Turner's Public Spirit, October 7, 1922
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. The Tadmuck club will hold their first meeting of this season on Tuesday afternoon, October 10, at three o’clock in the Unitarian church. Mrs. George E. Walcott, of Concord, the speaker of the afternoon, will dramatize “King Cole.” There will also be music and a club tea in charge of the reception committee.
Little Miss Barbara Christenson, the young daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Christenson, entertained a number of her little friends at her home last Saturday afternoon, the occasion being her fifth birthday. The little folks enjoyed themselves very much, playing various games, and each received a favor as a memento of the occasion. Refreshments were served and all partook of the birthday cake which was very prettily decorated. Among those present were Elizabeth and Roger Bosworth, Vivian and Grace Hildreth, Olive Hanscom and Phyllis Wright. Friends from Arlington were also present.
Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Nelson (Catherine Allen) are receiving congratulations upon the arrival of a little son at the Meriden, Conn., hospital.
Westford post, A.L., plans to hold a dance on October 12. Music by Fogg’s orchestra.
The various committees of the Parent-Teacher association held a meeting in Library hall on Tuesday evening, when plans for the year were discussed. Miss Harriet Horton was appointed to fill the vacancy on the membership committee caused by the resignation of Mrs. Alice Wells, and Miss Dorothy Latham to fill the vacancy on the social committee caused by the removal from town of Miss Elizabeth Brown.
Edward Abbot hose company held their first supper at the firehouse on Wednesday evening. There was a good attendance, and the supper, which was in charge of Mrs. J. E. Knight, was much enjoyed.
Miss Harriet Horton, of New York, has been appointed nurse to fill the vacancy due to the resignation of Miss Eva Lord.
The W.C.T.U. held a meeting at the home of Mrs. Janet Wright on Wednesday afternoon with a good attendance. The following officers for the ensuing year were elected: Mrs. Janet Wright, pres.; Mrs. Ada Day, v.p.; Mrs. Lillie Meyer, sec.; Mrs. Sarah Walker, treas. It was voted to hold a harvest supper at the Congregational church on October 25. At the close of the business meeting refreshments were served by the hostess, Mrs. Wright.
The Woman’s Alliance of the Unitarian church will hold an all-day meeting at the home of Mrs. Charles Robinson, Boston road Wednesday, October 13, instead of on Thursday, as previously planned.
Chief Whiting was in Fitchburg this week to attend the trial of the three Greeks charged with conspiracy and larceny in the Moon car burning.
In spite of the lateness [torn paper, words missing] by a circus. The big circus parade in the forenoon was a gorgeous spectacle. In the afternoon the performance was given on the grounds at the home of Whitney Wright, young son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Wright. Games were also enjoyed and refreshments served. Many of the young folks participated in the affair and report a very enjoyable time.
Nicholas Sperow, alias Nicholas Phokas; Matthew J. Nicolopoulos and Charles Pappas, the three Greeks arrested in Lowell last Thursday night and early Friday morning of last week, and taken to Fitchburg by Inspector Faherty of Fitchburg and Chief Whiting of this town, at a preliminary hearing held in Fitchburg pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and larceny and were each held in $2000 bail for their appearance in the district court in Fitchburg on Friday of this week. The arrests followed the burning of the Moon touring car in Westford on September 20. The car was taken from Fitchburg, brought to Westford, stripped of all accessories and set on fire. Upon visiting the scene of the fire the next morning Chief Whiting observed a Hudson touring car near by and a man about to remove the cap from the gasoline tank on the burned car. His behavior was rather suspicious and after ordering him away Chief Whiting took his registration number, which gave the first clue to the identity of the suspects.
Charles Loufus, of Fitchburg, the owner of the Moon car, has also been arrested, charged with conspiracy, and pleaded not guilty, and gave surety in the sum of $2000 for his appearance on October 6.
All the accessories removed from the Moon car were recovered in Lowell. The Fitchburg police department has expressed appreciation for the cooperation and fine work by Chief Whiting in this case.
