Old Letters Found From Drury Bailey

Old Letters Found From Drury Bailey

During a small repair to one of the walls in the Bailey house at the edge of town down by the fire station, one of the workers pulled some old newspapers and old Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs out of the wall that had been installed as insulation. Among the newspapers were some letters that were evidently written by Drury Bailey, who, if you’re not aware, is considered to be the founder of Julian. He had evidently written out some advice for the townspeople of that time, which we have excerpted here as follows:
1. Don’t let those damned automobiles up here anymore because they make a lot of racket and scare the horses. They also give off a lot of foul smelling smoke that is worse than fly covered horse droppings on a hot summer day. Autos are just a gimmick and sooner or later the companies that make them will certainly go out of business. A lot of the gas and oil that they haul up here for them gets spilled on the ground and nothing will grow there after that. Don’t let ‘em build a gas station on the corner. It will only come to no good. Plus a smell of gas gives me a fierce headache and will never compare to the smell of newly cut hay.
2. We spent a lot of time and effort hunting down and eating every wild turkey and pig that ravaged the countryside. If one should reappear, shoot it immediately.
3. My best wishes to all those who choose to live in Julian.

©2009 Eric Stamets