Turner's Public Spirit, August 2, 1924
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. Mrs. J. W. Pyne has been the guest of friends in town.
John O’Connell and family visited Mr. O’Connell’s old home in Hudson, N.H., last Sunday.
Miss Karen G. Grant is the guest of her aunt, Mrs. Harry E. Whiting.
The school committee held an afternoon and evening session on Tuesday. Candidates were interviewed for the position of superintendent of schools, whose expected salaries ranged from $2200 to $3000. Charles G. Carter, a former principal of William E. Frost school, was chosen as supervisor of the grade schools at a salary of $2200, while Principal William E. Roudenbush is to have supervision over the high school. The following new teachers have been appointed recently: Principal of Forge Village school, Edwin M. Sterling, of Everett; principal of Nabnassett school, Peter Perry, of Provincetown; high school, commercial department, David Hamblen, Newton; science and mathematics, Hiram Taylor, Worcester. The auto transportation was given to the low bidders on each route as follows: Albert Hildreth, Nashoba district; Clarence Hildreth, Parkerville; Perley Wright, Brookside; North End, George Burke; Forge Village, John Gray and Joseph G. Walker; Graniteville Carl Lydiard.
Mr. and Mrs. Albert Loveless and family of Somerville, were in town on last Sunday.
Everton and Robert Loveless, of Somerville, former residents here, are at the Y.M.C.A. camp at Nabnassett pond.
The American Legion Auxiliary held a meeting on Monday evening at which Mrs. Martha G. Whiting was elected as delegate to the state convention in Worcester on August 29 and 30, preceded by a banquet at the Hotel Bancroft on the evening of August 28. Mrs. Josie Prescott was elected as an alternate delegate to the convention.
The party held on Mrs. George Walker’s lawn on Monday evening brought out a good attendance. There was a piggly wiggly sale, refreshments, etc., which were well patronized.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Baird, of Bryan, Ohio, have been the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Warren K. Hanscom.
Fred Hanscom, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Loveless, of Somerville, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter M. Baird, of Bryan, Ohio, leave Saturday for an auto trip to the White Mountains and Maine.
Donald Cameron and family, of Lowell, are at their summer home in town.
Miss Maude Robinson has returned from a visit with friends in North [paper torn; about four lines missing]
Bertram Cass and family, of Arlington Heights, and Mrs. Amelia Tewksbury, of Somerville, were Sunday guests of Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Sutherland.
Master Walter Benjamin and sister Evelyn and their friend, Master Robert Hazeltine, of Reading, are the guests of the former’s grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Eben Prescott.
Grange Notes. State Master Leslie Smith has issued invitations to Massachusetts Grangers to join with the Michigan Grange tourists in their excursion to Provincetown on August 22. The 900 tourists who are coming from Michigan by auto will leave 400 Atlantic avenue, Boston, by Steamer Dorothy Bradford at 9:30. There will be 500 tickets for visitors which may be obtained at a nominal price from State Master Smith, North Easton, R.F.D.
The Middlesex-North and Hillsboro (N.H.) Pomona Granges will hold a joint field day at Wilton, N.H., on August 7. The affair will be a basket picnic and all Westford Grangers are invited to attend.
On August 20 the Essex County and Middlesex-North Pomonas will hold a field day at the Agricultural school in Hawthorne (Danvers). Sports and a basket lunch will be enjoyed and a talk will be given by the National Grange Master, A. J. Taber.
Club Notes. The attention of the Junior club leader was called to the article from the Old Oaken Bucket farm in last week’s issue. The author spoke of picking string beans, etc., and asked, “Can you beat it?” Yes, we can beat it. The Mann brothers have been picking beans since July 19. They also have corn tasseling out and good ears formed. Beets and turnips are also large in their garden. Howard Wright has picked several good-sized cucumbers, he also has beets. So has George Wilder, who supplied the family with beet greens on July 5. The Old Oaken Bucket and Morning Glory farms have shown a good record, but there is competition now. The Junior gardeners all show excellent gardens and these farmers will have to hustle to beat them. Joseph Toudus [sic, probably Tondus], of Graniteville, has been selling beans for a week or more.
There is an exhibit at the postoffice of raspberries canned by the Thrifty Twelve at their club meeting of July 26.
