Imagine you're sitting in the shadowy hall of the
Sawyerville Hotel, after hours. You're listening to stories from the Hotel's
co-owner France d'Amours. Her voice lowers as she tells you what she found
behind the oil tank in the furnace room eight years ago.
"It
was so dirty, covered with a thick coat of dust, that I couldn't see what it
was. Then I felt glass. So I got a rag and wiped it off, and there it was - a
really old photo of a really tall man, with a beard. He looked like he was about
seven feet tall! Later I found a cane, a really long one. We think it must have
belonged to him."
But who is that
really tall man? The more I searched, the more the mystery thickened. The photo
itself bore no identifying marks.
Eventually,
perhaps, along with Socrates, I will arrive at the certainty that "all I know
is that I know nothing." But I'm putting this mystery before you in the hopes
that someone knows a bit more than I do about the Sawyerville Hotel and a tall
gentleman who frequented it long ago.
The man in the photo
sported a bushy white beard around the time of 1910. He probably had some
connection with the Sawyerville Hotel. Or why would his photo have ended up in
the Hotel? A 16-by-20-inch sepia cardboard-backed photo in a handsome wood frame
with a curved top.
Then there's the
matter of the 39-inch plain wooden cane with a curved handle. It's a long cane.
It must have been carried by a tall man. But perhaps not the same man as in the
photo - that man has two long legs that seem to firmly reach the ground. Whose
cane was it?
And then there's the
reason d'Amours voice dropped to a whisper as she spoke of the artefacts. A
ghostly presence has been felt at night in the hotel. Not just felt. Seen. By
more than one person. He's a tall gentleman, and he seems to have a friendly
interest in the goings-on at the hotel. Who could it be?
So far, the talk has
turned around three well-known citizens of the early 1900s. First, there's
Joseph "Sheepskin Joe" Taylor Jr. I've seen photos of him. He carried a cane
and he had a bushy beard. But he was only 5 ft. 7 in. tall. And he was dead set
against alcohol. At least twice, he took an oath not to touch the stuff. We
know that from his fascinating diary which spanned 30 years. His great-grandson
Campbell McBurney said Sheepskin Joe would "roll over in his grave" if he knew
there was a photo of him at the Sawyerville Hotel, famed as it was for its bar.
Sheepskin Joe was an
upstanding citizen and a keen observer of his times. He had a farm in East
Clifton, just below Sawyerville. He earned his nickname by wearing a homemade
cape "made of tanned sheep skins sewn together and worn with the wool outside,"
wrote Mildred E. Waldrun in her little book about him. But no, the photo wasn't
of him.
Another candidate was
Bill "The Glass Man" McCallum. He had a mysterious ability to drive nails,
spikes or tacks through glass without shattering it. After a Saturday night at
the Sawyerville Hotel, he'd go on a rampage down the street, nailing bottles or
light bulbs to telephone poles on his way. So they say, people who knew him.
For example, Mayotta Taylor née Winslow. She's the niece of Bill McCallum's
brother, who lived in Randboro.
But Bill never wore a
beard, she said. And he was born in 1875 - too young to have a white beard in
1910. The photo of him in the book The Imps and Bill McCallum by Freeman
Clowery shows him holding a cane, and wearing a platform shoe. He'd been
injured as a child in the Magdalen Islands. His right leg was about seven
inches too short. So no, the photo is surely not of him. But could the cane be
his? Could the friendly but ghostly presence in the hotel be his?
And finally there was
Frank Greenlay, the ox driver. A small and shadowy photo of him shows some
similarities with the mystery photo. In fact, when Jan Graham saw it, she said
"That's Uncle Frank!" Or actually, that would be her great-uncle Frank, in-law
- her husband's mother's father's brother.
Frank Greenlay owned
the Greenlay Block, in downtown Sawyerville where the post office now stands.
He was known for driving an ox and wagon around town. He was tall. But was it
really him in the Sawyerville Hotel photo? I compared it to another photo of
him, offered by Lorraine Thayer, Jan Graham's niece. I see a resemblance, but
also some discrepancies. His beard, his build and his clothes seem quite
different.
It's a funny thing
about research. It thickens the possibilities. Stand by for more news, or maybe
a final laying down of arms as I admit I know nothing. But my question is: Do
you have a photo of Frank Greenlay, or any other member of his family? Or do
you have any ideas about the identity of the mystery man? If so, please contact
me at Ra.writes@gmail.com or 819-300-2374.
William Stone's Leg
Eaton Corner Museum's
event of the year is a new play by Maureen Lowry about the man whose leg was
amputated in 1847 in Eaton Corner. The performances are on Saturday, February
15, at the Sawyerville Community Centre at 2 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. They
will be in English. Admission is $8, and proceeds help support the Eaton Corner
Museum. Space is limited, so reserve tickets now. Contact 819-875-3182, or
pboychuck@eatoncorner.ca.
Parenting 101
What do children need
in order to become independent, self-reliant and resilient? And what parenting
styles and how-to's can help in today's hurried world? The Eaton Valley
Community Learning Centre (CLC) at the Pope Memorial School in Bury presents a
videoconference workshop about this pressing topic on Tuesday, February 4, at
6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Hurry on over to 523 Stokes St., Bury. They grow up fast.
Info: 819-872-3771 or fessendenk@etsb.qc.ca.
Churck services
United: Sunday services and Sunday school are at 9:30 a.m. in
Cookshire, and at 11 a.m. in Sawyerville (for details, listen to message at
819-889-2838, and for more info, leave a message and phone number).
Anglican: Sunday services are at 9:30 a.m. at the St. Paul's
Church in Bury (with Sunday school for children) and 11 a.m. in Cookshire.
Until April 13, the St. Peter's Anglican Sunday services in Cookshire will be
in the Trinity United Church, 190 Principale St. West (819-239-6902).
Baptist: In Sawyerville, the worship service is at 9 a.m. in
French, and 11 a.m. in English. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. in English and
French (819-239-8818).
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email
ra.writes@gmail.com by February 3 for publication February 12
and by February 17 for February 26.
