R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The last part of the Bovina History Pageant, held April 18, 2015, was a segment about "newcomers." Unfortunately, when Bill Madon very kindly posted the video of the pageant on you tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSnH98jEQbI, part of this segment was left out, likely because Aretha Franklin's "Respect" was playing in the background, leading to possible copyright issues. So I'm presenting here, with some minor edits, the text from my script:

Sometime in the 90s, two men from the Hudson Valley separately made their way to Bovina. They found work and in both instances, ended up marrying daughters of prominent Bovina families. It is likely that they were welcomed with some reservation by the established residents of the town. They both had last names that were not the common Scottish or English ones. 

One was Jeremy Barnhart, with Palantine German origins and the other was Sylvan LaFever, with French Huguenot antecedents - they are my great grandfathers. I’m talking about the 1890s. Jeremy came from the Town of Hardenburg and was in his 20s. Sylvan had been orphaned on Christmas Eve 1886 when his father died in a quarry accident near the town of New Paltz. He was likely in his early 20s when he too was attracted to Bovina. Jeremy married Kate Miller in 1890, the daughter of Michael Miller and Sally McCune Miller. The Millers and the McCunes had been in Bovina since early in its history. Sylvan married the daughter of another prominent Bovina family. He married Ellen ‘Ella’ Burns, daughter of Alexander Burns and Nancy Miller Burns, in 1897. The Burns had also come to Bovina as early pioneers. Nancy Miller Burns and Michael Miller were first cousins once removed.

Jeremy Barnhart

Sylvan LaFever holding his grandson Howard. Ben LaFever is to the left and the young boys in the front are Edwin and Sylvan Jr. 

These two marriages brought the Barnharts and the LaFevers into Bovina. Jeremy Barnhart stayed in Bovina, successfully farming on Pink Street until his early death at the age of 49 in 1916. Sylvan LaFever did not succeed at farming in Bovina and after the birth of their first child, Benson, at the home of Ella’s parents, Sylvan moved his family to Norwich to try their luck there. Sylvan never came back to Bovina to live, but the death of his wife Ella in 1908 caused him to send his two sons, Benson and Clarence, back to Bovina to live with his in-laws for a time. Benson ended up settling in Bovina, marrying in 1923 the daughter of Jeremy and Kate Barnhart, Anna Bell. 

The descendants of Sylvan LaFever and Jeremy Barnhart still live in Bovina and the surrounding area today and the names are considered to be Bovina staples.  But it’s important to remember that when Jeremy and Sylvan first came to Bovina, they were viewed as ‘new-comers.’ 

And there have been other newcomers. The early 20th century saw the arrival of a Norwegian couple, Andrew and Sophie Reinertsen. During the depression, several familes from Nebraska with German roots heard about what a great place Bovina was and resettled from the dust bowl. That’s how Menkes, Selhorns and Rabelers came to town. In the 1960s, the first large family in some time settled in Bovina -the Pelletiers, French Canadians with a twist of Irish. They helped keep Bovina’s population in the 1970 census above 500! 

Now mixed with all those Scots were people with other genealogical backgrounds. Bovina continues to have a diverse population from many parts of the globe – Argentina and Brazil are just two of the countries that come to mind. 

Yes, there can be tension between the newbies and the old timers, but the common thread that courses through them and their lives is that, for whatever reason, they love Bovina. We need to remember that and though we may disagree on things, we should always try, as in the words of Aretha Franklin, “show respect, just a little bit.”

Bovina History Pageant - 2015 version

I am happy to report that the Bovina History Pageant (2015) was a big success. It was standing room only as we had over 100 people attend. I'm very grateful to Briana Riera, Chris Ingvordsen, Roz Foster, Doug Perrett, and Marni and Mel Greenberg for all their terrific help in getting this thing off and running. Briana and Marni really helped with a lot of the detail stuff, right down to sequencing when the performers were to come on stage. And Chris and Roz provided not only the lighting but a great collection of costumes. Doug did pretty much any chore that we gave him and made some great suggestions. 

This pageant was modeled on one that took place April 21, 1955 (60 years ago today). I've written about this event several times, starting with my blog on April 21, 2011 (http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2011/04/56-years-ago-today.html). I ran monthly entries on the 21st of each month through March 21, 2012, providing the original script.

For the 2015 version, I used some components of the 1955 program but did scale it down a bit while adding a couple of stories not in the original. With so many busy schedules these days, it was harder getting people who were available to participate, but a number of folks did step forward, including two who participated in the original pageant – Marie Reinertsen Burns and Jim Hilson. And our youngest participant, at barely two months old, was Jim’s grandson, Sebastian Hilson-Schneider.

Photo by Wendy Buerge

The program included slides to go with the living tableau. And some segments had only slides. Here’s how the program was structured. 

First Settlers: I reviewed the story of the first settlers in 1793, the Maynard Family, who were played by Riya Desai, Ally Heavey, Julie Hilson, Gretel Hilson-Schneider, Hans Hilson-Schneider, Sebastian Hilson-Schneider, Kadence LaFever, Cullen Riera, and Mark Schneider. I also mentioned the settlers who came close behind the Maynards, including the family of Alexander Brush. These slightly later settlers included Marie Burns, Jim Hilson, Peg Hilson, Finnegan Manning, Finn Riera, Lucas Riera, Mateo Riera, and Riley Riera

Photo by Gretchen Rossley

Creation of the Town: This was a review of how the town was created in 1820 and an explanation of the town’s population and geography.

One Room School: School children came in and played Keeley-I-Over until school marm Mina Wilson (played by Jan Bray) rang the bell for them to assemble. The children: Autumn Dorr, Siena Dorr, Gwen Hilson, Gretel Hilson-Schneider, Hans Hilson-Schneider, Kadence LaFever, Rose McPheely, Cullen Riera, Lucas Riera, Mateo Riera, Riley Riera, Marco Shaw, and Alex Stanton. 

Photo by Gretchen Rossley

The Churches: I reviewed the history of the four churches that have existed in Bovina – Associate Presbyterian (now United Presbyterian), Reformed Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal (St. James’s). The United Presbyterian and St. James’s Episcopal still exist today.

