Turner's Public Spirit, July 29, 1922
A look back in time to a century ago
Transcribed by Bob Oliphant (2022)
Center. The many friends of Carl Lydiard, of the Parker farm, will regret to learn that he is suffering from blood poisoning in his foot.
Miss Mary Stevens, of Lowell, has been spending a few days with Miss Mary P. Bunce.
Miss Gladys Ingalls is employed as a waitress at the Glen House, Gorham, N.H.
Sunday guests at the A. H. Sutherlands were Mr. and Mrs. Charles Clark and Arvine Hager, of Somerville.
Mrs. C. A. Blaney was called to Needham on Wednesday, owing to the illness of her mother, Mrs. Susan Pond.
Harold W. Hildreth has accepted a position with the Abbot Worsted Company.
The cup which was won by the Westford post, A. L., last year, will remain with them for the present, as no competitor appeared to take part in a prize drill, which was one of the events scheduled for the carnival of last week.
The next outdoor affair which is being looked forward to will be the outing of the Republican league, which is to be held at the Whitney playground at Westford Center on August 19, followed by a dance in the town hall in the evening.
The games in the Twilight league are attracting large crowds. At present Billerica leads the league. The games will be played until September first.
Miss Anna Coyne, of Charlestown, is spending a week at her summer home in the Parkerville section of the town.
Miss Helen Meehan, of Chelsea, was the weekend guest of Miss Evelyn Coyne at Parkerville.
Charles Robey is suffering from burns about the hands and arms sustained while trying to put out a fire at his home, caused by an overturned lamp.
Miss Lillian Sutherland is registered at the Lawrence House, Hampton Beach, N.H.
Officers A. Ruiter and J. Nelson, of the Lowell force, assisted the local police at the carnival on last Saturday.
Mrs. Charles Blodgett spent last week Sunday at Salisbury Beach with Graniteville friends.
Miss Eva Lord, who has been public health nurse for the past three years, has resigned her position to accept a more lucrative one with the Abbot Worsted Company, to take effect September first. Miss Lord has been faithful and conscientious in her work and has filled the position in a very satisfactory manner. Her many friends wish her much success in her new position, and the Abbot Worsted Company will be congratulated upon receiving the services of Miss Lord.
Miss Sarah W. Loker has been spending a few days with relatives in Natick and Weston.
A young man, a former resident of Forge Village, was taken by the police this week and held for the Wrentham State school authorities who came to Westford and took him back to Wrentham.
The grand carnival held at Forge Village last Friday and Saturday by the local post of the American Legion proved to be a great success, both socially and financially. The twilight game of baseball held on Friday evening between Forge Village and Graniteville was won by Graniteville by the score of 9 to 6, thereby winning the prize of twenty-five dollars. The fifty-dollar prize for the Saturday game was won by Littleton, the score being Littleton 7, Chelmsford 6. The soccer football game was won by the Abbots who played against the Lawrence All-Stars, the score being 2 to 1. Both old and young appeared to enjoy themselves and are looking forward to another carnival next year.
The police were called to Forge Village on last Friday and Sunday evenings to investigate family disturbances. The first case of an apple theft this season was also reported on Sunday evening. As the quantity taken was not large and the culprit reported himself to the police upon request of the complainant, he was allowed to depart with a good understanding that there was to be no repetition of the offense.
The Young People’s society of the Congregational church enjoyed an outing to Canobie Lake on Monday going in Perley Wright’s new Federal truck, driven by Leo Connell.
Mrs. S. B. Wright reports having some spotted calla lilies in blossom, there being as many as nine blossoms at one time.
Congregational Notes. The final cottage meeting this summer will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Perkins, Cold-spring road, at eight o’clock this Friday evening.
The final Sunday morning service for the season will be held on Sunday at 10:45. Sermon theme, “Praying in the spirit.” An adjourned business meeting will convene at the close of the service. Sunday school session at noon.
An open-air service will be held on Sunday evening at seven o’clock, weather permitting; otherwise, in the vestry.
The ordinance of baptism by immersion will be performed on Sunday afternoon at four o’clock at Baptist pond [now Heart Pond].
