Turner's Public Spirit, July 18, 1925

A look back in time to a century ago

By Bob Oliphant

Center. Mrs. Sarah Swanwick, of Dunstable road, North Chelmsford, recently observed her seventy-first birthday at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Bridgeford.

Alfred Tuttle and sister, Miss Ruth, are enjoying an auto trip to Vermont.

Miss Clara Smith, of Hopedale, was in town last week, calling on old friends. [Clara Ann Smith, born in Westford Sept. 21, 1849, was a daughter of Capt. Jacob and Persis Ann (Weston) Smith.]

The Grange will conduct an old-fashioned dance at the town hall on Tuesday evening. Hubbard’s orchestra, of Lowell, will furnish music.

Mrs. Charles Wright has returned from a pleasant vacation spent in Spencer, W.Va., where she had been the guest of Rev. and Mrs. William E. Anderson. En route she made a short stop in Washington, D.C. [Rev. Anderson was pastor of the Methodist Church at Graniteville 1905-07 and 1919-24.]

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Smith and Miss Maud Whitaker, of Ayer, were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. S. B. Wright, Sunday. [Frederick Alonzo Smith and Ella May (Smith) Watson, wife of S. B. Watson, were siblings.]

Miss Eunice Smith, of Franklin, N.H., is spending her vacation at the home of her aunt, Mrs. S. B. Wright. [Eunice Madaline Smith was a daughter of Frederick A. Smith.]

Master Elmer Bridgeford will enjoy a week’s camp life at Amherst campus this year as a reward of merit for his fine poultry. Master Bridgeford won first prize for poultry-raising in Middlesex county. For the past year he has been secretary of the Poultry club which has been under the direction of the Middlesex County Extension Service.

1. B. Watson had an ill turn while the firemen were having a try-out on Tuesday evening, but at last reports had improved.

George F. White has returned from a business trip to Franklin, N.H.

Work is progressing rapidly on the state road between Westford and Littleton, and will be completed in the early fall.

Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Wright, of Quincy, are in town for a few weeks.

Morton Seavey is in charge of a boys’ camp in Andover.

Mr. and Mrs. John Feeney, Jr., have returned from a pleasant auto trip to Niagara Falls and Canada.

Marden Seavey, who has been in the employ of the United Fruit Company at Cuba the past year, is enjoying his vacation in town.

Mr. Diamond, of Peterboro, N.H., was in town last Sunday and called upon John Feeney, Sr., who had not seen him for forty-five years. He helped to take up the maple trees which were brought from Peterboro and set out on Depot street. He afterwards came to this town and learned the blacksmith’s trade at the shop of Mr. Decatur. In recalling incidents of years ago he spoke of having attended a party which was tendered to Dr. Heald and his bride at the home of Mr. Feeney. Dr. Heald was at that time an assistant surgeon in the cavalry. At the party he was presented by Mr. Feeney with a cigar, and not being a smoker he still has the cigar in his possession as a souvenir of the occasion.

Concert. The concert given by the Westford Oratorio society, assisted by the Boxboro Oratorio and Haverhill Philharmonic societies at the Abbot soccer field, Forge Village, last Saturday, proved to be a great success. “The Bohemian Girl,” in concert form, was presented and was much appreciated by the large audience. The principals and members of the chorus were in costume and formed a pretty background for the stage setting arranged on a knoll among the birches.

The singing of the principals in the cast, which included Rebecca A. Lamson, soprano; John K. Hill, tenor, and H. Winfred Zink, bass, was of a high order. The work of the chorus was also especially fine and was under the efficient direction of Horace N. Killam. The singing of Mrs. Grace Cole, as Arline, also deserves the recognition shown by the audience.

The pageantry was under the direction of Mrs. Marjory Prescott. The group dancing in gypsy costume was a pleasing feature. The solo dancing by Miss Doris Masterson, of Lowell, was also much appreciated. Mrs. Prescott was assisted by Mrs. Gertrude Shupe and Miss Mary G. Balch. The pianists who did excellent work were Miss Daisy Precious, Mrs. Gladys McPherson and Miss Margaret Claridge.

