USA > Maine > Waldo County > Brooks > Sketches of Brooks history > Part 20
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37
1890-1893
Hiram Pattee (Public Hall)
1894-1895 Hiram Pattee, and Memorial Hall
1896
Memorial Hall
1897-1899
Memorial Hall, Yankee Blade Hall
1900-1902 Memorial Hall, Yankee Blade Hall
1903
1904-1911
Memorial Hall, and Union Hall
1912-1916 Union Hall and A. E. Kilgore Hall
1917-1918
Union Hall and Crockett's Hall
1919-1922
Union Hall and Crockett's Hall
1923 1924
Union Hall and Crockett's Theatre
Grange Hall
1925-1930
Union Hall and Crockett's Theatre
Union Hall, Crockett's Theatre, Grange Hall
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POOL ROOM
Year 1917-1919 1920 1921 1922-1925 1926
Leroy Godding
John W. Hobbs
Charles W. Ryder
Harry H. Peavey
Bradford Stoddard
1930
Sherman Murray
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BROOKS CENTENNIAL
ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY-1816-1916
At a legal meeting of the inhabitants of the Town of Brooks, held .March 6, 1916, the following vote was passed :-
On motion, voted to raise $150.00 to aid in the proper observance of the Centennial of the Incorporation of the Town of Brooks. .
On motion, voted that a committee of five be appointed by the Chair to make all arrangements for the exercises to be held "Old Home Week" August next, and the following Committee was appointed :- Daniel B. Plummer, Seth W. Norwood, George B. Roberts, Edwin C. Holbrook, and Ezra A. Carpenter.
The first meeting of the committee for the observance of the hun- dredth anniversary of the incorporation of the Town of Brooks met at the residence of Daniel B. Plummer, and organized as follows :- Dan- iel B. Plummer, Chairman; Seth W. Norwood, secretary; Edwin C. Holbrook, George B. Roberts and Ezra A. Carpenter, executive commit- tee; and Elmer G. Roberts, treasurer.
It was voted to invite Daniel B. Plummer to deliver the address of welcome; and Mr. Norwood the historical address. Also to invite the Masonic Lodge, K. of P., and P. and H., and to appoint committees from each order to cooperate with the executive committee, and become members of the sub-committees to be appointed later. It was voted to instruct the secretary to obtain prices of printing stickers, etc. It was also voted to instruct the secretary to invite Governor Oakley Curtis to attend the services on August 17, and if he was unable to attend, to delegate someone in his behalf.
At a meeting of the Centennial Committee, held at the office of the Selectmen, June 10, 1916, the following committees were appointed :- Literary activities, Seth W. Norwood, Elmer G. Roberts, Charles W. Ryder, Leslie Murch, and Fred H. Brown; Publicity Committee, Edwin C. Holbrook, George B. Roberts, and Seth W. Norwood; Sports, Albert B. Payson, William C. Austin, Albert E. Jenkins, Leslie Murch, Clar- ence Hamlin, and Seth W. Norwood; Parade and Decorations, Daniel B. Plummer, Ezra A. Carpenter, Walter H. Young, Frank H. Quimby, Herbert T. Smith, Hale R. Hall, Hamilton E. Jenkins, Leroy E. God- ding, Wilbur E. Barker, Charles W. Ryder, Albert E. Jenkins, Willard S. Jones, and Harry E. Staples; Refreshments, George B. Roberts, Frank H. Quimby and Clarence Hamlin; Collection of Antiques, the entire
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Daniel B. Plummer
Edwin C. Holbrook
Committee; Log Cabin, Hamilton E. Jenkins; Floats, Ezra A. Carpen- ter, Walter H. Young and Hale R. Hall; Roberts' Night, George B. Roberts; Wagons, Automobiles, Etc. Harry E. Staples; Fire Engine, E. Boody; Agricultural Machinery, Ancient and Modern, Frank H. Quimby, Chas. W. Ryder, Wilbur E. Barker and Herbert L. Smith; Athletics, Albert E. Jenkins.
Ezra A. Carpenter
Albert B. Payson
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CENTENNIAL SERMON
On Sunday, August 13, 1916, at 2 P. M., the Anniversary Sermon was delivered at the Union Church by Rev. Thomas H. Martin of Sears- port former pastor of the Brooks Congregational Church, and who later returned to Brooks as Pastor of the local church. Mr. Martin sketched briefly the historical activities of the Church of the Nation during the hundred years, and associated the early church life with that of the early history of Brooks.
