USA > Maine > Hancock County > Sullivan > Sullivan and Sorrento since 1760 > Part 10
USA > Maine > Hancock County > Sorrento > Sullivan and Sorrento since 1760 > Part 10
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They learned that the man was not a deserter. The Captain slipped the information around that Cling had been a member of the crew in name only. Instead of being paid by the captain, he gave the skipper about thrice as much as the wages would amounted to just for the privilege of crossing the ocean, and in the rough passage and accommodations of a sailing vessel. He could have had first class accommodations for what he paid the bark commander. On the way across, the man did very little work, and what little he did revealed he had no sea-faring ex- perience. Members of the crew circulated the report that he was a much wanted man in England, and perhaps some of them knew more than they wished to tell. Of course in these days
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with radio, cable, wireless, no doubt people would have known all about him before he even landed.
One report was that he had commited a murder in London, and that he was a member of one of the wealthiest and most socially prominent families of England was the gist of the story. In fact it was rumored Cling was the direct heir to peerage, and of direct noble birth. On the salt bark from Liverpool to Sulli- van there was seamen who claimed Cling was a lord's son, who murdered his sweetheart. However, no arrest was made on suspicion of any crime, and the police of Maine were not notified, in so far as any body knew to be on the lookout for a man of Cling's description who was wanted by the police of England.
The impression began to prevail that Cling was not in danger of arrest at any time, unless he remained in England, and that the murder had been covered up in some way as by accident. There was one thing about Cling, he always wanted everybody to know he was highly educated. What little he talked was to people of good education. He traveled about the country on two long poles about ten feet in length by grasping them as high as he could reach and leaping in great bounds of ten or twelve feet at a bound. It was evident he was no novice at this, for he could travel over the country side at the rate of five or six miles an hour on them. He could swing over fences and ditches very easily. He began calling at houses around Sullivan, Gouldsboro, Steuben, Milbridge, Harrington, Machias, and other towns down east; Franklin, Hancock, Lamoine, Trenton, Bar Harbor, and towns on Mt. Desert Island on his poles and offering to repair clocks and watches.
In a salt bag he carried his tools he used in repairing, and on his back, pans, kettles, cups used by him in preparing and eating his meals. These utensils were all of tin, and each article was loose. The result was that with every jump Cling made the pieces would rattle and crash together. This resulted in the nickname of "Old Cling Clang." One could hear him coming a half a mile away, but when he saw a horse and team he always went to the road side and waited until they passed by. He always carried some food with him and people invited him to meals, but
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before he sat down he had to have a barrel head under him which I will tell more about later in this article.
When I traveled Hancock and Washington Counties around thirty-five years ago, I met many "Old Timers" that remembered "Old Cling Clang" and they all told about the same story I am relating.
Cling had one companion that was always with him, a small female dog about the type of the "Cocker Spaniel" she followed him everywhere he went. When the female had pups, Cling had a separate salt bag for the little pups. At regular intervals he would stop to let them out of the bag to feed. He often said that his dog companion knew more than the average human being and he would talk to her by the hour. He had taught her many tricks and to do many stunts that was not taught to other dogs. When the pups got big enough, he left them in Sullivan where he used an old overturned boat as his shelter during the winter. Old timers told me that Cling's arms and wrists were developed almost twice the size of the average man. He could crush an apple or potato in his hand as easy as one would an over-ripe orange so great was his powerful hands developed by so many years use on his poles.
Cling had a regular route, and he never strayed off of it. He started at Sullivan, worked along the coast to Calais then back to Sullivan, Ellsworth, and Bar Harbor. Often he covered this same course twice a week so great was his speed on his poles. He never slept in a bed. He was often invited in a house overnight in hopes he would give some information in regard about himself. Not often did he ask for over-night accommodations, unless the weather was very bad outside. He much preferred to sleep in the open air.
If he was ever sick, no one can recall it as he appeared on his regular rounds on regular schedule. He never slept in a bed from the day he arrived at Sullivan. Something he always car- ried with him as part of his heavy pack was the head of a barrel. Never would he lie down or even sit down without having the barrel head under him. If anybody invited him to stay overnight, he would refuse that best bed in the house, but slept on the floor with the barrel head under him near the kitchen stove whether
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there was a fire in it or not. It was said of him that he could sleep on sharp rocks which no doubt he was more used to living under the old overturned boat summer and winter.
