Glossary

Canuck

A Canadian, specifically a French Canadian - this term is most often a slur.

Presbyterian

A protestant denomination originating in the British Isles and Scotland in the 16th century. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Presbyterians distinguish themselves from other denominations by doctrine, institutional organization (or "church order") and worship; often using a "Book of Order" to regulate common practice and order.

Methodist

A protestant denomination originating in the British Empire during the 18th century. Most Methodists teach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all of humanity and that salvation is available for all.

Unitarian

A Christian theological practice, orginating in the mid 16th century, which rejects the Holy Trinity, asserting that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was a normal human being and not a deity or God incarnate.

Holla'

A small rising valley region between two hills or mountains;often containing a creek

Congregational Church

Protestant denomination originating in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies in 1648. Congregational churches in the Reformed tradition practice congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.

"...it always tells me when it's going to rain."

There are theories that changes in barometric pressure in the weather, as well as temperatures and humidity can trigger chronic joint pain sufferers' aches.

Massachusetts Tech

Refers to what we know as MIT, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering.

"...the war broke out."

Refers to WWI - also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history

Separator

a centrifugal device that separates milk into cream and skimmed milk. Separation was commonly performed on farms in the past. Most farmers milked a few cows, usually by hand, and separated milk. Some of the skimmed milk was consumed while the rest was used to feed calves and pigs. Enough cream was saved to make butter, and the excess was sold.

Forty Winks

to take a nap for a short period of time (usually not in bed), or to take a short sleep during the day

Strawberry phosphates

a type of beverage that has a tangy or sour taste. These beverages became popular among children in the 1870s in the United States. Phosphate beverages were made with fruit flavorings, egg, malt, or wine. In the 1900s, the beverages became popular, and fruit-flavoured phosphate sodas were served at soda fountains.

"String some of these beans"

A process by which green beans are prepared before cooking or canning. Grasp the end of a bean firmly between your thumb and index finger. Twist the tip down toward its seam with a quick, even motion. A fresh bean should snap readily. Draw the broken tip down along the seam to remove the tough fiber that may be present. Most green beans available today do not have this “string,” but heirloom varieties may. Snap off the other end of the bean in the same way. Discard the snapped-off ends and any fibers in the small bowl.

Highboy

A tall chest of drawers on legs

Napoleon

A French statesman and military leader who was the Emperor of the French from 1804-1815 (briefly) and took control of most of the European continent in that time.

Anteitam

The Battle of Antietam (ant-EE-dum), or as it is known in much of the South, the Battle of Sharpsburg, took place on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, (just over 400 miles from where Grover’s Corners is supposed to be). It is the single bloodiest day in American history, with a death toll of nearly 23,000. It was also the first battle of the U.S. Civil War to take place on Union soil.

Pleistocene granite

Granite having formed during the earlier half of the Quaternary Period, beginning about two million years ago and ending 10,000 years ago, characterized by widespread glacial ice and the advent of modern humans.

Appalachian Range

Appalachia is a large expanse of the North American continent stretching 205,000-square-miles from southern New York to northern Mississippi and touching parts of 13 states. The region is home to approximately 25 million people in 420 counties. The Appalachian Mountain range began forming nearly 480 million years ago and its highest group is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m), which is the highest point in the United States east of the Mississippi River.

Devonian Basalt

a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic, spanning 60 million years from the end of the Silurian, 419.2 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, 358.9 Mya. It is named after Devon, England, where rocks from this period were first studied.

Mesozic Shale

a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite having formed during an interval of geological time from about 252 to 66 million years ago.

Sandstone

a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) mineral particles or rock fragments.

Amerindain

another term for American Indian, used chiefly in anthropological and linguistic contexts.

Cotahatchee

This Native American tribe appears to be Wilder’s own invention. The tribe in the area where Grover’s Corners is set would have been the Missiquoi or the Abenaki people.

English brachiocephalic

May refer to brachycephalic which is a relatively broad, short skull (usually with the breadth at least 80 percent of the length).

MacPhearson's Gauge

Logan Grant MacPherson (1863-1925) was “an authority on population figures”. MacPherson “was employed by American railroads as a statistician, and his computations were used by government and commercial agencies.” Presumably 6.032 people die each year in Grover’s Corners? The birth and mortality rates are constant, so the same number of people is born each year as dies.

Board of Selectmen

Historically, in most New England towns, the adult voting population gathered annually in a town meeting to act as the local legislature, approving budgets and laws. Day-to-day operations were originally left to individual oversight, but when towns became too large for individuals to handle such workloads, they would elect an executive board of, literally, select(ed) men to run things for them. Typically there are three men who are selectmen and, basically, they comprise the executive branch of the town’s government.

Robinson Crusoe

Published in 1719, this novel tells the story of the titular character who has been a castway for 28 years on a remote island near Trinidad.

Monroe Doctrine

a piece of U.S. foreign policy dating from 1823. At a time when many South American nations were gaining independence from Spain and Portugal, the Monroe Doctrine held that any European intervention in North or South America would be considered an act of aggression against the United States. This was not United States law per se but rather Executive policy.

