{"id":8239,"date":"2019-04-12T16:17:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T21:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/?p=8239"},"modified":"2019-06-30T21:28:22","modified_gmt":"2019-07-01T02:28:22","slug":"arthur-capen-and-the-worthington-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/arthur-capen-and-the-worthington-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Arthur Capen and the Worthington Library"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Arthur Capen at the church organ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the WHS Annual Meeting on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 2015, attendees reminisced about Worthington\u2019s Frederick Sargent Library (then celebrating its 100th anniversary) and its venerable librarian Arthur Capen <\/em>(1881-1981), who was also a teacher, church organist, Grange member, and clerk or treasurer for several town organizations. The following transcript of this discussion has been very lightly edited for readability. The proceedings began with an introduction by Julia Sharron, one of Capen\u2019s successors as town librarian.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen as an infant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: Arthur Granville Capen was born December 4th, 1881. He was the only son of Granville Capen and Hattie Blackstone, and they lived in the Capen home \u2013 number 4 Capen Street \u2013 that was in the family for many generations. Then Arthur\u2019s father died at 67 years old, and that meant his wife, Hattie, was a widow. So Arthur did take care of her. They moved to Enfield, Massachusetts, and Mr. Capen taught for about ten years in Enfield, from 1917 to 1926. At that time there was discussion on building the Quabbin Reservoir, so the towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott were demolished to make the reservoir, and everything had to go.<\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen grew up in this house built by Elijah Drury in 1813, now 4 Capen Street. Arthur’s grandfather, Daniel Capen of Windsor, bought the home in 1850 and moved there in 1863 with his wife, the former Irene Tower, and son, Granville (1857-1924). In 1880 Granville married Hattie Marie Blackman (1859-1950), and their son Arthur was born in 1881. The Capens lived here until Granville’s death in 1924, after which Hattie sold the house and moved with Arthur to Enfield, MA, where he was a teacher. In the late 1920s, when Enfield was subsumed in the Quabbin Reservoir, Arthur and Hattie settled back to Worthington on Old Post Road.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Arthur Capen and his classmates during the 1887-1888 school year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Arthur Capen, center, c. 1897, assisting teacher Jennie Higgins at the Riverside-Capen School. Around 1909-1910 he returned there as head teacher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: Well, Mr. Capen was not only a teacher there in Enfield, he was also the librarian there for ten years. So he was able to get about 720 or more volumes of books that he brought to the library here. And also he brought about $5,000, which at that time was a lot of money. That\u2019s how our library got its second addition, with that $5,000. And I might be wrong, but there might still be books there from Enfield. I know when I was a librarian they were there.<\/p>\n

Mr. Capen was a confirmed bachelor. He was a caregiver for his mother, Hattie, for many years. He was active in Worthington in all aspects of life. He was an organist for the church for 50 years, which was tremendous. He was a teacher in school here. He also taught at Lyceum Hall for a number of years. He was a clerk for the water district for 36 years, and that in itself was incredible. He was a member of the school board, and he helped build the R. H. Conwell School, and later on he was instrumental in helping with an addition there. He was also correspondent for 21 years for the Berkshire Eagle<\/em>. And of course we can\u2019t forget that he was the librarian at Frederick Sargent Huntington Library for 67 years, starting in 1909. He was instrumental in having the Cutter system put in place \u2013 that\u2019s the system of finding books by authors and so on. Later on he developed the Dewey Decimal System, as is used throughout the United States.<\/p>\n

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Howes brothers photograph, c. 1908, of Arthur Capen and his pupils at the Ringville School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Arthur Capen, right, teaching upper grades (5 to 8) at the Corners School in Lyceum Hall, 1914.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The school at Lyceum Hall. As you can see, students skied there in winter.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: Every time you went into the library you would hear, \u201ctick-tock, tick-tock,\u201d and that was the clock. It was so quiet in there. Mr. Capen paid very close attention to detail \u2013 everything was perfect. The books were around the walls, and we didn\u2019t have the shelving that we have now. And if you were going to pick out a book, he would watch you, so you had to hurry up and get that book. [laughter] And he would also tell you what new books had come in, because he had a screen that went from almost the ceiling to the roof. He would take the outside cover of the book and hang it up, and that way you knew there\u2019s a new book here. And if he didn\u2019t like a book, it went in the fire. [laughter] I never knew if Peyton Place<\/em> made the shelving or not. [laughter]<\/p>\n

