Turner's Public Spirit, October 14, 1922
A look back in time to a century ago
By Bob Oliphant
Center. There was a collision between two Studebaker cars at the junction of the Concord and Littleton roads last Saturday afternoon. One car was operated by Fred Sweatt, of Forge Village, accompanied by Mrs. Sweatt, while the other, which was driven by Niles Higgins of Reading, had seven occupants besides the driver. Fortunately no one was seriously injured, but both cars were badly damaged. Mrs. Sweat received a bad shaking up.
Fred Meyers, town treasurer, and Mrs. Meyers are enjoying an auto trip to New York, where they are the guests of Mr. Meyers’ parents.
Monty Volo, the race horse owned by V. C. Bruce Wetmore, was unable to participate in the races at the Brockton fair, owing to injuries sustained while being transported to the fair.
Mrs. Olive Dunn, of West Pembroke, Me., who is on an extended visit to her daughter, Mrs. Charles Blodgett, of the north part of the town, has been spending a week with friends in Brockton, and while there attended the Brockton fair.
[Police] Chief Whiting was in Cambridge on Wednesday, there being a liquor case from Westford on trial at the superior court.
Considering the inclemency of the weather there was a large attendance at the ninth series of motion pictures presented by the Middlesex County Bureau of Agriculture and Home Economics held in the town hall on Tuesday evening. It is planned to hold the next series on the second Tuesday in November.
The W.C.T.U. will hold a harvest supper, followed by an entertainment, in the Congregational church on Wednesday evening, October 25. The state convention of the W.C.T.U. will be held in Hyannis on October 16, 17, 18 and 19. The local president, Mrs. Charles Wright, is planning to attend.
Mrs. W. H. McDaniels and Miss Wood, of Cambridge, are spending a few weeks in Westford at their summer home on Main street.
The Ladies Aid of the Congregational church will hold an all-day meeting on Thursday of next week at the home of the Misses Atwood, [4] Graniteville road.
Miss Sarah W. Loker, Miss Sarah Rogers, Mrs. John Felch, Mrs. Arthur Day, Miss May Day and the Misses Carrie and Lillian Atwood attended the annual meeting of the North Middlesex Branch (Foreign Missions) it also being the semi-annual meeting of the North Middlesex Alliance (Home Missions) held at Littleton on Tuesday. Among the speakers were Mrs. Fred Beach, a missionary to China, and Rev. Mr. Bliss, district secretary of the A.M.A., who spoke on “Home missionary work.” The sixteen living pictures representing the “Women of destiny” were also given. Miss May Day represented a school teacher from the north who went south at the close of the civil war to teach the negroes.
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gumb, of the Boston road, are planning to spend the winter in Florida, going by automobile and making stops in Hartford, Conn, Washington, D.C., and other places on the way.
Peter Kelley, who has been employed on the A. J. Abbot estate for several years past, has removed his family from town.
William R. Carver has disposed of his cattle and milk business, the purchaser being J. Willard Fletcher.
At the district court in Fitchburg on last week Friday morning Matthew J. Nicolopoulos, alias George Nicholas; Nicholas Sperow, alias Nicholas Phokas, and Charles V. Pappas, all of Lowell, pleaded guilty of conspiracy, but not guilty to the larceny of the Moon car which was taken from Fitchburg and brought to Westford and burned. Charles Loufus, of Fitchburg, the owner of the car, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy in an attempt to defraud an insurance company. They were bound over to the superior criminal court, the first three being released under $1000 bonds, the latter being under $2000 bonds.
The Tadmuck club held their first meeting of the season at the Unitarian church on Tuesday afternoon, the new president, Dr. Edna Packard, presiding. Mrs. George Walcott, of Concord, dramatized Masefield’s “King Cole.” A trio composed of Mrs. Elizabeth Cushing Taylor, Mrs. Edith Pond Blaney and Miss Lillian Sutherland, accompanied by Miss Julia Fletcher, rendered two songs, and a piano solo was given by Miss Daisy Precious. The program of the afternoon was followed by a club tea in charge of the reception committee. Both the program and tea were much enjoyed by those present.
