Turner's Public Spirit, June 27, 1925

A look back in time to a century ago

By Bob Oliphant

Center. Miss Bertha Veeder, of Falmouth, has been engaged as teacher of English and history at the academy next year.

Miss Estelle Mills will be the teacher of the lower grades at the Nabnassett school next year. Miss Taylor, who has been substituting at the Sargent school, Graniteville, will teach grades five and six at the Frost school.

1. J. Whitney has purchased the house owned by Harry Gumb, and will take occupancy of the same in the near future.

Miss Woods, of Cambridge, is at her summer home on Main street.

Several from here attended the old-fashioned dance held in Dunstable on last week Friday evening.

The Johnson family, who have recently returned from Florida, are occupying the Meyer house.

Miss Eleanor Colburn, assistant supervisor of music in the Concord, N.H., schools, is spending part of her vacation at the home of her mother, Mrs. Nora Colburn.

Frank C. Wright, who has been ill, is able to be about again.

At the meeting of the Grange held on Thursday of last week a musical entertainment was enjoyed as follows: Piano solo, Miss Elizabeth Hildreth; piano solo, Mrs. Edith P. Blaney; vocal solo, Miss Elva Judd, and singing by members. It is voted to invite Bedford and Tyngsboro Granges to neighbor with the local Grange on Thursday, September 3.

Miss May Day leaves the latter part of the week to attend the A.L.A. [American Library Association] conference in Seattle, Wash. After the conference there will be an eight-day trip to Alaska, and on the return trip various points of interest will be visited.

A strawberry festival and entertainment will be held in the town hall on Monday, June 29, under the auspices of the Grange. The affair is public and it is hoped will receive generous patronage.

Mrs. Charles Wright is the guest of Rev. and Mrs. William E. Anderson in Spencer, W.Va.[1]

Plans are being made for a Grange fair to be held next fall. Entertainments will be given to raise money to pay for the prizes to be given. The committee in charge of the plans is composed of Clifford Johnson, Clyde Prescott, Benjamin Prescott and Frank A. Wright. The strawberry festival and entertainment to be given on Monday evening at the town hall is the first one planned to raise money.

The Legion endowment fund is growing, but is still far from the quota of $500.

The academy closed this week for the summer vacation.

At the last meeting of the Auxiliary it was voted not to hold any regular meetings during July and August.

Mrs. Frank Banister attended the state convention of the A.L. Auxiliary held in Boston last Friday and Saturday; also, the banquet held at Pemberton Inn on the previous evening. Mrs. Banister was an alternate delegate from the local organization.

Peter Perry, of Provincetown, who served as principal of the Nabnassett school the past year, will succeed Mr. Sterling as principal of the Cameron school next year.

Academy Graduation. [paper torn, words missing] graduated from Westford academy on Wednesday. Rev. [John] M. Phillips, of Manchester, N.H., was the speaker. The following fine program was presented: March and overture, school orchestra; invocation, Rev. E. D. Disbrow; salutatory, Hazel Sweetser; chorus, “Wanderer’s night song” and “Silver eyes,” Girls’ Glee club; presentation of class gift, Grace Dane; acceptance of gift, Roger Hildreth ‘26; duet, “I love a little cottage,” Regina McLenna and Marjorie Baker; address, Rev. J. M. Phillips, of Manchester, N.H.; essay, with valedictory, “Vocations for women,” Virginia Healy; presentation of prizes and diplomas, W. C. Roudenbush, supervising principal; class song, written by Mary Wall, graduating class; march, school orchestra.

The graduates were: Grace Dane, Mary Dureault, Lydia Griffin, Evelyn Healy, Virginia Healy, Lillian Hosmer, Elizabeth Prinn, Hazel Sweetser, Mary Wall; post-graduate, Emma Goucher. [Note that no males graduated from Westford Academy in 1925.]

The graduation ball was held in the evening with Leo Daley’s orchestra furnishing the music.

