Post by sue75 on Dec 14, 2007 11:46:58 GMT -5
www.njla.org/sections/history/newsletter.pdf.
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1 Volume 8, No.4Fall 2007 Thayer A. Bolmer journals displayed at the Mary Jacobs Library in Rocky Hill By Candy WillisMary Jacobs LibraryThayer A. Bolmer, born in 1885, was a farmer who lived at the corner of routes 518 and 206 in the Montgomery/Rocky Hill area since 1898. In 1905 he began keeping a journal of theordinary and extraordinary events that occurred each day and he continued recording his thoughts until November, 1969 when his last entry (from his hospital bed) was “The medicine is making me sleepy.” The exhibit displays the journals and a large print transcription to facilitate reading. The selected passages give the viewer a glimpse into the life, with all its trials and tribulations, of a simple farmer who worked hard allhis life, loved his family, was deeply religious, liked to go out to eat a lot, and had great moral fiber. Entries for transcription were chosen by selecting national events of import and then examining the journals around that time period. For example, this reader expected much space to be dedicated to theMarch 1, 1932 Lindbergh baby kidnapping because it occurred in Hopewell (the next town over) and because rumor has it that Hauptmann stopped at Bolmer’s brother’s gas station (diagonally across thestreet from Bolmer’s house) right after the kidnap-ping. But, on February 20, 1932, someone stole 125 hens from Mr. Bolmer and he instead wrote extensively about his efforts to apprehend the robber and to get the hens back. He doesn’t mention the Lindbergh kidnapping until May 13 and then only to say that the State Policecalled him to see what he knew about it.When the display is dismantled, the transcriptions and photographs of the journals will be placed in the digitized local history database so that a flavor of the journals remains at Mary Jacobs Library. The journals themselves will be donated to Rutgers Special Collections.