Years ago, when the First Congregational Church held its annual Labor Day Flea Market, an older gentleman who was perusing the items for sale at the Rochester Historical Society tent said to me, “You know, Rochester is still a nice town to live in, but it’s grown so. It used to be at an event like this I would know everyone, and today, I haven’t recognized a soul”.
Anna White expressed a similar sentiment at one of the Waterman School reunions. She was remembering that growing up in town, everyone not only pretty much knew everyone, but they also knew what was going on in each other’s lives. This was in part, because most people belonged to the same town organizations, like 4-H, the Women’s Club, the Grange, the Boy Scouts or the Men’s Brotherhood, among others.
However, another reason for this communal knowledge were the articles written by Georgia Chamberlain who among many other of her activities was the Standard Times Rochester correspondent for many years. This job made her the eyes and ears of Rochester. Her stories covered family milestones, the successes of Rochester students, the activities of the various social organizations, as well as items about interesting residents.
One such story was about Mrs. Philip Jordanais of Mendall Rd. and her hobby. Mrs. Jordanais’s hobby was canaries. She started off with a pair of birds and after educating herself through reading and observation, she successfully bred the pair. At the time of the article, she had an orchestra of nine singing canaries. She said that “four are good singers, one exceptionally fine and one can dance.” It would seem that all nine created a joyful noise and looking at the picture, you can tell that her hobby brought her great enjoyment.
It was through articles like this that Rochester residents kept up with the activities and interests of friends and neighbors. The stories Mrs. Chamberlain contributed to the newspaper provided townspeople with a social network long before Facebook and Twitter.
By Connie Eshbach