The Westford Wardsman, April 7, 1917
[President Woodrow Wilson, in a speech to the joint houses of Congress on April 2, 1917, called for a declaration of war against Germany. Congress agreed to a formal declaration of war on April 6, and the United States entered the World War that had been raging in Europe for nearly three years.]
Center. Misses Sarah, Lillian and May Atwood arrived home last week after spending a pleasant winter in Florida.
Clarence Colburn is housebound with an attack of German measles.
Edmund Baker and James Scott are busily at work getting the Whitney playground into its usual attractiveness for the summer season. They are at work this week on a thorough trimming out of the shrubbery.
James Rafter was called last week to Marshall, Mich., on account of the death and funeral of his sister, Mrs. Edna Miller. Mr. Rafter expects to remain in that vicinity several weeks, visiting kinspeople.
The valedictorian of the academy graduating class this year is Miss Josephine Socha, of Forge Village. There is a tie between Miss Beatrice Hosmer and Miss Dorothy Jordan for the class salutatorian. There are six members of the graduating class, five girls and one boy—Josephine Socha, Beatrice Hosmer, Dorothy Jordan, Elva and Edith Judd and George Perkins.
Fred Amesbury has been chosen as captain of the academy baseball team and Mr. Roudenbush will be the manager.
Samuel H. Balch and Goldsmith Conant are serving on jury duty for the spring term of the superior court.
A quiet wedding took place at the Congregational parsonage on Thursday of last week, when Miss Gertrude Hamlin and Everett Lord were united in marriage by Rev. Howard A. Lincoln. Mr. and Mrs. Lord will make their home in Berwick, Me.
Hon. Edward Fisher is a member of the committee for the Home Guard organization in Lowell, which is in process of formation this week.
Edward Blodgett, a former Westford boy, and who has been in service at the Mexican border, is enlisted for further service in Company B, 5th regiment.
Wesley Hawkes, Jr., of Melrose, has entered service for coast patrol work.
There will be a meeting at the J. V. Fletcher library in the assembly room on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 for the formation of a local Red Cross society. Much interest is being manifested, many having the feeling that this is the right thing to do at this time. A hearty invitation is extended to every one in all parts of the town to unite and work together for this organization and all that it represents in helpfulness.
The community sing on Monday evening at the town hall was attended by nearly forty people and was one of the best gatherings the singers have had. Miss Mabel Prescott and Miss Elinor Colburn were the accompanists and for the special songs to be used at the patriotic meeting in the town hall on April 18, when there will be special speaking, etc, Miss Julia Fletcher played for the rehearsing.
Attention is again called to “baby day” in charge of the public health committee of the Tadmuck club and a committee from the Grange. This will be held at the clubhouse in Graniteville on Saturday afternoon, April 14, at two o’clock. Miss Genevieve Jules, R.N., of the State Board of Health, will give an address on “The care and feeding of infants.” There will be lullabys [sic] and other music by the club trio. Miss Alice M. Howard, president of the club, and Mrs. O. V. Wells and Mrs. W. H. Sherman are in charge of the arrangements.
When Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge was in Westford last summer and gave an address in the town hall, and afterward held a reception, giving all present an opportunity to greet him personally, he added many to his list of adherents and the principals he represented for the Bay State. Those who have read this week of his encounter with Al Winn, the baseball player, in the corridor of the capitol, and the way he met the situation, matching his slender physique, gray hairs and scholarly temperament against the husky young baseball athlete, certainly won for him added commendation from his many friends. [On April 2, the day President Wilson asked Congress to declare war, many pacifists converged on Washington to protest any such declaration. They were directed to see their elected representatives and a delegation from Massachusetts called on 66-year-old Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, Republican leader of the Committee on Foreign Relations. The spokesman for this delegation was 36-year-old Alexander W. Bannwart of Dorchester, also known as Al Winn, a former Lowell baseball player. A shouting match erupted, each calling the other a coward, and they soon exchanged blows, each saying the other struck first. Bannwart was subdued by three clerks and a passing Western Union messenger boy, who beat Bannwart pretty badly. See The New York Times, April 3, 1917, p. 5.]
Miss A. M. Drew, Mrs. G. E. Labouteley and Mrs. F. C. Wright attended the meeting of the Littleton Woman’s club on March 26.
Next Tuesday afternoon, at the Tadmuck club, will be the annual children’s day. The meeting will be held at the Congregational church at 2:30. Each member is invited to bring one child or more, or as many as they can properly supervise. An interesting entertainer has been secured and will entertain with stories, magic, etc. It is hoped all the members will avail themselves of the opportunity to give the children a good time.
Attractive services for Easter are being planned for at the Congregational church. There will be a special Easter sermon by the pastor, and the men’s choir of twenty voices, who have been doing such excellent work during the past weeks, will sing special Easter music in charge of Leonard Burland, director, and Miss Hazel B. Hartford at the organ. There will be suitable decorations and for the evening meeting a special service has been planned with address and music; subject, “The cross,” illustrated with tableaux.
The wind and sun has dried up the roads fast this past week and except for a few bad spots the traveling is good and a great relief to those who are using them constantly, from conditions a fortnight ago.
