water Company held its annual meeting at Attorney Addison E. Herrick’s
office in the Cole Block. The following
were elected: President, Enoch Foster;
Clerk and Treasurer, Addison E. Herrick; Directors: Elias Thomas, Ceylon Rowe,
Gideon A. Hastings, Enoch W. Woodbury, and Fred W. Sanborn.
Prof.
and Mrs. W.S. Wight and Dr. and Mrs. J.G. Gehring attended the Nordica concert
in Portland last week. Joan Stearns has graduated from the Portland Business
College. She is staying with her sister, Mrs. E. C. Park, in Bethel and has a
position in the law office of Herrick & Park.
Prof.
W. R. Chapman purchased the Bartlett lot of land in Mayville on which the
buildings burned a year ago, will improve it and include it as part of his
summer residence here.
Frank
Hapgood has purchased the business of George Hapgood on Main Street and will
continue to operate the store. George
Hapgood will leave for Florida where he will reside. Mrs. H. C. Philbrook will leave for Florida
to join her husband there. He has built a house and it is now furnished and
ready to receive his family.
Locke’s Mills: There
is not much business going on in this vicinity now. The spool factory runs
about one-half the time, they are having but very few orders. Good times
promised after the election (William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan)
have not struck this place yet.
Maine Musical Festival:
The musical festival to be held in Maine in October, 1897, will, it is hoped,
be the first of a series of such events. Lewiston has been selected as the
focus (which was later changed), and a chorus of 1,000 Maine voices is to be
heard in important musical works, under the leadership of Wm. R. Chapman, who
is from Maine. Nordica, who is a Maine girl, is to be the leading soloist.
There will be an orchestra of 100 pieces.
(Chapman took on the job of creating a Portland Symphony Orchestra for
the festival.) The program will cover three evenings and two matinees.
Rumford Falls: Rain
washed out the roadbed of the Portland & Rumford Falls Railroad at
Hebron. Another washout occurred between
Hartford and East Sumner. The railroad
has added a heated (box) car in order to safely handle perishable freight.
Mason: A.S.
Bean’s mill has shut down until more snow falls. The rain storm Tuesday was a disappointment
to the men in the woods cutting.
Sunday River: Will
Williamson has been to Conway, NH. David
Fleet has stopping logging birch until there is more snow. Marshall Swain has started a logging job in
Riley Plantation.
North Newry: A
lyceum is held every Wednesday night at the Branch schoolhouse.
February 1897
Bethel: George
King’s family are sick with that dreadful disease, diphtheria and one little
girl died last Saturday. Entertainment
given for the Maine Teachers’ Reading Circle presented Miss Fannie Rice as
elocutionist. Isaac Morrill has shut down his saw mill (on Mill Brook?) and
gone into the woods to get out timber of various kinds for manufacture at his
mill.
The
roads are all lively with wood and lumber teams. Dr. Gehring and his family expect to occupy
their new house about the first of March.
The post office examiner gave Mr. Wiley our postmaster a big compliment
on the conditions which he found.
The
Bethel Chair Factory has leased the large building (on Main Street) known as the rink for a term of five years and have moved their
stock into it. The ground floor will be
used for the office, general store and show room and the upper floor for
upholstery and finishing departments.
Mrs. W.S. Wight has gone to Presque Isle where her husband is now
teaching singing school.
West Bethel: W.A.
Farwell began selling milk every day in the village. A railroad accident occurred Saturday
afternoon when two cars and the tender derailed during a shunting operation. The
wrecking train was soon on hand and the road cleared in a few hours.
Rumford Falls: Extensive
repairs are being made on the Rumford Falls Paper Company’s mill. The largest
paper machine in the world will soon be installed. It will make a sheet thirteen
feet, nine inches wide. The water in the
river is very low—hardly any flowing over the dam. Wood is scarce here and is bringing four
dollars a cord; eggs sell for twenty cents a dozen and butter is twenty-five
cents a pound. Rents are up among the stars.
March 1897
Bethel:
The Oxford County Pomona Grange met with Bethel Grange at the Bethel Grange
Hall on Spring Street. About 200 sat
down to dinner.
Voters
at the Bethel annual town meeting elected Henry Farwell, J.C. Billings and C.E.