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Whitney, of Boston road, and Mr. and Mrs. Williams, of Tyngsboro, Mrs. Williams being the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Whitney, started on Thursday for Cuba, where they will spend the winter.
About Town. John H. Scott, a native of this town, born here on January 28, 1848, son of Frederick and Mary (Newton) Scott, died in Fitchburg last week, where he was a widely known and highly respected citizen. His death was caused by double pneumonia, passing away at the Burbank hospital. He is survived by two daughters, two sons and a sister.
Wild geese of a hundred in a flock have been leaving the lakes of Southern New Hampshire and preparing to fly south. This is reported to be the earliest migration for many years and is the precursor of a long, hard winter. We beg leave to bring in a minority report. We have seen geese migrate south earlier than this and did not have a winter so hard and long but what we planted potatoes on St. Patrick’s day, in the morning.
Hurrah! Hurrah! we said when they oiled the Lowell road, and now we say “Oh, dear! Oh, dear!” It is all huffing up and peeling up and working cradle holes in and out. Just what is the cause of this saucy performance we do not know. And as we have said before, where we do not know anything we do not charge anything for an opinion. But it appeared at the time of oiling that there was too thick a coat of oil put on and we so expressed ourselves to some one who knew less than we did, and he expressed his opinion. Don’t know whether he charged for it or not, but the oil seemed to harden and huff up and tear up the gravel with it.
There was a social dance and general good time by the Jolly Good Time club at Abbot’s hall, Brookside, last Saturday evening.
Joseph L. Sargent, on the Edwin E. Heywood farm, Chamberlin road, has sold his standing apples to Timothy Sullivan, Boston road, Westford Center.
Bernard J. Flynn, on Pigeon hill, Stony Brook road, expects to have 600 bushels of Baldwin apples. As apples overrun all estimates this year it wouldn’t be surprising if he had enough to pay his taxes.
We have been asked how long since Mr. Makepeace got into the mud and how long said Mr. Makepeace was in the mud. Well, we can’t say right down to the fraction of a second, not having ye Old Farmer’s Almanac in our vest pocket to enlighten our ignorance. But we can say that it was long, long before it took 200 bushels of apples to pay the tax on the Old Oaken Bucket farm.
The next meeting of the Grange will be held on Thursday evening, October 19. Several candidates will be initiated and several will be admitted from other Granges.
Owing to the forest fires in Maine Governor Baxter has cancelled all hunting permits, which are the supposed cause of the most sweeping forest fires the state has seen in modern history.
In reading in the Groton and Littleton news of the marriage of Miss Louise Warren in the Unitarian church in Manchester, N.H., we were reminded that the officiating clergyman, Rev. Thomas J. Horner, was a former minister of the Unitarian church in Westford [1890-1892], and while minister here married a daughter of Hon. Halsey J. Boardman, of Boston, a long-time prominent figure in the city government and in the Massachusetts legislature, house and senate; also, a well-known and well equipped personality in the social, educational and religious life of the city and its suburban environments.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Well, say on brother or sister, what’s the trouble now? “Apple trouble?” Well that’s as old and extensive as this year’s crop. “Last week I saw an apple measured in Westford postoffice that girted sixteen inches and weighed a pound and seven ounces.” So there, now, go hide with your crabapple 13-inch “Punkin” Sweet. We are willing to be sworn in that we saw the above apple measured and that it was raised by H. S. Stiles, who lives next to the church, whose influence for truth must extend across the road.
Charles E. Edwards has been appointed by the school committee as janitor of the new Nabnassett school. The appointment has the advantage of close proximity to the school; close enough to break every window within a stone’s throw from his residence.
