MINOT – The Minot Historical Society met on Jan. 10 at the Minot Town Office and accepted items for the archives, including the following:

A deed from William Lowell to Samuel Bridgham for a house and land in West Minot (1800s), donated by Ben Conant; a World War II stamp-rationing book, donated by Althea Taylor; multiple pictures of school, church and people pertaining to Minot Corner, donated by the Poland Historical Society; a copy of a picture of the Veteran’s Memorial previously at Minot Corner near the bridge, the original picture from Jean Goodwin Thompson and the copy made by Joyce Hellen.

The program was a showing of the tape produced by the Minot Historical Society of “Minot Memoirs of Arthur E. Harris.”

Harris was born and lived in Minot for 85 years. He told of his life as a boy in the 1920s and of the social life of the times. Most social life took place at West Minot Grange meetings or at school. He told of raising beans to earn enough money to buy school clothes.

Harris told of the family dairy farm and spoke of his worst memory – when lightning struck and killed 13 of their dairy cows. He said when items not raised on the farm were needed, it would take a day to go to town with a horse and wagon. Harris also told of bartering or exchanging work with neighbors for items needed.

Harris discussed the changes in transportation, recalling the first family car, which cost $100, and his mother’s driving experience, which ended in a ditch. He said roads were not plowed in winter and so people stayed home or went by horse and sled. Today’s road maintenance, he said, was the biggest change in his life. Harris died on Dec. 28, 2005.

There will be no meeting of the Minot Historical Society in February. The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 14, at the Minot Town Office.