About Town. During the thunder shower activities last week Tuesday afternoon lightning struck a large pine tree at Hart [Heart] pond, South Chelmsford, near Westford town line. It still continues to be lightning big day for trees. Several years ago we helped to tag shade trees on the streets and roads of the town, but lightning is different.
Dr. P. E. Varney, of North Chelmsford, who has endeared himself to many households in this vicinity, has retired as a practicing physician. He has sold his practice to Dr. A. E. Alden and leased his house to him. Dr. and Mrs. Alden and infant child will soon move in. Dr. and Mrs. Varney will move to their bungalow on the edge of Chelmsford, which commands a sightly view of the mountains and intervening country. Dr. Varney has always brought cheer and courage to his patients and has made a reputation as a skillful doctor. His many friends will miss his friendly visits.
For early ahead field corn we have not seen any quite so much forward quick-step movement as the field that we located our eyes on at the Bannister farm at the corner of Lowell and Providence roads—tasseled out, silked out, and eared out—all three stages ahead of many farms.
Daniel H. Sheehan has moved his portable sawmill to Sudbury and Wayland, where he is doing an extensive logging, lumber-sawing business.
Charles Barlow, of Lowell, is working at the Morning Glory farm.
There is considerable hay out in the Stony Brook valley that has had a long outing. When it will have a long inning is uncertain, for dog days have come in with a wallop so far on all previous absentee sun hay weather.
Attention was properly called in last week’s issue to the apple orchard on the state road, near Minot’s Corner [intersection of Littleton, Boston and Carlisle Roads], of Fred O. Stiles, of Littleton. This southerly part of Westford suffered less from the ice storm last winter than Frances hill, the Stony Brook valley and Westford Center. At least this is the findings which we hand down.
Mr. and Mrs. M. N. Neilson and two children, from Perth Amboy, N.J., are visiting Mrs. Neilson’s sister, Mrs. Axel E. Lundberg, at Brookside Corner.
More and more our beautiful Lake Nabnassett is attracting attention and is getting to be quite a summer resort. Miss Mildred E. Bowers, a summer camper who is well known recently swam around the lake, which is quite an accomplishment. The distance around the lake is over three miles and Miss Bowers covered this distance in two hours and fifteen minutes, which is considered remarkable for a woman. In various years past other young women have attempted this feat, but Miss Bowers is the first one to succeed.
It is quite worth while for those who have autos to take a spin through Chelmsford Center and observe the beautiful flower gardens. The Garden club there has done much in stimulating a love for flowers and it is quite wonderful to see the results. Miss Nellie Fletcher and Miss Ida Leighton, who formerly lived here, are among those whose cultivated flowers are a delight to behold.
Miss Marion Hall, of Waverley [a section of Belmont and Watertown], who went to California this spring, has shared her trip with her Westford friends by sending them beautiful postcards for which the recipients have been grateful. We learn that she has returned home and that her brother, Harry Hall, came back with her for a visit.
Matthew Downs, though ninety-seven years old, is some baseball fan, for on Tuesday he telephoned one of the “boys” with a car that he would like to be taken over to see the game between the Abbots and the Grow Tire club. He enjoyed the game immensely for it was a very interesting contest.
Miss Inez Linea Lybeck, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Lybeck, was married on Sunday, July 23, at Huntington, L.I., to Clifford L. Borel. Following a wedding trip to Cranberry Lake in the Adirondacks Mr. and Mrs. Borel will return to Westford for a while. The bride is a graduate of the Massachusetts State college and lives in New York city. She has spent her summer here on the Lowell road. Mr. Borel is an instructor in the New York State School of Applied Agriculture in Farmingdale, L.I.
Rev. and Mrs. C. C. P. Hiller, of Millbury, will arrive Monday, July 31, at the home of Mrs. George F. Snow in West Chelmsford for a visit during the first of August. They will be glad to see their former friends in Westford, Graniteville and West Chelmsford [where Rev. Hiller formerly served as pastor].
William J. Parfitt, who is living in the Whidden house at Westford depot, has bought the Ryan place at Chamberlin’s Corner. This place consists of a cottage house, ell, small barn and about an acre of land, and is better known as the J. Murray Chamberlin place.