Death. Mrs. Frances, widow of Noah Prescott, passed away at her home on Main street last week Thursday evening, following a long period of ill health. She was the daughter of Eli and Mary (Fletcher) Tower, being one of nine sisters who grew to womanhood. An older sister, Mrs. John Burbeck, is the only surviving member of the family.
Mrs. Prescott was a woman of beautiful character and disposition, a lover of home and family, and will be greatly missed. She leaves three sons, Harry and Robert, of this town, and Wallace, of California, and two daughters, Fannie, wife of Oscar R. Spalding, and Charlotte, wife of John S. Greig; also eight grandchildren.
The funeral services, which were private, were held from her home on Sunday afternoon, Rev. F. B. Crandall, of Ayer, conducting the services. The floral tributes, which were profuse and beautiful, showed the esteem in which the deceased was held. The pall-bearers were four nephews, Alec Fisher and Fred Burbeck, of this town and William J. Burbeck and Edward Fisher, of Lowell.
About Town. The Morning Glory farm has finished picking winter apples and sold them to W. R. Taylor, who has bought part of the apples on the Old Oaken Bucket farm. At present low prices on the trees or picked it does not seem possible for a chance to lose out. If there is we had all better get out of apple-raising and go to raising cantaloupes, in the raising of which the California farmers lost $5,000,000 this year. Of course, it is quite a hop from apples to cantaloupes, but every new hop brings a new hope. We are willing occasionally to exchange a bankrupt hope for a new hop to a new hope.
Herbert Mills, of Lowell, formerly of this town, who has a well earned reputation as an apple picker, picked forty bushels of apples in one day at the Morning Glory farm recently, besides transporting himself back and forth to Lowell.
Trull Bros., of North Tewksbury, who were among the large contributors to the charity exhibition at the new auditorium in Lowell last week Thursday, have fifteen acres in celery. Just think of it, you farmers, bunched up in Northwest Middlesex county clear away up by Ashby and the glorious view of Mt. Watatic! Yes, think it over, you folks of the happy, rugged Northwest Middlesex—fifteen acres in celery! Of course you may retaliate and ask “How much celery have you got in Westford?” Well, we are sorry that we started that, but having got into it we must try and get out of it. Well, at the present time we don’t know where we could find fifteen plants in a township of 19,000 acres. If we did know we would soon have some to eat.
The laying out of the grounds at the Nabnassett school is a charming addition to the aesthetic environments of the new building and as such if properly utilized will make as it ought to—a more powerful influence for unlocking the latent good as a nature influence than the mechanical monotonous textbooks.
The recent breaking into Westford station and robbing the telephone box clearly disproves that [it] is [the] work of some passing tramp. A passing tramp does not continue to pass several times a year for several years in succession. It bears the trademark of acquaintance with the premises. In thus expressing our opinion we haven’t anyone in view as guilty. If this is any advantage to the state detectives they can have if for nothing as we charge nothing for knowing nothing.
One of the largest potato raisers in town says that he will not get the price of the seed back. Such is the influence of weather conditions in rotting potatoes, and such is the same influence that is about to demand a raise of one cent per quart for milk and assigns as the reason “we are losing money in raising milk at present prices, the excess of rain having damaged the ensilage corn in quantity and quality so that we are compelled to feed more expensive hay and grain.” We confirm much of the above, for while tramping the town in search of watermelons and peaches we did not see one patch of silo corn that was more than half up to usual thrift. Of course, we were not tramping around and about for corn of any kind and our view was a very hurried one.
David Sherman is making extensive improvements in his house on Cold Spring road, raising the house up and moving and adding the close-by cottage to the present house. When completed it will be an added improvement to Cold Spring road.
Had the trustees of Middlesex-North [Agricultural Society] offered first and second premiums [paper torn, line missing] the first truck load of fruit and vegetables for the recent [Sept. 28] charity exhibition at the auditorium in Lowell, the Morning Glory farm and Old Oaken Bucket farm would have won both premiums, arriving there before the doors were open, and had to wake up the guardian of the auditorium. Telephone poles looked only a few feet apart.
