Turner's Public Spirit, September 2, 1922

A look back in time to a century ago

Transcribed By Bob Oliphant

Center.  Chester Hodges, of Lynn, has been a recent guest of Alfred and Bertram Sutherland.

Wesley Davis, formerly employed at the George H. White farm, has accepted a position at the Moose Hill Jersey Stock farm in Spencer, being in charge of the young stock.

Irving C. Flagg, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elbert H. Flagg, was married on last week Wednesday to Miss Florence May Butterworth, at the home of Miss Butterworth’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Butterworth, of Plainfield, Conn.  Mr. Flagg’s many friends in and about Westford extend their best wishes to the newly-wedded pair.

Mrs. Kennedy and daughters, Catherine and Mildred, of Salem, are the guests of Mrs. Kennedy’s sister, Mrs. Peter Clement.

Alfred Sutherland, of Lynn, is spending his vacation in town.

Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gumb have returned from a delightful auto trip through Maine.

Miss Dorothy Munroe, of Cambridge, is the guest of her sister, Miss Margaret Munroe.

Mrs. Elizabeth Sargent and two children, William and Betty, have removed from town and are to take up their residence with Mrs. Sargent’s mother, Mrs. Kebler, of Boston.

Mr. and Mrs. Fred Meyer and Dr. C. A. Blaney motored to New Hampshire last Sunday, and Mrs. Blaney and children, who have been spending their vacation there, returned home with them.

It is expected that the annual fair given by the Congregational church will be held on September 20.

Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Knight have been spending a few days as the guests of Mr. Knight’s youngest daughter, Mrs. Charles Campbell, of Hudson, N.H., and on Monday Mr. Knight observed his eighty-fourth birthday with a family gathering, two different groups of four generations being present.  Relatives from Providence, R.I., Nashua and Hudson, N.H., and Wayland were in attendance at the birthday dinner given at Mrs. Campbell’s home.  Mr. Knight’s many Westford friends extend their heartiest congratulations and join in wishing him many more such pleasant occasions.

William Watson, of Wildwood, N.C., is at the home of his uncle, Sebastian Watson, and is to attend the academy the coming school year.

Miss Eleanor Colburn has accepted a position as supervisor of music at Atlanta university, Atlanta, GA., and will assume her new duties on October 2.  Her many friends wish her success in her new position.  Miss Colburn has recently resigned as organist at the Union Congregational church.

On Monday morning a touring car bearing a New York registration, driven by William Laman, of Binghamton, N.Y., collided with a truck belonging to the David Brown Co., of Lawrence, the driver of the truck being Harry Houghton, of Lawrence.  The touring car, which was on its way from Lexington to Portland, Me., approached the curve near the Alabama farm on Littleton road, there also being another car approaching in the opposite direction.  Mr. Laman applied his brakes but as the road was wet at the time his car skidded, striking the rear end of the truck, which was standing at the side of the road.  Two of the women occupants of the car, Mr. Laman’s mother, of Binghamton, and sister-in-law, of Portland, Me., were injured in the collision, necessitating the calling of an ambulance and their removal to the Lowell Corporation hospital, where their injuries are not considered serious.

The regular Friday evening meetings of the church will be resumed this week at 7:30.  Full and regular order of services this Sunday, Morning service at 10:45; theme, “The church at Ephesus and the church at Westford.”  Meeting of the Sunday school at noon.  Meeting of the Young People’s league at 6:30 in the evening.  Evening service at 7:15, theme, “Didn’t you know?” being the first of a series of sermons on the questions that Jesus asked.

Mrs. Warren Hanscom has been entertaining her mother.

Mr. and Mrs. Houghton Osgood are spending their vacation at Nantasket.

The academy and William E. Frost school will open on Wednesday, September 6.  The faculty at the academy will be the same as last year, with one exception.  Miss Daisy Bashford, of Norwood, in the place of Miss Elizabeth Brown of last year’s faculty

Mrs. J. Edward Clements is ill at her home on Hildreth road.

Mrs. Eva Pyne Courchaine is steadily improving at the Lowell General hospital.

Mrs. Alice Lambert is improving at the Lowell Corporation hospital.

The Westford Twilight league team played Harry Hartford’s crack team at the Whitney playground on Wednesday evening, resulting in a tie game, the score being 5 to 5.  The latter team would have made a clean get away but for the errors of the third baseman.  The batteries for the Twilight team was Perkins and Sullivan, while Dr. Blaney and Herrington composed the battery for the Hartford team.