Here is some more for Lake Nabnassett. The Chelmsford fire department will hold a grand variety of sports and carnival at Lake Nabnassett this Saturday afternoon and evening. There will be a competitive drill by the neighboring towns. The income of this affair will be devoted to secure a better fire alarm system.
The Morning Glory farm is recovering the roof on the barn with the [torn page] as substitute for wooden shingles.
- R. Taylor has sold the standing grass on his Tadmuck farm to the Morning Glory farm.
The Y.M.C.A. boys from Camp Nabnassett were present at the services at the village church in West Chelmsford last Sunday, an improvement on Sunday baseball, even if there is some wise and helpful difference of opinions on things eloquently said.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm is having poultry harvest its spring wheat. They have doubled the egg income output and they seem well satisfied to work. The clover sown with this wheat stands about a foot high. We are planning to take a sample copy of this wheat to the Groton fair.
Silver Wedding Observed. Mr. and Mrs. Axel G. Lundberg, who live on the Chamberlin road, near Brookside Corner, were given a surprise last Saturday evening by fifty of their friends and relatives, it being their silver wedding anniversary. Misses Alice Newbold and Edith Lundberg sang, with Edith Schill as accompanist. When the guests assembled on the lawn, which was lighted with pretty lanterns, Miss Edith Lundberg sang “Blest be the tie that binds.” Refreshments of ice cream, cake and coffee were served by the daughters, Misses Eva and Edith Lundberg. A wonderful wedding cake was made by Mrs. Paul Lundberg and on the frosted top were the words, “When you and I were young, Mandy.” There were many gifts for Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg, especially appropriate for the twenty-fifth anniversary of silver articles and silver money, the latter amounting to eight-five dollars. Mr. Lundberg is an expert granite cutter and has made a reputation for himself with his work on granite memorials. Mr. and Mrs. Lundberg have many friends, who hope they will live to celebrate their golden wedding.
Groton Road Work. The county commissioners having ordered the Groton road to be macadamized following a hearing, Westford and Chelmsford being joint owners, each having appropriated $5000 and the state and county a like sum, that part of the road in Westford is well under completion to its intersection with North street, near the Wright schoolhouse. As we have been informed it is proposed to diverge from the Groton road at the above intersection and follow North street to Main [now North Main] street through Graniteville, and Union [now East Prescott] street, near the town home, to Central [now West Prescott] street in Forge Village, and thence to the Groton line at the bridge over Swan brook. This will necessitate the town of Groton doing something for better or for worse in behalf of cradle hole emergencies that bump you and make you think of emphatic words forbidden by holy writ. The final finality of this road improvement will connect with the state road at the Ridge Hill Tavern, which is a much more economical proposition than to follow the Groton road to its terminal at Groton Center. But for all this the Groton road, from the Wright schoolhouse in Westford to Groton Center is in a wretched condition, or was the last time that we acted as a ballast to prevent our automobile turning turtle.
Chelmsford will commence work on their part of the Groton road next week, they having $15,000 like Westford, which will build about half way from the Westford line to its intersection with the Dunstable and Tyngsboro roads at North Chelmsford. The balance of the Groton road will be scraped, leveled off and rolled down with a gravel surface. This will act as a temporary improvement until a new appropriation can be made.
Graniteville. William L. Wall, local constable, met with quite a severe motor accident while returning from Waltham with his mother and sister on last Sunday night. While coming over the state road he had tire trouble in Acton and drove the machine to the side of the road in order to adjust a tire. While working at the wheel a Franklin car, driven by a party from Boston, came by at a fast clip, the hub of one of the wheels on the Franklin car striking Mr. Wall in the back, throwing him a distance of twenty-five feet. The Boston car was stopped as soon as possible and Mr. Wall, who was knocked out for the time being, was taken to the office of Dr. Avery in Acton, where his injuries were attended to. He was later conveyed to his home in Graniteville in the Franklin car while another member of the Boston party drove Mr. Wall’s car with his mother and sister to their home here. His back is severely injured, but no serious results are anticipated unless complications set in. He is at present confined to his home.
Mr. and Mrs. William Gilson, of New York, are spending a few days with relatives here.