Long before daylight, Cling would be out of a house that sheltered him. He rarely had more than five hour's sleep and the minute he laid down he was asleep and never moved again for the night. He was afraid of roosters, and when invited to stay overnight during his travels Cling's question would be if the owner had one or more roosters. If the reply was "yes" Cling would ask if the rooster would be placed under a tub or barrel so there would be no crowing in the morning. At one of the homes at which Cling was a guest overnight, two of the young sons of the owner heard Cling asking to have the roster covered up. They watched their father pulling a tub over the bird, then they removed the tub after the boss of the house had gone back to the house. When at daybreak the rooster started to crow, John Cling, who was getting ready to leave the house began screaming as if in great pain, then with his hands over both ears and shriek- ing, he ran out of the house and down the road. Never again could he be induced to go near that home, although the owner, a farmer made all sorts of apologies. The two boys were badly frightened by the blood-curdling yells, and the jangling of tin dishes of Cling's leaps and bounds. After that it was noised around that Cling had murdered his sweetheart at daylight, and when he was doing it a rooster crowed, thus the crowing after that acted something as does a noise to a shell-shocked soldier. After that experience, there was nobody to disregard the wish of Cling, that all roosters be prevented from crowing at daylight. Singularly the day crowing of the cocks didn't worry him a bit. He wasn't the same for months after the boys thought they would have some fun with him.
Cling refused to wear regular clothing. He made all he wore out of salt bags and old meal bags. There was plenty of these bags around Sullivan, and people were only too pleased to give him an ample supply at all times. On his head Cling wore noth- ing, not even in the winter time. On his feet he wore nothing until the snow came each winter, then he made pieces of bags in funny looking foot wear. Not more than forty five years ago, I
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saw an old Negro tramp around Ellsworth with about the same kind of foot wear. Cling lived under an over-turned boat dur- ing the winter at Sullivan. He had no heat at any time. To cover him as he slept on the barrel head were some salt bags. These he washed out every day. Sometimes when it was 20 to 30 below zero in the salt water. He never made any complaint about th cold. He never received a letter while in this section and none was ever sent out by him.
There was no need of him living as he did under the old boat in cold weather, or under the stars while on the road. He made enough money in his mending of clocks and watches to keep him in comfort.
Not only would he insist on having no house but he limited himself to certain foods, these were the plainest. He only ate small portions and what was left over he gave to the dog. Cling seemed to be normal mentally in many ways he could talk sensibly when he did talk. He never was a man feared by anybody, and never wanted trouble. He had a cutting way of speaking at times, when he wanted to be sarcastic, but never tried to show that he knew more than anybody else. One of the impressions the people gained about John Cling, was that he was practising his self denials as a penance for his crime.
Just at dawn one winter morning in a sub-zero temperature, Cling came running out from under his over-turned boat with one piercing shriek after another. He bounded over the snow and ice along the beach on his two poles. Residents hearing the shrieks ran to their windows and followed with their eyes the quickly moving form and the discordant voice. Cling did not appear again on the beach until almost dark. For a week he was very nervous and the Sullivan folks found out he was on a hunger strike. He did not explain why he should go without food entirely, but he let it be known by inferance that he had seen some kind of unwelcome vision which had reminded him of some obligation he had placed on himself as punishment for his sins. He greatly appreciated anything done for him or any kind offer of help. He never was rude in rejecting an invitation to eat or sleep in a house and never forced himself on anybody. He did far more talking to men and boys than to women and
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girls. Not that he appeared to be a woman-hater, in fact he seemed to bear hatred to nobody, even tho he was very uncom- municative.
Cling could have begged his way around, but would not even beg a meal or a place to sleep on the kitchen floor. He had to be invited. He was a skilled repairer of clocks and watches, altho he disclosed he had none of this work back home in Eng- land. At times he revealed it had not been necessary for him to work and in making this statement, he always claimed it was better for a human being to occupy the mind with work of some kind, than to be idle. His charges for fixing the timepieces and repairing were ridiculously low. Many other queer characters roamed about in those times which much could be written about. A few are Clem Walls, Old Muggins, Big Thunder, Old Cush- man and a few others.
