The Westford Wardsman, March 17, 1917
Center. The regular meetings of the board of selectmen will be held the second and fourth Thursday evening of each month. For the purpose of keeping within the appropriations for each department bills against the town must be rendered monthly and in the hands of the selectmen the Saturday before the regular meeting; otherwise, they will be held over until the next regular meeting.
The academy and the Frost school closed this Friday for one week’s vacation, closing the winter term of school. Both schools reopen on March 26.
The next meeting for the community sing will take place on Monday evening. Through the courtesy of the selectmen these gatherings will for the future take place in the lower town hall. This meeting place will prove more commodious and the lower hall room has a piano. Please note the time and place and everybody is cordially welcome with their singing books.
Of much interest and of real historical value in the future is the work of the committee under the auspices of the Tadmuck club in preserving pictures and sketches of old landmarks, houses, etc. At the meeting on Tuesday afternoon Miss Loker, for the committee, reported and showed seven new pictures, among which was a picture of the old first parish church before it was remodeled in 1868, and when it faced towards the west, one of the old Bunce homestead, the Amos Heywood house, the Kidder house, the old Sherman D. Fletcher house, and the old Abbot house. None of these houses are now standing and it is of great interest to have them pictured as they looked in by-gone days. A generous member of the club has given a suitable album and over sixty views have already been gathered and preserved therein.
Miss Lottie L. Dunn, whose home is in Pembroke, Me., and who came this year to join the teaching force at the Frost school, is a patient at the Lawrence General hospital, where she underwent an operation last Saturday. Miss Dunn has relatives in North Andover, near Lawrence. She is reported resting comfortably at the hospital and hopes to resume her teaching for the spring term. Her new friends here sincerely wish her a good recovery. During Miss Dunn’s absence Miss Mabel Drew is taking her place in the seventh and eighth grades.
Postmaster and Mrs. Fletcher are having electric lights installed in their pleasant home.
Mrs. Edward Fisher and Miss Bessie Hadley, of Lowell, were welcome attendants at the Tadmuck club on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr. Carter and his men have been busy at the telephone exchange making changes and improvements, altering the cable so as to better the equipment for the increasing number of subscribers.
The gathering of the Socronit club was held at the home of Miss Grace Robinson on Wednesday evening. This is a congenial group of friends who meet together to sew, crochet or knit.
The large mounted moose head with its spreading antlers, which Edward Fisher loaned to the J. V. Fletcher library, has been effectively placed in the upper assembly room.
Large Attendance. Notwithstanding the unfavorable weather of last Sunday a large attendance enjoyed the morning service at the Congregational church, and especially the men’s choir that did such excellent work. This was done by the men’s Bible class under the direction of Leonard Burland, and numbered twenty men. C. Raymond Cummins, of Boston, was the soloist, and sang with excellent effect “I hear a thrush at evening.” Mr. Cummins, with Mr. Burland, Mr. Colburn and Mr. Bannister, also sang as a quartet. The chorus sang “Brighten up the corner where you are” and “Since Jesus came into my heart” most effectively. Mr. Lincoln preached an eloquent sermon from the text, “Thy kingdom come,” making a strong appeal for a kingdom of brotherly love as exemplified in the virtues of truth, Justice and uprighteousness. At the evening service Mr. Lincoln continued his series of talks on Old Testament characters, his subject being “Elijah, the prophet.” The men’s chorus will sing again on Sunday morning and all the men of the congregation who can sing are cordially invited to assist.
Death. George L. Bennett, a resident of this village for many years, died at his home last Sunday morning, aged sixty-three years. Mr. Bennett was stricken four years ago with a paralytic shock and had been in poor health since that time, although able to be up and about. Last Saturday he succumbed to a second stroke of paralysis and never regained consciousness, and died Sunday morning.
Mr. Bennett was formerly employed by Oscar R. Spalding. He was born in Montville, Me., April 19, 1853, but had lived in Westford for forty years. He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Mrs. Effie Bennett Cann, of Somerville, and Miss Grace Bennett, of this village.
The funeral services were private and were held from his late home on Tuesday afternoon at two o’clock. Rev. L. H. Buckshorn was the officiating clergyman. There were many beautiful floral offerings. The bearers were Samuel H. Balch, Oscar Anderson, Arthur H. Burnham and James O’Brien. The remains were placed in the receiving tomb at Fairview cemetery.
