Page 4-The Journal Opinion-December 30, 1981
EAST PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.
Publisher of
Journal i Opinion
Woek anpi luddbl le II0dd, Vornont. SqdcripOtu redo • Vormt eund New Ilempd0gre - $9.0e
gr yee¢; t4.1)0 fw rail mm: ,d . $12.M per Teer e0d Sr.S0 fw s meanflu; Sea r, itlau
dlhmnmt $2.U. -
Se¢oad elm1 pestop peid o! Iredfocd, Vonnonl Olll$, PwbliMI0od b,/ Newesl Pvbliogldq Compu¥. I.,
P.O. Oox 378, |mdfoalL
Robert F. Huminski
President & Publisher
; . Woodsville
Bradford
02-222.5281 . y 603-747-2016
An Independent Newspaper
Editorial
Repression in Poland
For the 36 million people of Poland
and for millions of other people
around the world, last week will go
down in history as possibly the most
repressive period in European history
during the later half of the 20th
century.
Repression and military purges are
nothing new to Eastern Europe and
Soviet block countries. Exiled Soviet
dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,
who now lives in seclusion on his farm
in Cavendish, Vt., has chronicled
similar though less publicized in the
Soviet Union, in continuous waves
dating from the early 1900's to the
1950's.
But what makes the Polish
government's "declaration of war"
on its own people so devastating is
that prior to the installation of martial
law, the prospects of a new kind of
relationship between the leaders of
the Poland and
against individuals "under suspicion"
of violating martial law; all Polish
citizens are required to carry iden-
tification at all times and are
prohibited from leaving their homes
for more than 48 hours at a time.
All information and news within the
country is controlled by government
media, an organization that is told
only information that conforms to the
best interest of the Communist Party,
As George Orwell said in his famous
book 1984, "In the land of the blind,
the one-eyed man is king."
The first-hand account by Bruce
MacLean in this week's Journal
Opinion of the first day that martial
law was imposed in Poland, gives the
situation an added reality that is
sometimes lacking from often im-
personal international news accounts.
We would like to thank Mr. MacLean
for taking the risk of relaying his
observations on the events that are
within the grasp of those who were
seeking it.
Reports from Poland say that as
many as 50,000 Polish citizens are now
under arrest. All telephone com-
munication has been stopped within
the country; all travel has been
banned; gas stations have been closed
to private cars; a, 10:00 p.m. curfew
has been imposed nationwide with
stricter curfews in areas of unrest.,
summary proceedings are taken
him and his wife a safe and happy new
year along with the rest of those
living in Poland.
In our country, a situation of such a
total repression of basic freedoms is
hard to picture. Too often we take for
granted and shun the rights of those
who speak out without fully realizing
the alternative. The extreme
alternative is being exhibited in
Poland today.
Letters to the Editor__)
To the Editor:
Throughout all history there
are examples of Trojan
horses, men like Neville
Chamberlain and
The conspb'acv
encirclement of America 1I of 17 divisior, but in their
would set us up for the conquest for world rule they
ultimate throat. This is why prefer not to fight but to
their stooges call for one sided "pluck their enemy from
surprise disarmament, no nuclear within like ripened fruit." We
attacks like the one we ex- power plants, no hydro lines learn from history that the
perieneed at Pearl Harbor. In from Canada, no coal-fired best way to he at peace is to be
my lifetime I have observed electric plants because of acid so strong that no one dare
the communist conspiracy rain, and no hydro plants attack you, and this is as true
move swiftly like an attacking because the dams would kill for Mohammed All as it is for
snake, then coik, then strike, the tiny snail darters. The the Unitel States. I say more
and then devour its prey.
Their goal, of court, is
world conquest and world
government "Darth Vader
style," if you have seen the
movie "Star Wars." The plan
has been to take Eastern
Europe, Asia, and to encircle
America by having the
Conspiracy control Cuba, the
Central American countries,
and then Quebec. It has been a
part of the original plan to
cause America to spend
herself into ruin and to
debauch the currency.
At the same time the con-
spiracy works to demoralize
our youth and to create an
energy crisis which coupled
with the currency crisis, and
conspirators are as clever as hydro power, more solar
Russian chess playbrs, power, more nuclear power
because their goals and plans plants, submarines and
"to bury us" are as real as whatever else it takes to make
martial lawinPoland, our country once again the
Communism feeds on its strongest nation on earth. I get
neighbors, like a cancer in a
body or a cavity in a tooth, a chill up my spine as I see the
snake draw closer and hear its
Eliminating nuclear weapons stooges preach peace at any
from the froe part of the world price over the TV and
is not going to bring peace elsewhere. My ancestors did
except to the dead who will be not fight at Concord, White
slaughtered, disemboweled, Plains and Gettysburg to have
and tortured in unspeakable me bleeding like a sheep on its
ways. knees and begging for mercy
Throughout my lifetime from some "Over Lord"
Russia has maintained the commissar or terrorist and I
largest standing army on suspect that most of you feel
earth of about 72 divisions of the same way.
soldiers compared to our WilllamK.Tufts
maximum force in World War Bethel, Vermont
00/s/ators not/ce
To the Editor: systems pay no taxes to Uncle
I find it difficult to un- Sam. The more I think of it,
derstand the rationale of the private sector should get
Vermont's municipal and the lion's share of PASNY
cooperative electric utilities, power.
when they say that their Legislators take notice. The
customers are the only ones majority of you represent
entitled to PASNY power, areas served by the private
VERSHIRE
SCHOOL BOARD
VERSHIRE-- The Velhire
School Board will hold a
budget meeting on Wed-
nesday, Jan. 6 at I0:00 a,m.
