USA > Maine > Franklin County > Industry > A history of the town of Industry, Franklin County, Maine > Part 36
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Settees were brought from Norton's Hall and chairs from the neighboring houses, and by the hour appointed for the services the church was completely filled. The services, which began at 2 o'clock P. M., were both interesting and impressive. Much care and attention had been bestowed upon the details of the programme, and its general excellence was a credit to Rev. John R. Masterman, by whom it was prepared.
PROGRAMME.
I. Singing. Anthem: " Praise Ye the Lord."
Choir.
2. Introductory Remarks.
3. Singing : " The Old Bell."*
Rev. John R. Masterman. C'hoir.
* The cast-steel bell saved from the old house was the only thing that could be utilized for the new. This hymn was arranged for the occasion by Eller Masterman and sung in commemoration of the fact.
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
4. Report of Building Committee.
5. Singing.
6. Scripture Reading.
7. Prayer.
8. Reading of Discipline.
9. Singing.
James M. Norlon. Choir. Rev. George C. Andrews. Rev. Henry Crocketl. Rev. Wilber F. Berry. Choir. Rev. George C. Andrews. Rev. George C. Andrews.
10. Collection.
11. Prayer and Sermon.
12. Presentation of Church to Society for Dedication by Chairman of Board of Trustees. Franklin W. Patterson.
13. Dedicatory Service. Revs. George C. Andrews and Wilber F. Berry.
Dedicatory Prayer.
Rev. W. F. Berry.
15. Singing Doxology. 10. Benediction by the Pastor. Congregation. Rev. John R. Masterman.
James M. Norton, chairman of the building committee, reported as follows :
Received on subscription paper dated Aug. 5, 1887, $992.60
Of Ladies' Circle, 131.88
Church Aid Fund, 180.79
Subscription for paint and painting, Mrs. Masterman, 31.00
From sale of the Union Meeting- House lot, 20.00
By sale of stove, 2.00
In labor and material from individuals,
96.78
From Harrison Daggett and Eugene L. Smith for vane,* 19.00
By letter method, 26.61
For land sold to Ellen A. Frederic, 25.00
Liabilities in excess of resources, 22.00
Total cost of house, $1547.66
Music for the occasion was furnished by a choir composed of the following persons, viz. : Miss Lilla Masterman, alto; Mrs. John R. Masterman and Mrs. Alonzo Norton, soprano; Rufus Jennings, tenor, and Messrs. John R. Masterman and Harrison Daggett, bass, with Miss Carrie L. Norton, organist.
* This vane was bought with funds raised by subscription, J. Warren Smith gen- erously donating five dollars. The vane was three feet in length, known as the ban- nerette style, and was placed on the spire on Monday, Nov. 5, 1888, by Melvin A. Burns, a painter who chanced to be stopping in the village.
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EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893.
Every detail of the programme was carried out successfully, and the dedicatory exercises were much enjoyed by all present. The sermon was pointed and practical and, taken as a whole, an eminently able discourse. The completion and opening of the new church for public worship at once gave a powerful impetus to church attendance, and the accruing good results on the morals of the community are hardly to be estimated.
The spring of 1890 was noted for being one of the coldest and most backward in a long series of years. Added to this a protracted series of cold heavy rains prevented many farmers from completing their spring's work until near the middle of June, while a few were at work on their tillage as late as the twenty-first of June. Occasionally a piece of land would be found too wet to cultivate, and from this cause many acres lay idle through the succeeding summer. Even after the seed was in the ground germination proved to be a very slow process, and re-planting in some instances became necessary.
A TERRIBLE TORNADO.
