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| THE STORY OF THE BOLTON GERANIUM: |
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| Aurilla and Arthur Miner, 1885 |
THE STORY OF THE BOLTON GERANIUM:
The photo below of Aurilla and Arthur Miner was taken in 1885 when
they married. He was 18, she 17. According to local legend, 10-15 years later, when Arthur was working in the greenhouse
on one of the Thayer Estates in neighboring Lancaster, he brought 'Rilla a slip of an unusual geranium as a gift. She
successfully propagated it and soon many of her friends and neighbors in Bolton wanted a scion and Bolton was filled with
the lovely bicolor that bloomed all winter. Time passed, people moved on and away, plants died or were forgotten, and by
1970 the only known Bolton geranium was living with Florence Sawyer who was leaving town for the winter. Mrs. Sawyer gave
the plant to Esther Whitcomb to plant and on Mrs. Sawyer's death, Mrs. Whitcomb took over the hardy survivor and kept
the strain going for the next several years. Bob Ordung of Lancaster Gardens at Five Corners agreed to propagate the Bolton
Geranium from the Bolton Historical Society, and it was first offered for sale in the Spring of 1988, to help celebrate Bolton's
250th birthday.
Not just another pretty face, the Bolton Geranium is a direct link to Bolton's past, and
has several unusual properties. Although a bicolor, no two petals are alike. Unlike modern hybridized geraniums, the Bolton
Geranium sets seeds and unlike many modern hybrids, it will bloom heavily all winter, given sufficient sunlight and care.
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| Roger Breeze, Alice Coggeshall planting Mother Apple |
BOLTON'S MOTHER APPLE
Tender,
sweet and juicy with an aromatic flesh, Mother Apple is considered one of the finest eating apples. Now an heirloom variety,
Mother was developed in Bolton in the early 1800's by Steven Partridge Gardner. Having served as a general in the militia,
Gardner came to Bolton in 1798, married Achsah Moore, and built his house on the Great Raod (#642, now the parsonage for
the First Parish Church). Gardner ran a store in a building behind his house, stocking it with sundry items, some earmarked
for the poor. The store must have also sold spirits because he held a liquor license from 1793 to 1805. Gardner's interest
in pomology led him to create Mother. Described as a medium-sized with golden yellow skin with red striping, mother never
reached commercial success because it does not keep well and ripens unevenly. This apple is best eaten right from the tree.
Mother Apple still exists at such places as Nashoba Valley Winery, Sturbridge Village and Tower Hill. Anyone interested in
growing their own Mother Apple can contact the Worcester Horticultural Society; they sell the scion wood for grafting in
late winter.
Educational Resource for the Month of June,
2013
Then and Now
Keeping Up with The Times
Buying a new car can be a daunting task. Hybrid or all gas?
SUV or sedan? What can $25,000.00 get you? But back in simpler times: Charlie Mace and his wife Sarah lived most
of their married life in the center of town. They could walk to anything going on in Bolton, and for any other purpose
a horse and buggy filled their needs. But around 1910, Charlie got the urge to buy an automobile. With the closest
car dealership being in Boston, Charlie boarded a train one fine spring day to car shop along Commonwealth Avenue. After
finding one to his liking, he paid in cash and then informed the salesman that there was one little problem: "I don't
know how to drive." After a few trips around the block with the salesman, Charlie started home, gaining confidence
with every mile, and arrived back in Bolton without an accident!
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| Advertisement for the Crestmobile in 1903 |
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| Doctor Warren Houghton's Crestmobile |
Snippet
Summer Time in the Country
The dog days of summer are at last upon us; and as many Bolton residents pack their bags and head
out of town, there was a time, from the 1890's to 1940's, when Bolton was the summer destination choice for many.
Boarding folks from the city was once a common practice. Helen Woodbury, principal of the Emerson School for
about 23 years, wrote fondly about the 9 year old twins that boarded with her one summer in the 1930's. She kept
them very busy with activities such as ring toss, punching bags, fishing, caring for the rabbit and picking wild flowers.
It was reported upon returning home that "each child gained in weight, height, color and energy."
Summer
colonies or "camps" were also popular. The largest, located at the end of South Bolton Road at the Hudson/Berlin
line, boasted names such as "Camp Catherine" and "the barracks." Many of these bungalows and cottages
still exist as year round residences.
West and Little ponds also had summer cabins and fishing shacks and an amusement
park of sorts called "Tiny Town." We know very little about Tiny Town and the Historical Society would appreciate
any information about it.
Literature
This handwritten anonymous poem, found in a folder at the Bolton Historical Society,
should inspire poignant memories for many Bolton walkers:
A Woodland Walk
Ah, What a woodland walk! How gay.
The poison-ivy decked the way!
And in the glade the fair nightshade
Its dainty bloom and fruit displayed.
The deadly sumac is gorgeous red.
Raised waving banners overhead.
Like wine the air! All nature bright.
To win the pore and charm the sight.
I like to tell the tale,
and yet
That woodland walk I would forget!
It may not be! In bandage still
I work to earn my doctor's
bill.
All ye who to the forest fare
To seek the glowing foliage there,
A work of warning take from me!
First study up on botany!
 
Educational
Material for the Month of May, 2013
DOCUMENT OF THE MONTH:
To the Selectmen of the Town of Bolton,
Gentlemen,
These are to Request of you that as soon as may bee you Call together the freeholders and others Inhabitants of Said
Town qualified to Vote in Town Affairs to hear and Act upon the Petitions of Sundry of the Inhabitants of Said Town being
Date Nov. 9th 1776 and to see if The Town wil Kunsider or Diskuss a Vote passed Jan. 30, 1775 which Some Imagin is lying
in the way of a Compliance with a Vote passed Dec 12th to have all the Controversies that have Subjected to --- Mr. Goss
& his Adherents and sd Town to Judjment of Indifferent men mutually Chosen and If that is not Complyed with to see if
the Town will Exempt Wm Goss, Adherents From paying Rates to Mr Walley until a settlement may be made in some Constitutional
way and in so Doing you will oblige your humble Petitioners.
Bolton Nov. 4, 1776
Samuel Snow (aged
50)
Jeremiah Holman (aged 40)
William Wilder (aged 32)
Jonathan Green
Robert Barbard
Amos Merriman
(aged 4-)
Samuel Nurse (aged 46)
Josiah Johnson
Barnabas Baley (aged 60)
William Fyfe
John Nurse
(aged 35)
Oliver Pollard
Jonathan Moore (aged 32)
John Barnard (a doctor)
 THEN AND NOW:
Bolton townsmen of all ages before 1776 were expected to train at
the Lancaster or Harvard training fields. The Town paid for the ammunition used for some guns and for the dinners held on
the semi-annual training days. The men were expected to provide their
own guns. In Bolton, at that time, the Town's supply of powder and balls were kept under the pulpit of the First Meeting
House. In the Second Meeting House (1779) the powder was stored" under the garret and the tower had a locked door".
In 1812, because of the new State law, the Town built a brick powder house on the promontory behind the Meeting House ---
a much safer place for ammunition. This building is still standing and is the oldest Town-owned building. It was used as
the design for the town seal in 1901.
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