The executive committee of the Westford society is George D. Wilson, pres., Alice V. Day, vice pres.; Gertrude D. Shupe, sec.-treas.; Daisy Precious, pianist; Marion Lord, Arthur C. Cole, exec. com.

The associate members are Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Cameron, Mrs. Julian Cameron, Mrs. Edna K. Clements, Ellis C. Cram, Miss Virginia Greene, Mrs. Alice Wells and Miss Elizabeth Wells.

The associate members of the Boxford Oratorio society are William Atkinson, Rev. Emery L. Bradford, Mrs. Emery L. Bradford, Rev. Edward D. Disbrow, Mrs. Edward D. Disbrow, Mrs. Chester Killam, Frank A. Manny, Mrs. Frank A. Manny and Prof. George H. Palmer.

The members of the orchestra were as follows: Violins, Enid Goss, Maud Killam, Lesley Hathaway, Hazel Paterson; violincello, Dorothy Bradford; trumpet, Donald Baker; trombone, Clifford Stetson; drums, Chester Brown; readers, Mrs. Perley Wright and Mrs. Annette S. Manny.

The members of combined choruses were as follows: Sopranos, May Atwood, Ruth V. Bonvie, Grace E. Cole, Nettie Deering, Mary A. Felch, Esther L. Hills, Lillie Kelly, Marion E. Lord, Florence Picard, Verna Randall, Mary G. Ruch, Florence C. Brown, Alice V. Day, Betsy Drewitt, Gertrude Fletcher, Merriam Hills, Maud D. Killam, Catherine MacNevie, Florence Russell, Gertrude M. Shupe, Edith P. Blaney, Bertha Chase, Viola M. Day, Ada M. Eaton, Mary Herrin, Elva T. Judd, S. Pearl Lewis, Esther K. Perley, Jeanette Perley, Frances B. Sunberry, Bertha L. Whitney, Edith A. Wright; contraltos, Lillian R. Brown, Martha M. Disbrow, Gladys M. Ingalls, Ruth Lawrence, Helen S. Picard, Blanche Rockwell, Elizabeth C. Taylor, Charlotte Wilson, Ruth Cole, Julia Fletcher, Clara E. Killam, Lucy K. Parkhurst, Ruth Preble, Lilian E. Sutherland, Marion G. Day, Edna M. Hamlin, Mary Lawrence, Ida A. Perkins, Alice E. Riggs, Ruth E. Swenson, Elin Thayer, Elva T. Wright; tenors, Erick Anderson, Walter Littlefield, John C. Tidd, Roy E. Blanchard, Floyd E. Patterson, Edward D. Disbrow, Albert A. Rand, Malcolm Weaver; bassos, G. Walter Brown, Orin B. Foster, Dwight L. Killam, Hiram L. Taylor, Jr., Arthur G. Walker, Fisher Buckshorn, Melvin W. Gould, Charles E. Poor, George Culbert, Ralph Joslin, William C. Roudenbush, Charles A. Tidd, George D. Wilson.

Surprise Party. A merry time was enjoyed at Nashoba farm, the home of Mr. and Mrs. John O’Connell, on last week Thursday evening, when a surprise party was tendered to Mrs. Charles Dudevoir, Forge Village. The occasion was also the eighteenth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Dudevoir. Mrs. Dudevoir was presented with a clothes tree and a beautiful bouquet of flowers, the presentation speech being made by Mrs. Clarence Brown, of Littleton. A “joke bouquet” was also presented to Mr. Dudevoir. During the evening refreshments were served and a cake decorated with eighteen candles formed a centerpiece for the table.

An excellent program consisting of readings by Miss Regina McLenna, fancy dances by Mrs. John Davison and Miss Genevieve Orr of Forge Village, and music by Gordon’s six- piece orchestra. Old-fashioned dancing was also enjoyed and at a late hour the guests departed for home. Fifty-five friends were present from the various villages of Westford; also, from Littleton and Lowell.