Tuesday, July 8, 1890, was an unusually hot day. During a large part of the season the weather had been cool and agree- able, but on the day in question the mercury rose steadily until it ranged from 90 to 95 degrees in the shade, varying according to the locality. To add to the discomfort of sweltering human- ity scarcely a breath of air was stirring to relieve the awful intensity of the heat. During the afternoon dark and threaten- ing clouds were observed rising above the western horizon; as this was no uncommon occurrence during the hottest days of summer no notice was taken of the matter. These huge masses of sullen clouds remained almost motionless in the western sky for several hours. Then, as if having gained motive power from their own inactivity, they began to rise, towering higher and higher in the heavens. On and on came the storm, the leaden black clouds rolling volume on volume, driven by some unper- ceived power. The sight was truly grand and appalling! A wilight gloom settled over the land, and the little birds ceased
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
their singing and sought shelter from the coming storm. Driven by an irresistible wind, thick clouds of dust, mingled with leaves and branches of trees, and even small gravel stones, filled the air and added to the gloom which enshrouded the land. The rain now fell in torrents, while the roar of the wind, the inces- sant flashing of the lightning and the pealing thunder presented a scene of weird and striking grandeur. The tornado began at six o'clock P. M., and lasted about thirty minutes, but in that brief period many valuable shade, field and forest trees were uprooted, while others were seriously injured by having large branches twisted from their trunks. The roads in many places were rendered impassable, so thickly were they strewn with fallen trees. But aside from the demolition of a barn in the northern part of the town, owned by Thomas M. Oliver, build- ings in Industry escaped with slight injury. Other towns were less fortunate in this respect, and great damage was done to property, such as farm-buildings and fences, as well as to fruit and shade trees. The lattice-work railroad bridge, 150 feet long, across the Sandy River at Phillips, was lifted from its foundation and dashed to kindling wood by the galc. At Winthrop, Me., the steeple was blown from the Methodist Church, and falling through the roof of a neighboring house, so injured an aged lady that she died soon after the accident. Had the surface of Maine been unbroken by hill or forest, this tornado must have reached the intensity of a western cyclonc.
A new disease made its appearance in the fall of 1889, and prevailed widely as an epidemic during the following winter, and also during the succeeding winters of 1891-2 .* This
* The ravages of this disease in an adjoining State during the winter of 1891-2 is vividly pictured in the subjoined editorial clipped from the Manchester ( N. H. ) Mirror : There is always a tendency to overestimate the extent and effects of a widespreadl epidemic, especially in a community that reads newspapers extensively. for the disposition to state things quite as strongly as the facts will warrant is not one in which newspaper reporters and editors are generally lacking, but we question whether the people of New Hampshire are aware how violent has been the sweep of the disease which, with its numerous attendant and resulting ailments, is known as the
EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893. 421
disease was characterized by many of the symptoms of a severe attack of influenza. By some it was supposed to have had its origin in Siberia, hence was given the name " Russian Influenza." La Grippe, the name by which the disease was most widely known, is said to have come from the Polish crypka, meaning hoarse. Others claim to recognize its origin in the French word "gripper," meaning to seize. It spreads with great ra- pidity, and in the epidemic just mentioned traveled from St. Petersburg to New York in about six weeks. Children enjoyed to a certain extent immunity from this disease. The invasion was usually sudden, accompanied by accelerated pulse, high fever, severe lumbar and muscular pains, with intense headache. Catarrhal symptoms were usually prominent characteristics, though in some instances they were slight or entirely wanting. These attacks invariably left the patient weak and extremely susceptible to other diseases, especially to pneumonia. A large number died in Industry and adjoining towns, either from the disease itself or its sequela during its prevalence in 1890-1-2.
grip. More than half of the public men of the State who desired to attend the funeral of llon. Daniel Barnard at Franklin, Wednesday, were restricted to their homes on that day by sickness, and we think it is a fact that more than three-fourths of the entire population of the State has within the last two months been stricken down by this strange disease. A majority of them have recovered or are slowly convalescing, but the death roll for December and January must be longer than that for any other two months for many years. The grip goes everywhere and seizes its vietims from all classes. It is quite as prevalent and virulent in the country towns as in the cities. In one town it rages on the hills and in another in the valleys. It does as deadly work in the homes of the poor as in those of the rich and well to do. It does not distinguish between those who work in the open air and those who are closely confined in warm and poorly-ventilated rooms, and young and old are alike its subjects, though it is more fatal among the aged, because they have less strength to withstand it.
As a rule, when it enters a family it spares no member of it, and we hear of cases in almost every town in which all the occupants of a house are restricted to their beds. Physicians are everywhere worked to the limit of their endurance and neither love nor money can command the services of nurses in many instances. The cause no one knows. The weather is as bad as bad can be, but the grip rages where the weather is fine as fiercely as it does here, and of the cure, if cure there be, physicians seem to be nearly as ignorant as of the cause. In its every phase and from every point of view it is as mysterious as it is prostrating and fatal.
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
SHOREY CHAPEL.
