1888
May 1888
Several of the May 1888 issues of the Hollis Times contained references to another newspaper, the “H and B Herald.” Obviously not favorably impressed with his competitor, the Hollis Times editor wrote the following comment in the May 18, 1888 edition: “The Hollis correspondent of the H and B Herald must either have a soft spot in her head, or she thinks the readers of that paper have, to use so many of our items after they have stood around and dried up for a week.” Since there is an article in the June 1, 1888 Hollis Times about the H and B telephone line under “Brookline Locals,” it is fairly obvious that the H and B Herald is the Hollis and Brookline Herald. Interestingly, the Hollis Times banner changed with this June 1, 1888 edition to Hollis Times and Brookline Reporter. “Hollis Times” was written in the Old English font still used today. “Brookline Reporter” was typeset in block letters about 75% smaller! There were no other changes in the paper’s format.
Diphtheria and mumps were prevalent in Hollis and Brookline in May of 1888. The Brookline schools opened on May 7, but the May 25 edition reported that they had all been closed for the summer about a week later, “the attendance being so much affected by the prevalence of diphtheria and mumps that such a course seemed advisable.” This issue also noted that measles had invaded the north part of Hollis.
At the turn of the century, residents’ accidents, illnesses and deaths were routinely duly noted in the Hollis Times. I can only hope that Mr. William P. Wheeler did not discover how seriously ill he was by reading the following comment in the May 18, 1888 issue: “Mr. William P. Wheeler is quite sick, and little hope is entertained of his recovery.” Even if he had been aware of his impending demise, I am sure he would not want to be reminded of it!
Citizens’ good health was considered newsworthy in 1888 as well, as the May 25 issue reported. “Mrs. John Coburn, who is nearly eighty-three years of age, walked to the village on Tuesday, and after spending the day visiting friends, returned to her home on foot, a feat which ‘the girl of the period’ would hardly wish to undertake.” The article did not indicate how far from the village Mrs. Coburn lived, but it must have been several miles if it was too far for a “girl” to walk.
June 1888
There are a few issues of the Hollis Times missing from the file of 1888 Hollis Times newspapers which I have been researching for this column. One, unfortunately, is the June 8, 1888 edition, which must contain graduation information, as this report is not in any of the other June 1888 issues.
To give you an idea of the size and composition of high school classes of that era, I decided to look back on the June Looking Back column I wrote last year. The Hollis High School Class of 1899 “numbered nine with seven young ladies and two gentlemen.” Where the Past Has Been Preserved notes that one of the first graduating classes at Hollis High School, the Class of 1877, consisted of six girls and one boy. So the Class of 1888 was probably similarly composed of between seven and nine students. More girls than boys attended Hollis High, as boys were frequently educated outside the town.
The annual Strawberry Festival was described in these issues; however, it was rather different from today’s festival. According to the June 29, 1888 Hollis Times, the Strawberry Festival was to be held in the Hollis Town Hall for the benefit of the Congregational Society on Tuesday evening, July 3. It featured “Readings, Tableaux and Marches.” A similar festival was planned in Brookline at Tucker’s Hall on Wednesday evening, July 4. In addition to offering ice cream, cake, strawberries and lemonade, the members of the Potanipo Lodge I.O.G.T. were “preparing to present the Farce, ‘The Champion of Her Sex’ on that occasion.” The evening was also to feature “select readings by Miss Bertha L. Colburn of Hollis.” Prices were listed as being 10 cents for admission and 20 cents for the “Banquet.”
Memorial Day observances attracted far more people in 1888 than they do a century later. According to the June 1, 1888 Hollis Times, “Over 400 were present at the evening exercises on May 30.”
Evidently, citizens living in Hollis 109 years ago enjoyed another social event which we no longer recognize – Children’s Day. The June 1, 1888 Hollis Times reported, “The Grange will not observe Children’s Day this year. We wonder if it is because the ‘old boys’ have acted so, for the last two years. Of all the holidays in the year, this should be one of the last to pass without its proper observance.” Does anyone remember Children’s Day? It sounds like fun – for adults!
July 1888
Only two July issues of the Hollis Times have been preserved for posterity – the July 6 and July 13 editions. Since I usually have four or five issues of the “old, old Hollis Times” go through each month, I was a little uneasy when I discovered only two for July 1888. But I needn’t have worried. Due to the fact that 109 years ago a lot of what we would not consider newsworthy today did make the local paper, I found some interesting stories to retell.
At the turn of the century, the Fourth of July was always celebrated with a great deal of fanfare – and noise. Even in the morning, firecrackers and cannons began to noisily announce that Hollis residents were indeed aware that it was Independence Day. Resultant small brush fires were almost expected and the volunteer firefighters were prepared.
On July 4, 1888 there was a false alarm, which was reported by the Hollis Times as follows: “Several of our citizens who are always ready for a good work arrayed themselves quickly at the sound of the bell, the morning of the 4, and finding neither smoke or fire, returned to bed. But practice in dressing quick is not the worst exercise.”
The three fires discovered in Brookline that day were “extinguished without much damage.” The Times went on to state that in Brookline “Young America expressed its patriotism at an early hour on the ‘Glorious Fourth’ by the ringing of bells, after which the day was one of unusual quiet.”