Tadmuck Club. The regular meeting of the Tadmuck club took place Tuesday afternoon at the Congregational vestry with a large attendance present. Mrs. Charles K. Bolton, of Shirley and Brookline, was the speaker, and gave a lecture on “Village life of New England one hundred years ago.” Mrs. Bolton proved a most interesting speaker and gave a well prepared picture of the life of that date gathered from some well kept old diaries that had come into her possession. The work on the farm and in the home, dress, church-going, town meeting, the town pound, country roads, the minister, the doctor, the social gatherings such as house and barn raisings, weddings, funerals and the old fashioned lyceums were among the sub topics carefully and interestingly set forth by the speaker and interspersed with many humorous side lights.
Miss Marion E. McKnight, of Lowell, sang a charming group of old-fashioned songs and the president, Miss Howard, further supplemented the interest of the subject with a setting of old-fashioned articles, a finely wrought sampler, a lustre ware pitcher, a whale oil lamp, a foot stove, all arranged on an old-fashioned table. Miss Howard also contributed a group of true anecdotes gathered from bygone days.
The next meeting will be a Lenten organ recital by Miss Ella L. Gale, of Lowell. This will be at the Unitarian church and will be an open meeting. At the business session a number of items were brought to the consideration of the members.
About Town. The funeral of Henry O. Keyes took place last week Friday afternoon from the home of his mother, Mrs. Lucy Keyes, on the Providence road. There was a large gathering of relatives, neighbors and friends, the deceased having a large acquaintance in the surrounding towns. Rev. A. Howard Lincoln of the Congregational church conducted the service impressively. Wesley O. Hawkes, of Graniteville, followed with a personal tribute to his memory after years of personal acquaintance with the deceased. Mrs. Clara Greig and Mrs. Janet Wright were effective in two duets. The bearers selected by the deceased were Horace E. Gould, J. Willard Fletcher, George H. Burke, Axel Lumburg. The burial was in Fairview cemetery. The flowers were just one beauty spot.
At the last meeting of West Chelmsford Grange last week Thursday evening thirty-five applications for membership were presented. Edwin E. Chapman, State master, of Ludlow, was present as an official visitor and delighted with remarks and song. Great and hopeful is the attempt to boost stagnation out of any village life and install a mentally and socially armed individualism.
By the will of the late Henry O. Keyes, Fred A. Snow, of West Chelmsford, Arthur E. Day and Amelia Lambert, of Westford, are named as trustees.
Amos Polley of the Prairie farm is the first to appear in the open with chemicals. The prairie farm folks are planning to “back to market gardening” on a more extensive scale than last year.
Even the gypsies have caught the prosperity of high cost of living and were migrating through town on the Lowell road last Sunday with two automobiles.
The monthly meeting of the W.C.T.U. was held last week Wednesday with Mrs. Clarence Hildreth. The attendance was encouragingly good and plans for the food sale at Mrs. George Walker’s on Friday, March 30, were completed. Papers along the line for which the organization stands were read by Mrs. Perley E. Wright, Mrs. Aurilla Wright, Mrs. LeBoutley, [and] Mrs. Daisy Colburn. Two new members were proposed, Miss May Day and Mrs. Bartlett. The efficient president, Mrs. Janet Wright, was guide director of affairs. The hostess served hospitality.
The directors of the Middlesex County Farm Bureau will meet for hospitality and business at the summer home of James J. Storrow, Lincoln, Saturday afternoon, March 21, at one o’clock.
The first grass fire of the season started up in early March in the lull between snowstorms on land of the Old Oaken Bucket farm.
John Henry Lorman, who was 100 years old Washington’s birthday, celebrated the event at the home of his son, John E. Lorman, Lowell. He will be remembered as a former resident of Westford. He was a native of Nova Scotia. His wife, who died five years ago, was also a native of Nova Scotia. They have had eleven children, seven of whom are now living—William of Chelsea, Samuel of the Canadian Northwest, John E. of Lowell, Robert of Tyngsboro, Mrs. May Whitten of Fitchburg, Mrs. Elizabeth Jane Dean of Johnson, Vt., Mrs. Ada Hamm. There are twenty-six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. At the age of ten years he began life on the sea and when yet a young man he had bought and paid for a vessel of his own. Up and down the Nova Scotian coast for half a century he spread his fish nets and went into Boston with his catches. He had abundant native ability which rapidly developed self reliance as an asset and offset against the deprivation of even the principles of A, B, C, and his consequent inability to read or write.
