USA > Maine > Kennebec County > Gardiner > The centennial of Gardiner; an account of the exercises at the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, June 25, 1903 > Part 4
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That dates, new or old, are his favorite food. So I dare to assert, since he always is "in it," That he'll tell you the time to the hour and the minute When a rumor first came, brought by post or by packet, Which raised in the village the deuce of a racket ; For it said that the Squire, who had just come of age ( Vide Hanson, Hist. Gardiner, one-ninety-fifth page), Was coming from Boston to make them a visit, And there was not a soul who was willing to miss it. So imagine the folk, every woman and man, Assembled in front of the Church of Saint Ann, Awaiting the Squire, who was known to be near And who shortly afterward really - But here I beg leave to retire and let one of the throng, As I promised before, take the subject along. Perhaps at this juncture you'll some of you claim That my speaker should have introduction by name, Or at least that a hint be judiciously dropped Whereby may conjecture be guided or stopped ;
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POEM, HENRY S. WEBSTER.
And so, to escape your displeasure and frown, I will hold up a rule which I thought to lay down, And tell you in confidence - then I am done- That the man whom I quote was the son - of a gun.
"Toot your fifes and beat your drums ! Roar like blazes when he comes ! Lordy ! What a crowd we've found ! More'n a hundred I'll be bound ! Dame and daughter, son and sire, -All turn out to see the Squire.
"Neighbor Gannett ! Well, I swan ! Ain't he proud he's First S'lec'man? How he struts and stares about him, 'S if they couldn't do without him ! Mister, by the great horn spoon ! Guess we'll have to hoop you soon.
" There's the Colburns from Nahumkeag, There's Jim Price behind the rum keg ; Gen'ral Dearborn, Cap'n Berry, Old Sol Stiles who runs the ferry, Jewett, Barker, Gay, and Brickett - More than you can shake a stick at.
"There's that Frenchman, little Jean, Stirs my British blood like sin ! Well, I won't get riled to-day, Come on, Jean, but don't get gay ! Blamed if there ain't Squanto, too ! Say, Big Injun, how be you?
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
"Gosh ! There's Ellis and McGraw, Settlers here by Squatters' Law. Shouldn't wonder if they found, When the Squire comes nosing round, Paying debts and keeping quiet Makes a pretty healthy diet.
"There's the Browns from Purgatory, Gran'pa, gran'ma, too, by gorry ! Jerry in his coon-skin cap, Bess, two babies in her lap, Bill, Jim, John, Sam, Dan'l, Lew, Ann, Sue, Sarah, Ruth, and Prue.
"Well, if there ain't Deacon Cook, All the way from Bombahook ; And there's Granny Grimes, the witch, Little use we've got for sich ; Hope she'll cast no evil eye On the Squire as he rides by.
" Girls with ribbons, beaus, and graces, Lads with smiles upon their faces, Barking dogs and shouting boys, Lots of fun and lots of noise, Ain't it bully ? Ain't it gay? There he comes ! Hooray ! Hoor-a-ay !"
Thus the youthful Squire has come 'Mid the sound of fife and drum, And the greetings, warm though rude, Of the rustic multitude. As a monarch to his throne Came the young Squire to his own ;
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POEM, HENRY S. WEBSTER.
Came to dwell from youth to age In his goodly heritage ; Came to wrestle with and doom The black forest's savage gloom ; Came to see the wilderness Shrink apace to less and less,
And the tumbling Cobbossee Change its antics, bold and free, For the sober, steady strain Now imposed by curb and chain, Sprite to labor reconciled, Nature's tamed and patient child.
Matters not what visions vain Floated through his youthful brain, Of a mild, submissive folk Bowed to his paternal yoke, Like retainers round the board Of some old-time, foreign lord.
Came such dreams to him that day, They were doomed to fade away, For no vassal blood remains In the hearts and in the veins Of the men who hold their sod Sacrosanct to Freedom's God.
Yet we treasure up his fame, Linked to ours by deed and name, For the impulse which he sent Through each living filament Of our little civic State, Time will lengthen, not abate.
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
Love and praise to him belong, Though amid that cheering throng Hearts there were which beat as true, Hands there were as strong to do, Brains there were as quick to seize Life's unraveled mysteries.
