Turner's Public Spirit, August 16, 1924
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. Mrs. James Kimball is enjoying a vacation at Lake Pleasant [Montague, Mass.] with other members of the Floridian club.
Miss Winifred Burnham, of Essex, a former teacher at the William E. Frost school, has been the guest of the Misses Mabel Prescott and Edith A. Wright.
The Middlesex County Farm Bureau held their picnic at Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Wednesday. A number from here attended. The four clubs which are under the direction of Miss Ruth Tuttle, and the poultry club, under the direction of George Kohlrausch, each had a float in the parade. Miss Tuttle has a membership of thirty-six in her four clubs, and she devotes a great deal of time to the work.
Mrs. Charles Wright is attending camp meeting at Sterling Junction.
Miss Ruth and Alfred Tuttle are on an auto trip. During the latter’s absence his R.F.D. route is being covered by Chester Blaisdell.
Miss Edith A. Wright has been the guest of friends in Everett recently.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Browne [nee Bertha M. Carter], of Providence, R.I., are in town, the guests of the latter’s sisters, Mrs. William E. Wright [nee Ruby Winifred Carter] and Mrs. John Feeney, Jr. [nee Adrith Elsie Carter.]
Another auto accident in the Minot’s Corner section of the town on last Saturday evening brought out a large crowd of spectators. An Overland touring car owned by William Wallace, of Forge Village, and a Buick sedan, driven by a Mr. Lavery, were in collision. The Overland was practically demolished. The four occupants of the car were badly shaken up, while one of them, Miss Wallace, received a broken collar bone and probably internal injuries. The two occupants of the Buick car escaped with slight injuries.
Leo McDonald, Lawrence Ingalls, Orrin Treat and John Kimball are enjoying an auto camping trip to Maine. They intend visiting Moosehead lake during their trip.
Miss Helen Kimball has accepted a position as teacher in Winchendon. Miss Rachel Kimball will teach in Springfield.
Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher and ex-Representative Alfred W. Hartford went to Boston on Tuesday to witness the G.A.R. parade. Capt. Fletcher was fortunate in securing complimentary tickets for the grandstand through his old friend Col. George Hosley, who was chief of staff of the parade.
Mrs. Harry Prescott and daughter Betty have returned from a two-weeks’ vacation spent in West Harpswell, Me.
Mr. and Mrs. Makary Bolcheuko, of Malden, are spending a week in town at the home of Mr. and Mrs. John Felch.
Rev. and Mrs. Edward Disbrow are now at their cottage in Andover.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Ingalls have returned from an auto trip through Western Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire
Plans are being perfected and committees appointed for the republican outing to be held here on August 23. The affair, with its many attractions, such as band concert, ball game, refreshments, sports and speakers, among whom are expected Lieut.-Gov. Fuller, James Jackson, candidate for governor, and some of the senatorial candidates. [sic, not a sentence] Mr. Hartford has been appointed chairman and is putting forth his usual efforts to make the affair a success.
- Everett Woods, Wayland Balch, Wesley O Hawkes and Frank Norris, all G.A.R. veterans, took part in the parade in Boston on Tuesday.
Mr. and Mrs. Percy Shupe and Miss Mary G. Balch went to Boston on Tuesday to the G.A.R. parade. The former used his car to carry some of the veterans who took part.
About Town. With other friends we regret to learn of the death of the baby boy of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Decatur, of Roseville, Cal. His father is remembered as a native of this town. His early home was at the John H. Decatur [Charles’ father] place on the Lowell road, and his early education was received at the old Stony Brook school. We pleasantly remember his wife as Miss Rose Adams, of Groton, the daughter of Henry A. Adams [sic, middle initial is M].
We wish to correct an error in regard to the ravages of the hoof and mouth disease in California. As reported and printed, it read, “Several million dairy cattle have been killed in California in an effort to exterminate the hoof and mouth disease.” It should have read, “The foot [sic] and mouth disease in California has cost about $5,000,000 and has made necessary the slaughter of 102,000 head of livestock.” Millions were all right—only in money and not cattle.
Both the Congregationalist and Christian Register stress clear into the land of fright because Secretary Weeks uses the following words in the Christian Century, July 3: “To form the basis for a complete and immediate mobilization in the event of a national emergency declared by congress.” That is just what it [is]—a basis—and as there is no “declared emergency” it will be a demonstration day of what we could do if we had to, and this is better than the juggernaut peace of unpreparedness that the two above papers have widely, wildly preached.