Perley E. Wright and his men are still busy with late shipments of apples by auto truck to the Boston market.
The Boy Scouts are assuming the care of the town flag on the common, raising it every day at sunrise and taking it down at sunset.
Rev. and Mrs. William Anderson and family, who have been spending the winter in Winchendon, where Mr. Anderson has a parish, are at their Westford home for the summer, and Mr. Anderson will go back and forth between Winchendon and Westford.
Mr. Hillman, of Lowell, will be the tenor soloist at the Easter services on Sunday at the Congregational church.
Dr. O. V. Wells will continue his talk on “Bandaging and first aid” at the Boy Scouts’ meeting Friday evening.
Last Saturday Charles Roby, Morton Seavey and Artemas Griffin, accompanied by Mr. Roudenbush, went to Lowell to see the squad of fifty Lowell Boy Scouts take the first and second outdoor tests. Commissioner Faulkner of Lowell was in attendance at the tests.
Public Safety Committee. Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher presided at the meeting Tuesday evening in the town hall, called to form a committee of public safety to meet conditions as they may arise, and stated that while there was no cause for alarm that all citizens should show vigilance during our present national crisis. Precautions are needed owing to the cosmopolitan population of the town; also, in regard to safe-keeping of explosives kept by the many granite dealers throughout the town.
Hon. Edward Fisher was called on and he gave a clear and concise account of what is being done by the citizens of Lowell the past few weeks and suggested committees be appointed to carry out the same plan that is being taken in Lowell and other cities and towns. Mr. Fisher is identified with the work in Lowell, being one of the executives, and gave an excellent and informing talk on the subject.
It was voted at the meeting that the selectmen be empowered to appoint an executive committee, consisting of the selectmen and others. These committees will be given later. There was much interest manifested at the meeting and there were fully seventy-five present.
About Town. Amos Polley, of the Prairie farm, had two acres of land ploughed last Saturday and is now headed quick-step marching toward two acres of early potatoes.
At the primaries on Tuesday evening only 74 votes were cast out of a registration of nearly 500. Henry O. McDonald, T. Arthur E. Wilson, Leonard W. Wheeler and John M. Fletcher acted as supervisors. After the primary a meeting was held in the interest of home defense. Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher of the board of selectmen presided and introduced Hon. Edward Fisher, who gave a clear outline of the organization in Lowell and what would be wise for the town to do. He was followed by Hon. Herbert E. Fletcher, who earnestly endorsed the effort to safeguard important and valuable interests, and touched upon the dangers from highly concentrated explosives. [As owner of the granite quarries on Groton Road in northeast Westford he was the chief user of explosives in town and probably knew more about the safe storage of explosives as anyone else in town.] Brief remarks were made by Edward M. Abbot. A motion authorizing the selectmen to appoint an executive committee of seven, who in turn may appoint aids, was unanimously carried.
The management of the Middlesex County Farm Bureau have arranged for a public meeting at the town hall on this week Friday evening. This meeting is to simulate more thrifty farming and more thrifty home-keeping.
At the whist party last Saturday evening at the Eben Prescott home, about thirty were present. Mrs. E. A. Labontely and George Ryan led in high scoring. Aside from whist, hospitality had the floor and refreshments were part of the evidence of it.
A surprise party swooped down on the Prairie farm folks last week Thursday evening. Amos Polley, as manager of the Prairie farm, managed to come down with the hospitality act.
The farm known familiarly as the Mills farm, being the first farm in West Chelmsford on the Lowell road, owned by Mrs. William Edwards, Jr., has been sold to E. A. Lull, of New Hampshire.
Miss Edna Peabody, of Dracut, is a visitor at the home of Mr. Eben Prescott [181 Main St.] at Chamberlin’s corner.
Mrs. Ann Dupee and Mrs. L. E. Bowen, of Lowell, were Sunday guests at the Old Oaken Bucket farm.
Mary O’Brien, employed by the state at the Tewksbury retreat, is spending a vacation at the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. James H. O’Brien, on Pigeon hill, Stony Brook road. Her vacation will end this week.
The F. W. Banisters have a small maple sugar orchard which they are tapping for lower prices in the high cost of existence.
The W.C.T.U. held their monthly meeting with Mrs. George Walker on [148] Main street. Mrs. Janet Wright, the president, presided. The usual number were present. After devotional exercises, Mrs. Blaney sang “Palm branches.” A committee was chosen to work and solicit in the interest of the Red Cross society. This is part of the labors of love to work for. At the food sale held last week Friday with Mrs. George Walker, over twenty dollars was raised and will be devoted to love and all related good.
E. A. Jones, of Bellows Falls, Vt., for several years an organizer of farm bureaus, has been engaged as county agent for Middlesex county with headquarters in Concord.
A female fox with family have been camping on the farm of Frank C. Drew and engaged in the poultry business. Scenting a disturbance she, with her family, have removed elsewhere.