Louisana Purchase

The Louisiana Territory was purchased 1803 from France under the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. The purchase was of 828,000 square miles.

telegraph

The electric telegraph was developed earlier but really became a technology in common use in the 1830s. It sent electric currents along wires in order to relay messages. Needles could point to specific letters and could be interpreted by operators. With Morse code, this could work faster, but it was still dependent on operators. By the turn of the century, electric telegraphs were able to work at speeds of (a very fast) 70 words a minute.

"Vermont for the marble"

New Hampshire does actually have plenty of marble, but the good marble is always thought to come from Vermont. It is a bit of a point of pride for Vermonters and a source of irritation for any resident of New Hampshire, thus the stage-manager’s “sorry to say”.

Siciate glue

They are covering the reading material in sodium silicate in order to keep out air and other things that will rot the paper.

Treaty of Versailles

World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Negotiated among the Allied powers with little participation by Germany, its 15 parts and 440 articles reassigned German boundaries and assigned liability for reparations.

Lindbergh Flight

Charles Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S. Air Mail pilot, emerged suddenly from virtual obscurity to instantaneous world fame as the result of his solo, non-stop flight on May 20–21, 1927 from Roosevelt Field in Garden City, Long Island to Le Bourget Field in (here it is again) Paris, France. The flight was a distance of nearly 3,600 statute miles; Lindbergh flew in a single-seat, single-engine plane called the Spirit of St. Louis. As a result of this flight, Lindbergh was the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next. Lindbergh, a U.S. Army Air Corps Reserve officer, was also awarded the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for this historic exploit

Potato weather

Potato planting requires timing between hard freezes and hot temperatures. Depending on local weather, most gardeners plant in March, April, or May, and expect a harvest about four months later, starting to dig new potatoes about two to three weeks after plants flower.

Cicero's Orations

– O tempora, O mores! The Catiline Orations, as they are now known, were speeches given in 63 BCE by Marcus Tullius Cicero, the consul of Rome, exposing to the Roman Senate the plot of Lucius Sergius Catilina and his allies to overthrow the government. Thef amous opening lines are: How long, O Catiline, will you abuse our patience? And for how long will that madness of yours mock us? To what end will your unbridled audacity hurl itself?

Parson

a beneficed member of the clergy; a rector or a vicar.

Overshoes

There are two basic types. One is like an oversize shoe or low boot made of thick rubber with a heavy sole and instep, designed for heavy-duty use. The other one is of much thinner, more flexible material, more like a rubber slipper, designed solely for protection against the wet rather than for extensive walking.

Philo System

The Philo System of Progressive Poultry Keeping is a real book written by Edgar Philo and published in 1908 which advocates improved chicken management by informing readers of precise details of chicken management. He advocated, for instance, that chickens be kept in small flocks of 10 instead of large flocks of sixty. He noted that 10 hens would lay 60 eggs in 7 days, or one egg a day per week per hen with one day off. But a large coop of 100 chickens would not lay 600 eggs a week; they were too stressed. Dividing them back into small groups increased egg production to the fabled 600 eggs per week.

Ice Cream Soda

Similar to an ice cream float, wherein soda water, syrups and ice cream are mixed together in a dessert drink.

State Agriculture College

Now called the University of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts was originally attached to Dartmouth College and was housed in Hanover NH. In 1893 it moved to Durham,

Cattle judging

the process of judging a series of cattle and pronouncing a first-, second- and third-place animal based on each animal's individual traits compared to that of the others. Most cattle judging occurs in show rings at agricultural shows. Judgments on cattle are ultimately based on which animal is worth the most profit. There are many fine points to cattle judging. In a beef animal, for example, it is desirable to have a large animal with muscle development. In a dairy cow, however, the judge would look for characteristics that would help to produce the best possible milk. When judging cattle, there is an overjudge, who looks at all of the cattle and puts them in order of ‘best’ animal to ‘worst’ animal.

"The go-cart"

a small carriage for young children to ride in; stroller. or a small framework with casters, wheels, etc., in which children learn to walk; walker.

Daughters of the American Revolution

A lineage based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States’ struggle for independence. They promote historic preservation, education and patriotism.

Mayflower

an English ship that famously transported the first English Puritans, known today as the Pilgrims, from Plymouth, England to the New World in 1620. There were 102 passengers, and the crew is estimated to have been about 30, but the exact number is unknown. This voyage has become an iconic story in some of the earliest annals of American history, with its story of death and of survival in the harsh New England winter environment. The culmination of the voyage in the signing of the Mayflower Compact was an event which established a rudimentary form of democracy, with each member contributing to the welfare of the community

Lumbago

lower back pain or pain in the lumbar region of the spine.

Livery stable

A livery stable was a stable where horses, teams, and wagons were for hire, but also where privately owned horses could be boarded for a short time, often attached to a hotel or boarding house. The livery stable was a necessary institution of every USAmerican town. In addition to providing vital transportation service, the livery was the source of hay, grain, coal, and wood. Because of the stench, noise, and vermin that surrounded the livery, cities and towns attempted to control their locations and activities. Because of their location on a town’s outskirts, livery stables were often the scene of gambling and cockfighting, and they were often condemned as sources of vice. With the advent of the automobile after 1910, livery stables all over the country quietly disappeared.

