The Westford Wardsman, November 11, 1916
Center. Mr. and Mrs. George Knight, of West Scarboro, Me., and Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Merrill, of Pine Point, Me., were over Sunday guests at Joseph E. Knight’s. The party came by automobile and had excellent roads and weather for the time of the year.
Mr. and Mrs. William R. Carver are having electric lights installed in their home.
A pleasant whist party was held at the Unitarian vestry on last week Friday evening with Mrs. Josie A. Prescott in charge of arrangements.
The baby daughter [Alice Eileen Perkins] recently born [Oct. 15] to Mr. and Mrs. John Perkins died on Thursday [Nov. 2] of last week. The child was abnormally small at birth and its hold upon life was very frail. The funeral was held from the home last Saturday afternoon, Rev. L. H. Buckshorn officiating. Interment was in Fairview cemetery.
Rev. and Mrs. William E. Anderson close their home here for the winter and go to Ashburnham, where Mr. Anderson preaches.
Miss Sarah W. Loker returned the first of the week from a pleasant visit with relatives in Natick.
Mrs. Hammett D. Wright had as a guest at the Tadmuck club Tuesday afternoon her son’s wife, Mrs. Clarence Wright, of Washington, D.C., and who was a bride of last June.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Loveless was the scene of a merry gathering last Saturday evening. A group of Mr. and Mrs. Loveless’ circle of friends in Somerville, which was their former home, came up in automobiles to visit them. A bountiful supper was enjoyed, the guests having brought various good edibles in their auto hampers and which were amply supplemented by their hostess. There were Halloween decorations and the gathering was full of the spirit of good cheer and good fellowship. Besides the supper there was music and games. The party, which numbered forty, took their departure at a seasonable hour, voting Mr. and Mrs. Loveless the best of hospitable entertainers. The preceding Saturday Miss Ruth Loveless gave a Halloween party for her schoolmates which was a very enjoyable affair.
The monthly supper of the Edward M. Abbot hose company took place on Tuesday evening at their headquarters on Boston road. Mrs. J. E. Knight served one of her excellent suppers, to which the sixteen men present did full justice. Special welcome was given to Albert W. Heywood recently returned from the Mexican border. Acting upon the report of the committee appointed to investigate, it was voted to change their place of meeting to quarters in the old academy building. The present building will still be used for the company’s apparatus. A committee consisting of S. B. Watson, Robert Prescott, William E. Wright, Edward Clement and Arthur Walker was appointed to make arrangements for the annual firemen’s ball later in the season.
Notwithstanding some of the success of one of our local hunters in killing three foxes this fall there are still some left. Wednesday afternoon, before it was fully dark, a fox was discovered in the hen yards of Harold and Leon Hildreth. When found he had already killed several birds and had he not been discovered when he was would probably have done much more damage.
Rev. E. C. Whitney, of South Sudbury, who occupied the pulpit of the Congregational church last Sunday as a supply, will preach again on Sunday morning. Mr. Roudenbush conducted the evening service.
We are told of two patches of currants that have been destroyed in this town this season on account of the white pine blister rust, one on the H. E. Fletcher estate in the east part of the town, and the other a patch of English black currants on the V. C. Bruce Wetmore estate.
Tadmuck Club. The first meeting for November of the Tadmuck club took place on Tuesday afternoon at the Congregational church. There was an excellent attendance. Miss Mabel Drew gave a report of the summer meeting of the State Federation held in June at Lynn and Miss Howard reported for the recent meeting in Franklin. Notice was given of coming meetings in Lowell, Ayer and Melrose Highlands.
The names of Miss Edna Day and Mrs. Harry S. Stiles were proposed for membership.
Mrs. Amesbury and Mrs. Myers were appointed from the club to work in conjunction with a committee from the Ladies’ Aid society for the wounded French soldiers. Albert E. Prescott, who is specially interested in this work and has given much time to it, was present and gave a good idea of the great need of help and the work already accomplished in sending knitted goods, crutches, anesthetics and surgical dressings across the water to help alleviate some of the suffering.
Miss Mary E. Collson was the speaker of the afternoon and gave a most comprehensive address on “The evolution of the franchise.” This was especially appropriate coming on the day of the great election. Social tea was served with Mrs. John P. Wright as hostess. Mrs. Goldsmith H. Conant and Mrs. L. W. Wheeler presided at the tea table.
The next meeting will be presidents’ day at the Congregational church; address by Mrs. J. Harry Poole, organizing secretary of the General Federation of Woman’s clubs. Violinist, Mrs. Turner Carlisle Kelly of Tufts college. Hostess for the afternoon, Mrs. A. E. Loveless.