At the services was sung a Centennial Ode written by Tilton A. Elliott, and sung to the tune of "Harbor Bell." The Ode is as follows:
We gather here to celebrate the hundreth birthday of our town, With joyous hearts and voice attuned, Sing forth the praise of its renown.
A hundred years have passed away,
A hundred milestones tell the tale, Of those who struggled, toiled and wept, But now are safe within the vale.
A hundred years, how much they tell, Could we expound the voice of time, Of plans achieved, of blighted hopes, Of joys and sorrows left behind.
Our fathers labored faithfully, To build our homes and clear the land, We honor their dear memory, With Soul and voice, with heart and hand;
We tread the paths which once they trod, We drink at fountains where they played, We worship the same loving God, tho from his precepts we have strayed.
O! for the faith our fathers had, We need it even more than they, Since more temptations crown our path, The less obstructions bar our way.
But we rejoice that we now live, Tho they may wear the Victor's Crown, And going forth with greater skill, Take up the work that they layed down,
Since greater tasks should be performed And nobler deeds the records tell, Of those who live in modern times, And strive their fathers to excell.
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Seth W. Norwood
Tilton A. Elliot
We live today in a great land, Mid peace and plenty we abound, God grant that we may understand. The boon our fathers handed down.
And vet amid our blessings great.
While time rolls on with fearful speed,
Do not forget that God sees all.
And keeps in mind our every deed;
So we should larbor with great care,
For there are but a few more suns, When other minds and other hands, Will take the work that we begun.
A hundred years, and we have passed. To be with the immortal band; A hundred years, and a new race, Will people our beloved land.
On Monday evening, Aug. 14, 1916, there was held a Historial Pag- eant of over sixty characters. The opening scene is in a modern city home of one of Brooks native sons. Having but recently received let- ters and postcards from home, describing the proposed celebration, the older members of the family are talking over family ties, and the scenes of their youth, when they are interrupted by a band on the street playing "Home Sweet Home." This was followed by the "Old Oaken Bucket.". Tears are brought to the eyes of the father and mother, and plans are at once made to attend the "Old Home Week", the anniver- sary celebration at Brooks. Hiram Wintergreen, portraying a country
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character as imagined by the city folk, then describes the village quar- tet of Brooks. The introduction of the Pageant is in four short acts :- Act 1, in a city home-The Aunt and the Letter; Act 2, The Log Cabin, The Thorndike Place, The Old Well on the Manter Corner; Act 3, Marsh River; and Act 4, The Ballroom.
The characters that appear in the Pageant are :-
Hale Hall, Father Time, representing 1816; H. C. Ellis as George Wash- ington; Leroy I. Staples as Uncle Sam; Elbert Moulton as Governor Brooks; Hollis Jones as Dr. Jacob Roberts; Charles Watson as Shad- rich Hall; Earle Roberts as Jonathan Roberts; Clare Wentworth as John Roberts; Clifton Roberts as Joseph Roberts, Jr .; Walter Jones as William Doble; Lawrence Jenkins as John Young; Everett E. Brown as William Kimball; Albert J. Lowe as Benjamin Cilley; Walter H. Young as Wm. Cilley; Marshall Ellis as Indian Chief. Others. taking part were :- Ira Boulter, Almon Brown, George Ward, Maynard Stan- tial, Thomas Cook, and Hervey Bowden. Miss Phyllis Reynolds as Liberty; Miss Edna Godding as Queen; Nataline Mannucci, Christine Jones, Myrtle Hall, and Beryl Spaulding as Indian maids; Helen Col- son Knight as Fairy; Misses Erma Barker, Gladys Godding, Theo Lane, Ruth Quimby, Helen Crockett, Hesta Rose, Hilda Lane, Mrs. Hamilton Jenkins, and Celia Godding as Colonial maids; Miss Edith Hobbs, and Grace Lettie Tarr as Modern maids. Neptune Sosolasiac, an Indian of Old Town, Maine, a member of the Penobscot Tribe of Indians gave an exhibition of Indian dances. Misses Laura Jones, Beulah Cook, Adma Emmons, and Faustina Roberts were assistants to the Queen. Miss Georgia Ryder took the part of Youth.
The Pageant portrayed the early settlers of the Town, the first min- isters, lawyers, Brooks in the Civil War, the quilting bees, husking bees, and the various social and industrial activities of the early history of Brooks.
On Tuesday evening, August 15, 1916, the History of Brooks was pre- sented at Crockett's Hall in a series of moving pictures showing the early settlers, first roads built, and views of the past and present, with pictures of the first house built in Brooks.