Farming Bovina: I reviewed how Bovina Farming has changed over the years, with several of our participants bringing in items to represent  farming in Bovina over the years: Wheat, represented by a loaf of bread from Bread Fellows, a Bovina based bakery, carried by Hans Hilson-Schneider; Oats, represented by Quaker Oats and carried by Autumn Dorr; Sheep, represented by Annette Robbins, who with her husband Steve, run Green Shepard Farms and came in wearing fleeces from Bovina sheep;  Pigs, represented by bacon and carried by Cullen Riera; Dairying, represented by three generations of a current Bovina dairying family, the Webers, Ed and Donna, their son Cody and their grandson Zachary; Chickens, represented by Heidi Gogins carrying some of her baby chicks; Maple syrup, represented by fifth generation maple syrup producer Kadence LaFever, carrying jugs of her dad Jonathan’s syrup; and Cauliflower, represented by Kim Riera carrying a head of  cauliflower. I also had some slides of Bovina farms to round out this review.

Photo by Gretchen Rossley

Anti Rent Troubles: I told the story of the lease system that affected most of Bovina in the early 19th century and its involvement in the Anti-Rent War and about Calico Indians. Peter Manning, Gary Mayer and John Tucker portrayed Calico Indians (thanks to Jim Andrews in Andes for the costumes) as I related the climax of the Anti-Rent story, the shooting of Osman Steele at the Moses Earle farm in Andes in 1845.  Peter Manning was ‘arrested’ by Richard Tucker and revealed to be Edward O’Connor, a Bovina farmer who had a farm on Russell Hill Road. This segment concluded with O’Connor in jail writing a letter to his girlfriend’s parent’s just days before he expected to be hung for the shooting of Steele. I read portions of this very moving letter. To read the whole letter, visit this blog for July 23, 2013  - 

http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/07/i-did-for-friends-and-liberty-jailhouse.html. O’Connor’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment days before the scheduled execution. He was released in 1847 when the governor pardoned all the Anti-Renters.

Photo by Gretchen Rossley

Home and Community: I reviewed some of the organizations that Bovina had over the years, including the Bovina Coronet Band, the Bovina Recreation Club (which hosted the 1955 pageant), the Bovina Fire Department and the Bovina Rescue Squad. From there, I segued to life in Bovina in the 19th century and told the story of when the Gladstone and Biggar families fought with the Bovina Association Presbyterian Church over the issue of dancing (read the October 23, 2010 entry in this blog for the full story of what happened - http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2010/10/gladstones-and-biggars-clash-with.html ). To demonstrate what the dancing may have looked like, Wendy Buerge, Samantha Misa, Mary Pelletier, Briana Riera, Kim Riera, and Sally Elliott Scrimshaw demonstrated a few of the steps in what probably resembled square dancing or Scottish country dancing.

Veterans: Bovina men and women have served their country since the town’s founding. The Civil War saw over 90 men involved, with eleven of them dying in the war. The first casualty was Sinclair Burns in 1863. His great great great grand nephew, Jack Sinclair Stanton, portrayed his ancestor, carrying Burns’ Civil War pistol. Richard Tucker and Mel Greenberg also portrayed Civil War soldiers, with Mel as a veteran, known in the parlance of the time as an “Old Soldier.” Marcelo Riera represented World War I and Jonathan LaFever, Dario Riera, and Samantha Misa represented World War II. We ended this segment by saluting all Bovina veterans with the playing of “Taps.”

Photo by Gretchen Rossley

Newcomers: I concluded the pageant with some remarks about a couple of newcomers who came to Bovina in the 90s from the Hudson Valley and married into the established families in Bovina – this was Jeremy Barnhart and Sylvan LaFever, my paternal great grandfathers – and I was talking about the 1890s. Though LaFever and Barnhart now are considered now to be old Bovina names, the first appearance of the names in the late 19th century in town may have been looked at with some askance. There always are newcomers – and sometimes we are newcomers. And though we may have our differences, we are united in our love of this town. So while we air our differences, we should remember to show some respect. And we concluded with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”

Thanks to Bill Maden, a You Tube video of the pageant is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSnH98jEQbI. 

Here's a shot of most of the performers with me in the Community Hall basement before the pageant started, taken by Doug Perrett.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Parts IX and X.

This is the seventh of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [Sections I and II are in the May 21 blog entry, sections III and IV are in the June 21 blog entry, section V is in the July 21 entry, section VI is in the August 21 entry, section VII is in the September 21 entry and section VIII is in the October 21 entry.]  

IX.    Teunis

At the foot of Mt. Pisgah, the highest peak not only in Bovina but also in Delaware County, lies Tunis Lake, [*15 – Projection of Tunis Lake] a muddy little pond of a few acres, the only monument to the memory of a friendly old Indian, who was the last of his kind in this vicinity.  The Indian trail in Bovina crossed the town from the section near Tunis Lake by the way of Robert Forrest over to the river past Jack Damgaard’s and up the valley to the Notch beyond Rema Hobbie’s home and on into Stamford.  This was the trail by which in 1792 Elisha Maynard with his two yoke of oxen and cart reached the section where he made his first settlement in town.  [#15A – Teunis, the Indian]  Teunis, this old Indian, lived in a hut on the shore of Tunis Lake.  Apple trees, which he planted, and a heap of stones marked for many years the spot where his hut had once stood.  On several occasions he warned the early white settlers of the dangers of them from the more malicious of his tribesmen. Once when Teunis, after he had built his hut on the shore of the lake on the Doig farm, was being assaulted and beaten by two drunken white men, a Mr. Bassett of Andes came to his rescue and thus won the friendship of Teunis.  Often Teunis with his hammer and sack would go away and after a short absence would return with pieces of rock from which he obtained lead to make bullets.  On one occasion he blindfolded Mr. Bassett and led him through the woods for a short distance to the mine; and upon removing the blindfold and showing Bassett the mine, rich with lead ore, replaced the blindfold and led Bassett back home, promising that before his death he would reveal to Bassett the location of the mine.  However, his secret was buried with him, for he died soon after this before revealing the whereabouts of the mine.  Many years were spent trying to locate the mine but to no avail.  However, the lake is still called Tunis and recalls to our memory the friendly old Indian who more than once saved our ancestors from death. 

X.    Home Life

“Men’s work is from sun to sun, but women’s work is never done.”  So it was with our early settlers.  The woman of the house was always busy even in the evenings as she sat with the family before the open fire, busy spinning thread from flax her husband had grown or weaving woolen cloth to be used for clothes for her family or sewing new clothes or patching old, making them look like new, or perhaps knitting. [*16 – Family before fire]  As we look at some of the handiwork of our great, great grandmothers, we marvel at their beauty, at the fine stitch at the many small tucks, at the wealth of beautiful, intricate embroidery, and at the interesting handmade lace trimming.  In the daylight there were too few hours for the mother of the home; so she was up early about her many duties: washing the clothes, cleaning the house, making the butter, baking the bread, cooking the meals for their large family of thirteen or more, and making candles, the only source of artificial light in those days.  In every home one would see lined up against the wall barrels of flour, kegs of salted fish, large jars of salted meats, barrels of maple sugar, for white sugar was a luxury in those days, and bags of dried corn, apples, and other fruits – all of which was largely due to the efforts of the wife.
The oldest children often hired out to work at neighbors, the daughter at the low wage of 75 cents a week or the son, at $8 a month.