About Town. For several weeks I have been meditating on what makes the difference between an impelling, sunny, sensible magnet like Rev. Howard A. Bridgman and a repelling, fossilized iceberg like somebody else whose handshake even in dog days makes you think of zero weather. Think it over, some of you mental astrologists, and let me know.

Eugene Noble Foss, who is bound to be a “once was also ran,” is stumping this part of the universe, known as the fifth congressional district, on a platform of “reciprocity.” Well, say, sirs and women voters, do not let us own up to being such fools that we never knew that reciprocity and free trade is one and the same principle, the only difference being reciprocity is sugar-coated so that it is more palatable to the taste than plain, honest, non-sugar coated free trade; but the final tumble is that bread line for the United States. John Jacob Rogers was not only one of the most competent men that ever legislated for us, but better by far he was free from that disgusting, temperamental spirit which looked it and whose actions backed up the looks. We shall miss his friendly, gripping handshakes. We shall miss his friendly smile. We shall miss his “I am so glad to see you,” and he backed up these words with self-sacrificing interest for his constituents. With the thought of his memory fresh in our minds it is a well nigh impelling duty to eulogize his memory by voting for his widow, Mrs. Edith Nourse Rogers. [Congressman John Jacob Rogers died March 28, 1925, and his widow was elected to take his seat.]

The tassels of the sweet corn at the Old Oaken Bucket farm begin to show their early planting, not from the road, but from an airplane looking down and directly over it. We have sweet corn in all stages of development, from tasseling out to just through the ground and to just planted, and still planting. We of the Old Oaken Bucket farm are incurably fond of sweet corn, hence so many stages of growth.

1. R. Taylor attended the encampment of the Knights Templars in Worcester on Wednesday.

Amos Polly [sic, Polley], on the Morning Glory farm, has sweet corn that begins to show signs of silking out, and this is one better than tasseling out. Yes, thank you, down here in the Stony Brook Valley we plant at the spring end of nature, not at the mid-summer, Fourth of July end.

The registrars of voters hold their final session for the registration of voters in the town hall this week Friday evening until ten o’clock.

Charles and Clarence Anderson, of Amherst, N. H., who formerly lived at Brookside, on the Lowell road, with their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew G. Anderson, have been visiting former relatives and friends in town and West Chelmsford. With their parents they are now living on a farm of 105 acres in Amherst, N.H., and specializing in the production of milk.

The Y.M.C.A. of Lowell are still building lawn tennis courts at their camp at Lake Nabnassett and hauling the clay from the Old Oaken Bucket farm about a mile to the south.

Fourth of July comes next week Saturday, and if you have any thoughts of helping out the cause of Dupont powder remember that doves will pull open saleable peapods and pick sweet corn in the milk faster than that topnotch saintly sinner, the crow. We are as much opposed to the shooting of the doves as we are of the crows, and we write this to show that the crow is not the only sinner.

Our sensible and most efficient president, Calvin Coolidge, passed over the Stony Brook railroad about two o’clock Wednesday morning, going from Ayer to Salem.

To the onlooker and listener at the academy prize-speaking contest last week there could seem to be little or no room to dissent from the findings of the trio of judges from Littleton.

The graduation exercises of the academy on Wednesday was an overflowing inspiration which toned up the large audience. To say less would not be doing justice to the exercises; to say more would be thought counter-marching in a circle.

Several have asked me how large those new potatoes were that I had for dinner on June 17. While I neglected to weigh them on the hay scales it is safe to say that several of them would not weigh a pound.

We were disappointed in not finding the report of the result of the voting at the primaries for candidates for congress in the several towns reported in this paper. Only a slip up of memory prevented the report of Westford being reported last week, but we have recovered to memory this week and here are the figures: Total ballots cast 299; Mrs. Edith Nourse Rogers had 290 James Wilson Grimes 5 and George H. Brown 4. For a foregone conclusion affair and also considering that the town hall precinct was the only precinct open for voting the town cast a comparatively good vote out of a possible of nearly 1000 voters. The town of Concord only cast 165 out of registration of over 3000 and very centralized, compared with Westford. It is hoped that the selectmen of the town will open all four precincts at the election on June 30.

