Life in Elmore

June 29, 1898- Lucian Alexander, a Portuguese living in the center of town, had the misfortune to lose his house and barn by fire last Sunday night. Cause unknown.

July 6, 1898- The origin of the fire which consumed the buildings owned by Lucian Alexander still remains a mystery. It was clearly the work of an incendiary by but by whom and for what reasons are questions unresolved.

January 17, 1904- Peter Allaire farm known as the John Mead farm burned. Mrs. Foss walked barefoot ¼ mile for help. 18 stock, 2 horses (Allaires property) a team of work horses belonging to B.I. Griffith and valued at $800 were lost. Family staying at his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Allaire.

1872- From the Methodist church history- Oliver Bacon supervised the moving of the church across the lake. (Willard K. Sanders states he has a picture of Mr. Bacon as well as his compass. It is also stated that Oliver Bacon was a surveyor and boat builder) According to Mrs. Jennings, daughter of Oliver Bacon, her father moved an old camp from the west side of the pond to the village across the ice one winter. She asked him where he got the idea of moving it on the ice and he replied that was the way they moved the old church. Mr. Bacon is described as “a man, tall and straight; a typical Vermonter, who could turn his hand at most any handy task. His were the first camps on the Pond, complete with a large boat house and a steam launch; his were the best kept farm buildings, and the sweetest maple sugar. He had the opportunity to be a leading citizen in the community and he did it well, if modestly.

May 15, 1898- “Commodore” Bacon who has charge of one of the squadrons plying on Lake Elmore says the navigation season of 1898 commenced 5-14-98

June 15, 1898- Commodore Bacon thinks it is rather checky for visitors to stable their horses in his park and then steal away without paying for the use of boats.

January 25, 1905- C.W. Ward cut a pine on the Bacon property that measured 2,933 board feet. The tree from the stump was 130 feet high. Mr. Oliver D. Bacon died on October 5, 1926. He was the vice president of the Elmore Creamery.

September 6, 1899- Mrs. C.V. Bailey was struck down helpless and speechless by the effects of lightning during the storm Sunday. Her speech has returned but she does not regain her strength. She is perfectly helpless.

July 28, 1897- Mrs. Henry Bangs was quite seriously injured few days ago. Those mules being left to themselves for a few moments took it into their heads to do a little running and started down the road with the mowing machine to which they were hitched. Mrs. Bangs, who was coming up the road, saw them coming and ran up the bank to one side. The tongue of the machine breaking, the mules turned out on the same side and the machine struck Mrs. Bangs going over one foot and ankle cutting and bruising it severely. Although no bones were broken it will be some time before she can walk.

Daniel Barnes and Katherine Harwood of Hardwood Flats- Daniel and Catherine Barnes lost five children- Daniel, age 19; Catherine Mary, age 26; Philander, age 23; Mary, age 2; and Horace, age 32. All were buried in East Elmore Cemetery.

Daniel Barnes, now living in Elmore was born in April, 1775, and consequently in his 96^th year. He came to town as a young man, and married a lady by the name of Katherine Harwood on July 5, 1810 who came into this part of the country as a servant girl of the family of David Clemens., who settled at the time in Hyde Park. They were married in 1810 and she is still living with her husband in her 90^th year. They are supposed to be the oldest persons in the county.

June 30, 1897- The Selectmen have purchased a site for the town hall from A.A. Bliss.

June 25, 1891- The long talked of steamer has arrived. Its name has been the “Caspian” and has formerly cruised Lake Caspian. It is a steam yacht 30 feet long, 8 feet beam with a 10 horse boiler and six horse engine. It was taken to Lake Elmore Tuesday and will be at once. (e painted and put in trim for use by the public. L.B. (Bing) Boynton, proprietor of the steam yacht is working on the boat. A pier of 80 feet long has also been commenced. The boat was successfully launched on July 1, 1891 and the whistle can be heard for miles.

February 13, 1878- There was a trial of horse strength in East Elmore between a horse owned by Alvin Cameron and one by Will Silloway Jr. resulting in the favor of Silloway’s horse.

March 3, 1899- During the blizzard last Wednesday night E.E. Camp, who was drawing logs across the pond has a narrow escape from drowning. Having left the woods late he reached the pond around 7:00 p.m. and got away from the road and drove into a hole where someone had been cutting ice. Cries for help were heard in the village. One horse drowned and Elmer took a bath in the ice cold water of the pond as did H.A. Wheelock when trying to get the horses out.