The meeting will take place at
the Orange East Supervisory
The PASNY projects were power companies. Maybe it is Union District Superin-
built with public funds, and time to make some statutory tendent's officein Bradford.
come changes in order to clip the
much of federal revenues that sources that money
support public projects are helped tobuild.
derived from private industry George R. Pitman
and business. Certainly Berlin, Vermont
municipal and cooperative
Three things for which
thanks are due; an invitation,
a gift, and a warning.
-Welsh Proverb.
Sawmills in Groton
The harvesting of timber Four generations and over men in the mill and in the
and the manufacture of wood
products have been major
enterprises in Groton ever
since its settlement, due to its
mountainous landscape.
Through the years there have
been sawmills at about 12
different sites in the town. The
history and owners of each are
given in detail in Mister
Glover's Groton. In one year,
1887, there were seven
sawm ills currently in
operation. We will follow the
history of the ones on the sites
of the Ricker and the Miller
mills.
Ricker Mill
The first sawmill in
GrotQn was built in 1790 by
Capt. Edmind Morse, three
miles west of Groton at the
outlet of what is now called
Ricker Pond -- a location
which provided both a
millpond and waterpower, in
the vicinity of a" fine stand of
pine trees. At the time when
this mill closed in 1963, it was
the oldest sawmill on its
original site in the United
States.
According to local
tradition, this site was an old
Indian trail from the Winooski
River to the Connecticut. Up
on the hill nearby at the old
Sanders farm was a sprng
where the Indians used to stop
for water, and Sanders' men
used to find arrowheads there
and at the outlet of the pond.
In the early years, Capt.
Morse's sawmill was com-
bined with a gristmill. Around
1797, he sold the mill to Mnses
Noyes but, two or three years
later, Mr. Noyes went out to
100 years of ownership by the woods worked a 12-hour day
Ricker family began in 1856 and earned about $9 per week
with Joseph Ricker, followed for six days of work. They
by his son Amaziah, his were surprised one day to get
grandsons Edmund and a day off following the an-
Harry, then Harry's son
Raymond.
Joseph Ricker operated
the mill for only four years,
then sold it to Amaziah, who
ran it for nearly 50 years,
again renovating the mill and
installing its first circular
saw. He began with 100 acres
of timberland and eventually
increased it to 2000. He
produced up to a half a million
feet of lumber annually until
the Montpelier & Wells River
Railroad came through his
millyard in 1873, when he was
able to double his production.
Around 1900 he was hack to
half a million, but he was
putting out mostly hardwood,
which he was working into
bobbins and chair stock. With
the softwood he was making
finished boards, box boards
for the granite industry,
hemlock bark for tanneries,
also pulp, slabs, and sawdust.
He equipped the mill with a
shingle machine, a clapboard
machine, a planer and a
matcher.
Besides making many
improvements in the mill,
Amaziah built substantial
company houses and a
boardinghouse, and ran a
company store, post office,
and railroad flag station. (See
Book One, pages 104 and 105.)
His little village was almost
self-sufficient, as he alsorana
farm nearby to produce milk,
meat, vegetables, and even
honey from his own bees. Like
nouncement, "Play day -- girl
born," after the birth of
Amaziah's daughter Mary
(who became Dr. Harry
Rowe's mother).
Old papers in Amaziah
Ricker's safe revealed a
family feud like that of the
Hatfields and McCoys,
although we don't know of any
blood being spilled. Over a
period of years, Amaziah had
borrowed funds from Hoses
Welch, Jr. and Almon Clark
for sawmill financing, as
evidenced by paid-up notes in
the safe. However. at some
time the three men came into
a serious disagreement which
resulted in lawsuits and court
action over a period of nearly
eight years. Older folks
remember the family
squabble in 1933 when
Raymond Ricker married
Leona Page, great-
granddaughter of Hosea
Welch, Jr. Fortunately,
members of this younger
generation were able to carry
on their lives in spite of the
bitterness between their
ancestors.
When Amaziah died he
left the sawmill to his sons
Edmund and Harry. A few
¶
years later Harry bought Ed's
share in the mill and carried
on its operation. Times were
hard at the mill during the
Depression, but Harry kept a
small crew busy most of the
time, cutting pulp or
sometimes just painting the
buildings, and the men ac-
cepted a cut in pay rather than
be laid off completely.
Finally after having no
orders for lumber for six
months, an order came for two
carloads of boards, and
gradually business got going
again. Their small crew
logged in the woods during the
winter, cutting hardwood logs,
then in the spring they sawed
them into boards, dried them
during the summer, then in
the fall cut them to
specifications to fill orders.
Old records show that in 1933
they were making mostly
chair stock, but by 1942 they
were doing mostly custom
sawing.
Leona Ricker says that
work one morning and never
was heard from again --or so
they say.
