The Westford Wardsman, November 2, 1918
Center. Fisher Buckshorn, who has been pretty sick with the influenza, complicated with jaundice, is reported more comfortable. A trained nurse is in attendance.
Judge Frederick A. Fisher’s Westford friends are sorry to learn that he is confined to his home with influenza, although he is reported as not seriously sick.
Postmaster J. Herbert Fletcher has been in attendance at the New England Fox Hunters’ association in Pepperell from Monday until Thursday.
Miss Sarah W. Loker moved this last week into the west side of the Hamlin house. Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Goode close their camp at Forge Village and will occupy their apartments in the other side of this house, the same as last winter.
Mr. and Mrs. Preston H. Skidmore closed their summer home in this village, and with their daughter Elaine and Mrs. Skidmore’s step-father, Mr. Brigham, go to Florida to spend the winter.
Henry J. Murphy, living on the Groton road, lost a cow on Tuesday, the animal being struck by an automobile and so badly injured that it had to be killed. This is the second cow Mr. Murphy has lost in this way this season.
John M. Fletcher reports the thermometer at 80° Tuesday, at noon, at the postoffice [Lincoln St. general store], this being one of a series of pretty warm days for the time of year.
Rev. Oscar Wells and Mrs. Wells, of Rochester, Vt., are guests this week of Mrs. O. V. Wells.
At the Frost school and the academy the daily sessions have been extended in time one hour. This seemed the best way to make up the lost time on account of the enforced closing recently during the epidemic.
Word comes that J. Herbert Fletcher, who is attending the new England Fox Hunters’ meeting in Pepperell this week, is among the lucky ones securing a fox Wednesday morning.
Mrs. Clara Gray has been appointed a member of the home service committee in place of Mrs. Hammett D. Wright, as Mrs. Wright had assumed charge of the Red Cross work in Graniteville, taking Mrs. Warren H. Sherman’s place, which will take all extra time and strength.
Miss Jennie Ferguson is still staying with her home people, as the Springfield schools have not yet reopened on account of the epidemic.
A gang of men have been putting the roadbed of the electric line between the town house and the terminal at the end of the common in good condition this week, and the car now makes its stops at the end of the line and not in front of the town house as it has been doing for some time.
It was thought best by those having the decision concerning public gatherings to cancel the Grange meeting, which was scheduled for this week Tuesday evening, and the Halloween dance that was planned for Thursday evening by the senior class of the academy.
Mrs. Harold W. Hildreth received a letter from her husband in France this week, in which he tells of having just received eighteen letters and three bunches of papers, making pretty busy reading for a time. Of course, Uncle Sam has a big job to transport men and supplies, but we all wish the boys in the service could receive the home letters with a little more regularity.
The job of grading the grounds around the fire-house [now the Westford Museum] is being finished and when done, and especially when the grass and foliage are green another season will present a most attractive appearance. The old academy, remodeled into the firehouse has retained its simple lines and good type of Bullfinch belfry, and with a more appropriate setting than the conglomerate group of harness shop, blacksmith shop and all delapitable horse sheds and rubbishly grounds that formerly surrounded it makes a well preserved relic of the past and a useful adjunct of the community life of the present.
Regular services were resumed at the churches last Sunday. At the Congregational church the resignation of its pastor, Rev. Howard A. Lincoln, was read by the clerk at a meeting of the church members following the morning service. Mr. Lincoln resigns to enter war service, which in his case is a branch of war work for the rehabilitation of sick and wounded soldiers and sailors. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln will move as soon as arrangements can be made. They have engaged a house in Winthrop and Mr. Lincoln will go to Boston each day. Mr. Lincoln came to this church two years ago from Rochester, Vt. He will occupy the pulpit this coming Sunday and conduct the communion service. Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln take with them every good wish of the parish and community in their new work.
Home Service Branch. A branch of the home service of the North Middlesex County chapter of the Red Cross has been formed in Westford. The purpose of home service is to assist the families of soldiers and sailors, both our own and those of the allies. Men before and after leaving home and their families wish information concerning various laws passed for the benefit of the soldier, sailor and his family. It may be mothers or wives are unable to pay the rent or cannot get word from the soldier, or are troubled about the non-receipt of allotments, about taxes, mortgages, insurance, etc.