After a summer’s vacation the next meeting of the Grange will be held on Thursday evening, August 21. The lecturer’s hour reads, “Musical in charge of the music committee,” of which these are it: Mrs. C. A. Blaney, Miss Marion Fletcher, Miss Eleanor Colburn, Miss Freda Johnson, Miss Elva Judd, Mrs. Lillian Meyer. The old thought comes welling up here, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.”[1] If we wish to keep at bay Darwin’s early jungle animal man we will inoculate our lives oftener than we do with soul-stirring music.
Yes, thank you, we had the needed delights of an hour’s flood of rain on last week Thursday afternoon and without any of the undelightful accompaniments of tornado exemplification, although the wind did blow and I thought my rimless straw hat would be blown into invisibility. The most aesthetic and reminiscent damage to report was the breaking down of the old historic elm at the Frank C. Drew residence on the Lowell road. This elm was somewhat out of repair for several years from the infirmities of age and time-beating storms. Under this old elm childhood played and took refuge from the heat of the sun when the large Tower family[2] were in the height of their social and childhood glory of more than half a century ago. I recall this as clearly as the storm which brought the elm down for the final count. The most financial damage from the shower in the Stony Brook valley was the blowing over of the loaded bean pole at the Old Oaken Bucket farm. This makes five loaded bean poles that fellow has had blown over this summer.
The stirring, blowing thunder and lightning shower, accompanied in some places with hail, on last week Thursday, is reported to have ruined the tobacco crop in the Connecticut valley. Right here I wish to rise to the average height of a conundrum. While the financial loss to the producer is undisputed, what if any is the financial loss to the consumer, even providing all the tobacco raised in the universe and other undiscovered places was annihilated so that the price couldn’t rise because there was nothing to rise? I have been figuring on this conundrum the last quarter century, and I am able to figure out that there would not only be no financial loss but a $2,000,000,000 financial gain, the amount that the United States spends annually; not including the universe and other places.
Hurrah for Coolidge, Langdon Prouty and all the boys. A republican outing will be held at Whitney playground on Saturday, August 23. Towns in the 7th and 8th senatorial districts and the 11th representative district are all included in the rally. There will be a concert by the Abbot Worsted Company band, a mid-way, ball game, speaking by candidates for governor, United States senator and other officers in the afternoon, with a dancing party in the town hall in the evening. All this is presented by the several town committees of the 11th Middlesex representative district. A. W. Hartford, of this town, is chairman. Hurrah for the committee! They are alive and that is so encouragingly and joyously hopeful.
The Church of All Nations, of Lowell, closed their industrial summer school last week Thursday evening with an exhibition of the work accomplished by the scholars, culminating in an outing at Lake Nabnassett last week Friday with about 200 children besides parents in attendance. It was a glory of a time for all.
Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Taylor and the F. A. Snows of West Chelmsford are ruminating at York Beach. During their absence for a week or perhaps more, Mr. and Mrs. Carlos D. Cushing, of Framingham and Florida, are entertaining the mosquitoes at the W. R. Taylor home on the Stony Brook road.
Japan has ordered a lot of machine guns. Honduras is at uncivil war. All of the European nations who belong to the league of nations have exceeded their armament limitations and thus does it become more and more apparent that military demonstration day on September 12 to see what we can do if forced to self defense is a waste of gunpowder effort. We could save all this by resolutions against war without removing the cause.
The pictures loaned by the Library Art club are of special interest this time to the children. “The story of Pocahontas and Capt. John Smith” illustrated by E. Boyd Smith in colors, forms a large part of the collection. It is hoped that many will have the opportunity to see them before they are sent on to the next library on August 25.
Thirty-fifth Anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Smith, on the Groton road, by the courtesy of friends and relatives, were [honored] last week Thursday evening when they celebrated at Abbot’s hall, Brookside, the thirty-fifth anniversary of their marriage. There was a come-together of about 200, all of the nearby towns being represented. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are deeply interested in Grange work and have a wide circle of friends. It was an old-fashioned, common sense get-together of the plain people. The program very much resembled this: Songs, Elizabeth Smith; readings, Miss Gladys Whitney; character songs, Frank Charlton; piano solo, Edna Whitney; piano duet, Misses Gladys and Edna Whitney, and more songs by Frank Charlton. So well did they hit the ear drum of the company that they all responded to encores. After the entertainment Albert R. Wall, in behalf of the Graniteville friends of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, presented them with a purse of gold. This was followed by the presentations of gold cuff links by David Olson, in behalf of Brookside friends and the Grange. Miss Alice McEnaney, in behalf of North Chelmsford friends, presented them with a beautiful parlor clock and an electric lamp. Dancing followed, genial Joe Wall doing the prompting act, and was in excellent voice trim. At intermission ice cream and cake were served. Mrs. John Vinal, of North Chelmsford, and friend furnished this part of the eat program.
