Metuchen Edison History Features

Recollections of

Boyhood Days

In Old Metuchen

By

David Trumbull Marshall

Published by The Case Publishing Co., Flushing NY 1930

(Second Edition)- (c) 1930

The Taits.

Some time about 1875 my mother went to call on her neighbor, Mrs. Tait. Mrs. Tait lived next to the Public School on Middlesex Turnpike. The afternoon mother called Mrs. Tait was not at home.

The Tait's Newfoundland dog barked so fiercely that Mother was afraid to open the gate.

Thorfin Tait, who was a very small child, assured Mother that the dog would not bite. "He doesn't bite respectable people."

When Mother got home she said she was disappointed at not seeing Mrs. Tait, but she felt paid for her trip for she had learned that she was at least rated "respectable."

In 1875 many poor boys at Metuchen went bare-foot, sometimes even to school. If one went bare-foot it was to be presumed that it was because one could not afford shoes.

Mr. Tait, who was a Scotchman, had very strong ideas about the physical training of his three big boys and to strengthen them made them go barefoot.

As Mr. Tait was so obviously able to afford shoes for his boys it was a source of great gratification to some of the boys who perforce went barefoot that the rich Tait boys went barefoot.

The Tait boys were allowed to go swimming at the Mill Pond at Bonhamtown every day. In fact, they were expected to go. That also was a great thing for us boys who had hard work to get per-mission to go swimming at all.