Aspinock Memories
Life in Putnam in 1895 – a chronicle 
By Terri Pearsall, AHS Curator
When you think about the early days of Putnam, what do you suppose life was like.  Remember there were no radios, televisions, internet, Facebook, no twitter and whatever else we do to occupy our free time and get information today.  Just exactly how did People of Putnam in 1895 stay connected and gather pertinent information?
The Putnam Patriot did just that for them.  It was considered a family newspaper, consisting of approximately eight pages published and printed weekly.  It went to press at 2 PM on Thursday so all news had to be in by Wednesday.  The size of the paper was 30 inches by 24 inches with quite fine print.  It carried personals, news, daily, state, local and world, church news (even some church sermons).  There were fictional stories and historical pieces and many advertisements.  It was as complete as any magazine.  Everyone awaited its sale on Friday morning.  A subscription to the Patriot for 3 months was 25 cents, (less than 8 cents a copy) or you could subscribe for 3 months to both the Patriot and Weekly Tribune for 60 cents for the year.
People in 1895 knew how to have fun and how to entertain. January 8, 1895, an article appeared in the Patriot about a sleigh ride to Webster that was enjoyed by High School Principal E.V. Pulver, last Friday afternoon. (Seeing that the automobile was just coming into production, very few people owned a car, so this sleigh ride was very exciting news and all the way to Webster, such fun).   In the same issue another article said: one of the largest sleigh ride parties seen in Putnam this winter was that from Southbridge which drove down Monday afternoon and made one of the gayest and liveliest display witnessed here for many years.  There were 62 persons in the company, many of who were Southbridge’s best people.  They put up at the Bugbee House, where a fine dinner was provided by Landlord Webster for his welcomed guests.  He had his hands full for a time but soon got everything in pleasing order.  After dinner, the party was given the use of the parlors and had dancing and amusement, until a reasonable hour.  The sleighing was excellent, the weather was fine and bracing, and the delighted party made a quick time home.
Also, in that same issue of January 8, 1895, John Philip Sousa gave a band concert on Saturday afternoon as a part of his New England Tour.  That spring the Women’s Relief Corps held a supper for a fundraiser that was said to have netted a goodly sum for the relief fund.  The cost was 10 cents.  The supper was followed by games, contests and social intercourse. (The choice of words used then are quite amusing to us now, it certainly or better yet hopefully didn’t mean what it does today).  
In the May 24, 1895, issue of the Patriot was an article about baseball – The opening game of the season was against the Jewett City team in which Putnam won.  The comments about the game were very amusing: “The game was not remarkable as an exhibition of ball playing, but the numerous errors kept the crowd in good humor.”  It also stated that the barbers in town had organized a team and they “crossed bats” with the High School team.  They were “vanquished” by the High School team.
That summer Washburn’s Circus came to town and one of the performers proved to be Tom Murray, a former Putnam boy, whose family had heard nothing from him for eight years (a bit of gossip).  In June, Goshaun, the Mind reader, came to town and created a little excitement with his grand exhibitions at the Opera House.  He also was said to be a former Putnam resident who had left town as a contortionist with a traveling show and later appeared as a tightrope walker. Another show, Reynold’s Worlds United shows, came to town in June featuring “Baldy” and “Queen Jumbo”, two of the largest elephants in the world who perform feats that are simply wonderful and prove beyond question that they possess reasoning faculties almost human.
There was also Polo games at the Armory in which the players were on roller skates.  In July there was an article about a Tennis Benefit for the girls’ tennis club at Mr. Tatem’s Ground, Grove St. with Japanese lanterns, electric lights, ice creams tables, and dancing to the waltz with the girls in dainty gowns and the boys in immaculate “ducks” making a pretty sight.   A college student said it was the slickest lawn party he ever attended.  
Between 1895-1896, there were at least three Opera Houses in Putnam, also various Drama, Musical groups performing in various club halls throughout the town and city.  They are far too numerous to mention.  Also, there is not the room to mention the events sponsored monthly by the Woman’s Board of Day Kimball Hospital.  They held their first Valentine Social which was a huge success.  They also held card parties, a May breakfast, and countless other social events.  Citizens could always count on some wholesome entertainment sponsored by the Woman’s Board.
Just as the newspaper supplied information to the town’s people, so did the Post Office. In an article on August 9, 1895, it said that the Putnam Post Office was well operated by Postmaster F.G. Letters.  He always posted the departure times for the mail by the hour to the minute as it left for various cities. This was important because writing letters was how people kept in touch with family and friends who didn’t live close by.  Posting the departure times of the mail most likely by the hour sparred him the constant question: has the mail gone out yet?  Kind of like the question “are we there yet?” while traveling.  The article goes on to say that Postmaster Letters was notified from Washington that he will receive daily bulletins on the weather predicted for the next 24 hours.  The predictions would be for this area, printed on cards which will be hung in the post office window every evening about 8 o’clock.  Can you imagine the Postmaster today posting weather conditions for our area and working until 8pm every day to do it?  We are so used to instant gratification; would we actually be excited about waiting until 8pm every day to hear about the extended forecast?  
It is fun and amusing to read through the 1895 newspaper.  The words used like gayest, intercourse, crossed bats, vanquished are not likely to be used in any modern-day newspaper or news clip and their meanings have changed considerably over the years.  The Day Kimball Woman’s Board is still very active and sponsors many fund-raising activities throughout the year. People were not so different than we are today.  They survived quite well without our modern-day conveniences.  
 Next time we will read about medical technology, transportation, businesses and church life of the day.
All information in this article is thanks to the archives of the Aspinock Historical Society.
Aspinock Memories graces the pages of the Putnam Town Crier to keep Putnam’s history alive.

captions:
Sleigh ride -  Bugbees before 1888. Blizzard of 1888. Aspinock Historical Society photos.