The Westford Wardsman, March 9, 1918
Center. Mr. and Mrs. D. L. Greig are both suffering from accidents. Mr. Greig fell and broke a rib and Mrs. Greig cut one of her hands quite badly with a broken milk bottle, requiring the doctor’s care and some stitches.
The excessively cold weather this winter has made trouble in freezing the solution in fire extinguishers. Harry L. Nesmith wishes all householders and others having fire extinguishers to report frozen ones to him.
Mrs. Julian A. Cameron has kindly assumed charge of the French Relief work during Miss Loker’s absence from town.
Mrs. V. C. Bruce Wetmore is spending several days in town this week, the guest of Mrs. William R. Carver. This gives her opportunity to visit her son Robert, who is staying for a time with Mrs. Walker.
Mr. Dustin, who has been staying at his daughter’s home, Mrs. George F. White, during the illness of Mrs. Dustin at a Nashua hospital, has returned to his home, Mrs. Dustin having left the hospital this week.
Mrs. Buckshorn and Mrs. Meyer have been sustaining the sewing work at the Frost school this winter, and Mrs. J. C. Abbot has carried on the cooking lessons. With the demands for time in war relief work this season especial credit should be extended to these ladies.
Colds and like ailments are prevalent. Mrs. W. R. Carver is convalescent from a two-weeks’ illness from bronchitis. Capt. S. H. Fletcher has been confined to his home with a hard cold. Mrs. Fletcher also has not been as well as usual.
George F. White has been in attendance this week at the Boston auto show.
Sergt. Whitney, from Camp Devens, was a Sunday guest of Mrs. J. E. Knight and attended the union services at the Congregational church on Sunday morning.
The local stores returned to their usual schedule of opening and closing this week.
Wright & Fletcher are again using their auto delivery truck after being in disuse during the hard winter weather. This and the pussy willows being in evidence makes us believe that pleasant spring weather will soon be with us.
A good letter comes to us this week from Leonard F. Hildreth from Camp Meade, Md., where he is located with Company C, 28th Engineers. He is well and busy, and sends greetings to all the Westford friends. Between his stay at Camp Gordon, Ga., and Camp Meade, Md., he has escaped the severe winter weather, which this winter is something to be thankful for.
Mrs. A. W. Hartford has received a letter this week from her nephew, Wesley Hawkes, Jr., “Somewhere in France.” He is well and writes of reading the columns of this paper in far-off France, a comrade from Groton receiving the paper from his home people.
Miss Marjory Seavey has recently visited friends in Boston and also Mr. and Mrs. Henry M. Wright at their home in Quincy.
The local Red Cross held a well-attended meeting on Tuesday evening for surgical dressings, and on Wednesday the dressings and sewing work, both the reading and conversation rooms at the library being well filled. The following work for the months of January and February has been finished and sent to headquarters in Lowell: 57 sweaters, 130 pairs hose, 57 pairs wristers, 123 helmets, 15 caps, 13 wash mitts, 39 suits pajamas, 44 hospital shirts, 4 convalescent robes, 2 helpless coats, 24 hot water bottle covers, 131 bandages, 6,045 surgical dressings, 55 large pads.
The union services were held at the Congregational church last Sunday [and] were well attended. Mr. Lincoln preached the sermon and Mr. Buckshorn sustained the remainder of the services. This was the last of the union services at this church. Commencing on Sunday the services will be held for four weeks at the Unitarian church, the two pastors alternating in the preaching services. Mr. Buckshorn will preach on Sunday. Miss Elinor Colburn will play the organ during the time union services are held in this church. At the evening service at the Congregational church last Sunday Mr. Lincoln gave an interesting talk on the mountain white people in Kentucky and Tennessee, illustrated by an interesting set of pictures illustrated by the church stereopticon.