An apple, Buxton, by name, and measuring 14 ½ inches in circumference went to our head and discouraged us for we had some Pumpkin Sweets that measured by an Ananias surveyor thirteen inches all kinds of ways around and we thought that we were at No. 2. But when Oscar R. Spalding commissioned us to deliver some apples to the charity exhibition in Lowell one box of Wolf Rivers filled a standard box with only two layers with more than scripture measure, we said Buxton apples and “Punkin” apples (as per James Whitcomb Riley) go hide; you are nothing but fair-sized crabapples compared with the Wolf River, and we have taken our own advice for once and gone and hid our “Punkin.” There will be more next year “when the frost is on the pumpkin.”
Twenty-seven thousand carloads of cantaloupes have been shipped from California, Colorado and other far western sections this year.
Mrs. Daisy Shaw Merrill, of Boston, formerly of this town, recently renewed the friendships of the happy days in Westford.
Frank C. Drew is improving the thrift appearance of Westford Center by nice shining white paint on the house and new and clearly modern up-to-the-times windows with their large, clear and attractive three-paned glass. These buildings are located at the junction of Main and Depot streets.
Oh, yes, we have got our tax bill and we are just proud of it. Isn’t it a handsome sight? Oh, how it cheers us up to think that we are worth all that this tax bill comes to. Why it is really worth the while to get one of these things once a year to let you know the distance you are from the town home. Oh, it is just splendid. “A merry heart doeth good like medicine,” but this is the largest dose that we ever took. Well, why squeal? Why, we are not squealing. We voted to increase the dose and now we are going to swallow it, but we have been figuring up how much the dose will cost us in farm produce. At present net prices we shall have to contribute 200 bushels of apples or 125 bushels of potatoes to pay our medicine bill. Don’t know whether the tax collector will take part payment in this stuff or not. If he says yes, we can load him to the skies with apples so that he can report what is going on in Mars.
First Parish church (Unitarian) Sunday service at four p.m. Preacher, Rev. Frank B. Crandall, the minister. Subject, “Two kinds of priests.”
About 1:30 Tuesday morning two automobiles, one of them traveling at whirlwind speed, passed up the Lowell road, going towards Westford Center. Just before reaching the Morning Glory farm buildings several shots broke the stillness of the night. About twenty rods further on, and about opposite the Old Oaken Bucket farm at the junction of Lowell and Stony Brook roads, more shots were fired. At the excessive speed that the first car was going it had the appearance of criminals trying to escape from pursuing officers.
The state of Maine now raises fully one-fifth of the potatoes raised in this country, and shipped 40,000 carloads of late potatoes last year. Call on Northern New York for your seed potatoes all who desire, but we shall call on Aroostook, the natural and largest garden in the world for potatoes.
Joseph L. Sargent expects 3,000 bushels of apples on the Edwin E. Haywood place. Multiply this by 200 farmers in town who raise more or less of the above apple crop, and it explains why apples do not bring ten cents apiece at wholesale.
Our old Stony Brook schoolmate, Gilbert F. Wright, of Chelmsford, was one of the exhibitors at the charity exhibition in Lowell on last week Thursday. It could probably truthfully be said that he was the only exhibitor of novelties raised on his farm, such as sweet potatoes, peanuts, almonds and alfalfa, besides a liberal display of several new varieties of apples. It was an up-to-date lesson in novelties and demonstrated what can be done outside of ye old-fashioned corn and potato farming.
The Morning Glory farm is cutting the third crop of hay, and the Old Oaken Bucket farm 2 ½ crops. The rains that rotted potatoes grew the grass. Just like nature she always balances right.
The theme this Friday evening at the Congregational church will be “Self righteousness—its folly and cerdoom [sic].” Meeting begins at eight o’clock. William T. Murphy has been secured to address the young people’s rally on Saturday evening at eight o’clock. All ages are invited to this rally. The program will include a song service and special music. Sunday will be observed as rally day. The morning sermon theme will be “Where are you?” These sermons will deal plainly and without compromise with the questions of sin and the gospel.
