The Westford Wardsman, June 14, 1919
About Town. Automobile tire thieves are still working at their trade and are busy. The nearest and latest was at Senator Fletcher’s garage on Oak hill, last week Friday evening, when two tires and rims were taken. More were to be had for the taking, but either lack of time or consideration of honor on the part of the thieves prevented them from being taken.
George C. Moore is laying the foundation for a new barn at his Nabnassett farm. This, with the present barn, is expected to make the largest barn in town. The stone for the foundation is furnished by H. E. Fletcher & Co.
Miss Ella Wright, from Cleveland, Ohio, arrived at her summer home at Brookside last week. As usual, Miss Helen Wither, of Lowell, is companion for her. They are old friends from close neighbors in Lowell years ago. They add decided culture to the Brookside section of Westford.
Town teams are graveling the Lowell road near Brookside.
What seems like would-be auto thieves were seen an evening last week at West Chelmsford, trying to effect entrances where automobiles were supposed to be kept. They got away without anything to take away.
Miss Julia Donnelly won first prize of five dollars in the typewriting contest between the senior and junior classes. Miss Donnelly is in the junior class. Miss Gertrude Strandberg won first prize of $2.50 in the sophomore contest in typewriting. Miss Marjorie Bell won second prize of $2.50 in a map-drawing contest between the sophomore and freshmen classes; she is in the sophomore class.
Peter Fifield, who formerly worked on the Charles Whitney farm, and later on the Frank C. Miller farm, was overcome with the heat last week Thursday while driving a team for the Proctor Lumber Company at North Chelmsford. He was removed to St. John’s hospital, where he died soon after his removal.
At the Unitarian conference on Wednesday Rev. Edward Cummings the second mass was a high mass.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred M. Defoe and little daughter Evelyn are visiting friends in Canada for a few weeks.
William F. Defoe, of the U.S.S. New York, with Miss Edith Bartlett of Brooklyn, N.Y., are spending a few days at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Defoe.
Miss Claire B. Payne and Harry J. Carbo, who were married on June 4, are spending their honeymoon in New Jersey, New York and the White Mountains.
The members of Cameron circle, C. of F. of A., held their regular meeting on Tuesday night with a good attendance. The circle is now progressing rapidly with their minstrel show that will be given there on Friday evening, June 20. A social dance will follow the show.
The Abbot Worsted Company baseball team has arranged two games with the Townsend A.A. team. The first game will be played in Townsend on July 12, and the second game in Graniteville on July 26.
Ayer
Camp News. Telegraphic authority came from Washington on Monday to discharge “without honor” Capt. Hugh H. Carr, of Fairmount, W. Va., medical officer in surgical ward 5, base hospital now under treatment for acute alcoholism and under arrest on charges of intoxication.
Troop trains on Monday brought 8000 soldiers to camp, all but a few hundred of whom came from the transports President Grant and Winifredian. A large proportion of the troops were engineers, members of the 21st, 23rd, 504th, 510th and 520th engineer regiments. The 90th division were stripped of its casual members and the men from Texas and Oklahoma went to Camp Bowie, Texas, for a divisional review before being mustered out.
The first unit sent out of camp on Tuesday were the 313th machine gun battalion, 690 members of which were scheduled for transfer to Cam Dix. The first 90th division unit marked for transfer was the 35th infantry, 1096 members of which left for Camp Bowie, Texas.
Demands for transportation will be particularly heavy because of the presence of such a large body of troops here and unless the tourist coaches can be had for the troops to be sent to distant camps some of them will be held up for indefinite periods. The rate of shipment of troops from France is in excess of anything experienced here previously. Transportation officials question the availability of coaches to take the troops away as fast as they are prepared for transfer by the demobilization group.
Three accountants have been working in the camp finance office for two days and it is believed their investigation is concerned with the forged pay voucher of Major Charles F. Mains, of Dorchester, for $365, the amount of his April pay. He received his pay on the voucher he personally presented, but it is understood that it cannot be established that money was paid out on the forged voucher.
Detectives are searching for government automobile tires which it is alleged have been stolen and sold to jitney drivers operating around camp.
Brig. Gen. M. B. Stewart went to Camp Meade last Saturday, where he was transferred on order from the war department to train new bodies of troops being prepared for service. He was the guest at dinner the evening before of Major Thomas P. Lindsay, who was an assistant chief of staff of the 76th Division.
First Lieut. Raymond G. Sherman, who was wounded twice while serving with the 4th division, is camp adjutant in place of Major Quigley, who left for France last Saturday. Lieut. Sherman is a globe trotter, and served in the revenue cutter service at Hawaii and Alaska. He lived in China and visited the other continents.
Patrick J. Carroll, of Boston, the first construction man in camp, who began work on June 17, 1916, as stable manager for Coleman Bros., left last Saturday, the last of the camp builders to go. He had charge of 400 horses during the construction period. He is known to a great many soldiers and oglers.
Two suicides were recorded at camp Tuesday, that of Priv. Bert M. Allen, A company, 58th regiment, C.A.C., which occurred sometime within the past three months and the other that of Corp. Joseph P. Mollanhan, machine gun company, 37th infantry, who shot himself in the temple with a 45-calibre automatic pistol in his barracks Tuesday forenoon. Mollanhan’s nearest relative is his brother, George, of 638 Chelmsford street, Lowell. Allen’s nearest relative is Mrs. Sarah Ballou of Wallingford, Vt., an aunt.