It seems that today the tradition has been reversed, with most of the noise and potential for fires occurring in the evening and not early in the day.
The July 1888 Hollis Times contained the usual anecdotes which reflected life in a small New England town in the late 19th century. “Mister Fred Swallow was reported to have caught a trout that tipped the scales at 15 ounces.” And Mr. William Collins and Dr. P. A. Powers of Meriden, Connecticut were applauded for having “struck Hollis last Friday night on bicycles, having traveled nearly one hundred miles that day.” It was also noted that several “had a joke pulled on them for having purchased knife grinders for sharpening mowing machine knives, of a traveling agent, paying one dollar for them, when the local agent only asks eighty cents.”
Things haven’t changed much in 109 years. People still bike 100 miles in a day (although on better roads and with much better made and more comfortable bicycles!). A 15-ounce trout is still considered a good-size fish, and (alas!) solicitors probably still take in some Hollis residents selling goods at so-called bargain prices (although now they solicit by telephone – not door-to-door!). These things still go on today, they just are not considered newsworthy enough for even a small, local paper.
In 1888, however, these stories were considered very important to the health of a local paper. The July 13, 1888 issue of the Hollis Times states this clearly in the following article. “The late Horace Greeley once said that to make a local paper readable and a success, ‘all local transactions and doings, even to the number of eggs laid by a hen, and the name of the owner, should be given to the public,’ and, that the Hollis Times might not fall below this standard, Mr. L. L. Emery’s flock of 13 hens report their work for the three months ending June 30th, which was an aggregate of 782 eggs, four of their number having during that time spent the regulation three weeks in sitting. Any other biddies who can give a better account of themselves can step up and ‘crow.’”
This record sounded pretty impressive to me and I wondered whether, like the 100-mile bike ride or the 15-ounce trout, it was commonplace today. Not being familiar with the expected egg production from normal, healthy laying hens, I decided to ask Jonathan O’ Shaughnessy, owner of Eggcellent Eggs, if this was indeed something to crow about. At my request he counted his biddies’ egg production from Monday, June 16 through Sunday, June 22, 1997 and I compared his records with Mr. Emery’s.
Mr. Emery’s 13 hens, which laid 782 eggs in three months (or 13 weeks), laid, on the average, 60 eggs per week or 4.63 eggs per hen per week. Jonathan’s 24 hens laid 104 eggs in the one-week period or, on the average, 4.33 eggs per hen per week. That is only three-tenths of an egg per chicken less than Mr. Emery’s record. Or, if Jonathan had collected just seven more eggs, one more per day, he would have beaten the 1888 record. It would seem that the modern-day biddies are doing a pretty good job in the egg-laying department – at least Jonathan’s are!
August 1888
Hollis was considered a summer resort by some at the turn of the century. In July and August, many fled the hot cities of Boston and New York to spend a few weeks or the whole summer at various boarding houses and hotels in Hollis. They enjoyed the beaches of Silver Lake and spent peaceful afternoons relaxing in the shade of the town's giant elm and maple trees.
Some accounts of the activities of Hollis residents and their "summer boarders", which fill the pages of the August 1888 issues of the Hollis Times, paint a colorful picture of the way New Englanders beat the heat on hot, hazy summer afternoons, before the advent of air conditioning and day trips to Rye Beach.
"A pleasant meeting of the Hills cousins occurred Aug. 2nd at the residence of Mr. Silas Hills. At least 37 sat down to a bountifully spread table where chicken, ham, beef, cakes, pies, bread, beans, watermelons, and blackberries really crowded each other. Ample justice was done to the many good things set before us. After dinner the musical cousins entertained us finely by their pleasant rendering of college songs. . . .After an afternoon spent in renewing our earlier acquaintance with each other and games among the children we separated and went to our various homes, wishing most earnestly that 'A Cuusin Meeting' might be held each year, and feeling that the day had been well spent."It was signed One of the Cousins.
"Miss Gussie Bates, of Boston, a boarder a Hotel Spaulding, celebrated her birthday by giving a lawn party to the boarders of that house and a few invited guests. Friends were present from Lowell and Nashua. Refreshments were served and the evening spent in playing tennis and in a social manner enlivened by excellent music and singing by the Bates Family and others present, closing with a dance at Grange Hall."
Several Grange picnics were mentioned in these issues, as well as an "Annual Picnic at Purgatory Falls," which was described as a "very romantic place" which would "well repay one for their trouble." The picnic promised "good music and other attractions for the day."
A Home Workers' Fair was advertised in the August 24 Hollis Times as offering "a very pleasant program for the occasion, to consist of select readings by Miss Bertha L. Colburn O. B. of Hollis, singing by Miss Josie Greenwood of Ashburnham, Mass., violin solo with piano accompaniment by Master Geo. H. Peabody and Miss Josie Greenwood, and a Farce entitled 'A Thorn among the Roses.'" The article continued, "A variety of aprons and other useful articles, also ice cream and cake will be offered for sale during the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Powers will furnish the music for promenades. The Society will be pleased to see a large number of their friends present. Admission 10 cents." The August 31, 188 Hollis Times reported that the event had been very successful with about 200 in attendance including several summer visitors . . . and delegations from Townsend and Ashburnham." Net profits were listed as about $38.00.