Not alone the rich and great Frame, erect, support a State ; To complete the grand design Strength with beauty must combine, Granite base be built as well As high tower and pinnacle.
Honor, then, and fair renown To the fathers of our town, Whether stone and tablet tell Of the deeds they did so well, Or the grass neglected waves O'er their unremembered graves.
Theirs the hands which sowed the seed, We the reapers. Yet we need Oft to ponder this anew, Reapers, we are sowers, too. Bright or dark be Gardiner's fame, Ours the glory or the shame.
Let us, then, with common aim Guard the prestige of her name, That the struggles, toils, and tears Of a hundred garnered years May to future lives express Glory, grace, and fruitfulness.
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,
ODE, LAURA E. RICHARDS.
The following ode, written for the occasion by Laura E. Richards, was then sung by the school children to the air " Gaudeamus."
ODE.
Where the North in gold and blue Bends its high, triumphal dome, Sons of freedom, stanch and true, Here our fathers made their home.
Cleared the forest, climbed the hill,
Tamed the stream to meet their will,
Toiled and wrought with patient tool,
Reared the church and built the school.
Field and river lent their aid To the stern and hardy band ; Glad the pine-tree spread his shade, Gladly bloomed the lovely land. Sang the birds their welcome sweet, Sprang the flowers beneath their feet, And the north wind, blowing free, Greeted men as bold as he.
Prowling beast nor savage foe Could their faithful hearts dismay ; Scorching sun nor blinding snow Turned them from their steadfast way. Restless brain and tireless hand, So our pleasant town was planned ; Building fair for men to see, So they wrought for you and me.
O'er us still the northern sky Bends its dome of airy gold ; Honor we their purpose high, Honor them, the men of old !
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
God, beneath whose awful eye Centuries like moments fly, All our times be in Thy hand ! Bless our home and bless our land !
Hanson tells us that about 1790 Mr. Robert Hallowell brought to Pittston the first wheel carriage that ever came to this vicinity, a venerable chaise already outlawed by fashion in Boston. It was one of the first chaises built, and was called by the owner the "Parish Chaise," for the appropriate reason that the whole parish borrowed it. The following poem, written by Gertrude E. Heath, aptly describes it.
THE PARISH CHAISE.
In days of old, the tale is told, Good Master Hallowell's English gold, With good intention, A rare invention Bought of the owner, who marked it "sold." (A bit for the buyer as well, I hold. )
Wheels it had, and a lumbering seat, Hood overhead, and a floor for feet ; As an antique wonder it couldn't be beat. The people flew to the doors to spy What Thing of Satan was tearing by ; The children hid in their mother's gown When this strange apparition appeared in town ; Each dog went fleeing with folded tail, Till the very milk in the pans turned pale ; But on it rolled, till it seemed a speck, And the gallant driver was still on deck.
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BUILT BY ROBERT HALLOWELL, ABOUT 1786.
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POEM, GERTRUDE E. HEATH.
But, little by little, the people found No way like this to cover the ground ; And the Parson came, with his hat in his hands, Slick and shining from boots to bands,
Begging to borrow The chaise to-morrow, To see his parish and soothe their sorrow. And Robert of Hallowell bowed his head, "Take it and welcome, sir !" he said.
And the carpenter came, with his hammer and rule, And the pedagogue grim, on his way to the school, And Robert of Hallowell every day Spake like the Quaker, and answered, "Yea !" And the blacksmith came, and he begged a ride To Mooselookmeguntic to bring him a bride.
And the lawyer big, With his powdered wig,
Butcher and baker borrowed the rig.
The farmer's dame she drove into town To buy her daughter a linsey gown ;
No soul in the parish, far and wide,
But came to His Honor and begged a ride. And Robert of Hallowell said, said he, ""T'is plain this invention is not for me ; For when I would roam It is never at home, But abroad in the parish its tracks I see."
Tis a hundred years, or 'tis thereabout, Since this public conveyance at last gave out ;, But there's lasting praise For the olden days, And a rollicking cheer for the Parish Chaise.
