Turner's Public Spirit, June 14, 1924
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. Twelve children were christened at the Unitarian church last Sunday afternoon by Rev. Frank B. Crandall—Robert Norris and Barbara Huntington Hildreth, children of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur G. Hildreth; Richard Lawrence and May Hildreth, children of Harold W. and the late Edith L. Hildreth; Charles Ripley Fletcher, son of Mr. and Mrs. Austin Fletcher; Everett Ellsworth Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. Everett Miller; Helen Prescott, Donald Fletcher and Priscilla Greig, children of Mr. and Mrs. John Greig; Evelyn Margaret, Marjorie Lilian and Willard Ellsworth Millis, children of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Millis.
Children’s day will be observed at the Congregational church on Sunday at which time a christening service will be held.
Mrs. Fred L. McCoy has been a recent guest of her daughter, Mrs. Louis Robbins, of Watertown.
The pupils of the graduating class of the William E. Frost school, accompanied by their teacher, Mr. Rowe, had an enjoyable outing at Revere Beach on last Saturday.
Mrs. Everett Lord and son Hamlin, of Berwick, Me., were in town on Saturday and Sunday.
Miss Blanche Lawrence of the William E. Frost school faculty returned to her home in Amherst, N.S., Sunday, and Principle Rowe has gone to his home in Maine.
The graduation exercises of Westford academy will be held in the town hall at ten o’clock on Wednesday morning, June 18. The salutatory will be given by Elliott Humiston, Jr., and the valedictory by Frank Jarvis. The address will be given by Rev. John Davis, of New Britain, Conn., and there will be music by the school chorus, glee club and orchestra. The alumni luncheon will be served at noon, followed by the regular business meeting in the afternoon. In the evening there will be an invitation dancing party.
On June 17, at the academy, the class history will be read by Veronica Payne; class will by Richard Wall; class prophecy, Ada Eaton; class grinds, Emma Goucher. Alice Socerelis [sic, Socorelis] will present the class gift.
Graduation Exercises. The graduation exercises of the William E. Frost school were held in the town hall on last week Friday evening and were much enjoyed by the relatives and friends of the pupils. The program was as follows: Entrance of class; flag salute, class; prayer, Rev. Edward Disbrow; song, “Night,” school; essay, “Interesting facts about Iceland,” Elizabeth Carver; piano solo, “On the lake,” Elizabeth Hildreth; essay, “Life of Calvin Coolidge,” Gustaf Peterson; music “Forest whispers,” Betty Prescott and Viola Day; essay, “History of Westford,” Angie Parfitt; essay, “The Japanese earthquake,” Elmer Bridgeford; piano duet, Ruth Nelson and Dena Zanchi; essay, “Education in the United State,” Blanche Pickup; presentation of diplomas, Supt. Herman Knight; song, “At parting,” school. Class colors, blue and gold; class motto, “Step by step.”
The hall was prettily decorated for the occasion and the graduating class, which was the largest in the history of the school [21 scholars], was as follows: Elmer Bridgeford, Elizabeth Carver, Viola Day, Helen Desmond, Charles Egerton, Margaret Foster, Helen Gallagher, Frank Healy, Elizabeth Hildreth, Ruth Nelson, Linwood Nesmith, Ruth Nesmith, Angie Parfitt, Ernest Peterson, Gustaf Peterson, Hamilton Phillips, Blanche Pickup, Betty Prescott, Ruth Ryan, Walter Wright, Dena Zanchi.
During the evening the pupils presented a five-dollar gold-piece [worth about $92 in 2024, per www.in2013dollars.com] to their principal and teacher, Percy Rowe, as a token of appreciation.
About Town. The ashes of the late Sarah Dix Hamlin, who died in San Francisco last August, were deposited in the Hamlin family lot in Fairview cemetery last Sunday afternoon. Friends were present from Littleton and Westford and her niece, Mrs. Everett Lord and young son Hamlin, of Berwick, Me., were present. Rev. Edward E. Disbrow conducted the service.