Wedding. A wedding of interest to townspeople took place last Sunday afternoon at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe E. Millett on Newfield street, North Chelmsford, when their daughter, Miss Mabel Estelle, was married to Eben A Prescott, of Tewksbury. The ceremony was performed by Rev. E. Ambrose Jenkins, minister of the village church. A reception was held in the evening, only the near relatives of the couple being present, some of whom came from Boston, Somerville, Winchester, Tewksbury, Andover, Westford, Chelmsford and Nashua, N.H. During the evening Mr. and Mrs. Prescott left on an automobile wedding tour. Upon their return they will make their home in Tewksbury, where the bridegroom, who is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Prescott, and grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Eben Prescott, of this town, is employed in the engineering department of the state infirmary. Previous to her marriage Mrs. Prescott was assistant treasurer of the state infirmary.
Obituary. Mrs. Frances A. Prescott, widow of Noah Prescott, died on Thursday, September 28, at her home here, aged 74 years, 9 months, 2 days. She leaves three sons, Harry and Robert, of this town, and Waldo F. Prescott of Tacoma, Washington, two daughters, Mrs. Fannie B. Spalding and Mrs. Charlotte Greig, both of this town; a sister, Mrs. John Burbeck [nee Adeline Tower] of this town, and eight grandchildren.
The deceased was one of nine children of Eli and Mary (Fletcher) Tower. Her early home was at the old Tower homestead on the Lowell road in the old Stony Brook school district. As scholar at the old Stony Brook school we recall many pleasant and inspiring memories as schoolmate and classmate with her. Those were the days of rigid rule of the oak ruler and leather strap with little play for individuality. As a classmate we recall her ever pleasant good-natured personality, punctual lessons and correct behavior, and no remaining after school hours for poor lessons and equally poor behavior, as some folks had to and also be introduced to the rigidity of reformatory discipline. Said prescription didn’t always inoculate for a lasting reformation.
Mrs. Prescott, in her younger days, with the rest of the large Tower family, was a constant attendant at the Unitarian church. Those were the days of family church-going. It was an inspiring sight to see this large family, father and mother, riding to church in the large family carriage. In the mature years Mrs. Prescott had been active in the support of the church, for so many years the home of her parents. One by one they leave us and we miss their genial, helpful personality.
The funeral service was held last Sunday afternoon and was conducted by Rev. F. B. Crandall, of Ayer. There was a great profusion of flowers so fittingly inspiring with hope for the last event of life. The bearers were William J. and Fred Burbeck, Edward and Alec Fisher, all nephews of the deceased. Interment was in the family lot in Fairview cemetery.
Excellent Charitable Exhibit. The charity exhibition given by the Middlesex-North Agricultural society last week Thursday in Lowell was one large-sized optimistic success. The display of fruit, vegetables and flowers was large in abundance and large and aesthetic in catering to the beautiful and vegetarian viewpoint of life. Among those who contributed from this town were Oscar R. Spalding of the board of selectmen, Emory J. Whitney, Frederick A. Hanscom, Houghton G. Osgood, Joseph L. Sargent and the Old Oaken Bucket farm [of Samuel L. Taylor, the writer], and there were probably others, but the above were all that we were appointed guardian for. The contribution from Westford would have been much larger, but Rev. William E. Anderson, the jolly good teamster of all good things and co-solicitor with the writer, who had planned a truck load of fruit, vegetables and raisers, was suddenly called to West Virginia by the illness of his father, eighty-six years old, so that his well laid plans for the charity exhibition had to be cancelled and so late that it was quite clearly difficult to fill the gap. The principal difficulty was in finding someone with a license to run a truck.
As said in a former communication this entire exhibition was given to several of the charitable homes for children in Lowell.
We have followed the fairs of Middlesex-North from childhood up, and if all the previous fairs appeared too much to the monied [sic] side of life, then this last charity fair appealed exclusively to love and as such we rejoice in the day’s work that justifies the existence of Middlesex-North, and it promises a repetition next year. “Faith without works is dead,” always was and will be.
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News Items. The following real estate transfers have been recorded recently from this vicinity: … Westford, Harriet R. Reed et al. to Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, land on Main street, Angeline M. Ryan et al. to William J. Parfitt et ux. land on Main street; …