Graniteville. Palm Sunday was fittingly observed here when two masses were celebrated in St. Catherine’s church by the pastor, Rev. C. P. Heaney. The palms were blessed before the second mass and distributed to the members of the congregation. At the first mass the members of the Women’s Sodality received holy communion in a body. After the second mass the regular meeting of the Holy Name society was held, when a short address was given by the spiritual director, Rev. C. P. Heaney.
The members of the A. R. Choate hose company held their regular meeting in the firehouse on last Monday evening. Much business of a routine order was transacted, and at the close of the session a social hour was enjoyed.
John B. Carmichael, who has been on the sick list for the past few days, is feeling much improved.
The choirs in the different churches are busy rehearsing special music for Easter, and are planning on having unusually fine programs for Sunday.
The preliminary plans are being made for the formation of a baseball club for the coming season. A general meeting will be called in the near future.
Several from here took part in the entertainment given at the Westford Grange in the town hall on Thursday night. Alvin Nelson, of this village, had charge of the entertainment.
Seriously Injured. William F. Buckingham, a well-known young man of this village, was seriously injured by being thrown from a motorcycle near the Reed farm in West Graniteville on Friday afternoon of last week. He had just passed an automobile driven by Russell Furbush, when the motorcycle skidded, throwing him to the ground. Furbush made a quick stop of the auto, thereby [avoiding, see correction in next week’s edition for Graniteville] hitting Buckingham. Seeing that the latter was injured he rushed him to Dr. W. H. Sherman’s office, where both Dr. Sherman and Dr. O. V. Wells worked over the injured man and later conveyed him to his home. His injuries were so bad that later Dr. J. A. Gage and Dr. A. W. Gardner, of Lowell, were brought into consultation. It was found that he was suffering from internal injuries and that an operation was necessary.
Early last Saturday morning Buckingham was conveyed to the Lowell General hospital, where the operation was performed. He survived the operation, but his condition is critical. “Bucky,” as the injured young man is familiarly called, has a very wide circle of friends who are earnestly hoping for his recovery.
Ayer
District Court. Frank Valocerich, of Forge Village, who is charged with shooting his wife in that place on Sunday, March 18, was held in $500 bail for trial in the local court Monday, April 9, by Chas. F. Worcester, associate justice, Monday morning. This action came after a statement of the defendant’s attorney, John M. Maloney, who told the court that such continuance and sureties were agreeable to the government, which is represented by former Senator Edward Fisher of Westford. The defendant has been in the Lowell hospital since the shooting for treatment of self-inflicted wounds which followed the attack on his wife. He was taken to court by Officer William Wall of Graniteville, who placed him under arrest immediately after the discharge of the defendant from the hospital in Lowell, Sunday. The continued case of Michael Matouk, of Lowell, for inciting Valocerich to do the shooting, was again continued until Monday morning. Matouk is under $1000 bail, which was set after his first appearance in court here on Thursday, March 16. Mr. Maloney is also counsel for Matouk.
Prospective Camp Grounds. Col. Beaumont B. Buck, of Boston, was in town Monday, getting information as to the prospective camp ground which may be located on “the plains” on the Ayer-Harvard line, which was noted in this paper a short time ago. With him came a party of military men. The party was joined here by Wesley W. Sargent, of Fitchburg, president of the Fitchburg and Leominster Street Railway Company, and Howard B. White, Louis H. Cushing, Eugene S. Barry and Edward A. Richardson of Ayer.
They went by automobiles to the proposed location of the camp and carefully looked over the grounds. Col. Buck said that the war department wanted a suitable plot of land one mile square, where there could be mobilized 22,000 men. He also had a conference with the water commissioners of Ayer in regard to getting an adequate supply of water, the amount required being 500,000 gallons per day. The daily consumption of the town now is 175,000 a day. The commissioners said that the town could furnish the extra amount of water required for camp purposes by adding to the number of pumps at the pumping station.
Col. Buck also procured a list of the owners of the land which may be used for the camp, and left the matter of adjustment with them with Edward A. Richardson. The colonel said that the government did not care to purchase the land needed, but wanted a lease of it for a term of twenty years with a privilege of a renewal. He expressed himself as pleased at the proposed new camp grounds. He also stated that no definite location had been fixed for the purpose, as the authorities had other places in view. His purpose in coming here was to get facts and figures so that a final determination of the location of the camp could be made.
The owners of the land which may be used for the project are L. W. Phelps, Mrs. Ella F. Hovey, William U. Sherwin, William Brown, the Boston and Maine railroad company, Charles F. Worcester, Edward A. Richardson, John Madden, George Holden, the Stowell Davis estate, Lewis Blood estate and John L. Markham.
A party of army engineers were in town Sunday surveying the land from Phelps’ lumber yard to Mitchelville on the south side of the Fitchburg division tracks. All the houses in this area were visited, measurements taken of them and the land connected with them. They refused to say anything about the matter. The residents in that section were naturally stirred up over the matter as they feared that their houses would be taken for military purposes. This fear was strengthened by rumors that such action was to be taken.
While this location has been carefully considered there is no final decision as to its availability.
Another group of military officers looked over the land in the vicinity of the old trotting park, west of Greenville branch track, Wednesday. It was reported this week Friday morning that an option was obtained on the land on the Groton School road, owned by John Malcolm.