Turner's Public Spirit, April 1, 1922
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
“Center. Presidents’ day was observed at the Tadmuck club on Tuesday afternoon. Rev. E.
A. Jenkins, of North Chelmsford, was the speaker, who delivered a fine address….
“Miss Mabel Dane left the latter part of this week for California for an indefinite stay. She
will visit her grandfather [Hiram Dane], an old civil war veteran, formerly of this town, who is
now residing at Long Beach, Cal.
“School Notes. Miss Ruth Tuttle, a teacher at the William E. Frost school, is ill at her home
with an attack of tonsillitis. Miss A. Mabel Drew is the substitute teacher at the Frost school
during the absence of Miss Tuttle.
“The Frost school was closed on last week Friday and the teachers visited the following
schools: Principal [Charles G.] Carter, with Mrs. Carter, visited the grammar schools in Malden;
Miss Wrenn visited in Lawrence, and Misses Ruth Tuttle and Mattie Crocker visited the Lowell
grammar schools.
“The Parent-Teachers’ association will hold a meeting in Library hall on Tuesday evening at
7:30 o’clock. A special speaker will present the purpose and work of the organization. All
parents and teachers are most cordially invited to be present.
“The basketball team composed of the sixth, seventh and eighth grade pupils of the Frost
school played against the Y.M.C.A. second Junior basketball team of Lowell, recently, the
Y.M.C.A. team winning by the score of 14 to 6.
“About Town. The first grass fire of spring was on the long, narrow strip of land between the
Stony Brook railroad and Stony Brook [probably caused by a railroad locomotive]. It burned less
than many acres.
“Owing to spreading rails just before entering West Chelmsford on the branch electric line,
only one trip was made to Brookside on Tuesday and none on Wednesday.
“The social and dance at Trudell’s hall, Westford Corner, last week Tuesday evening attracted
another large attendance. The feature of the evening was a gold prize for the best waltz. The
prize was awarded to James Bluto and Miss Bernice Morgan, both well-known young people.….
“The 126th annual New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church will open at
the Center Methodist church in Malden on Wednesday evening, April 5, with Bishop Francis J.
McConnell of the Pittsburg area presiding. The coming of Bishop McConnell is of special
interest to this locality for he was formerly a member of the New England conference and
preached in West Chelmsford [1904-1905], where he is still remembered and beloved as minister
by sympathetic friends not only in this village, but in Brookside, Westford, Oak hill and Westford
Corner…. He is one of the ten great preachers in this country. We hear he is coming to West
Chelmsford to speak some evening this spring.
“Charles Edwards is cutting off the wood and lumber on the lot front of his house and directly
opposite the proposed new brick schoolhouse for Brookside [now Old Nabnasset School]. This
lot contains fifteen acres and Mr. Edwards is planning to clear it and set it out to apple trees.
Perhaps we can borrow some apples there some time.
“Mr. Bannister was a recent sympathetic visitor at the Old Oaken Bucket farm. He has quite a
gift of original wit. Together we had a helpful social clearing house exchange, so much so that
we forgot that we had the backache and that the grippe had settled in our right ear.
“A Rare Bird. Last Saturday, while riding out with the Morning Glory farmer [Amos
Polley], we saw an exceptionally large white bird sitting on a stump that protruded above the
water of the mill pond of the Abbot Worsted Company at Brookside…. The bird was the largest
white bird and rarest we had ever seen; so rare that we never saw its similar before. We both
thought automatically and simultaneously of that large, white bird or animal recently discovered
in a lake in South America, and supposed to measure seventy-five feet long and weigh several
tons, an expedition having already started to capture it. Its name requires all the letters in the
alphabet to spell it and we haven’t time to arrange the letters to spell it correctly. Well, our bird
wasn’t as large as that and the cold, wet water prevented us from getting near enough to measure
it, and the nearest hay scales to weigh it on were at J. Willard Fletcher’s. We called it a big bird
and let it go at that.
“Graniteville. The Abbot Worsted Company soccer team defeated the Massachusetts Cotton
club of Lowell in an Industrial league game in Forge Village last Saturday, five goals to none….
This Saturday the Abbots will meet the fast Fore River club of Quincy in the semifinal for the
state cup….”
Miss A. Mabel Drew (1872-1963), shown in an 1888 photo, was a substitute teacher at Frost
School in 1922. Courtesy Photo / Westford Historical Society.