Turner's Public Spirit, December 1, 1923
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. Mrs. Wright, public health nurse, met with a painful accident on Tuesday, breaking her ankle while stepping from her auto.
Mrs. Addie Buckshorn [nee Adeline Maria Fisher, widow of Rev. Louis Henry Buckshorn] entertained a large family party at dinner on Thanksgiving day. Among those present were Judge Frederick Fisher and family, of Lowell; John Fisher and family, of Swampscott; Thomas F. Fisher and family, of Lowell; Miss Ruth Fisher, of Providence, R.I.; Miss Clara Fisher, Lowell, and Miss Lila Fisher, of Boston. [All the Fishers mentioned are siblings, children of Alvan and Amanda (Tower) Fisher.]
Miss Mattie Crocker, who has been visiting in town, returned to her home in Brockton on Tuesday.
Rev. Mr. Disbrow begins his pastorate at the Congregational church on Sunday.
Percy L. Rowe, principal of the William E. Frost school, spent Thanksgiving at his home at Bar Harbor, Me.
Miss Blanche Lawrence, teacher of grades five and six, spent the holiday in Boston.
The selectmen have adopted an order whereby all dog owners are required to keep their dogs muzzled or restrained from running at large for a period of thirty days, beginning November 22. A heavy penalty may be the result of the violation of this order. The names of the owners of all licensed dogs have been turned over to the chief of police.
The infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Prescott has been named Priscilla Ramsden Prescott. [Her name is given as Priscilla Marie Prescott, born Nov. 9, 1923, Cambridge, per the Massachusetts vital records.]
The quick response of the fire department prevented what might have been a serious fire which started in the chimney at the home of James D. Wilson early Monday morning.
The senior class play and dance held in the town hall on last week Friday evening brought out a large attendance. The play, “A perplexing situation,” was given under the direction of Miss Laura Gothberg, of the faculty. The parts were well handled by Richard Wall, Olive Hanson, Gerald Desmond, Alice Socorelis, Dorothy Anderson, Veronica Payne, Emma Goucher, Ada Eaton, Nathaniel Phillips, Ethel Ingalls, Frank Jarvis and Fisher Buckshorn.
Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Knight spent Thanksgiving day as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Campbell and family, of Hudson, N.H.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gumb have arrived at Tampa, Fla., where they will spend the winter, and are living at 203 Chester avenue.
An auto accident in which a Westford car and a Fitchburg car were involved took place in Graniteville on last Sunday evening. The driver of the first-named car, Joseph Brule, of Forge Village, was placed under arrest and appeared in the district court in Ayer on Wednesday morning, the case having been postponed from Monday morning.
The annual guest night of the Tadmuck club was held in the town hall on Tuesday evening and was largely attended by members and guests. Miss Mabel F. Knight (Princess Niboban) appeared in costume and gave her very interesting talk on “The music legends and dancing of our first Americans.” She illustrated their music by selections on the piano, gave some of the dances and told several interesting legends. At the close of the entertainment ice cream, cake and coffee were served. Mrs. Oscar R. Spalding was the hostess and was assisted by other club members.
Clipping. The following clipping from the Lowell Courier-Citizen should prove of interest to local subscribers of the telephone company, Westford being a part of the Lowell district, of which Mr. Leathers is manager.
The local branch of the New England Telephone Company has just completed the distribution of the winter issue of its catalog—or, as it is more commonly termed, the telephone directory. The new book contains hundreds of changes brought about by extension of the service which the company has been enabled to make and due to numerous changes of a normal nature.
Notwithstanding the issuance of the new book, subscribers to the service have not as yet got around to make full use of it, according to Charles J. Leathers, the local manager. Mr. Leathers says that no less than 250 calls per hour are routed to “Information,” asking for numbers which are contained in the new catalog. The moral is to look in the book and determine definitely that the number you want isn’t there before you call for information. In that way, Manager Leathers points out, the service can be improved both from the standpoint of the company and the subscriber. Your connection can be more quickly established if you give the operator the number, and “Information” will be more readily available if she is not flooded with needless calls.
Manager Leathers announces that if any subscribers have failed to receive a copy of the directory, the deficiency will promptly be remedied if notification to that effect is furnished him. It is to the interest of the telephone company to have its catalog in the hands of every subscriber; and it is equally to the interest of every subscriber to make the fullest possible use of the book.
