Wednesday, June 25, 1919

Beautiful hot day. Up 6 A.M. Took breakfast at Perkins. Left Potsdam 8 A.M. Drove 258 miles home thru the Adirondacks. Fine trip. Arrived home 8:40 P.M. To bed 12 P.M. Thankful.

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Well, I may have finally found out something about Perkins. In the January 29, 1919 Potsdam newspaper I came across an ad for someone to work at a Perkins Boarding House, primarily in the kitchen. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the boarding house, owned by Mr. & Mrs. Perkins, was there in Potsdam for many years. This may be the Perkins where the Clossons ate two breakfasts. It may also have been where they stayed, but there's no way to know for sure without some indication of it from the diary.

Anyway, here is a story published May 22, 2013 (my birthday!) in the Oswego County paper that tells a little bit about the boarding house and its owners:
POTSDAM, NY – Tabatha Svereika of Hannibal, a senior majoring in aeronautical engineering and mechanical engineering at Clarkson University, received the following award at the University Recognition Day ceremony during the spring semester: The Perkins Family Memorial Award. Begun in the 1960s, this award recognizes the influence and support of the Perkins family. This family owned a boarding house that was located on the current site of the Newman Center in Potsdam. The Perkins family employed many Clarkson students in exchange for their board. The family was also known for loaning money to needy students, enabling them to complete their education. The award is now presented annually to deserving work-study students.
Another piece in a Potsdam paper tells of one of the Perkins' two daughters:
1964: Nov. 19th
Miss. Anna J. Perkins, 88, died. She was born Dec. 8th, 1875. Daughter of Ralph and Merian (Matthews) Perkins of Potsdam, NY. She assisted her mother in running the Perkins Boarding House. Her only survivors are cousins.
In the 1920 census, devoted Anna was listed as single, her occupation servant. Perhaps she was the one who waited on the Clossons in June of 1919.

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