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I imagine that if you were to make a list of the questions most frequently asked by individuals on an almost daily basis, you could probably include one that revolves around the weather. Yes, many of us rely on the weather forecast to plan our daily and weekly activities. Often we also use long-term weather forecasts to plan picnics, vacations, attendance and participation in sporting events and various other activities.

Around 650 BC, the Babylonians used elements such as the appearance of clouds and optical occurrences, including halos around the sun and the moon, to predict the weather. There is even a mention in the Bible concerning the forecast of the weather: "When it is evening, you say:" It will be sunny, because the sky is red " And in the morning it will be stormy today because the sky is red and threatening ”(Matthew 16: 2, 3).

In today's modern world, most of us turn to radios, televisions, newspapers, computers and, yes, our special mobile phone apps, to receive local weather forecasts. , national and global.

Dating back hundreds of years, before the invention and introduction of these modern methods, many relied on weather forecasts appearing in small annual booklets called almanacs.

In 1773, Nathan Daboll, of Center Groton, a self-taught and distinguished mathematician – a topic for a future article – began producing a series of almanacs titled "Daboll & # 39; s New England Almanac", which was published by T. Green and Sons of New London. During the early years, Daboll produced his almanacs using the pseudonym of Edmund Freebetter, which was also the pseudonym used by Clark Elliott, the predecessor of the almanac.

Daboll continued to compile the data and produce the almanac until a few years before his death in 1818, when he went blind, when his son Nathan, known as "l & # 39; # 39; squire », resumed the compilation of the almanac. Nathan then renamed the almanac "The New England Almanac and the Farmer's Friend".

In its early days, "the New England Almanac and the farmer's friend" was one of the most popular and widely read publications in all of New England. Possession of a copy of the almanac published annually was essential for anyone involved in fishing, farming or other outdoor activities. The information printed in these almanacs included schedules for the moon's growth and decline cycles, high tide tables, and a complete daily list of sunrise and sunset times and the moon. The publication also contained daily "weather judgments," which many readers relied on.

These brochures also contained information regarding special events, festivals and other notable dates; postal rates; court locations; Lists of Long Island Sound lighthouses; and lists of vessels involved in whale fishing.

Another section of the almanacs, titled "Miscellaneous," offered political commentary, poetry, and other historical and statistical information. Interesting information, such as that which appeared in the 1871 edition, would draw attention: "Among 1,000 people, one arrives at the age of 100, one in 500 to 90 years and one in 100 lives in their 60s ”. I understand from this small amount of information that our life expectancy has come a long way in the past 150 years.

Although some say that the weather forecasts made in the Daboll almanacs were based on scientific calculations involving the position of the sun and the moon, then crossing these calculations with those appearing in a nautical almanac, published years to the ahead by the Royal Greenwich Observatory, many others thought that Daboll's predictions were just his personal opinion.

Unexpected fame came to the Daboll almanac when, in the early 1930s, when the publication predicted snow for July 4. Unfortunately, even if the prediction was a typographical error, the error was not discovered until after the publication and distribution of the almanac. Needless to say, readers who observed the error amused themselves by talking and joking about the improbable forecast and believed that, for once, Daboll's weather forecast was wrong.

Well, don't you know, around noon on the "big day" (July 4), while the farmers were in their fields to harvest their crops, the sky became overcast and, for a few moments, the snow fell thick and fast like a flurry passed by. Needless to say, readers of the almanac were speechless about the event and immediately became adamant believers in Daboll's weather forecast.

The preparation and publication of the Daboll Almanac has been passed down to several generations of Dabolls and has continued for 195 years. Interestingly, the work of compiling the information in the almanac was done at the Daboll House on Candlewood Road in Center Groton. The house, which was built at the start of the Revolutionary War, still exists today.

The length of the publication can be described as a remarkable example of editorial persistence in the history of the American edition. In 1968, the "New England Almanac and Farmer’s Friend" was purchased by Yankee Publishing, Inc., which is known for publishing Yankee Magazine. Daboll's almanac was later incorporated into what is now published as "The Old Farmer’s Almanac".

Many members of the Groton Daboll family not only played a role in the compilation and production of the Deball almanac, but also led distinctive lives and contributed a great deal outside of the publishing world. A future article will discuss some of the notable achievements of many members of the Daboll family and will also detail, in detail, the notable achievements of the book and teachings of Nathan Daboll regarding mathematics and navigation.

Ledyard resident William Fossum, a Daboll enthusiast, contributed to this article.

Jim Streeter is the historian of the town of Groton.