Talk:Henry Hoʻolulu Pitman

I changed all the newspapers to inline citations. Previous version before change. It is a little more trouble than it is worth. KAVEBEAR (talk) 15:43, 26 July 2018 (UTC)Reply

• https://books.google.com/books?id=VMMUhv-F-3QC&pg=PA80&dq=%22Augustin+Ybarzabal%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3u4-X3ZCJAxVo4ckDHa59MREQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=%22Augustin%20Ybarzabal%22&f=false

School of Woodbridge and Adams, Auburndale, Mass.

In the fall of 1858 our father took my brother John T. and myself up to Auburndale, Mass., a village in the town of Newton, ten miles out from Boston on the Boston & Worcester Railroad, where he placed us under the tuition of a preparatory school taught by the Rev. Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge and a Mr. Adams, whose given name I forget. The schoolhouse was near the banks of the Charles River, separated from the residences of the teachers, which were about half a mile distant from the schoolhouse buildings. The teachers each had boarders at their residences. We boarded with Mr. Woodbridge. His residence was on a block of land where two streets crossed, being in the northwest corner of the property which comprised somewhere about ten acres. Some 600 feet to the east another long street running north and south separated Mr. Woodbridge's property from that of the noted Laselle Female Academy, which was on top of a hill in the midst of a grove of trees with a nice lawn and flower beds immediately surrounding the academy buildings.

Immediately to the east of Mr. Woodbridge's house was a considerable fruit garden where he had a nice lot of pear trees of different varieties, and currant bushes of several colors, gooseberries, strawberries, etc. Further on, towards the Laselle Academy, was the vegetable garden and a cornfield. These were on quite level lands for 300 feet from the east and west road that passed in front of the house at the northwest corner.

Opposite our front was the Congregational Church in the center of quite a grove of trees of different varieties, where services were held morning and evening, on every Sabbath day.

In the rear of the dwelling, to the south, was the barn and stable for a horse and several milk cows, a phaëton and a sleigh.

The well was on the outside of the house, on the east, but the big force pump was inside near the east wall of the kitchen, which forced water up into a reservoir in the upper story or garret, whence pipes led to a good bathroom fitted with hot and cold water pipes.

The railroad ran approximately east and west, the passenger station being some quarter of a mile to the north, the street on our west leading down to it with a gentle downhill slope.

South of the Woodbridge house, fruit and vegetable garden that reached to the road on the east was a tract of wood and grass land that sloped up towards the south to a hilltop of the ridge several hundred yards with no buildings thereon. Across the street on our west was the residence of a Mr. Worcester, who had a daughter named Mary, on whom my brother John T. got considerably smitten. She was a mighty nice girl, about his age.

The description will show that this was quite a scattered village at that date, 1858. The Charles River meandered along its western boundary and was quite a nice boatable stream, as well as for bathing and fishing and bullfrogging amongst its lily pads, all the way up to Newton Lower Falls, where there was a dam and several industries that used the power derived from the dam. A spur track from the main line was in use.

Every residence had ample grounds, grass, groves, and flowers that climate permitted.

I think that we never had more than ten or twelve boys boarding here. During our first winter a Mrs. Starkwether, a relative of Mr. Woodbridge, who was a widower, with two boys from fourteen to eighteen years old, was our housekeeper.

The routine daily except Saturdays and Sundays was: Bell for prayers at early daylight, breakfast, then away with our books to the schoolhouse one-half mile off, through a pleasant path through groves and along the bank of the river.

The schoolhouse was really a place for recitations principally, as most of the studying was done at the residences under regular study hours in daytime and evenings after supper.

We were back for dinner at 1 p. m., then study hours to 4 p. m. Then play till supper, then study two hours, then prayers and to bed.

No restrictions were placed on our movements in recreation hours. We had to be in at regular hours or the doors were locked. We then had explanations to make to Mr. Woodbridge, who alone let us in.

School Fellows from Cuba, Mexico, Louisiana and Missouri

There were two boys from New Orleans, George Converse and Munroe Cary; one from Missouri, Benjamin Singleton; three from Boston, Frank and Hooper and Willie Bond; one from Havana, Cuba, Alfredo Garzon; one from Mexico, Augustin Ybarzabal. There were also day scholars, whose parents lived in the neighborhood.

