USA > Maine > Aroostook County > New Sweden > The Story of New Sweden as told at the quarter centennial celebration of the founding of the Swedish colony in the woods of Maine, June 25, 1895 > Part 6
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99
ORATION BY HON. W. W. THOMAS, JR.
were no roads. If his wife wished to visit the village, he was forced to haul her through the woods on a sled even in summer. No new settlers came in. His nearest neighbors, Dominicus Harmon and Frank Record, left their places and moved out to Caribou. Still he held on for two more years, alone in the woods. At last in the fall of 1868, he abandoned the clearing where he had toiled for seven long years, and moved out to civilization.
" I left," said Mr. Turner, " because in the judgment of everyone, there was no prospect for the settlement of this region. The settlers around me were abandon- ing their clearings. Everyone said I was a fool to stay, and I at last thought so myself, and left. Little did I expect to see this day."
The tide of settlement was ebbing away from these woods, when a wave from across the Atlantic turned the ebb to flood. It has been flood tide ever since.
With the founding of New Sweden, our state recov- ered from the check in her career and again took up her onward march. From 1870 to 1880 Maine increased 22,021 in population ; from 1880 to 1890, 12,150.
And it is worthy of note that more than one-half of the increase of the entire state in both these decades has been in the county where lies our Swedish settle- ment. Not only this, but the towns of Aroostook County that exhibit the most marked progress, are those lying nearest New Sweden.
Woodland, the adjoining town to the south, in 1870, numbered 174 inhabitants, in 1890, 885 - an increase of over 400 per cent.
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100
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
Perham to the southwest in 1870, numbered 79 citizens, in 1890, 438 - an increase of more than 450 per cent.
Caribou to the southeast, the town which has ever been the center for the trade of our Swedish settlers, and which perhaps has reaped the greatest advantages from their settlement - Caribou in 1870 numbered 1,410 inhabitaats. In 1890, it had grown to 4,087, - an increase of no less than 2,677 in population. And with this increase Caribou became the largest town in Aroostook County.
The founding of New Sweden in the back woods of Maine called the attention of our own country, as well as Sweden, to our state, its resources and advantages. The files of the land office show that in addition to the Swedish immigration, American settlers upon our wild lands increased in 1871, the first year after the arrival of the Swedes, more than 300 per cent.
When the Swedes first entered these woods there was not a mile of railroad in Aroostook County. The nearest point reached by a railroad was some seventy miles distant in the Province of New Brunswick. The journey from Portland to Caribou then took three days. Many of you accomplished that entire distance yes- terday by rail in ten hours. Two railroads now run into Caribou, but I seriously doubt if there would be a foot of railroad in northern Aroostook to-day had it not been for the impetus given to this region by New Sweden.
One special instance among many may be given of the influence exerted by our Swedish settlement. Mr.
101
ORATION BY HON. W. W. THOMAS, JR.
Albe Holmes, a potato starch manufacturer of New Hampshire, was induced to visit Aroostook County in 1870, by reading a newspaper notice of New Sweden. He put in operation the first potato starch factory in Aroostook at Caribou in 1872. These factories quickly increased. There are to-day in Aroostook County no less than 41 starch factories, with a yearly output of 8,000 tons of starch, worth $560,000 ; while the raising of potatoes and their manufacture into starch have grown to be among the chief industries of the county.
And the good accomplished by New Sweden will not stop with its twenty-fifth anniversary, nor cease with this summer day. This successful Swedish colony will go on and fully accomplish its mission. It will continue to push out into the great Maine forests to the north and west, and convert township after town- ship into well-tilled farms and thriving villages. It will continue to attract to all sections of our state the best of immigrants - the countrymen of John Erics- son, and the descendants of the soldiers of Gustavus Adolphus, and the " boys in blue " of Charles XII .- and throughout the future it will confer upon Maine those numerous and important advantages which a steadily growing agricultural and industrial population is sure to bestow upon a commonwealth.
To-day, New Sweden pauses for a moment to rejoice over the work already done. To-day also New Sweden gives an account of her stewardship, and shows you the results of twenty-five years' hard work - results achieved by the never-flagging industry, the rigid economy, the virtue, faith and hope of our Swedish brethren.