Hamilton College

a private, nonsectarian liberal arts college located in the village of Clinton, New York, in the Mohawk Valley foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. Founded as an academy in 1793, it was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 (named for charter trustee Alexander Hamilton).

Canton, Ohio

city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1805 alongside the Middle and West Branches of Nimishillen Creek, Canton became a heavy manufacturing center because of its numerous railroad lines. However, its status in that regard began to decline during the late 20th century, as shifts in the manufacturing industry led to the relocation or repositioning of many factories. After this decline, the city's industry diversified into the service economy, including retailing, education, finance and healthcare.

Concord, New Hampshire

The capital of New Hampshire (pron. CON-curd): in the Southern third of the state but about halfway between the eastern and western borders

Boston, Massachusetts

the capital city and most populous municipality of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Boston is one of the oldest cities in the United States, founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England.

Gettysburg

A town in Pennsylvania where the Battle of Gettysburg took place - fought July 1–3, 1863, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, halting Lee's invasion of the North.

Contoocook

a village and census-designated place within the town of Hopkinton in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. The village is named after the Contoocook River that runs through it. The name Contoocook came from the Pennacook tribe of Native Americans and means "place of the river near pines".

Lake Sunapee

Lake Sunapee (SUN-uh-pee) is in West Central New Hampshire. North of Grover’s Corners and perhaps a bit west of it.

Lake Winnipesaukee

Lake Winnipesaukee (winnipuh-SAW-kee) is much farther north of Sunapee and farther east in the true center of the state. It is also much bigger

White Mountains

The White Mountains cover most of New Hampshire beginning in the south from around Lake Sunapee and curving north of Lake Winnipesaukee. They are a part of the Appalachian Range. These mountains are a very big deal in New Hampshire, and tourists come from miles away to see the leaves turn color in the autumn.

Mt. Washington

Mt. Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States and is a part of the White Mountains. It is, it must be noted, extremely far from where Grover’s Corners is supposed to be near the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.

North Conway/Conway

Towns far to the east in New Hampshire. Conway and North Conway lie close to the Maine border just south of Mount Washington

Mt. Monadnock

Mt. Monadnock (muh-NAD-nock) is famous for appearing in the writings of Emerson and Thoreau. This mountain is surrounded by the towns mentioned in the play (Jaffrey, East Jaffrey, Peterborough, Dublin), as well as by Troy and Malborough. All of this area of New Hampshire is much closer to the Massachusetts border

Jaffery

a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire located along the Contoocook River at the junction of U.S. Route 202 and New Hampshire routes 124 and 137.

East Jaffrey

a historic district running roughly along NH Route 124 (Main Street) through Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It encompasses what is now the economic and civic heart of the town, centered on the Jaffrey Mills and the crossing of the Contoocook River by Route 124.

Peterborough

a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire located along the Contoocook River at the junction of U.S. Route 202 and New Hampshire Route 101. The community is 38 miles west of Manchester and 72 miles northwest of Boston.

Dublin

a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, The northern slopes of Mount Monadnock occupy the southern part of town. The highest point in Dublin is along Monadnock's northeast ridge. Roughly the western half of Dublin lies within the Connecticut River watershed, drained by tributaries of the Ashuelot River, with the eastern half located in the Merrimack River watershed, drained by tributaries of the Contoocook River. The town is crossed by New Hampshire Route 101 and New Hampshire Route 137.

Woodlawn

also known as Woodlawn Heights, is an Irish American working class neighborhood at the very north end of the borough of the Bronx, in New York City

Brooklyn

Most likely a reference to the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn and Queens. In the late 1920s it was the busiest cemetery in New York City

Crawford Notch

a major pass through the White Mountains of New Hampshire, located almost entirely within the town of Hart's Location. Roughly half of that town is contained in Crawford Notch State Park. The high point of the notch, at approximately 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level, is at the southern end of the town of Carroll, near the Crawford Depot train station and Saco Lake, the source of the Saco River, which flows southward through the steep-sided notch. North of the high point of the notch, Crawford Brook flows more gently northwest to the Ammonoosuc River, a tributary of the Connecticut River.

Buffalo, NY

The second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York and the 81st-most populous city in the United States. The Buffalo area was inhabited before the 17th century by the Iroquois tribe and later by French settlers. The city grew significantly in the 19th and 20th centuries as a result of immigration, the construction of the Erie Canal, the building of railroads and its close proximity to Lake Erie, providing an abundance of fresh water and an ample trade route to the Midwestern United States, while grooming its economy for the grain, steel and automobile industries that dominated the city's economy during the 20th century.

Clinton, NY.

the Village of Clinton in Oneida County in central New York: the site of Hamilton College.

Below are the amounts of money mentioned in the play and the buying power of that amount in 2018