About Town. Thomas E. Taylor, of Woodsville, N.H., a veteran of the civil war from this town, and brother of the Old Oaken bucket farm boy [i.e., Samuel L. Taylor, correspondent for the “About Town” section of the Wardsman], observed his eightieth birthday last week Friday. His faculties are all in a healthy working order and constantly exercised with books, magazine, papers, conversation and various other ways to keep his inherited youthful spirit. He weekly falls in love with this paper, which is like “Auld Lang Syne” unto him. His physical health keeps well paced up with the pacing of age. He enlisted from this town in the signal corps with Fred A. Hildreth, of this town, and Daniel P. Byam, of South Chelmsford, both now deceased.
The village church in West Chelmsford, by way of the Ladies’ Benevolent society, gave one of their usual appealing entertainments and suppers last week Wednesday evening. Over 200 attended the exercise of supper.
When I read the mental exercises of the Man About Town, “Why not organize a national Coolidge club, not for political purposes, but to encourage people to keep their mouth shut?” I said right off is he flinging at me? Why, my dear sir, if I should join that club with that mouth-shut restriction there wouldn’t be enough visible left of me to pay to buy a microscope to find me. Besides the crows would pull up all the corn planted in the Stony Brook valley in May, 1924. I would thank you and love you just the same if you refrain from proposing my name. Yes, I know that the whole Stony Brook valley would be delighted to have me join, it would be such a restful relief change to them. I pity them, but I cannot help it.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm folks and the W. R. Taylor side issue farming spent Thanksgiving at the Frederic Allen Snow garden farming residence.
The village Community church in West Chelmsford observed Sunday evening as Thanksgiving evening in a most delightful and helpful way. The Sunday school sang pieces and recited pieces, and at the pulpit choir end of the church was a large display of fruit and vegetables raised in this vicinity, and oranges, grapefruit, grapes and fruits and peanuts not raised in this vicinity; canned goods and other numerous articles. All this is to be donated to a children’s charity home at Hosford square, Lowell. This is a church of action, let it continue and increase, or else put a padlock on our talk about the brotherhood of man. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” [Matthew 7:20]
Paul Roake, of West Chelmsford, has bought thirty-five acres of land from Oscar R. Spalding on the Lowell road, a little east of Cold Spring or Crooked Spring brook in West Chelmsford. He is clearing the land preparatory to building.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm boy [Samuel L. Taylor] will be seventy-eight years of age if he paces on until December 4. Just like as not he will reach it, for he is a confirmed convert to the eighteenth amendment and has not yet seen any argument of minister, doctors, deacons or ex-presidents to unconvert him.
Hurrah for our beloved president of well-balanced common sense who is independent enough to follow the line of physical exercise that his judgment informs him best fills his physical needs, even if it is old-fashioned. Listen ye of the new-fashioned: “President Coolidge cares nothing for golf, tennis, baseball or any of the other out-of-door sports. Horseback riding appeals to him only mildly. His game is walking. Five mornings a week the president is up at six o’clock for an hour’s constitutional at high speed before breakfast. Fat politicians entertained at the White House find it a grueling task to join the presidential hiker at his favorite pastime.” There is no question of the healthfulness of walking as compared with modern sports.
Here is an important question to settle considering the high price of eggs. City chap, “Which is correct, to speak of a sitting hen or a setting hen?” Farmer, “I don’t know and I don’t care. What I’d like to know is when a hen cackles has she been laying or is she lying?” At the present dollar-a-dozen for eggs it is safer and better to say lying.
The marriage of Mark W. Jenkins, of this town, and Miss Helen R. McKiddro [sic, Helen Ramsey MacKiddie, per vital records], of Lowell, took place on last week Thursday, Rev. L. E. Shields performing the ceremony. At home after March first.
Hurrah for the almshouse for all hands, including farmers and thereby prosperity crops and labor unions who are the financial slave of capital. Here is the evidence furnished by Joseph C. Allen, bank commissioner. “With an increase in deposits of over $117,000,000 the savings banks of Massachusetts closed the fiscal year ending October 31 with the biggest year’s business in their history. The total assets of the Massachusetts savings banks on October 31 were over one and one-half billion dollars: the exact figures are $1,569,988,838.83. The exact increase in deposits during the year was $117,665,501.03. The number of accounts in the savings banks increased 100,696 during the year. The hold which the savings banks have on the people of the commonwealth is indicated by this remarkable showing. Never before have the savings of banks served so many people and offered such facilities for caring for the savings of the people as they do today.”
