Page 4-The Journal opinion-June 3, 1981
t H tl t 0 tt t tttt tlllttt t t I
NORTHEAST PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.
Publisher of
Journal II Opinion
Wookly nmMlr IHhd in bdld, Vonant. Slnzrlp o • Vormlmd Now hmpok • $t.N
per yeer; $6.00 for Six monb|; ovt of stere • $12.00 pot year ond $7.00 for six mootk|; Solder ˘ithtell
dhont $2.00.
Second cJeJs poltego potd It Irodford, Ferment 09013. fvkSekod by Norfkeost Ptddbiq Compony, Inc.,
P.O. |o 378, Bradford.
Robert F. Huminski
President & Publisher
v
Bradford ; Woodsville
S02-222-5281 . 603-747-2016
An Independent Newspaper
Editorial
..... J :
Who benefits
from Blue Law?
In case Vermonters wondered why
their local supermarket was closed
tast Sunday, it wasn't because of
Memorial Day, but because officials
are threatening to jail store managers
and possibly other employees for
violating the state's recently
rewritten "blue law."
One supermarket chain, Grand
Union, has already been haled into
court on charges of violating the
Sunday closing law in Windham and
Bennington counties.
Grand Union and other major store
chains are fighting the law on grounds
that it discriminates against larger
stores because stores with 5,000
square feet of space or less are
exempt and can legally operate on
Sundays. The issue is almost certain
to wind up i,aeonstitutional court
....... '° est ,n the VerSt Supreme Court.
........... hile,mostGrand Union, A & P,
P & C and First National stores will
close Sundays under threat of
prosecution.
From where we sit, the law raises a
number of questions which should be
straightened out either by the
legislature or the courts, or both. The
most obvious one, of course, is the
question of discrimination. If it is in
the interests of the state and its people
to forbid a large store from operating
on Sundays, what's the rationale for
letting a smaller store cash in on it by
selling the very same items,
sometimes at a higher price, that the
closed store usually sells?
Another question of special
significance to the Upper Valley area
is the effect on chasing Sunday
business into nearby New Hampshire,
where most stores remain open.
That's deliberately forcing tax-
payers to spend Vermont dollars in
New Hampshire, or for those who live
in ottmr areas, to spend them in
nearby New York state or
Massachusetts stores. For a state like
Vermont with its troubled economy,
that doesn't make much sense. And of
course, shopping dollars forced into
adjoining states include tax dollars
that otherwise would have been
collected in Vermont but are lost
forever on purchases in other states.
Finally, there is the issue of the
whole philosophy behind so-called
"'blue laws" like the Vermont Sunday
closing statute. They trace hack to an
earlier day when Sunday was set
aside for worship and little else by
tacit agreement of the entire com-
munity.
We live in a different world today
and the question is how much good
does a law like'the Vermont Sunday
closing law really do in persuading
people to go to church instead of going
shopping, if that really is the intent
behind the law. And if it iS, it raises
the deeper constitutional question of
separation of church and state.
Should the legislature and law
enforcement officials be dabbling in
efforts to make us more conscious of
the religious value of Sunday, or is
that something that should be left to
the churches and to the individual
consciences of Vermonters? Did
church attendance rise dramatically
when shoppers found stores closed
last Sunday?
We don't pretend to have any
simple answers for these questions
but we think they should be studied
carefully by state officials, the courts,
and by the people of the state.
We know one thing. In this day and
age, the Sunday afternoon drive i's a
fact of life, even despite the high cost
of gasoline. Lot's of people go to
church in the morning and then go for
a drive in the afternoon.
And if they need a loaf of bread that
they can't get in Vermont because
supermarkets are closed, they'll
drive across the Connecticut River
and get it in New Hampshire.
Executive Councilor
l)uring the first 6 months on my 24
momh erm l have had three student
interns - Dick Rudolph of.Plymouth
Slaty Bruce Berke of New England
College, and Craig Downing of Keene
5tote. Dick Rudolph's projects included
doing a survey of some of the general
needs of the 102 towns in this council
district. Shortly after Town Meeting of
1981. Dick sent out a questionnaire to all
the towns in the district and got back some
interesting responses which have been
I allied as follows:
t. What do you feel are the greatest
problems facing your community?
a :7 per cent said schools
h Jo per cent said growth & planning
c 2o per cent said property taxes
d. water, sewers and economic
development followed.
2. & 3, What per cent of your town is
seasonal residents? ilow strongly does
your town depend on tourism?
45 per cent of the towns had less than
to per cent seasonal residents and 45 per
cent did not depend on tourism at all. 25
per cent of the towns moderately depended
on tourism: 25 per cent strongly depended
on tourism,
4. Do you feel that state government has
been responsive to the needs of your town ?
60 per cen! said yes, 20 per cent said
Raymond S. Burton
no, 20 per cent did not respond.
Other questions in the survey were run
through a computer analysis, cross-
tabulating the responses. Some the
findings included:
1. 35 per cent of those towns which
lacked industry found problems with
growth and planning-development.
2.34 per cent of the towns which lacked
retail trade also found problems with
growth and planning. Conversely, towns
which were heavily endowed with industry
and or reta il business did not cite growth
and planning as problematic in their
communities.