Altogether it was a social uplift for the Smiths and their friends and Brookside. Long may it wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Road Construction. “Too much rain now; potatoes all rot.” That’s the chorus to sing now.
The steam roller, having completed its work in Westford Center, has been rolled to Brookside, awaiting orders for excavating the road from Brookside mill to the Lowell road, where it will be filled with stone, covered, doctored and rolled. This strip of road is undermined with springs, and graveling is useless and less than that. It is laying out money and material that does not accomplish what it was laid out [to do], namely, to prevent mud. As a sample copy of what it does not do, observe the Lowell road to the spring. That road was built about sixty years ago and has been graveled forty teen [sic] times since, and yet the road is nearly impossible and impassable in the mud days of spring. About two years ago the county commissioners took a look and hand at discussing the mud. Fortunately, the winter following there was much snow and no frost worth reporting, and when spring opened there was not mud worth the wear of rubber shoes and we all began to stamp our hands and clap our feet for joy that mud was to be no more on the Lowell road—but we were too previous with our jolly joy, and last spring saw it at its worst since the road was built, and I have lived on that line of road forever since I began to be a forever and cuss words was the mud language of the day and a few at night.
Now let us have done with graveling roads that are underlaid with close-by active springs; excavate and fill with stones, drain it and resurface it. I am not trying to impersonate the road hog; I am willing that any similar piece of road should be filled before this—but fix it, gentlemen, fix it.
An Ideal Camp. The camp of the Lowell Y.M.C.A., which opened July 23 on the ideal shores and environments of Long Sought lake, Westford, is now at the height of its glory swing. This lake resort borders on Groton road on the south and Dunstable and Tenney roads on the west and north. On the east it splashed its waters up against Flushing hill, while a quarter of a mile to the southeast is the deep, still waters of Flushing pond, containing twenty acres, while half a mile to the southeast is the expansive and popular Lake Nabnassett, containing 123 acres, and half a mile in the direction of the south pole is nestling among the hills Keyes’ lake of forty acres, and a short distance nearer said pole is Barge’s [sic, Burge’s] pond of twenty-five acres and Grassy pond of eighteen acres. Here, then, in close proximity, is abundant water for fishing, bathing, wading, canoeing and drowning, or to satisfy Mr. Volstead, the rest of us and the United States constitution Long Sought lake has an area of 107 acres and is romantically and aesthetically surrounded in the close-by distance by Scribner, Conscience, Flushing and Spaulding hills and empties its waters into the Stony Brook by way of Keyes’ lake and brook at Westford station.
This camp has 1200 feet of shore land, 100 feet of sand beach and twenty-seven acres of woodland. The camp is large enough to accommodate fifty guests at one time besides the regular campers. The places represented at this camp are Dracut, Chelmsford, Westford, Lowell, East Braintree, Winthrop, Boston, [and] Manchester, N.H.
Graniteville. Many from here attended the funeral services for Thomas Costello[3], of Forge Village, that were held at St. Catherine’s church on Monday morning. Mr. Costello was a young man of excellent moral character, whose pleasing personality endeared him to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. The deepest sympathy is expressed for his wife and children, and the members of the Costello family in the passing of this exemplary young man.
The Abbot Junior baseball club wants games and would like to hear from any of the clubs in the surrounding towns whose average [age] is sixteen years. Address communications to Albert Reeves, Jr., Graniteville.
The Graniteville Brotherhood and their families are making preparations to hold an outing at Silver lake, Hollis, N.H., on this Saturday. Autos leave the Methodist church at one o’clock sharp.
On Sunday morning about 125 children from Long-Sought-for lodge of North Westford will attend the Methodist church in a body. At this service there will be special singing by Mrs. T. L. Woodworth and Miss Frieda Reidle, of Boston.
Many from here attended the celebration of the thirty-fifth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Smith which was held in Abbot hall at Brookside on Thursday evening, August 7.
The Abbot Worsted team will play the Lynn Cornets in Lynn this Saturday in a league game. The Abbots will also play St. Andrew’s in a league game at Abbot park on Sunday afternoon at three o’clock.