One bitter cold night in winter the residents did not see any- thing of old "Cling Clang" about his boat. On investigating they discovered him frozen to death with only a few bags over him. I tried to find out his burial place and the town record of his death, but the town records of Sullivan was burned in a fire that destroyed the home of the town clerk, and all records up to that time were lost. If any of the old timers have anything more about Old Cling Clang would be pleased to see the letter published or comments on the above article.
signed, Chief Stanwood
This article published in the Ellsworth American, Oct. 1, 1947.
The old salt store was also a ship chandlers, supplying the ships that went in and out of the harbor. Its been mostly closed for years, but a few have used it for an antique shop. In 1951 it was purchased by Mr. Herbert Whyte, a real estate agent, who renovated it and this summer, 1952, Mrs. Dorothy Heckscher is now operating "The Old Curiosity Shop" there.
The Tufts Store at the Tunk Lake corner, with date un- known, was also one of the first stores. It sat on the site of "The Even Exchange", back in the field about 200 or 300 feet sat the house. Now we see a high mound there with bushes growing out from it. The house was burned so we hear and probably the store too.
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Sidney Hanna built a store on the same site before 1880. He had a harness shop there as well as a Post Office, after it was removed from the house now owned by Edwin Doyle. In the early 1890's, his sons, Elmer, Gipson and Dallas, formed a com- pany of Hanna Brothers and built the store which stands there now. In the 1900's Elmer withdrew and bought the Langdon Hill place in Ashville, Dallas took over the harness and cobbling business. which was operated in the little house beside the store, and Gipson was left to run the store alone, still retaining the Post Office. The Post Office remained there except for the few years that Arthur T. Hill had it in the 1910's. The Rural Free Delivery was established in 1909, George Hatch, carrier. Gipson retired in 1940, Ola McPheters was appointed temporary post- mistress until the following year when Harold Noyes became Postmaster and the office was moved to his store in the section of the Union Church. With declining health Gipson Hanna leased his store to Eugene Hanna in 1914 for 3 years. Seeking a more out-of-door life he built the "Flanders Bay Cabins", the first cabins in town, in 1930. His son Ralph, and wife, Leila Milligan Hanna, ran the Tea Room. The Hanna store was sold to Clarissa Sutherland in 1940 and Henry and Thelma Savage Hosking bought the property with house, cabins and tea room in 1946.
Across from The Even Exchange, on the northwest corner of the Tunk Lake Road, Mr. James Doyle had a store, probably in the 1860's. He evidently rented it. Sidney Doyle says a Mr. Wallace ran it and Edwin Doyle says Mr. McCrate from Ash- ville ran it, perhaps they both at different times had a chance at their merchant ability.
Beside the Doyle store, William Simpson had his store then again some say it was Lysander Bunker. It was quite well known, however, that Will Simpson did have a store, and ran it for sometime and perhaps Lysander Bunker too had a store in that vicinity. No one seems to know what happened to them.
On the other side of the road was Tufts Hall. Some think that there was probably a store under that because there usually was. The Hall was the social meeting place for the community. No one knows either what the outcome of this store and Hall
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BOAF LANDING SULLIVAN ME. 104.
518 Sullivan Harbor, Me. School House.
Top-AMBROSE SIMPSON'S STORE, HENRY PREBLE BLACKSMITH SHOP
Center-STEAMBOAT AT WHARF, SULLIVAN HARBOR Lower-SOROSIS HALL, WHARF FOR VESSEL AT RIGHT
was. Later on in 1886 or 7 Henry Whalen, having lost his first wife, and married Mary Abbie Hooper, moved his house on that site, his baby son Leon went to live with the Ashleys. All of Henry and Mary Abbie Hooper's children were born there, Harold, Cecil, Earl and Vivian. And Mary Abbie died there. He later married Sadie Griffin of Tunk Pond, and moved there. The house was purchased by Elmer Hanna; his second son, Harvey, was born there. He rented the house to Fletcher Martin who lived there only for a short time and Elmer sold the house to Georgia Robertson in 1905 or 6. Mrs. Robert- son died there and the house was sold to Ellis and Gussie Hanna Johnson in 1935.
Arthur Hill built a store next to the Hanna store in 1900. He and his sister, Helen Campbell Hill, were the faithful keepers until Arthur's death, then she carried on alone for a few years, and finally sold to Clarissa Sutherland in 1942 with a request to raze it as soon as possible.