Barker Selectmen for 1897. L.T. Barker elected Clerk and J.U. Purington was
elected Treasurer. The school committee members were J.A. Twaddle,
Superintendent; N.F. Brown, Frank A. Brown, Mrs. O.M. Mason, and J.S.
Hutchins. The Town Agent was A.E.
Herrick and Cyrus Wormell was elected Tax Collector.
Resident
real estate value was $553,054 and non-resident real estate was $68,210. Personal property value for residents was
$174,793 and for non-residents $2,175.
Total valuation was $798,232 and the tax rate came to .014 on the dollar
(of value). There were 548 polls
(eligible voters) at a tax of $2.00 each.
The total amount appropriated for collection through taxes was
$12,345.67
Sunday
a gospel temperance meeting was held at the Congregational Church under the
auspices of the W.C.T.U. Addresses were
given by the pastors of the three churches and were very pointed and
interesting.
At
the annual meeting of Bethel Village Corporation the following officers were elected:
Assessors—H.C. Andrews, J.A. Purington, and J.C. Billings. Clerk: G.R.
Wiley. Treasurer—E.C. Park; Collector:
C.M. Wormell. Fire engineers—E.S. Kilborn, S.N. Buck, and E.E. Whitney. Compensation for the fire department was
voted as follows: each member to get 50 cents for each regular monthly meeting
they attend; and active practice to be held during at least six monthly
meetings; each member will receive one dollar for each fire attended. Other
appropriations were: $300 for (kerosene fueled) street lights; $365 to pay on
corporation debt; $800 for hydrant service; $100 for miscellaneous services and
$250 to pay firemen.
The Bethel Board of Health for 1897:
Charles D. Hill, M.D., Chairman; Albert W. Grover, Secretary; Ellery C.
Park Read
report. The board warned the Bethel
Hill citizens of the need for an adequate sewage system. It was noted that cases of diphtheria had
occurred in only two East Bethel families that year with one death. Disinfection of schools and public places had
proven effective overall.
At the
first meeting of the Bethel Federation of Ladies’ Clubs held at Garland Memorial Chapel papers were read by each of the five
presidents giving the history of the clubs as follows: Annie Frye of the Columbian Club; Mrs. Frank
Chandler of the W.C.T. U.; Mrs. Hillard Chapman of the Ladies’ Club; Mrs. F.E.
Barton of the Universalist Ladies’ Club and Mrs. Andrews of the M.E. Literary
Circle.
At
Albany’s town meeting voters were in favor of subscribing for stock in the
amount of $2,000 for construction of the Oxford Central Electric Railway.
Locke
Mills: Walter Herrick has secured the job of hauling mail from the railroad
station to the post office. Prof. L. C.
Bateman of Auburn will give six lectures at Hotel hall on the science of
phrenology, physiology and physiognomy starting March 1st. Tramps are becoming quite a plenty in this
vicinity. Three were refused help from
the town fathers but were aided by a good Samaritan.
Mason:
several are drawing sawdust from A.S. Bean’s mill to Bethel to cover ice. J.C.
Bean was just elected town clerk for the 16th consecutive year. The three oldest men in town attended town
meeting-J.C. Bean, 76; N.H. Tyler, 70; and N.G. Mills; 73.
West
Bethel—Part of the windows have been put into the new church. Inhabitants of Gilead and this part of Bethel
have petitioned the county commissioners for a ferry across the Androscoggin
near this village.
Rumford
Falls: A petition has been signed to the
fish commissioners asking for restocking of upper and lower Richardson
Lakes. The Rumford Falls and Rangeley
Lakes Railroad averages to haul sixty carloads of logs daily. The number has
run as high as ninety.
Sunday
River: L.S. Stowe is having a private school in his house taught by Manette
Littlehale. H.M. Kendall came home from
Swift River Friday but will return to his work at Chapman’s mill on Sunday.
April
1897
Bethel:
Our citizens are agitating the question of a soldiers’ monument. George
Plaisted has improved his livery turnouts with newly painted carriages and
other improvements. He has contracted to carry scholars this term. The petition of W.C. Chapman, Gilead, and
others to the County Commissioners to establish a ferry across the Androscoggin
at West Bethel was turned down. Hon. J.