Littleton
News Items. On Saturday, August 23, L.A.A. [Littleton Athletic Association] will play Chelmsford A.A. on the Whitney playgrounds, Westford as a part of the republican outing.
We notice the following Littleton names on the committees for the republican outing on Whitney playground, Westford, August 23: Sports, Langdon Prouty, chairman; concessions, Frank Jacobs, chairman, John Hutchinson; transportation, Harold Conant, chairman, Roger Priest, Nahum Whitcomb; reception, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Hartwell.
Mr. LaBean, who has had a room at Mrs. Mary Foley’s home on Goldsmith street, had an ill turn on last week Thursday and was taken to the home of relatives in Westford, where he is being cared for.
Do not forget the republican outing to be held at Whitney playground, Westford, Saturday, August 23.
The following is a list of teachers in Littleton for the year 1924-25: … Miss Pamelia A. Precious, Forge Village, music; …
Townsend
Center. Supt. H. C. Knight, formerly of this town, now has the school district of Carlisle, Acton and Littleton. Westford is out of the district and has made its high school principal the superintendent of the high school and another principal the superintendent of the grades. Several of the school unions have been altered by the state board of education.
Groton
News Items. Mrs. Ellen (Read [Reed in Mass. Vital Records and Find A Grave]) Lackey passed away at the home of her son, William Lackey, early last Sunday morning after being confined to her bed for several weeks. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. Earle R. Steeves, of Ayer, Tuesday afternoon at two o’clock. Relatives and friends were present from Groton, West Groton, Brattleboro, West Fitchburg, Ayer, Pepperell and Brookline, N.H. The interment was in the South [sic, Westlawn] cemetery, Westford. Mrs. Lackey was born in Westford on August 31, 1839, where she lived until after her marriage, later removing to Pepperell, and from there to this town. There were many beautiful floral tributes. She is survived by two daughters, Mrs. Elmer Butterfield [nee Ellen Frances Lackey; paper torn, line or two missing] Parker [nee Emily Gertrude Lackey], of West Groton; a son, William, of this town, twelve grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Do not forget the republican outing to be held at Whitney playground, Westford, Saturday, August 23.
Ayer
News Items. Members of Post 48, G.A.R., who attended the national convention of the Grand Army in Boston this week were William Jubb, of St. Petersburg, Fla. [and formerly of Westford], J. Everett Woods and Wesley O. Hawkes, of Westford, John S. Preston and John H. Cleaves, of Harvard, Samuel H. Proctor, Ellexia D. Martell, Henry C. Sherwin, Hiram S. Clark and Henry Leavitt. Hiram Dane, of Glendora, Cal., [and formerly of Westford,] a former member of the local post, was present.
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[Transcriber’s note: This is the first issue of Turner’s Public Spirit I’ve seen in which “Westford” is mentioned on all eight pages. The Westford Wardsman is usually found on page 2. RWO]
[1] This famous line was spoken by Almeria in Act 1, Scene 1, of William Congreve’s (1670-1729) 1697 play The Mourning Bride. See https://en.wiki.pedia.org/wiki/William_Congreve
[2] Eli (1807-1886) and Mary (Fletcher) (1813-1878) Tower lived at 46 Lowell Road. They had 11 children, all daughters except for two sons who died young. Most of the daughters married into prominent Westford families. In 1889 the farm was purchased by Jennie B. (Greig) Drew (1862-1935), husband of Francis Charles “Frank” Drew (1861-1936), and they lived here until their deaths. See “Eli Tower House” in Robert W. Oliphant’s The Westford Gazetteer.
[3] COSTELLO–Thomas F. Costello of Forge Village, a veteran of the 76th division who was gassed in the Argonne forest overseas, died Wednesday [Friday?] morning at the Lowell General hospital, following an operation for appendicitis.
He was a veteran of the World war and a member of Westford post 159 American Legion. He was also a member of the Holy Name society of St. Catherine’s church, Graniteville. He was well known and respected and there is not a person in the town who does not feel heavy-hearted at his death. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Lillian Baker Costello; two children, William and Rita, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Costello; four brothers, Joseph, James, Patrick and John F., all of Forge Village; four sisters, Miss Catherine Costello, Mrs. A. Healy and Mrs. Joseph Thompson, all of Forge Village, and Mrs. Elmer Bregg of The Weirs, N.H. Funeral services will be held Monday morning and members of Westford post 159, American Legion, will attend the services in a body. All former comrades of Mr. Costello are also cordially invited to attend.
The Lowell Sun, Lowell, Mass., Saturday, August 9, 1924, p. 3.