Each camp in America and Europe and each city and town has a representative of home service who cooperates in relieving the men and their families from anxiety concerning each other. The committee in Westford has been formed, Capt. Sherman H. Fletcher serving as chairman, and the committee is as follows: Mrs. Adeline M. Buckshorn, Westford and vicinity; Wesley O. Hawkes and Mrs. Hammett D. Wright, Graniteville; John Edwards and Miss Grace Lawrence, Forge Village. For the purpose of explaining all important legal matters, a lawyer, Charles L. Hildreth, town clerk, has offered his services and will be glad to meet anyone.
The committee, through the home service section in Lowell, headquarters for the North Middlesex chapter, which is in touch with the Red Cross in Washington, is also prepared to furnish information in regard to men who are injured, killed, or taken as prisoners.
The committee has on hand a supply of little books, entitled “Before you go,” giving valuable information in regard to allotments, family allowance, government insurance, and everything pertaining to the welfare of the soldier and his family, which will be gladly furnished by any member of the committee to those who enter the army on application, or will be mailed to them if they will send their address.
About Town. After postponing the jury session in Lowell for four weeks on account of the influenza epidemic, it has again been postponed on the pleas of lawyers that they are busy writing out questionnaires, for two weeks.
We are told that the initiative and referendum is a safe and much-needed medicine to take, and in the same breath the same folks warn us of a list of questions longer than a two-horse sled.
To prevent further spread of the European corn borer, a dangerous insect that has gained a foothold in 135 square miles in Massachusetts, the secretary of agriculture has placed a quarantine on the interstate movement from the area infected of corn fodder, green sweet corn, corn on the cob and corn cobs. This area includes parts of four counties, Essex, Suffolk, Middlesex, Norfolk. This quarantine follows a hearing before the federal horticultural board in Washington. This insect was discovered near Boston in 1917. It is thought to have been introduced from Europe-Asia or Japan. It is especially dangerous to corn in foreign countries and is menacing here.
The old-time friends of the Dupee family, who used to live at Westford depot, will be much interested to hear that C. Frank Dupee, now living in Lowell, has received a commission in the army. It will be Lieut. Dupee now, as he has been made a lieutenant in the ordnance department. He reported to the ordnance department in Washington for duty last Monday. Lieut. Dupee married Miss Edith Richardson, of Lowell, and has two children, a son and a daughter.
Hon. and Mrs. Charles S. Hamlin introduced their daughter Anna to society on last Saturday afternoon at an informal reception and tea at their home. It was the first debutante reception of the season in Boston and Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin came in from their summer home at Mattapoisett for the occasion. Later, they will go to Washington for the winter as Mr. Hamlin is on the federal reserve board. Miss Hamlin is a member of the Sewing circle, Boston and the officers poured. Mrs. E. F. Greene gave a luncheon at the Somerset club the same day in honor of Miss Hamlin.
It is with deepest regret that we learn of the death of Mrs. Lucy H. Zappey, of Greenwich. She was a talented and superior young woman, the daughter of Alice Read Houghton, of Littleton, who was born here and always was beloved. Her grandparents were the late Hon. and Mrs. J. Henry Read, so prominent in our town life.
Mrs. Mervin Steele continues to gain slowly. She has been under the care of a trained nurse for five weeks.
Death. Mrs. Matthew F. Downs died at her home, the old brick house, on the Groton road, Monday morning, from old age, she being eighty-seven years old. Last Thanksgiving Mr. and Mrs. Downs celebrated their seventieth anniversary of their marriage. To but few is it allotted to celebrate the seventieth wedding anniversary in health and in the full orb of all their faculties as Mr. and Mrs. Downs did at that time. Matthew Downs and Miss Mary Prentiss were married in Concord, N.H., Thanksgiving day, November 29, 1847. Five children were born to them, Joshua, Frank, Florence, Fred and a boy who died in infancy. Mrs. Downs was born in Cambridge, but had been a resident of Westford for nearly half a century and was industriously engaged in fidelity to the duties of wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and had neither time nor desire of the street corner. She had a devotion to the home department of life that is so sadly overlooked in our audit of the valuable assets that make up a mother’s life.
Besides her husband, who is past ninety-three years, she leaves a daughter, Mrs. Florence Hutchins; a son, Joshua Downs; three grandchildren, Harry and Fred Downs and Mrs. Hazel Blades, and four great-grandchildren, Ethel Mae and Howard Blades and Harold and Evelyn Downs.
The funeral was held on Wednesday afternoon from her home, the old brick house, Groton road. Rev. L. H. Buckshorn of the First parish church conducted the services. The bearers were Harry L. Downs, Fred C. Downs, Henry M. Hutchins and Harold L. Blades. Burial was in the Hillside cemetery beside loved ones.