It was in the month of February, 1824, that Pelatiah Shorey came with his family from Berwick, Maine, to make his home in the town of Industry. Mr. Shorey was a native of Berwick, and the youngest of a family of ten children. He was of Eng- lish extraction on his father's side, while his mother was of Scottish descent. Both his father and grandfather were deacons of the Baptist church in their day, and his mother was an eminently pious woman and a constant, earnest student of the Bible. Pelatiah Shorey married, Feb. 23, 1818, Sarah Fogg. daughter of Joseph and Phebe ( Hayes) Fogg, of Berwick, a lady of sincere piety and sterling moral worth. On coming to Industry, Mr. Shorey's family consisted of a wife and two chil- dren,- Elizabeth, through whose generosity Shorey Chapel has been erected, and George, who now resides in Cambridge, Mass.
The people of Industry found their newly-acquired towns- man and neighbor to be a man of strong, positive convictions, firm and unwavering in his defense of the principles of right and justice, a christian whose profession of faith adorned the walks of his daily life, and a man in every respect worthy of love and esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Shorey were the parents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood to lead useful christian lives, thus honoring the name of their revered parents and benefiting their fellowmen.
Dec. 21, 1838, the family sustained an overwhelming and irreparable loss in the death of a kind, loving wife and mother. Two years later Mr. Shorey married Elizabeth Walbridge Lowe, with whom he lived happily for nearly a third of a century. She died in Industry, May 14, 1869, and in the month of September following, Mr. Shorey left town to make his home in Wayland, Mass., with his eldest daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Price. Here, impelled by the promptings of truc filial affection, the daughter anticipated and ministered to his every want, thus making his last days as the flow of a peaceful river. Calmly, and apparently painlessly, on the morning of March 18, 1880, his immortal spirit parted its tenement of clay and was wafted
SHOREY @ICHAFEL
SHOREY CHAPEL.
From a photograph made in IS91 by E. R. Starbird, Farmington, Maine
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EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893.
by angels to realms of infinite love. After the death of her father, Mrs. Price ever felt a yearning desire to erect some suit- able memorial to the memory of her deceased parents. But nearly a decade elapsed before a desirable avenue for the be- stowal of her charity presented itself, and it happened in this wise : A house for public worship had for a long time been a growing want with the people of Allen's Mills. For years all religious meetings had been held in the brick school-house, but it was poorly adapted to such use. Time rolled on and the year 1890 dawned. This found the need of a church still a pressing want. Preaching was maintained at regular intervals, and a suc- cessful Sunday-school had been in operation for several years. There was also a flourishing lodge of Good Templars in the village, but like the church-goers they were without any suitable place for their meetings. Early in August, 1890, Mrs. Price, then a resident of Auburndale, Mass., came to visit friends and acquaintances in that part of Industry. She had for some years manifested much interest in the Sunday-school and in many ways promoted its interests. Almost intuitively she grasped the situation, and to those interested made this suggestive query : "Why not build a chapel with a room connected to accommo- date the temperance people?" This proposal struck a popular chord, and several individuals promptly offered to donate a lot of land upon which to erect the proposed building. Notice was given, and a meeting held on the evening of Aug. 29, 1890. At this meeting Wm. J. Rackliff was called to preside, and Mrs. Mary G. Rackliff was chosen secretary. A subscription paper was drawn up as the result, and a vigorous canvass for subscrip- tions begun. Mrs. Price promptly subscribed $500, and others pledged smaller sums. Considering the assistance already promised, sufficient to insure the success of their undertaking, the subscribers met and organized Shorey Chapel Association Monday evening, Oct. 20, 1890. Their organization was per- fected by the election of the following officers: President, Wm. J. Rackliff; Clerk, John T. Luce; Directors, D. Collins Luce, Wm. J. Rackliff, John C. Spinney, Alonzo O. Rackliff, John P. Rackliff; Collector and Treasurer, Herbert B. Luce.
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
At a subsequent meeting a constitution was drawn up, pre- sented and adopted. D. Collins Luce and wife generously do- nated a building-lot for the chapel and conveyed the same to the association Nov. 8, 1890. Two days later ground was broken for the foundation, and before winter had fully set in the cellar had been dug and stoned .* Dec. 13, 1890, a contract was closed with John T. Luce to furnish and deliver by April 1, 1891, the necessary lumber for the frame and covering of Shorcy Chapel. The granite for the underpinning was also purchased and hauled from the quarry in Chesterville during the winter. Ere spring had fairly set in the enterprise sustained a serious loss in the death of Mrs. Mary G. Rackliff and her mother, Lydia C. Luce, two of its most carnest friends. Discouraging, indeed, were the prospects of the chapel association after this, and until May 20th nothing further was done toward the building. At this critical juncture Mrs. Price, the originator of the movement, came to the rescue. By mutual agreement with the association she assumed the whole control of erecting and finishing the chapel, as well as all the expense of building.
