To the editor:
A recent entry in the Pioneer’s “From our Files” regarding one of Houlton’s former jewelry stores sparked my treasured memories of the Shiretown.
Down the steps on the left side of Market Square, around on the left, was Osgood’s Jewelry Store, a place like no other. Glass-topped dark-wood counters lined the right side as you entered; hanging space on the left held ticking clocks and other objects. The feeling and flavor were warm and old, with jewelry and objects from other people, other places more interesting than the new. At the far end Mr. Osgood repaired jewelry and engraved wedding rings, watches, lockets and identification bracelets. He greeted you and let you look around.
My first visits were with Porter, who let me pour over the treasures while he talked with Mr. Osgood about Masonic jewelry or something in the case. He never bought me anything on the premises, but later on… my sixth birthday brought my Waltham watch; my seventh a ring with a rectangular green stone like my birthstone.
That ring slipped off my finger into the grass out by the cottage front steps. Crawling around searching was futile. “It was too big for her finger,” Ina said, and Porter replaced it with a smaller similar ring, with a pink stone. A book-like locket with tiny oval openings inside would hold photos of Ina and Porter forever, while two heart-shaped lockets were never filled.
When I visited by myself, Mr. Osgood always had time to answer questions about jewelry, but others as well, such as, “What is that? Will it bite?” about his new pet. The first was a chameleon, tethered to let it roam, but not get lost, crawling on a tilted, cloth-covered piece of cardboard. “I had to hunt for it once. Almost didn’t find it. My son Cedric brought it home from Texas. You see it’s tan, but when I put a piece of green near, he’ll turn green … See? … No, he won’t bite.”
Next came a beautiful iridescent-green beady-eyed creature “that might bite or get you with those pincers. It’s a praying mantis. See how it seems to be praying?” (Praying for my finger? I keep my distance.)
A need for bowling-ball pendant awards for my bowling team took me to Mr. Osgood, as did “boring” class ring samples. A few of us bought ours, never boring, from him.
A magical place, a world of dreams, of wishes, of sharing the riches with no need to own them, of Christmas-come-true all year long. That was Osgood’s Jewelry Store.
Byrna Porter Weir
Rochester, N.Y.
