The Westford Wardsman, October 7, 1916
Resigns Pastorate. At the close of the morning service last Sunday the resignation of Rev. David Wallace was read. During the service the hymns, prayer, scripture reading and sermon were all chosen with special significance and were most impressive, particularly the sermon, the subject of which was “Preachers and hearers,” the text being chosen from the opening verses of the fourth chapter of Timothy II. At the close of the sermon Mr. Wallace stepped forward and gave an earnest message to his people which was listened to with the closest attention. This, he said, was his parting word, as he should attempt no stereotyped farewell sermon next Sunday. After pronouncing the benediction Mr. Wallace, with Mrs. Wallace, passed out of the church and Moderator Arthur E. Day called a business meeting to order, to which all present were invited to remain. L. W. Wheeler, clerk, read the following letter:
To the members and adherents of the Union Congregational Church:
Dear Friends—For the past year I have felt that the time had come when a change of pastorates might be profitable for both the church and myself. Having received a call from the new Federated church of Assonet, Mass., I wish you would relieve me of my pastoral duties on Sunday, October 15.
Sincerely thanking you on behalf of our entire family for all the rich and blessed privileges of our ministry among you, and earnestly praying that the blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit might continue to attend you and crown your work with a larger measure of prosperity and usefulness. I remain, your servant in the bonds of Jesus Christ,
–David Wallace
Mr. Wallace came to this church in February, 1910, from Presque Isle, Me., therefore completing a pastorate of six and one-half years. Other pastorates have been in Lunenburg, Marlboro, N.H., and in Northern Vermont.
Mr. Wallace has served this church with the greatest loyalty and fidelity, ministering to its people in their joys and sorrows with sympathetic insight; always the kindly, courteous, scholarly Christian gentleman and withal not lacking in the saving grace of a sense of humor.
To his new field he carries the sincerest good wishes of the members of the church and parish and of the townspeople.
In all his work he has been ably and faithfully supplemented by Mrs. Wallace, who has done such good work with the young people. Mr. Wallace occupies the pulpit on Sunday and a good congregation is hoped for.
Center. Mrs. Gertrude C. Skidmore is having her summer home painted white with green blinds which with its pretty setting of trees will be most attractive when finished.
J. Herbert Fletcher shot a fox on Tuesday in the Paradise woods region. Sir Reynard was an especially good specimen and had a fine brush.
Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Sutherland and Alfred Sutherland enjoyed a trip to Campton, N.H., this last week, going Saturday and returning Monday. The trip was made with Mrs. Sutherland’s sister, Mrs. Charles Clark and husband of Somerville in the latter’s automobile. They visited Mr. and Mrs. L. H. Marden and son Everett, Mrs. Marden being a sister of Mrs. Sutherland and Mrs. Clark, also other kinspeople in the vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Marden and son are pleasantly remembered as former residents in town living in the Westford depot neighborhood. Young Mr. Marden’s engagement has recently been announced to Miss Elizabeth Munroe Pickering of Campton who is proprietress of the Pinehurst hotel. The wedding will take place in the late autumn.
Mrs. Edwin Heywood, who for many years lived in the Chamberlin Corner neighborhood, was in town on Tuesday, visiting friends.
Miss Freida [sic] Stiles is assisting at the central telephone office.
The first meeting of the season of the Tadmuck club takes place on Tuesday afternoon, October 10, and not on October 9, as was inadvertently stated in last week’s issue. The meeting will be a reception to the incoming officers and will be confined to the membership. The Germania orchestra, of Lowell will furnish instrumental music and Mrs. Fred L. Roberts, a favorite soloist with the club, will sing. The incoming president, Miss Alice M. Howard, will give an opening address. The meeting will be held in the Unitarian church parlors at 2:30. It is expected that the attractive new club calendars will be ready for distribution at that time.
Westford friends are glad to hear of good reports from Mrs. H. Bert Walker at the Lowell General hospital, where she recently underwent a serious surgical operation. Hopes are entertained for her return home some time next week.
At the recent Fletcher family reunion in Boston John M. Fletcher, son of John H. Fletcher, and grandson of John G. Fletcher, of Westford, were among those present. A fourth John in this family group at the dinner and exercises was John H. Wilson, son-in-law, and his wife Edith Fletcher Wilson. Miss Emily F. Fletcher was also present from Westford.
Some especially fine specimens of Wolf River apples were brought into the postoffice this week, which even in this town of good apple growing would be hard to beat in color, form and size. They came from Frank C. Wright’s orchards and one weighed fifteen ounces and the other one pound.