There was no division of distinction among the settlers on account of wealth, for all were poor.  Neighbors would drop in of an evening for a social chat and a drink of whiskey.  Whiskey then seemed a necessity in almost every home.

The young people would often gather at neighbor’s and spend the night singing and playing games.  But more often there would be a neighbor present who would saw off a tune on a fiddle and call off for a square dance. [*17 – Square Dance]  Thus the evening would pass quickly, old and young dancing till the morning hours.  The smaller children often busied themselves cracking nuts which they had gathered, popping corn, or baking apples over the coals in the fireplace.

For recreation, in the late 1800’s, a cooper by the name of Teller, organized a band for the young men. [*17A – Band member]  There were about 20 in the band; they wore attractive uniforms; and, it is said, they learned to play well.  Some of the members whom many will remember were Will Archibald, Will Black, Bob Foreman, Jim Foreman, John Gordon, Ad Laidlaw, George McNair, Al McPherson, Howard, McPherson, Dave Currie, and Alex Myers.

The neighbor men often were found working together, raising a barn, gathering the crops, or threshing; and at such bees there was always an abundance of whiskey.  The women, too, worked together as they played [*17b – Quilting party and song “Seeing Nellie Home”]; for often they gathered at a neighbor’s to tie a quilt or quilt a pieced quilt, they enjoying the visit with one another as much as the work.  In those days it was also quite customary to visit one’s closest friends or relatives, the family all going on the visit and often remaining for a few days.  On one such occasion, an uncle and aunt went to visit their newly married nephew and his wife, taking as a gift a hen and her twelve chickens.  The young wife was taken by surprise, and there were but three pieces of pie for dessert.  She, however, always capable of handling any situation, said to her husband as she served the pie, “I’m sorry, Bill, that you don’t like blackberry pie.”

When anyone died, the neighbors attending the simple service at the burial of the dead, were served cake and wine.

Each day closed as it had begun with family workshop, the father reading from the Bible, praying as old and young knelt by their chairs, and leading the singing, all praising God, if not harmoniously, at least from their hearts.  It was from Scenes like these that our ancestors were inspired to become the strong, God-fearing men and women we know them to have been, scenes that made our country great.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Part VIII.

This is the sixth of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [Sections I and II are in the May 21 blog entry, sections III and IV are in the June 21 blog entry, section V is in the July 21 entry, section VI is in the August 21 entry and section VII is in the September 21 entry.] 

VIII.    The Anti-Rent Trouble

Tracts of land in Delaware County were either given by grant or were purchased; and then the owners induced the settlers either to buy or to lease parts of this land from them.  Some owners sold their lands to the settlers and made terms of payment such that they could be met.  Others gave the settlers leases of their farms, granting the first five years’ use of the land without rent, and then requiring the payment of half of the permanent rent for the second five years, and then after that requiring the payment of full rent.  In this way in New York State a few families, intricately intermarried, controlled the destiny of 300,000 people and ruled in almost kingly splendor over 2,000,000 acres of land.  A large part of Delaware County was held under lease; and the evils of the lease-hold system bore heavily upon the farmers since much of the land was rough, rocky and difficult of cultivation.  Farms were often unproductive, and settlers found they had a serious task to provide for their families and to make payments at the same time on their land.  They, therefore, eagerly lent an ear to suggestions of relief; and in October 1844, this group met for the first time in Bovina at the hotel of John Seacord, the hotel located on the present site of Alex Hilson’s home.  In imitation of their friends of Albany, Rennselaer, and Columbia Counties they formed an organization, which joined in disguised and armed bands of so-called Indians in warpaint and calico whenever it was necessary to resist an eviction.  And they used their tin dinner horns to signal from farm to farm to bring to each eviction the jeering crowd of masked anti-renters [*Anti-renters].  Often too they would harass the landlord’s hirelings and sympathizers and engage in many pranks, an example of which occurred when some young roistering blades caught Timothy Corbin, stripped this dandy to his ruffled shirt, applied a bucket of tar and Dam Kelly’s best featherbed, and sent him homeward on his two mile walk in the frosty morning.  However, the more serious object of these bands was, of course, to prevent the service of legal papers pertaining to the collection of rent and to interfere in the case of sales of property undertaken by officers of the law for the payment of back rent.  Most of the persons engaged in these Indian bands were hot-blooded, reckless young men who were led into unlawful proceedings without due consideration.  Therefore, in 1845 the legislature passed a law, making it unlawful for any person to appear in disguise; and armed as well as disguised, the person could be punished by imprisonment and fined.  The fatal termination of these proceedings came in the summer of 1845.

Farmer Moses Earl lived on a leased farm in the town of Andes, three miles from the village, which carried a rent of $32 a year.  The rent had not been paid for two years, and the agent was determined to collect it by sheriff’s sale.  Under-Sheriff Steele and Constable Edgerton appeared on horseback to conduct the sale.  About 200 disguised Indians were present and to hinder the sale, arranged themselves around the cattle to be sold.  A pail of liquor, brought fro the house, was passed to each of the members of the Indian band; and the excitement reached a high pitch.  As the officers of the law made ready to force the sale, an order was given by one of the disguised chiefs, “Shoot the horses! Shoot the horses!”  A volley followed which wounded the horses upon which Steel and Edgerton rode.  As Steele in return fired, almost instantly another order was given, “Shot him; shoot him.”  Another volley followed; and three balls struck Steele, one of these wounds being fatal, causing his death five or six hours later.  Intense excitement followed.  Rewards were offered for the capture of the persons supposed to have been concerned in this regrettable affair.  The hunt for murderers began, and Indians and witnesses fled.  Indian dresses were burned or hidden in secret places; such as in the cookie jar.  Men hid in the woods, in the haymows, and in far off places.  Every house was ransacked in search of disguises, the only evidence needed to prove that someone in the house had been present at the murder.  The men skulking in the woods didn’t dare to go home.  Suspects let their crops rot in the fields.  And homes were torn to pieces in the search; and often innocent people, sometimes old, were harmed.  The governor declared the county in a state of insurrection and sent 300 troops to Delhi to maintain peace and to guard those who had been captured, many of whom were not even at the sale.  Gradually hunger, the weary life of the hunted, and the betrayal of acquaintances drove the men in from their hiding places into the hands of their enemies.

