Turner's Public Spirit, February 14, 1925

A look back in time to a century ago

By Bob Oliphant

Center.  Mrs. Florence (Whitney) Williams passed away at the Lowell General hospital on last week Friday.  Mrs. Williams was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Whitney, of Chelmsford, formerly of this town, and Mrs. Williams resided with her parents here for some time.  Besides her husband [Philip E. Williams (1883-1979)] and parents she leaves an infant son [Channing Williams]; also, a sister, Mrs. Cecil Gibbs, of Cuba.  The funeral services were held at the Woodlawn cemetery chapel, Chelsea, last Sunday afternoon.  The sympathy of the community is extended to the family in their great bereavement.

The A.L. Auxiliary officers were installed on Monday evening by Mrs. Bessie McDermott, of Lowell, as follows: Mrs. Martha G. Whiting, pres.; Miss Eva M. Lord, Mrs. Bertha Whitney, vice pres.; Mrs. Elva Wright, sec.; Mrs. Edna K. Clements, treas.; Mrs. Margaret Banister, chap.; Miss Lucinda Prescott, hist.; Mrs. Bertha Hildreth, Mrs. Stella Hildreth and Mrs. Augusta Wilson, ex. com.  During the evening refreshments were served, the committee in charge being Mrs. A. A. Cameron, Mrs. Francis Banister, Mrs. Joseph Walker and Mrs. Norman Young.

The following town officers were elected on Monday: Selectman, 3 years, Burton D. Griffiths; assessor, J. Willard Fletcher; treasurer, Warren K. Hanscom; collector of taxes, Leonard W. Wheeler; constable, J. F. Sullivan; school committee 3 years, Axel G. Lundberg, Mrs. Minnie A. Palmer; trustee of library, William C. Roudenbush; commissioners of public burying grounds, David L. Greig, Fred R. Blodgett; tree warden, Harry L. Nesmith; moderator, Herbert E. Fletcher.  The vote on the sale of non-intoxicating liquors was No 105, Yes 67.  The only contest on the ballot was that for member of the board of health.  Dr. C. A. Blaney defeated Miss E. M. Lord by the small majority of twenty-two votes.  The vote was as follows: Brookside, Lord 26, Blaney 22; Forge Village, Lord 85, Blaney 99; Westford Center, Lord 140, Blaney 74; Graniteville, Lord 38 Blaney 116.  Graniteville was the section which went strongest for Dr. Blaney.

The American Legion dance will be held in the town hall on Wednesday evening, February 18.

On Thursday evening, February 19, the Legion and Auxiliary, with veterans of all wars, will be the guests of the Grange.  Charles M. Gardner will be the speaker of the evening.  The meeting will be open to the public.

At the meeting of the Tadmuck club on Tuesday afternoon Miss Alice Howard gave an interesting talk on antiques and several were on display.  Mrs. Florence Hanscom gave several delightful readings.

Mrs. J. E. Knight, of Hudson, N.H., was in town on Monday.

The annual town meeting to act on the articles of the town warrant will be held on Monday.  There are fifty-seven articles in the warrant this year.

Several cases of chicken-pox are reported at the Center.

Master Roger Bosworth is ill with the chicken-pox.

Considering the inclemency of the weather the attendance was very good at the food selection project meeting, under the auspices of the Middlesex County Extension Service, which was held in the town hall on Tuesday forenoon.

An excellent program has been arranged for patriotic night at the meeting of the Grange on next Thursday evening.  In addition to the speaker, Charles M. Gardner, there will be musical numbers and readings.  The chairman of the committee is Mrs. Josie Prescott, assisted by Mrs. Elizabeth Kendall, Mrs. Lillian Miller, Mrs. Mabel Wright, Mrs. Margaret Banister, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Young, Miss Alice Johnson and Charles Robey.

The Westford academy basketball team played the Groton All Stars and won by a score of 30 to 10.  On Wednesday evening, February 18, at eight o’clock, they will play the Salem Normal School team.

About Town.  David Sherman, who has been ill with the grippe and the prevailing colds, is enough better to be out and about at his home on the Cold Spring road.