S. Wright of South Paris appeared for the petitioners and Hon. A.E. Herrick,
town agent, represented Bethel. (Based on a special town meeting, this proposal
was sent to the County again in November.)
The
Bethel Chair Company broke camp on Chapman Brook where expansive lumbering
operations have been carried on this winter. Some 500,000 feet of spruce, 500
cords of birch and a large amount of hard wood timber has been taken. Warren Emery had charge of the company’s
logging operation.
Dr.
J.A. Twaddle, S.N. Buck, L.A. Hall and Frank Merrill had a large whist party at
Odeon Hall. Fruit punch, lemonade, cake and fancy crackers were served. Next
week the Lillian Tucker Company will be at Odeon Hall with their highly
regarded entertainment show.
Gould
Academy scholars left their building for a walk on the snow crust and made it
to a sugar camp after a nearly four miles walk. They were pleased with the
walk’s reward of a generous supply of maple syrup. Several of our farmers are circulating in the
village with maple syrup.
W.K.
Hamlin of Waterford has leased the Bethel Creamery building for a term of
years. He has an enviable reputation as one of the best butter factory managers
in New England.
The
post office question in Bethel has drawn a lot of attention as to who will be
the next appointee. The question has
been settled by Washington, D.C. G.R. Wiley the present post master will hold
the position for four years from the time it was made a presidential office,
which will be until August 1st, 1898.
The
Bethel Chorus gave a concert as part of their preparation for the fall 1897
Maine Music Festival. At the concert
greetings were read from Prof. and Mrs. Chapman giving high praise to Bethel’s
chorus as being the first in the field to give a concert. Also during the
evening the chorus presented Mr. Snyder with a beautiful ivory, ebony and
silver baton for his excellent work as director, organizer, coach and singer.
Locke’s
Mills: The spool mill is now running on full time with orders ahead and
business of all kinds is improving here.
Gilead:
D.R. Hastings and father have done the following work on Wild River this
winter: 3600 cords of spruce pulp, 115 cords of poplar, 100 cords of birch, 250
cords of cordwood, and 175 cords of hemlock bark and 150,000 hemlock logs – all
done with 20 horses.
Mason: E.E. Whitney of Bethel recently set a fine
granite monument for the late George H. Brown of this town. It is of a blue
cast and was quarried at Quincy, Mass.
South Bethel:
School was closed four days early in the term due to teacher J.S. Hutchins
being laid low with the grip. Isaac
Cushman hired his team and himself to Warren Emery for yarding timber in the
Chapman Brook district for the two-sledders.
May 1897
At a meeting of
the Bethel Water Company directors it was voted to extend the four inch main
from the hydrant near the house of N.F. Brown to a point on the street leading
to Hodgdon’s mill (on the site of the Clough property), nine hundred and fifty
feet from said hydrant and set a (new) hydrant at said point. News for September 3, reported that the pipe
was being laid.
This notice
appeared in the Bethel News. The Brown
Post has just received notice from the Secretary of the Navy that the
Portsmouth Navy Yard has been directed to issue to the order of their Post, two
Parrot guns and one hundred 40lb. spherical projectiles.
Citizens of
Bethel, let us wait no longer but begin at once to effect plans for a soldiers’
monument, that those who still remain may know that the lives of the true and
loyal soldiers of Bethel shall live on and their names shall be revered for
ages when marble slabs shall mark their resting places.
The
following week, this notice called for a meeting: At a meeting of the Brown Post yesterday it
was voted to invite the citizens of Bethel to meet the Post at Ladies’ Relief
Corps Hall on May 27th at 7:30 o’clock, to determine what action shall be taken
in regard to locating the guns recently donated to Brown Post by the
government. The notice also called for some action with reference to the
erection of a soldiers’ monument.
The
Bethel Creamery: W.K. Hamlin from South
Waterford took possession of the Bethel creamery on May 1. He has successfully
managed the creamery in South Waterford for the past five years. He has met with the patrons of the Bethel
creamery in Pattee’s Hall to explain his operating procedures and what must be done
to improve the prices producers
will get for their butter. High
production and high quality must be maintained if we are to be competitive. Our
inability to operate the separator system efficiently due to our sparsely
populated districts from which the cream is gathered is a major problem to
overcome.