3. Towns with a high percentage of
seasonal residents depended moderately
to high on tourism-recreation for economic
base.
4. School problems did not seem to be
characteristic of towns with any particular
economic base. but rather a general
problem evenly distributed throughout
district one, regardless of their em-
ployment-tax base.
Any reader of this column who has a
comment or thought about the result of
this survey would be most welcome to
write or call me... Ray Burton, RFD No.
I, Woodsville, N.H. 03785 Tel. (603) 747-
3662.
Newbury's bicentennial
and Century Farm
Rogers farm, 1774 the farm; he also opened his part of community and church
Josiah Rogers first came home as a tavern. The farm affairs. He was long
to West Newbury in 1774, was later divided between
bringing with him hiswifeand Samuel's sons Oliver and
children, also his widowed Azro. Oliver told his brother
mother. Although his mother that he would pay $25 for his
heartily disliked the wilder- choice of halves. Azro agreed,
ness, she was destined to so Oliver chose the half that
remain here for 40 years, until grew the best wheat, even
she died at the age of 99 years though it was not the half that
and 8 months, was adjacent to his house.
Child's Orange County
Gazetteer (1888) says of Oliver Rogers
Josiah: "He and his resolute Oliver was a "pillar of the
wife came on horseback from church", but also a quick-
Londonderry, bringing a few spoken man, and a family
articles with them packed story says that one day when
behind their saddles, among he was asking the blessing at a
which was an old arm chair, meal when guests were
still well preserved at the old present, his eyes roving over
homestead. His claim in- the table noticed that his wife
cluded a fine tract of woodland Polly Ann had forgotten the
of over 400 acres, upon which butter. He closed his blessing
he built a log cabin on the as usual."ForChrist'ssake."
exact site of the present fine "Where's the butter, Polly
residence of his grandson, Ann?" he asked so quickly
Azro B. Rogers. He. with the
help of his sturdy sons, soon
cleared a fine farm. They
carefully saved the ashes of
the burnt timber, which they
manufactured into "salts"
and exchanged at Haverhill
for merchandise, which they
carried home, a distance of
four miles, suspended from a
pole borne on their shoulders,
and guided only by marked
trees. Their nearest neighbors
were at South Newbury, three
miles distant.
"The brooks swarmed
with trout, and wild animals
roamed the forests. Bears
were especially troublesome.
One afternoon an enormous
hear seized the mother of a
numerous litter of young pigs,
upon which he made his
that his amazed guests
thought that Uncle Oliver had
changed his usual reverent
habits.
Byron Rogers
Oliver had two daughters.
but only one son. Byron. a
brilliant young man who
seemed destined for political
advancement. At one time he
taught a district school in
Wondsville (probably around
1785) and bearded at the old
Cobleigh Tavern, which had
become a boardinghouse, and
later became the first Cottage
Hospital.
Byron felt a degree of
loyalty for the old family
farm, but finances were such
that he expected (and hoped)
to leave the farm when his
supper, in the woods a short parents died. However. one of
distance from the cabin. A his sisters had married a
portion of the remains served prosperous man in the
to bait a trap into which Bruin Midwest and she was able to
fell and lost his life by his buy the farm to keep it in the
rashness " family until Byron could pay
Josiah had plenty of help back his debt to her. So Byron
in clearing his farm -- he had was there tostay.
eleven children, six 0L them Although Byron spent
.boys..His son Samuel was the many yeas oLhardtbor on
one who stayed home to work the farm. he wasvery much a
MONEY SENSE
by WILLIAM ROSE. JR.
The Mutual Savings Bank
To " . . . promote the general good of the state." that is
what the Commissioner of Banking must determine before a
mutual savings bank receives the privilege of a charter.
What is a mutual savings bank? Who owns a mutual
savings bank? And, equally important, who controls a
mutual savings bank?
Mutual savings banks have been a part of the community
for a good many years, coming into existence in the early
part of the 19th century. Chartered todo business in 18 states,
mostly in the northeast, they currently perform two basic
functions: accept time deposits (savings) and make home
mortgage loans. In recent years they have added checking
accounts in the form of "Negotiable Order of Withdrawal"
(NOW accounts) and have performed some activity in the
nature of consumer loans. But basically, they take your
money in the form of savings and lend it to you, as long as the
demand is there, for the purchase of a home. Notice I said,
"As long as the demand is there." It's true we are in a
"tight" money period at the present time but that has not
always'been the case nor will it always be that way in the
future.
When a bank has excess funds from an inflow of savings,
that money has to be put to work, and if the local market is
unable or unwilling to use it, a bank has several alternatives.
A mutual savings bank can invest their excess funds in
bonds, notes and certain stocks or purchase insured mor-
tgages from a mortgage broker or another bank.
In order to assure an available supply of funds to be placed
in the home mortgage market, mutual savings banks are
allowed to pay a slightly higher dividend on savings and time
deposits than so-called commercial banks t National banks,
trust companies). This "edge" has developed considerable
controversy over the years and will he reviewed at a later
date.
As trying as today's mortgage market has become, with
banks literally besieged for mortgage money, the mutual
savings banks have done an admirable job of making some
money available to local home buyers at a rate one would
have to consider reasonable considering the yield on alter-
native types of investment.
