Bicentennial Parade - Bethel Lodge Float

New Ipswich Historical Society

August 26, 1950

New Ipswich Bicentennial Parade - Bethel Lodge No. 24, Driver Oliver Oliver Lindros. In the background is the actual Masonic Lodge No. 24.

On these days - November 20 & 21, 1897

William Jurian Kaula diary

Two November entries for today, catching up. December entries will be published afterwards.

20 Nov 1897

Monsieur Collin, one professor, invited the class at Viti's to visit his studio and see the large decorations which he is painting for the government.  They are to be placed in the Opera Comique.  Monsieur Collin's studio is situated on the Impasse Rosin, off the Rue de Vanguard in this quarter.  There were but few of the class represented as most of the French students had visited him before, and so he had plenty of time in which to explain the details of the decorations.  The large canvases filled one whole studio and he was still as work on the drawing of the compositions.  There were many small studies of the schemes, the subjects dealing with the inspiration of music and poetry and were represented by allegorical figures painted with that subtle delicacy of color and subduded [sic] tone that makes Collins so famous.  Raphael Collin  The studies of figures were beautiful and if he can keep the same amount of feeling and quality in the larger decorations it will be a masterpiece.  I have not seen any of Collin's large decorations; there are some in the Hotel de Ville and I hear that they are not as successful as his smaller works.  He said that the critics complain because he paints as much in light tones without any marked contrasts of light and shade "but", he added, "there are many kinds of art."  Collin is very sincere and has nothing of the showy art about his work and by studying two years under such a man a student will be two years nearer the truth, and not two years of imitation of the style of one's instructor as it is usually the case.  He takes an active interest in the work of his pupils and is glad to have them bring their work to him for criticism.  His regular studio is in the next building and we stayed there for a couple of hours while he explained his various collections of bric-a-brac and prints.  Collin is quite an amateur and enthuaist [sic] of Japanese art and most of his collections are of the pottery, screens, masks, and prints of that country.  The screens were the most attractive and were the most beautiful I have ever seen.  They dated back several centuries ago when the Japanese understood more about harmony and design than they do now.  I was deeply interested in his manner and how carefully he explained every piece of pottery and every print of any importance to show its qualities of artistic value.  Collin is a great painter, and to be near him and see how everything is of some consequence and importance it shows how he has worked and labored to acquire what he has.  There were some of his early works in the studio which show that he has changed his style very much or has he been affected by fads which have been such a prominent feature in French art during the past twenty years.  He paints much better of course and with greater range of subject.

21 Nov 1897

Sunday is the day that I generally visited the public galleries like the Louvre and the Luxemburg.  There are so many rooms at the Louvre that I have not yet seen all the works worth minute study and for that reason I have yet to describe the pictures that I like in those galleries.  With all its great collection of old masters the Louvre contains hundreds of canvases that are very ordinary and many that are bad.  They may be useful in studying the various periods of the schools of ancient times but unfortunately the poor works are mostly of only a few schools which are represented by hosts of fine examples.  The history of the Palace and the Galleries of the Louvre, and the Tuileries* can be found in detail in the Baedecker guidebook - the most useful book for a stranger and student in Paris.  It is said to take two hours without stopping to walk through the galleries and I hardly wish to describe such a sensation.  I hate those people who tell how they have seen miles of pictures - if they only saw but one and could remember it except by name they would have something interesting to talk about.

* Tuileries translation - a place for making tiles.  Many kilns were located near the Louvre Palace and eventually the site became the Tuileries Palace - directly in front of the Louvre.ember 18th.

On this day - December 12, 1908

James Roger diary entry

12th (Saturday)

Frosty, Cloudy, About 5 inches of snow on the ground, wind variable, threatening snow at night.  David at Lonie’s in forenoon and out with the snow plough over the sidewalks in afternoon, also helping Daniel to fix storm windows at Spofford’s. I shoveled walks in forenoon, and fixed Church in afternoon.  Lit fire and cleared snow from porches.  Meeting at Miss Lee’s tonight about “Farrar Tablet”

On this day - December 12, 2008

It was truly a December to remember

On the evening of December 11, 2008 we had the perfect conditions for an ice storm, a cold rain and ground temperatures below freezing. The power went out in the early evening. All night we could hear trees falling. We awoke to see this.

Tophet Swamp in New Ipswich

The People of New Ipswich pulled together during that disaster. Offering hot coffee to utility workers, places to shower and wash clothes and so much more. I was out of power for 13 days which I believe might be fairly typical.