During the winter months and holidays we would have Ida Joslyn and Mrs. Lucie Mollison at the library. And by the wonderful fireplace he would have a fire going, and they would be reading Dickens, which was very nice. And we did have a little entertainment on occasion \u2013 he played the piano. He would have a couple students come in and play every so often. Helen [Sharron Pollard] played once, or somebody would sing. There would be refreshments served, but it was simple. Also during the holiday, say, Christmas week, you would go into the library and he would have a little Christmas music going \u2013 very softly, but really very nice.<\/p>\n

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Hampshire Gazzette, June 1, 1937.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Berkshire Eagle, June 16, 1947.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: Now Mr. Capen didn\u2019t have an automobile, and he would walk to the library. If it was slippery he had cleats on his rubbers so he wouldn\u2019t slip. And I love this photo here, because that was typical of Mr. Capen going back and forth from the library to the store. He wore his black jacket always, his gloves, his chapeau. He carried that tote, and in that tote was his lunch or whatever. Because when he was at the library, there was no running water, no bathroom facilities, nothing. There was a dirt floor.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I would ask if he would like dessert. He always liked desserts, and he would say, \u201cYes, that would be very nice.\u201d And Damaris Fernandez-Sierra and Mrs. [Lois Ashe] Brown were very nice to him, and helped out all the time. They would bring soup or whatever. The library would be closed, but he knew you were coming, so you could come in. At that black walnut table that\u2019s still there now, he would set out his placemat and tableware. He would have a certain place for his napkin \u2013 everything had to be okay. So you came in with his dessert or whatever, and he would say, \u201cOkay, you could put that right here.\u201d He was very careful about that. On occasion he would walk to the store and buy a little Dixie cup, that was his treat.<\/p>\n

Mr. Capen was very, very nice. He was a gentleman all the time. He wore a suit, and he never hesitated to say hello when you came in the library, very meekly. The whole place was as neat as can be. Now when it was time for his vacations, guess where he went? He went to the Y in Pittsfield, that was his favorite spot. [laughter] Sometimes Emmy Snyder or other people in town would take him there. And he loved eating, and desserts. He never thought he was a good cook, so in Pittsfield he would eat out and have the desserts of his life and all. And when he came back home I\u2019d say, \u201cWell, Mr. Capen, did you have a good time?\u201d And he\u2019d say, \u201cOh yeah, I ate a lot, it was really good.\u201d [laughter]<\/p>\n

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On April 16, 1959, Arthur Capen’s friends surprised him with a “This Is Your Life” celebration, modeled on the popular TV show of the same name. Friends and relatives gathered to reminisce, and Arthur’s gift was a portable TV set.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: One time we got this overdue notice in the mail \u2013 it was really orange, so you could see it \u2013 three children\u2019s books. And I said, \u201cOh my gosh, I don\u2019t remember seeing these books.\u201d So I asked my girls, \u201cDid any of you take these books out?\u201d and they said, \u201cNo Mom, we didn\u2019t.\u201d So the next time the library was open, I went over and said, \u201cMr. Capen, I\u2019ve talked to the girls, and we did not take out these books.\u201d And he\u2019s looking at me, and he says, \u201cWell, you have so many kids, I can\u2019t keep track of them, and I just thought they were your kids.\u201d [laughter] And so after that I started to be a little bit more careful about writing down every time the kids took out a book.<\/p>\n

Now Mr. Capen did not like women interfering with him very much, he would get a little upset with Damaris on occasion and maybe Mrs. Brown, but she knew how to put him in his place. [laughter] So I would gradually say, \u201cWell, Mr. Capen, could I somehow have a couple of kids\u2019 programs?\u201d And he would say, \u201cWell, I\u2019ll think about it.\u201d And finally one day he said, \u201cYes, that would be nice if you could.\u201d So I started with a few stories and so on, and that worked out very well.<\/p>\n

Now as he was getting on in life, he was holding up, but he was coming and going, and the winters were bad. And Damaris, Mrs. Brown, and myself, we would communicate by the phone and say, \u201cOkay, can you take Mr. Capen home today, can you pick him up?\u201d We\u2019d go back and forth like that so he wouldn\u2019t have to walk home, and that worked out. He would always say, \u201cI don\u2019t really want you to do this,\u201d and we\u2019d say, \u201cWe know you don\u2019t, but we\u2019re gonna do it anyway.\u201d [laughter]<\/p>\n

But he was such a wonderful fellow. I was so glad that I had known him. It\u2019s hard for me to believe that I really knew somebody that was born in the 1800s, besides my grandparents. I really thought a lot of him. He was very nice to the children, and he was soft-spoken, and he was always a gentleman.<\/p>\n