You can not purchase "shares" of a mutual savings hank
because they do not have stockholders. A mutual savings
bank is owned by its depositors. Simple enough. Simple, that
is, unless or until a mutual savings bank wishes to change its
charter to a stockholder type of institution such as a trust
company or national association. Extensive litigation is
usually involved and few attempts at conversion have been
made. Most mutual savings banks recognize the need they
are fulfilling in their community and are content to continue
under the mutual charter.
As a depositor of a mutual savings bank, you are
represented by corporators. Meeting on an annual basis they
elect a president, vicepresidents and a board of trustees. A
savings bank is regulated by law as to the minimum and
maximum number of corporators it can have. Although the
officers and trustees carry out the day-to-day operation of the
bank, the corporators, as representatives of the depositors,
exercise control. It is important to note that directors of other
financial instituti0rm can he corporators of a mutual savings
bank but are forbidden by law to hold the pesttion of trustee
as long as tl]ey are currently serving as a bank director.
Not too many years ago this was not the case and it was not
uncommon to have "interlocking' boards. Because it is
impoasib to anticipate all of your questions in the limited
space o this column, any questions of general Interest will be
covered in the future if they are addressed to the author e-o
the JOURNAL OPINION.
remembered for his Fourth of
July picnics and his part in
planning Newbury's
sesquicentennial in 1912.
Byron served as justice of the
peace for many years. He
wrote as many wills and deeds
as if he had been a lawyer.
Byron's farm letterhead
listed the specialties of Rogers
Hill Farms as "Fine maple
sugar and Morgan horses."
Their Morgans went to buyers
from near and far -- their
mare Polly was sold to a
wealthy New Yorker, and her
colt Bodette to Arthur Peters
of Bradford, another Morgan
breeder. The Rogers' last
Morgan, another colt of
Polly's, was Liberty Bell, horn
on the Fourth of July, but he
met an untimely accidental
death.
The maples were sud-
denly gone, too, blown down
by the hurricane of 1938 but
enough maples have grown
back so Rogers Hill Farms is
now back in the sugaring
business, with new modern
equipment that would he a
marvel to Josiah and his sons,
who in 1776 boiled down their
sap in iron kettles.
Present-day
generations
Byron was in his forty-
second year before he
married. He had long been
considered a very eligible
bachelor, but he finally found
the right bride a girl of 18.
To them, as to his parents,
were born two daughters and
one son -- Faith, Hope, and
Lloyd.
A Bicentennial Farm can
be a heavy responsibility on
the shoulders of an only son,
but Lloyd has "hung in there"
and stayed on the farm, and
now has three sons and
several grandchildren. His
son Steven is now carrying on
the farm.
In 1976, the Rogers family
was officially honored for
their Bicentennial Farm. At
that time, Lloyd's sister Hope
Kjeilerup published a book,
202 Years on a Vermont
Hilltop, which tells the history
of the family and farm, also
some entertaining stories of
the family and oldtime
schooldays in the Town of
Newbury.
John Smith farm, 1836
John Smith's "Alpenglo
Farm" on HaLl's Meadow in
South Newbury was originally
the John Atwoed place, which
was bought by Joseph Smith in
1836.
Joseph was the son of Col.
John Smith, who had served in
the Battle of Bunker Hill,
under the name of John
Vance. When John discovered
that he had been adopted by
the Vance family after his
mother and father had been
separated, he had his name
legally changed to his original
family name of Smith. John
ran a tavern and was active in
the Vermont Militia, serving
in the Wr of 1812 and
reaching the rank of colonel.
His son Joseph lived first
in West Newbury, then in West
Topsham, before settling in
1836 on the present family
farm. He built here a brick
house, which burned in 1888,
along with the barns. The
present house was finished the
next year, and a large barn
built to replace the former
several small ones. Suc-
cessive generations on the
farm have been Jonathan
Jenness Smith, John Bliss
Smith. and John Bliss Smith
Jr. (present owner), whose
partner on the farm is bis son
John Bradway Smith.
Sugaring was a 'major
activity on the farm in the
time of Jonathan, with a
maple orchard and
sugarhouse on the home place,
but when tile price .of syrup
went below a dollar a gallon,
his son did not continue the
business. Sugaring has been
resumed in recent years, on
land the family owns in
Vershire.'
In the early days the
Smiths used to raise sheep,
but they had such a problem
with dogs that they gave it up
around 1900. John (present
ownery says that his father
didn't care much about either
sugaring or sheep, but he did
like cows, and enlarged their
herd of Guernseys. John
needed to produce more milk
and began shifting to
Holsteins, which now com-
prise most of his herd,
(please turn to page 7)"
GROUNDED--This humming bird flew in the door of Ezra Mann's
store in Woodsville as he opened it for early church goers last Sunda
crashed into several window panes in a desperate effort to escape,
knocking itself out after colliding with the rear door. Mann picked
stunned bird and placed it outside under a shrub, where it lay
five minutes, then sat up for another five minutes trying
from the wild flight in the drug store. Finally, it fluttered its win
a few seconds, then climbed some 50 feet and whizzed off. Proving,
that bird's best friend is Mann.
Letters to the Edit
Where were you?
