The Westford Wardsman, February 9, 1918
Center. More snow with high winds made difficult traveling last Tuesday and in addition to the intense cold made one of the severest days of an already severe winter. Thermometers registered all the way from 18º to 28º below the zero mark. There was no session at the Frost school that day.
Westford people are sorry to hear of the death of William Abbot Perkins, A.M., who died in Woodstock, Conn., January 31, from pneumonia. Mr. Perkins was a former preceptor at Westford academy, succeeding the late William E. Frost [preceptor 1872-1904]. Mr. Perkins was a worthy successor to Mr. Frost, a man of scholarly attainments, of high ideals and courteous presence. He leaves besides Mrs. Perkins his two daughters, Elizabeth and Marion, and a son, Theodore.
Mr. and Mrs. Abiel J. Abbot left town last week for a sojourn in Arizona.
Owing to the intense cold and bad traveling on Tuesday the meeting of the Tadmuck club was given up. The literature committee of the club held a pleasant meeting with Mrs. L. H. Buckshorn at her home on Monday afternoon and read “Lady Windemere’s [sic] fan.” At the next meeting of the club, February 19, these members will give a reading of this play, forming the entertainment of the afternoon. This will be under the direction of Mrs. William C. Roudenbush, chairman of the literature and library extension committee.
In noting recently the people in Westford who had lived to be one hundred years old and more the name of Mrs. Catherine O’Toole could have been included. Mrs. O’Toole died at the town farm some years ago well past the century mark in years.
Owing to fuel conditions the J. V. Fletcher library is only open on Thursday afternoon and in the evening until eight o’clock. We must make this acquiescence to war-time conditions in contrast to the several open days and evenings and luxuriant warmth in cold weather that our residents have always enjoyed with this building since it was built twenty-two years ago.
In connection with the communion service at the Congregational church last Sunday fifteen new members were received into the church as follows: By letter, Mr. and Mrs. G. A. Laboutely, Mr. and Mrs. Harry M. Ingells and children, Gladys, Ethel and Lawrence, and Mrs. Helena M. Bartlett; on confession, Misses Elva and Edith Judd, Misses Florence and Rachael Kimball, Miss Elinor Colburn, Miss Anna Symmes and Frederick A. Hanscomb. Mr. Lincoln’s sermon was principally addressed to the new members and the entire service was impressive and interesting.
The annual town reports have been received by the taxpayers this last week. They are most attractive in their lavender covers and full of interest and should be carefully read from cover to cover. They differ from town reports of previous years owing to war-time conditions and contain a fine, comprehensive report of the public safety committee on the war work of all organizations during the past year and compiled by Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher, secretary of that committee. This, in addition to the reports of all the other town officers, the report of schools, library and etc., make it an intensely interesting book. Vital statistics for the year are 104 births, 34 marriages and 45 deaths.
The home guard members held their weekly drill on Tuesday evening at the town hall and in spite of the intense cold nearly thirty members were present for the drill.
The Red Cross and French Aid have held their regular weekly meetings with good attendance and good interest. We are requested to call attention to a correction in the report of the public safety committee, giving the work done by the Red Cross during the year. In the list of hospital articles made during the year the surgical dressings should read 14,360, instead of 1100. This changes the total number of articles from 2,822 to 16,082.
The girls’ auxiliary to the local branch of the Red Cross, under the direction of Mrs. Edith Hildreth and Miss Denfield, and holding its weekly meetings on Friday afternoon at the home of Mrs. H. V. Hildreth, are doing good work. They have recently completed a worsted afghan made from remnants of worsted contributed by various ones. At Christmas time pupils in Miss Dunn’s room at the Frost school made and sold some cards and greetings, the proceeds amounting to two dollars, and this amount will be used for the material for coverings for hot water bottles which Mrs. Hildreth’s and Miss Denfield’s class will make.