A bugler attached to the base hospital discovered Allen’s body Tuesday in a dugout between the hospital and Shirley, near the bridge over the Nashua river. Allen had placed the end of the rifle in his mouth and blown the top of his head off. The last record of the soldier was at the convalescent centre, where he was attached. An unopened letter was found on his body. This may explain Allen’s act. It was turned over to the board of officers appointed at cantonment to investigate his death. The board will ascertain when Allen was last with the convalescent center. There is uncertainty as to where he secured the rifle and ammunition. A search is being made to learn from records whether he entered camp with the 58th regiment or was in a detachment of sick and wounded sent to the camp hospital from overseas and later transferred to the convalescent center. Rheumatism was his chief complaint there.
Col. Almon L. Parmenter appointed a board of officers in the 36th infantry to investigate the suicide of Corp. Mollahan [sic]. According to comrades he was sitting on his bunk when he fired the pistol shot.
The 313th and 314th machine gun battalions, 80th division units, went to Camp Dix Tuesday for demobilization and discharge. More than 5000 Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas members of the 90th division were transferred from camp Wednesday. The 358th infantry will be sent to Camp Pike, Ark. The 360th infantry leaves for Camp Travis, Tex., but will stop at Houston for a review before Brig. Gen. U. G. McAlexander, 180th brigade commander, and civil authorities. The 90th division headquarters, 315th ammunition train and other 90th division units will go to Camp Bowie, Tex.
The first soldiers on duty at the peace conference to come home are back from France, members of the intelligence corps who were on duty at the Hotel Crion, engaged in preventing information from leaking out. The soldiers were members of the Paris district intelligence corps, of whom 63 are now in camp. Of this number 15 were on peace conference duty. The soldiers wear the brassard of the peace conference, which is blue with insignia in white.
The R.O.T.C., now preparing to undertake military training for 700 youths, will be representative of the entire country. The students will be drawn from the largest universities of the east, including Harvard, Yale and Princeton, which together with a score of other colleges and preparatory schools will send their candidates to this camp. The officers who will command the five companies arrive Monday. Eight barracks will be used to accommodate the candidates. Expectation of any of those selected for attendance at the school that the camp will be one of luxury and idleness will be rudely shattered, for it is planned by Col. Palmer, commanding officer, to observe Spartan simplicity in both work and recreation. The college boys will be permitted to bring their mandolins, but none of unessentials [sic] typical of college atmosphere. It is planned to have the school create its own manners and customs.
The complete list of educational institutions which will be represented include, Harvard, Massachusetts Agricultural college, New Bedford high school, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Maine, Bangor high school, Yale, Connecticut Agricultural college, Meriden high school, Stamford high school, New Britain high school, Princeton, Rutgers college, St. John’s Military academy, New York Military academy, Syracuse university, Cornell university, Clason Military academy, College of the City of New York, New York university, Columbia university, New Hampshire State college, Rhode Island State college, Norwich university, University of Vermont, Kentucky Military institute, Staunton, Va., Military academy, Trinity college, Durham, N.C.
No table cloths will be used in the mess halls and there is some doubt whether agateware will be substituted for crockery dishes. None of the students will wear other than the regulation uniforms, which will be the same as enlisted men, cotton olive drab blouses and breeches. No cordovan leggings or spiral puttees will be allowed. No pay will be given the students since their attendance is voluntary, although they will be paid transportation. A branch of the post exchange will be opened for the R.O.T.C., where they may trade. No passes will be issued during the period of training. Guests will be permitted to visit on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, when special plans for recreation and entertainment will be made by the morale officer. Chaplain Merchant and Chaplain Harman have been attached to the camp. Chaplain Conoley of cantonment headquarters will act as Catholic chaplain for the school.
Capt. L.? A. Edwards, camp salvage officer, is conducting auction sales of army property condemned for further use and of surplus equipment. Squad tents have been on sale, with Corp. Frank Loveland as auctioneer. The prices paid for the tents range from $7 to $15.75. The same tents cost several times this amount when new. There are 484 of the tents up for sale. Gas masks are being sold. They are the regulation box inspirators used in France and bring $1 or less. Next week an auction sale of horses will be held at the remount depot.
The last of the troops on the five transports which reached Boston Saturday and Sunday passed through the sanitary process plant Thursday. The transfer of troops to other camps has reduced the 16,000 by half. In addition, discharges have been given to New England soldiers at the rate of 700 a day. Major A. J. Black and his assistants in the medical examination office have perfected the system to make 1000 final physical examinations a day.
Major Robert Bonner, quartermaster acquisition officer, left Thursday having completed preliminary steps for the purchase of the camp. The agreements have been secured from all of the land owners who have signed the contracts to sell at a stipulated sum. The agreements have been sent to Washington where the deeds will be made out and the payments of money be issued. The Massachusetts Title & Insurance Company has been retained to guarantee the deeds.
With the purchase of the cantonment plans contemplate construction of permanent quarters for officers where they may bring their families to live. At present officers receive commutation for quarters because this is a field service station. It may cost $1,000,000 to erect the required number of houses.
Boxborough
News Items. Three boys from West Acton, Ralph Gates, Howard Reed and Harry Woodward, who left with the saw mill unit two years ago, and later enlisted, have returned and called on their old friends here. It is a great pleasure to the townspeople to see again the familiar faces and gives a great feeling of gratitude that they came back looking and felling so well.