Miss Ruth Tuttle, club leader, attended the canning school extension service at the high school in Lowell on July 25.
The Garden club held a meeting at the home of Miss Tuttle on Thursday, July 31. During the afternoon refreshments were served.
About Town. Harmon Whitten has bought the standing grass on the Haley farm on the Stony Brook road, and on the Green farm on the Providence road. The grass on the Green farm is already cut.
Mr. and Mrs. John H. Keefe, of Springfield, were recent visitors in town, stopping at the Henry A. Fletchers at Chamberlain’s Corner and calling on other old-time neighbors. They will be remembered as having lived for a few years on the farm now owned by Harlan P. Knowlton on the Chamberlain road at the tip top peak of Frances hill.
Frank C. Drew has beaten us all on early sweet corn, having some nearly ready to plunge your teeth into. The largest at the Old Oaken Bucket farm is in the silk stage and this we eat with our eyes so far, and unless we have more rain it’s as far as we shall get.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm folks are digging potatoes for market and nothing but extremely early planting has prevented the dry weather from putting the haymaker K.O. on them.
“Some fossilized teeth nine feet long and four feet in girth have been found in Italy, supposed to belong to some antediluvian mastodon which ranged the country in those remote days.” The thought occurs if the body of this mastodon was as large in proportion to his teeth and he had gone into Noah’s ark and taken his wife in with him, how much room would there have been left for the rest of us?
On last Saturday the Sunday school of the Salvation Army of Lowell held their annual rural outing at Lake Nabnassett, with about 140 in attendance. There was a varied program of sports, ice cream and watermelons. Everything was as it should be and nothing as it should not be.
On last Saturday the Old Oaken Bucket farm folks and Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Taylor, the F. A. Snows and Abbie C. Snow, of West Chelmsford, were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. Henry A. Fletcher at their camp at Lake Nabnassett. It was a jolly nice party of human nature and forest and water and a hundred-years-old owl[1] to which we were all introduced.
During the hurricane shower that got over most of its hurry, and nearly out of lightning when it reached the Stony Brook valley, enough lightning was left over to melt the paint on a small area of the cupola of the barn of Oliver Desjardin on Pigeon hill, Stony Brook road.
Well, here is something else to warm us up on: “Walter Redman of Dracut, while berrying in the vicinity of Fletcher’s quarry on Oak hill, Westford, came upon a rattlesnake, and although somewhat small for its kind, the reptile gave the Dracut man quite a start. Redman, who has traveled in the Philippines and California, where the rattler abounds quite plentifully, recognized the snake at once and immediately made tracks and betook himself to his home.” Are rattlers coming to their own again in this region? Within two years one was seen near the pumping station in Ayer and last year a large black snake and rattlesnake were discovered in Hudson, N.H., coiled in each other’s deadly embrace, the rattler being so large, nearly five feet long, that a taxidermist from Boston secured it for mounting for the Boston museum. And now this one in the berry pasture near Fletcher’s stone quarry, which will not have his picture taken for the Boston museum until someone has the courage to stop his rattling and roaming.
We read with exceptional interest the exemplification of the Chautauqua season at Townsend. It was all good and then some, but the one thought that inoculated me best and will last longest was set forth by the superintendent of the circuit, Miss Letha Coleman, on “The high road.” She dwelt on the necessity of high ideals for the young rather than the spirit of commercialism, and made earnest pleas for self-sacrifice. This thought alone was worth more than the price of admission to the whole program. Our schools for youth are over-charged and top heavy with selfish commercialism, and to this let us add ditto adult life all over the world. Let us hope the coming near approach of Mars[2] will discover more of the law of self-sacrifice and never mind the commercial canals. If this world of ours ever rids itself of war it will be by an exemplification of higher ideals and the self-sacrificing law of love—it cannot be gotten rid of by resolving that we will not have any more wars, and resolving secondly that we will not fight if we do have any more wars.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm folks attended the lawn party and band concert of the Abbot Worsted Company band last week Wednesday evening in North Tewksbury. The weather was delightful, and the music and megaphone singing by Frank Charlton, of Graniteville, was at its better than best, who responded to encore and the inspirations of new and old friendships. It all started up the flow of youth in our veins. More such gatherings as these of the common people and some uncommon people would do more to rid the world of war and other evils than all the pacifists’ resolutions invented.