Other operators of this
mill were Silas Lund and his
sons. also Robert Taisey,
Walter Buchanan who
renovated the mill, and Ira
Darling who added a clap-
board machine. The mill was
still using the old up-and-down
Clearing logs from Blodgett's meadow.
many othersaroundthattime, developed by the U.S.U.S. House, had in October,
he also produced and sold an Department of Energy and initiated a formal ;equest that
assortment of patent publicly released today by the Energy Department
medicines.
A typical day at Ricker's
began at 4 a,m. for the women
who prepared breakfast for
the men. The ladies also did
all their housework before
mid-morning, leaving the rest
of the day free for mending,
cooking, ning. The
Our
River
Jeffords pushes wood as large
WASHINGTON--Use of wood U.S. Rep. James M Jeffords, improve its statistical com-
as fuel is more widespread R-Vt. pilations of wood energy use,
than previously thought, Jeffords, co-chairman of the and to publish the information
according to estimates Wood Energy Caucus in the in a manner which would be
The Swnbol of our Country
Did you salute as I passed by?
Or did you forget
I'm the symbol of our country,
The best country and--yet--
Were you proud to see me waving?
Did you stand and show your love
Of our Country, Flag, and Freedom
Blessed by the Good Lord above.
I am proud of what I stand for,
As I lead the grand parade;
And you folks on the sidelines,
If you salute, I've had it made.
Those who march on with me,
Their hearts swell with pride,
For they fought for your Freedom,
And there were others who fought and died.
useful in development of U.S.
energy policy. At that time,
Jeffords had noted that by
rough estimates, wood was
assumed to provide at least 1.5
quads (quadrillion BTU's) of
energy, surpassing hydro and
nuclear energy in end use. He
said the informational
resources used in develop-
ment of national energy policy
were distorted by the lack of
solid statistics, collected for
all other major energy
sources and published in
government publications,
particularly the Energy
Department's Monthly
Energy Review.
A response to Jeffords'
request from Energy
Secretary James B. Edwards
was released this week to
members of the Wood Energy
Caucus. Edwards said
significant progress has been
made in the difficult task of
compiling statistics on wood
energy use, and that
preliminary estimates are
now being subjected to review
to assure their accuracy.
However, Edwards revealed
that the preliminary
estimates for 1980 are that
wood accounted for 2 to 2.5
quads of energy--between
half a quad and a full quad
more than previously
estimated.
"That is a significant
amount, and we want to do a
proper job before in-
corporating these data into all
of our energy summary
publications," Edwards said
in his statement. "We can
assure you that the EIA (the
Department's Energy
Information Administration)
Did you watch the parade this morning?
Did you salute as I passed by?
Did you show your Love of Country,
"Live for Freedom or die"?
Or do you take me just for granted?
PLEASE, LET US NOT FORGET,
I'M THE SYMBOL OF OUR COUNTRY,
The best one, you can bet!
Shirley McKean
Haverhill Memorial VFW Auxiliary No. 5245
:. 'I
Executive Councilor
Raymond S. Burton . '
The Dec. 23rd Governor and Council
meeting was one of the more exciting
meetings that we've had in some time. The
Council approved a $4 million bond issue
for the G.H Bass & Co. of Berlin for ex-
pansion of the Bass Shoe plant. This plant
will eventually employ some 500 people in
the Berlin area.
The Council also approved the findings
for nine low head hydro dams in the state.
Three in District One: Avery Dam in
Laconia, Newfound Lake Dam in Bristol,
and the Mascoma Lake Dam in Lebanon,
all nine have been sent back to the Water
Resources board for final hearings and
selection of a developer who will actually
lease the site and construct a hydro
elect ric generating plant.
The Governor and Council also approved
Ihe final lease for the Pontook Hydro-
Electric Project in Dummer. Mter many
years of hearings and negotiations this
project. I believe, will be of benefit to the
northern electric needs. This facility will
provide electricity for 7.700 homes, in-
crease thi, acreage for wildlife habitat
above the newly constructed dam. There
will be a loss of about one mile of river for
complete white water canoeing and
perhaps some lessening of fishing, but I
know several individuals who spent most
of the winter of 1981 paying their electric
bills. I firmly believe that it is not too much
by ROBERT A. MICHENFELDER
It's hard to keep your mouth shut these days. Every front
page, every six o'clock news report carries some information
that cries out for. if not a sharp comment, at least a snide
remark•
As you can guess, its acid rain again, a subject that seems
capable of raising hypocracy to new heights.
Let's go back a few years to the creation of the New
England Regional Commission. This was a major planning
organization, funded by the federal government and ad-
ministered by the six northeastern states. It wasn't a bad
idea. It served as a means of channeling federal funds into
the area in such a way as to make broad regional concerns
the business of an ordered interstate body. If there were
abuses, they were the "normal" ones expected in such
operations.
One of its brothers-in-arms was the New England River
Basins Commission-- again federally funded with an ad-
ministrative and financial commitment from those same
states.
Wheh the Reagan Administration put its budget cutting act
together, both of these groups met the same fate and ceased
to exist after October 1st. The New England Governor's
Conference, recognizing immediately the loss it had suf-
fered, had the good sense to "take over" both organizations.
The result has been a broadened scope of responsibility for
the Conference and the creation of a regional Water
Resources Commission.
This Commission is a recognition by the Governors that
water and water related problems will be big items on any
agenda for the future. As a result, much of the concerns of the
old NERBC will be picked up by this new body.