Mrs. O’Connell, the hostess, is very grateful to those who assisted in making the affair such a success.

About Town. The barn of Thomas Roak on the Lowell road, West Chelmsford, was destroyed by fire about midnight last Saturday. The West Chelmsford fire department responded to the fire alarm, but the fire had such headway before being discovered that nothing but a few scattered small buildings were saved. The house was burned several months ago.

The Chelmsford band gave a concert at Cameron park, West Chelmsford, last week Thursday evening, at which time the Benevolent society of the village held its annual lawn party under the direction of Miss Lottie L. Snow.

The Old Oaken Bucket farm was the first in the Stony Brook valley to sell new potatoes, sending the first to Boston market on July 14. This may seem to be a little precocious premature, but Trull Bros., of North Tewksbury, furnished large Irish Irish [sic] Cobbler potatoes for the clambake dinner of the Ancient York lodge of Masons at Martin Luther park on Saturday, July 11, and how long prior to this they have been edible I can only estimate by the size of the potatoes, which could easily date back to the Fourth of July, the date some folks tell about planting potatoes, but the Trull Bros. have no Fourth of July in their planting almanac, and it would be better if many other farmers did not.

In a recent pleasure auto trip through North Tewksbury and West Andover, the market garden center in this region, everything indicated thrifty, early planting, including sweet corn eared out. This must have been planted at the time Sister Westford advertised planting string beans or beans without a string sometime in February, or was it March? Either is fairly early and several months before the Fourth. They are not much on potatoes down that way except Trull Bros. in an extremely early way and very limited acreage. Aside from this the Stony Brook valley has them all on downgrade. The Old Oaken Bucket is buying cucumbers and lettuce raised on the Trull Bros. farm, delivered right from the field.

A two-engine freight train went over the Stony Brook road on Monday that reached from the Willard Fletcher bridge [on Stony Brook Road] to the railroad crossing at Brookside [Brookside Road], a distance of three-fourths of a mile. It was the longest freight train I have seen pass over the road in recent years, taking four months [sic] and several minutes.

A freight train on the Stony Brook road held up traffic last week Friday night by breaking a wheel, near the Graniteville station, which threw several cars off the track. A wrecking crew from Ayer was soon on the scene, but it took several hours to clear the track. This delay necessitated sending the Bar Harbor express, which passes through Graniteville about eleven o’clock, by way of Nashua to reach Lowell. No one was hurt. The train was in charge of Conductor Rideout and Engineer Stewart.

We have just commenced to feed home-grown spring wheat at the Old Oaken Bucket farm. It has increased the output of eggs and decreased the output of cash. They [the chickens] do the threshing for their board as they have not yet joined the labor union.

Dr. Ernest Toye, of Newark, N. J., is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Toye, of West Chelmsford. With him on an auto trip visit is his wife and three children.

Samuel E. Tenney, of New York city, has been visiting his cousin, Mrs. J. Frank Chandler [nee Emma Augusta Hildreth]. The Tenney road, near Long-Sought lake, was named for his father, Samuel Tenney.

Miss Martha Hildreth, who has been convalescing at the Edgar E. Nutting private hospital, has returned to the home of her sister, Mrs. J. Frank Chandler, at Westford Center.

The new farmhouse at the Nabnassett farm in place of the one destroyed by fire is ready for occupancy. It is a modern, two-story house, located on Nabnassett road [now 4 Nabnasset Street], which makes a more unrestricted driveway to Nabnassett lake.

As we ride about the rural community and admire the prospects for watermelons and peaches, being of particularly observing mind for this class of vegetables, we observe that the Ben Davis apple trees are being propped up on account of the weight of the prospective apple crop, though the thought imposed itself upon us, has anyone seen any McIntosh trees propped up for weight or propped down for want of weight so that you can more easily reach here and there and yon for an occasional scattering apple?