To the Editor:
Wednesday night seven
local residents were kind
enough to share with us their
thoughts and ideas about the
drug and alcohol problems in
the Haverhill area. This group
of dedicated individuals might
have found it a lot easier to go
home after work and just sit
down and relax• Instead, they
cared enough about the
community and the kids that
they were willing to spend
three and a half warm hours in
the Woodsville Elementary
School gym discussing drugs
and alcohol.
It is our obligation to work
with them. That means
parents, and yes you, senior
citizens, who with your years
of experience, could be in-
valuable.
Mr. Bagonzi wrote a fine
article a few weeks ago about
what is happening to our kids,
and is making a conscientious
effort to turn things around in
the schools. Perhaps it's time
we take a closer look at our-
selves, and wonder ,what kind
of an example we are setting
for the kids. Does alcohol have
to play such a big part of our
daily lives? Does every little
Why were there so few problem have to be resolved
people at this talk? If this by taking an anti,anxiety
were a fair or an auction, the , medication such as Na!ium
place would have been vhich iSTtbe ni one
packed. Does the welfare of prescribed oral medication
our kids mean so little to you now, and for the past several
that you couldn't break years?
yourself'away from the T.V. Haverhill is a beautiful
for a few hours? Is it because town, and a fine place to raise
you are afraid to face the kids. It won't be, however, if
reality that in Haverhill we do
not have a utopia, nor are we
living in a fortress free of
drugs, alcohol and crime.
It is time that we reallze
that our problems cannot be
solved by the educators and
our law enforcement agents.
we don't pull our heads out of
the sand, face reality, and join
the fight with educators and
law enforcement agents to
fight the abuse of alcohol and
drugs.
Gerald R. Gherardi
Pike, N.H.
the
To the editor:
The
Majority
screams,
victim of incest or
to rid her
termath of the
hear no outcry
group against
or use of the
weapons
conceived. Has
Moral Ma
Hiroshima so
know that nerve
in the Pentagon
they
accident in 1968
6,000 sheep in
they ever i
of total
more breath to I
And do they
the wa
What is this
murder and
who said: "Thou
except by
nuclear bombs
fragmenting
thou shalt not
wrapped in
patriotism ?"
Misleading sta00ments
from time to time
• To the Editor:
In a front page article of the
May 27, 1981 issue of your
paper it says that the Vermont
Association of Conservation
Districts will be raising its fee
from $75 to $125 per site. It
also says that "the fee from a
private engineer for com-
parable work would be about
$300".
In addition to the $125
collected from the homeowner
the VACD is getting a $115,200
state subsidy for this fiscal
year. It will do about 700
designs (probably less) in that
year. This is $165 per design;
when added to the $125, it can
be seen that they get about
$300 per design.
I am not aware of any
engineer that charges "about
$300" per design, for a one-
family household septic
system. I am presently doing
that service for $75, in almost
all cases, in towns nearby,
including the pre-cover-up
inspection. This will not
change this calendar year,
and if it increases next year,
will be to $90 or less.
Engineers get no subsidies.
The VACD does make
misleading statements from
time to time, and if they find
their way into print, must be
corrected.
Robert M. Carter
Professional Engineer
Corinth, Vt.
Already over.extended
To the Editor: last few years, and with this
We wish to bring to the have come increased
attention of the members of
the State Senate and House of
Representatives that a recent
newspaper article dealing
with the growth of state
government employment
cited the Department of
Resources and Economic
Development as the exception
to the general rule. DRED was
listed as having 2 fewer em-
ployees now than in 1971, in
contrast with most other state
agencies, which have grown.
Why then is DRED along with
only one other department out
of all of state government
targeted in House Bill 600 for a
10 per cent reduction in funds
for classified state em/
pioyees?
There are more state parks
and forests to mange and
maintain now than there were
ten years ago. Inquiries and
requests for assistance in
historic preservation, com-
munity recreation, and
conservation programs in-
crease every year from cities
and towns all over the state.
Wood as an energy source has
increased in importance in the
demands on forestry per-
sonnel. Economic develop-
ment, industrial development,
and vacation travel promotion
all have even more im-
portance today when the state
is in fiscal crisis and is
searching for more revenue.
Recreation facilities nearer to
home have become more
important for New Hampshire
citizens and our nearby neigh-
bors since the cost of
automobile vacation trips to
other parts of the country has
increased. Historic preser-
vation projects have returned
derelict buildings and neigh-
borhoods to productive life
rekindling local pride in New
Hampshire's communities.
The Department of
Resources and Economic
Development has managed
well to accommodate in-
creased demand for services
with fewer staff, and the
employees have so far
maintained efficiency under
increased workloads.
However it is urmaonable to
assume that 10 per cent less
(please turn to page 7 )
Where is
simply said,
kill?"
e-
To the Editor:
Can the
Allen or Calvin
longer rest in
reading
report?
This
listed the
which
reliance
receiving more
per capita tha
states; 43 centS
for each dollar
Hampshire
for
To the Editor:
I'm all for
shake in our
but I
Hooker's
scrutinized.
have
pos.ition of
willing to
for
any
If the man
then by a
him in
because he's
house calls
patient lose
I also
a character
come from
3,000 miles.
t
Page 4-The Journal opinion-June 3, 1981
t H tl t 0 tt t tttt tlllttt t t I
NORTHEAST PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.