Letter from France. The following is another letter from John A. Taylor, dated September 8:
Dear Father and Mother—Sunday morning again! I am no longer in famous London, but in beautiful Paris. We came across the dangerous channel a few days ago and landed safely at a certain French port. Before treading on French soil we had to have our passports, credentials and baggage thoroughly examined.
Paris is truly the most beautiful city in the world. Everywhere one sees evidence of French genius and French love of beauty. I have been about admiring the beautiful gardens, the majestic cathedrals, the spacious boulevards and the lovely chateaus. The grandeur and beauty of this “grande ville” (big city) far surpasses anything I have seen in America or in London. Paris, with her sublime career in this great war, now stands as the capitol of modern civilization, and I want to tell you that Paris is not the frivolous, artificial place we used to read about. If ever she was of the earth earthy [sic] she certainly has had a rebirth. There is a normal, wholesome, almost peace-time spirit about the city. The thousands of military uniforms on the street, the sand bags about the art galleries, the completely dark streets at night, the grand palaces now converted into hospitals for the wounded, the refuge places against the air-raids, all betoken the awful presence of “la guerre” (the war), and the spirit or moral of the French people is truly sublime.
Riding down to Paris I caught glimpses of what France had suffered; I talked on the train with several French widows and crippled soldiers. There was never a complaint or utterance of bitterness—nor are they down in the mouth. They talk as serenely and normally as though war had not ravaged their villages and desecrated their homes. You may bend and twist the French spirit, but you can never break it. As Richard Harding Davis Four performances daily—2, 4, 6:30 and 8:15 o’clock.
Interesting Letter. Among other interesting letters received here recently, was a letter from Miss E. Mae Lord, who is now in charge of Base Hospital 66 in France. Miss Lord’s letter is as follows:
Still no letters from you; it sure is a long time since I heard from home, I know you will feel better when I tell you I have gained twelve pounds. We were all sick at first, but the weather is so cool that we soon recovered. The other night we had a little excitement: a Boche sent down his respects with nine bombs. A house was damaged, but no one was hurt. Just a few minutes before I was out to get some water and I saw a machine in the air. I said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if it was a German?” and about fifteen minutes later we heard the crash. One of the girls was in our room and she got under the bed. Alice and I ran out in our bath robes as we wanted to see the fun. This is the second time we have been visited. They don’t want us, it is the ammunition camps, and the railroads and bridges they would like to get.
We had a regular Thanksgiving dinner today. This hospital raises all its own food and the day before yesterday they killed a pig, and we had tomatoes, squash, potatoes and roast pork with dressing. It did taste good. I suppose the apples are ripe at home. I would like about a bushel of them. I have not seen one here, and fruit is very expensive. I paid thirty cents for one pear, and grapes are sixty cents a pound.
I have the pneumonia ward now and I have some mighty sick boys. The other night I went out with an ambulance driver to an old village and brought in some patients. The town is over 2000 years old and the street is just wide enough for the machine to go through. All the houses are stone and the people wear wooden clogs. Hope you are all well. Don’t worry about me; everything is sport. With the best love to all.
–Eva Mae Lord, A.N.C., Base Hospital 66, A.E.F., France
Miss Lord has been very ill with pneumonia and for a time things looked serious for her. She was the first from this town to volunteer and she was considered a very efficient nurse, having received her training in the Framingham hospital. She was district nurse for two years in Springfield and also in East Jaffrey, N.H. All her letters are cheerful and her chief concern is for her patients. In a recent letter she wrote about a soldier who was brought in wounded. His left arm was blown away and he admitted he was only sixteen years old, and was sorry he didn’t get the Germans first.
Ayer
News Items. Federation House moving picture program—Saturday, November 2, 2:30 and 7:30, Pathe news, Hayakawa in “The white man’s law” and Arbuckle comedy. Wednesday, November 6, 7:30, Pathe news, Alfred Whitman in “Sunlight’s last raid,” and “Bobby, the boy scout.” Saturday, November 9, 2:30 and 7:30, Pathe news, George Cohan in “Seven keys to Baldpate” and Arbuckle comedy. Price for civilians fifteen cents.
The twentieth birthday of the Ayer Woman’s club will be celebrated by a Red Cross day held at the Unitarian vestry, Wednesday, November 6. R. M. Cushman, associate field director for home service at Camp Devens, American Red Cross, will speak on “Home service in the camp.” Good music has been arranged….