Food, beverages, music and entertainment were the important ingredients of a summer get-together in 1888. Hollis residents still consider food, beverages and music to be critical for a successful party; but Iím sure the parties of 1997 would not attract our ancestors, who would not comprehend grilled hot dogs, rock music blaring from stereos, or (heaven forbid!) the serving of alcoholic beverages. Hollis was very definitely a dry town in 1888 with an extremely strong W.C.T.U. organization.
September 1888
The September 7, 1888 Hollis Times announced that Hollis schools were scheduled to open on September 10, which is about two weeks later than the school year begins in Hollis today. Schools probably opened a week after Labor Day because young hands were needed in early September to bring in the harvest and get ready for various agricultural fairs. There was no real need for vacations in February or April as there were no crops to tend to then, so students did not get these two weeks off.
Hollis was primarily a farming community in the late 1880s and residents were very proud of their crops. It appears that several local farmers brought proof of their agricultural successes to the Hollis Times office, as reported in the September 14 edition as follows:
“Mr. S. M. Spaulding has trusted our judgement on the handsomest twig of plums it was ever our lot to behold. Six of them weighed thirteen ounces, and, oh so good.”
In the same issue: “Mr. A. R. Lovejoy struck 12 the first time, raising tomatoes for the market. He remembered Ye Editor with some fine specimens, one of which weighed one and three-fourths pounds. What’s the matter with that?”
Of course, Hollis residents entered much of this fine produce, plus the best specimens of their livestock and handiwork, in the Grange Fair, which in 1888 was held in Hollis on Wednesday, September 26 and was declared a success.
According to the September 28, 188 Hollis Times, “The exhibition of live stock was an improvement over that of previous years. The display of fruit and vegetables was A No. 1, and a hard show to surpass. The tables of fancy articles would do credit to a community of people who have more time to devote to such employment, than the wives and daughters of farmers have at their command. In short, it was a fine display.”
The “premium list” followed with first and second place winners noted. Prizes were awarded for the best plowing with sulky, plowing with horses and plowing with oxen. The best draft horses, horse for general use, saddle horse and work oxen received prizes. Also honored were the best milk cow, 2-year-old heifer, yearling heifer, heifer under one year old, bull over two years old and bull under two years old. Then the judges considered the best lot of spring shoats, sheep, trio of fowl, trio of chicks and pair of ducks. Of course, all varieties of produce were exhibited including corn, buckwheat, potatoes, beets, turnips, onions, carrots, squash, pumpkins, cabbages, parsnips, pickles, apples, pears, peaches, grapes, quinces and beans. Amazingly, tomatoes and plums were not listed!
Handiwork displayed included crayon work, silk quilts, worsted embroidery, toilet sets, paintings, Mexican work, braided rugs, afghans and crochet lace, to name a few. Interestingly, although I found prizewinners listed for butter and white bread, there were no baked goods, i.e., no apple pie contest!
October 1888
October 1888 appeared to be an especially bad month for accidents in Hollis, according to accounts in the Hollis Times. Many of these mishaps occurred when traveling by horse and buggy.
The October 5, 1888 Hollis Times reported that Mr. E. T. Hall, who was driving the mail coach, "narrowly escaped collision with runaway horse with gig attached, which he met traveling at a rapid gait." He later found the owner "lying on the ground considerably injured upon the head and partially unconscious." Mr. Hall was reported to have brought the driver home and the horse was eventually "secured without injury." The accident was caused by "the breaking of the bits."
Other accidents reported in the local newspaper in October 1888 included a dislocated shoulder received by Mrs. Ezra S. Wright when she was "thrown from a wagon while descending the hill near J. Smith's" and "a very severe and fortunate escape from fatal accident" by Mark Warren, both again involving a horse and wagon. The October 26 Hollis Times stated that Mr. Warren was crossing the tracks of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad at the Elm Street crossing in Nashua when "a car struck his wagon, throwing him out upon the ground and cutting a gash nearly the whole length of his leg and otherwise injuring him." The report did not indicate his current condition or the condition of his horse!
For the most part, we seem to be safer today in our automobiles than the Hollis residents of 1888 were riding in their open wagons behind a potentially unpredictable horse. And the horses that drive down today's roads are far less likely to be in an accident due to "broken bits." I'm sure everyone has seen the old films where carriage horses are rearing in fright as a noisy horseless carriage or iron horse passes by. Most of today's horses are used to automobile traffic and, if they are not, their owners have the luxury of riding/driving them in places where automobile traffic is not allowed. It surely was different in 1888, when Hollis residents had to drive their horse and carriage everywhere they wanted to go and share the roads with everyone else who wanted to go there!
December 1888
Looking back through the December 1888 Hollis Times, I had expected to find holiday announcements and anecdotes that would provide a picture of how Hollis residents celebrated Christmas at the turn of the century. Surprisingly, neither the December 7 nor the December 21 issues, the only two available for 1888, contained any Christmas stories. However, looking back only ten years, to December 1987, I discovered a delightful article on the front page of the December 2, 1987 Hollis Times. Titled “Flashbacks – The Ghost of Christmas Past” and written by Joan Tinklepaugh, this “peek in on a collage of Hollis Holiday memories” was just what I had been searching for and transported me back to a time when Hollis celebrated Christmas in a much simpler and less commercial way. I have reprinted excerpts from this article so that you may join me on a trip back in time.
