Selected from the pages of The Evening Press and lightly annotated by Sally Haase
Secret Location, Apr. 3, 1919: The first trout story of the season was given this morning, under a strict pledge of secrecy – as if anyone would tell the public where a whole barrel of great trout could be found – and only 10 miles from Middletown. Dan_____, we can’t give his end name, told his story of the great trout that he caught Tuesday morning, before the trout law had been off.
The story begins last October, when he was out after woodcock. Trouters are always looking for signs, even in off season, and Dan went to a big hole, where two brooks meet and noticed that it was crowded with trout. All winter long he thought of those trout and often spoke in his sleep dreaming of them.
On April first, Dan was up, several strides ahead of the sun, and Dan takes pretty long steps – milked the cows, filled up the wood box, swallowed a cup of hot coffee and made for the cod sheep-wash hole. He was disappointed to see that it was covered with ice, sealed like a drum. He baited his hook with three great “nightwalkers,” raised them high in the air and then dropped them on the ice believing they would go through the ice. The hunk of worms went down kerplunk and laid on the ice. Suddenly, he got the surprise of his life. In a flash, the thick sheet of ice rose in the air about two feet and fell back into the pool all splintered up by the impulse of the immense school of trout that rushed for his hunk of worms. Dan said that it was all his family could eat for one meal. 
Haddam, Apr. 5, 1919: At the war bureau meeting at the community house last evening, called for the purpose of appointing committees for the fifth Liberty Loan and home-coming celebration, Elwyn T. Clark was appointed town chairman. Bert Thompson was chosen chairman for the Haddam district, Albert Hubbard for Higganum, Emerson G. Clarke for Haddam Neck. Atty. R.U. Tyler was requested to compile the historical events connected with Haddam during the war, to be kept among the town records.
Higganum, Apr. 8, 1919: Frank Santy has just returned from overseas, having been discharged. He was in the battle of Chateau Thiery, St. Mihiel, Argonne and Verdun. On November 14th, having started toward the march on the Rhine, he injured his hand and was confined in the hospital in France until February. He has many interesting experiences to relate.
Middletown, Apr. 8, 1919: The evening school, that has been run in the high school this winter, has closed with certificates presented to 89 people. Frank A. Coles, chairman of the Americanization committee, spoke about the classes run principally for non-English speaking people who were taught reading, writing and spelling. A class in citizenship has been run for the past 10 weeks and a considerable number of attendees have applied for naturalization papers.
Haddam, Apr. 12, 1919: One hundred and twenty pounds of clothing was sent from here for the refugees last week. Mrs. Bert Thompson attended to the packing and delivered it to the Red Cross in Middletown.
Moodus, Apr. 12, 1919: Charles A. Russell expects to sail from France for home today on the “Touraine.”
Higganum, Apr. 14, 1919: O. F. Richards, the tax collector, will be at the store of Walter Clark, Wednesday, to receive taxes.
Killingworth, Apr. 15, 1919: Miss Lydia Hartig, pastor of the Congregational church, will hold meetings this week at the school houses: Wednesday at the Union; Thursday at the Lane; Friday at Chestnut Hill. Miss Ethel Chittenden, who has been very sick with the influenza, is improving but is not able to sit up any at the present.
Haddam Neck, Apr. 15, 1919: James L. flood, of the USS Plattsburg, is home on leave. He has completed two years of active service and crossed the Atlantic 20 times. Sergeant Oscar Nyman is home from Camp Eustice, Va., having been discharged from the service last week.
New York, Apr. 16, 1919: The transport Ohioan brought to port today the first American carrier pigeons to return from the Europe war zone. They saw service in the battle of Meuse-Argonne, carrying messages from advanced posts to the rear when the German artillery cut wire communication. Among the pigeons was one “Cher Ami” which carried messages from the Argonne forest to a rear headquarters. “Cher Ami” had a leg shot off in carrying a message back but continued on the way to her cote.
Middletown, Apr. 18, 1919: Transactions were completed, whereby The Evening Press was formally transferred from C.B. King to the Middletown Press Publishing Co. The new owners plan to feature local news.
Killingworth, Apr. 18, 1919: The Liberty Loan committee for Killingworth will canvas the town for subscriptions to the Fifth Liberty Loan. Member of the committee are: P.E. Parmelee, Lovell D. Parmelee, Sidney D. Kelsey, Clarence E. Chittenden and Mrs. P.E Parmelee.
Higganum, Apr. 18, 1919: Adv: Extra number of Sperry & Hutchinson’s Green Trading stamps for Saturday’s special low price sale of choice meats. Public Market, 480 Main St., Middletown, near Stueck’s bakery. [S&H Green stamps]
Hartford, Apr. 23, 1919: State Senate Votes Down Suffrage Bill. By a vote of 19 to 16, the senate rejected the [state] bill to give women the right to vote for president in this state. Senator Hazen of Haddam voted in favor of the measure. [This was a bill in the state senate and not the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.]
Boston, Apr. 23, 1919: Relatives and friends of the 26th division are coming from all over New England to view the Victory Parade on Friday. It is estimated that more than a million New Englanders would be here to watch their boys march through the city before being mustered out into civilian life. The main streets are ablaze with colors -thousands of flags, streamers and bunting. A drum will be used in the parade that has been through both the Civil war and the battlefields of France, where the Y.D. boys [Yankee Division] made themselves famous.
Haddam, Apr. 26, 1919: Haddam goes “Over The Top.” The chairman of the Liberty Loan in Haddam, reported to headquarters in Hartford, that this town had oversubscribed its quota in the Victory Loan. Haddam is the eight town in the state to do so.
Middletown, Apr. 27, 1919: Indications are that in the near future Middletown will have a branch of the American Legion, an organization composed of veterans of the World War, national in scope, whose purposes are to promote the welfare of its members. The American Expeditionary forces in France took the initial step in the formation of a non-partisan, non-political association of the veterans of the war, adopting the name “American Legion.”
100 years ago, much has changed and, then again, nothing has changed.
Victory Liberty Loan image from the Evening Press.