The board of selectmen have issued orders to the several police officials to send all young boys to their homes who are found on the streets after nine o’clock at night. This order was issued after complaint had been made to the selectmen and means the installing of a curfew law in the town.
An interesting incident told by Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland in their trip to the White Mountains last week was seeing the men at work in the hazardous and difficult undertaking of trying to repair the Old Man of the Mountain in the Franconia Notch. As is well-known, this famous freak of Nature, forming the outline of a great, rugged face with masses of rock, has been scaling off a bit where the rock forms the forehead and spoiling the outline. The New Hampshire legislature has appropriated the sum of $27,000 in an attempt to repair the defect. The men as seen at work from the highway appeared like some kind of flies crawling about.
The Edward M. Abbot hose company held their regular meeting with supper at their headquarters on Boston road on Tuesday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Knight served an appetizing supper of cold meat, escalloped potatoes, rolls, coffee, pies and fruit. It was suggested that the company move its headquarters to the old academy building and a committee was appointed to investigate the advisability of this change and report at the next meeting.
The first meeting of the season of the Ladies’ Missionary society of the Congregational church met at the home of its president, Mrs. Sarah W. Loker, Thursday afternoon of last week.
Mrs. Charles D. Colburn is becoming one of the efficient lady auto drivers, driving her Ford machine each day to carry her son and daughter to and from school.
About Town. The first ice of the season was seen Monday morning—not quite up to early skating drowning ice.
Alice and Arthur O’Brien, of Framingham, were visitors Saturday and Sunday with their uncle, James H. O’Brien, Stony Brook road. They will be remembered as the children of Arthur O’Brien, so well remembered as a scholar at the old Stony Brook school. He passed away several years ago.
Daniel H. Sheehan has a new auto truck and took a large party to ride last Sunday. His truck will prove convenient in distributing his wheat from his incorporated 50,000-acre farm in Virginia.
Mrs. Edwin E. Heywood, of Arlington, is with the Houghton G. Osgoods, visiting those who for so long were neighbors when the Heywoods for years lived on their farm near Chamberlin’s Corner.
The 101st session of the North Middlesex conference of Unitarian and other Christian churches will be held in Tyngsboro on Wednesday, October 11, with a very interesting program. More than a century and a half has passed since the spire of this church pointed to high ideals. The town, though small in territory and population, is large in native grandeur, as the Merrimack river in its charming curves divides the territory of the town, but leaves undivided beauty. These autumn days should convene a large conference.
The large unused barn on the old Levi T. Fletcher place on the Lowell road, Brookside, is being repaired to match the improved farm house, the summer home of Miss Ella Wright.
A large boarding and lodging house for children is being built on the Hiram Dane farm, overlooking Long-Sought-for pond. The farm is now owned by a Boston lady of wealth and this is her overflow for humanity.
John A. Taylor writes from North Dakota that wheat is $1.50 per bushel. The yield is from five to ten bushels per acre; some not worth threshing, rusting badly owing to extreme wet and hot weather. Potatoes have ascended from thirty-five cents per bushel to ninety cents, and are liable at most any sunrise to rise again.
The Unitarian Alliance will hold its next meeting on Thursday afternoon, October 12, at 2:30 o’clock. Subject, “The church made by the Pilgrim Fathers and how it became Unitarian”; A. Mabel Drew.
The expected debate at the Chelmsford Grange last week did not come off for several reasons. First, one of the debaters was taken sick; second, one was not very well; third, one was out of town; fourth, one forgot all about it, and therefore it has been postponed until the debaters recover back to being present.
David Polley, of Lynn, was in town last Saturday and Sunday, visiting his brother, Amos Polley. With Frank W. Banister and Robert Polley, of North Chelmsford, they motored to Arlington and Lynn.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank C. Wright attended the Rockingham fair this week.
Mrs. J. D. Sallee and baby, of Lowell, are visiting at the Old Oaken Bucket farm. Mr. Sallee is teaching in the Lowell high school.
Some folks are picking and eating strawberries at the Old Oaken Bucket farm and frozen ice not far off.
The recent order of the selectmen against profanity is very nearly correct English as it relates to conduct. Enough that some of us break this order when we mistake our thumb nail for the nail we are trying to hit with the hammer, but to sit on the rail of a bridge or other place of public resort and wholesale it forth for the sake of the “so smart,” is very liable to fetch the individual up against cheap ideals.