Lyman L. Camp- Lyman L. Camp was another stalwart of the church. He lived in the house with the “peaked roof” and was one of the many from Elmore who enlisted in the Union Army at the time of the Civil War, being in Company E. 3^rd Vermont Regiment. He fought at Gettysburg. Afterwards he would visit the school just before Memorial Day and tell the students of his experiences, particularly the Battle of Gettysburg. Oneit being dark and he being exhausted, he opened his knapsack, took out two pieces of hard tack, pounded them up and fried them, relishing them as he ate them. The next morning, he discovered he had pounded up his hard tack with a cake of soap.

August 8, 1967- Mrs. Gila Carpenter presides as the attendant at the concession stand at Elmore Beach. Except for one year when she worked in the picnic area Mrs. C. has been in charge of the concession stand since 1949. (She served the Barre Daily Times as Elmore correspondent for near 20 years.) Her husband William Carpenter, now 77, was for years the picnic area caretaker. He retired in 1964. Mrs. Carpenter taught at the Pleasant Valley School from 1928 to 1932 and in East Elmore 1910, 1911, 1926, (15-25 students) 1927 and 1928 when the school closed. She was a former town representative.

April 20, 1898- Ice disappeared from Lake Elmore on April 17^th and Child and Waite logs are coming nicely to the lower end of the pond in good shape.

September 22, 1897- All of Elmore’s great men have been exercising their muscles for the past week practicing for the tug of war with H.D. Cook as the captain.

July 3, 1907- An interesting suit was tried last Monday before Justice B.F. Morse and a picked jury. The case was that of the State v. Edward Crowell charged with keeping a vicious dog. Ed, at one time owned a dog; said dog some time last year got into bad company and with another canine bit a little cal on the nose. Ed bought the calf and gave the dog to his daughter, who lives in Wolcott, where a license was taken out. Now the dog likes Elmore better than Wolcott and so was at his old home more than his new. The Selectmen didn’t like this and so complained to the State. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. The dog will, however, have to pay his tax in Wolcott and reside there.

October 22, 1878- George Dike and Fletcher Wheat cut in one day with a cross saw 170 hemlock logs.

February 28, 1906- Logging is getting to be a thing of the past in Elmore. The record has been broken. Herb Shepard did it last Saturday with Charles Dodge’s team and it was the second time Charles’ old horses had been on traverse sleds this season. The measured 3,108 feet was a beauty to look at. Charles says that this is the last pull for the team and in the future they will be known as “has beens”. Charles’ occupation is listed as teamster.

November 10, 1897- Charles Dugar is hauling lumber and getting ready to rebuild his set of buildings recently destroyed by fire.

November 24, 1897- He has commenced work on his new house and barn.

December 22, 1897- Charles Dugar has his new hose far enough along to move into it in a day or two. Also on this day; William Fary one day last week missed his pig and after quite a search found him at H.W. Wheelock’s in the pen with his pig, which place he had reached by crawling in the window.

March 2, 1898- A card of thanks from Mr. and Mrs. Dugar to all in the vicinity who showed their kindness and true friendship by assisting them in their sad misfortune of being burned out of house and home right at the start of winter, losing their barn and hay with some stock. Neighbors helped them to rebuild.

October 9, 1873- William Gay, age 15, and two others rolled a lot of rocks and logs into the road that goes over the mountain. After telling people and after being threatened with body writs, deemed it a good policy to go and undo their own mischief.

August 6, 1891- Mrs. Fred Griswold picked 1 ¼ bushels of raspberries. One family in town picked 130 quarts of raspberries.

June 14, 1899- The butter box factory of Martin Spaulding was destroyed by fire, along with a barn and an unoccupied blacksmith shop, and all buildings belonging to Mrs. Laura J. Griswold, and partially covered by insurance. Mr. Spaulding’s loss is total as nothing was saved and he carried no insurance.

July 2, 1899- Sedgwick Griswold had perfect attendance at the pond school for 1899.

October 8, 1885-W.B.Harris has put a coal stove in his store and thinks it is cheaper and more comfortable. Mr. Harris is covering the front of his hose with corrugated iron.

May 28, 1891-The steam saw mill of R.G. Hill with its entire machinery and about $5,000 worth of lumber was destroyed by fire last Wednesday. The fire caught upon or near the roof and the escaped notice of the night watchman who at its discovery by the hands at the boarding house at 2:30 .m. was in the engine room. The flames made such progress as to be beyond control. It was not insured. It was the best mill in this section and giving employment to a large number of men and teams.

July 15, 1908-C.E. Haskell has about a dozen men working at the mill now and expects to begin active operations in the manufacture of chair stock soon. He has a contract for the production which insures a ready market at all times ad everything points to continued industrial activity in this section. Mr. Haskell is making extensive repairs at the boarding house an store and will soon have both ready for business.