1. Arthur O’Brien is mowing eleventeen hours per day at the W. R. Taylor farm, and has already cut down fifteen acres.

Indications of an enormous corn crop, probably the third largest ever grown, and slight improvement in prospects for wheat, smallest potato production since 1919 and unfavorable fruit forecasts were set forth in the July crop report by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The forecast for corn was 3,035,000,000 bushels, or 650,000,000 bushels more than last year. Wheat prospects increased 19,000,000 [bushels] during June, a forecast of 680,000,000 bushels now being made for this season. Indicated production of potatoes are 356,000,000 bushels, or 195,000,000 bushels less than the large crop of last year. A great reduction in acreage, which is the lowest since 1907, is attributed as the cause. The total apple crop was forecast at 157,000,000 bushels, or 22,000,000 bushels less than last year.

The L. W. Wheeler three-days’ auto-camping trip with E. J. Whitney and Mrs. Bartlett as guests, was magnificently and impressively described in last week’s issue. One final truth I wish to emphasize is, “Here is good land near markets lying in waste or nearly so. Why go out west a thousand or two thousand miles from markets and almost as far from rain?” Even thus is it true of life generally; better conditions are always elsewhere to all those who have not properly developed present holdings, whether it is farming, literature or the social and moral forces; conditions are better elsewhere. The semi-thriftless, shiftless will be such whether east or west. Nature will not reconstruct us against our efforts to use the length of the tether we are already equipped with. Our shiftless New England waste land is a life-like photograph of the owner. One man succeeds and the next-door neighbor fails at farming under as near similar circumstances.

In the list of prizes at the Forge Village Fourth of July parade, the first prize for the best float was won by the Brookside entry.

Underwriters state that “America’s bill for fire waste in 1924 was $1044 a minute, exceeding all previous high records.”

Amos Polley, of the Morning Glory farm, has bought, cut and hayed all of the standing grass on the Bernard J. Flynn farm on Pigeon hill, Stony Brook road.

On last Saturday afternoon, when the Old Oaken Bucket farm folks were away at the song singing at Forge Village or playing recreation at the Martin Luther park in Tyngsboro, someone drove into the yard and hitched their team. As it was dark when the Martin Luther program was finished and home was reached, it was conjectured that fishermen had made the hitch and they would call for it before morning, but when morning arrived the horse and wagon was still there. Constable John C. Sullivan was notified and took possession, and was not long in locating the owner in a camp in the woods in the south part of the town. He paid a fine of $20 last year for drunkenness and leaving his horse tied in the woods in the winter time.

Norman Phillips is mowing machine the grass at the Frank W. Banister farm.

The F. A. Snows and Perry Taylor Snow motored to Wilbraham academy last week to make arrangements for P. T. S. attending the academy next September, in place of Lawrence academy, Groton, where some of the trustees were so preciously wise as to let Dr. Bridgman go. Such wisdom is too valuable to be lost; it should be petrified and exhibited in some rare museum of very ancient antiques or else set to music and sung to the tune of “Hark from the tombs a doleful sound,”[1] and served as a rare daily intellectual dessert.

1. A. Snow, W. R. and S. L. Taylor attended the outing of the Ancient York Lodge of Masons at the Martin Luther park on the banks of the Merrimack river last Saturday afternoon in Tyngsboro. There was a full attendance, full list of sports and full dinner, and yet no one got full. The nearest one to getting full was on watermelons; he ate all that was coming to him and his close-by table associates, while they ate lobsters. The only reason why he did not get full was that there were not melons enough raised in the south to fill him. Everything in Tyngsboro disappeared and quit was the word, not from fullness, but from a shortage of supply.

In this year of non-setting apples it is refreshing to note that the Ben Davis apples stick to the tree as per the blossom promises. And after all of the severe criticism and condemnation of this apple to see its critics resort to its juice in an effort to improve the languishing McIntosh which languishes for most everything except a shortage of faults, the latest notion being a tendency after bearing a few years to degenerate into small apples, same as the Wealthy. Did you ever hear of “Going up like a sky rocket and coming down like a blown-out stump?” Well, that’s what we are talking about.