102
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
To you, American visitors - to the State of Maine, these Swedes may proudly say, " Si monumentum quaeris, circumspice." New Sweden stands to-day a monument of what can be accomplished in the wilder- ness of Maine by strong arms and brave hearts in the short space of quarter of a hundred years.
And I feel I am but giving expression to that which lies in the heart of every American here to-day, when in your behalf - aye, in behalf of our good State of Maine, I publicly thank our Swedish fellow citizens for the great work they have wrought in the woods of Maine.
But most of all are our thanks due to you, survivors of that first little band of fifty-one souls; to you, and your comrades who sleep in the graveyard yonder, who with faith in the State of Maine and faith in its messenger, twenty-five years ago sailed from your native land to follow me over the ocean, and who here in the primeval forest laid broad and deep the founda- tion for the great things we have seen this day, and of still greater things which will be seen in the future, for the good of our state.
Maine thanks and honors you. You and your deeds will not be forgotten as long as the history of our state is recounted among men.
As the orator concluded, the applause, which had been frequent throughout the delivery of the address, broke forth again and continued for several minutes, the audience finally rising en masse and cheering heartily.
103
ADDRESS OF WILLIAM WIDGERY THOMAS.
The choir sang,
" Columbia, We Love Thee."
The President : It gives me great pleasure now to present to you our fellow country-woman, the Swedish wife of the founder of this colony.
The applause which followed this announcement was continuous, and the enthusiasm increased as Mrs. Thomas arose and gracefully bowed her acknowledg- ments.
The President: I have the pleasure of introduc- ing to you the father of the founder of the colony, Hon. W. W. Thomas, senior, ninety-two years old.
Mr. Thomas as he rose was greeted with prolonged applause. He was evidently taken by surprise in being called upon, yet despite his great age, he advanced with a firm step to the front of the tribune, stood erect, and spoke with a full, clear manly voice.
ADDRESS OF WILLIAM WIDGERY THOMAS, EX-MAYOR OF PORTLAND.
MR. PRESIDENT, AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
The Chairman has given me the credit of being a little older than I am. I am but ninety-one. I will not be ninety-two until next November, the seventh day.
I had the pleasure of being here on the decennial anniversary of this colony fifteen years ago. I recol- lect with gratification the cordiality and attention which was shown on that occasion to all the visitors here by the Swedish people. It gives me pleasure to say that the citizens of Maine are very glad to have
104
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
you as their fellow citizens, and to extend to you all the privileges and the protection guaranteed by the national flag. We are proud of the wonderful advan- ces that have been made here in the last twenty-five years, and hope that you will make still greater ones in the future. God bless you all. [Applause.]
The President: There is one thing more which must certainly be done. Since we have seen the father of the colony, the mother of the colony, and the grandfather of the colony, we ought surely to see our little brother, Oscar Thomas.
And the little boy was greeted with loud applause as his father placed him upon a chair where all might see him.
The President : The first boy and girl born in the colony. Permit me to introduce to you Mr. William Widgery Thomas Persson, and Mrs. Elizabeth White Goddard Thomas Swanberg, born Clase, and named for the mother of the founder of the colony.
The young man and woman stepped to the front of the platform amidst applause.
The President: I am informed that we have two representatives of the Governor on this tribune, and we must certainly hear a few words from them. I have the pleasure of introducing Mr. Daggett of Presque Isle, a member of the Governor's Council.
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES F. DAGGETT.
105 ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES F. DAGGETT, OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
MR. PRESIDENT, AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
When I came here to-day I did not suppose I should be called upon for any remarks. I am not here for that pur- pose ; I will say, however, that Governor Cleaves was unable to come here and he asked my associate, Mr. Shephard, and myself to be present and represent him.
I think it was in 1871 that I first visited this colony. It was when you first started. You were then beginning your homes. In order to acquire what you have since acquired, it demanded great energy and perseverance, and I am proud to say that this colony has never been lacking in those qualities. I remember when I was here in 1871 that where I now see beautiful fields I then beheld for the most part a dense forest. I noticed then that your homes were nearly all log houses, built, I think, by the State. In their places I now see good frame houses and commodious barns, and I have no doubt from the external appearances that the houses are well furnished within. I can safely say that in twenty-five years hence, the progress which you shall then have made will be even greater than the progress which you have made in the last twenty-five years, because you have overcome the first great obstacles ; you have made your homes. You have become identified with the State of Maine, you are a part of Maine's people. It has been your pleasure to adopt our language and our customs, and also to enjoy our laws and institutions. On the other hand it has been our pleasure to profit by the example of honesty and good citizenship which has ever marked your dealings with men and conduct in society. Our State welcomed you within her borders twenty-five years ago. To-day she rejoices in your success and in the fact that the growth and prosperity which you must inevitably attain will add still more to the wealth and honor of our State. [Applause.]