Publisher of
Journal II Opinion
Wookly nmMlr IHhd in bdld, Vonant. Slnzrlp o • Vormlmd Now hmpok • $t.N
per yeer; $6.00 for Six monb|; ovt of stere • $12.00 pot year ond $7.00 for six mootk|; Solder ˘ithtell
dhont $2.00.
Second cJeJs poltego potd It Irodford, Ferment 09013. fvkSekod by Norfkeost Ptddbiq Compony, Inc.,
P.O. |o 378, Bradford.
Robert F. Huminski
President & Publisher
v
Bradford ; Woodsville
S02-222-5281 . 603-747-2016
An Independent Newspaper
Editorial
..... J :
Who benefits
from Blue Law?
In case Vermonters wondered why
their local supermarket was closed
tast Sunday, it wasn't because of
Memorial Day, but because officials
are threatening to jail store managers
and possibly other employees for
violating the state's recently
rewritten "blue law."
One supermarket chain, Grand
Union, has already been haled into
court on charges of violating the
Sunday closing law in Windham and
Bennington counties.
Grand Union and other major store
chains are fighting the law on grounds
that it discriminates against larger
stores because stores with 5,000
square feet of space or less are
exempt and can legally operate on
Sundays. The issue is almost certain
to wind up i,aeonstitutional court
....... '° est ,n the VerSt Supreme Court.
........... hile,mostGrand Union, A & P,
P & C and First National stores will
close Sundays under threat of
prosecution.
From where we sit, the law raises a
number of questions which should be
straightened out either by the
legislature or the courts, or both. The
most obvious one, of course, is the
question of discrimination. If it is in
the interests of the state and its people
to forbid a large store from operating
on Sundays, what's the rationale for
letting a smaller store cash in on it by
selling the very same items,
sometimes at a higher price, that the
closed store usually sells?
Another question of special
significance to the Upper Valley area
is the effect on chasing Sunday
business into nearby New Hampshire,
where most stores remain open.
That's deliberately forcing tax-
payers to spend Vermont dollars in
New Hampshire, or for those who live
in ottmr areas, to spend them in
nearby New York state or
Massachusetts stores. For a state like
Vermont with its troubled economy,
that doesn't make much sense. And of
course, shopping dollars forced into
adjoining states include tax dollars
that otherwise would have been
collected in Vermont but are lost
forever on purchases in other states.
Finally, there is the issue of the
whole philosophy behind so-called
"'blue laws" like the Vermont Sunday
closing statute. They trace hack to an
earlier day when Sunday was set
aside for worship and little else by
tacit agreement of the entire com-
munity.
We live in a different world today
and the question is how much good
does a law like'the Vermont Sunday
closing law really do in persuading
people to go to church instead of going
shopping, if that really is the intent
behind the law. And if it iS, it raises
the deeper constitutional question of
separation of church and state.
Should the legislature and law
enforcement officials be dabbling in
efforts to make us more conscious of
the religious value of Sunday, or is
that something that should be left to
the churches and to the individual
consciences of Vermonters? Did
church attendance rise dramatically
when shoppers found stores closed
last Sunday?
We don't pretend to have any
simple answers for these questions
but we think they should be studied
carefully by state officials, the courts,
and by the people of the state.
We know one thing. In this day and
age, the Sunday afternoon drive i's a
fact of life, even despite the high cost
of gasoline. Lot's of people go to
church in the morning and then go for
a drive in the afternoon.
And if they need a loaf of bread that
they can't get in Vermont because
supermarkets are closed, they'll
drive across the Connecticut River
and get it in New Hampshire.
Executive Councilor
l)uring the first 6 months on my 24
momh erm l have had three student
interns - Dick Rudolph of.Plymouth
Slaty Bruce Berke of New England
College, and Craig Downing of Keene
5tote. Dick Rudolph's projects included
doing a survey of some of the general
needs of the 102 towns in this council
district. Shortly after Town Meeting of
1981. Dick sent out a questionnaire to all
the towns in the district and got back some
interesting responses which have been
I allied as follows:
t. What do you feel are the greatest
problems facing your community?
a :7 per cent said schools
h Jo per cent said growth & planning
c 2o per cent said property taxes
d. water, sewers and economic
development followed.
2. & 3, What per cent of your town is
seasonal residents? ilow strongly does
your town depend on tourism?
45 per cent of the towns had less than
to per cent seasonal residents and 45 per
cent did not depend on tourism at all. 25
per cent of the towns moderately depended
on tourism: 25 per cent strongly depended
on tourism,
4. Do you feel that state government has
been responsive to the needs of your town ?
60 per cen! said yes, 20 per cent said
Raymond S. Burton
no, 20 per cent did not respond.
Other questions in the survey were run
through a computer analysis, cross-
tabulating the responses. Some the
findings included:
1. 35 per cent of those towns which
lacked industry found problems with
growth and planning-development.
2.34 per cent of the towns which lacked
retail trade also found problems with
growth and planning. Conversely, towns
which were heavily endowed with industry
and or retail business did not cite growth
and planning as problematic in their
communities.