Now the kicker. Acid rain is one of the big concerns, as well
it should be. The Governor's Conference has just received a
preliminary report on a study that the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station will present some time in
June of next year.
The report finds that "naturally acidic soils" play a
greater role in stream and lake acidification than acid
precipilation, that the return of forest cover to former
agricultural lands, ordinarily less acidic, is the culprit. For
crying out loud. This reminds one of the learned "research
institutes" paid for by the tobacco companies, that still
maintain that there is no demonstrable connection between
smoking and various cardio-pulmonary disorders.
Any farmer will tell you that a few points on the ph scale
often make the difference between a crop and a failure,
between a profit and a catastrophe. With acid rain we are not
talking about a few points--we are talking about a thousand
times normal acidity. In the dead lakes of the Adirondacks
and Canada (surrounded by woods since God put them
together) we are finding acid increases on the scale of
hundreds.
Fortunately, not everybody is being taken in. The Chair-
man of the Nc' Hampshire Pollution Control Commission is
highly skeptical, noting that the National Science Foundation
had found "circumstantial but overwhelming evidence that
link acid rain and acidity in lakes and streams". The EPA
and its Canadian counterpart have come to the same con-
chmions.
The problem for the researchers has been the inability to
prove that a specific dab of sulphur dioxide from a specific
smoke stack in central Ohio has associated with a specific
rop of water under specific atmospheric conditions
come the drop of acid that killed a specific rainbow trnut in
Ihe Batten Kill, a series of facts and events that must be
demonslrated before the courts or responsible bureaucracies
feel free to act. It will be interesting to see how the Con-
nectleut Agricultural Experiment Station has marshalled
"'hard" evidence to prove all the others wrong.
toask that one mile of many miles be given
up for generating electrical power for the
North Country. Much to his credit. Gov.
Gallen stuck his neck out and joined in
urging council members to act favorably
on this project. As your Councilor, I have
always been a strong supporter of small
low head hydro power in the northern
areas.
The Council confirmed Donald Ladd of
Colebrook to the Connecticut River Valley
Flood Control Commission, Eugene B.
Andes of Union to the Solid Waste
Management Board, Julia Fifield of
Orford to the State Historic Preservation
Review Board, and Gerald Aikens of
Berlin to the Board of Appeal. Peter ttance
of Laconia was nominated to the Water
Resources Board and William Anderson of
Meredilh was nominated to the Youth
Development Center Bpard.
The Council also accepted and placed on
file the Annual Reports of the Secretary of
State's Office, the N.H. Crime Com-
mission, and the Department of Safety.
Anyone wishing copies of these reports,
please write or call me, Ray Burton, RFD
1. Woodsville. N.H. 03785 {747-3662 and 271-
?,2.) The next Council meeting is
scheduled for January 6. l0 a.m. at the
State llouse. I would be honored to have
you in attendance as it is an honor toserve
yon and lhis district as a public official?
during the Depression,
Ricker had shipped a
of chair stock worth
furniture factory
Massachusetts, but he
got paid for it -- all he
of it was one of the corn
chairs, which he
Raymond and Leena
wedding present. The
chair is still in use, in
generation of Rickers.
When the railroad
out in 1956 it was a blow to
Ricker Mill, but there
other difficulties on
horizon the
the old mill and the
of nearby forests.
Ricker put up the
for a new mill, but
to get financing for the
it, and finally
old mill in 1963.
Sources: Fa
recollections and papers
Leona Ricker: school
paper by Alton Ricker,
Mister Glover's Groton.
Next week: Miller's
has made conside
progress in the devel¢
of wood fuel informati
plans to publish the d
soon as is practical."
Edwards said three
had been authorized wil
Department relating t¢
fuel information. The
"Wood Energy Data
Requirements Study,'
completed in July of thi
The second, "Derek
and Implementatio
Historical Wood Cons
Estimating Method0
/950-1980" iS nearinl[
pletxon. The third, Cd
of 1981 Wood ConsUl
Statistics," is in the p :
stages.
Jeffords said be i
couraged' by t,h, p "----
being made in filli
serious information v
has hampered effort
corporate wood fue!
major component t
energy policy." |
He said legislative
relating to wood ene
cluding his own long
proposals for wood st
credits, have been
partly because of the
"the solid informat
have for every othe
energy source."
Jeffords said it is c;
wood is the renewab[
source which "has
greatest impact iv
years in displacing f
and has the greatest p
with proper manager
major component in/J
to increase our
toward energy indel
in the immediate fut0
LaMott
Vice Cha/r00
of Commi00
HAVERHILL--Rep
LaMott, a
Republican, has [
pointed by House\\;
John B. Tucker to
vice chairman of
Appropriations Con
Now serving his',
in the House, Rep. I ...,_..
spent five terms ,
fluential Appr
Committee and o
vice chairman i}
Committee on '
Veterans Affair
currently chairnu
the statutory Capi
Oversight Commitl
Appropriations R e j
Transportatiold
committee. |
"It is reassurin[J[
know that the stall
faithful,watchdog
affairs, ' the spe r --
new vice chairman..
LaMott will fill tl:
created when Rep.]
Kidder, the fo
chairman, was sl
acting chairing] -
Appropriations CoP[
October. [
LaMott is ,
mechanical con
and his wife Muri.
child, Mrs. Fredef ,
Jr., of Arlington 14
p.-
(
Page 4-The Journal Opinion-December 30, 1981
EAST PUBLISHING COMPANY, Inc.