The next meeting of Middlesex-North Pomona Grange will be held on Friday, December 7, in Odd Fellows’ hall, Bridge street, Lowell, at 10:30. Program, song, to be chosen by Pomona; current events, Mrs. Calvin Austin, of Dunstable; “What is the greatest hindrance to cooperation among farmers and how may it be overcome?” led by Norman L. Peavey, Dracut; Jennie S. Bancroft, Tyngsboro; Herbert Swallow, Dunstable; Frederic L. Fletcher, Chelmsford. Dinner served by Lowell Grange. Afternoon session at two o’clock: speaker, William G. Mitchell, formerly agent of the Massachusetts Mills; subject, “Americanization”; miscellaneous program in charge of the lecturer of Lowell Grange.
The urging of “starvation price wheat farmers” to hoist anchor and embark in dairy farming is already affecting the eastern milk producers and a drop of over twelve cents per can in New York has gone into effect to hold until January first, when a new adjustment will be made and probably lower. Thus do we cure one patient by making another one sick. Hurrah for such rare wisdom. This cure recipe means a loss of about $2,000,000 to the New York farmer up to January first. This drop took effect November 12 and is the first drop in price in November and on a market not flush of milk. The producers, while thoroughly organized, have not the unwisdom to order a “strike,” for it is evident to anyone who has got sense in his head, if he hasn’t any in his pocket, that the retail price of a quart of milk at fifteen cents, 85% of which is nature water, is all out of proportion as a good value to a loaf of bread at fifteen cents or a pound of apples at two cents per pound, which cannot be watered any more by nature or by man.
The next meeting of the Grange will be held on Thursday evening, December 8; subject to be announced.
Light Wine and Beer. Someone has quoted to me as an argument against national prohibition, ex-President Wilson, whose mind read thus: “I am in favor of light wines and beer.” I want to know if that settles this moral issue because a one-man mind and one-track mind so called says so. Isn’t this the same Wilson who sailed the oceans leaving a sky rocket trail of excessive self-sufficiency and returned by a very much snuffed-out tallow candle and left to the ladies of the once southern confederacy to shout glory, hallelujah over him. Pass on somebody else and something else as a reason why we ought to return to the rum habit. Has the government got a right to interfere with the personal habits of individuals sufficiently to safely protect society? The eighteenth amendment to the constitution and passed according to law, says it has a right to interfere and the supreme court of the United States sustains this decision. If government has not got the right to protect society against the ruin of rum, wine, beer, cider, etc., then let us call our dogs off trying to regulate the speed of the automobile on the roads in an effort to protect life. Let drunken drivers go to it and do their own regulating for the government has got no right to prohibit that which makes them a menace to life. Give us something besides tallow candle opinions.
Village Improvement Society. There was an enthusiastic and well-attended meeting of the Village Improvement society on last week Thursday evening. The question of electric lighting of the clock on the Unitarian church was presented by Capt. S. H. Fletcher, and after a general discussion it was voted to contribute $25 towards its installation, with the hope that the Grange would contribute a similar sum and the balance raised by subscription and entertainment. Thus by the generosity of those who are interested in a progressive town this ancient clock in this ancient church will be seen at night. This house was begun in 1724, but was not completed for several years. It stood near the site now occupied by the church of the First Parish of Westford (Hodgman’s History of Westford). The bronze tablet to the memory of Joseph Underwood, who once owned the common, was exhibited at the meeting of the association. It will be fastened to the flagstaff on the common. This tablet will also bear the names of the committee chosen to have charge of procuring and preparing this flagstaff, and the following names will appear on the tablet: Committee, Sherman D. Fletcher, Marcellas [sic, Marcellus] H. Fletcher, George T. Day, Cyrus Hamlin, prepared the staff; Abijah Fletcher furnished the tree cut on his farm. This table was erected by the Village Improvement association, 1923.
Church Notes. First church (Unitarian) Sunday service at 4 p.m. Music by chorus choir; solo, “One sweetly solemn thought,” Ambrose, Miss Eleanor Colburn, contralto. Preacher, Rev. Frank B. Crandall, the minister. Subject, “Waste and giving.” Church school at 2:30.
The hour of the church school has been changed from 3 to 2:30 in order to allow time for a choir rehearsal before service.
The minister is the grateful recipient of a box of assorted beautiful apples, which he found last Sunday in his car on driving out of his stall in the church sheds.
Last Sunday Horatio C. Chase, accompanied by William Downing, Lester and Bruce Fillebrown, Willard Hayden, and Walter B. Hayden, accompanied by his daughter, Evelyn Hayden, and the Misses Lucy Barry, Barbara Fletcher and Elizabeth Proctor, motored to Westford from Ayer and attended the service.
