Category Archives: Stories of Halfway Brook

1. Is That the New Teacher? Sunday, November 29, 1868

by Louise Smith Posted on July 30, 2023

“Is that the new teacher?” Children and adults whispered the question as Chester Beers, six feet four and one-half inches tall, stepped into the Lumberland Congregational Church, on Sunday, November 29, 1868. Chester, age twenty-six, was a farmer from Walton, … Continue reading →

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Libby Kyte’s Teachers

by Louise Smith Posted on June 30, 2023

I went to school at home until 1861. Then for two or three years I attended at Shohola and Barryville. My teachers were Miss Ellen Beakey, George and Albert Stage, George Dubois of Bethel, Harriet Leavenworth, George Egbert Mapes and … Continue reading →

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Introduction to Farewell to Eldred, 1920–1950

by Louise Smith Posted on February 27, 2023

The next few posts will be from my book Farewell to Eldred. The Introduction: Farewell to Eldred resumes the narrative of Echo Hill and Mountain Grove, in the year 1920. Over a hundred years have passed since Charles Mortimer (Mort) … Continue reading →

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Rope Ferry, 1856

by Louise Smith Posted on February 17, 2019

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Log Rafts

by Louise Smith Posted on January 26, 2019

It’s hard to believe this Halfway Brook blog will be ten years old in September. Here is a post from 2009, with an image I recently found on Library of Congress. In 1800, Lumberland (then two years old), had a … Continue reading →

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1816, The Year of No Summer

by Louise Smith Posted on January 6, 2019

Terrible cold* blanketed the Northern Hemisphere with wintry weather in the summer of 1816. The notorious cold destroyed most of the crops in the Town of Lumberland, New York. Only rye, potatoes, and onions grew. Not even a blade of … Continue reading →

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Category Archives: Stories of Halfway Brook

1. Is That the New Teacher? Sunday, November 29, 1868

Libby Kyte’s Teachers

Introduction to Farewell to Eldred, 1920–1950

Rope Ferry, 1856

Log Rafts

1816, The Year of No Summer

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Abby, Laurilla, and Mary Ann

The Mill on Halfway Brook

Echo Hill and Mountain Grove

Farewell To Eldred

Aida Austin’s 1881 Diary

Grandma and Me