أكتر السبع
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
The last speaker of the evening was the Hon. Herbert M. Heath, of Augusta, a native of Gardiner. Although he spoke briefly, his remarks were greatly enjoyed by those who heard them. Mr. Heath compared the school privileges of forty years ago with those of the present, and emphasized their improvements. He called these centennials blessed educators for old and young, and said that "it was a grand thing to stop in the busy whirl of life and look back a hundred years." He showed that America is to-day, in civilization, integrity, and real Christianity, stronger and better than ever before in her history. He said that a century ago there was greater intel- lectual disparity between our citizens than now. He closed with an eloquent allusion to the fact that man is continually enlarging his sphere of action and improving his mental status.
"Home, Sweet Home," was then sung by the audience ; an appropriate prayer and benediction was given by the Rev. P. H. Reardon, of St. Joseph's Church, and our Centennial Celebration became but a page of Gardiner's history ; a page, however, to which we may turn again with the zest of pleasant memories.
الحديد الصور
METHODIST CHURCH. As erected in 1828.
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ACT OF INCORPORATION.
ACT OF INCORPORATION.
"Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In the year of our Lord One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Three.
"AN ACT to divide the Town of Pittston, in the County of Kennebec, and to incorporate the west part thereof into a Town by the name of Gardiner.
" SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and the authority of the same, that the Town of Pittston, in the County of Ken- nebec, be, and the same hereby is, divided into separate Towns by Kennebec River; and that the western part of said Town, as described within the following bounds, to wit : Beginning on Kennebec River, aforesaid, at the northeasterly corner of the Town of Bowdoinham, thence running up said River, in the middle thereof, to the south line of the Town of Hallowell, thence west northwest, on the aforesaid south line, to Cobbos- see-contec stream, thence southerly by the easterly margin of said stream to the northwest corner of Bowdoinham, aforesaid, which is on the southerly side of and near the outlet of First, or Pleasant Pond, thence cast southeast on the north line of said Bowdoinham to the first-mentioned bounds, with the inhabitants therein, be, and the same hereby are, incorporated into a distinct Town, by the name of Gardiner.
"SECTION 2. And be it further enacted, that in all State Taxes which shall be required of said Towns, until a new general valuation shall be taken, the sum of one dollar and fifty-three cents, on one thousand dollars, with which the town of Pittston is now charged, shall be divided equally between said Towns of Pittston and Gardiner.
"SECTION 3. And be it further enacted, that the inhabi- tants of said Town of Gardiner, and the non-resident propri- etors of real or other estate therein, shall pay all arrears of taxes, which have been legally assessed upon them, by the Town of Pittston prior to the passing of this Act ; and in like
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
manner shall they pay an equal proportion of all debts now due and owing from the said Town of Pittston, and shall also be entitled to receive an equal dividend of all debts or moneys, now due to said Pittston, from collectors or other persons.
"SECTION 4. And be it further enacted, that the Town Magazine of Military Stores shall be estimated and equally divided between said Towns of Pittston and Gardiner; and in case there are any balances of money which have been raised by the Town of Pittston, and apportioned to the School districts, for the education of children, now due to either of said districts in the Town of Gardiner ; the same shall be paid over by the Treasurer of said Pittston to the Treasurer of said Gardiner.
"SECTION 5. And be it further enacted, that the inhabi- tants of said Towns of Pittston and Gardiner shall be charge- able in equal proportions with the expense of supporting the poor, who at the time of passing this Act are the proper charge of the Town of Pittston ; and if any person or persons here- tofore belonging to the town of Pittston aforesaid, and having removed thence, shall be returned thither again, and become a public charge, the same shall be paid equally by the said Towns of Pittston and Gardiner.
" Whereas there is a Religious Society, incorporated by the name of the Episcopalian Society, in Pittston, consisting of members from various parts .of said Town, and the house of public worship being on the west side of Kennebec River, and whereas, doubts and disputes may arise in regard to the oper- ation of this Act on said society, Therefore,
"SECTION 6. Be it further enacted, that this Act shall not extend, nor be construed to extend, to the infringement or annulling in any manner or degree whatsoever an act entitled 'An Act to incorporate a number of the inhabitants of the Town of Pittston, in the County of Lincoln, into a parish by the name of the Episcopalian Society in Pittston,'
"SECTION 7. And be it further enacted that Jedediah Jewett, Esq., be, and hereby is, empowered and required to
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CONGREGATIONALIST CHURCH. As erected in 1836.