On Sunday the preacher’s discourse will be appropriate for an observance of International Golden Rule Sunday as requested by the Near East Relief.
Graniteville. Miss Corrine Lanctat [sic, Lanctot] and Arthur Brisson, jr., two well known young people of this village, were married at St. Catherine’s church here, last Monday morning at eight o’clock. Rev. J. Emile Dupont was the officiating clergyman. The bridal couple were attended by Arthur Brisson, sr., father of the groom, and Napoleon Lanctat, father of the bride. The bride was attired in a traveling costume of blue. She wore a hat of gray and carried a bouquet of bridal roses. Immediately after the ceremony a wedding breakfast was served at the home of the bride that was attended by the members of the immediate families. In the early afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Brisson left for a brief wedding trip and on their return will reside here.
The Abbot Worsted soccer team defeated the Arlington mills club of Methuen in an Industrial league game at Forge Village on last Sunday 4 goals to 0. The Abbots played the Falcos of Holyoke at Holyoke on Thanksgiving day in the third round of the American cup series. On this Saturday the Abbots will play the Pacific mills team at Lawrence in the third round of the national cup series.
Miss Hazel Sweetser of Westford has been a recent guest of Miss Mary C. Wall.
The mills of the Abbot Worsted Co. were closed for the holiday on Thursday and also on Friday and Saturday.
Many Graniteville people attended the play that was presented by the senior class of Westford academy at the town hall, Westford, on Friday evening of last week. Dancing followed the performance. The affair was a great success.
There was a special Thanksgiving day service at the M.E. church there on Thursday evening at 7:30 o’clock. A special musical program was given at this service. The service was well attended.
The night school still continues to be largely attended here. The pupils are deeply interested in the work and now names are being added to the roll each night. The sessions will continue throughout the winter months.
Rosemin Degagne has recently purchased the Bradley V. Wright farm on North street [141 Groton Rd.]. Mr. Degagne with his family will move into his new home in a few days. Mr. Degagne’s purchase includes a fine 14-room house, large barn and outbuildings and several acres of land.
Many Graniteville people entertained out of town guests during the holiday.
Guest night given by the Tadmuck club at town hall Westford, on Tuesday evening, was attended by many Graniteville people.
Ayer
News Items. Eric Anderson, Fisher Buckshorn, Charles Colburn, Philip Prescott, Gordon Seavey and William Watson, of Westford, attended the St. Andrew’s Guild dancing party in the town hall on Thursday evening.
Real Estate Transfers. The following real estate transfers have been recorded from this vicinity recently: …
Westford, Claude L. Allen to Edward J. Franz, land on Littleton road; Claude L. Allen to Henry S. Franz, land on Sand Beach road; Claude L. Allen to Sabina E. Franz, land on Sand Beach road; Frederick E. Reed to Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston, land on Main street [now North Main St., Graniteville].
District Court. On Monday morning Joseph Brule, of Westford, was before the court for operating an automobile in that town while under the influence of liquor. His case was continued until Wednesday morning on account of the absence of his attorney.
On Wednesday morning the continued case of Joseph Brule, of Westford, was before the court. He was charged with operating an automobile while under the influence of liquor. He was found guilty and fined $100.
Townsend
Senior Class Play. The four-act drama, “The country doctor,” was presented on last week Friday evening in Memorial hall by the senior class of the high school and was played to a full house and the audience found much to commend. The cast was well chosen and each member gave good character impersonations. To Miss Caroline Precious much appreciation belongs, and has been freely bestowed, for her kindness during rehearsals and directing the evening’s musical program, which included an overture, “Just right march,” high school orchestra; “To a wild rose,” Girls’ Glee club; violin solos, “The juggler” and “Liebeslied,” Miss Mildred Precious, Forge Village; vocal solos, “Starry night” and “Dream children,” Miss Catherine Bates, of Boston, Miss Daisy Precious, piano accompanist. The orchestra music was attractive and well played. Miss Bates’ rich, clear voice was very pleasing, the violin selections were beautifully rendered by Miss Precious, and the voices of the Girls’ Glee club blended perfectly, bringing out the beautiful music from MacDowell.
Dancing followed the play, music being furnished by Wright’s orchestra. Home-made candy was sold during the evening under the direction of the juniors, and Clarence Wyman was in charge of the ice cream booth.
The members of the senior class appreciate all the efforts made toward the enjoyment and success of the evening’s entertainment, both socially and financially. The net proceeds of the entertainment amount to about $100, which will be used toward defraying the expenses of the class trip to Washington next spring.