“The cold weather has set in, of course. ‘It seems cold from October 1 to May 1.’ But the cold does bring skating to Lull’s pond on Wheeler Road and when the snow falls, sleigh rides into the country so it has some compensations. ‘You dress in front of the kitchen fire while the water freezes on the kitchen floor’ and rush up to bed with your nighties still warm and a ‘soapstone in your hand to keep your feet toasty under the covers.’ And in the middle of this bone-chilling cold comes the warmth of Christmas.
“Christmas is but a short time away and the town is getting ready in its usual fashion of cheerful good spirit. At the Pine Hill School, the one room schoolhouse is decorated from top to bottom with paper chains. The teacher’s desk is moved from the platform at the front of the room and the Christmas Tree is given the place of honor. ‘We drew names and made presents like pen wipers and calendars to be placed under the tree.’ A Christmas program with song and recitation is planned for the enjoyment of both students and parents.
“Upstairs in the town hall preparation for the Community Christmas Tree program is proceeding. The big tree is up and the invitation to all in the Hollis Times, 10 cents for adults, children under 15 free. On the big day, practically everyone in Hollis is gathered in the town hall.
“A restless excitement is building with the anticipation of Santa’s arrival. Ever so faintly in the distance someone picks up the sound of jingle bells. ‘Santa’s coming,’ someone shouts and the room falls still. The youngsters are waiting for their first glimpse of Santa this year. The older children, a little bit wiser in the ways of the world, start a guessing contest. ‘Who in town is this year’s Santa?’ – one of the selectmen perhaps, maybe the town clerk. ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ Santa is here, splendid in his red suit coated with just a hint of soot. He calls out the name of every child in town and hands out lovely ribbon candy and an orange wrapped in tissue paper. It is almost Christmas in Hollis, but not quite.
“On a still, starry Sunday night, a week or so before Christmas, Christmas songs fill the air around the Community Church as the yearly ‘Christmas Tableaux’ begins. The children love this night because they do not ‘just sit and listen endlessly,’ but get to be shepherds and angels or sing and recite. The primary Class becomes ‘Christmas Sunbeams’ and Class Seven sings Christmas Wishes. Harlan and Bessie Whitcomb sing Just a Little Baby and a hushed audience listens to the choir’s beautiful rendition of Hail the King. Even the littlest child knows that without the ‘Babe in the Manger’ there is no Christmas.
“Families like the Farley’s, Howe’s, Lull’s, Hildreth’s, Worcester’s, Simonds’ and Hardy’s are beginning their holiday baking and candy making. At the Worcester home butter-patties, caramels and fudge are cooling on a marble slab, waiting to be gift wrapped and distributed to the neighbors. At the Farley home the cranberries have been gathered from nearby bogs and are being simmered into sauce on the wood stove. The Lull’s are popping corn, eating some and saving some to be strung on the Christmas tree.
“Almost every family plans an expedition into the woods the day or two before Christmas to search for the perfect pine or hemlock tree to be ‘The Christmas Tree.’ Once retrieved from its place in the forest, it is placed in the parlor or the front room and decorated Christmas Eve with homemade ornaments of red and green and strings of popcorn and cranberries that twine about the branches. For some the tree glitters with tinsel, and others hang paper cornucopias filled with raisins or nuts and hard candy. The danger of fire keeps candles off most trees but, however it is decorated, the Christmas tree is always beautiful and glistening, a harbinger for the children that Christmas Day is almost here.
“Christmas morning is always a painful torment of waiting. Waiting for the grownups to wake up, waiting for breakfast to be served, waiting to see the presents under the tree. ‘There is a special package that arrived by mail from the cousin in New York’ or a Flexible Flyer with red runners or a ‘doll with curly blonde hair and a pink dress.’ Parents receive things like kid gloves, an 8-day Seth Thomas, an embroidered hankie or fancy stationery. After the tree comes the visits to relatives to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or to gather together for a Christmas dinner of chicken or roast pork, cranberry sauce and pies of apple, squash and mince. Christmas is always a day of excitement, of sharing, giving and remembering.”
I hope you have enjoyed this look back in time through the pen of Joan Tinklepaugh and the Ghost of Christmas Past. The holiday season seemed much simpler a hundred years ago. There were no traffic jams or crowds at the mall, no holiday decorations appearing next to the Halloween costumes on store shelves, no racing around at the last minute to find the perfect gift for Aunt Jane. But there were also no department stores nearby offering gifts of every description, no specialty catalogs from which to shop at home, no holiday shows on television. And there was no thermostat to crank up when the house got a little chilly on a cold, blustery day. We have the good fortune of being able to preserve the best aspects of the Christmases of long ago – the fun of making special gifts and decorations, quiet get-togethers with friends and families, time to reflect on the true spirit of the season. We can’t go back into the past, but we can bring a part of the past into the present. Look back into your own Christmas Past and preserve the best parts for the future.