Bethel
Library: This past year the library has circulated 3,135 volumes. It has
received donations of books from friends in New York and Boston. It received a finely illustrated history of
Poland Springs from Messrs. Ricker and Fernald of Poland Springs. The library’ catalog now has 1,700 volumes
and ninety were added during the past year.
Our money income has included $57.11 from loan of books and membership
fees; $12.60 , town meeting dinner; interest on the Mason note, $6.00 . Total,
$75.71 At the 1897 town meeting, $50
was voted for the Bethel Library. The library association has no debts.
Bethel
Savings has declared a 3 1/2 per cent dividend; trustees report the bank is in
excellent condition.
At
the Bethel village brick school Hugh Poindexter is principal of the grammar
school; Mary Chapman teaches intermediate, and Ethel Hammond and Mattie Gibson,
the primary.
Dana
Philbrook has put out 35,000 strawberry plants this season besides having an
acre or more oaf last year’s planting. He also has an acre of Cuthbert
raspberry plants that were put out last season. Also, he is about to start
another milk route which will make three carts (Farwell, Edwards and Philbrook)
in Bethel village.
The
first annual meeting of the Bethel Bicycle Club was held and these officers
were chosen: President, H.C. Rowe; Vice
Pres., R.C. Foster; Secretary and Treasurer, D.H. Mason; Committee for Rooms,
F.A. Leach, R.C. Foster, and E. A. Barker.
The Executive Committee: G.C. Chapman, S.N. Buck and Edward King.
Rumford
Falls: An extension of the Rumford Falls
and Rangeley Lakes Railway has been traced to Megantic. The distance is about
60 miles, nearly half of which is in Canada. The Quebec Central has a branch
line to Megantic and they are ready to meet the Rumford Falls road at the
boundary line.
Mason: The town Board of Health met and elected the
following officers: Addison Bean, Secretary; Arthur F. Morrill, Chairman; and
S.O. Grover, 3d member.
At
East Bethel river drivers were clearing wood and pulp from the river.
Another Railroad in Oxford County?
The Advertiser reported that a “Feeder for Grand Trunk” was being
planned as a new railroad enterprise to be called “The Oxford County Railway”.
It was to be a standard gauge with an intersection with the Grand Trunk located
in Woodstock. From Woodstock the line
would run northerly through Milton Plantation and Rumford thence northeasterly
through Rumford and Peru. Then it would cross the Androscoggin River into
Mexico and connect with the Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lake Railroad. Also a
branch was planned from Rumford Center that would run northwesterly into
Andover. The five directors who were named in the news item were one from
Calais, James Mitchell, and four from Portland, Daniel Emery, John Eustis,
William Chamberlain and Fred Libby.
Summer Boarders: The week of
May 21, 1897, the Advertiser printed a list of inns with vacancies for summer
guests. City readers take note. In Bethel: MAPLE AND PINE GROVE FARM, Mrs. E.
P. Kimball, Box 260, Bethel; in Gilead: CLOVERDALE FARM, Eben Bennett,
proprietor, room for sixteen.
At
Skillingston, the old watering tank near the Bethel Steam Mill, used for so
many years by the Grand Trunk Railway Co., for supplying engines is being taken
down and removed. At Gilead on May 28 it was reported that the Rumford Falls
Paper Company drive had passed here last Sunday. In Bethel J.M. Philbrook is
making needed improvements to the premises lately purchased of S.D. Philbrook.
The
Soldiers’ Memorial Issue: A public meeting was called for at
the Relief Corps room to consider the matter of erecting either a soldiers’
monument or a memorial building to the memory of our fallen heroes. At the
meeting Hon. A.E. Herrick was elected chairman and appointed the following
committee to consider the best method of devising a soldier’s memorial in the
town of Bethel. He is to report at a meeting called for June 10th.
Those chosen for the committee were: E.C. Park, J.H. Barrows, G.A.
Hastings, E.S. Kilborn, J.C. Billings, Ceylon Rowe, J.U. Purington, I.C. Jordan
and Dr. J.G. Gehring. A letter from
Capt. Robbins Brown Grover of Brockton, Mass., was read stating that Grover was
ready to give one hundred dollars toward the memorial.