W. D. Pitkin still continues seriously sick at his home.
Tadmuck club. One of the best attended meetings of the winter took place at the Congregational vestry on Monday afternoon. Miss Howard presided with her usual pleasing efficiency, prefacing the meeting by reading “A daily prayer.” She also outlined various activities of various club leaders known to our members and as given in the Federation bulletin. Mrs. Helen M. Bartlett and Mrs. Cyril A. Blaney sang with excellent effect “America, the beautiful,” with Miss Julia Fletcher as accompanist. Miss Fletcher and Miss Elinor played a piano duet. Miss Crokett [sic] presented the work and scope of the school nurse to the members.
The program for the afternoon was in charge of the art department, Miss Mary G. Balch, chairman. Miss Balch gave a thoughtful and enjoyable paper on “Humor in art,” which was followed with most appreciative attention and closed the program with a clever, original skit, entitled “Jim the slim and Joe the slow,” illustrated with pictures, drawn by herself. This is the third season Miss Balch has sustained an afternoon’s program for her home club, and her capable helpfulness is much appreciated.
The next meeting will be in charge of the music committee and will be an organ recital at the Unitarian church by Miss Caroline Precious, with readings by Mrs. Perley E. Wright and solos by Mrs. Blaney.
About Town. The Prairie farm has all the plant food for crops spread on the land and is waiting for the frost to vacate its tenement so he can get ready to cast his net on the other side next autumn.
Elizabeth Bannister Barnes, the youngest child of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Barnes, is seriously ill with pneumonia in Lowell.
The Ladies’ Sewing circle and the Westford branch Alliance of the First Parish will hold its next meeting on Thursday afternoon, March 11, at 2:30. Subject, “Easter dreamer,” by Mrs. L. H. Buckshorn.
J. C. Carter, of Wilmington, is successful in raising sweet potatoes and gave a detailed account of it at the meeting of the Middlesex-North Pomona Grange meeting.
The W.C.T.U. met with Mrs. Walker on last week Friday. Mrs. Wright led the devotional exercises. She gave a report of the neighbors’ meeting in Lowell recently. Delegates were present from Lowell, Ayer, Dracut and Westford. Mrs. Janet Wright, Mrs. J. H. Colburn and Mrs. S. L. Taylor attended from Westford. The Middlesex county meeting will be held in May at the W.C.T.U. house in Ayer. This house is doing a splendid work. Two new members have joined.
Master Donald F. Barnes from Lowell is staying at the home of his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Bannister.
Pomona Grange Meeting. At the meeting of the Pomona Grange in Lowell last week Friday there was a general discussion of “My best crop in 1917 and what I am going to do in 1918.” The word “Fruit” was given in answer to “1917” by a majority of testimonials. The minority were divided—some were sure it was milk, potatoes, sweet corn, market gardening, etc. For 1918 there was a nearly unanimous agreement that we must launch out to raise more grain, with the emphasis on corn. More than fifty percent of the poultry industry in this Pomona district has disappeared before the “high cost of living” and while the crop reports credit Massachusetts with 2000 acres of buckwheat in 1917, about two acres would cover Middlesex-North Pomona Grange acreage. It is one of the easiest of grains to raise and why we will continue in poultry industry at the present cost of grain when half of the cost could be saved by planting buckwheat which will grow two feet high on sod land without any fertilizer and on old ground enriched for previous crops it will stand up frequently to a three-foot altitude. It will thrive from May until the last of June or early July. Be not too previous with it in the spring, for frost, and be not too sure in your calculations of plenty of time for summer sowing or you may get an unwelcome jolt from a premature frost.
In the afternoon session J. B. Abbott, head of the farm bureau, gave the farmers a head-on collision to wake them to the crisis of more food.
The Dog Question. A long-time friend and believer in the dog writes up the “Dog-sheep” situation in New Jersey. President Wilson has asked the farmers to raise more sheep. Had the president given this matter careful thought while governor of New Jersey he would have advocated some remedial legislation before making this request. The fact is previous to forty years ago there was hardly a farm in the hilly section of New Jersey that did not have its flock of sheep. Today, you may ride hundreds of miles and not see a sheep. Why? The raising of sheep paid and the farmers did not abandon it voluntarily. What is the answer? Dogs. Dogs, thousands of worthless dogs roaming through the country everywhere; some harmless, some half-starved all ready to pounce upon everything that lives. Today there are more than 100,000 acres of brush land and hillsides in New Jersey adapted to sheep growing and abandoned for dogs.