About Town.  The Y.M.C.A. camp at Lake Nabnassett closed on Thursday morning of last week after eight weeks of camp life.  On Tuesday evening the annual camp banquet was held with over 120 seated at the tables.  Among the speakers of the evening were Irving Snyder, one of the first boys who attended the camp; Roland Falls, former assistant to T. R. Williams in charge of the camp, and William C. Edwards, of Westford Corner, who was the main speaker of the evening.  On Monday morning at five o’clock the big annual camp trip took place.  Starting from Westford Corner the boys will go by auto, visiting New York, Narragansett Pier, New Haven Yale university, Philadelphia and Atlantic City.  Aside from this twelve boys left Camp Nabnassett last Saturday morning for a five-day’s conference at Camp Becket among the Berkshires.

Mrs. Margaret D. Edwards, of Westford Corner, popularly known as “Aunt Maggie,” who keeps open house for all, is soon to leave to spend the winter in Florida.  In anticipation of this event sixteen young people of West Chelmsford and Westford Corner planned a surprise party to show their appreciation of the many good times she has given them.  They presented her with an ever workable fountain pen.

In Saturday Chat in the Lowell Citizen there was a very extensive account of that eccentric New England character known as Lord Timothy Dexter.  The account was written because of the centennial celebration in Chester, N.H., where “Lord” Dexter lived for a while.  Westford can claim some connection with that worthy gentleman for his niece and nephew lived here just below the house of D. L. Greig.  Close-by Tadmuck brook the cellar hole of their house still stands.  Both are buried in Fairview cemetery [located across Main St. from the D. L. Greig house.]

We are glad to know that we can get off with taxes at $35 on the thousand.  So far as heard from we believe that we are the banner town, in the highest raise in rate, being ten dollars higher than last year.  But we have no just cause to complain.  This money was voted without any dissent and now we must pay it without any dissent.  As one of the taxpayers we are not willing to repent that we voted so much money.  Cheer up when you look at your tax bill and think of what it would be if you were living in Oxford, whose tax rate is $52.10.

We were sorry not to be able to attend the Sandy pond school reunion in Ayer last Saturday because we have an irresistible relish for Sandy pond school reunion ice cream.  As it was, we had to face our irresistible rain, and between the two we lost out.

The sweet potato plants which we received from Gilbert F. Wright, of Chelmsford, are threatening to drive southern and foreign competition to lower prices or pack up and get out.  The Old Oaken Bucket farm is after them and peanuts next year.

Edward H. Keyes has the batters up for a house at the corner of Main street and Providence road, and this before the fire that burned the Keyes farm buildings several weeks ago.  Part of the lumber for this house is from the razed chapel on the Groton road.

There is some evidence that the excess fall of rain will leak, down onto the potatoes and get in some lowering of the crop by rot.  A few have been discovered by some in digging a bushel.

Mrs. Gladys Fletcher Searles, of Greenfield, is visiting her father, J. Willard Fletcher.

The funeral of Andrew Kelley, who died last Saturday, was held in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal, Nashua, N.H., Tuesday afternoon.  Mr. Kelley had been clerk of this church for thirty-four years, and for forty-three years had been employed at Gregg & Son’s shop.  Three years ago he retired.  He was a highly honored man in the community and had been a leader in his church for many years.  Mr. Kelley was born in Lowell on February 15, 1844, son of the late Andrew and Elizabeth Haldone Kelley.  For forty-six years he had lived in Nashua.  His home was on Gillis street.  He was a member of Nashua Commandery U.O.G.C.  He is survived by his wife; two sons, Andrew P. of Trenton, N.J., Hector W. of Philadelphia; two daughters, Mrs. Fred W. Hendricks of Nashua and Mrs. Bertha Wood, of Cascade, and a brother, George Kelley, of Nashua.  Mrs. Kelley is a sister of Mrs. George Fifield and used to visit here.  Mr. Kelley was a brother of the late Mrs. James A. Walkden [nee Lydia Kelley].  Mrs. Ida Fletcher attended the funeral of her uncle.  Mrs. John Bell, of this town, is a niece and Herbert A. Walkden, of Wichita, Kansas, is a nephew.

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew P. Kelley, of Trenton, N.J., Mrs. Laura Kelley Hendricks and Mrs. Andrew Kelley, of Nashua, N.H., visited Mrs. Henry A. Fletcher, Thursday.

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sargent, Miss Ruth Sargent, Mrs. Bertha Prescott Benjamin, of Reading, and Miss Lucinda Prescott returned in the auto of Mr. Colby, of Goffstown, N.H., Sunday evening, after attending the Grange lecturers’ conference in Burlington, Vt.  They report a wonderful trip with 700 in attendance at the conference.  There were over 300 making the auto trip with them from North Adams.  On the return trip at Bellows Falls, Vt., they were shown through the factory where separators, churns, etc. were made, and then they lined up four abreast and marched to Hotel Windsor, where the Merchants’ association entertained them as their guests at a splendid dinner.  Friday night was spent at Dartmouth college, Hanover, N.H., and the Pomona Grange there served supper and breakfast.  Saturday night was spent at the Massachusetts State college and then Sunday night the Westford members were back home.