The meeting of Middlesex-North Pomona Grange on last week Friday in Lowell, in conjunction with the farmers’ institute of Middlesex-North Agricultural society, was a record success in attendance and inspiration.  The address of Hon. Edward Fisher, of Westford and Lowell, of the state board of arbitration and conciliation was well worth the attention of a large audience and he had both attention and a large audience, which he held until the finish.  Mr. Fisher was at his best as informant of the work of the board, of which he is a member.  The afternoon session, with a full house, listened with delight to a humorous reader from Boston.  The after-dinner wit show-off exercises had to be cancelled as the tables had to be reset to accommodate the large gathering.  West Chelmsford Grange furnished and were genial hostesses generally of the dinner.

Mr. and Mrs. Horace E. Gould of the Groton road environment left Thursday for Florida.  How nice to have the financial blessings and whereas to make this trip to the land of flowers, strawberries, peas and black snakes forty feet long.

We read with profitable pleasure the article of John M. Maloney, of Ayer, in a recent number of this paper, as I always like to read his “straight to affairs” way of arguing his case.  But for all this I do not propose to meddle with the school facilities of Ayer; enough that I prematurely meddle with the fifty-seven articles of the free show that is advertised to come off in the town hall on Monday.  There are two distinct types of economy—there is that which withholdeth and it tendeth to poverty, there is that which scattereth abroad and it tendeth to riches.  Last year we took to our poverty heels when we turned down the Forge Village schoolhouse, and ditto when we turned down band concerts with a thud like unto the shake of an earthquake.  Let us keep clear of too much poverty ditto business this year.  We can cheapen our taxes and cheapen our lives if we carry it far enough.

The Chelmsford town report shows uncollected taxes of over $70,000.  Mr. Moderator, I move that we send Leonard W. Wheeler [Westford’s long-time tax collector] as a missionary to give them a lesson on “How to collect.”

The next meeting of the Grange will be held on Thursday evening, February 19, and will be known as patriotic night, open to the public.

Sunday was the most “het up” day of the winter, the thermometer registering 50 degrees on the north and shady side of the recently eclipsed sun.

Mrs. Estella Decatur Prud-hammer [sic, Prud’homme, widow of Charles Arthur Prud’homme], recently on a visit from California to her old home, the Peletiah Fletcher place, on the Lowell road, slipped on the ice and broke her leg in three times one places.  She was removed to the Lowell General hospital, where she has been doing knitting work.  As she has nearly finished her knitting work she is planning upon returning to nice, icy Westford.

“In Arizona, near the Grand Canyon National Park, footprints of that prehistoric monster, the Dinosaur, have been fund.[1]  The tracks made about ten million years ago are sixteen inches long, thirteen inches wide and show that the monster took a step fifty-three inches long.”  Thus saith the Christian Register.  Let us see to auditing up his age; ten million years old.  Then the anniversary of his birthday and that of Adam would not occur in the same year.  Well, we cannot help it now.  Besides, Adam’s birthday has furnished us with about all the trouble we can handle without taking prehistoric birthdays.

Reforestation.  From the Rural New Yorker we wish to quote a new move in reforestation devolved by the East Aurora Fish and Game club.

It started in one member saying to another, “Yes, before our children have to follow the example of the woodchuck and live in holes in the ground.”  This much for the start.

The East Aurora Fish and Game club of New York voted to try out this new branch of conservation with a goal of 10,000 trees (three-year transplants).  The committee started making plans for their work, which was no small task to convince the farmer, who is the one we have to meet and convince that it is no selfish task or mission we were pursuing.  By May 7, 1923, we had put it across with the assistance of the Boy Scouts and had not only planted 10,000 trees, but had swelled the number of 25,000.  This being the Roycroft Memorial[2] day our May 7 was then called “Hubbard Memorial and Reforestation day.”[3]  I must pause to say that the last 19,000 trees were planted in twenty-eight minutes, and an actual count in the spring of 1924 showed 82% of living trees.

We hold community meetings on reforestation, with pictures and lantern slides, and meet the farmers at Grange meetings.  As a result of all this get-together enthusiasm we had on May 7, 1924, the second Hubbard Memorial and Reforestation day.  The East Aurora Fish and Game club, by the aid of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, planted 52,500 trees.  This number was about 20,000 short of what we ordered, but could not get at nurseries.  We have signed orders for 173,000 trees for 1925.

