The Westford Wardsman, December 1, 1917
Center. The event of the week was the recital at the Unitarian church Monday evening for the benefit of the Red Cross. Being suddenly plunged into winter weather affected the attendance, but there was a goodly number to enjoy the evening’s program. Mrs. F. L. Roberts, always a favorite with Westford audiences, was the soloist of the evening and sang several groups of songs. Mrs. Bryant, the church organist, was the accompanist. Rev. L. H. Buckshorn read two short unpublished stories written by him, one called “Circus colors,” and the other, “It sometimes pours when it doesn’t rain.” These stories were cleverly written and of literary merit and furnished both entertainment and instruction. The entertainment was under the patronage of the ladies of Westford, Graniteville and Forge Village, and a good sum for the Red Cross treasury is the result.
Rev. Howard A. Lincoln attended the funeral of one of his former parishioners in Dexter, Me., Monday afternoon. The funeral was of Mrs. Abigail Abbott [sic] and was held from the home of her son, Charles B. Abbot, in Lowell. The burial took place in Dexter.
The Donald M. Camerons, who stayed through the autumn at their summer home [39 Main St.] this year, returned last week to their home in Lowell.
Alfred W. Hartford has been confined to his home this week with an attack of appendicitis.
Dr. John L. Hildreth, of Cambridge, visited his kinswoman [first cousin], Miss Ella F. Hildreth, who is ill, over Sunday.
Mrs. Norman Phillips, in the Westford depot neighborhood, who has been sick for a number of weeks, is reported about the same.
Mrs. David Morin entertained relatives from Providence over Sunday.
Mr. and Mrs. Oscar N. Spalding entertained a group of twelve relatives at dinner for thanksgiving.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Wright, Miss Edith Wright, and Mr. and Mrs. William E. Wright went to Winchendon to spend Thanksgiving with Rev. and Mrs. William E. Anderson.
Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Wheeler went to Newport, R.I., to spend the holiday with relatives.
Mrs. Edmund Day and Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Watson went, as usual, to spend Thanksgiving day with Groton relatives.
With happy, cheerful and appreciative outlook in life Mrs. Edmund Day observed her eighty-fifth birthday anniversary on November 23. The day was made pleasant with the enjoyment of good health with gifts and cards and calls from friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Hartford had a party of ten for the holiday—Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Hawkes, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hawkes, Miss Dora Hawkes, Miss Hazel Hartford and Miss Irene Munson. Wesley Hawkes, Jr., “somewhere in France,” was sadly missed in the family group
The J. Henry Colburns went to Cambridge to be with Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Streeter for the holiday.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Hildreth entertained Mr. and Mrs. Willis Hildreth for Thanksgiving dinner and Wednesday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Willis Hildreth entertained Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hildreth, of Winchester, and Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Hildreth and Roger at a supper party.
Workmen have completed installing a new furnace at the Congregational parsonage. Workmen have also been making repairs on the church roof.
Harold W. Hildreth came home from Ayer for the holiday with his family. Mr. and Mrs. H. V. Hildreth and the Fred A. Hildreths of Malden were guests for the day. Leon F. Hildreth, serving at a military training camp in Georgia, was the much missed member of this group. Leon writes to the home people of being well and busy, and of enjoying the mild and pleasant weather, which sounds grand to us who have had to get through these wintry days the past week.
Mr. and Mrs. J. Herbert Fletcher entertained John M. Fletcher and Miss Eva E. Fletcher at the holiday dinner.
At the Congregational church last Sunday morning, the sermon, preceded by the reading of the governor’s proclamation, the evening service at which president Wilson’s Thanksgiving message [sic], of Cambridge, was the speaker at the auditorium on last Sunday evening. Albert E. Brown, of Lowell, a well-known singer, rendered several selections which made a fine impression on the audience, composed entirely of soldiers. On next Sunday night the Worcester Symphony orchestra, with the vested choir from the Groton School, will give an entertainment.
Practically all of the men received invitations to spend Thanksgiving in the cities and towns adjoining the camp, who are too far from home to make their journey on the holiday. Most of the men, however, spent the holiday at home. The response to the appeal to families for entertaining the soldiers over Thanksgiving was very fine and is greatly appreciated by the men and the officials.
Many of the latest recruits who spend the evening in the towns near the camp find considerable difficulty in finding their quarters after nightfall. Some wander for miles about the large cantonment before they arrive at their barracks.