The boarders were from well-to-do families, of course, whose parents could pay considerable bills. I never did know what the fees for board and tuition were.

When I come to look back at our surroundings at Auburndale I can see that they were ideal for such a school. There was absolutely no night life. The village merchants, confectioners and all, shut up at nightfall and went to their homes, and opened after breakfast next morning.

Most of the citizens had their daily business in Boston, and lived with their families in this country village. Trains were run especially for such traffic. When parties were given at homes the boys at our school and the girls at the Academy were invited as if belonging to the village life and society.

If any boy had any hankering for a vicious life his only chance to participate in such was for him to get to stay a few days in Boston, and he could not get to do that unless his parents or guardians specially gave their permission, and if any suspicion arose as to his actions in the city he had to clear them up or be sent home. The whole year and a half I was there I never knew of such a case. In the little entertainments and exercises at the Academy the whole village participated, and in skating or sledding on the snowy hills the girls and boys all participated as if all citizens of the village. I mentioned bullfrogs as part of the game we boys sometimes took. One afternoon I had borrowed a small single-barrel muzzle-loader from a citizen boy, and Ben Singleton and I got a boat and went for bullfrogs on the Charles River up towards Newton Lower Falls. Shallow places spread out on the sides of the river were filled with the broad leaves of the water lilies and towards nightfall the big green frogs would get up on those leaves to croak. We shot them as long as we could see how to aim. After that the moon was shining. One would stand in the bow with paddle in hand, slowly and gently paddling the boat towards the croaking frog. When in reach a blow with the flat of the paddle would get him every time. They seemed to gulp in a stomach full of air when struck, for they always floated with their light-colored bellies up. We lost none. After getting some two dozen or more, we thought we had best be getting back home, as it was after 9 p. m. and we were locked out.

Auburndale

Arriving back, we knocked at the locked door. Mr. Woodbridge himself came. Unlocking the door with a very fierce face, he says, "Well, boys, what does this mean?" "Mr. Woodbridge, look what we have got," holding up the heavy string of frogs. "Oh-h-h, that is a fine lot. Where did you get them?" "Down on the river. That's what we've been doing." "Bring them in the kitchen. We will sure have a good meal of legs to-morrow. They are fine, they are fine."

Nothing was ever said about being out after hours. We did have a fine mess, for the whole crowd, of frogs' hind legs; very white meat and tender, like a young tender chicken.

During winter the backwater from the Charles River into a large bay would be frozen over, often to a depth of ten inches.

Sometimes the main river would be frozen over, giving skating down to Waltham dam, where was a big watch factory and other factories using the water power. We learned to skate very well.

During heavy snows, all wheel vehicles were laid aside and sleds, sleighs and other such means of transportation came into use. Snow would be packed hard on the roads, and whether frozen or not the riding was smooth and free from jolts. From the top of a ridge at Laselle Academy it was a grand slide of fully one half mile to the foot of the hill at the railroad. We made several double-runners, made of two sleds; a heavy two-bytwelve plank twelve feet long was securely bolted down on top of the rear sled; underneath the front end of the plank a block of one-inch plank four inches square was fastened in the center with screws; then through plank and block and center of the seat of the front sled a halfinch hole was bored, through which a half-inch bolt and nut held all securely together, making a pivot or king bolt. A piece of plank across front sled extending six inches on each side of sled and securely fastened to same gave a place for the leading boy's feet, by means of which the machine was easily guided at any speed. Sometimes the lead boy deliberately guided the whole outfit into a bank of snow to one side, mixing up the whole layout of boys and girls and grown folks and snow into a delightful hurly-burly. A pedestrian on the road stood no chance whatever. When he saw that swift outfit coming he got clear out of reach.

Often the miles of ice were as smooth as a mirror, but after a heavy fall of snow, to get any skating we would have to sweep same from the ice into piles, leaving streets and lanes to skate on, with high banks of dry snow on the sides; boys and girls, young men and women all helped in the frolic.

KAVEBEAR (talk) 15:46, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply

Seem to have been called Riverside Academy. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Riverside_Academy_at_Auburndale_Newton/X-4imgEACAAJ?hl=en KAVEBEAR (talk) 23:41, 15 October 2024 (UTC)Reply