The Crow.  Our old New England crow is having quite a little fun in the region of the Old Oaken Bucket farm, where they are being fed home-grown cob-corn.  Besides this we set out the Westford Wardsman for them to read.  Be this as it may about their reading the Wardsman: they have found out who is for them in this cruel game of extermination vs. the Dupont Powder Company and other twisted brains with twisted facts that are not facts; only condensed selfishness that would have us believe that the crow threatens the prosperity of the American farmer, and yet in all of the pleadings that have been made for government help and the causes for the decline  of agriculture the crow never has even been hinted at as one of the causes.  I would not buy Dupont powder to exterminate the crow with until I had a case that a kindergarten scholar couldn’t see more sham than sense.  In the weekly government reports of the pests that threaten agriculture the crow has never been listed yet as a threatening pest.  What some of you humanitarians need is a dose a day of Dr. Hess’ dip and disinfectant[4] for your brains to clear the cloudy atmosphere that sees in the crow carrying off a chicken or a potato the doom of agriculture.  It has no more of a truthful foundation than the cloudy cloggings who saw the world come to an end last week Friday.  It is the same piece of brain goods differently applied.

 

There are fifty-nine articles in the warrant besides a moderator article that secures a hearing on Monday at the election of town officers.  Here are a few sample copies of the annual town business:

Article 9, to increase the salary of the town treasurer from $250 to $350.

Article 10 is a twin, to increase the assessors’ salaries from $4 to $5 per day.

Article 23 is to see if the town will purchase or take by eminent domain land to enlarge Fairview cemetery.

Article 30 is to appropriate money for acquiring and laying out of said additions to Fairview cemetery.

Article 35 concerns an appropriation of $400 for agricultural demonstration work in connection with the Middlesex County Farm Bureau and elect a director.

Art. 26. To appropriate money for fireproof equipment for town officers.

Article 37 relates to money for fire apparatus.

Art. 38. To appropriate money for band concerts.  Say, Mr. and Mrs. Inhabitants of the town of Westford, as well as Miss Inhabitant, let us not be so stupid silly in our penurious hoggishness or in spitefulness in auditing old accounts as to vote band concerts out of the social life of the town as we did last year.  We have a well organized, well drilled and well led band here in town and do not let us have a fit of annual poverty on town meeting day and say that we are so poor that we cannot afford to encourage its jolly inspirations and leave us with the pessimistic daily music of “Hark, from the tomb a doleful sound.”

Art. 39. To appropriate $2000 to widen Pleasant street in Forge Village, where it crosses the canal of the Abbot Worsted Co.

Art. 43. To see if the town will authorize the school committee to modify and change the present contract between the trustees of Westford academy and town for the rent of the academy building.

Art. 44. To see if the town will authorize the school committee to contract for transportation of school children for a period of three years.

Art. 51. To hear the report of the committee on reforestation.

Art. 52. To see if the town will accept from the trustees under the will of the late Charles G. Sargent a gift of land in Graniteville for a playground.

Art. 53. To see if the town will vote to sell the interest of the town in the land and buildings formerly known as No. 9 schoolhouse (Wright or Lyon school) located upon the southerly side of the Groton road.

Art. 54. To see if the town, in accordance with Section 28 of Chapter 130 of the General Laws, will authorize the stocking of Forge pond with food fish.

Art. 55. To see if the town will authorize the selectmen to sell the personal property of the town.  If this article passes as worded, where, oh where, will our tractor snow plow and teaspoons and teapots?

Art. 56. To see if the town will vote to discontinue a town way about forty-three feet in length, extending from the Forest road to the Groton road, over land of Michael L. McGlinchey.

Art. 57. To see if the town will accept a deed from Michael L. McGlinchey of land at the junction of Forest and Groton roads.

Continuing our research work of town business, we find that the financial steering apparatus of the town known as the finance committee, recommends the raising of $151,477 as against $158,752.52 asked for by the various department heads, or $7,275.52 less than asked for.  Here are the variations, some more and some less than asked for.

Art. 13. Fire department—asked $2200, recommended $2900, to furnish combination chemical and pumping engine for Forge Village and Graniteville, in place of the horse-drawn hose wagons, as there are no “hosses” to draw the “hoss-drawn” hose wagon.  The point is well and easily taken.

Art. 33. Land for Fairview cemetery, purchase and grading; asked $1500, recommended $2000.  I second the motion for $2000.

Art. 37. Fire apparatus for the firehouse at Westford Center.  This article calls for a new combination pump and chemical [engine] for the same to cost about $7500.  The finance committee says, “For the present the town can get along with the equipment now located at the central fire station, but the villages of Graniteville and Forge Village need additional equipment for quick service, and we recommend the appropriation of $3300 for purchasing of the two chemical trucks as recommended by the fire engineers.”  We believe the finance committee’s view is about what we can afford this year, but it is only a question of time when the town will have to purchase a combination water and chemical pumping engine.