Publisher of
Journal i Opinion
Woek anpi luddbl le II0dd, Vornont. SqdcripOtu redo • Vormt eund New Ilempd0gre - $9.0e
gr yee¢; t4.1)0 fw rail mm: ,d . $12.M per Teer e0d Sr.S0 fw s meanflu; Sea r, itlau
dlhmnmt $2.U. -
Se¢oad elm1 pestop peid o! Iredfocd, Vonnonl Olll$, PwbliMI0od b,/ Newesl Pvbliogldq Compu¥. I.,
P.O. Oox 378, |mdfoalL
Robert F. Huminski
President & Publisher
; . Woodsville
Bradford
02-222.5281 . y 603-747-2016
An Independent Newspaper
Editorial
Repression in Poland
For the 36 million people of Poland
and for millions of other people
around the world, last week will go
down in history as possibly the most
repressive period in European history
during the later half of the 20th
century.
Repression and military purges are
nothing new to Eastern Europe and
Soviet block countries. Exiled Soviet
dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn,
who now lives in seclusion on his farm
in Cavendish, Vt., has chronicled
similar though less publicized in the
Soviet Union, in continuous waves
dating from the early 1900's to the
1950's.
But what makes the Polish
government's "declaration of war"
on its own people so devastating is
that prior to the installation of martial
law, the prospects of a new kind of
relationship between the leaders of
the Poland and
against individuals "under suspicion"
of violating martial law; all Polish
citizens are required to carry iden-
tification at all times and are
prohibited from leaving their homes
for more than 48 hours at a time.
All information and news within the
country is controlled by government
media, an organization that is told
only information that conforms to the
best interest of the Communist Party,
As George Orwell said in his famous
book 1984, "In the land of the blind,
the one-eyed man is king."
The first-hand account by Bruce
MacLean in this week's Journal
Opinion of the first day that martial
law was imposed in Poland, gives the
situation an added reality that is
sometimes lacking from often im-
personal international news accounts.
We would like to thank Mr. MacLean
for taking the risk of relaying his
observations on the events that are
within the grasp of those who were
seeking it.
Reports from Poland say that as
many as 50,000 Polish citizens are now
under arrest. All telephone com-
munication has been stopped within
the country; all travel has been
banned; gas stations have been closed
to private cars; a, 10:00 p.m. curfew
has been imposed nationwide with
stricter curfews in areas of unrest.,
summary proceedings are taken
him and his wife a safe and happy new
year along with the rest of those
living in Poland.
In our country, a situation of such a
total repression of basic freedoms is
hard to picture. Too often we take for
granted and shun the rights of those
who speak out without fully realizing
the alternative. The extreme
alternative is being exhibited in
Poland today.
Letters to the Editor__)
To the Editor:
Throughout all history there
are examples of Trojan
horses, men like Neville
Chamberlain and
The conspb'acv
encirclement of America 1I of 17 divisior, but in their
would set us up for the conquest for world rule they
ultimate throat. This is why prefer not to fight but to
their stooges call for one sided "pluck their enemy from
surprise disarmament, no nuclear within like ripened fruit." We
attacks like the one we ex- power plants, no hydro lines learn from history that the
perieneed at Pearl Harbor. In from Canada, no coal-fired best way to he at peace is to be
my lifetime I have observed electric plants because of acid so strong that no one dare
the communist conspiracy rain, and no hydro plants attack you, and this is as true
move swiftly like an attacking because the dams would kill for Mohammed All as it is for
snake, then coik, then strike, the tiny snail darters. The the Unitel States. I say more
and then devour its prey.
Their goal, of court, is
world conquest and world
government "Darth Vader
style," if you have seen the
movie "Star Wars." The plan
has been to take Eastern
Europe, Asia, and to encircle
America by having the
Conspiracy control Cuba, the
Central American countries,
and then Quebec. It has been a
part of the original plan to
cause America to spend
herself into ruin and to
debauch the currency.
At the same time the con-
spiracy works to demoralize
our youth and to create an
energy crisis which coupled
with the currency crisis, and
conspirators are as clever as hydro power, more solar
Russian chess playbrs, power, more nuclear power
because their goals and plans plants, submarines and
"to bury us" are as real as whatever else it takes to make
martial lawinPoland, our country once again the
Communism feeds on its strongest nation on earth. I get
neighbors, like a cancer in a
body or a cavity in a tooth, a chill up my spine as I see the
snake draw closer and hear its
Eliminating nuclear weapons stooges preach peace at any
from the froe part of the world price over the TV and
is not going to bring peace elsewhere. My ancestors did
except to the dead who will be not fight at Concord, White
slaughtered, disemboweled, Plains and Gettysburg to have
and tortured in unspeakable me bleeding like a sheep on its
ways. knees and begging for mercy
Throughout my lifetime from some "Over Lord"
Russia has maintained the commissar or terrorist and I
largest standing army on suspect that most of you feel
earth of about 72 divisions of the same way.
soldiers compared to our WilllamK.Tufts
maximum force in World War Bethel, Vermont
00/s/ators not/ce
To the Editor: systems pay no taxes to Uncle
I find it difficult to un- Sam. The more I think of it,
derstand the rationale of the private sector should get
Vermont's municipal and the lion's share of PASNY
cooperative electric utilities, power.
when they say that their Legislators take notice. The
customers are the only ones majority of you represent
entitled to PASNY power, areas served by the private
VERSHIRE
SCHOOL BOARD
VERSHIRE-- The Velhire
School Board will hold a
budget meeting on Wed-
nesday, Jan. 6 at I0:00 a,m.