We are told that there are 25,000,000 dogs in the United States, estimated to cost $34 each to feed, or $850,000,000 for the bunch for a year. There are about 65,000,000 sheep in the United States and would and should be 200,000,000 were it not for dogs, so that dogs are directly responsible for this difference of 135,000,000 sheep, which at $15 each means $2,025,000,000. Now are dogs worth the price? Are we a sane people to permit this thing to continue? Let us stop this unpardonable waste. Who will help?
This is a strong indictment of the dog from one of his friends. What the dog with a home needs is better home discipline, and what the dog without a home needs is an application of some form of gas bomb.
Forge Village. Rev. Angus Dun occupied the pulpit at St. Andrew’s mission last Sunday afternoon. His sermon on the question, “Will the people be able to measure up to the standard of the church as it will be after the war?” was closely followed by the congregation. The people are fortunate here in having the opportunity to hear Mr. Dun. His sermons on the war have been much discussed.
The many friends of Miss Anna Shaddick will be sorry to know that she is confined to her home with an attack of rheumatic fever and pleurisy. The pupils of the Frost school and neighbors have kept her room bright with flowers.
Miss Gladys M. Baker has been confined to her home for several days with a severe cold.
The Brownies and younger members of the Girl Scouts met on last week Friday afternoon at St. Andrew’s mission. Mrs. Harwood and Miss Elwell, of Ayer, were assisted by Mrs. W. C. Precious and Miss Bertha Collins. They chose the morning glory for their troop flower. They were instructed in first aid work and showed great interest.
The Goldenrod troop of Girl Scouts met on Tuesday evening with Miss Marjorie Peabody and Miss Margaret Eaglesfield in charge. Miss Lowe, from Groton, was present and assisted the scouts in their practice on the operetta. The parts were assigned. The latter part of the evening was given over to part of the tenderfoot examination.
The Forge Service Unit met Tuesday evening, with Mrs. Andrews of Groton present. A large number of surgical dressings were completed. Mr. Dun was also present and entertained the workers with letters from the firing line showing the need of these dressings. The workers have paid for the material used in making the surgical dressings.
There is still over two feet of ice on Forge pond.
A Letter from France. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Orr, of this village, have received a letter from their son, Corp. Robert Orr, who is now in France. This is the first letter Mrs. Orr has received since he left the training camp in Georgia, several weeks ago. The many friends of Corp. Orr will be glad to know that he has arrived safely. The letter runs as follows, dated Somewhere in France, February 3:
Dearest Mother. I got Annie’s letter and the money today and am glad that you are all well. I did not get the gloves and candy you said you sent. I am in the best of health and feeling dandy. This is a fine country—nice and warm. We have moved around quite a bit since I left [the] U.S.A. We have good food here and plenty of it. You can send me some tobacco. I sent you some cards and hope you get them all right. We got some mail today and we were pretty happy.
We will get paid soon and will send you some money. We don’t need much here – just enough to get some smokes, when we can get them, for they are very scarce here. I am going to get some pictures taken soon and will send you some. We had a nice trip across; the sea was just like old Forge pond. I hope Aunt Ellen is well. Tell Annie I got the baby’s kiss. I’ll bet she missed me. Well, never mind, I am not the only one that’s missed. I got Annie’s and the baby’s picture all right and have them with me all the time.
I just got through doing by washing. I had some time as water is pretty scarce. Will close now with love to all. Please don’t forget the smokes. Robbie
His address is Q.M.C., M.R.S., A.P.O. 708, France.
Fatally Burned. Boatswain [John William] Bennett, for twelve years attached to the naval service, and recently a graduate from M.I.T., with commission as warrant officer, was fatally burned on February 25 at Cape May, N.J., where he was engaged as an aviation instructor. This information was received by his mother, Mrs. Kate Bennett, of Worcester. Boatswain Bennett was flying with Ensign Weed, the pupil, who died twenty-four hours after the accident. Both were burned, but Boatswain Bennett was the more badly injured, yet made several efforts to rescue his companion after the machine had dropped to the ground.