Mr. Capen died at the age of 99 in 1981. He was in the Hampshire Hospital, and as I said, he was the only son. He had cousins, but I never knew any of them. He was buried where his mom and dad are in Northampton \u2013 there\u2019s a family plot there. He was cremated, and that\u2019s where his ashes are.<\/p>\n

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Helen Sharron Pollard: My mother is correct \u2013 Arthur Capen was such a sweet man, but he scared me to death. [laughter] When I was a little girl, I\u2019d go into that silent library \u2013the ticking of the clock, it was so quiet. And the fire going, and the hissing of the water as it dripped down the chimney into the fire. It was lovely to be there. I am the oldest of my mother\u2019s \u201cso many\u201d children, and for me going into the library had a special meaning. It was very quiet, there was nobody else there. I had my own time to peruse the shelves and read all the books I could possibly get my hands on. While there were a number of children in town, Mr. Capen knew who I was, I was just there so much.<\/p>\n

My little sisters would ruin books. They\u2019d write in them, they\u2019d tear covers off, and I always felt terrible about it. But one day I was reading under a tree, and I left my book outside and it rained. I felt so bad about it, but he was just very nice to me. I thought he was going to yell at me \u2013 there was fire and brimstone behind him \u2013 but he was very sweet. I had the book under my coat to keep it from any further damage, and I\u2019m sure he burned it. [laughter]<\/p>\n

He always wore a beautiful white shirt, and a black tie, and his black suit. And if you had an overdue book \u2013 for three cents or what have you \u2013 you\u2019d have to put it in the little change bucket. I guess I was there enough that when he needed some help \u2013 when I was maybe 15 or 16 years old \u2013 I got hired over one summer to help him put the stamps on some of the books, and tape or paste in the field and this and that. But one day I stacked a set of books on a glass table, and I cracked the glass, and I\u2019m not sure I got asked back. [laughter]<\/p>\n

But my memories of him are just of a sweet, wonderful man. And looking back on it, he\u2019s one of those people that was an institution. He was<\/em> the library. His character and his personality really defined what that building was for a very long time. And as a kid, it\u2019s a wonderful thing to see how much a person\u2019s energy, or spirit, can really own something like that.<\/p>\n

Evan Spring [to Julia Sharron]: You were saying he would decide which books he liked and didn\u2019t like. What was his taste?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Well I don\u2019t know his taste per se, but if there was something that was a little grey written in the book \u2013 like a \u201cdamn\u201d or something \u2013 that was his way of throwing it out.<\/p>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: Oh, but there were nude photos upstairs. [laughter] It was a photography book with nude pictures, and it had on it: \u201cThis is not to be taken out of the library.\u201d [laughter] It was upstairs hidden in a corner, but I did find it because I was cleaning and helping.<\/p>\n

Evan Spring: These were \u201cartistic\u201d pictures?<\/p>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: I don\u2019t know as a child that I could say that they were artistic, but they were interesting.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: Was the fireplace the only heat?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yes. They didn\u2019t have heat for a long time. Maybe in the seventies.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: Wow. When did the bathroom go in?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Same time, yeah.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: Was there an outhouse?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Well, as I said earlier, it was a dirt floor in the cellar. Figuring, you know \u2013 [laughter]<\/p>\n

Sheila Kinney: Reading some of the old minutes, there was a comment that the selection committee rejected some books for \u201clow moral tone.\u201d [laughter] I\u2019d love to know which ones they were.<\/p>\n

Evan Johnson [to Julia Sharron]: What year did you start driving him? How old was he?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Well, we didn\u2019t move here until the sixties, so it was in the seventies perhaps.<\/p>\n

Evan Johnson: So he was doing it well into his eighties?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yes, yes.<\/p>\n

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Hampshire Gazzette,<\/em> January 31, 1976.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: I think he was librarian \u2019til probably 1976, because there were four students, me included, that were librarians after him, until you [Julia Sharron] started. I was in high school. But he couldn\u2019t stand by himself at that point, and it was kind of dangerous to leave him alone in the library. He would hold on to the desk, because otherwise he\u2019d be unsteady.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: He looked to have visual problems too. I know he had eye surgery at one point, which might have been cataracts, which was a much bigger deal then.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: But he was so proud he wouldn\u2019t tell anybody.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown: There were other people, no doubt, taking care of him in his advanced years \u2013 bringing groceries, and checking in on him, and so forth. And I vaguely remember about the light, a light system signal of some sort.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: If he needed help at all, the light was on.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown: Yeah, people were looking out for him. I have just the memories of a little boy, and I apparently didn\u2019t spend as much time in the stacks as you [Helen Sharron Pollard] did. [laughter] Never did discover the nude photographs. But you mentioned the tick-tock of the clock, that takes me back. You\u2019d open the front door, creak<\/em>. And there he\u2019d be, right straight ahead, with the little librarian lamp with the green glass shade. And the musty smell, and the leather chairs. It was just the same, every single time. Just a timeless library experience. And he\u2019d have his visor on, and he\u2019d say very quietly, \u201cHello?\u201d<\/p>\n