A court convened in August for those who were brought before it; and 84 persons were, for the most part, unjustly convicted or confessed their guilt and were sentenced.  Innocent or not, VanSteenburgh and O’Connor were found guilty of murder and sentenced to be hung on November 27th.  In neither case, however, was it proved that the prisoner had fired any shot.  O’Connor was a young resident of Bovina and lived on the Millard Russell farm.  James Coulter, a Bovina farmer, took an active part in the anti-rent war and was on the spot when Steele was shot.  Coulter Brook was named after the James Coulter family.  As the date of the hanging of O’Connor and VanSteenburgh drew near, Governor Wright commuted their sentences to life imprisonment; and they were taken to Sing Sing Prison.  All the other prisoners had been transported to Clinton State Prison in the Adirondacks where they remained in confinement until the winter of 1845.  When these anti-renter were on their way to the Clinton Prison, streets and windows in every town through which they passed were crowded with curious people, seeking to get a glimpse of these anti-renters.  Many women wept; and others shouted in a frenzy, “Down with the rent!”  At Albany, too, people swarmed about to get a look at these men.  Finally, after wearing chains for a week they, weary and jaded, reached Clinton Prison where days of hard, unending labor, laying walls, digging excavations, and mining iron faced them.  After the excitement of the times had cooled, and Young had been elected the new governor of the state, at the request of 12,000 petitioners, he pardoned all of the anti-renters, who had suffered many hardships and insults both at the Delhi jail and the Clinton Prison.  They were, indeed, glad to return to their families.  Not long after, Edward O’Connor married his sweetheart Janet Scott; but the anxieties through which she had passed during his imprisonment had ruined her health and she soon died.  O’Connor then left for the unsettled wilds of Michigan where he died of fever.  He was hailed as a martyr and has come down in history as the champion of the Free Soil.

The result of the anti-rent agitation was that new laws were enacted, which cured some of the evils of the lease-hold system.  The tenants were able to buy, at easy prices, the soil of the land they had tilled and occupied.  But this affair created bitter feeling and animosities in the town of Bovina that took years to remove.  Business men, in sympathy with the landlords, were boycotted and, thus, driven from town.  Horace Greeley’s paper, in sympathy with anti-renters, was read by almost everybody in Bovina.  It was jestingly said once that Bovina people read only the Bible and the Tribune.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Part VII

This is the fifth of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  It appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [Sections I and II are in the May 21 blog entry, sections III and IV are in the June 21 blog entry, section V was in the July 21 entry and section VI was in the August 21 entry.] 

VII.    Industries

Bovina, sometimes called Delaware County’s Garden of Eden, covering one of the largest and most fertile areas in the state, was the pioneer town in the dairying business.  No doubt the cold springs to e found in the town were a great help to this industry, and through the years Bovina earned the reputation of producing the finest flavored butter in the United States.  In fact, on two occasions Bovina dairies supplied the tables of the presidential mansion at Washington with butter.  In 1863 the first full-blooded Jersey stock was brought into town by John Hastings, who lived on the Jack Damgaard farm, and by Andrew Archibald who lived on the Mrs. Thomas Ormiston farm.  In 1870 William Rutherford purchased a second herd of thoroughbred Jerseys at $250. a head for $5,000.  In 1880 William Ruff purchased this herd, and in later transaction his calves brought him $200 apiece and his cows $350. each; and one of his cows produced 28 ¾ pounds of butter a week.  Cattle from this town were considered to be of high quality and were sold into Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and all parts of New York State.  In 1891 the Dairyman’s Assoc. took a cow Census in the town of Bovina, similar census ever having been taken.  Bovina was selected because of the quantity and quality of its dairy products.

Great flocks of sheep were also raised and pastured by many of the farmers and sheepraising was one of the principal industries since the farmers found a ready home market at good prices for their wool at the Johnsons’ Mill at the Butt End.

For a quarter of a century asheries were numerous in town and was also an important industry.  The burning of so much timber when the land was being cleared produced large quantities of ashes, which led to the first commercial industry, the converting of ashes into potash and pearl ash, which were used in the arts and in fertilizer.  David Ballantine built one of the first asheries and ran it in connection with a small general store.  Eight to ten cents a bushel was paid in trade for ashes delivered at the store, and by this easy means the settlers were able to get needed articles from the stores.

At one time there were six or more distilleries in town, the largest one being built on the Bloemeke farm by David Ballantine, the father of Duncan Ballantine, who was in later years one of the noted citizens of Andes.  In 18XX the McFarlands, who lived on the present Rema Hobbie place, brought the first still from Albany to be operated in town.  It was drawn by horses and carried on a four-wheeled vehicle, the first horses and the first four-wheeled vehicle to come into town.  Before this oxen and sleds were all that the early settlers had used.  Although there were so many distilleries in town, no liquor was ever sold outside of town since it was all consumed by Bovina’s own people.

The raising of wheat in the early days was also an important production.  Although the land was not adapted to wheat raising, since land rents were payable in wheat, its culture was a necessity.  “Other crops were rye, potatoes and flax.  The women made shirts for the men and summer clothes from linen which they spun from the flax.

The first grist mill was erected in 1796 on the site of the Walter Coulter Mill at the end of the Bloomville Road.  Later a distillery was built there, and still later a fulling mill.  In the earliest times grist mills were often several miles from the farms; and when the bread supply had become nearly exhausted, the men would shoulder their grist and walk long distances to a mill to get it ground into flour.  [*11-Men with grist over backs.] At first the nearest mill was at Kortright six miles away.  The journey by foot there and back in one day was formidable, even dangerous, through lonely roads where the cry of a wolf or other wild animal might smite the ear of the belated traveler, who sometimes found it a flight for his life to get back within the sheltered precincts of his own home.