On Wednesday evening came the tributes to the Roberts family. It was this family that settled Brooks as the first pioneers, and Wednes- day evening was a "Roberts Night" in every sense of the word. The first pioneer to settle in Brooks was Joseph Roberts, Jr. He married twice, and had twelve children by each wife. His descendants are to- day living in all sections of the country. Among the speakers was
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Dr. Edward J. Roberts of Augusta, a descendant of Joseph Roberts, Jr. George B. Roberts, who was in charge of this occasion, was very active in this part of the program. This evening was in reality a "Roberts Reunion" as almost everyone in Brooks is a relative or des- cendant of the Roberts family.
The big day of the Celebration was Thursday, August 17. The day opened with a concert by the Brooks band, led by Prof. Harry Drew of Waterville. At 10 o'clock the parade started, and was beyond doubt the largest, most elaborate and interesting event given in Waldo County. The line was over a mile long, with twenty-two floats, as well as many other features. The route was lined with people and each feature was liberally applauded. The parade was led by Ezra A. Carpenter, chief marshall, followed by the Brooks band. Then "Father Time" followed by 16 boys representing 1916; one hundred descendants of the early settlers; veterans of the Civil War over eighty years of age; one hundred school children; the Brooks fire department; floats representing old and new methods of churning, milking, heating, lighting, plowing, harvesting; methods of transportation such as ox team, horses, bicycles, automobiles and motorcycles; a wedding of 1816 and 1916; a log cabin, the first house built in Brooks by Joseph Rob- erts, Jr., in 1799; mercantile floats by A. E. Chase Company who had three; Albert B. Payson, A. R. Pilley, Harry H. Hutchinson, Chase & Varney Company, Clarence F. Spaulding, Willard S. Jones, C. P. Tarr, Crockett's Picture Theatre, Mrs. H. C. Jenkins, Staples & Son, Roberts & Son, Hood Creamery Company, Jenkins Lumber Company, and Ellis Lumber Company, Brooks Farmers' Union, Frances H. Merritt. The Knights of Pythias, Pythian Sisters, Masons, and Harvest Home Grange made a fine showing. And last, sixteen girls represented 1916.
At one P. M. the Literary Exercises opened in Union Hall. Mr. Albert B. Payson presided in place of Mr. Edwin C. Holbrook, who was prevented from so doing by illness. Superintendent of Schools, Daniel B. Plummer, gave a bright and stirring address of welcome. Clifton P. Roberts, a great-great grandson of the first white child born in Brooks, read a Centennial Poem, written by Seth W. Norwood. The poem is as follows :-
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With cheerful smile and kindly voice, We greet you here today, And g'adly welcome those, Who have come from far away.
Your smiling face and glad handshake, Have made your presence dear, And on this day our hearts rejoice, ' To have you with us here.
How many changes you have seen, How many hopes and fears, What great events have taken place, Within one hundred years.
Our town which with some was young, Has broadened more and more, May we try and be as active, As our forefathers gone before.
We greet you nineteen and sixteen, And may your future years, Be as full of peace and plenty, As everywhere now appears.
Our ancestors were of sturdy stock, Who came from other lands, And helped to build this little town, With many willing hands.
They were noble men and women, In numbers but a few, Who in that dreary forest, Started out in life anew.
From the trees they built their cabin, It was good and snug and warm, And once settled in their dwelling, They felt free from any harm.
A trust in God to protect them, With the Bible for their guide, Here they reared their loving children, And in Christian faith, they died.
But the sons and daughters left behind, Are those we find still here, Who will help to celebrate, This our great centennial year.
Once the travel from the village, Was by stage coach near and far, Now we go by automobile, Or by the fast steam car.
And the telephone and telegraph, Were not heard of then And they used to write their deeds, With the little old quill pen.
Some were summoned by the war cry, In the year of sixty-one; Few are left of those brave soldiers, They were good men, every one.
Some of their friends have departed, For the land where all is day, And the men of our tomorrow, Were the boys of yesterday.
But other friends are left you still To bid you welcome here, And best of wishes now they bring, To greet Brooks' Hundredth year.
I seem to hear adown the ages, A voice in accents firm and clear, Guard faithfully. church and hearth- stone, Which your forefathers held most dear.
Far and wide Brooks' sons have scat- tered,
But they are always welcome home, And on this day of her anniversary, She bids them "Welcome." Come.
This day of all the others, Come back to home and farm, From the wide world's busy corners, To the home where you were born.