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ACT OF INCORPORATION.
issue his warrant, directed to some principal inhabitant of said Town of Gardiner, requiring him to notify and warn the inhab- itants of said town qualified to vote in town affairs, to assemble at such time and place in said town as shall be expressed in said warrant, to choose all such officers as other towns within this Commonwealth are by Law authorized or required to choose, in the month of March or April, annually, and to transact such other matters and things as may be necessary and lawful at said meeting ; and the officers chosen as aforesaid shall be qualified as other town officers are.
" Approved by the Governor.
"CALEB STRONG. "February 17, 1803."
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
GARDINER IN THE LAST HALF CENTURY.
BY WILLIAM MORRELL.
A date near the beginning of the last half century of the history of Gardiner as an incorporated town may be regarded as the dividing line between the old and the new. The younger generation of to-day can have little idea of what that means, and only those whose riper years have been blessed with memories unimpaired can realize fully the magnitude of the changes which these years have brought about, not only in material things, but in the moral and intellectual status of our people.
A period of time extending over little more than a decade witnessed the introduction of coal, gas, kerosene oil, the tele- graph, the railroad, and the construction of the Gardiner and Pittston Bridge. The telegraph preceded the railroad by about a year, the office being connected with that of the "Cold Water Fountain" newspaper. The editor, Freeman Yates, was the first operator. After his retirement Mr. H. L. Weston, one of the publishers, officiated as operator, until the increasing business made a more convenient office and a constant attendant necessary. The business was light at first, business men being slower to adopt new methods than at present, and it was a long time before the lines were used much excepting in cases of emergency.
The first coal stove was set up in 1851, and coal oil, as it was then called, was introduced at about the same time, the price being one dollar and fifty cents per gallon. None but those who can remember the days, or rather nights, of whale- oil lamps and tallow candles can appreciate fully the impor- tance of this factor in the life of the community. "Burning the midnight oil" offered few temptations to sensitive olfacto- ries or defective eyesight when whale-oil, or the still more offensive tallow candle, was the only means of illumination, and little reading was done by the masses compared with what is done now.
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LAST HALF CENTURY, WILLIAM MORRELL.
Most important among the causes which have revolution- ized the business of our city was, of course, the railroad. Previous to this all transportation was by water, and during the summer season the wharves along our river front were the scene of great activity and interest. All the lumber manu- factured up river was brought here in great rafts to be shipped, which gave employment to many men. It was common to see as many as thirty or forty vessels at a time lying at the wharves, while the streets were thronged with their crews, stevedores, and river men. As this motley crowd was largely composed of a class of men not distinguished for lamblike qualities, there were little episodes constantly occurring to make life interesting, and the police department was not con- sidered a strictly ornamental institution. Whatever may be said of the moral status at the time, Gardiner had not arrived at the period when dullness was its prominent characteristic. The river was the great artery through which pulsated the life- blood of the towns along its banks.
There were nearly always rival lines of steamers running to Boston, and the competition was characterized by an acri- monious intensity hardly understood to-day. The agents of the different boats would stand on the corner by which all passengers had to pass, and underbid each other for patronage. On one occasion, after the fare had been reduced to twelve and a half cents, one agent announced that his boat was carry- ing free, at which his rival promptly offered the same terms, with a free supper by way of premium. Every man, woman, and child was a partisan of one boat or the other, and would get as excited over discussing the merits of the different boats as though they were the owners. Life among us was confined within narrow bounds, and what our feelings lacked in breadth they made up in intensity.
It has always been a question with many whether or not the railroad was any benefit to Gardiner. They claim that when the river was the only way of transportation, Gardiner, being practically the head of navigation, possessed advantages
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
which were lost as soon as the railroad passed through. This is plausible reasoning, and true to a certain extent ; but other changes in industrial conditions have had still greater influ- ence- changes which have affected nearly all New England in like degree.
As a community we were wild over the prospect of the - railroad, just as other towns always are. The man would have been considered a misanthropie pessimist who dared to doubt the town's having at least twenty thousand inhabitants inside of ten years after the trains began to run. Everybody who could raise a hundred dollars bought a share of railroad stock, an investment whose only merit seems to have been its permanency.
So,we jogged along, enjoying great prosperity in antici- pation, but taking our accustomed punishment by fire and flood, growling about our taxes and the inefficiency of our officers, very much as we do now, with nothing particularly important in our civil life to chronicle until the breaking out of the war.
