Turner's Public Spirit, July 30, 1921
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
“Center. Miss May E. Day, librarian at the J. V. Fletcher library, has finished the special
course in library work at Simmons college.
“Misses Mary and Winnifred Green report some young pheasants recently released by the
game warden. The birds are very tame and interesting, coming close to the house.
“A book recently added to the J. V. Fletcher library of special interest in this town is ‘The
complete garden,’ by Albert Davis Taylor. Mr. Taylor is well known in town, having spent his
boyhood here and attended Westford academy. He is now resident professor of landscape
architecture in Ohio State university and is a member of the American Society of Landscape
Architects. He is married and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
“Leon F. Hildreth and W. Otis Day have been in attendance this week at the special
poultrymen’s course at Amherst.
“The last of the regular services will be held at the Congregational church on Sunday before
the August vacation. During August regular evening services will be held….
“Samuel H. Balch, mail carrier, is out with a new Ford car, having retired the car of the same
make which was of 1914 vintage.
“Mr. and Mrs. L. W. Wheeler attended the Pilgrim pageant at Plymouth last week. It was an
out of the ordinary pageant and finely carried out. They were accompanied by Mrs. Wheeler’s
sister, Miss Alice Williams, and in the audience that evening were Mr. and Mrs. John P. Wright,
Charles O. Prescott, Mrs. Edna Ferguson Woods and Miss Emma Ferguson, so that Westford was
quite well represented. Of special interest was the fact that Rev. Charles P. Marshall had a
prominent part in the pageant, acting the role of Elder Brewster, and his daughter Marion, also
had a minor part.
“Daylight savings has its innings for the baseball devotees and some lively twilight games at
Whitney playground field have taken place this week.
“About Town. After a lapse of several months the railroad station at Westford was again
entered by thieves on last week Wednesday evening and $10 in money belonging to the American
Express Company was taken….
“Amos Polley on the Prairie farm has been experimenting with morning glories as a feed for
milch cows and the findings are, first, that as a milk producing feed it has no equal as far as he
has experimented; second, morning glories will thrive equally well in extreme drouth as extreme
wet or a mid-way weather condition; third, they never winter kill or summer kill, as frequently
happens with alfalfa and clover; fourth, once firmly rooted in the field they will remain there
forever and the day after…. Fifth, being of the nature of a climbing vine, they can be sown in a
cornfield and it is guaranteed that they will climb to the top of the tallest corn. This is a saving in
ground room. Sixth, and most important of all, for a cow to make a cud of they have no equal,
being long, a cow never gets to the end of her cud. [This is almost certainly Samuel Taylor’s joke
on Amos Polley, his Lowell Road neighbor. Probably Amos’ cows got into his wife’s morning
glories and Sam thought the whole town should know.]
“There are about four acres of squashes growing on the Cold Spring farm. It is the largest and
most thrifty lot we have seen for many a year and many a long ride….
“The Methodist church at West Chelmsford is well under way. The frame work is up and
covered in, and everything begins to look like an attractive church building for the village.
“Charles and Albert Decatur, recently arrived from Rosevillle, Cal., are planning during their
stay to make some extensive repairs and improvements on the buildings of the home place, the
John H. Decatur place on the Lowell road [the Peletiah Fletcher House, 54 Lowell Rd.].
“Prof. John A. Taylor and bride arrived last week Friday night at the Taylor homestead,
having motored all the way from Cincinnati in their new Studebaker car….
“A motor party of four autos enjoyed a trip to Harvard last Tuesday. They enjoyed the
magnificent view from Pergolas on Prospect hill, the summer home of Miss Clara Endicott Sears,
of Boston, and then they visited ‘Fruitlands,’ and the Shaker house….
“Graniteville. In one of the best ball games of the season the Abbot Worsted Company team
defeated the fast Bennett A.A. club of Somerville here on last Saturday in a ten-inning game, by
the score of 5 to 4….
“The Abbot Worsted Company band will give an open-air concert on Westford common on
Sunday afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30….”
May Emma Day (1890-1973) graduated from Mt. Holyoke College in 1912 and served as
librarian at J. V. Fletcher Library from 1918 to 1960. Courtesy Photo / Roger and Marilyn Day.