The annual meeting of Middlesex-North Agricultural society was held in Lowell on Tuesday. At the meeting of the trustees in the forenoon a report was made on the auditorium free exhibit and free distribution of fruit, vegetables, bread, preserves and flowers to the charity homes of Lowell. The report showed twelve such homes were the recipients of this unusual large exhibit. The sum of $100 was appropriated to defray expenses for another free exhibition in 1923. At the meeting of the society the officers for the ensuing year were elected.
It is the season of the year to hear much about the “rich man’s tariff” and the “poor man’s tariff,” which is another name for free trade. We have too much love and respect for the laboring poor to smash his face and opportunity for living with any such deadly weapon as free trade. The rich man’s tariff may have some fault, but the poor man’s tariff is all false and faults.
One of the most enthusiastic and inspiring monthly meetings of Middlesex-North Pomona Grange was held last week Friday in Lowell. It was neighbor’s day with neighbor Essex Pomona Grange, who was an inspiring visitor. The address of welcome was given by Rev. Harold Dale, of Billerica and the response by the master of Essex Pomona, Lester R. Heywood. Mrs. Alice Colburn, of Dracut, gave a reading, and Mrs. Lester Putney, of Chelmsford, gave a piano selection. In the afternoon Sister Carter of Reading Grange was the vocal soloist. Mrs. Ida Farr Miller, of Westford, Flora of the State Grange, gave a splendid talk on Indian basketry. She had with her a large and beautiful collection of Indian baskets which she showed and told of the uses of each and how they were made. A number from Westford attended the meeting.
Arthur K. Reading, candidate for district attorney, was the speaker at the Unitarian Laymen’s league in Chelmsford on Tuesday evening.
The autumnal conference of Unitarian and other Christian churches will be held in Tyngsboro on Wednesday, October 18.
The opportunity of hearing that celebrated opera singer, Galli-Curci, in the Lowell Auditorium on Friday evening, October 6, was a wonderful privilege. Westford was well represented in the audience of over 4000 music-lovers. So brilliantly lighted was the auditorium that it was easy to distinguish one’s friends as they took their seats, even though the hall was immense. Other splendid opportunities will come later, first of all being the Boston Symphony orchestra on the evening of October 24.
Mrs. George Howard and son Lawrence have returned from a two-weeks’ visit in Bound Brook, N.J.
Mr. and Mrs. C. D. Cushing [nee Elizabeth Richardson Cushing], parents of Mrs. William R. Taylor, have left for their winter home in Miami, Florida.
Rev. Frank B. Crandall will preach at the Unitarian church at four o’clock on Sunday afternoon; subject, “The faith that satisfies.” Church school at three o’clock.
Special Mentionings. The “Lasell Leaves,” published by Lasell seminary of Auburndale, pays a tribute to Rev. Ashley Day Leavitt of the Harvard church, Brookline, who gave the graduation address last June to the seventy-seven seniors. “The choice of Rev. Ashley Day Leavitt as the one to deliver the address was a happy one. By his personality as well as by the clear-cut expression of his well-thought out ideas he carried conviction.” At the alumnæ meeting Miss Packard, who used to be here with her sister, Mrs. J. R. Draper, was among those mentioned “with much love and respect.” The place of honor in their personals is given to the dear graduates of long ago.
Special mention was made of Miss N. E. Thrall ’72, and Mrs. Ella Richardson Cushing ’73, treasurer of the association—“We had to take their word for it that they were graduated long ago, but no one for a moment believed them ‘old.’ This matter of age was all a masquerade, for in spirit they certainly belonged to the moderns. Mrs. Cushing and Miss Thrall made a real visit to the great delight of the youngest as well as old Lasell girls. How full of happy reminiscences they were of Lasell fifty years ago, and yet were sincerely and enthusiastically in touch with our latest achievements and plans for the future.”
