(Editor’s note: Current commentary in italics, otherwise copy is reprinted just as it was in the August 6, 1896 edition of the RANGELEY LAKES newspaper).

The ‘opener’ for this edition of Snap Shots in Time was found on page one and made me think about all the reconstruction work being done between the S-Curves on Route 4 and Madrid. Travel it twice a day maybe 5 days a week and it just seems to be taking FOEVER, but it is now easy to see how nice it will be when completed. Just as two Railroads were the major arteries of commerce to and from Rangeley back in the day, Routes 4 & 17 now provide our ‘life’s blood’, so it is good to see the investments being made to improve them. Back in 1896 the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes Railroad was experiencing some major improvements as well which these observations share:

Along the Sandy River R. R.

A narrow gauge is more or less an accommodation train. The obliging conductors stop at highway crossings and farmhouses to take on or let off passengers. At one place recently a lady passenger left the train carrying her pet dog by the loose skin of his back. The canine seemed to enjoy it fully as much as did the passengers. (Sarah Mclaughlin would NOT be pleased)

That “dizzy feeling” one formerly experienced when crossing the old Strong trestle is not now present. The track that formerly stood on high stilts now- rests on a substantial bed of gravel, and a fine steel truss bridges the stream.

The sharp curves have nearly all disappeared, and the engineer is now

deprived of his old-time privilege of begging a “chaw” of the rear brakeman as the train suddenly doubled on itself. (Basically…Hit the brakes Sam, before we wreck)

The larger part of the improvements are in the limits of the town of Strong. The latest is building round the “mountain” instead of going over it. It would seem as if the engineers and contractors, who originally did the work, were imbued with that pertinacity that existed in the first settlers, and which caused them to build roads over a hill when the distance around it would have been no greater. (Kind of like the super sharp turns they took out of Rte. 4 about 6 years ago near Small’s Falls. Grass now goes where once a memorable signature part of the trip to Rangeley once traced)

The new line runs mostly in sight from the old and is quite a number of feet lower; it saves a hard climb and will shorten the distance quite a bit. And, of course this will mean to lessen the time between the two terminals. The ties are all laid, the rails all spiked, the gravel train is on duty and next week will see trains running over the new line.

Sixty minutes between Farmington and Phillips! The former running time cut in two! and the old stage time—well, anywhere from four to six hours less.

There is no jumping off and running ahead when you wish to reach a forward car in these days. And yet there are people who sigh for the “good old stagecoach. (Progress in 1896 personified!).

The RANGELEY LAKES often reprinted news of the world from other papers given the tiny hamlet’s distance from said world. They also shared interesting anecdotes like this one, because even today a spicy classified sparks reader interest…

Just What She Wanted

A lady whoso organ of benevolence was not properly developed once sent the following advertisement to a London paper: “A lady in delicate health wishes to meet with a useful companion. She must be domesticated, musical, early riser, amiable, of good appearance and have some experience of nursing. Total abstainer preferred. Comfortable home. No salary.”

A few days after the advertiser received a hamper labeled:

“This side up—with care—perishable.” On opening it she found a fine tabby cat with a letter tied to her tail. It ran thus: “Madam, in answer to your advertisement I am happy to furnish you with a very useful companion, which you will find exactly suited to your requirements. She is domesticated, a good vocalist, an early riser, possesses an amiable disposition and is considered handsome. She has had great experience as a nurse, having brought up a large family. I need scarcely add that she is a total abstainer. As salary to her is no object, she will serve you faithfully in return for a comfortable home.”

It would be putting it very mildly to say that this reply quite upset the lady’s equilibrium.

—Loudon Exchange.

(We will close here with some wisdom fit for anyone…not just the ladies, from Mrs. Dill the publisher’s wife. I am becoming rather fond of this woman as I read her weekly contributions. So here is some good advice for us ALL in these trying political and pandemic plagued times. Plus, a short poem and a couple recipes to try out from our much beloved Rangeley Region at the peak of her summer grandeur. Are we Blessed to be here or WHAT? Rangeley is timeless.)

A REAL Angel

For a good, every-day household angel give us the woman who laughs.

Her pastry may not always be just right, and she may occasionally burn her bread and forget to replace the missing buttons, but for solid comfort all day and every day she is a very paragon. Home is not a battlefield, nor life one long, unending fight. The trick of always seeing the bright side, of polishing up the dark one, is a very important faculty, one of the things no woman (ANYONE) should be without. We are not all born with sunshine in our hearts, as the Irish prettily phrase it, but we can cultivate a cheerful sense of humor if we only try.

In Blueberry Time

‘Tis blueberry time,

And the pasture High up on the hillside is sweet with the fragrance of hay,

And the incense of flowers you crush ’neath your feet.

The stone wall is crimsoned with briers, the clematis tangles its spray,

The deep, wine-red plume of the sumac

Uplifts like a soldier at bay.

Do the shining, heaped-up tin pails of plump, juicy blueberries look appetizing to you? Then try them in these different combinations:

BLUEBERRY CAKE

Thoroughly mix 2 heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, 1 gill of sugar, (The gill or ‘teacup’ is a unit of measurement for volume equal to a quarter of a pint. It is no longer in common use) 1/2 teaspoonful of salt with 1 generous pint of flour, sift, and rub 2 tablespoonfuls of butter into the mixture. Beat one egg till light and add 1/2 pint of milk. Add to the dry ingredients, beating well. Now add 1/2 Piet of blueberries and stir as little as possible. Spread in a shallow pan to the depth of 1 &1/2 inches and bake in a moderately hot oven for twenty-five minutes. Serve hot.

—Lewiston Journal.

BLUEBERRY PUDDING

Beat to a cream 2 tablespoonfuls of butter and ½ CUP of sugar. Add one egg well beaten, heat all together three minutes. Grate in 1/3 teaspoon of nutmeg. Dissolve 1/3 teaspoonful of soda in 1 teaspoonful of cold water, add 1 tablespoonful of sour milk, and stir all into the creamed sugar and butter. Stir in 3/4 cupful of flour, and lastly add 1 & 1/2 cupful’s of blueberries, stirring lightly. Steam two hours and serve with a hot sauce. (Not Siracha or Tabasco, I assume. Maybe vanilla or chocolate)

 

 

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