While he was there I didn\u2019t spend much time except in the children\u2019s room, that little back room that had kids\u2019 books. And I took out the same Doctor Seuss books over and over and over again. But also I lived across the field from Arthur Capen. He was rarely seen in the yard. Never mowed the yard \u2013 it was always long, shaggy, overgrown, as I remember it. And this is probably in his later years, but he did keep the rainfall records that my mom [Lois Ashe Brown] eventually took over, and he did it for an extremely long time. The few times that we would see him outside of his house \u2013 other than walking back and forth from the library, with tiny, mincing steps \u2013 would be checking the rain gauge. He was not somebody that tried to keep us out of the back yard, like some of his neighbors did. He was just laissez-faire \u2013 \u201cIt\u2019s not my domain, go ahead.\u201d But yes, he was very soft-spoken, and refined, and gentlemanly, exactly that. Always dressed with the same \u2013<\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen leaving for work on his 91st birthday, December 4, 1972.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Julia Sharron: Chapeau.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown: Chapeau hat, yeah, carrying his valise.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: My understanding was that the rain records were part of his job as water district clerk, to help the water district sustain itself. He received a citation for that particular aspect of his work from the state water district commission or whatever, because of drought and keeping the water supply up. There were many, many articles over the years about, \u201cThe water table\u2019s up, the water table\u2019s down.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen was clerk-treasurer of the Worthington Fire District for 36 years, and in that capacity recorded daily precipitation levels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The Worthington Grange chapter, now defunct, was organized in 1903 to promote farming cooperatives, agricultural fairs, and educational and social programs. Arthur Capen, though never a farmer, was a charter member and served as secretary, lecturer and representative to conferences throughout the state and New England.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Hampshire Gazzette, December 6, 1972.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diane Brenner: When I started gathering this information about him, he was like the clerk of everything, or treasurer of everything. He was the clerk of the Grange. He was the clerk, actually, of the Historical Society, too. The church, the school. He was on the board of the Conwell school down in South Worthington, before it closed. When did he do all this? And some of it, like the library, he did when he was teaching in Enfield. He apparently got the job from Katharine McDowell Rice, who was the first librarian, when she quit in 1909. So he was librarian from 1909 \u2019til whenever \u2013 1976, you said. Some of those years he wasn\u2019t here, but he did maintain the job. He was still coming to meetings, and so \u2013<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yeah but don\u2019t forget, the library wasn\u2019t open that many hours, like it is now. So that made a difference as well.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: So how often was it open?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Well, it was 10 to 12 and 2 to 7 for many years.<\/p>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: On Wednesdays, and then Saturday from 10 to 5.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: But he lived very frugally, and he had little wants. And he was a bachelor \u2013 no one to answer to.<\/p>\n

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Hampshire Gazzette, August 2, 1941.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jim Downey: So did he remain in the farmhouse, even when he was living in Enfield? He kept his mother there?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yeah, about three years. And then he sold it.<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: And then he brought her to Enfield.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yeah, and then they came back on Old Post Road.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: My reading of it was that Granville Capen, his father, died in 1924. And Arthur was back here pretty much full-time by 1928.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yes.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: So he wasn\u2019t down there in Enfield that long, as mother and son.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Right.<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: And when was the Quabbin Reservoir?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: That was started in 1910, actually, in the planning stages. Then maybe \u201938 or so, and by 1940 it was completed.<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: So the towns were gone.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: They were completely gone, yes.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown: Do you have a sense of when they arrived on Old Post Road?<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: I think it had to have been 1928, because I couldn\u2019t find any record of him anyplace else.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: That\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking too.<\/p>\n

Ben Brown: By all appearances, he\u2019d been in the house forever.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: But he never drove, never had an automobile. Mr. Snyder used to pick him up in Enfield, even, and bring him back, and people would take him to Pittsfield.<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: His little vacations were just a week in Pittsfield?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yeah, and that was heaven to him \u2013 believe me, he loved it.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: Well Pittsfield was a happening town then.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: It was then, yes. And he\u2019d travel, too.<\/p>\n