School Shortage. The school children living on the so-called Makepeace road have been going to Tyngsboro to school as per arrangements of school committees of Westford and Tyngsboro, taking the electric cars at Woods’ Corner, a walk of about a mile. Recently the school committee of Tyngsboro notified the school committee of Westford that owing to the crowded condition of the Winslow school in Tyngsboro Center, they could not accommodate the Westford scholars any longer. The school committee of Westford are trying to make arrangements with the school committee of Chelmsford to allow them to attend school at North Chelmsford, taking the electric cars at Woods’ Corner as usual. At the time of writing we have not learned the result of the new change.
This Makepeace road is on the northerly side of Oak hill on the Dunstable road, with Tyngsboro road on the west and Chelmsford road on the east, and Westford wedged in between, and the nearest school in Westford to this Makepeace road is the new Nabnassett school, at least four miles off, and about eight miles to the center of the town. If the school committee are unable to make arrangements with North Chelmsford it will take some apples and “punkins” to pay for transporting them to the Nabnassett school and later to the high school at Westford Center.
To those who do not know why this is called Makepeace road we will explain that a man lived on this road which runs through a swamp. Mr. Makepeace became stranded in the mud, Makepeace trying to make peace with the town. The town would not make peace with Mr. Makepeace and so it came to this Makepeace, plaintiff; town of Westford, defendant. The jury viewed the premises and brought in a verdict of too much mud for safety first and the town must make peace with Makepeace by coming down with cash “and drying up the mud.”
Death. James Stanley died suddenly last week Wednesday at his home in Lowell aged 83 years and 9 months. He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Harriet Stanley, and five children, Francis W., Lilla M., Ida M. and Arthur G. Stanley, and Mrs. George Hatch of Belmont, and seven grandchildren.
Mr. Stanley was a native of England, but came to this country when quite young, and had resided in Lowell most of his life. For many years he was active in the work of the Free chapel on Middlesex street, Lowell. He was of a quiet, genial nature, whose natural fellowship was with the Friends.
He will be recalled by many in town and towns around Lowell for his skill in repairing clocks at which he had few equals, if any. In this he was a familiar figure in walking on our rural roads and streets.
The funeral was held from his residence on last week Friday afternoon. The services were conducted by Rev. N. W. Matthews of the First Primitive Methodist church. Many floral tributes were the testimonials of friends. The bearers were Henry A. Wiseberg, Carlo Stanley, Charles Q. Odell and George C. Hatch. Interment was in the family lot in the Edson cemetery.
“Liberty Infringements.” The referendum on all that is vital in national prohibition will pass before the voters for their judgment at the state election on November 7, and let us be prepared to vote unwarped by animal appetites or unmindful of universal public good. Much is being said about national prohibition and the Volstead act as “an infringement on the rights of personal liberty.”
Let us remember as a basis of argument that there is no such toleration in a republican form of government as personal liberty as against public good. Neither is it possible to have it and have government of any kind. We should like to have the crowd with crooked names and crooked conduct name one law in Massachusetts or the United States that does not interfere with personal liberty. Speak right up loud, brethren, and name one such law. We would like to have your picture taken and hung in a curio museum as one who has discovered a law that is universally satisfactory. Having said so much that is a self-confessed truth, it clears the way for other easy truths.
A recent editorial in a local paper said in substance: “National prohibition is an attempt to regulate what we shall put into our mouths and as such, is an infringement of personal liberty.”
Well, hold on brothers, hold on. You can’t drink milk from a Holstein cow or any other, however healthy it may be, if it doesn’t come up to the legal standard of milk, although you could summon an host of physicians to testify that it was perfectly healthy and preferable to Jersey milk with its over-stimulating butter fat contents for children. You can’t feed your mouth with veal, however healthy it may prove to be, if it should prove that the carcass of which dressed one ounce below legal weight (forty pounds we believe). You can’t feed your face with beef that hasn’t been inspected by a government inspector and with instructions not to pass any carcass that is even slightly tainted with tuberculosis, even though a physician couldn’t be found who would be willing to testify that it was unsafe as food. You can’t feed up on fruit and vegetables for sale that are condemned by boards of health, however much your personal liberty is quite willing to buy them. You can’t lull yourself to peace and happiness with opium, morphine and other food narcotics, however much the lullaby may temporarily soothe and hide your impending ills.
