Westford Notable of the Month - Alexander Belida (1918-2001) - The Westford Historical Society & Museum

Alex was truly Westford’s historian and he gave generously of his time to the Westford Historical Society

By James VanBever,
Board Member, Westford Historical Society and Volunteer, Westford Museum

Alexander “Alex” Belida’s parents Alexandra and Wasil were part of a wave of Russian immigrants who came to the United States in the early 20th century. Like many Russian migrants, Wasil and Alexandra were attracted by the promises of good jobs and wealth that were almost guaranteed in America. For example, an agent promised that “on Sundays in New York City you can actually find enough coins on the sidewalk to live for a week.”

The young couple had planned to find work in the United States and then return to their poverty stricken homeland. However, World War I broke out and it became too dangerous to travel back to Russia. Instead, Alice and Wasil, who had originally settled in Lawrence, Massachusetts both resettled in Westford where they found work at the Abbot Worsted Company and eventually married.

Alex Belida was born in Forge Village on November 29, 1918, but grew up in the Graniteville section of town. Alex attended the Sargent School in Graniteville. When he enrolled at the Sargent School, he recalled that both his parents were working and could not take him to register, so a neighbor wrote a note that said that “This kid is getting ready to go to school,” then one of the older children took him to the first grade room. Alex said, “It was very scary.”

During his time at Sargent School, Belida recalled that there were thirty to thirty-five students in the classroom and that discipline was strict. Alex remembered that “It was nothing for the school principal to whip somebody because they were misbehaving.” Following Sargent School, he went to a trade school for a couple of years to become an engraver.

After completing his program in trade school, Alex entered Westford Academy and graduated with the class of ’37. This was during the Great Depression and times were not good in the country. There were few opportunities for young people, as Alex recalled, “If you had someone who had a little business, you could go into it. But we didn’t, we were just people, we went into the mills to work.”

Music was always a major part of Alex’s family. His father Wasil often played an accordion at Russian weddings and social events. Following in his father’s footsteps, Alex started playing the accordion at the age of three. He continued to play the instrument and became a member of the Westford Academy band and played at shows put on by the school.

A few years out of high school, Alex played the accordion for The Littleton Farmers Swing Band. The Littleton Farmers Swing Band first started performing at Kimball’s Ice Cream. At the time, the fledging Kimball’s needed a gimmick to attract a crowd. “Stanley Kimball recalled hitching two hay wagons together to form a stage upon which a local musical group would perform.” That band was the Littleton Farmers Swing Band.

At the height of the band’s popularity they were invited to participate in a contest to decide the best swing band in New England. The event was held on the Boston Common on October 5, 1940 hosted by Boston radio personality Judy “Scatterbrain” Cardova. Alex recalled that approximately 12 or 14 bands took part in the contest and Cardova judged that The Littleton Farmers Swing Band was the best of the lot and Alex’ s band won a blue ribbon.

The outbreak of World War II was the beginning of the end of The Littleton Farmers Swing Band. Many of the younger members of the band including Alex were drafted into the United States military. Belida served in the United States Army Air Corps for four years and made the grade of Sergeant.

After the end of World War II, Alex tried to make a living as a full time musician but was not successful. He recalled that “In those days, musicians were a deplorable lot, drunks and dope-addicts, so my folks and my in-laws talked me out of it.” Instead, Alex returned to his profession as a master engraver and worked at an electronics company named GTE until he retired. One important positive note of Alex’s musical career was that he met his wife Berenice at a job. She was also an accordion player.

Following his retirement, Alex who had always been interested in the history of the town of Westford joined the Westford Historical Society and eventually became its president. He would help in setting up displays and help pack away antiques. Alex recalled that during his early days with the Historical Society that members would say “If you can’t do it, let Al do it,”

Belida was also one of the original members of the Friends of the JV Fletcher Library. During the library expansion in 1969, Alex would often be at the library until one o’clock in the morning helping the librarians preserve and store antiques. If things needed repairing and they didn’t have a repairman, he would go home to get his tools and make the repairs himself.

But throughout his life Mr. Belida continued to tell the story of how Russian immigrants came to Westford with little skills but worked hard in the textile mills to support themselves. During the winter they would cut ice on Forge Pond, plant their own gardens, and build their own homes. Alex presented talks entitled “The Russian Ethnic Community in Westford” for the Westford Historical Society.

Alex told of how the 1918 Great Influenza Epidemic hit Westford’s Russian community hard. At the time there was no Russian cemetery in town. Russians were being buried in St. Catherine and Fairview cemeteries. But Wasil Belida and his associates felt that the Russians should have their own burial ground.

The new cemetery was a tract of land purchased from the Charles Coburn estate (although the deeds weren’t passed until 1921) by the Russian population of the town. They went to work clearing the property of trees, brush, and brambles and turned it into the Russian Brotherhood Cemetery. The new cemetery was dedicated Dec. 17, 1918, and at that time, the bodies of four Russian people who had died during the epidemic were moved from the receiving tomb at Fairview Cemetery and reinterred in the new Russian Cemetery.

Alexander would often give tours of the Russian Cemetery. In 1996, the United Nations Deputy Ambassador from Belarus (a former Soviet Union Republic) came to Westford along with several Russian students for one of Alex’s tours. They were greeted by a group of Westford’ s Belorussian, who told of the contributions of the Russian immigrants to the town of Westford.

Alex Belida died on July 27, 2001. He was survived by his wife Berenice and his three daughters Nancy, Janis, and Sally. He is of course buried in the Russian Cemetery on Patten Road.