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Wethersfield Historical Society

Wethersfield Historical Society

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Horseradish King

Home » Articles From The Community » Horseradish King

horseradishkinghorseradish-thumb-320x401-421.jpgThere used to be town meetings in Wethersfield.  At these meetings all town matters were presented and discussed.  One man could be counted upon to get on his feet whenever any major appropriation came to the floor.  He was a solidly built man of medium height, neat but not flashily dressed, with the red brown face of one who lived in the sun and wind, rugged features and reddish hair.  He would categorically condemn the appropriation as unnecessary, too expensive, ill considered and unfitted for its purpose.  If it were for a worthy project he might end up by saying that our schools, roads or whatever deserved the best.  His remarks were, however, not considered as mere ranting, for they contained considerable common sense.  One might hesitate to present any matter whose need could not be well defended.  Seldom were appropriations defeated or altered because of this remarks, but he did serve to keep matters within bounds.

Harry Leslie Welles was the oldest of eight children born to John Leslie Welles and Mary Helen Griswold who lived on Griswold Street.  J. Leslie Welles was a dairy farmer, well educated and of sufficient means to give all of his children a college education.  Neither Harry nor any of his brothers had any love for dairy farm work, and certainly Harry was equipped for better things.  It wasn’t the actual work that bothered him; he enjoyed being with people.  For some reason he chose to act the part of a rough countryman.  His education was apparent in papers which he wrote for the Grange.  These were well considered and in the finest of language.

He had to make a living, so he chose a rather unusual crop, horseradish.  There were several in that business in Wethersfield, but he became by far the best grower and seller.  This plant, indigenous to the Caspian region, was introduced into the United States before 1800 for use as a condiment.  When grated and treated with vinegar it has a fiery flavor greatly relished by a few people.  It is particularly suited to use with raw oysters and clams.

Harry grew horseradish in quantity, never adulterated it with turnip as some did, and built up such a considerable trade that he was know as “the horseradish king.’  His product could be found in many groceries and restaurants and was always fresh and fiery.  Whenever there was a dinner or banquet in town Harry donated a liberal supply.  He had a unique method of retail sales at the farm.  A wooden bucket, now at our Old Academy Museum, would be found setting on his back stoop.  Within was a tin cup as a measure and beside the bucket another cup empty.  You would lift the cover of the bucket, measure as much as you wished, and leave a coin in payment in the empty cup.  Many used this honor system, as it provided absolutely fresh grated horseradish in the best of vinegar.   It isn’t very good unless fresh and with sharp vinegar.

When Rural Free Delivery of mail came to be, Harry secured the position of carrier and delivered mail by horseback from saddlebags.  The Parcel Post came along and he used a queer little buggy, so small it had no room for a passenger.  He enjoyed this as he met so many people.  He was always friendly and obliging, so much so that he was in great demand for all sorts of jobs.  At Christmas time no one was in such demand to play Santa Claus as Harry.  In the “Horribles” parade on 4th of July he always had some kind of outrageous skit aided by a neighbor “Bill” (T. William) Knapp.  It might be such as one of this pair dressed as Uncle Sam riding on top of the R.F.D. buggy.  With this neighbor he often had a bet on the outcome of political elections.  One might have to wheel the other the length of Griswoldville Street in a wheelbarrow.

It is quite probable that he played the part of a rough countryman so much that it became his whole life.  No one can say that he did not accomplish a great deal for the town in this part.  He was elected to the legislature and served to our credit there.  He lived, practiced and preached economy, not without the enjoyment of life.  Everyone was his friend.

Few today remember him, but he lived not so long ago.  He was born May 19, 1874 and died Feb. 25, 1952.  In 1910 he married a neighbor, Emma Louise White and lived happily with her until her death in 1939.  I cannot say more than that he was a real Yankee, and dignified the part he played in Wethersfield.

Read more about Wethersfield Horribles Parade.

About the Author: Jim Meehan

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Articles from the Community

  • Articles from the Community
    • 284 Brimfield Road
    • A Birds-eye View of Wethersfield's History
    • A Boyhood Visit to G. Fox & Company
    • A Brief History of Wethersfield United Methodist Church
    • A History of Franklin Avenue
    • A History of Temple Beth Torah
    • A Life of William Beadle
    • A Shepard and his Flock: Counting Chairs and Tracking Down Apprentices at the Wethersfield Historical Society
    • A Whaling Family
    • About the Authors
    • Black History in Wethersfield
    • Childhood Memories of the Wethersfield Homefront
    • Colonel John Chester
    • Connecticut at War: 1634 – 1781
    • Connecticut's Black Governors
    • Connecticut's Witch Trials
    • Dividend
    • Fairway 6
    • Foodways
    • Francesco A. Lentini – Three-Legged Wonder
    • Frank and Lou
    • George Whitefield – The Billy Graham of Colonial America
    • Governor Thomas Welles
    • Griswoldville Connecticut (1680-1987)
    • History of Public Libraries in Wethersfield
    • History of the Church of the Incarnation
    • History of Trinity Parish (Episcopal)
    • History of Wethersfield Library
    • Horribles Parade
    • Horseradish King
    • Houses of Worship
    • Irish Immigrants in Wethersfield 1860 to 1900: Outcasts to Neighbors
    • Issacson's Field Plane Crash
    • Jared Butler Standish
    • Meet Mr. Wethersfield: Alfred W. Hanmer
    • Mill Woods Park: A History
    • One Branch of the Josiah Willard Family of Wethersfield
    • Rediscovering Benjamin Lee Whorf
    • Religion in Glastonbury: the Congregationalists
    • Reverend and Colonel Elisha Williams
    • Rocky Hill: A History
    • Sgt. Maj. Robert H. Kellogg
    • Slavery and Wethersfield
    • Sophia Woodhouse's Grass Bonnets
    • Still Fighting Fires After All These Years
    • Table of Contents
    • The "Conference State"
    • The Blue Violet
    • The Chesters of Blaby Leicestershire England
    • The Contentious Life of James Wakelee
    • The Eel-Catcher’s Travels: Robert Seeley 1602-1667
    • The First Church of Christ
    • The Undoing of Silas Deane
    • The Welles Family and the Establishment of Newington
    • The Wethersfield Elms
    • The Wethersfield Meteorites
    • The Woman Came To Do Laundry
    • They Even Survived Rocks on the Track
    • Thomas Hickey: George Washington's Wethersfield Kidnapper
    • Town's Biggest Fire
    • Twentieth-Century Wethersfield
    • Wethersfield Almshouse 1843-44
    • Wethersfield Enters the Revolution
    • Wethersfield Evangelical Free Church
    • Wethersfield Illinois
    • Wethersfield in the Civil War by Wes Christensen
    • Wethersfield Prison Blues
    • Wethersfield Street Life 1634-1995
    • Wethersfield Summers
    • Wethersfield: A History
    • Wethersfield: The Cradle of American Seed Companies
    • Wethersfield's "Other" Plane Accidents
    • Wethersfield's Homebuilders: 1634 – 1900
    • Wethersfield's Homebuilders: 1900 – 1930
    • Wethersfield's Homebuilders: 1940s and Beyond
    • Wethersfield's Top 10 Natural Disasters
    • Wethersfield’s Dinosaur Footprints
    • Wethersfield's Glorious Baseball History
    • Who was Charles Wright?
    • William W. Anderson Veteran of the Allied Invasion of Normandy June 6
    • Wintergreen Woods: A History
Wethersfield Historical Society Wethersfield Historical Society
150 Main Street, Wethersfield, CT 06109
p. (860) 529-7656 f. (860) 563-2609
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