The following young women members of the Paramount club are enjoying the cool breezes at Nantasket Beach: Misses Hattie Boyd, May Wood, Cecil, Mary and Grace Piekos, Helen Crofton, Helen Degagne, Rose Belland and Yvonne Belland.
The Abbot Worsted team has booked a fine attraction here for this Saturday’s game, when they will meet the fast Reading town team. The Reading team is now leading the Boston Twilight league and the game this Saturday will certainly be a good one. The battery for Reading will be Andrews and Doherty, and for the Abbot Worsteds Al. Davidson and Sullivan. Game called at three o’clock on the Abbot playground, Graniteville. The Abbots have recently signed two new players in Little, a pitcher, and Baker, a fielder, formerly of the Plant Company team of Manchester, N.H.
Legion Carnival. The members of the local Legion post, assisted by the Auxiliary, held their second annual carnival at Abbot field, Forge Village, last week Friday evening and all day Saturday, the affair proving a greater success than their first venture last year.
The affair opened on schedule time on Friday evening, the feature attraction being the twilight baseball game between Graniteville and Forge Village for a cash prize of $25. After much spirited play the Graniteville boys overcame a three run lead and continued their good work by defeating Forge Village by the score of 9 to 6. Guichard and Reeves did the battery work for Graniteville, while Cushing and Spinner were on the firing line for Forge Village. J. B. Gray, selectman, was the official umpire and gave satisfaction.
The lights were turned on following the ball game and the big crowd present gave its attention to the many midway attractions. The different booths were liberally patronized, the crowd being in a holiday mood, and with the varied colored electric lights strung about the grounds the hurdy-gurdy playing at its best, all the “barkers” sending their voices into the night calling “just one more,” it was a typical carnival scene and everyone present was having a good time. This continued until midnight.
On Saturday, with excellent weather again prevailing, things opened with a bang shortly after noon. The crowd began to gather early, and before the ball game between clubs from Chelmsford and Littleton, the time was pleasantly spent at the big midway, while the Abbot Worsted Company band gave an excellent concert that was much enjoyed. When both clubs lined up for the call of “play ball” fully 2000 persons were present on the grounds, many cities and towns within a twenty-five-mile radius being represented. The game was for a $50 purse. The Littleton boys handed their opponents from Chelmsford a surprise in this game, winning by the score of 7 to 6. Harry Hartford acted as umpire.
Following the ball game the athletic events were run off and resulted as follows: Quarter-mile race, Phil Healy 1st, J. Connors 2nd, Pierson 3rd; 220-yard race, J. Connors 1st, A. Socka 2nd, Remington 3rd; 100-yard dash, J. Connors 1st, J. Dundas 2nd, E. Socka 3rd; 50-yard dash for boys A. Milot 1st, Gervais 2nd, Johnson 3rd; little girls’ race, Abbie Reno 1st, Miss Hosmer 2nd; blueberry pie-eating contest won by Tony Paduanno.
During the sports the Abbot Worsted band played catchy music between the different events. The big soccer game between the Abbot Worsted eleven and the Lawrence All-Stars proved to be an interesting contest, resulting in an over-time game, Abbots winning by the score of 2 to 1.
About this time the crowd was ready to eat, and the refreshment booth was called on to do a rushing business. There was enough of everything for everybody, and it was well served. This was due in a great measure to the efficient work of the Women’s Auxiliary. After luncheon and before the time was taken up by dancing, the children’s grab game was brought into play and this brought much amusement. The fortune-teller also had many calls at this time, and the lady with the magic wand must have told an interesting story with a bright outlook for everyone, judging by the many pleased faces that emerged from the tent. At this time Larkin’s orchestra appeared on the scene and then it was dancing on the green for the remainder of the evening.
Before the affair came to a close the tickets were drawn for the beautiful dressed doll. This was won by the person holding the lucky number A-28.
Altogether the affair was one great success. The committee was fortunate in having ideal weather from beginning to end. All worked hard for the success of the affair, and those in charge feel deeply grateful to all members of the local post and Auxiliary who worked together as a unit in making the second annual carnival both a social and a financial success.
Ayer
Real Estate Transfers. The following real estate transfers have been recorded recently from this vicinity: … Westford, Oscar A. Nelson to Abbot Worsted Company land on Central [now West Prescott] street; …