Vacant places you will find here, Hearts are aching with the joys, As Brooks once more welcomes, All her older girls and boys.
Keep Brooks banner waving, Always for the truth and right, That in her future generations, She may proclaim her power and inight.
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A view of Brooks Square, 1916
This was followed by a carefully prepared and comprehensive ad- dress by Seth W. Norwood, and next, an eloquent oration by Secretary of State, John E. Bunker, who represented the Governor, Oakley C. Curtis, who was unable to be present because of a previous engage- ment. His speech received hearty applause.
Then came the sports of the afternoon which attracted big crowds. They included baseball, running, and jumping. The baseball game be- tween Troy and Camp Windemere was a close and exciting contest, the score being a 4-4 tie when it was finally called in order that Camp Windemere boys might catch their train. The tug-of-war was a terrific struggle between Jackson, who evened up with Brooks, the winner of the last pull. The 100 yard dash, half mile running race, and other rac-
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ing events were won by Fred F. Palmer of Monroe, a Hebron Academy athlete who had his speed with him.
A pleasing feature of the day was the automobile parade with about fifty cars in line, many of them handsomely decorated.
The dinner hour was a busy one for all the people of the village. Nearly all of them had invited guests, and these were royally enter- tained. Tents had been erected for others and these were quickly filled with hungry crowds. Frank R. York of the village hotel was crowded but all were well served. The noon hour passed quickly.
The residences of the village and for a mile outside, were decorated in bunting by professional decorators from Boston, and special electri- cal displays had been installed by the Central Maine Power Company.
The day ended with a grand display of fireworks, and a Ball in Union Hall, thus closing the exercises of Brooks "Old Home Week" and Cen- tennial Celebration.
OAKLEY C. CURTIS
One day during the summer of 1884, a young man of 19, who had been employed in the office of the Grand Trunk Railway in Portland, picked his way across the railroad tracks to the neighboring establish- ment of Randall and McAllister, coal dealers, and took a job with the latter concern. Eleven years later, the former railroad clerk was elect- ed general manager of the Randall and McAllister Company, then, as now, the biggest coal concern in the State and one of the largest in New England. Sixteen years after that he was elected mayor of Portland. This was in 1911; in 1914 he was chosen Governor of Maine. The rail- road clerk who became Chief Executive of this State, was Oakley C. Curtis, who died at his home in Falmouth, a suburb of Portland, Feb- ruary 22, 1924.
At the time of his death, former Governor Curtis was one of the dom- inant figures in the business life of Portland. He was president of two of the city's largest financial institutions, a director in several others and president and general-manager of the great business concern which had hired him as a clerk from the railroad office where he first went to work.
Mr. Curtis achieved unusual success as a business man, but by the people of Maine he was best known and will be longest remembered for his public services. He will always be reckoned as one of the greatest of Maine's governors. This wreath of laurel we bestow upon him now that he has passed away. Men familiar with the governmental affairs of this commonwealth as students or observers for years had render- ed that judgment long before his death.
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The Parade, Ezra A. Carpenter, Marshall
A Section of the Parade
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A View of the Parade
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Oakley Curtis was a great Governor because he was endowed with all, or with nearly all, the qualities that make for greatness. He pos- sessed great clarity of mental vision.
He was quick to grasp a situation and to size it up from all angles. He was the possessor of a courage that amounted to absolute fearless- ness. Once he had determined that a given course was the right or the wise course, he pursued it to the end, brushing aside obstacles with a determination that amounted almost to ruthlessness. He was a man of open purpose and unimpeachable integrity. If he had a goal to at- tain he sought it by the most direct route possible, searching out no detours and looking for no screen or cover. He was a conscientious man, both in business and in public life and never spared effort to ren- der the best service possible. He was a Democrat, because he believed in the principles of that party and his loyalty to it was unswerving. In 19- he was asked to become the Democratic candidate for United Stataes Senator in this State. Few outside of his own family will ever know what the acceptance of that nomination cost him in toil and ag- ony. Already he was suffering from the malady which a few months later was to prove fatal. He had nothing to gain from it in prestige or honor. But his loyalty to his party compelled him to accept and he went through the campaign, speaking nightly upon the stump in every part of Maine, though at the price of his health and comfort.
When Mayor Curtis was nominated for Governor in 1914, the most of us though that, in common with the majority of those who had been similarly honored, he had been put up simply to be knocked down, when the Republican cohorts marched to the polls in September. There was ample precedent for that belief,-and I might add hope,-as far as we Republicans were concerned. But Oakley C. Curtis was not the type of man to stand up and be pushed over without resistance.