Beside the Hill Store, Pearl B. Robertson, son of Samuel and Agnes Robertson, had a store around 1908 or 10. It burned one evening around 11 p. m. and great was the conflagration for it took extremely hard work to save the Hill Store.
Charles Hutchings built the buildings where the Hoskings are now, probably before the 1860's. His store was where the main house is, and the living quarters above and in the ell. In the 1870's he sold to Edward Noyes. Gipson Hanna bought it in 1905 and rebuilt it, making the store part into a large living- room and bedroom.
Washington Ash built a store, a large grain shed and house, atop Ashes Hill, just above where Philip Martin lives, overlook- ing Flander's Bay, the islands into Frenchmen's Bay and to Bar Harbor nested under the hills of Mt. Desert, no better view along the coast. It must have been built before the 1870's. When Fred Patten's house burned, which was located directly across from Arnold Martin's Garage, they bought the Ash Store and it was moved down to just beyond Georgia Robertson's house and they lived in it until they moved to Ellsworth. The Patten House that burned had been lived in by Mr. William and Julia Ann Johnson Dyer, with their children Annie and Phila Dyer,
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twins, and their son Lamont who died young. Also Handy and Betsy Bunker, then Patrick Mulhern, and William and Olive Gray Martin. Herbert O. Johnson and Lelia Clark were married there in 1883 by Mr. Fred Baldwin the presiding minister of the town who lived there at that time. Eugene and Cora Haskell Hanna lived in the Washington Ash house when they were first married.
George Bunker built his store before 1883, and more likely in the 1860's. He lost a leg in the Civil War so his capable wife, Elizabeth Bragdon Bunker, and his daughter Julia, were mostly the storekeepers. Their store was large and filled with christmas goods at Christmas time as well as a few in the other stores. He had a large grain shed too. They also had the Post Office, probably from its beginning. After Mr. Bunker died the post office was moved to Mrs. Etta Hammond's, and Winfield Pettee bought the store. He was appointed Postmaster in 1910 and the post office was returned to its former place. Mr. Pettee got a position at the Boys' School in Hallowell and sold the store to Seth and Kathleen Johnson in 1922. He was appointed tem- porary Postmaster and was appointed permanent in 1923. They did not continue the store. In 1948 they moved into their newly built house and moved the Post Office to its present location Seth and Kathleen sold the store to Lyle Ford. They converted it into an apartment house.
Edwin Doyle built a store on the Mill Brow, just this side of Flanders Stream, in 1910. It burned one year later.
Nathaniel Noyes had a store where the Post Office now is, and Edwin Doyle continued his store there for a few years. Mr. Fred Noyes used it for his painting supplies. It was finally torn down. Everard and Winifred Noyes built their house on about the same site. Everard was a painter as his father was, and also Harold, who bought the house from Everard when he went back to Eastern Mass., where he lived just after he was mar- ried. Harold and Marion Noyes built the "We Wanta Lunch" tea room that is now the Post Office.
Valley Lunch, on the corner of the Sorrento road, was built by Bertha Urann Bean and Ralph Perry in 1920. They served delicious meals and the lunch room became very popular, but
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Bertha's health failed so that she could no longer carry it on, so they sold to Clarence Hopkins of Franklin after three of four short years. Hopkins sold very shortly to Penrose and Florence Hysom Mckinnon. They were divorced and Florence retained the store. She married Sumner Yorke. They sold to William and Ella Whalen Reardon, who went in for more of a grocery line. They were divorced, Ella retaining the store, and William building a larger store with service station and a lunch room in another building in 1945, and later in 1949, sold it to Charles O'Connor, who comes from Franklin. Mrs. Ella Whalen Hall sold her Valley Lunch to George and Ruth Bragdon Bartlett in 1948 and she bought a store built by Wilton Martin on Meeting House Hill, that he had built a year previous, intending to carry paints and building supplies. This year the Bartletts have reno- vated their store and installed a lunch and ice cream bar.
The Dunbar Brothers, Charles, Emery and Harvey, built their store on the north side of the road on Beacon Hill. A large store built on the side of the hill, with a broad and lengthy veranda and several steps ascending from the ground to it. That store too, had a gorgeous view, an unobstructed view across Frenchmen's Bay to Bar Harbor and the Hills behind. They had a big stock of general merchandise and had perhaps one of the biggest trading posts in town. The store was burned June 13, 1933. Harvey's son, Emery, says they were in business for 57 years, dating their building back to 1876. Emery Dunbar must have inherited at least some of his father's merchant ability for he built his store soon after, in 1935, just across the road from the Dunbar Store, where a few years earlier Herbert L. Cleaves had his Livery Stable.