Interesting Reading. I was very much interested in reading in last week’s issue an article entitled “Looking backward,” by Capt. S. H. Fletcher. It certainly was news to some of [us] who have lived in town nearly eighty years, to learn that there was a Forge Village Boat Corporation; that the stock sold for $1 per share; that the stock paid dividends yearly from 4 to 15 percent; that the boat was a side-wheeler; called a “crank boat,” all of which is like reviewing interesting history that occurred before I occurred at the age of assimulation [sic assimilation?].

The most vital and impelling thought in this communication is the closing sentence. “It would be a fine thing if the names Lawrence, Prescott and Wright could be seen on something that the coming generation could take notice of.” I second the motion. It would be fitting to get together and discuss this whole question of a memorial to these pioneers in the industrial, educational and social life of Forge Village who also fought at the Old North bridge and fought the tomahawk Indians before the days of bridges. For all this, and more, there is not even a hint of street sign, school or park that they ever did anything for the life we now enjoy. Something at Central square at Forge Village would be proper for consideration. But let us not be too hasty, for only 200 years have passed since some of these scenes occurred.

Death. The many friends of Mrs. Evangeline M. (McEnaney) Monahan, of the firm of Edwards & Monahan, will regret to learn of her death, which occurred last week Friday afternoon at her home in West Chelmsford. Her death was sudden, although she had not been in the best of health for several months.

The deceased was born in Chelmsford and educated in the public schools of the town. On November 18, 1893, she was united in marriage to Capt. John J. Monahan. She was a splendid type of wife and mother, and although her home was uppermost in her mind she always took great interest in the affairs of the church and town, being a member of the League of Catholic Women and West Chelmsford Grange.

She is survived by her husband, Capt. John J. Monahan; six children, Ruth E., Anna B., John C., Walter T., Edward L. and Richard L. Monahan; a brother, Walter J. McEnaney, and several nephews and nieces and several grandchildren.

The funeral took place on Monday morning at nine o’clock from her home on Main street, West Chelmsford. Besides a large attendance of relatives, friends and neighbors, there was a large attendance from out of town. At St. John’s church, North Chelmsford, at 9:30, a solemn high funeral mass was celebrated by the pastor, Rev. John J. Crane, assisted by Rev. John Linnehan, as deacon, and Rev. John Powers, as sub-deacon. Present within the sanctuary was Rev. John J. Shaw, of Lowell, a former pastor of St. John’s church. The choir, under the direction of Miss Helen Quigley, sang Terry’s mass. The solos were sung by James B. King. There were many beautiful flowers. The bearers were James and Arthur McEnaney, M. Edward Riney, Joseph Ryan, James P. Dunnigan and Michael McGlinchey. Interment was in St. Patrick’s cemetery, where the committal prayers were read by Rev. John J. Crane, assisted by Rev. John Linnehan.

Graniteville. The Abbot Worsted Company band will give an open-air concert in Westford this Friday evening. Owing to the fact that the mills of the Abbot Worsted Company will close next week for the annual vacation, no more band concerts will be given until after July 27.

Many from here are planning to spend part of their vacation at Revere and Nantasket beaches next week.

Many of the townspeople attended the presentation of “The Bohemian Girl” that was given by the members of the Westford Oratorio society, assisted by the Boxford Oratorio society and the Haverhill Philharmonic society at the Abbot soccer field in Forge Village on last Saturday afternoon. The singing of the principals was excellent and the combined singing of the chorus was unusually good. George D. Wilson, president of the Westford Oratorio society, had general charge of the affair. It was a great success.

Mark Palmer, who was severely injured by having a large auto truck crush both legs recently, is now improving. No bones were broken, but the injury was very painful.

The mills of the Abbot Worsted Company will close next week for the annual vacation.

The blueberry season is now here, and the pickers are busy gathering the berries from the many hills and pasture land in this vicinity.