The meeting will take place at
the Orange East Supervisory
The PASNY projects were power companies. Maybe it is Union District Superin-
built with public funds, and time to make some statutory tendent's officein Bradford.
come changes in order to clip the
much of federal revenues that sources that money
support public projects are helped tobuild.
derived from private industry George R. Pitman
and business. Certainly Berlin, Vermont
municipal and cooperative
Three things for which
thanks are due; an invitation,
a gift, and a warning.
-Welsh Proverb.
Sawmills in Groton
The harvesting of timber Four generations and over men in the mill and in the
and the manufacture of wood
products have been major
enterprises in Groton ever
since its settlement, due to its
mountainous landscape.
Through the years there have
been sawmills at about 12
different sites in the town. The
history and owners of each are
given in detail in Mister
Glover's Groton. In one year,
1887, there were seven
sawm ills currently in
operation. We will follow the
history of the ones on the sites
of the Ricker and the Miller
mills.
Ricker Mill
The first sawmill in
GrotQn was built in 1790 by
Capt. Edmind Morse, three
miles west of Groton at the
outlet of what is now called
Ricker Pond -- a location
which provided both a
millpond and waterpower, in
the vicinity of a" fine stand of
pine trees. At the time when
this mill closed in 1963, it was
the oldest sawmill on its
original site in the United
States.
According to local
tradition, this site was an old
Indian trail from the Winooski
River to the Connecticut. Up
on the hill nearby at the old
Sanders farm was a sprng
where the Indians used to stop
for water, and Sanders' men
used to find arrowheads there
and at the outlet of the pond.
In the early years, Capt.
Morse's sawmill was com-
bined with a gristmill. Around
1797, he sold the mill to Mnses
Noyes but, two or three years
later, Mr. Noyes went out to
100 years of ownership by the woods worked a 12-hour day
Ricker family began in 1856 and earned about $9 per week
with Joseph Ricker, followed for six days of work. They
by his son Amaziah, his were surprised one day to get
grandsons Edmund and a day off following the an-
Harry, then Harry's son
Raymond.
Joseph Ricker operated
the mill for only four years,
then sold it to Amaziah, who
ran it for nearly 50 years,
again renovating the mill and
installing its first circular
saw. He began with 100 acres
of timberland and eventually
increased it to 2000. He
produced up to a half a million
feet of lumber annually until
the Montpelier & Wells River
Railroad came through his
millyard in 1873, when he was
able to double his production.
Around 1900 he was hack to
half a million, but he was
putting out mostly hardwood,
which he was working into
bobbins and chair stock. With
the softwood he was making
finished boards, box boards
for the granite industry,
hemlock bark for tanneries,
also pulp, slabs, and sawdust.
He equipped the mill with a
shingle machine, a clapboard
machine, a planer and a
matcher.
Besides making many
improvements in the mill,
Amaziah built substantial
company houses and a
boardinghouse, and ran a
company store, post office,
and railroad flag station. (See
Book One, pages 104 and 105.)
His little village was almost
self-sufficient, as he alsorana
farm nearby to produce milk,
meat, vegetables, and even
honey from his own bees. Like
nouncement, "Play day -- girl
born," after the birth of
Amaziah's daughter Mary
(who became Dr. Harry
Rowe's mother).
Old papers in Amaziah
Ricker's safe revealed a
family feud like that of the
Hatfields and McCoys,
although we don't know of any
blood being spilled. Over a
period of years, Amaziah had
borrowed funds from Hoses
Welch, Jr. and Almon Clark
for sawmill financing, as
evidenced by paid-up notes in
the safe. However. at some
time the three men came into
a serious disagreement which
resulted in lawsuits and court
action over a period of nearly
eight years. Older folks
remember the family
squabble in 1933 when
Raymond Ricker married
Leona Page, great-
granddaughter of Hosea
Welch, Jr. Fortunately,
members of this younger
generation were able to carry
on their lives in spite of the
bitterness between their
ancestors.
When Amaziah died he
left the sawmill to his sons
Edmund and Harry. A few
¶
years later Harry bought Ed's
share in the mill and carried
on its operation. Times were
hard at the mill during the
Depression, but Harry kept a
small crew busy most of the
time, cutting pulp or
sometimes just painting the
buildings, and the men ac-
cepted a cut in pay rather than
be laid off completely.
Finally after having no
orders for lumber for six
months, an order came for two
carloads of boards, and
gradually business got going
again. Their small crew
logged in the woods during the
winter, cutting hardwood logs,
then in the spring they sawed
them into boards, dried them
during the summer, then in
the fall cut them to
specifications to fill orders.
Old records show that in 1933
they were making mostly
chair stock, but by 1942 they
were doing mostly custom
sawing.
Leona Ricker says that
work one morning and never
was heard from again --or so
they say.