June 2, 1891, Frederick A. Tompson, of Portland, com- menced preparing the plans, and the contract for building was soon after let to Mr. Noyes H. Williamson, of Farmington. The work was soon begun and vigorously pushed under the immediate supervision of Mrs. Price. As the work neared completion it was thought advisable to dedicate the house November 10th, it being the anniversary of Mr. Shorey's birth. In completing and furnishing this chapel the tact, good judgment and business ability of Mrs. Price is shown to the best advan- tage. Every detail received her careful personal attention, and nothing was left undone to make the building complete in all its appointments. A bell of 720 pounds weight hangs in the bell-tower, which is surmounted by a handsome vane of the bannerette style. A beautiful tablet bearing the inscription "Shorey Chapel" adorns the front elevation of the main build- ing, and the structure as a whole is a model of architectural
* By a singular coincidence ground was broken on the anniversary of Mr. Shorey's birth, the gentleman in whose honor the chapel had been named.
.
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EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893.
beauty. The auditorium, situated in the main building, is reached from the entrance immediately under the tower, by turning to the right. This room, which has a seating capacity of about 150, may well be termed a paragon of comfort and convenience. Overhead it is finished nearly to the ridge, leaving all the trusses exposed. These by their tastetul arrangement are made objects of beauty as well as utility. The richly-stained finish, the fres- coed walls and ceiling, the ash-wood pews with their cushions of maroon plush, the modestly-figured carpet, the handsomely- furnished pulpit, blend into one harmonious whole in the flood of mellow light admitted through the stained-glass windows. At the left of the minister, as he faces the congregation, is the choir with its fine new organ, while on his right is a small parlor reached by a private entrance, from which a short flight of stairs leads to the pulpit.
On the desk lies a handsome copy of the Bible, presented by a sister of Mrs. Price, Mrs. Harriet A. Bassett, of New York City ; but aside from this, everything from the furnace in the basement to the vane on the spire, and hymn-books in every pew, came from the generous hand of Elizabeth ( Shorey ) Price. The wing, extending at a right angle from the main building, contains a vestry, reached from a side entrance, and a kitchen furnished with a china closet, sink and all the conveniences of a first-class cuisine. The vestry communicates with the audito- rium by means of folding doors, and contains a book-case, desk and other necessary furniture. It is designed for the use of the Sunday-school, social meetings and the Good Templars.
THIE DEDICATION.
Tuesday, Nov. 10, 1891, was ushered in with overcast skies and indications of rain, but before the hour set for the dedica- tory services the clouds vanished, and the sun burst forth in all its splendor, giving promise of a perfect afternoon. At one o'clock the silvery-toned bell in the tower announced the arrival of the appointed hour. The people had begun to gather carly in the afternoon and soon filled all the pews, and the ushers were obliged to place chairs in the aisles for those arriving
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
later, until the house was completely packed. Several ministers were present, aside from those who occupied seats in the pulpit and participated in the dedicatory services. Among these were Rev. George W. Barber, Pastor of the Industry Methodist Church, and Rev. Otis Andrews, of New Sharon. A pleasant reminder of Mrs. Price's thoughtfulness was the neatly-printed programme, a copy of which was placed in the hands of every one present at the opening of the service. At a few minutes past one the exercises began, of which the following is the programme in full :
Organ Voluntary,
Miss Agnes E. Allen, Farmington.
Solo,
Miss Mary B. Elwell, Farmington.
Anthem, Messrs. Geo. C. Purington, Carl Merrill, Wilbert G. Mallett, Farmington, and J. II. Conant, Strong.
Invocation, Rev. J. W. II. Baker, Farmington Falls. Business, (a) Report of Herbert B. Luce in behalf of the Shorey Chapel Association.
(b) Presentation of the key to Mr. Luce by the contractor, Noyes II. Williamson, who in turn presented it to the proper custodian, Eliz- abeth Price.
In well-chosen language this lady responded substantially as follows: "This house, erected to the memory of my deceased parents, Pelatiah and Sarah ( Fogg) Shorey, was built for the worship of the true and living God; and although it is to be dedicated as a Congregational Chapel, it is my wish that it be made free to all christian denominations desiring to worship here." As she ceased speaking, Rev. Truman A. Merrill stepped forward and read the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted :
Resolved. That we, the citizens of Allen's Mills and vicinity, accept the gift of this beautiful chapel from Mrs. Elizabeth Price for our use and benefit, with feelings of profound gratitude.