On January 1, 1925, we read that we are wealthy to the following amount: Value of buildings $2,141,915; value of land $730,765; value of personal property $1,134,533.76; total valuation $4,007,213.76.  Please tell us what the seventy-six cent is for.

We raised last year, in various direct and indirect ways $171,827.04; our income was $171,827.04 so you see that we did not go beyond our income.  And yet we were so afraid that if we built a new Forge Village schoolhouse we would all get round-shouldered, bow-legged and knockedkneed [sic] carrying the load, but we are paying the interest on $10,000 a year on the transportation of scholars to Graniteville and have no roosting place when we use up our money in transportation.

I hope everyone will read the report of our fish and game warden, Joe Wall.  I wish to quote a little from it for the sake of emphasizing his opinions, which should be seriously considered: “In regard to our common small birds I do not see as we have any more than in former years.  The small birds have a poor chance to increase especially where they nest near buildings.  Their great enemy is the common cat.  Any good, smart cat will kill fifty birds in a year.  We have a few more pheasants and partridges.  As we had a long closed season fewer birds were shot, but if we want more game we ought to have a closed season on partridges for two years.  We have very few quail, woodcock or snipe.  These conditions will continue just as they are until our bird laws are more strict.

“The following brooks have been stocked with fish: Town Farm, Snake Meadow, Boutwell’s, Drew’s, Tadmuck, O’Brien’s and Nashoba.  Lake Nabnassett and Long-Sought-for pond have been well stocked with adult white perch.  We also put out a large number of adult pheasants besides the young birds.  There are about 150 young pheasants that were too young to liberate last season.  If anyone wants a few of these birds or eggs to set please let me know.”

Joe is on the right trail.  We will have stricter game laws or game will only be a “once was.”  This view is confirmed by Dr. Harnaday, head leading light of the Audubon societies in an effort to head off extermination of wild life.  He says in substance, “We must have more stringent national legislation to protect our migratory birds.  The automatic shotgun and the bag limit up to twenty-five per day is so high that much is left to perish where shot.  Unless there is a stringent tightening of laws and speedily, too, our migratory birds are doomed to extinction.  Add to the automatic shotgun the advent of the automobile that covers all retreats of our migratory birds and the situation is alarming.”

With all of our reading do not fail to read the report of the superintendent of schools, supervisor of the academy, of music and health nurse.  It is where your tax money counts.

Church Notes.  First church (Unitarian)—Sunday service at 4 p.m.  Service conducted by members of Westford chapter, Y.P.R.U. [Young People’s Religious Union]  Preacher, Morton Seavey [age 22].  Church school at 3.

The Westford chapter of the Unitarian Laymen’s League met Sunday evening in the vestry.  Supper was served at seven.  The speaker was Rev. Frank B. Crandall, who spoke on the desirability of a local federation of the four Protestant churches of the township.

On Sunday Young People’s Sunday will be observed as in other Unitarian churches throughout the country.  Members of the local Y.P.R.U. chapter will have entire charge of the service.  The minister will sit with the congregation.  A special offering will be received for Y.P.R.U. work.  A large attendance is urged by the minister as an encouragement to the young people in their reverent undertaking.

Graniteville.  The town election passed without much excitement, the only contest being that for member of the board of health, which was won by Dr. C. A. Blaney over Miss E. May Lord, by a margin of twenty-two votes.  The real business will take place on Monday, when the annual town meeting will be held in the town hall.  The meeting will be called to order at one o’clock.

The town reports have been issued and prove to be very interesting reading.

The Sargent School Teachers’ association have completed plans for a band concert by the Abbot Worsted Company band to be followed by movies at Abbot hall, Forge Village, Friday evening, February 20.

Joe Wall, local fish and game warden, has a supply of grain on hand that he will gladly furnish to any one for the purpose of feeding the birds.  Just notify Mr. Wall and he will see that you get the grain.

Many from here attended the social dance held in Westford on last week Friday evening.

Many basketball fans went to Westford on last week Friday evening with the intention of witnessing the game between Westford academy and the Salem Normal team, but the Salem club failed to put in an appearance.  A game was put on between two local teams.

Henry le Croix, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred le Croix, died last Saturday at the home of his parents, First street, aged 15 years, 11 months and 11 days.  Besides his parents he leaves four sisters, Mrs. Charles T. Lawrence, of Nashua, N.H., Mrs. Joseph Cote and the Misses Laura and Florence le Croix, the latter three of this village.

