The Westford Wardsman, January 11, 1919
Center. The first meeting of the new year of the Tadmuck club took place on Tuesday afternoon at Library hall with a good attendance. The speaker for the afternoon, John A. Lowe, who was to speak on “The soldier and his books,” was not able to be present and in his absence an impromptu program was arranged and proved very satisfactory. Miss Alice M. Howard read an article from a recent Atlantic Monthly, whose passing away came this week. Mr. Roosevelt had many staunch admirers in Westford.
The reading circle of the Tadmuck club will meet with Mrs. H. V. Hildreth on Tuesday afternoon of next week and “Mid-summer night’s dream” will be the subject of the afternoon.
The annual meeting of the Congregational church takes place on Monday afternoon. This is preceded by the church members’ dinner at noon.
Westford people were shocked to hear this week of the sudden death of Mrs. Alice Reed Houghton, wife of Daniel G. Houghton, of Littleton. Mrs. Houghton was born in Westford, the oldest daughter of Hon. and Mrs. J. Henry Reed, and in this town her younger life was spent and her education received. She had many friends here who will sympathize sincerely with her bereaved husband, her children and her sisters and brother. To the writer of this column, who had met her only occasionally in the past twenty years, Mrs. Houghton always seemed the embodiment of capable and intelligent womanhood.
A regular drill of the home guard company at the town hall Tuesday evening. At the business meeting it was voted to have a dance sometime in February and a committee was appointed to have the matter in charge.
At the Congregational church on Sunday morning Rev. O. L. Brownsey will have for his morning subject “The challenge to the church”; evening service, “The best policy.”
Red Cross. The annual meeting of the Westford branch, including the auxiliary branches of Graniteville and Forge Village, was held last Saturday afternoon and was full of interest with its summing up of results, its look forward, and the reports of secretary and treasurer.
Mrs. Herbert V. Hildreth, chairman, who has given such splendid service and wise leadership since the work began, made a comprehensive report of the service and production rendered the branch, having met all demands at all times, and thanked all for the spirit of cooperation and interest that had made the result possible, especially including the workers at Forge Village and Graniteville. The Westford branch has been fortunate in keeping its running expenses small, having heat, light and rent furnished at Library hall. Mrs. Hildreth urged all to continue the work while the demand lasted, to continue to do not our bit, but our best of service, and for our women to apply the golden rule to the stricken women in the war devastated countries until they can better help themselves.
Miss Helena M. Bartlett gave her report as treasurer. The figures showed $3.429.71 receipts and $2,630.44 in payments, leaving a balance of $799.27. An itemized record of this will be given in the town report, soon to be printed.
The secretary, Mrs. A. W. Hartford, gave the report of work finished and sent to Red Cross chapter, Lowell, from Westford, as follows: 517 sweaters, 1239 pairs of socks, 145 helmets, 11 caps, 87 pairs of wristers, 22 washmits, 7 mufflers, 181 hospital shirts, 18 hospital coats, 14 convalescent robes, 6 infants’ layettes, 3 helpers’ surgical coats, 232 pajama suits, 545 bags, 376 refugee garments, 22,382 surgical dressings, 2000 pounds of clothing for Belgian relief.
Mrs. Adeline M. Buckshorn gave an enlightening report of the work of the home service bureau. The number of families served was 17; amount of money loaned to families $151; also, the number of comfort kits given.
Fire. Sunday evening the fire company was called by telephone to the [John H. Keefe, farmer, house on Chamberlin Rd. near Chamberlin’s corner, per 1916 Westford Directory] Keefe place, near Chamberlain’s Corner, for a chimney fire. The house had been unoccupied for a time, but during the day a new owner had been there with his family and had a fire in the stove, which had ignited a collection of soot in a bricked-up fireplace. The heat of the chimney had ignited a rat’s nest on a shelf behind the mantelpiece. After extinguishing this and removing the burning soot, the fire company went home, only to be recalled shortly to the same place. This house was built in the days when builders knew no better than to place timbers into chimneys. In this case the attic stairway stringer was spiked to the chimney. The iron spikes had carried heat through the bricks and ignited that stairway so that it had to be completely torn out and a good sized hole made in the roof in addition to the tearing out previously done.
