Date: Fri 23-Aug-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

history-Merritt-Taunton

Full Text:

NEWTOWN REMEMBERED: NEWTOWN IN THE 20s - THE VIEW OF A YOUNG BOARDER

B Y A NDREA Z IMMERMANN

It was an unusual path Carolyn Merritt followed to find herself, at six years

of age, a boarder in Newtown. And the ensuing five years offered a glimpse of

town generally not seen through the eyes of a youngsters living here between

the years 1923 and 1928.

Born in Canada, Carolyn was only two years old when her father died. Her

mother brought the six children back to her native Stamford and sent each one

to live with a different relative until she could earn enough money to bring

the family back together under one roof.

"In 1919 there was no work for women except housework. So my mother got a job

as a cook with a wealthy family in Stamford," said Miss Merritt. "When she got

more financially stable, she thought the girls should be together. In 1923 she

boarded the three of us in Taunton."

Carolyn and her sisters, Dottie, 10, and Louise, 12, arrived in Newtown on a

train. They went to the Parker House, which was undergoing renovations at the

time, and waited for the arrival of Emma and Will Turner with whom they would

board.

"They told us to call them Aunt Emma and Uncle Will," said Mrs Merrit. "They

came and picked us up with a horse and pung sleigh. Then they drove us out to

their place - down the road that goes to the castle which was empty then."

Uncle Will also told them the rooster on top of the Congregational Church (now

the Meeting House) was four feet long and made out of "solid gold," and had

bullet holes in it from the Revolutionary War.

"In back of the church there was a little yellow house. It was the only

non-white house in that area and I always thought it was special. Nobody had a

colored house," said Miss Merritt. The yellow house, Castle Ronald, and the

home of the Coles (who had lost a young daughter in a sledding accident) were

the only homes in the area at that time, she said. The roads in the area of

Taunton where the Turners lived were called Young's Hill ("where the two Young

sisters lived with their two pet crows"), The Flats ("the only level stretch

of road in the area"), and The Road To Hawleyville. A well-known landmark at

that time was "Two Tree Hill where two great trees stood alone high up in the

hills, like twins," said Miss Merritt. "They could be seen for miles around."

Luff's farm was in the valley before you arrived at the flat road near Taunton

Lake Road.

"My daily life was different than most kids'. The woman we lived with was a

disciplinarian. Our inside life was not much fun - we were not allowed to

visit or play with other children," said Miss Merritt. And the three girls

were responsible for all the housework. "Our fun was outdoors - we were great

nature lovers. My sister Dottie and I roamed the woods. And in the pond in

front of the house we'd catch lizards and pollywogs and put them in a pan."

The Turners had a horse named Dolly, which the children regarded as a pet.

They also had chickens, and cows in the pastures.

"My sister, Louise, used to go to the neighbors' farm, watch them milk and

bring home a pail of milk," she said. "There were no stores there. I guess you

had to go to Newtown or Hawleyville. And only four or five people [in the

area] had cars - Fords. Everything was by horse."

The Turners and their three boarders ate such fare as shredded wheat, cured

ham, and oatmeal that was set on the wood-burning stove the night before - "by

morning it was nice and gooey." The family had no icebox, but in the dirt

cellar they kept a pail with lime and water in which they kept their eggs. The

couple drank Postum coffee.

Townspeople

The three girls may not have skated, fished, or visited friends like other

children in town, but they did go to Newtown Congregational Church. The

organist there, Carlton Hubbell, was an official at Newtown Savings Bank and

lived across from the church in the large white house. The bank president

Arthur T. Nettleton, was also involved in church activities. Both of these

prominent men went out of their way to notice the sisters.

"Every Christmas we had a little Christmas tree on the table and dollar bills

on it for `the three little girls' from Mr Nettleton and Mr Hubbell," said

Miss Merritt. "I have a Bible Carlton Hubbell signed." She also has a Bible

signed by the superintendent of Sunday school Allison Smith, who was also

publisher of The Newtown Bee.

"The Parker House had a carriage house in back. There was this big white

turkey named Tom who used to strut around back there. He was enormous!" said

Miss Merritt, who could follow his activity from her church pew. "I was so

young and the church service was a bore. I used to keep track of his

`gobbles.' They came at the right time: Our father , gobble, gobble, Who art

in heaven , gobble, gobble, gobble... That's what entertained me."

Miss Merritt said it was interesting that farmers who were either widowed or

single had live-in housekeepers. "Chet Northrup had Mrs Walling and Mr

Abrahams had Mrs Delanore. And nobody thought anything about it," she said.

Taunton School

The one room school house Miss Merritt and her sisters attended was up the

hill from the lake.

"It was a small, white, one-story building with windows on all sides. There

were two front entrances - the girls' and the boys' entrances," said Miss

Merritt. "The school bell hung in a little belfry tower on the roof and was

rung by pulling on the rope that was attached to it and which hung down in the

girls' entry. The tolling of the school bell announced that it was 7 am and

school was in session. It also announced the end of lunch time and of recess."

Alongside the school was a small wood barn where firewood was kept to use in

the school's wood-burning stove. The interior of the school was lit by oil

lamps fastened next to each window on one side. "There was a very large

blackboard, or so it seemed to me, and a map hung on the wall on a roll. It

showed all the mathematical tables, starting with 1+1=2," she recalled.

The teacher was Jennie Honan, a graduate of Danbury Normal School, who lived

next door to Taunton School. There were 15 to 20 students from the district

attending the first through eighth grades. Eventually, the school teacher was

promoted to Hawley High School.

"We walked to school. The weather then was much more severe. I was smaller

then, but I remember walking through snow up to my waist. They would dig a

path in the road just so you could get by," said Miss Merritt. "[High school]

students from Taunton either road horseback or went by horse and buggy to

school. Grace Olmstead used to drive in with a pony and little buggy."

The Taunton School picnic was held at the lake. "The only house on Taunton

Lake was as you approached it going down hill from school. It had a little

counter where they sold rootbeer and candy," said Miss Merritt.

The three sisters stayed with the Turners for five years and left a short time

after a fire damaged the family's home. "There was an oil tank in the cellar

and Uncle Will, who smoked down there, left his pipe. The tank blew up," said

Miss Merritt. The girls ran to tell the neighbors. "There was no fire

department, so they all stopped at the well and filled a pail."

When the girls' mother visited, she found out there had been a fire. And she

also realized how unhappy her children were with the Turners.

"She brought us home. My oldest brother was working then. So they were able to

get an apartment and get us all back together," said Miss Merritt.