Another pioneer industry of the town, carried on by Thomas H. Johnson and his brother, the grandfather and great uncle of George Johnson, was a manufacturing of woolen cloth into garments of wearing apparel at their woolen mill, the weaving of cloth at their fulling mill, and the preparation of wool to be woven into cloth in their carding mill.  These mills with their mill pond were located to the right of the small stone bridge you cross as you approach George Johnson’s farm, this location having been selected so that they could use for power the water from both the Maynard Brook and the Mountain Brook streams.  Merchants and dealers in clothing came from different parts of the state to buy the high grade products of this firm.  Besides, the Johnson brothers maintained two delivery wagons on the road selling and taking orders.  They also established and operated a saw mill at the same time and later owned and operated a farm over which roamed great flocks of sheep, which yielded enormous quantities of wool for their mill.  In later years Thomas H. Johnson, known as Barney Johnson, and his brother John H. built another mill behind Earl Smith’s farm buildings.  Here they conducted a woolen mill, a cider mill, a saw mill, a feed mill, and a shingle mill.  In their homes the women also card spun, and wove cloth, which they used to make clothing. [*12 – Woman spinning – Spinning Wheel Song]

Many of the early settlers were hunters and trappers; and since thee was much forest land, there was an abundance of deer, bears, wolves, and small game which furnished skins for traffic in the Catskill market.  Journeymen crispin [I do not know what this word means - I welcome any suggestions] came around two or three times a year and made boots for the men from cowhide.

In the year 1837 all the goods that were sold in the stores of this town consisted of only three or four wagon loads of supplies drawn semi-annually from Catskill.  As horses and wagons were used more and more by the settlers, the stroke of the anvil sounded within the village each day, sunshine or storm as the smithy had much work to do.  There were three blacksmith shops, on in the Ernest Russell’s garage, one on the Marshall Thomson garden lot, and one on the site of Arthur Russell’s garage.

A large tannery was owned and operated by a Mr. Lull, the site of the tannery and dam being located along the stream in the village back of Arthur Russell’s garage.  The stream furnished the motive power for driving and operating the bark grinding and certain other of the manufacturing processes.  Mr. Lull also owned and conducted a fruit tree nursery at the same time and grew apple and other kinds of fruit trees on the farm now owned by Lester Hoy.

Firkins to put butter in were made in the four cooperages in the village, one located in David Currie’s home, one in the old coopershop which was located in the community House lot, one in the shop next to Clark Lay’s home and one in Norris Boggs’ barn.

Boot and shoe shops were also to be found in the village, one on Cecil Russell’s home lot, one in Arthur Russell’s home, and one on the lot through which the creamery road now runs.

There were many other businesses carried on in the village.  In Arch Hunter’s home were to be found a meat market, a harness shop, and nursery for apple trees; in MacKenzie’s home was the first telegraph office.  Stores did business on the same sites on which Hilson Bros. and Cecil Russell now do business; four other stores were operated, one in the Charles Fuller house, one in the Thomas Garage, one in the Thomas shop, and one in the Lester Hoy house that was recently taken down.  A barber shop displayed its red and white striped pole in the creamery road lot and lent a gay bit of color to the town as did the American flag that floated from its flagpole, also situated on the creamery road lot.  Hotels were operated on the site of Alex Hilson’s home and Ray Jardine’s home.  The present library building was once part of the hardware shop.  On the site of John Hilson’s home there was once a drug store, and many years later there was a drug store in the lower part of Milton Liddle’s home.  At one time there was even a tailor shop in town, which was located in the little house between the Charlie Fuller house and the MacKenzie home.

As we think of the many types of work by which our ancestors made their living and the many places of business which were maintained in those early days, it seems that instead of progressing we have perhaps learned only to take life easier.  [*13 – Miller, Dairyman, Cooper, Shoemaker, Blacksmith; with songs]

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Part VI

This is the fourth of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [Sections I and II are in the May 21 blog entry, sections III and IV are in the June 21 blog entry and section V is in the July 21 entry.] 

VI.    The Forming of the Town

The countryside, now known as the town of Bovina, was once included in the townships of Delhi, Middletown, and Stamford.  Having cleared their lands and built their homes, their schools, and their churches, these early settlers then sought to establish their own township; so on February, 1820, an act was passed erecting the town and providng that the first town meeting and election beheld on the first Tuesday of March, 1820.  Therefore, in an inn, kept by John Hastings two miles from the village on land, which is still known as the Hastings Farm, the first town meeting was held.  The name of the town, derived from the Latin word bovinus, meaning “pertaining to cattle”, was suggested by General Erastus Root of Delhi because Bovina was a pioneer in the dairying business.  With the exception of Harpersfield, Bovina is the smallest town in the county, it consisting of 27,300 acres.  The population in 1820 was 1,267; in 1840 it was 1403, the highest peak; from then on it has steadily decreased until today it is less than 1,000. 

The Delaware River rises in Bovina and runs westerly, giving along its course one of the most beautiful and fertile farming valleys in the entire county.  The elevations of this valley are not too abrupt, and from the highest peaks one can see the finest views afforded from any point of observation in the county.

Bovina has from the beginning been one of the richest towns in the county; it has never had a debt of any kind; for many years it never had a pauper within its limits; and the bounty debt of Bovina was all paid in one tax.  In 1827 at one of the town meetings they voted that they would auction off any man who could not financially take care of himself, selling him to the person who would keep him the cheapest; and this they did on one occasion a fellow townsman being paid $2.28 a week for the care of a poor man for one year, this being done instead of sending him to the almshouse.  In 1832 at a town meeting they passed a resolution that the County Poor House in the town of Delhi be abolished; for they could see no use for such an institution.  No application was every made in Bovina for a liquor license of any kind until 1947, although there were six or more distilleries at one time in town.  The distiller paid revenue to the government for the privilege of manufacturing his product, but so far as is known no license was ever exacted of the retailers.  [Note:  The Bovina town clerk files contain a number of such licenses up to the late 1870s.  Bovina went dry around 1880.]

The first mill was opened on January 27, 1821, on the shore of Livingston’s Lake; the office, situated in Thomas Landon’s mill house, was called Fish Lake Office.  The Bovina Post Office was established in April of the same year, John Hastings being the first postmaster.  It was not until October, 1831, twenty years later, that the Bovina Center Post Office was established on the lot now occupied by the library [now the Bovina Museum], the same year in which the name of the village was changed from Bovina Center to Brushland.  At first the settlers had to go over the hill by trail to Stamford for their mail.  Once a month some one in the neighborhood would go and bring all the mail to the community and upon returning, when within one mile of the village, he would blow a horn every few minutes to let the people know that the mail was coming. [*10-Mailman]

Previous to 1820 there was no resident physician, but in 1822 Dr. Leal settled on the side of the mountain between Bovina and Stamford and took care of both communities.  The last full time physician to serve this community was Dr. Whitcomb, who came to Bovina in 1915 and left in 1919 to go as a missionary to Egypt.  Since then the doctors in the adjoining towns have cared for the residents of Bovina.