Several of the May 1888 issues of the Hollis Times contained references to another newspaper, the “H and B Herald.” Obviously not favorably impressed with his competitor, the Hollis Times editor wrote the following comment in the May 18, 1888 edition: “The Hollis correspondent of the H and B Herald must either have a soft spot in her head, or she thinks the readers of that paper have, to use so many of our items after they have stood around and dried up for a week.” Since there is an article in the June 1, 1888 Hollis Times about the H and B telephone line under “Brookline Locals,” it is fairly obvious that the H and B Herald is the Hollis and Brookline Herald. Interestingly, the Hollis Times banner changed with this June 1, 1888 edition to Hollis Times and Brookline Reporter. “Hollis Times” was written in the Old English font still used today. “Brookline Reporter” was typeset in block letters about 75% smaller! There were no other changes in the paper’s format.
Diphtheria and mumps were prevalent in Hollis and Brookline in May of 1888. The Brookline schools opened on May 7, but the May 25 edition reported that they had all been closed for the summer about a week later, “the attendance being so much affected by the prevalence of diphtheria and mumps that such a course seemed advisable.” This issue also noted that measles had invaded the north part of Hollis.
At the turn of the century, residents’ accidents, illnesses and deaths were routinely duly noted in the Hollis Times. I can only hope that Mr. William P. Wheeler did not discover how seriously ill he was by reading the following comment in the May 18, 1888 issue: “Mr. William P. Wheeler is quite sick, and little hope is entertained of his recovery.” Even if he had been aware of his impending demise, I am sure he would not want to be reminded of it!
Citizens’ good health was considered newsworthy in 1888 as well, as the May 25 issue reported. “Mrs. John Coburn, who is nearly eighty-three years of age, walked to the village on Tuesday, and after spending the day visiting friends, returned to her home on foot, a feat which ‘the girl of the period’ would hardly wish to undertake.” The article did not indicate how far from the village Mrs. Coburn lived, but it must have been several miles if it was too far for a “girl” to walk.
June 1888
There are a few issues of the Hollis Times missing from the file of 1888 Hollis Times newspapers which I have been researching for this column. One, unfortunately, is the June 8, 1888 edition, which must contain graduation information, as this report is not in any of the other June 1888 issues.
To give you an idea of the size and composition of high school classes of that era, I decided to look back on the June Looking Back column I wrote last year. The Hollis High School Class of 1899 “numbered nine with seven young ladies and two gentlemen.” Where the Past Has Been Preserved notes that one of the first graduating classes at Hollis High School, the Class of 1877, consisted of six girls and one boy. So the Class of 1888 was probably similarly composed of between seven and nine students. More girls than boys attended Hollis High, as boys were frequently educated outside the town.
The annual Strawberry Festival was described in these issues; however, it was rather different from today’s festival. According to the June 29, 1888 Hollis Times, the Strawberry Festival was to be held in the Hollis Town Hall for the benefit of the Congregational Society on Tuesday evening, July 3. It featured “Readings, Tableaux and Marches.” A similar festival was planned in Brookline at Tucker’s Hall on Wednesday evening, July 4. In addition to offering ice cream, cake, strawberries and lemonade, the members of the Potanipo Lodge I.O.G.T. were “preparing to present the Farce, ‘The Champion of Her Sex’ on that occasion.” The evening was also to feature “select readings by Miss Bertha L. Colburn of Hollis.” Prices were listed as being 10 cents for admission and 20 cents for the “Banquet.”
Memorial Day observances attracted far more people in 1888 than they do a century later. According to the June 1, 1888 Hollis Times, “Over 400 were present at the evening exercises on May 30.”
Evidently, citizens living in Hollis 109 years ago enjoyed another social event which we no longer recognize – Children’s Day. The June 1, 1888 Hollis Times reported, “The Grange will not observe Children’s Day this year. We wonder if it is because the ‘old boys’ have acted so, for the last two years. Of all the holidays in the year, this should be one of the last to pass without its proper observance.” Does anyone remember Children’s Day? It sounds like fun – for adults!
July 1888
Only two July issues of the Hollis Times have been preserved for posterity – the July 6 and July 13 editions. Since I usually have four or five issues of the “old, old Hollis Times” go through each month, I was a little uneasy when I discovered only two for July 1888. But I needn’t have worried. Due to the fact that 109 years ago a lot of what we would not consider newsworthy today did make the local paper, I found some interesting stories to retell.
At the turn of the century, the Fourth of July was always celebrated with a great deal of fanfare – and noise. Even in the morning, firecrackers and cannons began to noisily announce that Hollis residents were indeed aware that it was Independence Day. Resultant small brush fires were almost expected and the volunteer firefighters were prepared.
On July 4, 1888 there was a false alarm, which was reported by the Hollis Times as follows: “Several of our citizens who are always ready for a good work arrayed themselves quickly at the sound of the bell, the morning of the 4, and finding neither smoke or fire, returned to bed. But practice in dressing quick is not the worst exercise.”
The three fires discovered in Brookline that day were “extinguished without much damage.” The Times went on to state that in Brookline “Young America expressed its patriotism at an early hour on the ‘Glorious Fourth’ by the ringing of bells, after which the day was one of unusual quiet.”