Linwood and Mary Gordon Gray started their store business in a small building just east of the road going to Franklin in 1915. Linwood was called into service in 1917, recruited for World War I, so the store business was interrupted. On his return in 1920 they started business again in the Cascade build- ing, now standing but vacant, just east of Henry Albee's house. They had a thriving cash and carry business for nearly 10 years. When the bridge was finished he sold out his retail store and built on the Hancock side of the bridge a wholesale grain store,
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which has now developed into a sizable business, sending out about 4 or 5 trucks pretty much over Hancock County and east through Washington County. They bought the old Clapham Place, Edward Clapham's mother's homestead, in 1930, for their residence.
We must not forget Ambrose Simpson's store. A landmark in town if there ever was one. It sat on the west corner of the Franklin road between the Cascade house and Charles Henry Preble's blacksmith shop. A very colorful character, he was the originator of "If you can't find what you want ask for it". And hunt you did: for groceries, dry goods, tobacco, candy and patent medicines, while various other goods were stacked to- gether in various and sundry places. No one seems to know just when the store was built, but in 1880 it seems to have been well weathered and been doing business for some time. Ambrose John and Truman were brothers who lived together. Ambrose and Truman never married but John married; his wife died young and left Thomas and Nettie who lived with them. Their house was across the Sullivan highway from the store and sat with the front facing west.
Now we come to the stores in West and North Sullivan. The largest companies who had quarries there had stores also. Stimson had a store on the Quarry Road in West Sullivan, Crabtree and Havey on the North Sullivan Quarry Road and just beyond was Hooper & Havey with a large store, with a hall above which was used by the Red Men and their auxiliary order, The Poco- hontas. Howard Abbott and Ira Robertson were across the road. Of all these prosperous and flourishing stores only the Ira Robertson Store is now standing and doing business. Harvey Robertson is still carrying on very ably his father's large and well stocked store.
Several stores were built during the mining boom on the Ferry Road. The mines built one store that was run by Van Gordon. It was sold a few years later to William R. Havey and moved to its present site, just west of Masonic Hall and is owned and run by W. R. Havey's daughter and her husband, Edward and Dorothy Havey Crosby.
Gilly Frank Hooper also had his store on the Ferry Road and
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the town officers had their office on the second floor. It was in this building that the treasured early town records were burned.
Also across from the West Sullivan Post Office, and near the track road, George Pettingill ran a store built by the mines. Next to that was Alonzo Abbott's store.
Henry Gordon's never-to-be-forgotten Ice Cream Parlor was established, perhaps not exactly, but very nearly, in 1900. His mother, Sarah Jane, was a familiar figure in the store. They made REAL ice cream; they gathered in milk and cream, used their favorite recipe and turned the crank to the freezer nearly every day. It was a popular place. They sold to Frank and Lura (Hooper) in about 1910. Next, Howard and Annie (Wood- worth) Gordon ran it for 2 or 3 years. Then it was sold to Charles Newman who conducted a small novelty store. The store burned in 1917.
Twin stores were built in 1910 on the corner of the main road and the Ferry. Wolf Lipsky, who had been driving a peddlers cart for years, was the first on the corner and stocked with a sizable line of dry goods. Elmer Pettingill-built next to him with a line of groceries and the distributing Post Office. It was sold a few years later to Jesse Doyle who carried on with the same. On the death of Jesse Doyle it was purchased by Earl Havey, who still carries on the post office but does not have a store. The Lipsky's went out of business when he retired to his home in Bangor.
Edward R. Connors in Sorrento built his store in the 1880, when Sorrento was booming. He also ran a boarding house. He sold to Fred Goodwin in 1910, and his wife, Wavie, ran the boarding house. Fred sold to Cunningham and it was Cunning- ham's Market for a few years before it closed in 1930.
John Hall had a store at about the same time that Connors did. He took his son Allen into business with him. Mr. John Hall died and Allen closed the business in the 1920's. It is now where the John Andrew's family lives.
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