3. Towns with a high percentage of
seasonal residents depended moderately
to high on tourism-recreation for economic
base.
4. School problems did not seem to be
characteristic of towns with any particular
economic base. but rather a general
problem evenly distributed throughout
district one, regardless of their em-
ployment-tax base.
Any reader of this column who has a
comment or thought about the result of
this survey would be most welcome to
write or call me... Ray Burton, RFD No.
I, Woodsville, N.H. 03785 Tel. (603) 747-
3662.
Newbury's bicentennial
and Century Farm
Rogers farm, 1774 the farm; he also opened his part of community and church
Josiah Rogers first came home as a tavern. The farm affairs. He was long
to West Newbury in 1774, was later divided between
bringing with him hiswifeand Samuel's sons Oliver and
children, also his widowed Azro. Oliver told his brother
mother. Although his mother that he would pay $25 for his
heartily disliked the wilder- choice of halves. Azro agreed,
ness, she was destined to so Oliver chose the half that
remain here for 40 years, until grew the best wheat, even
she died at the age of 99 years though it was not the half that
and 8 months, was adjacent to his house.
Child's Orange County
Gazetteer (1888) says of Oliver Rogers
Josiah: "He and his resolute Oliver was a "pillar of the
wife came on horseback from church", but also a quick-
Londonderry, bringing a few spoken man, and a family
articles with them packed story says that one day when
behind their saddles, among he was asking the blessing at a
which was an old arm chair, meal when guests were
still well preserved at the old present, his eyes roving over
homestead. His claim in- the table noticed that his wife
cluded a fine tract of woodland Polly Ann had forgotten the
of over 400 acres, upon which butter. He closed his blessing
he built a log cabin on the as usual."ForChrist'ssake."
exact site of the present fine "Where's the butter, Polly
residence of his grandson, Ann?" he asked so quickly
Azro B. Rogers. He. with the
help of his sturdy sons, soon
cleared a fine farm. They
carefully saved the ashes of
the burnt timber, which they
manufactured into "salts"
and exchanged at Haverhill
for merchandise, which they
carried home, a distance of
four miles, suspended from a
pole borne on their shoulders,
and guided only by marked
trees. Their nearest neighbors
were at South Newbury, three
miles distant.
"The brooks swarmed
with trout, and wild animals
roamed the forests. Bears
were especially troublesome.
One afternoon an enormous
hear seized the mother of a
numerous litter of young pigs,
upon which he made his
that his amazed guests
thought that Uncle Oliver had
changed his usual reverent
habits.
Byron Rogers
Oliver had two daughters.
but only one son. Byron. a
brilliant young man who
seemed destined for political
advancement. At one time he
taught a district school in
Wondsville (probably around
1785) and bearded at the old
Cobleigh Tavern, which had
become a boardinghouse, and
later became the first Cottage
Hospital.
Byron felt a degree of
loyalty for the old family
farm, but finances were such
that he expected (and hoped)
to leave the farm when his
supper, in the woods a short parents died. However. one of
distance from the cabin. A his sisters had married a
portion of the remains served prosperous man in the
to bait a trap into which Bruin Midwest and she was able to
fell and lost his life by his buy the farm to keep it in the
rashness " family until Byron could pay
Josiah had plenty of help back his debt to her. So Byron
in clearing his farm -- he had was there tostay.
eleven children, six 0L them Although Byron spent
.boys..His son Samuel was the many yeas oLhardtbor on
one who stayed home to work the farm. he wasvery much a
MONEY SENSE
by WILLIAM ROSE. JR.
The Mutual Savings Bank
To " . . . promote the general good of the state." that is
what the Commissioner of Banking must determine before a
mutual savings bank receives the privilege of a charter.
What is a mutual savings bank? Who owns a mutual
savings bank? And, equally important, who controls a
mutual savings bank?
Mutual savings banks have been a part of the community
for a good many years, coming into existence in the early
part of the 19th century. Chartered todo business in 18 states,
mostly in the northeast, they currently perform two basic
functions: accept time deposits (savings) and make home
mortgage loans. In recent years they have added checking
accounts in the form of "Negotiable Order of Withdrawal"
(NOW accounts) and have performed some activity in the
nature of consumer loans. But basically, they take your
money in the form of savings and lend it to you, as long as the
demand is there, for the purchase of a home. Notice I said,
"As long as the demand is there." It's true we are in a
"tight" money period at the present time but that has not
always'been the case nor will it always be that way in the
future.
When a bank has excess funds from an inflow of savings,
that money has to be put to work, and if the local market is
unable or unwilling to use it, a bank has several alternatives.
A mutual savings bank can invest their excess funds in
bonds, notes and certain stocks or purchase insured mor-
tgages from a mortgage broker or another bank.
In order to assure an available supply of funds to be placed
in the home mortgage market, mutual savings banks are
allowed to pay a slightly higher dividend on savings and time
deposits than so-called commercial banks t National banks,
trust companies). This "edge" has developed considerable
controversy over the years and will he reviewed at a later
date.
As trying as today's mortgage market has become, with
banks literally besieged for mortgage money, the mutual
savings banks have done an admirable job of making some
money available to local home buyers at a rate one would
have to consider reasonable considering the yield on alter-
native types of investment.