Mrs. Fannie D. Cutting died on Monday at the home of her son, Ralph T. Cutting, on Main street near Fairview cemetery, aged 72 years, 5 months, 5 days. She leaves three sons, Frank A., of Reading, Ralph T., of this town, and Harry N. Cutting, of Waterbury, Vt.; two brothers, Thomas Norris, of Concord, N.H., and John Norris, of Beachmont [part of Revere, Mass.]; two sisters, Mrs. Lois Kennedy and Miss Alice Norris, of Concord, N.H., and four grandchildren, Basil A. Cutting, of Reading, Ada M. Cutting, of this town and Norris and Dorothy Cutting, of Watertown, Vt. Mrs. Cutting had been living in town with her son but a short time. He is a well-known engineer on the Boston and Maine railroad. The funeral was from the home of her son Ralph on Wednesday afternoon, Rev. Edward W. Disbrow conducting the services. Mrs. Blaney sang “Abide with me,” “Shall we gather at the river?” and “The christian’s [sic] goodnight.” There was a lovely display of flowers. The bearers were Frank A., Ralph T. and Harry N. Cutting and Thomas Norris. Interment was in Frye [now Graves] cemetery, Concord, N.H.
The Old Oaken Bucket farm folks are planning on a visit to Harvard the early part of next week to see some of our old teachers and have them hear us recite from the end of the class called the “foot” at the old Stony Brook school.
So far this season it has cost us more for fuel to keep warm than for ice to keep cool, and our crops accept our report, and present appearances indicate that they will continue to accept this report until dog days take a turn at doing the weather.
For real, everyday common-sense workable logic gives us this: “We don’t want the open saloon back again, but in the interest of temperance and lessening drunkenness we do demand a modification of the Volstead act so as to allow a larger percent of alcohol to be drank.” Is it not just wonderful how this discovery will work for temperance? The larger the content of alcohol the less liable you are to become intoxicated. And these same presidents of colleges and candidates for president and other pretended defenders of temperance are anxious volunteer informers that the Volstead law is non-enforceable, but if you would just legalize the amount of alcohol that is now illegally drank and that is increasing drunkenness everywhere. There is no need of warning anyone against being deceived by the thinness of the logic of legalize a larger percent of alcohol—it’s so thin that an ordinary idiot could see it.
We have a lovely bouquet showing at the Old Oaken Bucket farm of the delightful handsome lady slipper from the forest on Frances hill and lovely wild honeysuckle from Rocky park that borders Tadmuck brook. We have obeyed the voice of wisdom higher up that all merge in the voice of Emerson, “Canst though love the wood rose and leave it on its stalk?” or in the language of other wise and knowing, “Don’t gather these wild flowers by the roots as it spells ‘extermination’.” The two above-named wild flowers are the loveliest that nature has tried to educate the neglected aesthetic nature of man to balance up against too much Wall street living. Let us not annihilate this lovely balance by a ruthless root-disturbing method of utilizing these ministering angels.
There was a frost Monday night that sent asparagus down for the count, followed by another on Tuesday night not quite so severe, but enough to leave its trademark. We had a bushel of beans up, but they escaped with only a little shadow boxing, none of them being sent down for the count. To frost and cold, wet weather tribulations of corn the wire worms have started a rumpus and are wiring their way in to the vital germ of the kernel and much that is passing for cold, wet weather as a cause for replanting. Let us do all of the cussing on the weather, but also save a little to cuss the judgment that allows the shooting of the birds that with their decrease our pest troubles increase.
The crows are still pulling potatoes at the Morning Glory farm, and the woodchucks are still eating peas at the adjoining Old Oaken Bucket farm. Personally, with all my worse faults, I am unable to bring myself to the extermination of these woodchucks by any poisonous system of prolonged pain. I will lose my peas and go to the sunny rooms at the town home before I will plan an extermination by intense pain.
William A. Wright died at his home in North Chelmsford on last Sunday aged sixty-seven years. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Agnes Wright; five daughters, Mrs. William Warley, Mrs. Agnes M. Edge and Mrs. Isabella Hamilton, of North Chelmsford, Mrs. Raymond Norton, of Tyngsboro, and Mrs. Adam Good, of New York; a son, James N. Wright, of New York; two sisters, Mrs. James Edgar, of this town and Mrs. Jennie Robinson, of Lowell; and two brothers in Scotland and ten grandchildren. He was a member of the Gospel Hall of North Chelmsford and Tyngsboro. Mr. Wright was for several years a resident of this town, living on the Charles Reed farm on the Boston road [located about where 239 Littleton Road is now], near the residence and farm of Fred Burbeck. About a year ago he had a shock, from which he never recovered. As neighbor and citizen he was well liked. He was a native of Scotland.
