Mrs. Abbie Lowe Comnock & Mrs. George N. Lowe
New Ipswich Historical Society
This photo is one of the many given to the society by Miss Caroline Lowe. Photos of her were posted in a previous newsletter.
The 161st Children’s Fair
The 161st Children’s Fair was held on August 20, 2022. Shucking corn.
On this day - September 15, 1908
James Roger diary entry
15th (Tuesday)
Fair and cold frosty morning, wind E. to SW. David and Henry fixing Webber lot till noon. David raked together and brought in scatterings from the top field behind Jim Davis. (Somebody has tried to spoil the grass on Weston lot in Cemetery). I noticed it about 10 days ago. I turned clover in little field in forenoon and cleared the shingles off Gordon’s grass in the afternoon. Got letter from May last night.
On this day - September 15, 1897
William Jurian Kaula diary
I have never been able to discover what are the occupations of the people of Crécy. There are some eight-hundred inhabitants - the town must be smaller than it was once as many of the houses are unoccupied and many houses are much too large for the few occupants. There are some stores but all the inhabitants do not have stores. There are signs of where there was once many other stores and wine shops. I could readily believe that the people of this town did but little else than washing clothes. There are no factories and but one grain mill in operation. The miller is the rich man of the town. The bread question is an important one in France. You cannot bake your own bread without paying a special tax. The rights are given to the Boulangeries who pay for their privaledges [sic].
The hunting season opened a few weeks ago and the fields are full of sportsmen after the birds and hares. It seemed odd at first to see men out shooting so close to the town as game is not so common at home to be able to shoot partridges almost from your doorway. I often scare up flocks of birds on my trips across the fields... Since the wheat has been gathered we see much more of the flocks of sheep which are now grazing on the grass plots where the wheat stood. There are so few fences that sheep and cows need to be watched to keep them from wandering into cultivated patches of vegetables. A woman generally oversees the cows while the picturesque shepard [sic] and a few intelligent dogs can manage a few hundred sheep. The shepard [sic] still clings to the old flint and tinder box for a light to light his cigarette. I haven't mentioned that the French matches are the meanest kind of an imitation and since the government has the monopoly of the manufacture the quality and the price leaves much to be desired. Foreign matches are rigidly excluded and a fine of a franc for every match is imposed on any attempt to smuggle them in. The quality of the French match is said to have been tested in the great fire at the Charity-Bazaar in Paris last spring. A few boxes where [sic] discovered in the ruins after the conflageration [sic] - the wooden portions were consumed but the match remained. Upham and Webster, two Boston fellows are at Voulangis. Both are quiet and though they are both intimate friends of Cartwright, they are seldom in sight. Haskell, the latest arrival is another Boston boy and the winner of the Longfellow Scholarship. He came to Voulangis to meet his friends.
Note: Per Wikipedia, Ernest Haskell (1876-1925) was an artist/illustrator and internationally famous and remembered for his etchings, engravings, and pen-and-ink drawings, etc. He was also known as a pioneer of theatrical posters.
On this day - September 15, 2006
I attended a birthday party for Bob Grippardi. Many readers remember him from the White Elephant Sale at the Children’s Fair. Larry Ackerson also attended that party. Larry was the town historian and one so associated with the Children’s Fair that the Auction bore his name.
Larry would donate items for auction including a fish.
Beautiful New England Brown trout
An interesting post. Imagine having to pay tax for baking your own bread! Perhaps Kayla settled in New Ipswich due to its proximity to DD Bean and its ready supply of superior American matches.
Would the historical society have any interest in accepting Larry Ackerson's fish?