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Hampshire Gazzette, September 5, 1965.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diane Brenner: It looked like he traveled a fair amount. He went to Grange conferences, and he was involved in this Western Mass school thing that would have conclaves in Springfield, or Rhode Island, or wherever. Or he was involved in the church and went out to some place in California for that.<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: Was he a college graduate?<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: No.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: No.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: He went to a special program, apparently, at Lyceum Hall, that Harry Bates apparently also went to. But that was it, as far as I know. And then he was teaching, sort of, at 15 or so.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: In those days all you needed was certification. You didn\u2019t need a diploma at all.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: I think you had to go through the eighth grade.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: I\u2019m sure he did that.<\/p>\n

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Pat Kennedy: Now how did he get to Texas?<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: It was a missionary program. The Congregational Church had a missionary program.<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: Yeah, they had to provide transportation.<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: Yes, train to Austin. It was a black college, which is sort of interesting. He was only there for a year, though.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: What did he teach?<\/p>\n

Diane Brenner: History and math.<\/p>\n

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Scenes from the 1916-1917 catalog of Tillotson College in Austin, Texas, where during that same school year Arthur Capen taught history and math as head of the Junior and Elementary School grades. Tillotson served African American students and was built and maintained by the American Missionary Society of Congregational churches. Tuition in 1917 was $2 per semester.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sheila Kinney: One of the things I was always curious about was his library numbering system. Was there a theory behind that? Because I remember, I got to be 6A. [laughter]<\/p>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: I can answer that question, because it used to be numerical. And my parents moved into town in 1967, and their number was 1515. And when I got old enough, and I was taking out books, I got my very own number, and it was 1655. So it was numerical, but then when he left it was close to two thousand names. And Damaris thought that was too big, and she started over, so I was 1-A.<\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen first assumed the role of church organist at age 17 in 1898.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>Diane Brenner: Jim, did you know him?<\/p>\n

Jim Downey: I knew him as well. We came in \u201965, and I would spend a few hours there in the summer afternoons. I didn\u2019t recall the limited hours. I guess I was only there for a brief period \u2013 I was ten or eleven or twelve. But I would ride my bike around, put it in the bushes, when the Lafayette Barn was still there. Olive Cole and Chris Henry, he ran that little shop there. And then I would cut through the bushes and go sit in the library.<\/p>\n

Arthur Capen was a very kind man, a lovely guy. You knew something important was going on in that building. He had that air, that if you come in his room, you need to be here for the pursuit of learning, and knowledge, and betterment. He gave you that in a non-communicative way. He was a little intimidating, but very friendly \u2013 a man of few words. But that march to the store, when you would see him take those little baby steps with those cap-toed, black shoes, as thin as a rail. And then back with a little Dixie cup and a wooden spoon. Like that was the high point of his day.<\/p>\n

Helen Sharron Pollard: And beautiful white hair. And beautiful skin, long fingers.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: No romance that we know of?<\/p>\n

Julia Sharron: No, no.<\/p>\n

Pat Kennedy: She\u2019s pretty definite about that.<\/p>\n

Sheila Kinney: He left money in his will to the library. I don\u2019t know who else he gave money to.<\/p>\n

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Arthur Capen’s will.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Diane Brenner: Well, his will is over there, if anybody wants to look at it, and the letter from the lawyer afterwards. He left his estate to two cousins, both of whom actually predeceased him. Also to two towns \u2013 I think Worthington and Peru \u2013 to take care of gravesites for his grandparents. And the church and the library, in shares. The letter from the lawyer says he had $1,600 in his bank account when he died. He was going to use it to pay for his debts and funeral expenses, and any remaining money would go to the towns.<\/p>\n

The family\u2019s plot is in Northampton, at Bridge Street Cemetery, because when his father was dying, they moved down there so he could be near a doctor, and he died in December. And so rather than ship the body back to Worthington, they bought a plot in Northampton. And when his mother died, that\u2019s where she was buried, and of course that\u2019s also where he\u2019s buried. But the Capen Stone, which is huge, they only own half of it \u2013 the front half. The Capen side is one side, with three plots, and on the back of the stone is another family unrelated to the Capens.<\/p>\n

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The Capen family gravestone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Posted April 12, 2019.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the WHS Annual Meeting on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 2015, attendees reminisced about Worthington\u2019s Frederick Sargent Library (then celebrating its 100th anniversary) and its venerable librarian Arthur Capen (1881-1981), who was also a teacher, church organist, Grange member, and clerk or treasurer for several town organizations. The following transcript of this discussion has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdAsoD-28T","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8239"}],"version-history":[{"count":52,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8575,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8239\/revisions\/8575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}