The people of this town were divided into three groups:  those of the Hook; those of the Butt End; and those of Brushland.  The Hook was so called because of the shape of the road there.  The Butt End was larger than the village or the Hook and on one occasion wanted the town meeting in that part of town.  Thomas Hamilton, who favored this northeast part, used in his argument a striking simile, alluding to the big end of the log, with which they were all familiar, saying that the northeastern end, the larger end of town, was the butt end.  This homely simile was ridiculed by the faction which the argument had defeated; but the name Butt End has always stuck to that northeast section of town.  In the Hook, at that time, one inn, one distillery, and one store did business; in the village, one barbershop, one grist mill, two cooper shops, two blacksmith shops, the largest school, one hotel, one hardware shop, one drug store, and three general stores were operated; and in the Butt End the people boasted of one store, one sawmill, one hop house, on distillery, one blacksmith shop, one shoemaker shop, and one grist mill, woolen mill and cider mill.  The first general store at the Butt End was located in the present home of George Johnson, Billy Archibald being the store keeper.  The blacksmith shop stood at the turn by James Crosier’s home on the small corner of land located between the Mountain Brook and the Maynard Brook roads.  The smithy was John Johnson, the grandfather of James Crosier from who Jim perhaps inherited his inclination toward dentistry since this smithy kept in his shop a pair of forceps and a chair and on many an occasion pulled the teeth for the various residents of that northeast part of town.  The Foreman, Currie, Archibald and other boys of that part of town, always watching for a chance to have a little fun and play a joke on someone, were a constant source of trouble, especially to the Center boys, who seemed to like the girls who lived up there.  On one evening when a young man was about to start for his home, he found that his wagon had disappeared.  In the morning as the Center folks were about to eat their breakfasts a rather bedraggled-looking young man walked into town leading his horse behind him.  If there were time, much could be told about the early times in that very busy section of Bovina, but at least anyone can spend an interesting afternoon at the Butt End visiting the small stone arch bridge below George Johnson’s home, the old stone house on the Maynard road, and the McFarland barn so famous in the past.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Part V

This is the third of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [Sections I and II are in the May 21 blog entry, sections III and IV are in the June 21 blog entry.]

V.  The Churches

The settlers of the town of Bovina, mostly from Scotland, were an extremely religious people; so as soon as they had provided themselves with homes and schools, they then became concerned with the affairs of the soul.  In the days there was not a family in Bovina without a Bible; every family had family workshop in the home; and although there were not churches, they also surmounted this need by using, until 1815, barns, schools, taverns, and private dwellings as places of worship.  The first sermon preached in Bovina was preached by Dr. Bullion in 1795 in the bar room of the Red House, a hotel kept by Thomas Landon at Landon’s Lake, today known as Lake Delaware.  Dr. Bullion stood behind the bar, using the counter for his pulpit desk, and preached the word of God.  Often amusing incidents occurred during the services in these crude places of worship, but even these did not dampen the religious fervor of these early settlers.  Once when they were meeting in the barn of the former Frank Coulter farm, a hen flew off her nest with an unusually loud sort of cackling to the merriment of the children and the less sedate members.  The minister stopped preaching and told someone to get her; whereupon a 240-pound Scotchman grabbed her and sat on her.  Needless to say she gave but one squawk, and then worship continued as though noting had happened.
 
In 1809 the United Presbyterian Society, consisting of eleven members, was organized by Dr. Bullion at a meeting held at the J.G. Ormiston place, now occupied by Howard Conklin.  Here Dr. Bullion baptized the first three children baptized in town.  At first they had traveling preachers; then they called their first pastor, Rev. Laing, who received a salary of $250. a year to preach to a congregation of about 36 members.  In 1815 the United Presbyterians started to build the first church in town on the south side of the old graveyard at the end of Reinertsen’s road.  The building 36 feet by 30 feet was completed in 1824 except for some method of heating.  For the nine years during the construction of the church Rev. Laing held services in this building with neither stove, pulpit, nor pews.  He used a carpenter’s work-bench for a pulpit, and the congregation used blocks and benches for pews.  In the winter when it was cold, the women brought food stoves with coals in them to keep the feet warm.  Here the gospel was preached, and the psalms were sung with as much sincerity as though the church had been a towering cathedral [*7-Church and song “Old Hundred.”]  In 1823 Rev. Laing died and was buried in the old churchyard cemetery a few feet from where he had preached.  Rev. Graham, who preached for 21 years in Bovina, succeeded Rev. Laing; and a manse was built for him on the Robert F. Thomson farm on Coulter Brook [where Jeff and Jill Craver now live], which was the old Associate Presbyterian Farm.  In about 1803 a fulling mill was also built on this farm by Rev. Richie to help to defray his expenses.  The present church in Bovina Center was built in 1849, and 10 years later it was enlarged by adding galleries.  Since then it has been remodeled several times.  The parsonage during Dr. Lee’s pastorate was the present MacKenzie home [now the home of Amy Burns]; and then in 1906 the present parsonage was purchased. 

Even though these early settlers were stern and serious people, there was also a fun-loving spirit to be found in them.  One Sunday in the early days a Mr. Smith went to church; and falling asleep, he leaned against the door at the end of his pew.  The main sitting behind him, wanting to see some fun, reached around and turn the button, allowing the door to open and Mr. Smith to fall in the aisle.  Feeling chagrined, Mr. Smith pretended he had fainted and allowed himself to be carried from the building.  What he said when once outside I am told, was not very becoming to the Sabbath day.  Dr. James Lee, who was the next pastor for the 23 years from 1856 to 1879 [Lee actually was pastor for 32 years, until 1888], did much to building up the church and increased the membership from 162 to 339.  In later years he returned to Bovina to spend his last days in this community in which he had spent so many of his working years.  During his pastorate in Bovina he served as a Civil War chaplain.  In later years two other Bovina pastors, Rev. McClellan and Rev. McMaster, left Bovina to serve as chaplains in the Armed Forces.  Two pastors who followed Dr. Lee and are still well remembered and loved by many were Rev. Samson and Rev. Speer, both of whom spent several years preaching in Bovina.  During Rev. Speer’s stay the Presbyterian Church celebrated its 100th anniversary. 

