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The Bethel Journals 1931 Bethel Business Scene—Part One Profiles of Merchants, Traders and
Industry |
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Mr. D. Grover Brooks was born in Upton, April 9, 1892, the son of the
late Aldana and Mary (King) Brooks. His education was acquired in the Upton
schools, Gould Academy and Burdett Business College in Boston, Mass. He married Miss Alice Joy in 1919 and they have two
sons, Dana G. and Donald E. Mr. Brooks saw service during the World War at
St. Milheil, France as a member of the machine gun company in the 109th
Infantry. He has been in business for himself
since 1917, when he purchased the hardware business and buildings of the late
N.F. Brown on Main Street. One of these he has converted to a
roomy and comfortable dwelling and here he and Mrs. Brooks have their home
and offices. Mrs. Brooks is town clerk and is completing her ninth year in
that capacity. Many changes and improvements have been made in the
store and now it is fully equipped with general hardware, dishes, porcelain
and enamel ware. Sheet metal furnaces, heating appliances and plumbing
supplies and service make up Mr. Brooks’ line. He is a
member of Bethel Lodge, F & AM, Eastern Star and American Legion and was
town treasurer for eight years. |
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STORE OF D. G. BROOKS |
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Over 40 years ago, Mr.
N.S. Stowell started a spool factory in Dixfield. This later was combined with a second mill at
Dixfield, one at Bethel, formerly the Merrill, Springer Co., one at Weld and
one at New Portland. These five mills comprise the N.S.
Stowell & Company., Inc., which for some 20 years have been owned by N.S.
Stowell and J. & P. Coates (R.I.), Inc., and consume approximately 16,000 cords
of wood per year. In
addition to the mills mentioned above, Mr. Stowell owns the Elliott &
Bartlett mill at Andover and also the Stowell Silk Spool Co. at Bryant Pond.
These mills combined furnish employment for five or six hundred men and women
the year round. During the winter months these figures are doubled as the
16,000 cords of wood must be cut, trucked to the mills and all sawed into
squares during the cold weather. The Bethel mill, which was formerly the
Merrill, Springer Co., was purchased by the N.S. Stowell Co. about 1924. It
furnishes employment for 60 to 75 men and women with a payroll of $75,000 per
year. An average of 4,000 cords of white birch is used each year. The company manufactures spools, dowels and
novelties. Spools, however, are the principal product and are used for silk,
mercerized and cotton thread. The output is about 75 million spools a year. The production of dowels of all lengths is around 5
millions per year. The resident superintendent is Mr. George N.
Thompson who came to Bethel in 1924. |
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SPOOL AND DOWEL MILL OF N.S. STOWELL
& CO., INC., BETHEL |
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John M. Harrington was born in Greenwood, Maine the son of Michael H.
and Ellen (Driscoll) Harrington, May 27, 1896. He was educated in the public schools and
graduated from Gould Academy in 1914. Mr. Harrington farmed for a while and then
entered the employ of the American Express Co. at Portland. During the war he saw service in France and
returned to Bethel in 1919. The J.B. Ham Co. was then located in the
Bisbee Block and Mr. Harrington entered the employ of that company. In 1926,
they moved to their present convenient quarters on Main Street by the station
and Mr. Harrington is the manager. He is a member of the Eastern Star, Knights
of Pythias, Bethel Lodge A & FM and the American Legion. He has served as Deputy Sheriff and at
present is town treasurer, a position of trust he has capably filled for two
years. |
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J. B. HAM GRAIN CO. John M. Harrington, Mgr. |
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The Bethel Journals, Donald G.
Bennett, PO Box 763, Bethel, Maine 04217 13911 Tallowridge Court, Orlando,
Florida 32837 |
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The mill of Julius P. Skillings in this town which produces annually millions of
spools was established during the Civil War by David N. Skillings of
Winchester, Mass., and is one of the oldest in the country. The late J.P. Skillings managed this mill for many
years and was much loved by is employees. Around the mill has grown a
prosperous little village, every resident loyal to the Skillings family and
their forebears. A large store is managed here for the convenience of the
mill workers and within recent years a Club Room for recreational purposes
has been added. Since the death of Mr. Skillings in 1925, Mrs. Alice Skillings Robinson, now owner of the business, has directed her late
husband’s affairs at the mills and among the people. This mill was the first of its kind to be run by
steam, as in those days all wood turning mills were on streams and run by
water power. At the time it was an innovation and the curious drove for miles
by horse and buggy and ox carts to view the steam mill. Hence the former name
of the village, Steam Mill village, but now known as Skillingston in honor of
its founders. |
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SKILLINGS SPOOL MILL MILL AND BUILDINGS OF JULIUS P. SKILLINGS (Note that the main road to West Bethel
crossed the railroad tracks in the photo’s middle ground coming from farms
north of the tracks.) |