Miss Ruth Sargent, lecturer of Westford Grange, told the Pomona Grange in Lowell on Friday about the trip she took to Burlington, Vt.  She will later report it to the Westford Grange and we hope to have further details for this paper.

The Boston Mission and Church Extension society, who have a lodge at Long-Sought-for pond for children, had an exhibition day on Wednesday for friends.  Many came from Boston for it.

The next meeting of the Grange will be held on Thursday evening, September 7.  At this meeting preparations will be made and program arranged for neighbors’ night with Acton Grange on Tuesday evening, September 12.  Everybody ought to be present.

The last meeting of the board of registrars prior to the primary election on Tuesday, September 12, will be held in the town hall on this Saturday from twelve at noon until ten o’clock in the evening.

Henry H. Fletcher [oldest son of Pelatiah & Susan (Hamlin) Fletcher] and son and the son’s wife and daughter motored over from Greenfield last Sunday to visit their cousins, Sherman H. Fletcher and Miss Emily F. Fletcher.  Mr. Fletcher was ninety-one years old, but so well preserved that one would hardly take him to be seventy.  He took keen delight in seeing again the town where he lived when a young man, and which he hadn’t visited for fifty years perhaps.  He also saw an old acquaintance, Mrs. Calvert.  His mother was a sister of the late Cyrus Hamlin.  While living here he married Emily F. Read, daughter of Zaccheus Read and sister of the late J. Henry Read.  He lived after marriage at the place where his cousin, Miss Emily F. Fletcher, now lives.

Westford friends of Mrs. John R. Draper will be interested to hear that she will be connected with the Middlesex Farm Bureau this year and will have millinery classes under their auspices.  Mrs. Draper has made a reputation for herself in clever millinery work and the towns, who are able to have her service in class work, are fortunate.

Mrs. F. A. Snow on Tuesday took her friend, Mrs. Fought, ninety-one years old, over in her car from Concord to visit a girlhood friend, Mrs. Whitman, of Lowell, who is ninety-four years of age.

Mrs. Addie Decatur and her daughter, Miss Luanna Decatur, have gone to Shediac, N.B., to visit Mrs. Decatur’s brother and sister in the old home place.

First Parish church (Unitarian) Sunday service at four p.m.  Preacher, Rev. Frank B. Crandall, the minister.  Subject, “The holy city.”

Interesting Demonstration.  Our old Stony Brook school chum, Albert F. Wright, held the last demonstration of the season at his Alfalfa Gem farm, Chelmsford Center, on Thursday afternoon and evening, the notice of which we did not receive in season for last week’s issue.  The afternoon convention at two o’clock was for the young people and Garden clubs, and at seven in the evening for women and men who could not be present at the earlier date.  This demonstration included peanuts, poulty [sic, probably “poultry” is meant] almonds, highland rice, sweet potatoes, lazy man’s pole beans, alfalfa and other novelties

He writes, “I hope to have six or eight bushels of peanuts to divide up with the Garden clubs of the state.”  This is certainly very generous, considering that [this] is not a peanut country, and also considering the small peanut performance of too modern generosity that liveth to itself exclusively and lets the other fellow “catch as catch can” for his peanuts.  On exhibition was an ancient ox yoke used in the days of the old Middlesex turnpike road which passes through the edge of his garden.  In the days of this turnpike it was transportation by ox teams from New Hampshire to Boston.  This unusual ox yoke certainly is an ancient curio and connects up present transportation with that ancient past that was too slow to skid into a head-on collision

League Outing.  Owing to some freakish memory skips and another reason, we neglected to report on the Republican league outing at Whitney park on Saturday, August 19.  From memory we recover that the day opened threateningly and went one better by raining.  It cleared off in season for a crowd which arrived a little late.  All towns expected were well represented as well as many not expected (running for office is a great crowd gatherer).  The only regret of the occasion was the absence of Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, who was detained in Washington in behalf of his constituents on the vote on the tariff bill.  A telegram was read from him by Hon. John Jacob Rogers, who presided at the meeting.  Gov. Cox delivered an animated and captivating speech which met with a cloudburst of approval and applause.  Lieut.-Gov. Fuller was brief, pointed and humorous.  Mrs. Hall was the only woman orator of the day and held the attention of her audience while she hewed close to the line.  In this hewing she toppled over the foundations of those over equipped individuals who claim special insight knowledge of how to settle present world unrest.  The presiding officer was at his best and gave one of his characteristic face-to-face addresses.  The music of the Abbot Worsted Company band and the Chelmsford band was stirring, lively and inspiring.  Alfred Hartford had charge of the arrangements.