Jeweller: watches--probably more of a hobby; 1910 USC for Milton Plantation lists him as a general farmer; 1920 USC for Sumner lists him as a lumbering laborer; 1930 USC for Sumner lists him as foreman of a country estate?? He also may have worked for Uncle Charlie Martin’s store in West Paris. The 1915 Central Oxford City Directory lists him as “farmer and school superintendent.”

Per Chuck Martin, Sept. 2012:

After talking to my dad about his discussions with you at the reunion, which he truly enjoyed, I asked him if he remembered to tell you a few details I found interesting and he couldn't remeber if he did or not, so here goes:
 
I have come across a few articles written exclusively about baseball in Redding, Maine.  There was a great deal of talent, it was very competitive and tempers often flared. Ed Cole was asked to umpire a few times and volunteered. It got bad enough after a few games of calling strikes and balls, that Edith begged him not to umpire anymore. The most interesting part was that the families playing were all Seventh Day Adventists and played ball on Sundays, which to them was the first day of the week, and not the Sabbath. They were threatened by law enforcement to stop playing on Sundays where at the time it was illegal to do on the Sabbath. It is my understanding that they didn't fear that the govt was going to try and find Redding, Maine and put a stop to the Sunday Ball games, which brought out many spectators each week, so continued to snub their noses at the law. We had many family members that were very talented ball players and played in the games. I believe my dad said that Edith was bedridden at the time and could not go to the games so laid in her bed at home worrying about Ed and whether or not he would get tarred and feathered for making a bad call. I often think about writing a story for the paper or a short book on the history of the ball games in Redding Maine on Sundays, the Sabbath. I have researched and found a few articles that were written by reporters who traveled to Redding and wrote about the games.

Edmund Eugene’s obituary notice (for family, I assume, and sent by Chuck Martin, I believe) reads as follows:
“29 Jun 1880 - 28 Dec 1946

Born: Milton Plantation, Maine (near Rumford Point)
Married: Edith Andrews, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Andrews and Mary Evelyn Canwell

Ed and Edith lived first, and had their five children, in Milton Plantation, later moving to Redding, Maine, no longer a named town. They had a small farm, one cow, two lambs, and chickens. Times were hard in the late twenties and early thirties. Edith became very sick after the birth of her last child, and ended up bedridden for the remainder of her life. At death, doctors wanted to perform an autopsy to better understand the arthritic condition that plagued her, but the family decided not to have the autopsy done. Still, the disease was somewhat undiagnosed but was thought to be some form of rheumatoid arthritis. The problem was later discovered in one of her brothers but has yet to show up in later generations. Ed and children cared for her the rest of her days.

Ed was road commissioner and worked on roads in the town of Sumner. He was also caretaker of a large farm owned by out-of-state summer people. When FDR started the WPA in the early thirties, Ed was foreman of the crew in the Sumner area. He took a correspondence course to learn watch repair, and later spent two weeks in Portland, Maine, with a jeweler learning the trade of watch and clock repair.

Soon the Canadian National Railway personnel were sending their watches to Ed to be repaired and cleaned. The railway workers were very particular about their watches and the accuracy of them. He received watches from as far away as Vermont. He later had to stop working on them because of his deteriorating eyesight and stress. The house was full of large watches and clocks in some state of repair or waiting to be picked up.

Ed developed a heart condition, which was inherently a problem in the Cole family. He and Edith moved to West Paris to live with their daughter, Violet Martin and family, upstairs over the Gammon and Martin Store. Their youngest child, Aubrey Cole, also came with them and attended West Paris High School.

Ed was a gentle, quiet man and could repair any automobile problem or build anything with wood. He always found time to make wooden toys for his grandchildren, whom he cherished and loved dearly. He was called “Barmpa” by all his grandchildren, who loved him dearly in return.

His grandfather and great-grandfather along with other Coles in his direct line were active in town and state politics and served their country when called upon. The Cole family were dedicated members of the Republican Party.

Everyone who knew him realized he was a very special person. His heart condition worsened and he died at home at the age of 63. He is buried in the Wayside Cemetery, beside his wife Edith, in the town of West Paris.”

Update: Bob Martin gave me Edith Andrews Cole’s 1938 diary, and in it there are many references to “Ed” working on watches, and a few mentions of him whittling.

Marriage record on Ancestry.com (image)
WWI Draft Registration on Ancestry.com (image) must substitute for proof of birth: Milton Plantation records no longer extant (or lost) prior to 1892, per Maine State Archivist.

At time of 1920 USC for Sumner, George Redding and family, James “Wallace” Andrews and family, and Edmund Cole and family, and Chester G Andrews with wife Lena, were all neighbors in the Redding area.