The part Gardiner played in that great struggle has been celebrated in song and story, and is familiar to all; but the great changes in the way of life which it caused for us and for posterity can hardly be estimated. It seemed as if all the ideas of life to which we were accustomed had been suddenly eliminated, and an entirely new condition of things substituted. The sound of fife and drum in every village imparted the air of a military camp, and a general feeling of unrest and insta- bility predominated. Soldiers were everywhere, and, as after the first enlistments they received large bounties, which most of them proceeded to get rid of as soon as possible, money seemed to lose its normal value, and reckless expenditure suc- ceeded the parsimonious and frugal habits to which we had been accustomed. Almost immediately after the war began, every vestige of specie disappeared, and the difficulty of mak- ing change was a serious one. Postage stamps were used and passed from hand to hand until worn out. The traders on the
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LAST HALF CENTURY, WILLIAM MORRELL.
street were obliged to issue money of their own, in the shape of little pieces of cardboard, in multiples of five cents up to fifty. Of course this was illegal, and the stuff easily counter- feited, which was done to quite an extent; but there seemed no other way to get along until the Government issued the fractional currency, all the substitute we had for several years in the place of change.
Money being plenty and cheap, and growing cheaper every day as the issue of the conflict became doubtful, its pro- fuse expenditure was the natural result. All business was booming. Depreciated currency enabled the debtor class vir- tually to pay their debts at a discount, according to the state of the currency at the time, while their assets and profits increased at the same ratio. There was a great demand for all kinds of productions, and price was no object.
.J.That such a state of things should have begotten a cor- responding lowering of the general moral sentiment in business methods is not remarkable, nor that it should have led to the creation of extravagant habits, and the cultivation of more expensive tastes in ways of living than those to which the community generally had been accustomed. The sudden and enormous demands of the Government on the productive interests of the country made possible this rapid accumulation of large fortunes, and gave corresponding opportunities to those doing business in a smaller way. Our Uncle Samuel was not only spending his income, but rapidly dissipating his principal, of which everybody was ready and willing to take a share. It was a great dance for those on the floor, but one for which posterity has to pay the fiddler pretty dearly.
The only important events directly affecting the interests and welfare of the city since the war are the paving of Water Street, the establishment of the waterworks, and the partial construction of the sewer system.
None but those who can remember the condition of Water Street in the spring and fall can appreciate the value of the paving investment. A quagmire from the foot of Libby Hill
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CENTENNIAL OF GARDINER.
to the lower end of Water Street, of unknown depth and con- sistency, composed of all the garbage and impurities natural to the activities of a busy street, it could hardly be told at what point it was most disagreeable and dangerous, when wet or when dry. Like most good things, while we know what it cost, we have no means of estimating the benefits of our pav- ing, because they come to us in so many indirect ways.
The assumption of the ownership of the bridge across the river was a transaction of rather more benefit to the public at large than to Gardiner in particular. It could hardly be fore- scen that business changes would greatly reduce the use of it to Gardiner people or that it would be carried away by a flood SO SOON.
Undoubtedly the one enterprise which transcends all others in importance to the comfort and well-being of the city was the introduction of the waterworks. The event is of so recent occurrence that it is unnecessary to draw comparisons between the old and the new in this connection.
Gant ver was always a town of small industries, owned and operated mostly by its own citizens. The tendency of modern business methods is to kill off small concerns, and to concentrate all branches of manufacturing in large establish- ments. The natural outcome of the introduction of machinery has been to bring about this result. Before the days of shoe factories every shoe store employed a crew of workmen, and every town of the size of Gardiner found business for a tan- yard or two, besides dealers in leather, hides, and other things connected with the business. It was the same with carriage making and wood working of all kinds. Gardiner was some- what noted for the diversity of its industries, and had the rep- utation of being a busy town ; but everything was done on a comparatively small scale, and the volume of business, in what we look back upon as its best days, was probably less than it is to-day, while the capital invested in manufactures was very much less than at the present time. Without statistics at hand it is not a wild guess that the pay roll of our present shoe
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ESMOND DWELLING. Built about 1808.
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LAST HALF CENTURY, WILLIAM MORRELL.
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