John A. Taylor, from Ann Arbor, Mich., arrived at the Old Oaken Bucket farm last Saturday to spend a few weeks preparatory to sailing for Europe.
Yes, we had peas in blossom on June 4, or just four days later than we had planned on peas for dinner.
The Morning Glory farm [of Amos Polley] has new potatoes as large as a hen’s egg. The Old Oaken Bucket farm [of Samuel Taylor, the author of the “About Town” section] has potatoes budded to blossom. We thought this was full too large to be told for this backward season, but as the egg-size potato story is so much larger, we do not feel so bashful about telling ours.
“Oh, what is so rare as a day in June”?—weather that does not take twenty-one days to get corn out of the ground without the aid of crows, or spend half of your time chasing your straw hat, or ride in an auto without your winter overcoat and ulster. [“Oh, what is so rare as a day in June” is the first line of a popular poem by that name by the American Romantic poet James Russell Lowell (1819-1891).]
Reminiscences. We [i.e., Samuel Law Taylor (1845-1932)] have been asked several times by several persons to write a brief sketch of the reminiscences of the old muster field of the old 6th Regiment[1] at Brookside just prior to the civil war. First of all I will agree that it will be brief for my memory was extremely youthful at that time and has not recovered from it yet. Second of all, Brookside was not born then—it was Adams Mills—sawmill, gristmill and three dwelling houses; namely, the house where Miss Dunn lives, the house now owned by the Abbot Worsted Company and occupied by the Fred A. Davis family and in recent years more familiarly known as the Hiram Decatur place, and the Deacon Ephraim A. Harwood house, the first house on the left going from the Lowell road towards the Brookside mills.
The muster field was on the plains of the farm now owned by the Abbot Worsted Co. The muster was for a week and included the old historic 6th Regiment[2], mostly Lowell companies—ten companies of 100 men each. Their uniforms were a spectacular and military inspiring sight compared to the drizzle fizzle drab grey cemetery color of the present time. The large, bright plumed military hats; bright scarlet blue uniforms, and noticeable bright stripe on the pants, and no two companies uniformed alike, was an enticing attraction for our youthful hayseed eyes. These attractive uniforms covered up many military inefficiencies as there was something else to attract attention. On dress parade, led off by the old 6th Regiment band in equally bright uniforms, it certainly was some show to retain in memory down these more than sixty years. To be fair, their marching and military maneuvers were not up to present-day efficiency, but just look what you got for your money to hurrah for!
How plainly I recall the pitching of that field of tents—it looked like a new world to us country boys, and then the patrol guard around the field so faithfully traveled to and fro that the path remained visible until within a comparatively few years, when the last remnant of the path was ploughed up. This muster was before automobile transportation and the regiment came up over the Stony Brook railroad and alighted at Adams Mills, now Brookside, and it certainly was a refreshing change from the dull monotony of knowing beans enough to plant eight in the hill to seeing 1000 men and a band, all in captivating bright uniform march from the station to the muster field to the tune of some bright, captivating music. In memory I recall it as of yesterday. It was a rare and inspiring sight to our partially developed eyesight and hearing, and in memory, “long may it wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
These were the days before state police and the town was obliged to furnish a police force to maintain order—ordinary order, and prevent disorderly order. There was selling of drinks in violation of law in defiance of law, and our modern eighteenth amendment to the constitution and defiance of it has not developed or started any defiant attitude in human nature; it is as aged as this muster field, Deacon Nicholas Murray Butler[3] to the contrary opinion. This defiant spirit led to several fights and other irregular disturbances. Of the police officers that the selectmen appointed I recall several whom I saw in action—Isaac Edmund Day, familiarly called “Ed” Day, stockily built, in the vigor of his strength and fresh from California, and had seen enough of the life of California to bring a California stick with him which he used effectively in several disturbances. Edmund F. Dupee, of the Read farm [164 Main St.], was over six feet tall and more than six feet strong, as I have had personal experience as a boy in being tossed around apple trees at the top of a twenty-foot ladder, picking apples at the old Zacheus [sic, Zaccheus] Read farm. Owing to his height he was the conspicuously largest in most fights. Mason Harlow, of the old Trueworthy Keyes farm [16 Frances Hill Road], was stocky and exceptionally muscular. In a mix-up fight I saw him grab a man and throw him over a stone wall with jolt enough to take the fight out of him, and repeat the encore to the next on-comer. Others whom I did not chance to see in action, but have no reason to doubt their efficiency, were Deacon John E. Cutler, Thomas Richardson, William Chandler, Samuel A. Hamlin, David C. Mead and others that memory disconnects.
