The Westford Wardsman, September, 1907
Saturday, September 14, 1907
Graniteville. The ladies’ aid society of the Methodist church met with Mrs. W. O. Hawkes on Thursday afternoon.
Forge Village. W. E. Parsons and Ralph Ordway started on Monday for a trip through Maine. They will visit friends in Aroostook county, in Bangor, Newport and Brooks.
Mr. and Mrs. Lyons and son and Mr. Colwell of Melrose, Mrs. Barnes and her daughter from Philadelphia are spending a few weeks at their cottage at Forge pond.
The little son of Mrs. Douglass, who is visiting Mrs. Small at her cottage, is very sick with bronchitis.
Miss Lila Fisher has returned to Boston to resume her school duties. Miss Clara is with her mother at the cottage.
Nearly all the cottages are closed for the season, although quite a number intend to open them during the skating season.
The scarlet fever seems to stay with us. A new case, that of Robbin Orr, is reported.
Mrs. Stella Carkin has accepted a position in Cook & Taylor’s store, Lowell.
Miss Blaisdell of Tewksbury has the primary school with Miss Pyne assistant for the coming year. Miss Ward of Groton has the grammar.
Mrs. G. H. Prescott was the week-end quest of Mrs. Normington in Worcester.
Allan Carkin is spending his vacation with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Carkin of this village.
Saturday, September 21, 1907
About Town. About town. The republican town committee met last Saturday evening and completed arrangements for holding the caucus next Tuesday evening at the town hall at eight o’clock. The committee followed the usual custom of preparing a list of delegates to the several conventions, to be voted for at the caucus. The following is the prepared list:
State—Hon. H. E. Fletcher, Geo. H. Hartford; county and district attorney—Geo. T. Day, S. H. Fletcher; councilor—T. Arthur E. Wilson, Geo. A. Kimball; senatorial—Alfred Hartford, W. R. Taylor; representative—W. O. Hawkes, W. A. Whidden, Frank C. Wright, S. L. Taylor.
The batters are up for the new schoolhouse at the Center and work on the cellar commenced last Thursday.
The board of registration met at the selectmen’s room last Saturday evening, assistant town clerk, Charles L. Hildreth, acting in place of Edward Fisher, who is still incapacitated by illness from official duties. The assessors also held a meeting in conjunction with the registrars to correct errors in name. The next meeting of the registrars will be held at Moore’s mill, Brookside, Wednesday evening, Oct. 16, from 7:45 to 8:45.
Two gravel trains are running daily on the Stony Brook road from North Littleton to Wilmington; a work train is continuing laying the new rails, and still another is picking up the old ones. Add to this several extra freights daily, and with the regular trains, one of which is the Portland express to New York, it is evident good management is necessary for trains on a single track to dodge each other. Just at present the Stony Brook road is a busy corporation.
At the Unitarian church last Sunday Rev. B. H. Bailey as usual was convincingly clear and eloquent, taking for his theme, “Influences, evil and good.”
F. W. Banister is busy flagging at Westford station.
J. Willard Fletcher and family attended the Fletcher reunion at Boston, as well as all other Westford Fletchers.
Miss Lena Pearl is visiting at the Banister homestead; also, Mrs. Elizabeth Howe, of New York, a sister to Mrs. Banister.
The mills at Brookside, which have been running on slack orders, are about to resume old-time activity, under a new superintendent.
The Saunders family, who formerly lived on Mr. Moore’s farm at Nabnassett pond, were injured in the wreck at West Canaan last Sunday. One of the injured, Mrs. Alma Saunders, was the daughter of William A. Agnew and granddaughter of the late William Agnew, well known to the older residents of the town.
Arthur H. Burnham has purchased a new two-horse corn cutting machine, and has been busy the past week laying low the tall ensilage corn on the Henry B. Read farm.
Clarence Hildreth has very successfully taken all his examinations for Worcester P.I. This week he began his freshman work. Clarence Wright has returned to his work.
Center. Archie Hartford, who has been sick for two months, underwent a surgical operation at his home on Sunday morning. At this writing he is resting comfortably.
Master Leon Hildreth badly lacerated the palm of his left hand with a nail protruding from a box, while putting up apples, the first of the week. Dr. Blaney cared for the injured member.
Mrs. Ella Gertrude Burnhart has been the guest of Mr. and Mrs. David L. Greig at Fair View farm the past week.
Miss Mollie Holden is teaching at the school at Minot’s corner.
Thomas R. Frost started Tuesday for Denver, Col., where he is to occupy a position as instructor at the conservatory of music.
Miss Mabel Symmes is in very delicate health at the home of her parents on the Graniteville road.
Dr. and Mrs. E. C. Atwood have returned to their home in Daytona, Fla., after two months spent at the north.