You can not purchase "shares" of a mutual savings hank
because they do not have stockholders. A mutual savings
bank is owned by its depositors. Simple enough. Simple, that
is, unless or until a mutual savings bank wishes to change its
charter to a stockholder type of institution such as a trust
company or national association. Extensive litigation is
usually involved and few attempts at conversion have been
made. Most mutual savings banks recognize the need they
are fulfilling in their community and are content to continue
under the mutual charter.
As a depositor of a mutual savings bank, you are
represented by corporators. Meeting on an annual basis they
elect a president, vicepresidents and a board of trustees. A
savings bank is regulated by law as to the minimum and
maximum number of corporators it can have. Although the
officers and trustees carry out the day-to-day operation of the
bank, the corporators, as representatives of the depositors,
exercise control. It is important to note that directors of other
financial instituti0rm can he corporators of a mutual savings
bank but are forbidden by law to hold the pesttion of trustee
as long as tl]ey are currently serving as a bank director.
Not too many years ago this was not the case and it was not
uncommon to have "interlocking' boards. Because it is
impoasib to anticipate all of your questions in the limited
space o this column, any questions of general Interest will be
covered in the future if they are addressed to the author e-o
the JOURNAL OPINION.
remembered for his Fourth of
July picnics and his part in
planning Newbury's
sesquicentennial in 1912.
Byron served as justice of the
peace for many years. He
wrote as many wills and deeds
as if he had been a lawyer.
Byron's farm letterhead
listed the specialties of Rogers
Hill Farms as "Fine maple
sugar and Morgan horses."
Their Morgans went to buyers
from near and far -- their
mare Polly was sold to a
wealthy New Yorker, and her
colt Bodette to Arthur Peters
of Bradford, another Morgan
breeder. The Rogers' last
Morgan, another colt of
Polly's, was Liberty Bell, horn
on the Fourth of July, but he
met an untimely accidental
death.
The maples were sud-
denly gone, too, blown down
by the hurricane of 1938 but
enough maples have grown
back so Rogers Hill Farms is
now back in the sugaring
business, with new modern
equipment that would he a
marvel to Josiah and his sons,
who in 1776 boiled down their
sap in iron kettles.
Present-day
generations
Byron was in his forty-
second year before he
married. He had long been
considered a very eligible
bachelor, but he finally found
the right bride a girl of 18.
To them, as to his parents,
were born two daughters and
one son -- Faith, Hope, and
Lloyd.
A Bicentennial Farm can
be a heavy responsibility on
the shoulders of an only son,
but Lloyd has "hung in there"
and stayed on the farm, and
now has three sons and
several grandchildren. His
son Steven is now carrying on
the farm.
In 1976, the Rogers family
was officially honored for
their Bicentennial Farm. At
that time, Lloyd's sister Hope
Kjeilerup published a book,
202 Years on a Vermont
Hilltop, which tells the history
of the family and farm, also
some entertaining stories of
the family and oldtime
schooldays in the Town of
Newbury.
John Smith farm, 1836
John Smith's "Alpenglo
Farm" on HaLl's Meadow in
South Newbury was originally
the John Atwoed place, which
was bought by Joseph Smith in
1836.
Joseph was the son of Col.
John Smith, who had served in
the Battle of Bunker Hill,
under the name of John
Vance. When John discovered
that he had been adopted by
the Vance family after his
mother and father had been
separated, he had his name
legally changed to his original
family name of Smith. John
ran a tavern and was active in
the Vermont Militia, serving
in the Wr of 1812 and
reaching the rank of colonel.
His son Joseph lived first
in West Newbury, then in West
Topsham, before settling in
1836 on the present family
farm. He built here a brick
house, which burned in 1888,
along with the barns. The
present house was finished the
next year, and a large barn
built to replace the former
several small ones. Suc-
cessive generations on the
farm have been Jonathan
Jenness Smith, John Bliss
Smith. and John Bliss Smith
Jr. (present owner), whose
partner on the farm is bis son
John Bradway Smith.
Sugaring was a 'major
activity on the farm in the
time of Jonathan, with a
maple orchard and
sugarhouse on the home place,
but when tile price .of syrup
went below a dollar a gallon,
his son did not continue the
business. Sugaring has been
resumed in recent years, on
land the family owns in
Vershire.'
In the early days the
Smiths used to raise sheep,
but they had such a problem
with dogs that they gave it up
around 1900. John (present
ownery says that his father
didn't care much about either
sugaring or sheep, but he did
like cows, and enlarged their
herd of Guernseys. John
needed to produce more milk
and began shifting to
Holsteins, which now com-
prise most of his herd,
(please turn to page 7)"
GROUNDED--This humming bird flew in the door of Ezra Mann's
store in Woodsville as he opened it for early church goers last Sunda
crashed into several window panes in a desperate effort to escape,
knocking itself out after colliding with the rear door. Mann picked
stunned bird and placed it outside under a shrub, where it lay
five minutes, then sat up for another five minutes trying
from the wild flight in the drug store. Finally, it fluttered its win
a few seconds, then climbed some 50 feet and whizzed off. Proving,
that bird's best friend is Mann.
Letters to the Edit
Where were you?