Chester Burnham, who has been ill eight weeks with rheumatic fever and its complications, is now able to sit up an hour each day. It is a long tedious wait from the freedom of outing of rural life.
Automobile gypsies who have been doing Lowell as headquarters, were before the Lowell police court on the charge of obtaining money by false pretenses and fined five dollars each.
Death. Gilman Fessenden Wright died suddenly of heart disease at his home on the Groton road Tuesday afternoon, aged seventy-five years. From all outward appearances he had been in his usual health, but was found dead on the floor on the return of two of his children from school at Graniteville, and was alone in the house at the time of his death. He was born in Westford at the home farm, where he died being the fifth of eight children of Erastus and Elizabeth (Carr) Wright. His early education was at the then Lyon schoolhouse on the Groton road, now known as the Wright school, in memory of his father and family. Independent of schooling he had a variety storehouse in his individuality, inventing a water wheel when fifteen years old, and later had it patented and organized a company in Fitchburg for the manufacture of the Wright water wheel. He had traveled extensively for the C. G. Sargent Sons Company, Graniteville, and perfected a patent for a ready-strung tag machine, and also perfected a patent on a horse shoe and in various ways his mind was active as inventor of much else that he never patented. [U.S. Patent No. 48,613 issued July 4, 1865, to Gilman F. Wright entitled “Improvement in Water-Wheels.” His patents on a ready-strung tag machine and on a horse shoe were not found.]
Besides being an inventor he was a many-handed mechanic in any direction and carried on an extensive blacksmith shop in Graniteville at one time. Besides inventor and mechanic he was skilled as a musician, playing cornet, piano, violin. Music was one of his diversions for which he had an inherent and cultivate fondness. For several years he resided in Lowell, being a member of the American Mechanics association and the Redmen.
While a resident of Lowell he was storekeeper and proprietor of a small machine shop. He was of the even and sunny disposition and free from unbalanced extremes. Temperate in all that goes to make life desirable, healthy, happy and useful in the home or in the large contact of world life, was a loyal supporter and attendant of the Fortnightly club.
In 1882, in Lowell, he married Miss Alma G. Tibbetts, of Maine, who died twelve years ago. Five children were born, four of whom are now living—Mrs. Alma L. Gould, Lillian G. Wright, Carl G. Wright, Ernest T. Wright of Westford. There is a grandchild, Bernice G. Gould. Of his father’s large family of eight children, only one is living, Eugene Wright, of Nashua.
Forge Village. A baby girl [Bertha Vallintine (sic) Milot] was welcomed Wednesday [March 13] at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Milot.
Miss Mabel Sanborn has been confined to her home the past week with the grippe. At last reports she was much improved.
George Cougle has returned to his home in Yonkers, N.Y. He attended the funeral of his uncle, George Cougle. In the passing away of Mr. Cougle the village has lost a good citizen and a kind and charitable neighbor; also, a devoted husband, to whose widow the sympathy of all goes out to her in her sorrow.
Mrs. Joseph Bennett is on the sick list at her home on Pleasant street.
Rev. Sherrard Billings, of Groton School, will conduct the services at St. Andrew’s mission on Sunday afternoon at 4:30. Mr. Billings is a gifted speaker and a large audience is always present to hear him.
Rev. Willston M. Ford has announced that the Social club will discontinue its meetings until after Lent.
Large crowds are very much in evidence every Tuesday and Friday evenings wending their way to St. Catherine’s church for the Lenten devotions held there. Very able speakers are heard and are highly appreciated by the large congregations present. The roads are in deplorable condition, but does not dampen the spirits of the people. Auto service is being afforded by the genial and obliging owner, John B. Gray.
Harry Brown, of Clinton, was a weekend visitor at his mother’s.
Cameron school closed Friday for the spring vacation.
Mrs. Chester Blodgett, of Groton, was a visitor at the home of her mother, Mrs. William Burnett, this week.
Miss Annie Socha has recovered from her recent illness and is able to be out again.
Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Smith, of Hyde Park, were weekend visitors at the home of Mrs. Charles Smith.
The prevailing disease, the measles, still holds a few indoors. The cases are of a very light form.
Elmer C. Nutting spent last Saturday and Sunday visiting friends in Boston and Belmont.