The Covenanters or Reformed Presbyterian Society was informally organized in 1814, and in 1825 they erected a stone church, 34 feet by 24 feet, with a gallery by the old cemetery near the Butt End Schoolhouse.  Later in 1861 they built a new church in Bovina Center next to the Milton Hastings home [now the home of Tim and Donna Bray].  Two of their early ministers who many remember and revere were Rev. Robb and Rev. Slater.  In 1943 as their membership decreased, their church was dismantled; and the members joined in worship with other denominations.

Although the Methodist Church, which stood where Emily Archibald’s home now stands, was not dedicated till 1849, the Methodists were the pioneers of the preaching in town.  Many years before thee was a church, there was a Methodist Society, which worshiped in schoolhouses, barns and private dwellings.  Before they built their church, they were disliked by the Presbyterians.  On one occasion the schoolhouse in Brushland was locked so that they could not hold services there.  The Maynard School was also locked against them.  One woman turned them out of her barn because she had heard the Methodists were great smokers, and she was afraid they would burn it up.  After Alexander Brush’s death in 1840, the Methodist started building a church on the site given them by Mr. Brush; and in 1849 it was dedicated.  The incident caused no little stir among those who thought Methodism was a fearful disease and should be dealt with as such.  Andes and Bovina comprised one charge until 1871 when Bovina was set off by itself.  In 1925 after their membership had dwindled to only a few members, they decided to disband and take down their church.  It is a rather interesting fact that both the Methodist and Reformed Churches, when torn down, were taken to Howard Conklin’s farm to be built up again as barns. 

The settlers, children and all, in the early days always attended services on Sunday, carrying their lunches with them so that they could attend both of the long services, the one in the forenoon and the one in the afternoon.  Rain or shine, they would walk, each Sunday, to church.  Their thrift is well illustrated by the fact that the children would patter along in bare feet until within a short distance of the church, their shoes slung over their shoulders in order to keep them clean and to save the shoe leather.  Then they would discreetly stop and put on their shoes.  Shoes were expensive and hard to obtain in those days [*8-Family on way to church.], a fact that made the settlers appreciate them.  In later years, in the horse and buggy days, on a Sunday morning one would see from all directions on every highway the wagons or sleights of the settlers making their ways over the narrow, rough, winding dirt roads, sometimes deep with mud, sometimes deep with snow, carrying mother, father, children, and all to church.  Such as the love of God in the hearts of these our pious, God-fearing ancestors.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Parts III and IV

This is the second of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.  [The first two sections are in the May 21 blog entry.]
 
III.  The First Settler of the Present Village

In 1794, just four years after Elisha Maynard had chosen for his homeland in what is today the town of Bovina, a second energetic and progressive young man, Alexander Brush, came from Long Island and settled in that part of the same town, which is today known as the village.  He built himself the home which is at present owned and occupied by Lester Hoy [now Tim McIntosh] and purchased himself about 400 acres of land which included the present site of the village, parts of which he later sold to new settlers Alexander Brush, like Elisha Maynard, had a large family of nine children, all of whom were also given Bible names.  In 1796 he erected the first large grist mill in town on the site of the Dennis Grist Mill, more lately known as the site of the Walter Coulter Saw Mill.  His son-in-law is said to have constructed the first distillery in town, where Parmenter’s house now stands.

In the early years when Methodism was in its infancy, Alexander Brush was the mainstay of the Methodist Society in Bovina and preached for the Methodists, either in his own home or in that of a neighbor.  When he later became blind, his wife would read to him from the Bible, and he would then preach from the text to the people.  When he became old and too feeble to stand, he sat in an easy rocking chair as he preached.  [*5-Brush and wife]  A year or two before his death he partially recovered his sight and declared that if he could but live a couple of years longer, he would see a Methodist church erected in town; but he did not live to see one of his greatest desires gratified.  He died in 1840 and was buried in the cemetery located in the central part of the village of Bovina Center.  The next year in 1841 the name of the village was changed from Bovina Center to Brushland in honor of Alexander Brush and was so called until the year 1889.

IV.  Early Education

In importance to these Scotch settlers, learning walked hand in hand with religion.  Therefore, one of their first accomplishments was the making possible of an education for their children.  The first school was established in 1808, and all the children from five to fifteen were legally compelled to attend to study the Bible, arithmetic, writing, spelling and English.  In 1820 when the town was organized, there were in town 400 children of school age; and the total expense for the maintenance of school for one year for that number of students was $221.87.  The wages of the teacher in those days was about $10 or $12 a month and board, since the teachers “boarded around”, spending about a week at each of the families in the district. 
   
The first schoolhouse in town stood where the United Presbyterian Church now stands and was later moved to the site of the William Elliott home.  It was a frame building with slab benches and writing desks around the sides of the room and heated by an open fire.  [*6-School and pupils and teacher with song]  In 1855 there were twelve schools in town, the last school district to be organized being the Coulter Brook District.  In 1833 a log schoolhouse was built on Coulter Brook with a round chimney, Thomas Liddle, a very fat man, standing on the top of the building while the chimney was built around him, he climbing up on the stones as they built them up higher and higher until they finally took him out at the top.  The present school building in the village was built in 1893. 
   
Through the years many of the town’s children pursued higher education, some of whom became famous.  To illustrate, I might mention the following few sons of Bovina:  William Murray, a Supreme Court Justice; David Murray, a college professor who was appointed to take charge of the organization of education in Japan; Isaac H. Maynard, an Assistant Secretary in the United States Treasury; John Lee, a noted minister; John Black, a pioneer missionary in Canada; James Black, a minister; Andrew Archibald, a minister; David Hoy, a Registrar of Cornell University; William Clark, an editor of the Delaware Express for many years; William Ormiston, one of the finest physicians in this section for years; Ed. C. Dean, one of Delhi’s most successful business men; and James Foreman, one of Delaware County’s outstanding politicians. 
   
Perhaps the outstanding teacher of those early days was the Scotchman Thomas Gordon, one of the most successful and best known public school teachers in the county.  All those whom he taught can be identified by their beautiful handwriting, a distinguishing mark of each and every one of them.  He was one of Bovina’s richest citizens, not because of wealth he had hoarded but because of his ability to give – to give of himself and of his homely counsel.  In the hour of his adopted country’s need he volunteered to fight for her freedom, and in after years he freely gave to his townsmen hours of his time with no thought of recompense.  If a deed was to be drawn, a will to be written, a business venture to be undertaken, the man who carried out such a project without the kindly, shrewd advice of this wise Scotchman was indeed a reckless citizen.