Such are a very few of the “you can’ts” of law and not a word of protest from society or editors as an “infringement of personal liberty.”
But here is what you can do. You can feed up on an intoxicating liquor diet that the figures show causes more pauperism, crime, insanity and idiocy than all other causes combined, and if you dare to protest with national prohibition you will be charged with “an infringement of personal liberty.” They offer no protests against foods for the good of public health, but when it comes to prohibiting intoxicating drinks, where more serious conditions are at stake than health, they altogether in unison one-two-three sing like a lot of untrained parrots, some on the key and some off the key, and some without a key. This is an “infringement of personal liberty.” Their off and on the key unison is largely to their consistent practice of violating the law of “you can’t.” Of these shouters who are willing to prohibit for health alone, but when you add to health crime, pauperism, insanity, idiocy and all the twin evils of debauchery of various names and “safety first,” these shouters and spouters try to score somebody and rescue their idol by shouting “You have not right to legislate what a person shall put into his mouth.” “Ye do strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”
To still further illustrate how hard they are pressed for an argument for deliverance for their “idol” it has been asked: “How would you like to have a law passed compelling everybody to go to the Methodist church?” I wish that I had vision enough to see the parallel between going to church and drinking rum, but as I cannot see one I must press on after as though I did. If I could be shown that going to any other church than a Methodist church was a menace to society by all means compel us to go to a Methodist church. I love their Hallelujah-Amen enthusiasm get so much out of it by law.
The shouters of personal liberty go all of you to the jungles of Africa where there is neither law of God nor of man and set up government with the orangutan, chimpanzee, boa constrictor and monkey life generally. They will not get drunk and that’s more than can be said of some of the personal liberty shouters.
Graniteville. The Abbot Worsted soccer team defeated the Shawsheen A.A. at the formal opening of the new Balmoral field in Shawsheen Village on last Saturday 3 goals to 1. On next Saturday the Abbots are scheduled to meet the Methuen club at Methuen in the first round of the national cup series. On the Saturday following, October 21, they will also meet the same team at Methuen in the first game of the state cup series. On October 28 the same two teams will meet again at Methuen in an industrial league game. We do not know who arranged the schedule but under the present arrangements the Abbots will not have a home game until early in November.
The first of the M. E. church cottage prayer meetings will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Parker on Friday evening at seven o’clock.
The members of the Ladies Aid society of the M. E. church are now making the preliminary plans for the annual harvest supper that will be held in the church vestry in the near future.
The first fall concert of the Abbot Worsted Co. band was given in the Abbot hall, Forge Village, on Thursday evening, under the direction of James P. Larkin. Moving pictures were shown after the concert.
The usual October devotions were held in St. Catherine’s church Tuesday and Friday evenings and were largely attended.
James E. Murphy of Lowell has recently been appointed musical instructor for St. Catherine’s church choir and much progress is being made under his careful direction.
Charles Merritt and Miss Smith of Boston and Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hobart of Hough’s Neck [a peninsula in Quincy, Mass.] have been recent guests of Mr. and Mrs. Fabyan Packard.
Many Graniteville people had the pleasure of hearing Amelita Galli-Curci at the new Memorial Auditorium in Lowell on last Friday evening. The program was very much enjoyed.
Many Graniteville people attended the dance given by the Westford legion in the town hall Thursday evening.
The weather is running true to form and the annual fall rains have been very much in evidence this week.
Ayer
News Items. The following real estate transfers have been recorded recently from this vicinity: … Westford—Claude L. Allen to William R. Beale, land on Long road; Robert J. Hooke to Frederick Reese Griffiths, land in Brookside park; Harry L. Parkhurst et al. to Oscar R. Spalding, land in Rabbit pasture. …
District Court. On Wednesday morning Walter Stuart of Westford was in court for killing an otter during closed season. He was found guilty and paid costs amounting to ten dollars.