I have an abundance of stonewall panthers this summer, aka chipmunks. This is something new at my place. I’ve always had dozens of snakes. The snakes kept the panther population in check, but in recent years my snakes have disappeared, … Continued
Allie Hawkes was born in Chester in 1884, living ‘til 1970. Allie had been Chester town manager. Thankfully, he recorded some of his early Chester memories. In 1987 Martha Bessey made notes in the margins of Allie’s typewritten histories. Martha’s … Continued
Frank Bidwell found this article in the Dec. 14, 1843 Whig Standard at the Library of Congress. The Whig Standard was a daily newspaper in Washington, D.C. I suggest you read the Whig newspaper article from Frank first, and then … Continued
Lee Kendall is Kim’s older brother by two years. Back about 1985 Lee wrote a few stories about growing up on the farm. Today, Kim owns the property. Lee mentions a cousin John on the Suwanee River. John is Kendall … Continued
I became president of the Chester Historical Society in 2006. At that time, there was an overgrown and rotted picket fence separating the historical society lawn from the cemetery. Grapevines had become established and were aggressively growing on the fence. … Continued
Perhaps you’ve heard tell of the wall, or maybe you took part in the 1960s. Chester’s downtown used be very busy. Kids have always needed a place to hang out. The wall at Brookside Cemetery was Chester’s hangout. In the … Continued
Last summer when Frank Bidwell, Danny Clemons, Peter Farrar, and I were working at the historical society, Tom Hildreth stopped by. Dave Amidon from Connecticut, an acquaintance of Tom’s, had contacted Tom about his “Abbott” family members who had served … Continued
The article here was found in the March 13, 1975 Springfield Reporter. I don’t remember the fire, but Ted Spaulding does. Peter Farrar told me there was a picture of the house and some history in Child’s 1883 Gazetteer. I … Continued
I paid Ted Spaulding a visit this past Saturday, May 29. It’s not uncommon for one of us to mention a person or event from the past that gets the other to thinking. I’ll say to Ted, “Do you remember … Continued
Saturday May 22 was Chester’s fishing derby. It is sponsored by the Chester Rod & Gun Club and held at the Chester reservoir. As usual, Danny Clemons and I were there. George Wilson was there and registered 37 kids for … Continued