Other operators of this
mill were Silas Lund and his
sons. also Robert Taisey,
Walter Buchanan who
renovated the mill, and Ira
Darling who added a clap-
board machine. The mill was
still using the old up-and-down
Clearing logs from Blodgett's meadow.
many othersaroundthattime, developed by the U.S.U.S. House, had in October,
he also produced and sold an Department of Energy and initiated a formal ;equest that
assortment of patent publicly released today by the Energy Department
medicines.
A typical day at Ricker's
began at 4 a,m. for the women
who prepared breakfast for
the men. The ladies also did
all their housework before
mid-morning, leaving the rest
of the day free for mending,
cooking, ning. The
Our
River
Jeffords pushes wood as large
WASHINGTON--Use of wood U.S. Rep. James M Jeffords, improve its statistical com-
as fuel is more widespread R-Vt. pilations of wood energy use,
than previously thought, Jeffords, co-chairman of the and to publish the information
according to estimates Wood Energy Caucus in the in a manner which would be
The Swnbol of our Country
Did you salute as I passed by?
Or did you forget
I'm the symbol of our country,
The best country and--yet--
Were you proud to see me waving?
Did you stand and show your love
Of our Country, Flag, and Freedom
Blessed by the Good Lord above.
I am proud of what I stand for,
As I lead the grand parade;
And you folks on the sidelines,
If you salute, I've had it made.
Those who march on with me,
Their hearts swell with pride,
For they fought for your Freedom,
And there were others who fought and died.
useful in development of U.S.
energy policy. At that time,
Jeffords had noted that by
rough estimates, wood was
assumed to provide at least 1.5
quads (quadrillion BTU's) of
energy, surpassing hydro and
nuclear energy in end use. He
said the informational
resources used in develop-
ment of national energy policy
were distorted by the lack of
solid statistics, collected for
all other major energy
sources and published in
government publications,
particularly the Energy
Department's Monthly
Energy Review.
A response to Jeffords'
request from Energy
Secretary James B. Edwards
was released this week to
members of the Wood Energy
Caucus. Edwards said
significant progress has been
made in the difficult task of
compiling statistics on wood
energy use, and that
preliminary estimates are
now being subjected to review
to assure their accuracy.
However, Edwards revealed
that the preliminary
estimates for 1980 are that
wood accounted for 2 to 2.5
quads of energy--between
half a quad and a full quad
more than previously
estimated.
"That is a significant
amount, and we want to do a
proper job before in-
corporating these data into all
of our energy summary
publications," Edwards said
in his statement. "We can
assure you that the EIA (the
Department's Energy
Information Administration)
Did you watch the parade this morning?
Did you salute as I passed by?
Did you show your Love of Country,
"Live for Freedom or die"?
Or do you take me just for granted?
PLEASE, LET US NOT FORGET,
I'M THE SYMBOL OF OUR COUNTRY,
The best one, you can bet!
Shirley McKean
Haverhill Memorial VFW Auxiliary No. 5245
:. 'I
Executive Councilor
Raymond S. Burton . '
The Dec. 23rd Governor and Council
meeting was one of the more exciting
meetings that we've had in some time. The
Council approved a $4 million bond issue
for the G.H Bass & Co. of Berlin for ex-
pansion of the Bass Shoe plant. This plant
will eventually employ some 500 people in
the Berlin area.
The Council also approved the findings
for nine low head hydro dams in the state.
Three in District One: Avery Dam in
Laconia, Newfound Lake Dam in Bristol,
and the Mascoma Lake Dam in Lebanon,
all nine have been sent back to the Water
Resources board for final hearings and
selection of a developer who will actually
lease the site and construct a hydro
elect ric generating plant.
The Governor and Council also approved
Ihe final lease for the Pontook Hydro-
Electric Project in Dummer. Mter many
years of hearings and negotiations this
project. I believe, will be of benefit to the
northern electric needs. This facility will
provide electricity for 7.700 homes, in-
crease thi, acreage for wildlife habitat
above the newly constructed dam. There
will be a loss of about one mile of river for
complete white water canoeing and
perhaps some lessening of fishing, but I
know several individuals who spent most
of the winter of 1981 paying their electric
bills. I firmly believe that it is not too much
by ROBERT A. MICHENFELDER
It's hard to keep your mouth shut these days. Every front
page, every six o'clock news report carries some information
that cries out for. if not a sharp comment, at least a snide
remark•
As you can guess, its acid rain again, a subject that seems
capable of raising hypocracy to new heights.
Let's go back a few years to the creation of the New
England Regional Commission. This was a major planning
organization, funded by the federal government and ad-
ministered by the six northeastern states. It wasn't a bad
idea. It served as a means of channeling federal funds into
the area in such a way as to make broad regional concerns
the business of an ordered interstate body. If there were
abuses, they were the "normal" ones expected in such
operations.
One of its brothers-in-arms was the New England River
Basins Commission-- again federally funded with an ad-
ministrative and financial commitment from those same
states.
Wheh the Reagan Administration put its budget cutting act
together, both of these groups met the same fate and ceased
to exist after October 1st. The New England Governor's
Conference, recognizing immediately the loss it had suf-
fered, had the good sense to "take over" both organizations.
The result has been a broadened scope of responsibility for
the Conference and the creation of a regional Water
Resources Commission.
This Commission is a recognition by the Governors that
water and water related problems will be big items on any
agenda for the future. As a result, much of the concerns of the
old NERBC will be picked up by this new body.