Ayer

District Court. On Tuesday morning Wasil Sedach, of Westford, charged with four sales of liquor in town, was found guilty and fined $50 on each sale. On a charge of exposing and keeping liquor for sale he was found guilty and fined $50. On another charge of exposing and keeping liquor for sale he was found not guilty. Mrs. Wasil Sedach, charged with keeping and exposing liquor for sale in that town, was found not guilty. Atty. John D. Carney appeared for the government and Atty. John M. Maloney appeared for the defense.

David Sherman, of Westford, charged with exposing and keeping liquor for sale in that town, the liquor in this case being cider, was found guilty and fined $200. He was also found guilty of three sales and fined $50 on each. He appealed from all of the fines. Atty. John D. Carney appeared for the government and Atty. Cohen, of Lowell, appeared for the defense.

Zachary Denesevich, of Westford, was found guilty of exposing and keeping liquor for sale in that town and was fined $100. He was also found guilty of one sale and fined $50, from both of which sentences he appealed. Mrs. Denesevich was found guilty of two sales of liquor and fined $50, on each, from which she appealed. Atty. John D. Carney appeared for the government and Atty. John M. Maloney appeared for the defense.

On Thursday morning an inquest was held at the district court on the death of Romeo Leroux, of Graniteville, who died as the result of injuries received on June 24. It appeared from the testimony that Leroux was acting as a helper to V. T. Esten, of West Acton, who had charge of the blasting on the Long Lake development in Littleton. A charge was set off beneath a large rock and Leroux, who was within a short distance of the rock, was injured by some of the stones thrown by the blast. He was taken to a hospital in Lowell, where he died on June 29. The superintendent in charge of the development at Long Lake, and Mr. Esten, who had charge of the blasting, were both called as witnesses. The court took the matter under consideration.

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

Westford, Robert Prescott to Thomas Johnston, land on Town road.

Middlesex County Extension Service

Happenings Hereabouts.

[photograph: Edward Fearns, Maynard; Violet Tupper, Shirley; Elmer Bridgford, Westford (holding a chicken)]

First honors in the Poultry club goes to Elmer Bridgeford [sic], Westford, while second and third places go to William Arms, Hopkinton, and Forrest Faulkner, Framingham, respectively.

Never in the history of the Poultry club work in this county has competition for county championship been keener. All three boys are in their second year, all have the same sized flock and all have been club members in other projects.

The final winner was not decided upon until the three candidates had been visited at their homes by E. H. Nodine, state poultry leader, who said, “In awarding Elmer Bridgeford the prize which gives him a week at Camp Gilbert, Amherst, I am taking into consideration his all-around good club work over a period of two years.”

Last year Elmer’s flock averaged 114 eggs per bird during the seven months of the contest, while this year they averaged 126.9 eggs. His profit above feed cost was $3.90 per bird. He sold his eggs to his local leader, George Kohlrausch, and has banked his profits. He has been the secretary of the Progressive Poultry club for the past two years. Besides running his own flock, he does considerable work on his father’s poultry farm. He is a member of the Garden club and this past winter was the third individual in the apple judging contest at the Massachusetts Agricultural college, Amherst. …

The second and third prize winners will receive the two-day trip to Amherst. …

The annual two-day trip to the Massachusetts Agricultural college awarded for outstanding club work to 4-H club members by the Extension Service has been award[ed] in this vicinity to Elizabeth Page, Ayer; Abagail [sic] Flagg, Littleton; James Drown, Ellen Parker and LeRoy Shattuck, Pepperell; Aino Karvonen and Cora Loomer, Shirley, and Evelyn Peters and Marjorie Wilson, of Westford. Some seventy young people from all parts of the county will enjoy this tour to the state college, which is beautifully located in the Connecticut Valley. The trip will be made by automobiles on July 21 and 22. The college will be ready to receive the young visitors from Middlesex county and have a full program planned for them.

[1] The hymn “Hark! From the Tombs a Doleful Sound” was written by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts (1674–1748) and first appears in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, 1707–09, Book II, number 63. It is based on Psalm 49:15, “But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.” KJV