8
106
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
The President : I shall now call upon Mr. Shep- herd of Rockport, another member of the Governor's Council.
ADDRESS OF HON. HERBERT L. SHEPHERD, OF THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
MR. PRESIDENT, AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
I am exactly in the situation of my friend, Mr. Daggett - I did not expect to be called upon to make remarks. We came here at the request of the Governor, as he felt that the State ought to be represented, and he gave us to understand that in order to properly represent the State it was not necessary for us to make any remarks. Being a man of great penetration and discernment perhaps he concluded that the dignity of the State would be fully as well main- tained by our keeping silence. At any rate he intimated, as I said, that it would not be necessary for us to say any- thing. The result is that I am here absolutely without anything like preparation which an occasion of this kind demands, especially on the part of those who are unaccus- tomed to public speaking.
I will simply say on behalf of the Governor and Council that they feel a great interest in this settlement, and that they welcome your people and all other people of similar character to our shores ; and I assure you that the hand of our State government will be extended to assist you in any undertaking where it would be justifiable so to do. I am glad to be here to-day ; I am glad to see such evidences of prosperity, as meet the eye on every hand in this community. It is certainly wonderful, the advancement that you have made in cultivating the soil and in preparing and maintain- ing such beautiful homes as you have. [Applause.]
The President : Kindly extend to the Governor our thanks for the part that the Council have taken in our anniversary meeting.
107
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES A. BOUTELLE.
It gives me now great pleasure to introduce to you our representative to Congress from this district, Hon. Charles A. Boutelle, whom you always vote for, and whom I hope you will always continue to vote for in the future. [Applause.]
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES A. BOUTELLE, MEMBER OF CONGRESS.
MR. PRESIDENT OF THE DAY, AND MY FRIENDS AND FELLOW CITIZENS, AND - AS HE HAS SO PLEAS- ANTLY ADDED - MY CONSTITUENTS :
I hope you have all been as much interested in the exer- cises here to-day as I have been. The history of this enter- prise inaugurated twenty-five years ago in the northern wilderness of Maine, as recounted by the founder of this colony, has been to me as intensely fascinating as a romance. As I listened to Mr. Thomas' recital of the various stages of progress in the development of this community, under the peculiar circumstances which surrounded it, I could not help being constantly reminded of that earlier period in our country's history when the first colony was established upon American soil. And I think that others, as they listened to the wonderfully eloquent story, so simply and yet so effec- tively told by my distinguished friend, whom I congratulate here upon the great good fortune that he enjoys in being able to witness the rich fruits of his endeavor in behalf of his State and his country - I think that all must have felt reminded of Longfellow's beautiful story of the Plymouth colony, portraying the simplicity of faith, the humbleness of beginning, the sturdiness of strife with gigantic obstacles, the superb self-reliance of the people who had braved the storms of the ocean and the frowns of a rock-bound coast, to form a new home in the wilderness, which have found echo in my mind and my heart here to-day in the charming idyl recited by the lips of Maine's Commissioner, who a quarter
108
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
of a century ago founded the colony of New Sweden in this virgin county of Aroostook, Maine. [Applause.]
I have been familiar with every stage of the progress of this colony. In fact your history has been coincident with that of my own connection with public affairs in this state. It was in the spring of 1870, when William Widgery Thomas, jr., of Portland, was making his first effort in the inception of this enterprise, that I became the editor of the then only daily newspaper of Eastern Maine ; and I remem- ber as if it were but yesterday the conference I had with the father of this colony, in the little editorial room of the Whig & Courier building, which was afterwards so graphi- cally delineated by our departed friend, the Hon. Daniel Stickney, in the Presque Isle Sunrise, as a " shingle palace built on piles in the mud of the Kenduskeag stream." [Laughter.]
Mr. Thomas. I recollect it well.