With much brim-full joy gladness I read this item under Harvard news: “Those who think they know how to propagate garden products will be interested to know that Ernest Scott picked a peck of peas on June 12 from his garden at Pergolas farm.” This is just splendid and the Old Oaken Bucket admits getting beaten as far as a whole peck of peas is concerned; we finishing picking our first peck of peas at eleventeen minutes of four o’clock on Saturday, June 20. Prior to this we had small messes of peas ranging all of the way from two pods on June first to forty peas and less some days until now. These peas were planted on March 7.

Present indications point to the smallest crop of apples ever harvested in this section of the universe, and we will add the usual “during the memory of the oldest inhabitant.”

The Old Oaken Bucket farm folks and the F. A. Snows of West Chelmsford and the W. R. Taylors motored to Framingham on Thursday to visit the summer farm of Mrs. W. R. Taylor’s parents, the Carlos D. Cushings. We have just commenced to raid some of the rural towns around here, so be on the lookout you Littleton, Harvard, Groton and Shirley residential inhabitants and be well supplied with ice cream. We have left our haying out to be housed and burned to the highest bidder, so this gives us liberty to find where to get our peaches.

Weather permitting, the Morning Glory farm will finish haying before this is read, except a choice piece of morning glories, after which the farm is named. How nice to be smart and finish haying before some folks get their potatoes planted.

The Old Oaken Bucket farm has some healthy colored bright green sweet corn growing between every other row of potatoes. The objection to every row is inability to run the cultivator at all, and in the way of digging the potatoes. Between the peas we have popcorn every row as the peas will soon come off and then the cultivator can be run. But to get down to the serious, solemn side of business farming, why pay $8 for plowing an acre of land and harvest only one crop when you can raise two crops at one price of plowing?

As there seems to be some misinformed misunderstanding as to the date of the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Westford, I desire to quote from Hodgman’s History of Westford: “September 20, 1729, the bill having been read thru several times in the house of representatives. Passed to be enacted. Josiah Quincy, Speaker. September 23, 1729. This bill having been thru several times in council. Passed to be enacted, J. Willard, secretary.” Thus it appears that our 200th anniversary will be on September 23, 1929, and not in 1927, as some have considered as the date, which will be four years from this coming September 23.

Here is an expensive conundrum: How many more fires will Littleton have to have in continuous succession to convince an annual town meeting that they need a more efficient fire apparatus? An early answer is desirable for those who have buildings to be burned up.

Word has been received of the death after a long illness of Mrs. Sarah W. Foster, widow of the late Orlando A. Foster. Mrs. Foster made many friends when at Nashoba farm. She is survived by a daughter Edith of New York city and granddaughter, Helen Foster Childs.

Sunday service at the Unitarian church at 4 p. m. Preacher, Rev. Frank B. Crandall, the minister. Subject, “Vacation and vacancy.” The service on Sunday will be the last before the summer vacation period. The preacher in his discourse will point out the contrasts of vacation and religion, indicating the fallacy of certain old popular ideas on the subject.

There will be a band concert and lawn party under the auspices of the Men’s club at the Walker farm on Wednesday evening, July 1. Concert by the Boys’ Band of Somerville of thirty-five pieces.

Forge Village. Arrangements have been completed for the big community celebration to be held here on July 3 and 4. For many weeks a large committee has been at work making plans for this celebration and the program is about completed. Numerous and suitable prizes are offered for the winners of all the events in which they enter. Following is the tentative program: the celebration opens on July 3 at 6 p.m. There will be a midway, dancing, etc., and at 12 o’clock the bonfire will be lighted. On July 4 the parade will start promptly at nine a.m. There will be a section of autos composed of the various organizations, citizens, etc., followed by a horrible [sic] parade [probably a parade of children dressed up like horrible-looking creatures, or “horribles”]. Immediately after the parade the sports will start. For ladies, Miss Mae Lord is chairman, and all those desiring to enter should address their entries to her at Forge Village. There will be [the] usual sports for men and all are requested to send their entries to F. Drolet or A. Greenslade, Forge Village. Entries close July 3. For those under sixteen there will be sports and anyone living in any of the towns near Westford are eligible. The celebration will close with a display of fireworks on the Fourth.

