Hello there Cedric

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this.... but....I have a question that I hope someone there might be able to answer.

Where was the home that the Grout auto was started, I mean the first
workshop of the Grout brothers?

I have found a picture online, on the digital treasures site, of the residence of
Mrs. Ellen H. Grout and it mentions the barn behind the building as the first
workshop of the brothers. Here is the link to the picture:

The house in the photo is somewhat similar to my wife's parent's home in Orange. They did say at one time, it was rumored that something to do with the Grout auto was built in the garage/workshop behind their house. The house at the present time has none of the upper structure, is missing the wrap around porch, etc., but I do understand that a flood in the early part
of last century damages most of the homes in Orange.

Well, I realize this is a long shot, but if anyone there has any ideas about this, or actually might have the original address of this home in the picture, that would be much appreciated! Thanks for any help!!

Gary Stofer

Hello Gary and of course, this is exactly the right place to ask. You may be answered in due time. We'll ask around in our travels or perhaps one of our other gentle readers will make a contribution of knowledge to your quest.

Cedric

Dear Cedric:

Is it just winter? is it just me? the more I watch the presidential debates, the more depressed I get. What can I do?

WildRose

Dear Wild:

We hear you. Now that John Edwards is gone, Hillary and Barack are looking pretty smug. We did like the line for Republicans asking whether we'd like a president that looks more likethe guy we work with or the guy who laid us off. But over all, it's nopt you. The whole spectace is pretty depresing. But wait. There is hope. Click on over to www.writeinwillie.com. for a little bit of fun.

Cedric

Dear Cedric:

Please help. I am at my wits end. I have been trying all afternoon to get the woodstove going. My wood pile got snowed on. I've used up about a dozen copies of Quabbin Valley Voices with no luck. What's my problem?

Spunky

Dear Spunkster: Don't fret so. Sometimes combustion just isn't so spontaneous as one might wish. Why I could tell you stories... but I digress. Getting the stove going requires only two things, well, three, really - heat, air and a fuel source. You might be right about the wood. Is it punky, spunky? It wants to be as dry as the journals you are igniting to get things going. (And aren't we all so glad that newspapers have not completely disappeared yet?) Newsprint - even with typos - burns ever so much better than those slippery four-color slick Martha Stewart Living magazines. And there are stacks of the stuff right by the door at Hannafords, free for the taking. Wet (or green) wood is not good. Make sure the air can get in and around your sticks. Patience is sometimes required. Bring your wood in under cover. All will be well. And if all else fails, just grit your teeth and turn up the oil heat if you can stand wondering why $3.10 a gallon and climbing is OK with those folks down in Washington Abby avers that we could use some backbone there -- and a tax on the speculators who are to blame for all of this. Be of good cheer, reports of the first Robin cannot be far off.

Cedric

Hi Ceddie:

While watching my tomatoes the other day, I thought I noticed a few more cars on my road than usual. Then I found a sort of slick brochure tossed in the weeds by the side of the road with a bag of McDonald's trash and french fries for something called the Northern Tier Geocashing Tournament. What is Geocatching anyway? I'd like to know.

Grundig

Dear Grundie:

Cedric avers that humans are immensely needy of things to fill their time. Gardening, cycling, reading, fly fishing, riding fancy bikes in troupes, even sitting in neighborhood bars are all great time consumers. And we are gullible, too. So the marketing folks who make global positioning units weren't selling enough units to the bass fishermen. Hey, ponds aren't so hard to find after all. So some smart marketing guy thinks out loud, "Here's an idea. Let's start a treasure hunt that relies on GPS units - that'll will get the yuppies and the hiking boot types and their credit cards right up off the couch, I betcha."

Yes, folks, it worked like a charm. People ran right out and bought plastic boxes at Wal-Mart and stuffed them full of little plastic lizards, key chains and other junk including personal notes. Then they buried or otherwise hid them in quasi-public locations like our peace park. And yup, right on command, folks like those at North Quabbin Woods saw their opportunity so now they organize tournaments, spend money on brochures and called it eco-tourism. Sales of GPS units ($199 to $1,000) spiked.

And the yuppies rose by the thousands like a trout to a fly. "Gas up the SUV, Mona, we're going out tonight. Global warming here we come. Spew out those hydrocarbons, we're going on a treasure hunt!" Yahoo."  And they called this eco-tourism?

Cedric cannot imagine anything wasting more time and resources for less reward. Relevance? Who cares, we're Americans. Cedric recommends other things to do, for those with dimly-lit imaginations - how about volunteering in a shelter? Teaching someone to read? Picking up trash by the side of the road? Helping to build someone a house? Protesting an injustice? Raising money to help stamp out hunger and homelessness. Watching paint dry? Just be sure to look both ways before crossing your street on Geocaching days - hunting treasures can be so exciting that speed limits hardly seem to matter.