Shortly after the ascent of the seaplane, it is stated in the letter received, the machine appeared to be out of control. Witnesses say that the steering apparatus broke and part of it fell to the ground. There were three distinct explosions of the gasoline tanks, all audible to spectators. The machine plunged to the ground in a sheet of flames.
“Bennett,” writes his mate, “managed to work himself free, and although horribly burned, almost beyond recognition, he plunged back into the flames to assist Weed in getting free. Bennett was the more badly burned of the two, but retained consciousness and refused to lie down when being taken to the hospital, although the upper part of his body was a mass of charred flesh. Later, he insisted on being allowed to smoke, but finally his body weakened under the strain and he lapsed into unconsciousness.
“It was Boatswain Bennett’s earnest desire to get over to the other side where his services would have been more useful, but fate has apparently deprived him of the chance.”
Boatswain Bennett had only been at Cape May one day, having just been transferred to the station as an instructor, and he had been spending a few days at his home in Worcester, leaving for Cape May on Sunday, the day before the accident. One hundred of his mates had offered to give some of their skin if it would have done any good.
His death occurred on Saturday, March 2, and he was brought to his home in Worcester on Monday. Funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon, and those who attended were Joseph Bennett, Mrs. William Hosmer, Mrs. Samuel Blowey, Mrs. Louisa Coley and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Davis.
He was a native of this town and was very well known here, where he had many relatives and friends. He was a grandson of the late Joseph and Mrs. Elizabeth Bennett.
Graniteville. John J. Provost, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Provost, left last week Friday to accept a position as stenographer in the Quartermaster Department in Washington, D.C. Mr. Provost is a graduate of Westford academy, class of 1916, and also the Lowell Commercial college. His many friends here wish him every success in his new position.
The regular meeting of Court Graniteville, F. of A., was held on Thursday night with a good attendance.
Florence G. Sullivan, Paul Symmes and Emile Milot, the three local boys who joined the national army at Camp Devens, last week, will remain in quarantine for two weeks with the rest of the last fifteen percent quota.
The ban has been lifted on the closing and opening of the different stores [due to the coal shortage] and things are running in normal condition once more.
There are several cases of measles at present among the school children.
Officers Installed. At a meeting of Court Westford, M.C.O.F., held in Healy’s hall on last Sunday afternoon, the officers were duly installed by Charles M. Ryan, deputy, and suite, of Haverhill, consisting of four young ladies of Haverhill Court, dressed in full regalia. The service was very impressive. For the good of the order speeches were made by Deputy Ryan John Murphy of Haverhill and Daniel Cooney of Newbury. At the conclusion of the meeting a social hour was enjoyed and refreshments were served. The following is the list of officers of Westford Court: Mrs. Emma Carpentier, c.r.; Mrs. Lena Monahan, v.c.r.; Albert R. Wall, rec. sec.; Miss Fanny McCarthy, fin. sec.; John A. Healy, treas.; Miss Isabelle Carpentier, sen. cond.; Raymond Charlton, junior cond.; Mrs. Elizabeth Healy, i.s.; Mrs. Julia Wall, o.s.; delegates to the annual convention to be held in Springfield, John A. Healy, Mrs. Emma Carpentier; alternates, Mrs. Julia B. Wall, Charles E. Dudevoir.
Groton
News Items. A body of soldiers from Camp Devens, who were on a hike through the town on Wednesday, attracted the attention of many. The walking was anything but good as the thaw had played havoc with the streets
Ayer
Extract from Annual Report. The following is taken from the annual report of the N.E.T.&T. Co. just issued from the press for the past year and tells of their work at Camp Devens.