At a recent meeting in Littleton of the republican town committees of the 11th Middlesex representative district, Acton, Bedford, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Littleton, Tyngsboro and Westford, Langdon Prouty, of Littleton, was unanimously endorsed as the candidate for representative. Arrangements were also made for a rally at Whitney park the latter part of August.
I had a delightful and inspiring visit last Saturday from Langdon Prouty, of Littleton, candidate for representative. It was the first time we ever met. If he ever met me before I was not at the meeting. I was quite favorably impressed with his individual personality. I did not ask him what he thought of my straw hat, but you can. Now let’s go to it—nominate and elect him. Amend the law limiting our representative’s district to ten years and extend it to twenty years, thus taking care of every town and a chance to double terms for some of the larger towns. I am for every town having a chance to send a representative and don’t forget it if you forget to inquire for my straw hat.
Mars Coming Near. This aged old earth, upon which mankind has been receiving a free ride for millions of years and has yielded up valuable secrets, is to have a vacation on August 22, when all the astronomers and modern powerful magnifying telescopes will be turned on the planet Mars, our nearest celestial neighbor away from the sun and nearer the earth by hundreds of thousands of miles than it has approached since before 1800. Two-fold significance is attached to the fact in that recent observers of Mars claim to have seen flashes of light at different areas on the planet. Such phenomena, if verified by other observers at the forthcoming opposition, would prove beyond doubt the existence of intelligent life on Mars.
Percival Lowell, of Boston and Harvard, who recently died, promulgated the “life” theory. William H. Pickering, of Harvard, who through his recent observations at Manderville, Jamaica, has earned the title of the world’s greatest living authority on Mars, once startled the world by announcing that he had worked out a plan for flashing signals to Mars by means of a series of mirrors built more than a mile square. Prof. Pickering did not then nor does not now express belief in the existence of mankind on Mars, but the Harvard savant is repeatedly making observations which by his own description indicated that this possibility still exists in his mind.
Prof. Pickering remarks that “Mars will in August be nearer than it has been since before 1800 or than it will be until after 2000. We shall approach it within 34,630,000 miles. A question of one or two million miles will make no difference to astronomers, but the thing that really interests them is that the planet will stay near us for a very long period, so that we can watch it through a very long period of the year. We shall have the opportunity to observe the planet during the late autumn and early winter particularly well.”
Prof. Pickering points out in his article that it is important to make drawings in the coming opposition of certain phenomena on the surface of Mars—canals, lakes, etc.
Something Wrong in Geography. Reading under Groton news about Camp Low leads me to recite my geography lesson. I am at the foot of the class and cannot get any lower and may get a rise by reciting. “The elementary and grammar grades are located in Dunstable on the shore of Massapoag pond, near the New Hampshire line in a little triangle between Tyngsboro, Dunstable and Nashua, N.H.” Well now, see here some of us are off our geography trolley. Massapoag pond is two miles southwest of Dunstable Center and the boundary between Nashua and Massapoag is about four miles, which is not far from East Groton station. Spell Nashua thus, Groton, and you and it would be it.
Well, I wish to recite some more geography for the benefit of my ignorance. The outlet of Cowpond [sic] meadows in Groton is into Massapoag pond, crossing the Groton road, nearer the old Dalrymple place, with dam at East Groton, controlled by the Vale mills in Nashua. The outlet of Massapoag pond is Salmon brook, which empties its waters after supplying the Vale mills into the Merrimack river, and, as I am informed, the Vale mills control the water output of Cow pond meadows by another dam at the outlet of Knopp’s pond. Now I desire to rise to the height of my ignorance which is very high and growing higher. Very recently, with others, we took a ride through East Groton station, where the Tarbell lot has been cut off, and came across a pond that I had reason to believe was the flowage waters of Massapoag pond, but have been informed since that it is Long pond, which I never heard of before, which is certainly one on my bumptious ignorance. Now, school teacher, what have you got to say to my geography lesson?