Cedric

Hello Cedric

Don't you think it's just horrible the way they are trying to build windmills everywhere? I mean, how are we going to enjoy the view if they do that - like out there by Martha's Vinyard? I compost and bring my groceries home in a net bag every week but this is just terrible. Someone has to STOP this.

Eco-Friend

Dear Eco,

Abby thinks you should go out and see if a wheel has fallen off your hay wagon. Or go to Europe and see for yourself. There are windmills quietly making electricity every few miles all across North Central Germany. You did e-mail your question. You do read after dark, right? Pay attention. The permafrost is melting, the water is rising. It's way past time that we were doing something more than taking a few plastic bottles to the recycling bin. A lot more. The smog is starting to block those views you cherish so much.

Cedric

When we have had married presidents in the past, their spouses have been called "First Lady." I am wondering, if Hillary gets elected, what will we call her husband?

Political Novice

Dear PoNo

Hmm. People have called Bill Clinton lots of things over the years, but you are right, First Lady simply won't do in this case. This is a real stumper. We will ponder your question for a while and get back to you. After all, we have a year to figure this one out.

Cedric

My friend and I were at a recent weekend event and we saw a local farm selling gently raised turkeys. Now we like to support all that Local Hero and Buy Local stuff, but when we asked, it turned out that these turkeys were selling for about $3.20 a pound. Kind of makes you want a Butterball, doesn't it?
B & R

Dear BRrrrrr. (oops, the key got stuck)

It was sort of chilly over the weekend and yes, with regular - whatever that means - turkeys available for under a buck a pound, you raise an excellent question. The Solar People, the Bio-Diesel people and the Grow Locals must have all been brought up on the same farm. I don't know where they think the rest of us come from, but the prices they'd like to charge are often eye-poppers. Eggs in the supermarket are less than $1 a dozen. Can we afford to pay $2.50 to $4.00 for local and/or organic?  You'd think with no transportation in the mix, they could do better. A lot better.

Cedric

Dear Cecil:

How can there be interstate highways in Hawaii?
Fred

Dear Fred:
Hey, watch it buddy, the name is CEDRIC.
It's that federal government thing, Fred. The original interstate highway system was limited to the continental U.S.  Kind of makes sense, right?

But Hawaiians pointed out that one of the purposes of the interstate system was to strengthen national defense, and that Hawaii had lots of military installations that needed to be connected by good roads. And of course, all those road crews and asphalt companies agreed In 1960, Congress authorized $12 million for Hawaiian roads.

Three routes were approved and built and Hawaii now has more miles of interstate than Delaware (48 vs. 40.6). Poor Alaska, despite being on the mainland, has no miles of interstate at all. So now you know.
Cedric

Hi Cedric:

I recently heard  someone refer to someone as being a "brick Swede." I had no idea what they were talking about and was afraid to interrupt and ask. Can you tell me what is a brick Swede?

Fred

Hello Fred:

While we aver that interruptions are sometimes construed as being impolite, a polite interruption in search of knowledge will rarely be off-putting.

We were charmed when we looked into the meaning of the phrase in question, brick Swede. You may have noticed that there is no shortage of Johnsons or Andersons in these parts. Apparently, at one time in Orange, there were plenty of Swedish immigrants and their descendants. Enough, it turns out to support two Lutheran churches. One is on Cheney Street, the other on Pleasant. And since the Cheney Street Swedes built their sanctuary of brick and the Pleasant Street Swedes, more conservative in their religious beliefs, built of wood, the full explanation is that a shorthand developed, i.e. "He was a brick church Swede." or "She married a wood church Swede."

Thanks to Karl Bittenbender, himself a Lutheran, for helping Cedric with this little bit of research.

Cedric

GSMB

Dear G:

Well, dear, Cedric has been busy enjoying the holidays and the delightful spring weather in January but no, Cedric has not forgotten. The statue was dedicated in May, 1934. Robert Collen was kind enough to send along a news cutting from the Orange Enterprise & Journal. Considering that many if not most "peace" statues and war memorials feature tanks and guns,  you are forgiven for thinking that might have been true in Orange, too. Not so. The sculptor, Joseph P. Pollia,  was quoted as saying, "I have never considered hand grenades and barbed wire artistic or necessary adjuncts to a War Memorial..."

And, "I have always tried to make my work a character study in personal bravery and strength rather than advertisements in bronze to the munitions makers." The story ran with a photo and there is no rifle.

So there you have it. No Gun. Just a powerful image. Much needed in these troubling times.

Cedric

Dear Sam:

Did you notice that your question marks remain right side out? And how long did it take you to learn to type backwards, anyway? You could, Cedric wonders, hold a mirror up to this and perhaps it would flip over and be readable. But why bother. It's just really, really hot out and we don't have the energy.

Cedric