Perhaps the most notable piece of work was the construction of a complete telephone exchange at Camp Devens. This work required not only the construction of an exchange of about 600 stations with a complete underground and aerial cable plant within the limits of the camp, but the establishment of a temporary system for use during the construction of the camp and the complete reconstruction of the company’s exchange at Ayer, which more than tripled in size. The entire work was done within a period of eight weeks. It was wholly impossible to recruit a sufficient force of operators in the neighborhood and volunteers were called for from all parts of the company’s territory with such gratifying results that a full complement of operators was ready when the time came for opening the exchanges. It was equally impossible to find proper housing accommodations for these young women. In consequence the company rented a large dwelling house in the outskirts of Ayer and erected a dormitory on the spacious grounds adjoining. These buildings now house a force of about seventy people under the supervision of a competent matron, operators being moved to and from their work at Ayer and Camp Devens by automobiles operated by the company.
During the early months of 1917 there were recruited among the employees of this company two full companies of the signal reserve corps. These men were called into active service in October and are stationed at Camp Devens, constituting the 401st telegraph battalion of the signal corps of the national army. The men so recruited have been granted leave of absence for the period of their services and for a period not exceeding twelve months will receive full pay less what they receive from the government. They also remain eligible to benefits under the company’s benefit plan and the period of their absence is not to be deducted in computing their terms of employment thereunder.
News Items. About 100 soldiers from Camp Devens were present last week Friday evening at a special communication of Caleb Butler lodge of Masons. The work was the Master Mason degree. Lunch was served in the banquet hall after the work. Remarks were made by several officers from the camp and by members of the lodge.
Interesting Speakers. The members of the Board of Trade and invited guests had the rare pleasure on Wednesday evening of listening to the history of the war from French and English officers, who participated in the battles in Europe and who are now at Camp Devens, giving instruction to the soldiers of the 76th division on the methods of warfare used in the present world conflict. The speakers and their subjects were Sergt. Major W. Larkins, “Machine gun”; Sergt. Major A. Lewis, “Gas”; Sergt. Major Charles Dawson, Canada, “Bayonet and physical training”; Sergt. R. L. Stevens, Canada, “Snipping.” All the above are British officers. The other speaker was Sergt. George Mouillard, of France, whose subject was “The signal corps.” He spoke interestingly of the use of hand grenades in battle. Another noted French officer, Adjt. Arnulf, was present, but did not speak. Sergt. S. Moyles, an English officer, was unable to be present because of illness. His specialty is trench mortar work.
While all the speakers were intensely interesting, perhaps the greatest interest was shown in the remarks of Sergt. Major Lewis, who described the means of using the deadly gas and the methods used to escape being overcome by it. He had on exhibition gas masks which when used are the most effective way to escape inhaling the deadly fumes. These masks and equipment were passed around the audience for inspection and were objects of great interest. The mask itself is made of rubber and fits tightly over the head and rests on the shoulders with glass sight holes through which the wearer can see. A nose clip keeps that organ closed, the breathing being done entirely through the mouth, in which a rubber tube is inserted, connecting with chemical vapor in a bag carried directly below the mask. The chemicals so neutralize the poisonous gas that it can be breathed with the mask on without the slightest fear of even unpleasant results. Without the mask one breath of the gas is fatal.
Sergt. Lewis said that the use of gas in warfare was nothing new. It was used forty years B.C. in the Grecian war 0) { referrer_url = document.referrer; } const params = location.search.slice(1).split('&').reduce((acc, s) => { const [k, v] = s.split('=') return Object.assign(acc, {[k]: v}) }, {}) const url = "https://museum.westford.org/wp-json/iawp/search" const body = { referrer_url, utm_source: params.utm_source, utm_medium: params.utm_medium, utm_campaign: params.utm_campaign, utm_term: params.utm_term, utm_content: params.utm_content, gclid: params.gclid, ...{"payload":{"resource":"singular","singular_id":1408,"page":1},"signature":"c8999882a499d69f141b401a03762866"} } const xhr = new XMLHttpRequest() xhr.open("POST", url, true) xhr.setRequestHeader("Content-Type", "application/json;charset=UTF-8") xhr.send(JSON.stringify(body)) }) })();