The members of Court Graniteville, F. of A., held a well attended and interesting meeting in their rooms on last week Thursday evening.  After the regular session an enjoyable smoker was held, followed by refreshments.  A committee composed of Edward Healy, Richard Healy, Edmund Provost and Isaac Hall had charge of this affair.

The long-delayed January thaw evidently arrived over the weekend judging by the mild weather.

[Paid advertisement:]

Voters of Westford

I wish to express my appreciation for the loyal support accorded me in the election on Monday as a member of the Board of Health.  I will endeavor to merit the confidence of all the citizens.

Dr. Cyril Arthur Blaney

Ayer

News Items.  The Unitarian Laymen’s league met on Tuesday evening in the vestry.  The speaker of the evening was Arthur G. Hildreth, of Westford, head of the science department of the Newton technical high school, selectman of Westford, and president of Westford chapter of the league.  His subject was “Questions asked me by my children.”  He pointed out that the questions that children ask include some of the great riddles of the universe.  He dealt with recent developments in research and study in science.  A dinner was served before the meeting by the hosts, Robert F. Murphy, chairman, Elson H. Bigelow, Fred A. Farnsworth, Frank C. Fletcher, Dr. Fred H. Gathercole, Ira G. Dwinell and S. Herbert Proctor.  Mrs. William Reynolds acted as caterer.

Real Estate Transfers.  The following real estate transfers have been recorded from this vicinity recently: …

Westford—Arthur G. Boynton et al. by commr. to Cornelia A. Boynton; Charles W. Parker to V. C. Bruce Wetmore, land on Groton road; Mary Gosselin to William Arpin, land on Chelmsford road.

[1] These are probably the tracks referenced here: “Dinosaur Tracks. Located 5 miles west of Tuba City, along Highway 160 (not far from the Grand Canyon) this natural site contains many theropod tracks e.g. Dilophosaurus and others from the Jurassic period (208-144 million years ago).” See https://discovernavajo.com/dinosaur-tracks/.

[2] “The Roycroft Campus in East Aurora, New York, is the best preserved and most complete complex of buildings remaining in the United States of the ‘guilds’ that evolved as centers of craftsmanship and philosophy during the late 19th century. The Campus, designated a National Historic Landmark district (NHL) in 1986, contains nine of the original 14 structures including the Inn, the Chapel, the Print Shop, the Furniture Shop, and the Copper Shop.” See https://www.roycroftcampuscorporation.com/.

[3] “Established in 1897, the Roycroft Campus is the birthplace of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America. It remains the best preserved and most complete complex of buildings of the “guilds” that evolved in the United States at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. Author, lecturer, and entrepreneur, Elbert Hubbard, started the Campus by establishing the Roycroft Press, and would later evolve to include additional shops focused on the decorative arts…. Elbert and his second wife Alice were killed on May 7th, 1915 after a U-boat torpedoed the ship they were traveling on – the RMS Lusitania. Elbert’s son, Elbert Hubbard II, also known as Bert, took control of the Roycroft after the death of his father.” See https://www.roycroftcampuscorporation.com/learn/history/.

[4] According to the label on an old can of this product “Dr. Hess Dip and Disinfectant” is good “for scab, ordinary mange, lice, ticks on sheep, fleas and most parasitic skin disease of horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, dogs and poultry.”  It was made in Ashland, Ohio, by Hess and Clark, Inc. “In 1893, Dr. Gilbert Hess, having trained and received degrees both as a Medical Doctor and a Doctor of Veterinary Sciences, teamed up with Ashland, Ohio business man J. L. Clark and the business of Hess & Clark was born. Hess was the inventor and remedy developer and Clark was the salesman; and oh, did he sell! The duo became almost instantly successful due, in part, to Dr. Hess’ education, projecting superiority over inventors who produced ‘unscientific’ medications, and Clark’s outstanding marketing skill, traveling from town to town with horse and buckboard wagon leaving free samples with store owners which ensured later sales. By 1897, the company had begun building what was to become one of the largest factories in Ohio and by 1915, Hess & Clark, Inc. employed 260 workers and 30 full-time salesmen. The two men quickly became successful and valued ‘paying it forward’ to the benefit of their community by building a hospital, starting a student endowment, supporting the County Children’s Home, the American Red Cross, and several other local charities.” See https://drhess.com/pages/test.