Summer Camp Destroyed. Two summer camps located at Scribner’s grove at Lake Nabnassett and a garage owned and occupied by Mr. and Mrs. George C. Moore, Jr., were totally destroyed by fire late Thursday afternoon of last week. The Moores were away at the time but the two children and the maid were occupying the cottage where the fire started. An alarm was given and the West Chelmsford fire company in charge of Capt. Monahan, made a quick run to the scene. The blaze had assumed such headway that it soon communicated to the other cottage and both were destroyed with their contents. The firemen did remarkable work in preventing the spread of the flames to other nearby camps, and the arrival of a detachment of the North Chelmsford and Westford fire companies greatly assisted in stemming the flames. A large pine grove near the cottages would have furnished the scene for a more disastrous fire, but the firemen and other campers combined in keeping the blaze confined to the area of the cottages. As to the cause of the fire it is reported that the Moore children had gotten hold of some matches and were playing fire company in the rear of one of the cottages.
Graniteville. The Abbot Juniors won a fine 11-inning game from Forge Village at Abbot park here on last Saturday afternoon. On Monday evening the same two clubs met again in Forge Village when the Abbot Juniors were again victorious by the score of 5 to 4. The Abbot Juniors are out for more games and would like to hear from any club whose average age is 16 years.
Many of the local fans attended the Abbot-Lawrence league game at Lawrence on last Monday evening.
The members of the Abbot Worsted Co. band had their annual outing at Nantasket beach this Friday. The band will give its regular weekly concert at Forge Village on Saturday evening. These concerts are meeting with popular favor and are largely attended.
The Abbot Worsted team will play the Cleveland Royal Giants at Lowell on this Saturday at three p.m. On next Sunday at three p.m. the Abbots will play the Everett team at Abbot park. Both clubs are members of the Boston Twilight League and a good game is looked for.
The Abbot Worsted band will give a very pleasing musical program at their concert in Forge Village this Saturday evening at 7:15. The band will be assisted at this time by James Deignen who will sing many of the popular songs.
Townsend
Center. Rev. and Mrs. A. L. O’Brien of Graniteville were in town Wednesday. Miss Alma Warren returned with them.
Ayer
News Items. Mrs. Abbie I. Smith, who has been with relatives in Westford, is at the home of her sister, Mrs. Marshall Brown, in Littleton.
District Court. John Krawicz, of Westford, was found guilty of keeping and exposing liquor for sale in that town and was fined $100, from which he appealed. On a complaint charging a sale of liquor he was found not guilty.
Mike Borodawaka, of Westford, also charged with keeping and exposing liquor for sale in that town, was found guilty and fined $100, from which he appealed. He was found not guilty of a complaint charging a specific sale. In the two Westford cases Atty. John M. Mahoney appeared for the defense.
On Monday morning Constanti Kostechka, of Westford, was in court for drunkenness and for assault and battery on his wife, Katie Kostechka. He was found guilty of drunkenness and placed on probation for six months. He was also found guilty of assault and battery and fined $10.
[1] “Interesting Captive. By invitation the writer visited the camp of Henry A. Fletcher on Lake Nabnassett last Saturday. This camp is on the northern shore of the lake on high land that commands the view of the entire lake. Among the many attractions of the camp is the large horned owl which Mr. Fletcher secured in Maine. Mr. Fletcher is an authority on bird life and nature study generally. The horned owl is the strongest bird in New England except the eagle, and while able to see in the day time about as well as at night it prefers to hide in dark swamps, and hunt at night for food. The one in captivity at Mr. Fletcher’s camp is fed twice a week on snakes, fish, mice and frogs; it being strictly anti-vegetarian in its habits, it has no use for farm ‘apple sass’ generally. This bird measures nearly five feet from the tips of its wings and is a saucy looking bird when it sights you with those large staring eyes, snaps its jaws and tears with its claws. They live to a great age. Mr. Fletcher recalled one in Tyngsboro that has been in captivity for sixty years and is now owned by Benjamin B. Lawrence.” The Westford Wardsman, August 13, 1921.
“Great horned owls seem to be the most long-living owl in North America. Among all owls, they may outrank even the larger Eurasian eagle owl in known longevity records from the wild, with almost 29 years being the highest age for an owl recorded in North America. In captivity, the record for the longest lived great horned owl was 50 years. A more typical top lifespan of a great horned owl is approximately 13 years.” Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_horned_owl.
[2] On August 22 Mars and Earth would come to within 55.758 million kilometers [34.646 million miles] of each other. They would not come that close again until 2003. See spider.seds.org/spider/Mars/marsopps.html.