Through conferences between Mr. Lincoln and representative members of each church, the Unitarian and Congregational churches will unite in their services during the balance of the winter months. The plan is to worship at one church for one month and the following month at the other, and the pastors will alternate in the preaching and conduct of the services. Sunday’s service will be held at the Congregational church, the service beginning at 10:45. Mr. Buckshorn will preach the sermon and Mr. Lincoln will conduct the rest of the service. The Sunday schools will unite on the same basis. Evening service at seven o’clock.
Orders were received by the Westford fuel committee last Saturday for a new ruling to go into effect on Monday for a schedule for all grocery and provision stores as follows: Stores open at nine in the morning, each day. They shall close at twelve o’clock on Monday and at six o’clock on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings; on Saturday evenings at ten o’clock. Stores in which postoffices are located may keep open a sufficient time for the distribution of the mails, but no sales are allowed during the hours in which the other stores of the town are closed. This ruling holds good until further notice.
Question of Eligibility. As only one caucus has been held in town only two contests appear on the ballot to be voted on at the annual town meeting on Monday. One comes up annually in all towns, the license question. As near as this town is to Ayer the same arguments that appeared recently in this paper in regard to license in that town apply here, and should bring here as an emphatic a “no” vote as in Ayer. It is up to the voters to come forward and vote “no” on Monday. The other contest has developed since the caucus. It was found after the caucus that the nominee for constable, Mr. Ripley, was not then a registered voter. He has been registered since we are told. It is said that another man thought this made Mr. Ripley ineligible and so took out nomination papers. Reference to the revised laws of Massachusetts show that constables, like other town officers, are to be elected from the inhabitants of the town. The use of this word rather than “registered voter” would seem to make clear that there is absolutely no doubt of Mr. Ripley’s eligibility.
About Town. The second farmers’ institute of the season, held under the management of Middlesex-North Agricultural society, will be held at the town hall in Tyngsboro on Thursday, February 14, at 10:45. H. F. Thompson, head of the Boston Market Gardeners’ experimental field work, will speak on “Seed growing and selection.” At 2:30 o’clock the same speaker will address the farmers on “Farming without fertilizer.” Between these two addresses dinner, music, speaking and much else will be served to delight one. As the department of agriculture in Washington has warned of the prospective shortage and poor quality of seeds, it would be wise for the farmers to come to this institute and get a correct and personal viewpoint of the seed situation. Fertilizers also can be listed profitably with seeds for a hearing. Cars leave Merrimack square, Lowell, every hour, three minute past the hour.
From the United States monthly crop reports California reports 690 bushels of potatoes per acres in some sections of the state.
“A city set on a hill cannot be hid.” Even so like unto it do they feel in the Stony Brook valley, when the electric lights were turned on for the first time on the evening of January 30. This long curved Lowell road has all ye charms of ye village life without some things not so charmful. “Wonderful, more wonderful and yet again more wonderful and after that out of all whooping” , directing to proceed with the utmost expedition in the examination of men, so that a sufficient number to fill the deferred quota may be obtained. The urgency of filling this quota immediately was emphasized.
The regimental bands of the 6th division will be doubled in size to meet the suggestion of General Pershing. At present the bands at Camp Devens have the regulation number of twenty-eight pieces.
An agreement on prices for automobile hire between the camp and the railroad station was reached last Sunday after a conference between the military police and automobile drivers. It was decided to charge thirty-five cents from the station to the base hospital if three or more passengers are carried. For one or two passengers the charge is to be fifty cents each. If there is heavy baggage the chauffeur may charge forty cents a head when without baggage is thirty-five cents each. From the station to camp postoffice the rate is to be twenty-five cents each, provided the passenger names the destination before starting.
Sergt. Carleton Halliday of Company E, 301st Telegraph Battalion, died at the base hospital on Monday night from pneumonia, which followed an attack of the measles. Many companies are quarantined because of measles among the men of the companies.
A basketball team composed of all the star players at the camp is being formed and a challenge has been issued to “Rabbit” Maranville’s navy yard team. Maranville 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":1401,"page":1},"signature":"a329ebaa11063fca0b0a191ad3408527"} } const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest() xhr.open("POST", url, true) xhr.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/json;charset=UTF-8") xhr.send(JSON.stringify(body)) }) })();