I remember well when he called upon me to talk over the ways and means of interesting the Maine Legislature in the project of bringing from Sweden an acquisition to the popu- lation of Northern Maine. I am not going to claim any share of the credit for your success, but I only want to remind you here, and to remind myself in a gratifying way, that I have been cognizant of all your struggles and been gratified with all your successes, and from the beginning to this jubilant day have followed the progress of this colony, with an interest I can hardly describe. And yet, notwith- standing my familiarity with the history of your endeavor, notwithstanding my personal interest in your progress and prosperity, I must say that the massing of the statistics of your material progress by Commissioner Thomas here to-day has filled me as much with amazement as admiration. Surely if any man was ever justificd in congratulating himself upon the wonderful fruition of an idea that first found birth in his own enterprising brain, and which was carried forward
109
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES A. BOUTELLE.
to success largely by his own earnest endeavor, your founder, your earnest, zealous and unselfish friend, Mr. Thomas, is entitled to feel proud and gratified here to-day. I am glad for him ; I am glad for the Thomas family, that they are able to be here on the soil of a people whom I have the honor to represent. [Applause.] And in the persons of three gen- erations of their family receive the recognition to which they are entitled at your hands. [Applause.] And as the rep- resentative of this constituency I am glad to extend my thanks to Mr. Thomas, to his family and to all who have cooperated with him in doing such a great service to Aroos- took County and to the State of Maine. [Applause.] I am very glad, too, that he has not only the good fortune to be accompanied here to-day by his venerable father, who has already exceeded by a generation the span of life allotted by the prophet, but that he has the happiness to come before you and before the people of Maine, with a hostage of his faith in the quality of the Swedish people even greater than that he exhibited when he founded this colony, in bringing to us as his best and sweetest gift, his beautiful and accom- plished wife, the mother of his Swedish-American son. [Long applause. ]
This is a great country to which you have come, my friends ; it is a great State of which you have become a part -and you are living to-day in the most progressive and thriving and promising county of that state. Mr. Thomas, with just pride, has claimed that the most rapidly progress- ing communities of Aroostook County are those which lie nearest to New Sweden. I congratulate you also that New Sweden is situated directly adjacent to the most prosperous and the most promising communities in the State of Maine. From falling back in the last decennial census of the United States, Maine was saved by the growth of Aroostook County, and what New Sweden has done in contributing to the growth of Aroostook Mr. Thomas has
110
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
told you so graphically and so conclusively that it is unnecessary for me to again go over the details. But I can- not fail in justice to the prospects which are opening around us to-day with a beauty and promise never equaled in the previous history of this section, I cannot fail to congratulate you upon all the indications of a gigantic stride forward for Aroostook County within the next decade. That which has taken place in the last fifteen years since I last had the pleasure of visiting this colony, is almost beyond belief. I could have driven through your community to-day from border to border without having recognized the New Sweden of fifteen years ago. You have grown beyond the knowl- edge of your friends of that period, and yet this community in which I stand at this moment, this magnificent section of which you are a part, has but entered upon the splendid development that is opening before it. When I came here to your decennial celebration -and I see on the platform here to-day some who shared with me that journey - we were all night long struggling with the circuitous route and the heavy grades of a railroad across territory of another nation, and we only reached Caribou in the grim light of the early morning after a day and night journey from Bangor to get there. Yesterday I left my home in the late after- noon and, reclining upon the luxurious cushions of a Pull- man palace car, was whirled through Houlton and Presque Isle and into Caribou in the early evening. You are to-day within eight miles of direct railway communication, on Amer- ican soil, with the whole United States. More than that, you are within eight miles of the fastest express trains that run anywhere in the American Union. In the twenty-five years during which you have been striving here in this dense forest to hew your way outward to the populous sections of the country, the great march of progress and the energy of our own people have brought the business facilities of the country up to your very doors. You are out of the woods.
111
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES A. BOUTELLE.
You have already reached the top of Mount Pisgah and can not only look over but ride on the picturesque "Bangor and Aroostook " over into the promised land, and the out- side world. [Applause.]