Wedding. For many years the Union Congregational church has not been the scene of a wedding. Wednesday, June 24, this era of no weddings came to an end when Miss Alice Viola Swenson, daughter of Carl and Anna Swenson, of Westford, united in the holy bonds of matrimony with Walter Otis Day, son of Quincy and Ada Day of Westford. The bride was given away by her father. The double ring ceremony was performed by Rev. Edward D. Disbrow, pastor of the church. The bride was beautifully gowned in white canton crepe, she wore a long veil caught up with orange blossoms and myrtle and carried a shower bouquet of white rosebuds. The maid of honor, Miss Ruth Swenson, sister of the bride, was dressed in orchid voile and carried yellow roses. The bridesmaids, Miss May Day, sister of the groom, and Miss Doris Davis of Concord, N.H., a high school friend of the bride, dressed the path of the bride with rose pink carnations. The flower girl, Miss Aline Keizer, niece of the groom, was dressed in yellow organdie and strewed the path of the bride with rose petals and daisies.

The groom was attended by his brother, Albert L. Day, of West Mansfield. The ushers were W. Raymond Shea, W. Wallace Johnson, Frederick C. Robinson, all of Westford, and Donald Anderson of Lynn, friends of the young couple. The groom’s gift to the bride was a white gold chain and pendant set with diamonds and pearls. The bride’s gift to the maid-of-honor was a choker necklace; to the flower girl, a string of pearls; to the bridesmaids choker necklaces and to the organist, Miss Viola Day, cousin of the bridegroom, a set of enamel shoulder pins. She was dressed in white and yellow voile.

The church auditorium, which was the scene of the ceremony, was very beautifully decorated with mountain laurel.

Following the ceremony a reception was held in the vestry. The bridal couple stood beneath a wedding bell hung in an arch of daisies and ferns. The room was decorated with white, orchid, green and yellow crepe paper and daisies. There were friends present from Westford, Lowell, Lynn, Concord, N.H., Tewksbury, West Mansfield, Groton, Taunton, Somerville, Boston and Sweden. The young couple left the church amid a shower of confetti and rice as well as the best wishes of the entire community.  They will spend five short blissful weeks at a camp at Lake Winnipesaukee.

Mr. and Mrs. Day will be at home on the Graniteville road after August 1, where all friends will be welcome.

Ayer

District Court. On last Saturday morning Alfred Dureault, of Westford, before the court for larceny of some wood from W. C. Edwards, of that town, was found guilty and fined $20.

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

Westford, Abraham O’Claire to Isabella E. Picking, land on Tyngsboro road.

Littleton

High School Exercise. The high school commencement has been attended this year by most favorable conditions, and all functions connected with it have attracted [a] large audience of interested friends. …

Graduation exercises were held in the town hall Wednesday afternoon. The parts taken by the students were ably written and presented. The scholarly address of Rev. John M. Phillips, of Manchester, N. H., was received with applause, and the words of valuable advice from Supt. Knight in the presentation of diplomas deeply impressed his audience.

Singing by the school and the girls’ chorus, directed by Miss Precious, and accompanied by G. Ellsworth Bonnell, pianist, was most commendable. The Westford academy orchestra, with Miss Precious as pianist and director, favored the audience with a few selections. A beautiful silk flag and standards from the graduating class was presented to the school, and the pledge of allegiance by the entire school followed its acceptance.

When the class presented Principal Saben with a sum of money he expressed grateful acceptance in felicitous language.

 

[1] Mrs. Wright was the mother of Mrs. Anderson, nee Clara Belle Wright (1879-1971). Rev. William Everett Anderson (1878-1965), a 1907 graduate of Boston University School of Theology, was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Graniteville (its official name at that time) from 1905 to 1907 and again from 1919 to 1924. Rev. & Mrs. Anderson were married April 23, 1907, at her parents’ home in Westford.