LEEDS — A 1874 news article reported, “A hen belonging to G.G. Hussey from Leeds laid recently an egg, measuring 6 by 7¾ and nearly a quarter of a pound in weight.” One from the same era provides an update on James Roach’s small boy, who had choked on a kernel of corn 13 weeks and five days before: “Once thought to be at death’s door, the lad was now on the mend.”
These and many others were glued into a used store ledger by Henry Morgan Brewster, a storekeeper, station master, postmaster, trial justice and farmer from Curtis Corner who also wrote for the Lewiston Journal under the name of “Morgan.”
The clippings range in reports of the annual Leeds town meeting to the status of the steam mills around Leeds and a list of the first day of sleighing for each year between 1853 and 1896.
Many are too good not to share with a wider audience than the members of the Leeds Historical Society, and it is the group’s plan to gather together these and other stories and poems about Leeds in a book.
Anyone who has copies of stories or poems about Leeds, either handed down through the family or written by themselves, is asked to submit them to the society to be considered for inclusion in the collection.
It could be the history of a farm or a ghost story. Or perhaps a love letter sent from a Leeds girl to her sweetheart in the war, or a story about taking a field trip to Bear Pond or riding the train from Leeds to Livermore with Eula Carville. It can be about old times or more recent ones.
To suggest something to add to the collection, call Pam Bell at 933-4121 or send it to Bell, 40 Libby Road, Leeds, ME 04263. The original copies will be returned.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