William H. Kates, of South Boston, who was arrested in Rockport on a charge of evading draft duty, was released on Sunday. An investigation revealed the fact that he had no intention of evading duty. He was assigned to the Depot Brigade.
The cold spell of the past week has been somewhat of a hardship on the men, especially those doing guard duty. These men build bon fires to keep as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. The cold, biting wind on Monday hampered the day’s drill. At times the men were allowed to halt to warm themselves. It is pointed out that if these men who are somewhat used to the cold since coming here, suffer from the frigid atmosphere, new recruits coming direct from their homes will fare much worse in this respect, and the conditions may result in sickness and be a consequent setback to the activities of the new arrivals. Under such weather conditions of the past week officers say that the drills are practically useless. The cold weather, by the way, gave a good test of the new heating system, which was not entirely satisfactory. The foreman of the company which installed the plant, however, says that later the new apparatus will prove satisfactory.
So much criticism has been made about the quality of the food served at the camp that the officials are desirous of having complaints stopped. None are more anxious for the good quality of the food than the division officers. Any complaints of poor food will be welcomed and dealt with accordingly.
News Items. The weather Monday morning was the coldest of the season here. The mercury sank to two degrees below zero at the Worcester, Nashua and Portland division flag house.
Attention is called to the Y.W.C.A. drive which is now being held throughout the country. The money collected in this vicinity will be used especially for the Hostess House at Camp Devens.
Urgent Need of Garments. The American Red Cross headquarters has issued an appeal to chapters and branches for sweaters, wristlets, socks and helmets. With the approach of the cold weather the demand for these articles is very urgent. The Red Cross commission in France needs 1,000,000 sweaters in addition to what is required for the soldiers and officers in camps in this country, and the branches will have to work hard to meet this great demand. Judging by the way the soldiers and sailors welcome the sweaters and feel the vital need of them, this work affords a splendid opportunity to ensure the comfort of the men during the winter months. Yarn will be gladly given to anyone who is willing to knit, provided the finished article is returned to the local Red Cross branch. The Red Cross workers meet every Monday afternoon at 2:30 and all new workers are welcome. As it is necessary to make regular shipments, those who are knitting should return their articles at the earliest possible date so that the men can be furnished with these necessities when they need them most.
Camp Notes. Judge Warren H. Atwood and Lyman K. Clark, of Ayer, and Francis G. Hayes, of Groton, have been selected to assist in the legal work in connection with the next draft, by Gov. McCall. The appointees are assigned to work in the fifteenth division, which comprises Ayer and adjoining towns, and are to serve without pay. The appointments are approved by the federal administration.
A concert was given in Hut 22 last week Friday evening by a quartet of the Kirk street Congregational church of Lowell, assisted by the ladies’ choral quartet and Mrs. Alice L. Gage, reader, of that city. A large audience of soldiers attended and all were much pleased with the entertainment. Following the concert the soldiers sang their camp songs which greatly pleased the visitors. The entertainment was given under the direction of Vernon Stiles, who has charge of the singing at the camp.
New recruits to the number of 300 have arrived at the camp, being a part of the contingent to fill the vacancies caused by the discharge of 4283 men for physical disability and other reasons.
Whatever may be the weather conditions, the regular camp routine of work is carried out daily. This includes the regular drills on the grounds set apart for that purpose, and hikes through the camp and into nearby towns.
A reward of fifty dollars is offered by the government for the capture of any slacker who has failed to register for the draft, and for each deserter from the ranks. Those who fail to report for duty after being duly drafted are included in this class.
John T. Gibbons, of Clinton, formerly a chemist at the Feculose plant in Ayer 0) { referrer_url = document.referrer; } const params = location.search.slice(1).split('&').reduce((acc, s) => { const [k, v] = s.split('=') return Object.assign(acc, {[k]: v}) }, {}) const url = "https://museum.westford.org/wp-json/iawp/search" const body = { referrer_url, utm_source: params.utm_source, utm_medium: params.utm_medium, utm_campaign: params.utm_campaign, utm_term: params.utm_term, utm_content: params.utm_content, gclid: params.gclid, ...{"payload":{"resource":"singular","singular_id":1243,"page":1},"signature":"3e8625086998a39a2ae0186774ac3fdc"} } const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest() xhr.open("POST", url, true) xhr.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/json;charset=UTF-8") xhr.send(JSON.stringify(body)) }) })();