EARLS COLNE HERITAGE MUSEUM
When Reuben Hunt celebrated his 80th birthday in January 1916, the East Anglian Daily Times sent a reporter to interview him about his views on a number of subjects. The following extracts are from that interview.
WORK
“As soon as I left school, I was to work. ‘Work’ meant ‘work’ in those days, not ‘going to business’. With the exception of the time I have been away on business, I have spent the whole of my time at Earls Colne.”
“As soon as I left school, I was to work. ‘Work’ meant ‘work’ in those days, not ‘going to business’. With the exception of the time I have been away on business, I have spent the whole of my time at Earls Colne.”
HOLIDAYS
“It was not until I was well over forty that I was prevailed upon to indulge in the luxury of a holiday. Today people have holidays simply because it has become a habit. In the days of my youth, the only holidays the villagers had were on Fair Day and at Whitsuntide.”
“It was not until I was well over forty that I was prevailed upon to indulge in the luxury of a holiday. Today people have holidays simply because it has become a habit. In the days of my youth, the only holidays the villagers had were on Fair Day and at Whitsuntide.”
LIFESTYLE
“I both drink and smoke, and though some of my teetotal friends say those habits are prejudicial to life, I have seen many of them depart, whilst I remain.
“I both drink and smoke, and though some of my teetotal friends say those habits are prejudicial to life, I have seen many of them depart, whilst I remain.
HOME
“There are not many men who have lived eighty years in one place and on the same spot. There is no country in the world like England, there is no county in England like Essex, and there is no place in Essex which could be compared with Earls Colne.”