To the Editor:
Wednesday night seven
local residents were kind
enough to share with us their
thoughts and ideas about the
drug and alcohol problems in
the Haverhill area. This group
of dedicated individuals might
have found it a lot easier to go
home after work and just sit
down and relax• Instead, they
cared enough about the
community and the kids that
they were willing to spend
three and a half warm hours in
the Woodsville Elementary
School gym discussing drugs
and alcohol.
It is our obligation to work
with them. That means
parents, and yes you, senior
citizens, who with your years
of experience, could be in-
valuable.
Mr. Bagonzi wrote a fine
article a few weeks ago about
what is happening to our kids,
and is making a conscientious
effort to turn things around in
the schools. Perhaps it's time
we take a closer look at our-
selves, and wonder ,what kind
of an example we are setting
for the kids. Does alcohol have
to play such a big part of our
daily lives? Does every little
Why were there so few problem have to be resolved
people at this talk? If this by taking an anti,anxiety
were a fair or an auction, the , medication such as Na!ium
place would have been vhich iSTtbe ni one
packed. Does the welfare of prescribed oral medication
our kids mean so little to you now, and for the past several
that you couldn't break years?
yourself'away from the T.V. Haverhill is a beautiful
for a few hours? Is it because town, and a fine place to raise
you are afraid to face the kids. It won't be, however, if
reality that in Haverhill we do
not have a utopia, nor are we
living in a fortress free of
drugs, alcohol and crime.
It is time that we reallze
that our problems cannot be
solved by the educators and
our law enforcement agents.
we don't pull our heads out of
the sand, face reality, and join
the fight with educators and
law enforcement agents to
fight the abuse of alcohol and
drugs.
Gerald R. Gherardi
Pike, N.H.
the
To the editor:
The
Majority
screams,
victim of incest or
to rid her
termath of the
hear no outcry
group against
or use of the
weapons
conceived. Has
Moral Ma
Hiroshima so
know that nerve
in the Pentagon
they
accident in 1968
6,000 sheep in
they ever i
of total
more breath to I
And do they
the wa
What is this
murder and
who said: "Thou
except by
nuclear bombs
fragmenting
thou shalt not
wrapped in
patriotism ?"
Misleading sta00ments
from time to time
• To the Editor:
In a front page article of the
May 27, 1981 issue of your
paper it says that the Vermont
Association of Conservation
Districts will be raising its fee
from $75 to $125 per site. It
also says that "the fee from a
private engineer for com-
parable work would be about
$300".
In addition to the $125
collected from the homeowner
the VACD is getting a $115,200
state subsidy for this fiscal
year. It will do about 700
designs (probably less) in that
year. This is $165 per design;
when added to the $125, it can
be seen that they get about
$300 per design.
I am not aware of any
engineer that charges "about
$300" per design, for a one-
family household septic
system. I am presently doing
that service for $75, in almost
all cases, in towns nearby,
including the pre-cover-up
inspection. This will not
change this calendar year,
and if it increases next year,
will be to $90 or less.
Engineers get no subsidies.
The VACD does make
misleading statements from
time to time, and if they find
their way into print, must be
corrected.
Robert M. Carter
Professional Engineer
Corinth, Vt.
Already over.extended
To the Editor: last few years, and with this
We wish to bring to the have come increased
attention of the members of
the State Senate and House of
Representatives that a recent
newspaper article dealing
with the growth of state
government employment
cited the Department of
Resources and Economic
Development as the exception
to the general rule. DRED was
listed as having 2 fewer em-
ployees now than in 1971, in
contrast with most other state
agencies, which have grown.
Why then is DRED along with
only one other department out
of all of state government
targeted in House Bill 600 for a
10 per cent reduction in funds
for classified state em/
pioyees?
There are more state parks
and forests to mange and
maintain now than there were
ten years ago. Inquiries and
requests for assistance in
historic preservation, com-
munity recreation, and
conservation programs in-
crease every year from cities
and towns all over the state.
Wood as an energy source has
increased in importance in the
demands on forestry per-
sonnel. Economic develop-
ment, industrial development,
and vacation travel promotion
all have even more im-
portance today when the state
is in fiscal crisis and is
searching for more revenue.
Recreation facilities nearer to
home have become more
important for New Hampshire
citizens and our nearby neigh-
bors since the cost of
automobile vacation trips to
other parts of the country has
increased. Historic preser-
vation projects have returned
derelict buildings and neigh-
borhoods to productive life
rekindling local pride in New
Hampshire's communities.
The Department of
Resources and Economic
Development has managed
well to accommodate in-
creased demand for services
with fewer staff, and the
employees have so far
maintained efficiency under
increased workloads.
However it is urmaonable to
assume that 10 per cent less
(please turn to page 7 )
Where is
simply said,
kill?"
e-
To the Editor:
Can the
Allen or Calvin
longer rest in
reading
report?
This
listed the
which
reliance
receiving more
per capita tha
states; 43 centS
for each dollar
Hampshire
for
To the Editor:
I'm all for
shake in our
but I
Hooker's
scrutinized.
have
pos.ition of
willing to
for
any
If the man
then by a
him in
because he's
house calls
patient lose
I also
a character
come from
3,000 miles.
t