Resolved. That we will show our gratitude to her now, and in coming years, by doing all we can to the end that her wishes for our good and for the moral and religious improvement of the town may be realized.
Resolved. That we will teach our children to revere the name of Elizabeth Price, who by her christian character and her generous gift to us has proved that she is our friend indeed, worthy of our love and admiration.
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EVENTS FROM 1866 TO 1893.
Resolved. That by this deed of noble generosity she has enthroned herself in our hearts and awakened within us the heartfelt prayer that the Angel of Peace may ever guide her footsteps in pleasant and pros- perous paths and finally place upon her brow the victor's crown.
Mrs. Price, as well as others, was deeply moved by this spontaneous and unexpected expression of gratitude.
Scripture Reading, 84th Psalm, and from the 10th Chap. Hebrews commencing with
13th verse, Rev. Wilber F. Berry, Farmington.
Anthem, Messes. Purington, Merrill, Mallett and Conant. IIymn, . Rev. John Spinney, Industry. Sermon (Text, St. John iv, 21, 22, 23.), Rev. Hugh Elder, Farmington. Reading Letters, Rev. Truman A. Merrill, Allen's Mills. Rev. Herbert Tilden, Farmington.
Dedicatory Prayer,
Hymn 485 ( in singing which the congregation joined).
Rev. Daniel R. Hargraves, New Sharon. Rev. J. Henry McLaren, Phillips.
Benediction,
The exercises were touchingly beautiful and impressive, and the occasion was one not soon to be forgotten by those whose good fortune it was to witness them. Through the generosity of Elizabeth Price the citizens of Allen's Mills and vicinity were enabled to dedicate their beautiful chapel in just one year to a day from the date of breaking ground for the foundation. Several of the letters read were from former residents of Indus- try and possess such intrinsic historical interest that the author cannot forbear giving them space.
Rev. Stephen H. Hayes, 319 Marlboro St., Boston, a native of Industry who celebrated the seventy-eighth anniversary of his birth on the 14th inst., wrote in an interesting vein as follows :
The Shorey Chapel at Allen's Mills ! The very thought startles me. It is in the town of Industry. I was born there in 1813. My mind leaps back to those early days, to the memory of that neighborhood, to the school district of which Allen's Mills was then a part. Allen's Mills was in one extremity of the district and I lived two miles east at the other extremity. In those days it was all the world to me. There I went to school, to the Sunday-school, and to meeting on the Sabbath. My father did not own a wagon then ; there were very few wagons in
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HISTORY OF INDUSTRY.
the town. But every boy rode on horseback ; and I, a mere child, astride a bag of corn or wheat rode two miles to Allen's Mills to have the corn and wheat ground. From my father's farm, on the side of " Bannock hill," I could any day see "Clear Water Lake," at the foot of which lay Allen's Mills. I loved to go there, I can see it now, the stream rushing through the gate in the milkdlam just by the bridge. driving a grist-mill, saw-mill and clothing-mill. Here wool was carded by machinery into long rolls, spun and woven by the women at home, dyed and pressed and finished at the mill ; and my sisters and other girls were proud to have warm gowns made of it for winter wear. There. too, was a social library. a small affair of perhaps 75 volumes ; but they were good books- a wonderful library. I thought. It was so nice for me to go to mill and to the library to exchange books. I was in despair sometimes lest, when I had read them all, there were no more books in the world.
Yes, Allen's Mills was a great place to me. But, in those days, there was not a meeting-house in the town. At length the " Union house" was built ; my father, Jacob Hayes, furnished the frame from his own farm and forest ; many others furnished lumber and labor. And so the first house of the Lord in this town was built, in about 1827 .* Before this there was preaching in school-houses and in homes, and four different churches had been organized. One of the earliest preachers was Rev. Thomas Merrill, a Baptist minister. Among the preachers I remember were Rev. Josiah Peet, of Norridgewock. Rev. Geo. W. Hathaway, of Skowhegan, Elder Sylvanus Boardman, of New Sharon, the father of the missionary, Rev. Geo. Dana Boardman, Father Sewall, of Chesterville,- noble, venerable man, the greatest of all preachers, I thought. But there was no settled pastor in the town.
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