Examination showed several other soot pockets as well as woodwork in and against the chimney. As frequent as such conditions have been found by the writer [Samuel L. Taylor] to exist in old-fashioned houses, the wonder is that any of them remain. Why don’t householders look out for such conditions?
About Town. The sudden death of Mrs. Alice Read Houghton in Littleton recalls to many of us her early life at the familiar Read farm in Westford, apparently always in the happy mood of daily conduct; never in the disagreeable role of the “out of sorts” pout. To the younger scholars of the Old Stony Brook school she will be recalled as a charmingly, affable and dependable schoolmate, whether in the role of conduct towards teacher or in the role of playmate with snowball attachments towards her schoolmates.
A farmer in the Stony Brook Valley has twenty-nine hens that average twenty-nine eggs per day. Now the question before the jury is, what is meant by “average?”—do they some days lay less then twenty-nine and some days more than twenty-nine?—if so, how is this thus so?
The annual meeting of the First Parish church will be held in the vestry on Monday afternoon at two o’clock for the election of officers and committee reports.
A wild cat was reported catching poultry in some of the farm yards of the Stony Brook Valley a few weeks ago. Many there were who believed and more than many who did not believe. For the benefit of the doubters we will state that Matthew F. Downs, at the old brick tavern on the Groton road, has been missing poultry, as was supposed by foxes. Monday, the man employed on the place discovered an animal engaged in the transportation of poultry, and getting an unconcealed weapon he fired without notifying and brought to surrender a huge wild cat; so perfect a specimen that it has been sent to the Bedford fox hunt for exhibition, and later it will be on exhibition in Westford.
Mark Jenkins, the blacksmith at Chamberlain’s corner, has moved to Lowell for the winter.
Fred A. Blodgett, Milestone hill, has been threatened with a bad cold, but is now threatened with not having one.
Fred A. Hanscom, Tadmuck road, attended the Pomona Grange in Lowell last week Friday forenoon, and in the afternoon and evening attended the Odd Fellows’ festivities in Charlestown, where he spent Saturday and Sunday.
Miss Mary E. Carroll, an old and highly esteemed resident of Westford Corner and West Chelmsford, died at her home last week Wednesday. She was born in Ireland seventy-five years ago and has been a resident of Westford Corner and West Chelmsford for over fifty years. She is survived by a sister, Mrs. Catherine O’Brien, of Lowell, and a nephew, Capt. John J. Monahan, of West Chelmsford. The funeral was from her home at 8:30 o’clock, with funeral mass celebrated at St. John’s church at nine o’clock, the mass being celebrated by Rev. Francis Heaney. The choir, under the direction of Frank J. McCarthy, sang the Gregorian chant. The bearers were John H. and Walter McEnaney, Peter and Michael McGlinchey, Patrick McMahon and Patrick Flynn. Burial was in St. Patrick’s cemetery, Lowell.
Grange. Officers of Westford Grange were installed last week Thursday evening by Neil Clark, past master of Tewksbury Grange, assisted by Miss Haynes, of Tewksbury Grange. It was most efficiently and impressively done. The officers installed were Clyde Prescott, m.; Fred A. Hanscom, o.; Fred Smith, lect.; Mrs. Clara A. Greig, chap.; Mrs. Frank C. Wright, sec.; Alonzo H. Sutherland, treas.; Clifford Johnson, stew.; Austin Fletcher, asst. stew.; Miss Judd, l.a.s.; Arthur Downing, g.k.; Marion Fletcher, Flora; Mildred Fletcher, Pomona; Ruth Johnson, Ceres; Fred A. Blodgett, executive committee. Visitors were present from Pelham, N.H., Chelmsford and Tewksbury. Refreshments were served on the plan of each for himself and all for everybody.