Graniteville. Augustino Pagalotta, the man who was injured in the mixup at the station shack at West Graniteville last Saturday night, was taken to the state hospital in Tewksbury early on Monday morning.
Miss Josie Provost is quite ill at her home in this village.
Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Sherman of Damariscotta, Me., are spending a few days here, the guests of Dr. and Mrs. W. H. Sherman.
Wm. J. Murphy of Manchester, N.H., has been visiting friends in this village for the past few days.
Deaths. Thomas Carney, an aged veteran of the civil war, died at the Westford town farm, where he has made his home for the past thirty years, though not an inmate, on Saturday morning, Sept. 14, at eight o’clock, aged ninety-six years. Thomas Carney was a well-known figure in this vicinity and considered the oldest man in Westford. He was a member of the Westford Veterans’ association, having served with Co. K, Sixth Massachusetts volunteer infantry, during the civil war. He had always enjoyed good health and invariably participated in the Memorial day exercises until this year, when illness prevented. The immediate cause of his death was cancer. As far as can be learned he left no relatives, but had sufficient money for his needs, as well as a neat bank account, and for that reason made his home at the Westford farm as a boarder [admitted Jan. 31, 1877], rather than go to the soldiers’ home, where he was not known. Mr. Carney had expressed his pleasure several times before his death at the excellent care given him by both Mr. and Mrs. Edson G. Boynton, and the town of Westford is to be commended for having such an estimable and faithful man and woman in charge of this institution.
The funeral took place from St. Catherine’s church in this village on Monday morning at nine o’clock, and was largely attended. A funeral mass was celebrated by the pastor, Rev. Edmund T. Schofield, and the choir, under the direction of Miss Mary F. Hanley, sang the Gregorian chant. At the offertory Miss Hanley sang the “Pie Jesu,” and at the conclusion, “He wipes a tear from every eye.” The bearers, all members of the Westford Veteran’s association, were J. Everett Woods, Charles Cummings, Daniel Hanley, Timothy D. Riney. Burial was in St. Catherine’s cemetery, this village.
John Turner, the son of Mrs. Hannah Turner of this village, died at his home on Broadway Saturday afternoon at four o’clock, after a lingering illness, aged twenty-six years. Besides a mother, he leaves two sisters and one brother—Mrs. John Nelson of Bridgewater, Me., Miss Lizzie and Eldon Turner of this village.
The funeral took place last Monday afternoon at two o’clock. The services, which were held at the house were conducted by Rev. C. P. Marshall of Westford. Mrs. Clara Greig and Mrs. C. W. Wright sang sweetly, “Shall we gather at the river,” and “Christian, goodnight.” There were many beautiful floral tributes. The bearers were James W. Harrington, John Doucette, Joseph Perkins, Harry Brannen, William Perkins and Levi Grant. Burial was in Fairview cemetery, Westford.
Forge. The children of the garden school will pick and arrange their specimens of vegetables and flowers, Friday afternoon. A public invitation is extended to visit the exhibit in the mission house Saturday afternoon, when icecream [sic] and cake will also be on sale by the ladies’ guild.
Saturday, September 28, 1907
About Town. The republicans held their own caucus on Tuesday evening. Samuel L. Taylor, chairman of the town committee, called the meeting to order, and then Hon. Herbert E. Fletcher was chosen chairman and L. W. Wheeler secretary. The delegates chosen were as follows:
State—Hon. H. E. Fletcher, Geo. H. Hartford; county and district attorney—Geo. T. Day, S. H. Fletcher; councilor—T. Arthur E. Wilson, Geo. A. Kimball; senatorial—Alfred Hartford, W. R. Taylor; representative—W. O. Hawkes, W. A. Whidden, Frank C. Wright, S. L. Taylor. Town committee—Hon. Herbert E. Fletcher, Samuel L. Taylor, J. A. Cameron, E. M. Abbot, A. W. Hartford, John Edwards, Fred Sweatt, W. O. Hawkes, Thomas Diano, William Sargent, J. A. Healy, W. A. Whidden, Charles Trull, A. H. Burnham and A. E. Wilson.
Mr. and Mrs. Denton of Charlestown were visitors at the F. W. Banister homestead over Saturday and Sunday. Mr. Denton is a brother of Mrs. Banister. For several years he has been an efficient engineer on the Fitchburg railroad.
Alec Fisher, Will Woods and J. Herbert Fletcher arose by the early wing of the crow last Tuesday morning, and earlier than daylight beheld them on the way to Rochester fair.
Rev. and Mrs. B. H. Bailey and Miss Emily Fletcher attended the meetings of the fourth biennial session of the International Congress of Religious Liberals, held in Boston this week. Sunday, Sept. 29, at the Unitarian church Mr. Bailey will speak on the congress.
Quincy Day and son, Otis, are in New Brunswick for a little visit.