Ernest's Life on the Mohawk Trail in 1915

Post Card of Mohawk Trail, early in 20^th century

(Courtesy www.epodunk.com)

          We get to see the events in the life of a young man. living in the pristine, heavily wooded area near Charlemont, Massachusetts, on the Mohawk Trail.

          Ernest, age 26, is working hard, probably looking forward to the day when he can ask his dear Alice to marry him.

From his diary we get a one-year glimpse of this young man’s life. He’s a serious, dedicated young fellow living in the country of the Mohawk Trail in western Massachusetts. He carefully records his daily activities to the point that it makes your muscles ache to follow him from hauling sawdust or grain or manure, putting in fence posts, building a sawmill, pressing cider, gathering maple sap, hoeing, cultivating, hauling potatoes.  You follow him and his encounters with Alice, note the death and burial of his 88-year-old grandmother, and perhaps wince when he drives 19 miles to North Adams to have 12 teeth pulled. The next month he gets fitted for a new set of false teeth.

Ernest works on town and state roads, and helps repair the boiler machinery in a sawmill. For fun, Ernest takes Alice to dances,  to the fair, goes sledding, attends Grange and Odd Fellows, goes to "the pictures", and goes hunting.  He never takes time off for church on Sunday, and Thanksgiving and Christmas are just more workdays. 

What is in store for Ernest in 1916 and beyond?  Does he marry Alice?  Does he go off to fight the Germans in World War I? 

We don’t know.

 Ernest's 1915 Diary

Ernest's 1915 Diary: Diary of a farmer, lumberman, teamster living on the Mohawk Trail kept by Dickinson, Ernest R.1915 Charlemont, MA           ephemera ~200 pp.   x 12 cm. Diary includes normal calendar, population of cities, weights and measures, antidotes for poisons, terms of presidents including Wilson, etc. Standard leatherette diary with closure flap. Slight edge wear, marbled page ends, very good. (8178) $42.00. American Originals

The Personal Navigator also offers these books and papers:

Swamp-Root Almanac, 1915 1914    Binghamton, NY: Dr. Kilmer & Co.      Advertising for Dr. Kilmer's Swamp-Root Kidney, Liver & Bladder Remedy. "Thousands have kidney trouble and don't know it." Weather forecast for the year of 1915. Sunrise, sunset.  Moon phases.  Dr. Kilmer's Prompt Parilla Liver Pills tend to correct irregularity of the bowels, especially important during pregnancy. Testimonial letters for Dr. Kilmer's  Swamp-Root from Wellsboro, PA, Paris, Tx, Clinton, IA, Gobleville, MI, Dothan, AL, West Point, IL, McGraw, NY. Advertisement for Dr. Kilmer's Hard Rubber Pile Pipe for treating itching piles, blind piles, bleeding piles, ulcerated rectum and hemorrhoids. 32 pp. 15 x 22 cm. Paper booklet, moderate wear, chips in spinefold, cover held in place by cellophane tape, dampstain on first two pages, fair.(7280)  $19.00. Advertising/Medical                                                                                                    

Caylor System Baseball Score Book, in Accordance with National League Requirements, No. 3--44 Games ca. 1925 Boston, MA: James W. Brine Company, 286 Devonshire Street. Very nice rare Boston baseball memento. James W. Brine Athletic Goods Baseball Score Book with instructions for scoring by O.P. Caylor's System.  Scorecards filled in, dated 1928 to 1941. Teams Mishe Mokwa (summer camp?), Milton, Middlesex, Ayer, Groton, Concord, St. Mark's, Belmont, Belmont Hill, Dartmouth at Harvard (1939), West Concord. Advertising for James W. Brine Official League Baseballs (Guaranteed for 18 innings), sweaters, all kinds of highest quality athletic goods. . 92 pp.        20.5 x 14 cm. Maroon cloth on board, "Whitney Cook" written on cover and on title page. Inside front hinge repaired with binding tape.  Inside rear hinge cracked. Cover shows wear, inside also. Fair. (7358) $60.00. Advertising/American Originals

Lieutenant Burbank’s Certificate, 1815

Certificate of Appointment of Lieutenant Francis Burbank to Vermont Militia, 1815

by Martin Chittenden, Esq., Seventh Governor of Vermont. 1815 Montpelier, VT: State of Vermont. Seventh Governor of Vermont, Martin Chittenden (1763-1840) also Captain-General and Commander in Chief of State signed this appointment of War of 1812 veteran to Lieutenant of 5th Company, 3rd Regiment, First Brigade and Second Division of State Militia on July 22, 1815.  On reverse is signed statement by Burbank in which he "solemnly swears to support the constitution of the United States"; attested to by C. Roberts, Brigadier General. According to records, Burbank was drafted to serve in 1812.  Also on reverse is discharge of Burbank in 1819, also signed by Brigadier General Roberts.  Martin Chittenden was governor 1813-1815, which included a crucial portion of the War of 1812.  Document is sealed with State Seal, with motto "Freedom & Unity". 1 sheet     32 x 19.5 cm. Paper certificate with seal of State of Vermont, good. (8062) $200.00.  Ephemera/History

Sears' Pictorial Description of the United States; Embracing the History, Geographical Position, Agricultural and Mineral Resources, etc. Illustrated with Numerous Engravings; New Edition, Revised and Enlarged  by Sears, Robert. 1853 New York, NY: Robert Sears, 181 William Street.  Robert Sears (1810-1892) was an enterprising publisher, producing reams of books and sending out peddlers to sell them everywhere. He presented a set to Queen Victoria, and a drawing of that event is contained in this volume.  This very attractive, decorated book gives a sweeping description of the United States with many illustrations, including view of Eastport, ME; Downtown Boston showing the improvement of the Back Bay; View of Mt. Tom and Mt. Holyoke, MA; Tomb of Kosciusko at West Point, NY; Viaduct over the Patuxent River, MD; Ruins of Jamestown, VA; Old State House at Raleigh, NC; Everglades, FL; View of Galveston, TX; Entrance to Mammoth Cave, KY; Blannerhassett's Island, OH; New Catholic Cathedral, OH; Mackinac Bluffs, MI; View of Chicago from the Prairie, IL; Views of Emigration to the West; Log Cabins and Sawmill at the West, IA; Gold washing at the diggings in California; more. Description of Territories of OR, MN, NM, UT. Several pages of ads for Sears' books at back.  648 pp. + adv.  16 x 24 cm. Elaborately decorated blue cloth on board with gilt décor, only minor wear. Owner signature on front free endpaper.  Foxing on endpapers. Very nice and clean copy.  Very good. (2968) $70.00. History

American Traveler, Boston, Massachusetts, Saturday morning, December 21, 1867 Boston, MA: Worthington, Flanders & Co. Thanksgiving sermon preached by Henry Ward Beecher at Plymouth Church, Brooklyn. Advice how to prepare stuffing and roast a turkey. Discussion on Gen. Hancock, candidate for President in 1868, and noting candidacy of Gen. U.S. Grant. Democrats are alarmed by the action of colored delegates at a southern reconstruction convention.  Removal of Secretary Stanton by the President. 4 pp. 54 x 68 cm. Newspaper, good. (5682) $24.00. Civil War/History/Reconstruction

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