During the business notice was given that at some open meeting of the Grange or on some other evening at the town hall a speaker from Amherst Agricultural college will give a talk on “The economy and necessity of building a cold storage plant.” Due notice will be given when arrangements are completed.
Rev. Mr. Anderson, who is alive for all times and varied make-ups, will have charge of the lecturer’s hour at the next meeting, January 16. He has already commenced to harness up with a chip on each shoulder and one in each hand and several up his sleeves, looking for a good-natured fuss and mix-up with someone to challenge those chips in debate. Several have entered the ring to practice.
At the meeting of Middlesex-North Pomona Grange last week Friday the morning session was devoted to clearance reports and business finishing for the years, after which the lecturer entertained with reading and music and remarks by Fred A. Hanscom of Westford Grange, George W. Trull of Tewksbury, Wilbur A. Lapham of Chelmsford, Edward F. Dickinson of Billerica, Norman H. Peavey of Dracut and possibly others.
In the afternoon the officers were installed by State Master Smith of Hadley, assisted by Mrs. Chester Colburn, of Dracut. The following officers were installed: Mrs. Margaret Sarre, Lowell, m.; Mrs. Lovel Colburn, Dracut, o.; Mrs. Warren A. Sherburn, Tyngsboro, lect.; Mrs. Ella M. Wright, Westford, chap.; Mrs. Lulu Hutchins, Billerica, sec.; Norman L. Peavey, Dracut, treas.; Clyde Prescott, Westford, stew.; Emery Smith, Billerica, asst. stew.; Mrs. Fred A. Snow, Tyngsboro, l.a.s.; Mrs. Fred L. Fletcher, Chelmsford, Flora; Mrs. Ryan, Westford, Ceres; Fred Russell, Chelmsford, g.k.; Frank Haines, Tewksbury, ex. com. After the installation State Master Smith entertained with humorous stories.
Sixtieth Wedding Anniversary. Mr. and Mrs. John Greig observed the sixtieth anniversary of their marriage on Sunday. They were married in Stow on January 5, 1859. They came to America from Scotland when the bloom of youth was on their cheeks. The bloom of the spirit is still vigorously preserved with both of them, while age has but slightly told on the cheek. They have always maintained a sensible, self-balance in all the shifts of life, whether the call was to tears or to laughter. To this well preserved balance is due in part the glory of their well preserved mental and physical balance, Mr. Greig having reached four score and one and Mrs. Greig a vigorous close three years younger.
Mr. Greig was a prominent figure for many years as superintendent for the Abbot Worsted Company in Graniteville, having been employed in a similar capacity in mills at Maynard.
The anniversary event was of the sensible simplicity of the open-door welcome. Many old friends and neighbors availed themselves of the occasion.
They have two children living, Mrs. Frank C. Drew and David L. Greig, with whom they make their home; a grandson, John S. Greig, and three great-grandchildren. The families of all were present to help round up the love and healthy equilibriums of the sixty years.
Forge Village. William Davis, of the navy, is at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Davis.
The death of Tony Palermo, Co. K, 104th Infantry, 26th Division, France, is reported in a letter received here last week Thursday by John P. Brown and was written by Matthew Elliott of the same company. No official news has been received by the parents from Washington. The letter containing the news is as follows, dated France, December 13: “I just received your letter and was glad to hear from you. I am fine and did not get killed, and Albert Mominny did not get his leg off, but my friend Tony Palermo got killed. He was in my company and was a good kid. I tell you it knocked hell out of me when he got his, but his day came.” His letter inquires for all the boys and girls in town, and says he expected to be home soon with the best division in France, the 26th.
The Ladies’ Sewing circle are planning to hold an experience party for the benefit of St. Andrew’s mission in the near future.
Mrs. Stephen Keefe, of Townsend Center, was the guest on Tuesday of her aunt, Mrs. John Carmichael.