Sunday River: Leonard Leavitt has returned from Magalloway.
Will Williamson is in the news again – bears have killed four of his best
sheep.
Pulp
wood drive headed for Jay Paper Co. In the May news it was reported that
D.R. Hastings, Jr., was moving a large pulp-wood drive down the Androscoggin
River to the Jay Paper Co. in Jay, Maine.
This drive would have to pass by Rumford Falls in the Androscoggin River
where the Rumford Falls Paper Co. also received pulp-wood coming down the same
river. River drives of pulp wood down
the Androscoggin required special handling at the Rumford Falls upper and
middle dam. Pulp earmarked for Jay’s paper mill was directed around the town of
Rumford Falls in the Androscoggin River and did not get driven into the Rumford
mill’s feeder canal.
Pulp wood earmarked for the Rumford Paper Mill was sluiced from the top
of the Rumford Falls to the canal leading into the Rumford Mill pond. The
photograph below shows a “boom” of pulpwood that will later be released,
by-pass Rumford Falls and continues down river to Jay.
This is a 1930’s
photo. In the upper background is the
steel girder bridge over the Androscoggin, slightly nearer is the upper dam,
then the power house and to the right foreground can be seen a collection of
pulp wood held in place by a log fence or “boom”. Pulp logs within the boom have been captured
there in order to drive these logs past Rumford. Photo is shown courtesy of Randall Bennett,
Bethel Historical Society.
June 1897
Business news – summer of
1897
Once the Bethel News began publishing in 1895, local
advertisers provided history with much more detail about whom, what and when
than had been available through just the correspondents’ weekly news columns. A
sampling of 1897 summer ads accounts for much business news: Charles Mason was offering a good store
location on Main Street for rent or for sale, terms made easy. W.L. Chapman advertised to let farmers know
that he sold Champion mowers and the Thomas (hay) tedders and (hay) rakes. E.C.
Chamberlain (Mayville) had six acres of grass, with or without the land, for
sale on Bond’s Island above the bridge. Ceylon Rowe had For Sale Cheap, one
three seated spring board with pole, one farm wagon, one open buggy, one pair
driving harness, one pair working harness and one single harness.
“Will pay 15
cents for GOOD WOOL - for a few days * Bring it at once - IRA C JORDAN, Bethel,
ME.
Mowing Machine Oil, Fly nets, Carriage umbrellas,
whips, etc. at YOUNG’S HARNESS STORE, Bethel.
FREE To Each Cash Customer for One Gallon of P.R.
Molasses I will give a First Class Stone Jug -This offer for a few days only.
C. Bisbee, Corner of Main and Spring Streets, Bethel.
Elberta E. Burnham’s advertisement (photo)
represented the town’s probably best known business woman. E.E. Burnham moved her store to the Cole
Block when the building first opened in late 1891. Prior to that she had
operated her business in the “Kimball Block” along with Ceylon Rowe.
More
news and comments:
Mason:
Rev. Mr. Hamilton of the Bethel Methodist church escorted President Elder Corey
to our church. Elder Corey preached a
very interesting sermon. The two men had
walked from the West Bethel depot to Addison Bean’s house where they spent the
night. On their return trip to West
Bethel they stopped to visit the new church there now nearly completed.
Channing Grover of Bethel was in town with his corn planter – planted corn for
S.O. Grover and Levi Bartlett. Archie
Hutchinson has secured a job in Boston as an electric car motorman.
At Rumford Falls a petition
(for a feeder line from Bryant’s Pond) to the Railroad Commissioners was freely
signed. A.E. Bartlett is putting in the
cellar for a new house (on Franklin Street) for Superintendent E. L. Lovejoy of
the Portland and Rumford Falls Railway. New posts for the New England Telephone
and Telegraph co have been set in town and the Company’s wires will be
transferred to them from the posts of the electric light company.
ON
THE LAKES - 1897 LAUNCHING AT BEMIS
The June 18th
Advertiser reported the launching of the “Berlin Mills Company” which would be
the largest steamer, side-wheeler design of the Ohio class, in the Rangeley Lakes
region. She has two decks, one for sleeping quarters and the other for general
accommodation of the crew. She is intended for freight and tug purposes and can
easily tow two million feet of logs. Avery C. Rowell designed the ship. It was
built in Portland by J.H. Dyer and was christened by Bertha I. Poor of Andover.