One of the greatest crowds that has ever come to Camp Devens since it was opened poured into the camp last Sunday, it being estimated that the number was 100,000. In addition to those coming in the 10,000 automobiles, a great many came in special trains, electric cars and on foot. The crowd was handled by the provost guards in a perfect manner, not a single accident of any kind being reported. Officers returning to division headquarters from Boston state that they passed a solid stream of automobiles from Boston to the camp. It being the first Sunday since the ban was removed on account of influenza, after being closed for several weeks, there was a large number of soldiers who went home over the weekend, the number being 15,000.
Cardinal O’Connell, of Boston, is expected to attend the military mass at Camp Devens on Sunday, the mass to be said at 10:30 in the morning. A special musical program has been arranged for the occasion. Visitors will be permitted to attend.
Thousands of soldiers cast their ballots during the week for the state election, the voting taking place in Y.M.C.A. hut No. 23. The ballots for the Massachusetts voters were brought to camp by Albert P. Langtry, secretary of state, Louis R. Sullivan and Charles S. Baxter.
The first degree was exemplified under the direction of Ayer Council, K.C., in Knights of Columbus hut No. 3, Camp Devens, Tuesday night, on a class of forty soldiers. The second degree was worked on the same class in the council chamber on Thursday night. The third degree will be exemplified on Monday evening in the quarters of the council in Ayer.
Italian Day. It was “Italian day” at Camp Devens last Saturday when several distinguished citizens of Italian birth were guests of honor. In the morning there was a review of the Foreign Legion (3rd Development Battalion). In the afternoon hundreds of Italian soldiers and a large number of civilian Italians and others were addressed by the visiting dignitaries in their own language. The speaking took place in Liberty theatre. The principal speaker was Major General Guglielmotti of the Royal Italian Embassy in Washington, a veteran of the present war, whose eloquence brought his large audience to their feet cheering. Major General McCain, the camp commander, sat on the platform with the speakers.
Signor De Rosa, the Italian consul general at Boston, and a Mr. Guidi, a business man of that city, were the other speakers. Between the speeches musical numbers and recitations were given.
The speakers were introduced by Col. George L. Bywade, commander of the Depot Brigade, who welcomed the distinguished guests and paid a high tribute to Italy’s service in the war. An impressive feature of the review was the presentation to the Foreign Legion of silken American colors which were donated by D. C. Brewer, of Boston, who made the presentation speech.
Following the review the guests were taken sight-seeing about the camp. Gen. Guglielmotti lunched with Gen. McCain. On the second staff at division headquarters a large Italian flag was flying all day.
The Federation House. The people of Ayer are exceedingly fortunate in having an opportunity to hear Dr. Joseph C. Robbins, foreign secretary of the Northern Baptist convention Sunday evening. Dr. Robbins has just returned from an extended tour through Asia and though a comparatively young man, is a recognized authority on matters pertaining to the far East. As a public speaker he is widely known for his manly vigor, enthusiasm and candor and is always heard with great interest. The hour of the Sunday night service has been changed to 7:30 for the fall and winter.
After weeks of suspended activities in which the Federation House staff devoted itself to the welfare of the relatives of stricken soldiers, the house this week resumed its weekly program of activities.
The Friday night entertainment each week is given by churches and other organizations, and is especially for the soldiers, their relatives and friends. All the other public activities, however, are for civilians as well, and the people of Ayer are cordially invited to have a large share therein. The Sunday evening services are religious and patriotic in character and the foremost public speakers are being booked for it. The moving picture entertainments on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons, consist of the greatest photo plays that can be procured, and the music also is made a special feature. The equipment for these entertainments is now complete in every detail, and unexcelled by even the most expensive houses. When this fact is generally known, the townspeople as well as the soldiers will welcome these superior entertainments.
The attractiveness of the Federation House for the soldiers is in part due to the opportunity it affords them to mingle with folks from civil life. For this reason, a large participation on the part of the community in all of its activities is earnestly solicited.
New Lot of Draftees. The following named draftees will be inducted into military service from District 15, between November 11 and 16, the men being sent in equal numbers to Camp Lee, Va., and Camp Sevier, S.C., the list being subject to minor changes later: …
Westford—Alfred A. Sutherland, Joseph A. Dureault, Henry F. Sears, Albert Duffy, Ralph W. Farnham, Joseph V. Dureault, Frithjof Angesen, Walter W. Fletcher, Joseph E. Cote, John A. Eliason, Alderic J. Cantara, Edward M. Abbott [sic], Joseph Orange. …
Graniteville—Wilfred Marron, Fortune Gaidel. …
Forge Village—William J. Mulligan, Edward T. Handley.