The senior class of Westford academy are making arrangements to hold a whist party in the vestry of the Unitarian church on Friday evening of this week.
Edward T. Hanley has been released from the navy and has resumed his position in the office of the Abbot Worsted Co.
The mills here will close Saturdays until further notice.
Letter from Overseas. Mr. and Mrs. John O’Neil have recently received a letter from their son, John, Jr., who is now in France. The letter, dated Romage, Western Front, December 6, is very interesting and runs as follows:
Have just received your most welcome letter and am glad to hear you are all well. I am in the best of health; only have got a little sickness called the “home-sick blues.” I had a bad case of it and it’s raging terribly over here. I am glad you got the helmet; I guess you did have some time with it. None of the other boys got close enough, except Mattie Elliott; he went over the top; I did not but next to it. I was sent out to the last observation post in “No Man’s Land” two afternoons when things were quiet.
Well, mother, you can tell them your helmet came out of the St. Mihiel drive. I got it in the town of Thiacourt, from a machine gun nest. There were five in the nest, but the boys soon finished them.
Well, we have been kept busy hauling ammunition, rations and troops to the trenches. Our engineers run the light railway and we had some pretty hot times. Two of us were assigned to each company, and we used to take turns riding the trains in case of accident, as Fritz would shell the roads whenever he thought something was coming up, so I would ride the trains one day and night, the next stay at home and take care of our little infirmary in the dug-out.
We have been all over, first, right across from Metz; from there to Chateau Thierry; back again to the Metz front for the drive; then to the Argonne Woods, and last, the Verdun drive, and we are still here, just one company. The rest of the regiment is at Confham [probably Conflans-en-Jarnisy], near Metz. I guess we will join them before long.
I was at Montfaucon, a little ways from here, when the Kaiser and clown [sic] prince made their speech and watched the drive on Verdun in 1915.
This will be a happy Christmas all right, but if we could all be home it would be better. I guess I’m going to have a hard time to get to England. The leaves are still closed, but open in France. I received your Christmas present while we were following up the Verdun drive.
Well, I guess I’ll close now, wishing you the Merriest Christmas and Happiest New Year, hoping to be with you soon. John O’Neil.
Littleton
News Items. The report from the explosion of one of the glaze mills in the American Powder Plant in Acton at nine o’clock Tuesday evening was distinctly heard throughout Littleton. It is said that $500 cannot cover the expense of replacing the glass broken in Concord Junction buildings during the explosion.
Mrs. Rebecca Jane Reed, wife of Samuel Reed, Sr., of Littleton Common, died at the home of her daughter in Marlboro on Monday morning, aged seventy-eight years. Mrs. Reed was well-known in Littleton, where she has made her home until quite recently. Her last years have been attended with much illness and suffering. Besides her husband there remains four sons, Samuel, Jr., Fred of Littleton, Lyman of Boston, George E. of Greenville, N.H., and two daughters, Mrs. Jennie Conrey and Mrs. Mary Boynton, both of Marlboro. Services were held both in Marlboro and Littleton, where internment was made in Westlawn cemetery, conducted in Littleton by Rev. H. I. Caulkins, pastor of the Baptist church, of which Mrs. Reed had been a member for many years.
Death. Suddenly, and with no recognized premonition, Mrs. M. Alice Read Houghton, wife of Daniel G. Houghton, passed away while engaged in her household duties early Monday forenoon. With her husband she had the day before attended divine service in the morning and a special church meeting at four o’clock when her voice was heard. Monday morning she felt twinges of pain in her arms, but thought them simply a form of neuritis to which she was subject, and continued her work. It was only when she fell that her family realized the presence of any serious trouble.
Dr. Christie was summoned, but found Mrs. Houghton beyond the need of medical treatment.