The general inquiry is “Where are the pheasants?” Go ask the “open season” shotgun folks. We have been told that there was no danger of extermination, and lo, we are up against it in the first round. If it was worth while to protect the pheasant at all then it was worth while to protect them with both hands. But the open season and closed season is protecting it with one hand shooting it with the other.
The next meeting of West Chelmsford Grange will be held on Thursday evening, October 12. Conferring of degrees by regular officers and men’s degree staff; music, Grange quartet; vocal solo, Miss Bertha Billson.
At the recent primaries the following republicans were nominated to look after the interests of the party in town: Herbert E. Fletcher, Sherman H. Fletcher, Alfred W. Hartford, Arthur E. Wilson, Harry L. Nesmith, Julian A. Cameron, Harold W. Fletcher, Frank L. Furbush, William L. Wall, Fred A. Sweatt, Oscar A. Nelson, Edward M. Abbot, Edward T. Hanley, Charles S. Edwards, Samuel L. Taylor, republican town committee; Alfred W. Hartford, Harold W. Fletcher, delegates to the state convention; Edward Fisher, delegate to state convention, democratic.
The W.C.T.U. held the October meeting at the residence of Dr. Blaney. The devotional exercises were conducted by Mrs. Clarence Hildreth. After the refrain of the usual business the president, Mrs. Janet Wright, with her usual to the point way, presented Mrs. David Wallace with remembrances of her spirit of take-hold in the cause of temperance and righteousness. Mrs. Wallace responded with tearful effect. All this because so much that is valuable is soon to leave town.
Death. Charles Andrews, a former resident of Lowell and Westford, died suddenly last week Wednesday at his home in Dorchester. He was stricken with apoplexy while at work, and death followed shortly. While in Lowell he was employed at the Lowell & Kilson machine shops. As a resident of Westford, moving here from Lowell, he owned the farm on Stony Brook road now owned by W. R. Taylor, and is well remembered by the Stony Brook Valley residents. He was attentive to business, temperate in habits, frugal and economical. He was a member of Oberlin Lodge, I.O.O.F., and Knights of Pythias of Lowell. He is survived by a wife, Ada; a son, Edward, and a brother, George. The funeral was from his home in Dorchester last week Friday. The services were conducted by Rev. Charles Burton of the Stoughton street Baptist church. A delegation from Oberlin lodge, I.O.O.F., attended and performed their burial services at the grave. The bearers were Charles Rosander and Amos Kendall of Oberlin lodge, and George Russell and Arthur Clark of Chevallier Middlesex lodge. Burial was in the Edson cemetery, Lowell.
Historical. The Keyes family was the oldest family in actual settlement in Westford. As early as 1664, then Chelmsford, Solomon Keyes was in possession of land on Francis hill. He came from Newbury, where he married Frances Grant in 1653 and had a family of ten children. The home now standing was built by him in 1665. It was well built and shows its good workmanship, but it is in a neglected condition and is not owned by any of the Keyes family. When the home and farm was in the Keyes family they were all well to do people and thrifty as long as any of that family owned it. All of the American families in New England are descended from this family.
Solomon, 2d, was born in 1665. Westford was made a town in 1729. This second Solomon had a son born in 1701, named Solomon, 3d, who was wounded in the battle with the Indians at Lovewell’s pond, near Fryeburg, Me. In 1724 he, the third Solomon, married and had eight children. Solomon and David were born here. He settled in Warren, Mass.
The line is as follows: Solomon, 1; Solomon, 2, born in 1665; Solomon, 3, born in 1701; Danforth, 4, born in 1740, married Sarah Cutler, settled in Warren, Mass., was a colonel in the revolutionary war; Thomas, 5, born in 1774, married Margaret MacArthur, settled in Chelsea, Vt.; Henry, 6, born in 1810, married Emma F. Pierce, daughter of Carlos Pierce, of Stanstead, Canada, the great Jersey cattle breeder, he was a merchant in Newbury, Vt., was twice nominated for governor of Vermont by the democrats about fifty years ago and was defeated, was interested in railroads and became wealthy, was president of the Passumpsic railroad, now the Passumpsic division of the Boston and Maine, was also at one time president of the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad; Henry W., 7, born in 1862, a lawyer, lives in Haverhill, N.H., was a democrat until the democrats got run away with Bryanism and the 16 to 1 silver craze in 1896, he became a republican and a few weeks ago was nominated by the republicans for the office of governor of New Hampshire.
