It always shocks me to come upon a family story that follows our current news cycle.

Maybe it shouldn’t.

It’s taken me a few weeks to piece this together – and there are still some lingering questions. But here is the story of Vetal Pooler, Jr.

First of all, let me share that I’ve learned from several genealogists’ tutorials recently that the spelling of names didn’t really matter until the 1930s. Shocking, I know! That knowledge, though, helps in the search that someone named Vetal may also show up as Vedal, Videl, Vidle, or Vital. Vedel, even. I guess it helps with pronunciation, though.

On with his story:

Vetal was the sole brother of Dad‘s grandmother Alice Lucy Pooler Vayo. Vetal was born in Orono, Maine, on February 3, 1874. A farmer.

Here’s part of a newspaper article from 1904 that caught my attention:

Here’s the text of the article:

Monday night after election, a fracas occurred in West Orono, which resulted in Vetal Pooler being severely pounded about the head and generally bruised and battered. It is alleged that John Newman and William Allum rode home from town meeting on Pooler’s sleigh. On arriving at Allum’s home the whole party went into the house. A quarrel arose in which Pooler was badly beaten. Dr. H. Hamlin was summoned, who found the man bleeding and unconscious. Deputy Sheriff A.A. Powers and Constable Wilbur Smith started for the scene of the affray. On arriving at Allum’s they began a search for Allum and Newman, and after some difficulty secured them and took them to Old Town. The trial could not be held on Tuesday on account of Pooler’s inability to be present, so the men were locked up to await a trial on Wednesday.

Vetal recovered from his injuries, thankfully. His assailants served four-month terms in jail.

And what was the argument about? The article didn’t specify, but a report about the town meeting they’d just attended included local election results and town budget matters. Political violence seems to go hand-in-hand with these topics, unfortunately.

A news article in the March 22, 1904 Bangor Daily News stated the meeting was:

… very largely attended. The floor was thronged with a great crowd of interested voters while the galleries were crowded to the danger point with spectators.

The reporter praised the “splendid lesson in parliamentary law” presented by moderator C.J. Dunn. Newly elected town officials included the positions of clerk, selectmen, treasurer, auditor, and constables. My favorites: Surveyors of Lumber and Weighers of Hay. It was 1904, after all.

The newly elected town leaders that evening approved building a new town hall. They gave the nod to funding street and sidewalk repairs, plus money for schools.

But this specific item apparently raised some ire:

Text from the article: There was an exciting moment when it looked as if the Free Public library would lose its annual appropriation of $250, but good generalship saved the day.

Makes me wonder if Vetal was in favor of keeping the library open, while William and John were not. (Another hot topic in modern-day news.)

The newspaper also reported the day of the meeting (and beating), an earthquake rattled Orono. It was early in the morning, followed by a substantial aftershock and “a terrific rumbling roar. Bells were rung, dishes fell from shelves, and houses and beds rocked in a terrifying manner.”

Of the two assailants, William had ongoing legal problems, with intoxication and animal cruelty often on the list of his court appearances.

A few divorces, too. One with this headline:

Meanwhile, Vetal and his wife, Emma, moved west in 1917 and settled in Willamette, Oregon. He worked at a Crown Paper Company paper mill – in fact, he was a foreman.

Those were unsettling times, though. When added together, human loss of life in World War I and the 1918-1920 flu epidemic totalled 66 million worldwide. Vetal died on Valentine’s Day of 1920, from pneumonia, a complication of the flu.

Vetal was only 46 years old. He and Emma rest together at the Mountain View Cemetery in Oregon City, Oregon.

Somehow I know they would not want to see mistakes from the past repeated generations later.

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