The closing of this muster was the “sham fight,” the real rainbow feature of the muster, long since superseded by the real fights of life, the Teapot Domes of modern life, and other crooked short-cuts too much for nothing.
Church Notes. First church (Unitarian)—Sunday service at four p.m. Special music by chorus choir; solo, “Consider the lilies,” Miss Eleanor Colburn, soprano. Preacher, Rev. Frank B. Crandall, the minister. Subject, “The secret of the seven sacraments.” Church school at three p.m.
On Sunday the following were baptized by the minister, who used the baptismal ritual of King’s chapel; Charles R. Fetcher, Donald F. Greig, Helen P. Greig, Priscilla Greig, Barbara H. Hildreth, Robert N. Hildreth, Mary Hildreth, Richard L. Hildreth, Everett E. Miller, Evelyn M. Millis, Marjory L. Millis, and Willard E. Millis.
The chancel was beautifully decorated with flowers. The ancient pewter baptismal bowl was used in the service. Each child was given a white flower.
On Sunday the preacher will point out the great underlying idea of the traditional seven sacraments of Christianity, indicating a surprising connection with the great fundamental idea of liberal religion.
Groton
News Items. On Saturday, June 14, the North Middlesex Federation of Y.P.R.U. chapters will meet in Westford. Each person attending is asked to bring sandwiches and cake. One hot dish, cocoa and ice cream will be provided by the hosts. The program includes a business meeting, devotional service, dinner, entertainment and dancing.
High School Notes. The following list of games played shows the successes of the high school baseball team this year: Groton 2, Ayer 0; Groton 17, Lunenburg 0; Groton 7, Littleton 2; Groton 8, Ayer 7; Groton 6, Pepperell 4; Groton 15, Westford 3; Groton 11, Lunenburg 2.
Ayer
Real Estate Transfers. The following real estate transfers have been recorded from this vicinity recently:
Westford. Stanislawa Lapniewske [sic] et al. to Abbot Worsted Co. Westford, land on Central street; David Tousignant to Joseph Bilida, land on North street; Clarence M. Weed to Firman [? partially illegible] Dupre, land on Keyes road; Emma M. Wright et al. to Mike Kisly, land on Maple street; Emma M. Wright et al. to James Harashka, land on Maple street; Emma M. Wright et al. to John Stalmonis, land on Maple street.
[1] The 6th Massachusetts regiment that served during the Civil War was formed in 1855. There were several other “6th Mass. regiments” dating back to the mid-18th century that were formed and disbanded at various times, but there was no continuous unit known as the 6th Massachusetts prior to 1855. The 6th Regiment was activated for federal service in the Union army during the Civil War. It was the first unit in the Union Army in response to President Lincoln’s initial call for 75,000 troops. It became the first regiment to suffer fatal casualties in action during the Civil War in the Baltimore Riot of April 19 [of all dates], 1861, on its way to Washington D.C. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_Massachusetts_Militia_Regiment.
[2] Military. The Sixth Regiment will go into camp near Adams’ Mills in Westford, (about six miles from Lowell per Stony Brook Railroad,) on Wednesday, the 26th inst., and remain three days. Col. Jones has christened his encampment “Camp Prescott,” in honor of the gallant Prescott of revolutionary fame. [Col. William Prescott (1726-1795) of Groton (now East Pepperell) commanded the American forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775.] Boston Evening Transcript, Boston, Mass., Aug. 14, 1857, p. 2.
The Tremendous Storm. We do not hear of so much damage as was expected from the freshet caused by the rains last week. The lightning, however, was exceedingly active. … [Many incidents of lightning strikes are mentioned.] At Adams’ mills in Westford, the house of Ephraim Harwood was struck, and the mother of Mr. H. had one arm scorched and a gash cut over one of her eyes. …
Boston Post, Boston, Mass., Monday Morning, August 11, 1856, p. 2.
[3] “Nicholas Murray Butler (1862-1947) was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the late James S. Sherman’s replacement as William Howard Taft’s running mate in the 1912 United States presidential election. … Butler believed that Prohibition was a mistake, with negative effects on the country. He became active in the successful effort for repeal Prohibition in 1933.” See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Murray_Butler#Honors.