Dimensions of the craft are 102 feet long, a beam of 20 feet.
THE MILK QUESTION of
1897 – PURE MILK ONLY FROM HEALTHY COWS
The June 25th
Advertiser carried this news item: What milk is pure is a question that has
raised “considerable friction between the milkmen and local Boards of Health.
The public is not interested at all in any jealousies or feuds that may exist
between the cattle commissioners and various Boards of Health as to the best
means of stamping out tuberculosis. What the consumer wants is pure milk. This
cannot be obtained from diseased cows. “
The article goes on to explain
that injections of tuberculin does not harm cattle and does not affect the
cow’s milk supply volume. However, care
must be taken that the source of tuberculin used to inject cattle must come
from a safe, reliable supplier.
More local June news:
Wilsons Mills: Minnie Olson is home from Errol on a brief
visit. H.W. Poor, president of the
Parmacheenee Club with Will Hart as guide came the 25th
of May. The Sherman party came the 28th
of May with D.C. Bennett, H.G. Bennett, George Flint and K.S. Bennett, guides.
The stone cutters are at work on the abutments for a bridge. John Carlton and
his wife of Bethel are staying at the Flint Hotel; they will take charge of
Hell Gate camp. John Olson and R.A.
Story are guides for H.P. Wells, treasurer, and Robert Sturgis, secretary, of
the Parmacheenee Club – all went to the lake. Daily mail now and a steamboat
belonging to the Club make daily trips from the head of the Aziscoos Falls to
the Camp in the Meadows. The steamboat
captain, the engineer and the couple running the camp are all Niles people from
Rangeley.
In
Bethel, Ira C. Jordan began building
a new stable on Mechanic Street. Fritz Gordon is painting E.S. Kilborn’s house
on the corner of Elm and Railroad Streets. Dr. Gehring will soon begin active
practice here.
The
bicycle contest offered by the Bethel News is assuming unheard of proportions
for anything of the kind in this place. The publishers will not say who they
think the lucky one will be.
Bethel
News’ great bicycle contest: June 17th
was the closing day of the bike for subscription contest that was started April
7 by the News. Votes by supporters plus the
work done for the paper added to individual contestant scores. Even the Advertiser exclaimed about how great
public interest in the contest had grown.
Near
the end, Mr. Leach of the News office kept an outdoor bulletin board posted
with the latest results. The final tally showed Gilbert Tuell winner with
50,362 votes and George French runner-up with 45,239. J.S. Hutchinson was third and Vera Holt was
fourth. Although Gilbert Tuell clearly
won the bicycle offered as a prize by the paper, Mr. Bowler seeing that his
newspaper had gained so much favorable publicity and new subscribers from the
contest awarded both Tuell and French new bicycles for their efforts on the
Bethel News behave.
June 30
– Those bicycles have arrived and Tuell and French are enjoying them extremely
well.
A
soldiers’ memorial? After a week’s
delay, the meeting to address a soldiers’ monument was of no consideration at
all. It is probably safe to say that the old soldiers will never be called upon
to assist in erecting their own monument in the town of Bethel. Two Parrott guns and round ball shot had been donated to the Brown
Post G.A.R. in Bethel if the Post accepted the offer and would pay for
transporting the guns and equipment from the Kittery Navy Base to Bethel. Possibly
much of the recent enthusiasm for a memorial monument or building came from a
series of War Remembrance articles about the Bethel Company. These articles
appeared weekly on the front page of the Bethel News. However, in the end, at
the postponed meeting there was no
decision to continue.
The
village musical talent perm formed at the Gould Academy graduation ceremonies
in Odeon Hall. Bennett C. Snyder, star
and director of the Bethel Chorus, performed with a solo and with a partner for
a duet. There were only two young ladies in the graduating class, Misses Hall
and Richardson. The class motto was
“Wait, Work, Win”.
Mr.
F.W. Flood of Gould Academy is spending his vacation at his home in Ellsworth.
He will go to Andover, Mass where he will study at the Andover Theological
Seminary.
W.E.