Now the kicker. Acid rain is one of the big concerns, as well
it should be. The Governor's Conference has just received a
preliminary report on a study that the Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station will present some time in
June of next year.
The report finds that "naturally acidic soils" play a
greater role in stream and lake acidification than acid
precipilation, that the return of forest cover to former
agricultural lands, ordinarily less acidic, is the culprit. For
crying out loud. This reminds one of the learned "research
institutes" paid for by the tobacco companies, that still
maintain that there is no demonstrable connection between
smoking and various cardio-pulmonary disorders.
Any farmer will tell you that a few points on the ph scale
often make the difference between a crop and a failure,
between a profit and a catastrophe. With acid rain we are not
talking about a few points--we are talking about a thousand
times normal acidity. In the dead lakes of the Adirondacks
and Canada (surrounded by woods since God put them
together) we are finding acid increases on the scale of
hundreds.
Fortunately, not everybody is being taken in. The Chair-
man of the Nc' Hampshire Pollution Control Commission is
highly skeptical, noting that the National Science Foundation
had found "circumstantial but overwhelming evidence that
link acid rain and acidity in lakes and streams". The EPA
and its Canadian counterpart have come to the same con-
chmions.
The problem for the researchers has been the inability to
prove that a specific dab of sulphur dioxide from a specific
smoke stack in central Ohio has associated with a specific
rop of water under specific atmospheric conditions
come the drop of acid that killed a specific rainbow trnut in
Ihe Batten Kill, a series of facts and events that must be
demonslrated before the courts or responsible bureaucracies
feel free to act. It will be interesting to see how the Con-
nectleut Agricultural Experiment Station has marshalled
"'hard" evidence to prove all the others wrong.
toask that one mile of many miles be given
up for generating electrical power for the
North Country. Much to his credit. Gov.
Gallen stuck his neck out and joined in
urging council members to act favorably
on this project. As your Councilor, I have
always been a strong supporter of small
low head hydro power in the northern
areas.
The Council confirmed Donald Ladd of
Colebrook to the Connecticut River Valley
Flood Control Commission, Eugene B.
Andes of Union to the Solid Waste
Management Board, Julia Fifield of
Orford to the State Historic Preservation
Review Board, and Gerald Aikens of
Berlin to the Board of Appeal. Peter ttance
of Laconia was nominated to the Water
Resources Board and William Anderson of
Meredilh was nominated to the Youth
Development Center Bpard.
The Council also accepted and placed on
file the Annual Reports of the Secretary of
State's Office, the N.H. Crime Com-
mission, and the Department of Safety.
Anyone wishing copies of these reports,
please write or call me, Ray Burton, RFD
1. Woodsville. N.H. 03785 {747-3662 and 271-
?,2.) The next Council meeting is
scheduled for January 6. l0 a.m. at the
State llouse. I would be honored to have
you in attendance as it is an honor toserve
yon and lhis district as a public official?
during the Depression,
Ricker had shipped a
of chair stock worth
furniture factory
Massachusetts, but he
got paid for it -- all he
of it was one of the corn
chairs, which he
Raymond and Leena
wedding present. The
chair is still in use, in
generation of Rickers.
When the railroad
out in 1956 it was a blow to
Ricker Mill, but there
other difficulties on
horizon the
the old mill and the
of nearby forests.
Ricker put up the
for a new mill, but
to get financing for the
it, and finally
old mill in 1963.
Sources: Fa
recollections and papers
Leona Ricker: school
paper by Alton Ricker,
Mister Glover's Groton.
Next week: Miller's
has made conside
progress in the devel¢
of wood fuel informati
plans to publish the d
soon as is practical."
Edwards said three
had been authorized wil
Department relating t¢
fuel information. The
"Wood Energy Data
Requirements Study,'
completed in July of thi
The second, "Derek
and Implementatio
Historical Wood Cons
Estimating Method0
/950-1980" iS nearinl[
pletxon. The third, Cd
of 1981 Wood ConsUl
Statistics," is in the p :
stages.
Jeffords said be i
couraged' by t,h, p "----
being made in filli
serious information v
has hampered effort
corporate wood fue!
major component t
energy policy." |
He said legislative
relating to wood ene
cluding his own long
proposals for wood st
credits, have been
partly because of the
"the solid informat
have for every othe
energy source."
Jeffords said it is c;
wood is the renewab[
source which "has
greatest impact iv
years in displacing f
and has the greatest p
with proper manager
major component in/J
to increase our
toward energy indel
in the immediate fut0
LaMott
Vice Cha/r00
of Commi00
HAVERHILL--Rep
LaMott, a
Republican, has [
pointed by House\\;
John B. Tucker to
vice chairman of
Appropriations Con
Now serving his',
in the House, Rep. I ...,_..
spent five terms ,
fluential Appr
Committee and o
vice chairman i}
Committee on '
Veterans Affair
currently chairnu
the statutory Capi
Oversight Commitl
Appropriations R e j
Transportatiold
committee. |
"It is reassurin[J[
know that the stall
faithful,watchdog
affairs, ' the spe r --
new vice chairman..
LaMott will fill tl:
created when Rep.]
Kidder, the fo
chairman, was sl
acting chairing] -
Appropriations CoP[
October. [
LaMott is ,
mechanical con
and his wife Muri.
child, Mrs. Fredef ,
Jr., of Arlington 14
p.-
(