I have taken a great interest in the progress of this colony, not simply from a material standpoint, but because of the character of the people of New Sweden. My visits to you have not been frequent because my district is one of "magnificent distances," and you can imagine, perhaps, better than before you heard me struggling with the effort to make a speech, after the finished oration of Mr. Thomas, how terribly thin I should roll out if I undertook to spread myself over the whole district every two years. The terri- tory which I have the honor to represent covers more than one-third and almost half of the area of the State of Maine - and when I say that, I mean that it includes a great deal more than half of the best people of the State of Maine. [Laughter and applause.] While I have not been able to visit you frequently I want to give you assurance, if assur- ance be necessary, that I have had a deep interest in the success of this colony on account of the character of its people. I have been familiar with the traits of the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian people from my early youth. I have tested them on land and sea; and I can hardly recall a voyage which I made in my youth and early manhood, when in the stress of the tempest, when the gale was at its height and a calm, clear eye and a steady hand were needed at the helm, that I did not turn to some Swede or Dane or Norwe- gian to take his trick at the helm during the fury of the storm. [Applause. ] I am not here to flatter you : I am thankful that I have no need to ; but standing here to-day beneath these towering maples, and under the shadow of the flags of these two nations (pointing to the large United States and Swedish ensigns over the platform), it is but a graceful and a grateful thing for me to say, that in a profes-
112
THE STORY OF NEW SWEDEN.
sional life that covered service on the sea both in the mer- cantile marine in the pursuits of peace and in the navy in time of war, I have found no men of any nationality who ever proved more trustworthy, more capable, more truthful and more patriotic than the Swedes. [Applause.] And speaking from an experience not only in actual sea service but from a long legislative experience in connection with the maintenance and recruitment of our naval service, I can say to you that no better men of foreign lineage stand on the decks of our men-of-war to-day, and no men who can be more relied upon to shed their blood to the last drop in the defence of the stars and stripes than the Swedish-American sailors of our navy. [Applause.]
Twenty-five years! what a history it has unfolded in the life of this country ! And you have been here during that great period working out your full share of the glorious destiny of the best state in the American Union and the best nation under the sun. I would not attempt to add one tint which might mar the beautiful picture that has been drawn by the master hand of Mr. Thomas here to-day. He speaks directly to you. And he has the advantage of me not only in his long, familiar intimacy with you, but even more in the fact that while he can talk to the men in the American tongue, when he wants to gain the hearts of the women I notice that he drops into sibilant phrases in Swedish which I did not understand. [Laughter.] I envied him his linguistic ability in that respect, but I may console myself, perhaps, after all, by the thought that while the ex-Com- missioner, may thereby have some advantage with the maturer women of the colony, who retain the Swedish ver- nacular, I could perhaps " stand a hand " with him in my own native language, with that younger generation of New Sweden's bright-eyed daughters, who have been educated as Americans in the schoolhouse over yonder. [Laughter and applause. ]
113
ADDRESS OF HON. CHARLES A. BOUTELLE.
This is a remarkable occasion. I thought as I sat here on the platform, of the anomalous character of this celebration. How few occasions there have been in the history of man- kind where people of different nationalities could assemble together in thanksgiving alike for the land of their nativity and for the nation of their adoption. [Applause.] Such occasions are not frequent. There have been many sad experiences on the part of people who have left their native lands for foreign shores. There have been men who have led emigrants to new countries who did not come back to face their colonists after twenty-five years. There have been cases where not prosperity but disaster has followed such adventures. Thank God we are here to-day to cele- brate a glorious success. [Applause.] We are here to-day, American-born and Swedish-born, including those born here of Swedish parents, to be thankful to the Heavenly Father that the day is fair, that the sun does shine, and that it streams down through the dancing green leaves of a Maine forest to be radiated by the beautiful colors of the " Flag of the Free," in the "Home of the Brave." [Applause.] I am glad that in standing here as I do now it is so difficult for me to distinguish in your intelligent faces the men and the women and the children, who left Sweden to come to the help of my country, and the American-born men and women and children, who have come here to your festival from Fort Fairfield, and Caribou, and Presque Isle, and Bangor, and Portland and elsewhere. You have become a part of a homogeneous community. You are a part of us, and we are a part of you ; and I want to thank you for what you have done up here in this lately unbroken forest of the State of Maine to build up Aroostook connty and incite and encourage the enterprise and the capital that has already brought the iron-horse from Bangor across the forests to Caribou and will soon send its cherry whistle, sounding to Ashland and to Van Buren. [Applause.] I want to thank
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