"Bovina Center, My Home Town" - Parts I and II

This is the first of a series of entries from the script used on April 21, 1955, when citizens of Bovina presented a pageant of the town's history - "Bovina Center, My Home Town."  Though I'm not 100% sure, it appears the script was written by Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson.  The items in brackets refer to the tableau of local citizens acting out parts of the story.

I.  My Home Town - To My Children - Rachel Scott

It is the fall of 1951.  I have spent the greater part of my life in Bovina, in this great farming town with its flowering hillsides and fertile valleys, with its extensive pasture lands and herds of dairy cows ranging over them, and with its small brooks winding merrily along between their low banks, fringed with trees and bushes; and I am anxious that my children and all those that follow in their line may know what manner of people their forefathers were, those early settlers who first chose the countryside in the present town of Bovina as their home, and how from a wilderness they transformed these lands to large productive farms, yielding bumper crops of hay, oats, corns, and other kinds of farm produce.  And so, I have read the pages of history and have studied the old newspapers, and I have interviewed the old timers; and now I shall write, as I find the time, the story of Bovina from the year 1790 to the year 1950.

II.  The First Settlers

In the spring of the year 1790, three or four courageous young men, with their rifles and their knapsacks slung over their shoulders, started out from Westchester County on a surveying and prospecting tour.  Following along Indian trails down to the town of Stamford, at last they invaded the rough, wild, wood countryside, which is today know as Bovina.  [*2 - 3 pioneers with knapsacks during reading]

One of these young men, a liberty-loving patriot who had served his country in the Revolutionary War, looked with favor upon these hills and uplands, a region somewhat similar to the mountainous countryside of Northern England from which his father Isaiah Maynard had emigrated.  He was looking for a home; so he, Elisha B. Maynard, remained and, working industriously for a year, cleared a few acres of land on a part of the farm today known as the Maynard Farm, built a log cabin partly underground, and sowed 1 ½ bushels of rye.  Then he journeyed back to Westchester County for his family; and in the spring of 1792, bringing his household goods on a wood-shod sled, drawn by four oxen, all the way from the Hudson River, he returned and permanently settled on land which was to be known as part of the town of Bovina.

Many were the hardships he and his family had to face in those first years in this wilderness where panthers prowled, where the wily Indians roamed, and where war whoops startled the night.  For many years it was difficult to raise stock here on account of the menace of bears, wolves, and other wild animals, which visited the yards of the log cabins scattered here and there in the clearings in the woods.  However, it was from these animals and from the deer and the fish that the early settlers obtained much of their food.  On rare occasions only did they enjoy the luxury of pork for dinner provided the bears had not captured the pig before butchering time.

In the next year 1793 a son, Elisha H., was born in this family, the first white child to be born in this new settlement.  [*3 - Mother and baby and cradle – with Braham’s Cradle Song]

In the years that followed, this brave couple was blessed with eleven more children, all of whom were given Bibl names, such as Abram, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Rachel and Esther.

The first marriage in this primitive settlement, that of James Russell and Nancy Richie, also took place in the year 1793.  [*4-Young bride and husband having picture taken – Song “Melody of Love”]

At the beginning of the 19th century several hardy Scotch, in whose vein flowed some of the gallant blood of the Scotch Highlanders of olden days, crowded into this land on the headwaters of the Little Delaware, they seemed to choose the hilly countryside in preference to the fertile valleys below, partly because of their poverty, the hilly land being cheaper, and partly because of the mountains, which were similar to those they had left in their beloved Scotland.  They were an industrious, intelligent, and religious people, who were devoted to the Presbyterian Church, either United or Reformed.  And so it was that the town of Bovina was settled largely by the Scotch, who brought with them, not only the Scotch Thrift, but also the Scotch love of home, country, and God.

56 Years Ago Today

The Delaware Republican Express in its April 28, 1955 issue reported that "The Bovina Community Hall was filled to capacity last Thursday evening, April 21, when friends and neighbors assembled with residents of the town itself to see 'Bovina Center, My Home Town,' portrayed by members of the Bovina Center Recreational Club.  Presented by pantomime, narrative and the projection of colored slides on a movie screen, the story was unfolded."

Vera Storie and her brother Fletcher Davidson were the promoters of this pageant and likely wrote the script. [NOTE added January 17, 2015: further research has disclosed that the script likely was written by Jane Hilson (1891-1967), not Vera or Fletcher, though they may have contributed.] Vera played the role of a grandmother, Rachel Scott, telling her granddaughter (played by Vera's real granddaughter, Judy Vandenbord) the story of Bovina while local residents donned costumes and acted out scenes from the story.  Music was provided by Mrs. Fletcher Davidson, Mrs. Marian Spear and Mrs. Richard Crosley.  Partway into the show, the Community Hall was plunged into darkness.  The audience did a group sing for a while, but when it was realized that the power was not coming back on any time soon, a fire department jeep was driven to the front of the community hall.  The headlights were focused onto the stage and the pageant resumed.

In my Bovina town files are the notes from the presentation, including the participants, so here's a rough list of the people who participated (in no particular order):

Bill Inman, Norton Forest, Margaret Hilson, Leonard Cairns, Dick Roberts, Emily Archibald, Christine Hilson, Ruth Anne McPherson, Janet Hoy, Marilyn Hall, Mary Vandenbord, Anne Cairns, Marianne Hilson, Jimmy Hilson, Jim Hilson, Barbara Boggs, Bobby Boggs, Gladys Lay, Richard Jardine, Beulah Decker, Mrs. Reinertsen (probably Sophie Reinertsen, but they also could mean Millie Reinertsen), Mrs. Oelsner, Marie Reinertsen, Ron Russell, Dave Russell, June Reinertsen, Ruth Monroe, Jane Hilson, Helena Hilson, Mary Jardine

And here's how the program broke down:

I - My Home Town - To My Children - Rachel Scott
II - The First Settlers
III - The First Settler of the Present Village
IV - Early Education
V - The Churches
VI - The Forming of the Town
VII - Industries
VIII - The Anti-Rent Trouble
IX - Teunis
X - Home Life
XI - Outstanding Citizens
XII - Some Accomplishments of Later Years
XIII - Dates Not Easily Forgotten
XIV - War

The program ended with a salute to soldiers of the Second World War and the audience singing "God Bless America."

Over the next year on the 21st of each month, I will post on this blog sections of the script that was used for the program.

A final note:  Unfortunately, my parents were among the absentees for this pageant.  They woke up early that morning and made a mad dash to the Delhi Hospital.  They got a flat tire just as they arrived and a few minutes later, while my dad was changing the tire,  my mom gave birth - to me, as it so happens.  Sort of explains my absence too.