It seems that today the tradition has been reversed, with most of the noise and potential for fires occurring in the evening and not early in the day.
The July 1888 Hollis Times contained the usual anecdotes which reflected life in a small New England town in the late 19th century. “Mister Fred Swallow was reported to have caught a trout that tipped the scales at 15 ounces.” And Mr. William Collins and Dr. P. A. Powers of Meriden, Connecticut were applauded for having “struck Hollis last Friday night on bicycles, having traveled nearly one hundred miles that day.” It was also noted that several “had a joke pulled on them for having purchased knife grinders for sharpening mowing machine knives, of a traveling agent, paying one dollar for them, when the local agent only asks eighty cents.”
Things haven’t changed much in 109 years. People still bike 100 miles in a day (although on better roads and with much better made and more comfortable bicycles!). A 15-ounce trout is still considered a good-size fish, and (alas!) solicitors probably still take in some Hollis residents selling goods at so-called bargain prices (although now they solicit by telephone – not door-to-door!). These things still go on today, they just are not considered newsworthy enough for even a small, local paper.
In 1888, however, these stories were considered very important to the health of a local paper. The July 13, 1888 issue of the Hollis Times states this clearly in the following article. “The late Horace Greeley once said that to make a local paper readable and a success, ‘all local transactions and doings, even to the number of eggs laid by a hen, and the name of the owner, should be given to the public,’ and, that the Hollis Times might not fall below this standard, Mr. L. L. Emery’s flock of 13 hens report their work for the three months ending June 30th, which was an aggregate of 782 eggs, four of their number having during that time spent the regulation three weeks in sitting. Any other biddies who can give a better account of themselves can step up and ‘crow.’”
This record sounded pretty impressive to me and I wondered whether, like the 100-mile bike ride or the 15-ounce trout, it was commonplace today. Not being familiar with the expected egg production from normal, healthy laying hens, I decided to ask Jonathan O’ Shaughnessy, owner of Eggcellent Eggs, if this was indeed something to crow about. At my request he counted his biddies’ egg production from Monday, June 16 through Sunday, June 22, 1997 and I compared his records with Mr. Emery’s.
Mr. Emery’s 13 hens, which laid 782 eggs in three months (or 13 weeks), laid, on the average, 60 eggs per week or 4.63 eggs per hen per week. Jonathan’s 24 hens laid 104 eggs in the one-week period or, on the average, 4.33 eggs per hen per week. That is only three-tenths of an egg per chicken less than Mr. Emery’s record. Or, if Jonathan had collected just seven more eggs, one more per day, he would have beaten the 1888 record. It would seem that the modern-day biddies are doing a pretty good job in the egg-laying department – at least Jonathan’s are!
August 1888
Hollis was considered a summer resort by some at the turn of the century. In July and August, many fled the hot cities of Boston and New York to spend a few weeks or the whole summer at various boarding houses and hotels in Hollis. They enjoyed the beaches of Silver Lake and spent peaceful afternoons relaxing in the shade of the town's giant elm and maple trees.
Some accounts of the activities of Hollis residents and their "summer boarders", which fill the pages of the August 1888 issues of the Hollis Times, paint a colorful picture of the way New Englanders beat the heat on hot, hazy summer afternoons, before the advent of air conditioning and day trips to Rye Beach.
"A pleasant meeting of the Hills cousins occurred Aug. 2nd at the residence of Mr. Silas Hills. At least 37 sat down to a bountifully spread table where chicken, ham, beef, cakes, pies, bread, beans, watermelons, and blackberries really crowded each other. Ample justice was done to the many good things set before us. After dinner the musical cousins entertained us finely by their pleasant rendering of college songs. . . .After an afternoon spent in renewing our earlier acquaintance with each other and games among the children we separated and went to our various homes, wishing most earnestly that 'A Cuusin Meeting' might be held each year, and feeling that the day had been well spent."It was signed One of the Cousins.
"Miss Gussie Bates, of Boston, a boarder a Hotel Spaulding, celebrated her birthday by giving a lawn party to the boarders of that house and a few invited guests. Friends were present from Lowell and Nashua. Refreshments were served and the evening spent in playing tennis and in a social manner enlivened by excellent music and singing by the Bates Family and others present, closing with a dance at Grange Hall."
Several Grange picnics were mentioned in these issues, as well as an "Annual Picnic at Purgatory Falls," which was described as a "very romantic place" which would "well repay one for their trouble." The picnic promised "good music and other attractions for the day."
A Home Workers' Fair was advertised in the August 24 Hollis Times as offering "a very pleasant program for the occasion, to consist of select readings by Miss Bertha L. Colburn O. B. of Hollis, singing by Miss Josie Greenwood of Ashburnham, Mass., violin solo with piano accompaniment by Master Geo. H. Peabody and Miss Josie Greenwood, and a Farce entitled 'A Thorn among the Roses.'" The article continued, "A variety of aprons and other useful articles, also ice cream and cake will be offered for sale during the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Powers will furnish the music for promenades. The Society will be pleased to see a large number of their friends present. Admission 10 cents." The August 31, 188 Hollis Times reported that the event had been very successful with about 200 in attendance including several summer visitors . . . and delegations from Townsend and Ashburnham." Net profits were listed as about $38.00.