He accepted the nomination, not as an empty honor, but as a trust, and he started out to be elected with the optimism and courage that had been typical of him. He visited every county in the State and a major- ity of its towns and cities. He spoke in crowded auditoriums and talked to groups of a dozen or more in little school-houses. He mingled with city men and sought out the farmers in their homes. When he had concluded he knew Maine better than most men, and what was more to his immediate purpose, he had convinced a majority of the people of the State he was the man whom they wanted for Governor. He had done so because he had caused them to believe that they could trust him. I have known something about campaigning in Maine during the past 25 or 30 years, and it is my judgment that no man ever made a
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The Parade. at the Railroad Crossing
The Parade, Colonial Maids
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The Parade, the Oxen
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more effective and convincing appeal to the voters of this State than did Oakley C. Curtis during this summer of 1914.
Mr. Curtis went to the office of Governor bearing with him no fine- spun economic theories to exploit. He had no fads and no platforms. He had an idea that the problems of a governor were to be dealth with in a plain, common-sense manner as they arose; that the affairs of the . State should be managed economically, although not parsimoniously that the people should be freely consulted and have opportunity to ex- . press their ideas, and finally, that justice should be rendered without fear or favor. After this fashion did he administer the affairs of this State. The common judgment since has been that he did it surpass- ingly well.
Mr. Curtis' success as Governor was no surprise to the people of Port- land. He had been their mayor, and he had been one of the city's best. Mr. Curtis won out in business and public life by reason of his solidity and strength. He was the opposite of a brilliant man. He knew noth- ing of the arts of the orator, and he was lacking in what one might call elogance. He was democratic and friendly, but he was blunt of speech and frequently offended by the plainness of his remarks. He was par- tisan,-none more so. Yet one of his most loved friends and closet bus- iness associates was that uncompromising Republican and party leader of nation-wide recognition, Col. Fred N. Dow. "This was a man." The four words of the great dramatist of the Avon are fit and adequate tribute to the man who has gone. Oakley C. Curtis was a strong, vir- ile, courageous man. His faults, and he had them, were the faults that are born of strength. If his uncompromising disposition at times seemed like obstinacy, it was because of his conviction that he was right. If his utterances often were blunt, it was the bluntness of a firm belief in their truth. If he was partisan, it was by reason of his whole-souled confidence in and loyalty to his party.
For the purpose of this article, but the merest outline of a biography of Governor Curtis is called for. He was born in Portland March 29, 1865. He had only a common school education. He went to work for the Randall and McAllister Company in 1884, and was made presi- dent and manager of that company in 1895. He was elected an alder- man of Portland in 1901, and a representative to the Legislature from that city in 1903. He served in the State Senate for the terms of 1905 and 1907. He was four times mayor of Portland, 1911 to 1914, inclu- sive. He was elected Governor in 1914, serving one term. He was re- nominated the succeeding year, and defeated by the Republican candi- date, Carl E. Milliken, in 1916.
He was prominent in banking circles, having been president of the
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The Parade, the Log Cabin
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A. E. Chase Company's Float
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Casco-Mercantile Trust Company and the Portland Safe Deposit and Trust Company at the time of his death. He was a 32d degree Mason and a member of several clubs and social organizations. His wife was Miss Edith Hamilton of Portland, who survives him. He leaves two daughters, Mrs. Clinton Dewey Merrill of Falmouth Foreside, and Mrs. John Garretson of Cambridge, Mass., and a son, Edgar A. Curtis.
Gov. Oakley C. Curtis
Hon. John E. Bunker
JOHN E. BUNKER
Deep regret was felt all over Maine when on August 16, 1918 the sad news was flashed over the wires that John E. Bunker had died at the Eastern Maine General Hospital.
He was born in Trenton. Hancock County, Maine, April 24, 1866 and received his early education at the East Maine Conference Seminary at Bucksport and the Coburn Classical Institute, Waterville. He read law with Wiswall, King and Peters at Ellsworth and entered Boston University, October, 1890.
He was for a time chief librarian of the law school library in that University. He was admitted to the bar October, 1892, and opened an office and practiced for some years in Bar Harbor. He was for nine years chairman of the Board of Selectmen of that town and for a time was Clerk of Courts for Hancock County. He was formerly a Repub- lican in politics but later became a member of the Democratic party and was Secretary of State during the administration of Gov. Curtis.
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