Pine Blister Rust. Mrs. Herbert E. Fletcher, chairman of the conservation department of the Tadmuck club, has received word from the state conservation committee of Woman’s clubs, important literature concerning the menace of the white pine blister rust. As is well known, the white pine is of great value and we quote briefly from the bulletins: “As no pine with the disease has ever been known to recover, and as it can live on all the kinds of five-leaved pines, which are estimated as having a value of $435,000,000 or more in the United States, and as in addition this disease once generally present would kill the young pines growing up to take the place of the old ones being cut, the disease is a dangerous menace to pines for timber, for ornament or the lumber business.” The pine blister rust attacks currant and gooseberry bushes especially, and rules for the control of the blight say: “The treatment, therefore, it is to destroy all pines having the disease as fast as it shows itself upon them and to keep all currant and gooseberry bushes as far away from the pines that the disease cannot carry from one to the other in either direction. The distance to insure this is not positively known, but it is believed that one-third of a mile should be sufficient.”
About Town. At the last meeting of the Grange a class of eight were initiated and arrangements discussed to attend neighbors’ night with Tyngsboro Grange on next Tuesday evening. The next meeting will be held on Thursday evening, November 16, at which time the annual election of officers will occur.
Miss Ella T. Wright has closed her summer residence at the old Levi T. Fletcher place in Brookside and returned to her home in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the many improvements at her summer home was the repairs and alterations on the large barn, including a bright, new weather vane on the bright, new shingled cupola. It will served as a sort of Old Farmers’ Almanac for weather signals for Brookside village and suburbs.
The political rally in Graniteville on last week Thursday evening was bubbling with enthusiasm. S. L. Taylor acted as floor walker and interlocutor between gaps. Among those who had the punch on opposite politics were Hon. John Jacob Rogers, Victor Francis Jewett, Frank K. Stearns, John H. Reagan of Lowell, Walter Perham of Chelmsford and Arthur W. Colburn of Dracut.
Houghton G. Osgood on Francis hill has harvested 1000 barrels of picked apples and 1000 barrels which the Lord untied.
The Frank C. Drew farm has probably the largest bin of husked corn of any in the regions about here, and a large bin of last year’s corn makes his corn barn look like ye olden days of prosperity.
Amos Polley, on the Prairie farm, has it all his own way coming to him in the best bin of bronze popcorn.
Announcement is about of the close at hand marriage of Miss Annie Coolidge, a former resident of Westford Center, to Mr. Prouty, of Lowell, to take place in Lowell, and they are to reside in Lowell.
Election passed off with quiet attention to business, which was the largest for many year of this business. Hughes received 247 votes, Wilson 148; for governor, McCall 239, Mansfield 136; U.S. senator, Lodge 254, Fitzgerald 128; congressman, Rogers 285, Hoar 115; state senator, Colburn 260, Sparks 90; register of deeds, Stearns 203, Purcell 178.
Snow to the extent of temporary sleighing fell in the Berkshires last week and the Mohawk Trail had a temporary set back for automobile travel.
Death. Miss Janet Walker died at the home of her nephew Thomas Walker, in Manchester, N.H., Wednesday evening, from accidental suffocation from illuminating gas. The house, which is a new one, is lighted both by electricity and gas. Upon retiring for the night, the house being lighted by electricity, she attempted to shut off the current to extinguish the light, and by mistake turned on the gas. This not extinguishing the light she pressed the electric shut-off which extinguished the light, but in doing so forgot to shut off the gas which she had previously let on by mistake for the electric current, both being on the same jet which is clearly unsafe. This is the theory of her nephew, which seems to be a reasonable view to take.
Miss Walker was born in Scotland, the daughter of Rev. James and Jane (Hogg) Walker, her mother being a relative of the poet [James] Hogg [1770-1835]. For nearly or quite a quarter of a century her father was minister of the Congregational church in Carlisle, while a resident of West Chelmsford. After finishing his pastorate in Carlisle he was acting minister of the West Chelmsford church for several years. Miss Walker was unusually genial, social and cheerful, a pleasure to meet in the every-day chat of life and a staunch believer in the come-together spirit. As such, she was a charter member of West Chelmsford Grange and this at the age of eighty-six years.
The funeral took place from the home of Thomas Brown Saturday afternoon, Rev. Mr. Lippincall of the village church conducting the services. Burial was in the village cemetery beside the gathering dust of father and mother. The Grange conducted the burial service of the order.