Food, beverages, music and entertainment were the important ingredients of a summer get-together in 1888. Hollis residents still consider food, beverages and music to be critical for a successful party; but Iím sure the parties of 1997 would not attract our ancestors, who would not comprehend grilled hot dogs, rock music blaring from stereos, or (heaven forbid!) the serving of alcoholic beverages. Hollis was very definitely a dry town in 1888 with an extremely strong W.C.T.U. organization.
September 1888
The September 7, 1888 Hollis Times announced that Hollis schools were scheduled to open on September 10, which is about two weeks later than the school year begins in Hollis today. Schools probably opened a week after Labor Day because young hands were needed in early September to bring in the harvest and get ready for various agricultural fairs. There was no real need for vacations in February or April as there were no crops to tend to then, so students did not get these two weeks off.
Hollis was primarily a farming community in the late 1880s and residents were very proud of their crops. It appears that several local farmers brought proof of their agricultural successes to the Hollis Times office, as reported in the September 14 edition as follows:
“Mr. S. M. Spaulding has trusted our judgement on the handsomest twig of plums it was ever our lot to behold. Six of them weighed thirteen ounces, and, oh so good.”
In the same issue: “Mr. A. R. Lovejoy struck 12 the first time, raising tomatoes for the market. He remembered Ye Editor with some fine specimens, one of which weighed one and three-fourths pounds. What’s the matter with that?”
Of course, Hollis residents entered much of this fine produce, plus the best specimens of their livestock and handiwork, in the Grange Fair, which in 1888 was held in Hollis on Wednesday, September 26 and was declared a success.
According to the September 28, 188 Hollis Times, “The exhibition of live stock was an improvement over that of previous years. The display of fruit and vegetables was A No. 1, and a hard show to surpass. The tables of fancy articles would do credit to a community of people who have more time to devote to such employment, than the wives and daughters of farmers have at their command. In short, it was a fine display.”
The “premium list” followed with first and second place winners noted. Prizes were awarded for the best plowing with sulky, plowing with horses and plowing with oxen. The best draft horses, horse for general use, saddle horse and work oxen received prizes. Also honored were the best milk cow, 2-year-old heifer, yearling heifer, heifer under one year old, bull over two years old and bull under two years old. Then the judges considered the best lot of spring shoats, sheep, trio of fowl, trio of chicks and pair of ducks. Of course, all varieties of produce were exhibited including corn, buckwheat, potatoes, beets, turnips, onions, carrots, squash, pumpkins, cabbages, parsnips, pickles, apples, pears, peaches, grapes, quinces and beans. Amazingly, tomatoes and plums were not listed!
Handiwork displayed included crayon work, silk quilts, worsted embroidery, toilet sets, paintings, Mexican work, braided rugs, afghans and crochet lace, to name a few. Interestingly, although I found prizewinners listed for butter and white bread, there were no baked goods, i.e., no apple pie contest!
October 1888
October 1888 appeared to be an especially bad month for accidents in Hollis, according to accounts in the Hollis Times. Many of these mishaps occurred when traveling by horse and buggy.
The October 5, 1888 Hollis Times reported that Mr. E. T. Hall, who was driving the mail coach, "narrowly escaped collision with runaway horse with gig attached, which he met traveling at a rapid gait." He later found the owner "lying on the ground considerably injured upon the head and partially unconscious." Mr. Hall was reported to have brought the driver home and the horse was eventually "secured without injury." The accident was caused by "the breaking of the bits."
Other accidents reported in the local newspaper in October 1888 included a dislocated shoulder received by Mrs. Ezra S. Wright when she was "thrown from a wagon while descending the hill near J. Smith's" and "a very severe and fortunate escape from fatal accident" by Mark Warren, both again involving a horse and wagon. The October 26 Hollis Times stated that Mr. Warren was crossing the tracks of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad at the Elm Street crossing in Nashua when "a car struck his wagon, throwing him out upon the ground and cutting a gash nearly the whole length of his leg and otherwise injuring him." The report did not indicate his current condition or the condition of his horse!
For the most part, we seem to be safer today in our automobiles than the Hollis residents of 1888 were riding in their open wagons behind a potentially unpredictable horse. And the horses that drive down today's roads are far less likely to be in an accident due to "broken bits." I'm sure everyone has seen the old films where carriage horses are rearing in fright as a noisy horseless carriage or iron horse passes by. Most of today's horses are used to automobile traffic and, if they are not, their owners have the luxury of riding/driving them in places where automobile traffic is not allowed. It surely was different in 1888, when Hollis residents had to drive their horse and carriage everywhere they wanted to go and share the roads with everyone else who wanted to go there!
December 1888
Looking back through the December 1888 Hollis Times, I had expected to find holiday announcements and anecdotes that would provide a picture of how Hollis residents celebrated Christmas at the turn of the century. Surprisingly, neither the December 7 nor the December 21 issues, the only two available for 1888, contained any Christmas stories. However, looking back only ten years, to December 1987, I discovered a delightful article on the front page of the December 2, 1987 Hollis Times. Titled “Flashbacks – The Ghost of Christmas Past” and written by Joan Tinklepaugh, this “peek in on a collage of Hollis Holiday memories” was just what I had been searching for and transported me back to a time when Hollis celebrated Christmas in a much simpler and less commercial way. I have reprinted excerpts from this article so that you may join me on a trip back in time.
