In nearby Oxford, MA there is an old historic fire house founded in 1856 that has been renovated and is now a Fire House Museum. I observed what a great undertaking this was and the relics that are on display are fantastic.

I recall not too long ago how firemen around New England formed groups and rebuilt the old hand pumpers and then would compete at Musters. Teams from around the states would gather with their pumper to compete to see which team could provide the longest stream of water. The record for the furthest stream is 275 feet 9 3/4 inches.

The events were timed and I had the privilege of acting as the master of ceremonies at an event in Wickford, RI years ago. At the time, I was editor of the local paper and I considered it an honor to be chosen. Usually the host community would have a parade and the old hand pumpers were paraded along with more modern equipment.

Further research proved interesting. Many old fire houses have been abandoned to make room for larger, more modern equipment. In East Putnam the principles had need to enlarge for that very reason. Some have been converted to club houses. In Pawtucket, RI one was converted to a restaurant called The Hose Company. Many communities have done what Oxford did and converted them to museums.

In more recent years efforts were made to get the earlier ones registered on the National Historic Register. I discovered that the State of Connecticut has 10 registered. Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin who is credited with the idea for fire fighting companies? What a guy. He also had input on the postal system, invented bifocal eyeglasses, and the fireplace insert, or parlor stove, called the Franklin.

If you have never been to a Fireman’s Muster you may find it interesting. I remember how hard the team members worked. As a matter of fact while at the one I mentioned I saw one of the members keel over. Having the public address system mic I asked for a doctor in the house and one, I won’t name and who delivered my children, showed up. He, the teammate, had hyperventilated and after resting he was pronounced OK. As soon as he fell another standby teammate took his place on the pump handle.

As the saying goes, fireman never give up, they just keep on fighting.

New England residents have an historic advantage being the area of our early settlers. Just recently I had a discussion with a friend who was interested in the Cady Copp Cottage in East Putnam or Putnam Heights. It has been traced back as early as 1740. The outside has been rehabilitated while the inside needs work. It was here that a minister held educational classes for area young men among them was Mannasseh Cutler. He is the recognized author of the Northwest Ordinance that provided the plan for the eventual settling of this nation. Many of his ideas became laws including property rights, law and order, and he insisted that the new territories be non-slave.

That conversation got me thinking about other historic properties. Again close to home is the popular home of Henry Bowen in Woodstock called Roseland Cottage also known as the Pink House. Built in 1846 as his summer home Mr. Bowen also used it to entertain his close friends. This included presidents among them General U. S. Grant. The story I was told is Bowen did not like Grant’s cigar smoking and asked Grant to set outside on the porch as smoking was not allowed in the house. I guess even Presidents are not above being reprimanded.

My research came up with what is recognized as New England’s oldest house known as The Jackson House built in 1664. It is is Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In Rhode Island, in the Saunderstown section of the South County area, is the Casey Farm built in 1750. While in that region I include the Gilbert Stuart house and former snuff mill built in 1750. Stuart was an artist known as the George Washington painter having done portraits of the president. Massachusetts has the largest number of historic houses with a total on record of 22 that I found listed.

It encouraged me to check and see if we had a business that would qualify in the category of Oldest Business. We certainly do. It’s The Union Oyster House in Boston, the oldest continuous running restaurant in the US. to this day. There is no date available of construction but it claims to have been there for over 250 years. It is registered as a historic site on The Freedom Trail.

I know there are hundreds of other fine old houses that qualify for historic designation. If you own one why not check into it. Someday someone might write about your property and your part in history.

Several years ago I ran a gift shop and art gallery on Rte 101 in East Killingly called the Latch String. One weekend afternoon I had a visitor pop in and after “hello can I help you” he said “yes.” He asked me where Jerimoth Hill was. Of course I knew as I have passed the sign in Foster many times. So I gave him instructions and before he left he said he was a Highpointer. According to him Highpointers are people who climb as many recognized hills and mountains as they possibly can. They keep records of the climb.

This got me thinking about Jerimoth Hill. It has the distinction of being the highest point in Rhode Island at just over 812 feet above sea level. At low tide. Ha.

The site was owned by Brown University and used as an observatory. Not difficult to climb as it has only a ten foot elevation gain. But it is a three mile long trail to reach the starting point. The hill was donated to Brown University by Walter Raymond Turner, class of 1911. As mentioned it served as and astronomy observation location. At one point access was denied by an abutting property owner who prohibited hikers to cross his land to get on the trail’ After his death his property was purchased in 2005 the new owners permitted daily access and eventually ceded the land to the state. In 2011 the state commenced the process of acquiring the summit itself from Brown which was complete in 2014.

Here in Connecticut Highpointers have ascended our highest point which is Mt. Frissell that is located in the western part of the state where Ct, NY and MA borders connect. If you are planning on going there I understand it is difficult to find and my research says it is off Mt. Washington Highway, Rte. 41.

The mountain is slightly higher than Jerimoth Hill and is registered at a 2,454 foot elevation. Of course neither compares to the elevations of our neighbors in Vermont and New Hampshire. However, as a beginning climber it’s a good way to start.

I have been blogging for some time now and enjoy how easy it is to obtain information of people, events, historic conflicts and those engaged in them. Just recently I was checking out New England women who have attained notoriety for their involvement, great and small.

A reader of my blogs asked me if I knew who Ida May Fuller was.? All I could think of was the Fuller Brush Company but that was a wild guess. She said I would find her interesting and as she came from Vermont it would be in keeping with the blog’s thrust.

So I did and yes Ida May Fuller is a lesser known but still important not only as a Vermonter but of national history. The number on the title of this offering is the first Social security check number offered to Ida May Fuller of Brattleboro, VT

Then my memory kicked in and I remember a blog I wrote about another New England woman who grew up in Worcester, MA. Her name is Frances Perkins. She, if you recall, was the first woman appointed to a Federal Cabinet Position, that of Secretary of Labor by Franklin Roosevelt. Here is where I found the link between all three. It was Secretary Perkins who fought for workers rights and led the drive for Social Security and it was President Roosevelt who signed the system into law on Au- gust 4, 1935.
Ms. Fuller received her first check on January 31, 1940 in the amount of $22.54. She died in 1975 at the age of 100 years and received a total of $22,888.92
Today our current leaders are struggling with the system and experts say if not attended to it will go bankrupt in less than 15 years. Many I know have said it was a Ponzi scheme where many paying in are supporting the first into the system. It has been called an “entitlement” which I argue that it is not:. confused with a government handout. You pay into it so you should be “entitled” to its pay back when qualified. Much different from welfare. There you have it – the beginning of Social Security, may you live to enjoy the benefits of your labor.