From the Mansfield Historical Society Newsletter, Vol. 41, No. 5, September 2005
This amusing poem by Laddie Widmer was found among a collection of photographs and memorabilia recently donated to the Historical Society by Frances Hoxie. There was no indication of the poem’s date or where it was originally published. Enjoy!
No migrant from the middle West can ever
understand
About the towns and villages in this part
of the land.
He thinks he’s in the town of Storrs and
surely none can blame him,
Yet next he finds that Mansfield is the town
that seeks to claim him.
He asks quite simply “What is Storrs?” but
then the explanation
Just serves to mix him up with more and
greater complication.
For Mansfield boasts not only Storrs but
also Eagleville,
And Mansfield Depot, Mansfield Center,
Merrow and Wormwood Hill,
Plus Conantville and Chaffeeville;
Mansfield Four Corners too;
While Gurleyville and Mansfield Hollow
add another two.
Our dear outlander further asks, with
mingled awe and pity,
“Why should three houses and a barn be
labeled Mansfield City?”
To one who is New England born, it’s all
just as it should be;
To others it is quite senseless as a
system could be.