“The cold weather has set in, of course. ‘It seems cold from October 1 to May 1.’ But the cold does bring skating to Lull’s pond on Wheeler Road and when the snow falls, sleigh rides into the country so it has some compensations. ‘You dress in front of the kitchen fire while the water freezes on the kitchen floor’ and rush up to bed with your nighties still warm and a ‘soapstone in your hand to keep your feet toasty under the covers.’ And in the middle of this bone-chilling cold comes the warmth of Christmas.
“Christmas is but a short time away and the town is getting ready in its usual fashion of cheerful good spirit. At the Pine Hill School, the one room schoolhouse is decorated from top to bottom with paper chains. The teacher’s desk is moved from the platform at the front of the room and the Christmas Tree is given the place of honor. ‘We drew names and made presents like pen wipers and calendars to be placed under the tree.’ A Christmas program with song and recitation is planned for the enjoyment of both students and parents.
“Upstairs in the town hall preparation for the Community Christmas Tree program is proceeding. The big tree is up and the invitation to all in the Hollis Times, 10 cents for adults, children under 15 free. On the big day, practically everyone in Hollis is gathered in the town hall.
“A restless excitement is building with the anticipation of Santa’s arrival. Ever so faintly in the distance someone picks up the sound of jingle bells. ‘Santa’s coming,’ someone shouts and the room falls still. The youngsters are waiting for their first glimpse of Santa this year. The older children, a little bit wiser in the ways of the world, start a guessing contest. ‘Who in town is this year’s Santa?’ – one of the selectmen perhaps, maybe the town clerk. ‘Ho, ho, ho!’ Santa is here, splendid in his red suit coated with just a hint of soot. He calls out the name of every child in town and hands out lovely ribbon candy and an orange wrapped in tissue paper. It is almost Christmas in Hollis, but not quite.
“On a still, starry Sunday night, a week or so before Christmas, Christmas songs fill the air around the Community Church as the yearly ‘Christmas Tableaux’ begins. The children love this night because they do not ‘just sit and listen endlessly,’ but get to be shepherds and angels or sing and recite. The primary Class becomes ‘Christmas Sunbeams’ and Class Seven sings Christmas Wishes. Harlan and Bessie Whitcomb sing Just a Little Baby and a hushed audience listens to the choir’s beautiful rendition of Hail the King. Even the littlest child knows that without the ‘Babe in the Manger’ there is no Christmas.
“Families like the Farley’s, Howe’s, Lull’s, Hildreth’s, Worcester’s, Simonds’ and Hardy’s are beginning their holiday baking and candy making. At the Worcester home butter-patties, caramels and fudge are cooling on a marble slab, waiting to be gift wrapped and distributed to the neighbors. At the Farley home the cranberries have been gathered from nearby bogs and are being simmered into sauce on the wood stove. The Lull’s are popping corn, eating some and saving some to be strung on the Christmas tree.
“Almost every family plans an expedition into the woods the day or two before Christmas to search for the perfect pine or hemlock tree to be ‘The Christmas Tree.’ Once retrieved from its place in the forest, it is placed in the parlor or the front room and decorated Christmas Eve with homemade ornaments of red and green and strings of popcorn and cranberries that twine about the branches. For some the tree glitters with tinsel, and others hang paper cornucopias filled with raisins or nuts and hard candy. The danger of fire keeps candles off most trees but, however it is decorated, the Christmas tree is always beautiful and glistening, a harbinger for the children that Christmas Day is almost here.
“Christmas morning is always a painful torment of waiting. Waiting for the grownups to wake up, waiting for breakfast to be served, waiting to see the presents under the tree. ‘There is a special package that arrived by mail from the cousin in New York’ or a Flexible Flyer with red runners or a ‘doll with curly blonde hair and a pink dress.’ Parents receive things like kid gloves, an 8-day Seth Thomas, an embroidered hankie or fancy stationery. After the tree comes the visits to relatives to say ‘Merry Christmas’ or to gather together for a Christmas dinner of chicken or roast pork, cranberry sauce and pies of apple, squash and mince. Christmas is always a day of excitement, of sharing, giving and remembering.”
I hope you have enjoyed this look back in time through the pen of Joan Tinklepaugh and the Ghost of Christmas Past. The holiday season seemed much simpler a hundred years ago. There were no traffic jams or crowds at the mall, no holiday decorations appearing next to the Halloween costumes on store shelves, no racing around at the last minute to find the perfect gift for Aunt Jane. But there were also no department stores nearby offering gifts of every description, no specialty catalogs from which to shop at home, no holiday shows on television. And there was no thermostat to crank up when the house got a little chilly on a cold, blustery day. We have the good fortune of being able to preserve the best aspects of the Christmases of long ago – the fun of making special gifts and decorations, quiet get-togethers with friends and families, time to reflect on the true spirit of the season. We can’t go back into the past, but we can bring a part of the past into the present. Look back into your own Christmas Past and preserve the best parts for the future.