Abbott will manage the butter factory here for W. K. Hamlin, the lessee, from
South Waterford. Abbott will live in
Bethel while he is in charge.
The
town’s municipal officers have purchased a new Mosler safe weighing 4,500
pounds to safeguard town records and papers. The purchase was approved by the
voters. It has been put into their second floor office in the Cole Block. (And
as of 2009, it is still there.) It was moved into the selectmen’s office by
using a stone drag connected to a fall and blocks then drawn up the stairs to
the second floor by a span of horses.
At the
Grand Trunk depot: Through the efforts of
station agent M.W. Chandler, the long needed improvements in the way of a new cattle
yard and also lead ways to the cars have been completed.
Bethel insurance business sold
to W.J. Wheeler of South Paris. June 21, 1897, S.N. Buck’s notice of his sale
to Wheeler was in the Bethel News: I have this day sold my insurance business
and good will and transferred my companies to W.J. Wheeler of South Paris,
Maine, whom I take pleasure in recommending to my patrons, and hope they will
continue their business with him. S.N.
Buck
In the same column, W.J.
Wheeler also notified Bethel News readers that all applications for policies,
indorsements and other changes should be made to me. Wheeler also confirmed that he had bought
Buck’s business which will be transferred to South Paris.
Other
local news: Miss Margaret Babcock of Boston will be in Bethel for some weeks
for the purpose of receiving medical treatment from Dr. Gehring. E.W. Barker
has purchased the old toll bridge buildings which he will remove. He will sell the timbers from these
buildings. Miss Lillian True has finished her year’s course of instruction with
her eighteen pupils in music and German. Mr. S. N. Buck has moved into the
house owned by Ceylon Rowe at No. 2 Park Street. The house he just vacated has
been leased by Will Abbott who has recently taken charge of the Bethel Creamery.
Gilead: Mrs. H.R. Gammon’s house is full to
the rafters with boarders. She has two others helping her – Mr. and Mrs. O.C.
Wight. The new hotel keeper here is directing the finishing up and furnishing
of the new hotel. J.W. Bennett’s mill in
Shelburne known as the Frost mill burned, no insurance, loss estimated at
$1,500.
Greenwood’s large taxpayers
reported in the Advertiser: American
Bobbin, Spool and Shuttle Company: $277.16; non resident individual, Elias
Thomas, $71.77; resident individuals: E.W. Penley,$99.66; William H. Crockett,
$66.72 and Ransom Cole, $63.75.
North Newry: There were quite a
number of boarders at the Bear River Hotel (meaning Poplar Tavern). Fishermen were more plentiful than fish.
Newry Corner: The ladies of the Union church
met on May 26 at the residence of T.H. Jewett for the purpose of re-organizing
the Union circle. The following officers were chosen: Mrs. John Saunders,
President; Mrs. Warren Small, Vice President; Mrs. Anson Hayford, 1st Asst. Vice President; 2d Asst. Vice
President, Mrs. Marshal Swain; Mrs. James Baker, Secretary; Mrs. Charles
Bartlett, Treasurer; Committee on work: Mrs. H.S. Hastings, Mrs. Jacob
Thurston, Mrs. R. Penly, Miss Ann Rowe, Mrs. Dell Smith and Mrs. Laforis York. Committee on literary entertainment: Mrs.
John Kimball, Miss Ethel Hastings, Miss Maud Thurston, Miss Mamie Baker, Miss
Pertie Foster, and Mrs. Bert Harlow. Collector: Mrs. T. H. Jewett. The next
meeting will be with Mrs. John Saunders on June 9th.
Newry Corner Union Church (1865-1935)
– photo: History of Newry 1805-1955, Carrie Wight.
Oxford
County Railway: A
hearing was held in Augusta before the Railroad Commission. Hon. Charles
Littlefield of Rockland appeared for the petitioners. He was opposed by Hon. George D. Bisbee of
Rumford Falls and former Governor Cleaves of Portland representing the Portland
and Rumford Falls Railway and the Rumford Falls and Rangeley Lakes R.R. The issue was approval of the Association of
the railway company. A decision will come later.
Newry Corner Union Church (1865-1935) - photo History
of Newry 1805-1955, Carrie Wight.
End of Part One – 1897 Journals