Perley Wheeler
Character: Unforgettable People of Woodstock > Perley Wheeler
“Local Legend”
(1881-1966)
Perley Collins Wheeler, or “PC” as he was affectionately called, was a local legend who sported a trademark bushy white beard. Many photographers sought to capture the essence of this man who was known for his honesty, work ethic, dry sense of humor, and for head- ing up the Woodstock Alumni Day parade for many years by leading a donkey. He was his own person and a true Vermont original.
Perley was a bachelor who lived with his brother, Bill, on “Breezy Acres,” which by all accounts was a descriptive name, as it was one of the windiest places around. The house, which is no longer standing, was located on what is now called Austin Road. It was a large, stately colonial that was in need of some paint and repairs, but it offered breathtaking views to the neighboring towns of Hartland, Windsor, West Windsor, Hartford, Plymouth, Bridgewater, and Woodstock. The two brothers owned 65 acres of land, on which they raised a variety of fruit, including peaches, plums, cherries, and berries, as well as vegetables and bees. They had a reputation for raising the finest produce around.
In addition to selling fruits and vegetables, Perley would sometimes work for local farmers to make extra money. Bill, Perley’s brother, refused to leave their farm, even to go vote, so Perley was the one who did their shopping each week in town. Harry Ambrose, author of The Horse’s Mouth, a book on Woodstock’s early ski history, notes that on one shopping trip Perley “brought back a lovely young lady to stay. She was a life-size cut-out of a pretty girl in a blue bathing suit – every drug store in the country had one at that time, a display promoting sun glasses, which were fast becoming the vogue. He placed her in the upstairs gable window, to greet visitors coming up the drive.” Howard Coffin also remembers the cut-out and added that if Perley or his brother were upstairs when a car went by, they “would stand in the window with an arm around the cut-out figure, as a joke.”
Photographer Robert Mertens appears to have been intrigued by Perley Wheeler as a subject as he took a number of photographs of him, including the two shown here.
In his later years, Perley worked with Wallace “Bunny” Bertram to help set up the ski area that would become known as “Suicide Six.” Perley was Bunny’s right hand man, and together, the two cleared the trees off the face of the moun-tain. Perley later served at Suicide Six as the “head cashier.” In an interview, Bunny recalls about Perley:
Betty Bertram and Perley
“He knew how to make change, and he did some awful funny things. He’d make these money bags at home, you know, and stuff the bills into them. And when one bag got too full, he hid it in my sand pile – the sand I used to sand the road with. And I said, ‘Gee, Perley, that’s the most dangerous place you could put it, ‘cause if somebody got stuck and wanted a little sand, they might dig in and find all that money.’
Another time, I was out at Sun Valley and he was still selling tickets. Perley took and hid one money bag between my mattresses. It was so cold up there, I had two mattresses on the bed. And it wasn’t until after I came home, and I was getting ready to do some spring cleaning that I found the rest of my money. I never had a cash register or anything, you know. Just trust. Perley was as honest as… well, he made me feel ashamed of myself, he was so honest.”
Another anecdote about Perley is shared by Howard Coffin, who wrote that when Bunny got married to Pat, Perley was invited to the wedding. Perley was a rugged, outdoor type, and he hardly ever bathed. When he showed up at the wedding, he had taken a bath, and he had scrubbed his hands so hard to try to get them clean that they had bled and were all bandaged. Everyone who knew Perley has a story, whether it is about his unfaltering work ethic and the quality of his produce, his honesty, his desire to present the appropriate appearance at a wedding, or the cardboard cut-out of the young lady in his house.
Over fifty years have passed since Perley’s death, and yet people still remember him fondly. He was, and he remains, a local legend.