The sympathy of the grief-stricken community is extended to the surviving relatives, the husband, the two daughters, Mrs. Carl A. Dodge of Gloucester City, N.J., Mrs. Herbert B. Priest of Ayer, the son, Roland G. of Littleton, the three grandchildren, the three sisters, Miss Carrie E. Read, librarian in Barre, Miss Florence H. Read of Barre, Mrs. Boynton of Medfield and the brother, Henry B. Read of Barre.
Thursday afternoon at the ancestral home there was assembled one of the largest companies of relatives and friends ever known at a funeral service in Littleton. Mrs. G. E. Prouty and Mrs. J. M. Hartwell sang, “Lead, kindly light” and “Nearer, my God, to Thee.” Mrs. Houghton’s pastor, Rev. O. J. Fairfield, read scriptural selections and poems peculiarly applicable and consoling. He pronounced a just and beautiful eulogy borne out by the silent testimony of everyone present. The casket was surrounded by a profusion of floral tributes of great variety and unsurpassed beauty. Beneath a blanket of purest snow and amid the fragrant flowers the remains were laid to rest beside those of the beloved youngest daughter whose death occurred less than three months ago.
Mary Alice Read daughter of the late J. Henry and Mrs. Mary E. (Falls) Read of Westford, was born in Westford, April 10, 1859. She received her education from the schools and academy of her native town. At the age of twenty-three she came as a bride to Mr. Houghton’s home where they have lived together thirty-six and a half years. Four children—Nellie (Mrs. Dodge), Edith (Mrs. Priest), Lucy (Mrs. Zappey), and Roland have blessed this union.
In their home, made delightfully inviting and cheerful through the hospitality of host and hostess, there have been many festivities in which the townspeople and friends from a distance have frequently shared. Here, too, have been family reunions in which parents, children, grandchildren and Mrs. Houghton’s sisters and brother have joined on holidays and other pleasant occasions. Her strong domestic instincts and tastes have developed in Mrs. Houghton’s pronounced home-making traits. Thought, interests and devotion have centered around the family hearth, and all that the terms wife, mother, grandmother, and sister can convey was beautifully prominent in her who created in that home the atmosphere of joy, peace, contentment and genuine happiness.
Although she was first of all a home-maker, her interests and service radiated to those outside institutions which spread a helpful influence in a community. How constant she was in church attendance, how faithful, efficient and willing a service she gave to its different organizations, but always in a modest, unpretentious manner. She was no office-seeker; but every worthy cause felt the pulse of her sympathies and in her sweet modesty she gave to it substantial aid. She filled a large place in social, literary and benevolent circles from which her presence will be greatly missed.
As her pastor truthfully said, “There are no words that can describe a woman of Mrs. Houghton’s character. In her were beautifully blended those traits that distinguished the devoted wife, the affectionate mother, the true friend. She was blessed with a beautiful disposition, a well poised conscience, a firm faith, a liberal mind, and a large heart.”
All acquaintances were proud to claim her friendship, and in her death the sense of a personal loss is experienced by every friend.
Shirley
News Items. Rev. Howard A. Bridgman, D.D., will give an address at the Congregational church on Friday evening, January 17, his address being on his recent experience at the front in France. The proceeds will be devoted to the mending fund at Camp Devens. Mr. Bridgman is a keen observer and fascinating speaker and an evening full of intense interest can be anticipated. A small admission fee will be charged.
Ayer
News Items. Major-General C. M. Oberutzeff [Konstanten Michaelovitch Oberutzeff per the Boston Globe of Jan. 7, 1919, p. 16], who aided in the overthrow of the late Czar Nicholas, of Russia, and was obliged himself to flee for his life when Bolshevika [sic] and German influence ousted Kerensky, was an honored guest of Major-General McCain at Camp Devens last Sunday. He spoke in the afternoon at the Jewish Welfare building. The Russian general espoused the cause of Russian prisoners who have been confined in Germany and is a delegate of the society for their relief. He is in favor of the republican forces in Russia and against the syndicalists 0) {
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