–William H. Lynds, Lowell.
Graniteville. The body of Arthur Boucher, the young man who died on the way to the hospital as a result of falling on an ice hook while working for the Boston Ice Company in North Chelmsford on last Saturday morning, was removed to the home of his sister, Mrs. Ernest Dumont, of this village, last Saturday evening. The body was sent to Canada on Monday, where burial took place.
Harry Quinn, a former resident here, who has been ill at his home in Somerville for the past several weeks, has recently been moved to the Massachusetts General hospital in Boston, and the latest reports of his condition is that he is on the dangerous list with no hope for his recovery.
Rev. Samuel Dupertuis preached at the Methodist church last Sunday morning on the subject, “Choosing a God.” The sermon had its setting in the book of Ruth and was heartily appreciated by the congregation.
Both masses in St. Catherine’s church last Sunday morning were celebrated by Rev. Henry L. Scott, who gave interesting sermons on “The observance of the Sabbath.” He also announced that the first of the October devotions would be held on Friday evening at the usual hour.
Thirty cows and a bull will be sold by auction at the farm of E. Paignon, Jr., South Chelmsford, on Saturday afternoon, October 7, at 1:30 o’clock.
Death. Mary Ann Padnanna, aged nineteen years, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gidachino Padnanna, died suddenly in bed early last Saturday morning. She was apparently all right and in good spirits the night before and did not complain of any illness. During the night her sister Flora, who was sleeping with her, heard her struggling for breath and hastily aroused the family, but Mary was dead. Besides her father and mother, she leaves a sister Flora and two little brothers, Frank and Antonio. Dr. W. H. Sherman was called and viewed the body, and owing to the sudden death the case was reported to the district coroner, Dr. Frank S. Bulkeley, of Ayer, who ordered the body to the rooms of J. A. Healy, undertaker, where an autopsy was held. The autopsy was performed by State Medical Examiner McGrath, of Boston, assisted by Dr. Bulkeley, and Drs. W. H. Sherman, C. A. Blaney, O. V. Wells were in attendance. Dr. McGrath pronounced the death due to natural causes.
The funeral of the deceased took place from her home here on Monday morning at 8:30 and was well attended. At nine o’clock a funeral mass was celebrated in St. Catherine’s church by Rev. Henry L. Scott. The regular choir was in attendance, and under the direction of Miss Mary F. Hanley, sang the Gregorian chant. There were many floral tributes. The bearers were Linga Oliva, Giuseppe Oliva, Antolino Notte, Salvatore Cerillo. Burial was in St. Catherine’s cemetery.
Ayer
District Court. Angelo Swicarlo, of Forge Village, was found guilty of two complaints for assault and battery in that place and was fined ten dollars on each complaint by Judge Atwood last Saturday.
The complainants were Mary Ellen Doran and Nora Shackelton, of Forge Village, who testified that on the night of September 24 the defendant assaulted them at their home. The first named complainant said that the defendant struck her a blow in the face with sufficient force to loosen one of her teeth, and then pushed her against an automobile standing near, bruising her shoulder. In addition the witness claimed the defendant called her a bad name. The second complainant told the court that she was also assaulted. Other witnesses for the plaintiffs confirmed the evidence given by the complainants.
Albert Mountain, for the defense, stated that Mrs. Doran struck the defendant in the face and the latter simply pushed her away to avoid being struck again.
The defendant stated that Mrs. Doran struck him, the blow being followed by a rush toward him of several friends of the defendant, who had gathered at the noise of the fray. He denied strongly that he struck Mrs. Doran. John M. Maloney, counsel for the defendant, made an able defense for his client, but the court failed to see wherein the defendant was not guilty.
The trouble started when Swicarlo, the defendant, was passing the house where Mrs. Doran lived, and where she was entertaining a party of friends, including some from Lawrence, who had come in automobiles. The machines occupied all of the narrow passage, dignified by the name of a street, back of the house. The defendant, in endeavoring to get by in the dark, struck his leg against one of the automobiles, which naturally irritated him to the extent of uttering perfectly frank opinions of the cars being left there. His talk attracted the attention of the inmates of the house, who came out to see what the trouble was. Words followed and then the physical combat.
The unpleasant affair came at rather an unfortunate time, as the gathering in the house was singing the beautiful and appropriate sentimental song, entitled “The end of a perfect day,” when the first rude sound of discord was heard.