Turner's Public Spirit, December 10, 1921
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
“Center. Owing to the uncertainty as to just when the electric lights will be restored [after the
Nov. 28 th ice storm] there will be no services at the Unitarian church until Christmas Sunday,
which comes on December 25….
“Little Viola Day, who was reported so seriously ill last week with pneumonia, is much better
and gaining each day.
“Julian M. Cameron has recently given the J. V. Fletcher library about twenty volumes of
current fiction. An interesting and practical book just added to the library is ‘The modern motor
truck,’ by Victor Page….
“Mr. and Mrs. Walter Fletcher, of the Westford depot neighborhood, are the happy parents of
twin boys, born Tuesday. Mother and sons are reported as doing nicely. We are told that the two
young gentlemen will be named for their two grandfathers [Joseph Willard Fletcher and Rowland
Taylor]….
“Axes and saws have necessarily been popular tools the past week, and much hard work has
been done getting broken and fallen branches out and cleared up. It has added appreciably to
many people’s supply of firewood, but few would have chosen their firewood from favorite shade
and fruit trees.
“It is getting on now to nearly two weeks without electric lights, causing much inconvenience
all around. There seems to be some assurance that they may be restored from the first to the
middle of next week.
“Linemen have worked long hours to restore the crippled telephones from the ice storm. The
first of the week the trunk lines were put in order and the local lines are receiving attention as fast
as possible. One hundred and forty-five telephones in town were put out of commission.
“E. J. Whitney writes the Westford friends, from Kissimmee, Fla., where he is spending the
winter, of June-like weather, while we have been in the grip of the most disastrous of ice storms.
He recently attended a mammoth barbecue where nearly 5000 people were in attendance. Mr.
Whitney also writes of having a prosperous garden under way.
“About Town. Much is said and read about the unemployed and how to provide them with
work. There is an attempt to employ at the Tobacco-Morning Glory farm [of Amos Polley]. The
shingling of the barn was let and sublet seven times, and then the owner had to shingle it himself.
What a rush and crowding there is for work. Hadn’t someone ought to apply the emergency
brakes on account of this rush crowd in the interest of ‘safety first!’
“If Westford Grange has some chimney heat and light, and the sun, moon and stars overhead
succeed in controlling the overflow of rain, hail and snow on our heads, feet and chimney, we
will have Groton and Ayer Granges neighbors’ night with us next week Thursday evening, it
being a postponed neighbor on account of last week being no chimney week with us….
. The postponements on account of the sleet-rain-hail-snow storm begin to
come in for audit for last week’s holdup. On Tuesday evening the second in the series of motion
pictures in the Farm Bureau did not appear because the electrical current that lights the hall got
struck lifeless by the storm. On Wednesday afternoon missionaries of the Farm Bureau were to
hold an open face-to-face conference with the farming community in regard to programs for
future meetings most desirable for the locality. No one came or went except the writer, and he
had the hall all to his lonesome, not another animal being present except a few flies that
introduced themselves by lighting on him, but there were no flies on him when he got home with
wet feet and wiser wisdom. Thursday evening was to be neighbors’ night at the Grange for Ayer
and Groton Granges. Now add to no light, no chimney and no heat. A rain-hail-snow slide on
the slated roof of the [town] hall beheaded the chimney close to the roof as speedily and smoothly
as the French guillotine would behead.
“What a Samson this storm proved to be that sent electricity down for the count in the dark.
Besides all this there were several dances that could not exhibit on a no-light-no-chimney-no-heat
basis and they retired, it being a very retiring week.
“Graniteville. The electric lights were turned on for the first time after the storm on Tuesday
evening [eight days after they were put out by the storm] and it is needless to say that the
restoration of the service is greatly appreciated. With the electric lights again working all former
activities will be resumed.”
“The telephone lines are still out of order, but are expected to be in shape in a few days.”
Twins Rowland Taylor Fletcher and J. Willard Fletcher with their grandmother Charlotte
Taylor taken Nov. 10, 1944. Courtesy Photo / George Fletcher
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