USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Westminster > A History of Westminster, Massachusetts, 1893-1958 > Part 3
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Officially, in 1928 the Reverend Giles retired from the ministry after eighteen years' service because of poor health. But she con- tinued to preach as substitute for clergymen of other Protestant faiths whenever nearby churches needed her-which seems to have been often.
The Reverend Lucy Milton Giles was instrumental in turning over the old Universalist church building on Main Street to the American Legion in 1933 on a long-term lease basis. In July of that year a final memorial service for the church had been held, with other churches participating, marking the end of a distinguished record of activity. In 1944 the building was presented to the Legion outright; and in 1946 the Universalist Society was finally dissolved.
For about a century, this church had played an important part in the cultural and spiritual life of Westminster. Its complete records are now kept by the Historical Society, together with a brief auto- biography of the Reverend Lucy Milton Giles and other data con- cerning important members of the church.
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CHURCHES
WESTMINSTER LUTHERAN MISSION
In 1953 members of the Lutheran faith held services in the Town Hall for a short period. Then the pastor, the Reverend Edwin Gorts, was called away to a larger parish. The congregation felt that its number was too small to carry on a parish here at the time, and members returned to attending churches in nearby towns.
In 1958 Vicar Reino Heikkila of Dublin, New Hampshire sur- veyed the Westminster area and the mission board of the National Evangelical Lutheran Church then called the Reverend LeRoy Philaya in July 1959. At the opening services in the Town Hall, sixty adults and twenty-four youngsters attended. It is hoped building plans and further development will go forward.
In summing up, it may be said that the church buildings of West- minster today are a fine and handsome tribute to a town of its size. The leadership provided has lived up to its responsibilities to the community as a whole, as well as to its individual faiths and parish- ioners.
Chapter Six SCHOOLS
IT WAS APPARENT BY 1893 that the township of Westminster, with its large area and small population-consisting of the Center and several scattered settlements which had formerly been largely self- supporting-was destined to become a residential community. Larger towns on all sides had retained and expanded their indus- tries, while more and more Westminster people were giving up former pursuits to work in these industrial centers. Farming was becoming a thing of the past, and local industries were of such a nature and so situated that competing with larger towns was out of the question.
Under such conditions schools have always become a major problem. A town with an important industry or industries can al- ways put pressure on its industrial wealth. A residential town can hope only that its individual citizens may be induced to contribute the funds necessary to support its schools properly.
In 1893 the one-room, crossroad elementary schools of West- minster were facing a crisis. Attendance and scholarship had de- clined to a point which the superintendent, Albert L. Barbour, mildly described as "very unsatisfactory." One by one the eleven rural schools of the outlying districts were being abandoned. This had happened so gradually that no one seemed able to remember how or when it started-but in 1898 it was voted to close all schools with less than ten pupils. One district had engaged a teacher for exactly four pupils-a situation the teacher of today could envy. The ones in North Westminster and at Heywood's were the first to be closed; the fate of these buildings is unknown. The one "over north" was reopened and classes were held in the kitchen of the teacher, Mrs. Virginia Brenenstuhl, who thriftily combined cook- ing and arithmetic. Even so, the girls probably had a better chance than those of a larger school in one field-"home economics."
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LOUGHLIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
THE COUNTRY CLUB
29
SCHOOLS
Westminster Center, Whitmanville, and North Common school buildings of 1900-Numbers 1, 2, and 9-have been torn down. Those in the Black district, at the Narrows, Beech Hill, South Westminster, and the Depot-Numbers 3, 4, 5, 10, and 12-are today private homes, while the ones at the Lake and in the Minott District-7 and 8-have been moved: one to be used as a camp at Wachusett lake, and the other "just across the road" on Minott Street.
Consolidation was becoming the watchword; why not incor- porate the schools at the Center? This project started a long and sometimes bitter struggle. First "recommended" in 1893, then "urged" in 1895, it had reached the boiling point by 1914; but there were then about ninety children registered in the North Common, Depot, Minott, Lake, Whitmanville, North Westminster, and Nar- rows schools, and it was not till 1934 that all of these schools could be consolidated at the Center-the last one being Whitmanville, Number 2.
Early proponents of consolidation could hardly fail to be grati- fied, and more likely amazed, at the benefits in education that were to come to Westminster as a result. But it must also be said that the prophets of gloom, who had predicted ruinous expense, must be even more amazed at how far the cost has exceeded their predic- tions. Doubled and redoubled, this school expense now far outstrips all other expenses of the town. (In the 1948 Town Report we find: "Total Appropriations, $474,554. Schools, $260,486.")
THE HIGH SCHOOL
The old Westminster Academy building, which was transferred to the town following the closing of the Academy on November 7, 1871, had been used for high school purposes. After this was de- stroyed by fire in 1888, the pupils had been struggling along in the same crowded wooden structure which housed the elementary grades. Some of the older inhabitants of today smile wryly at an early description of this building (which was built in 1855 and stood at the foot of Academy Hill): "A commodious, well-pro- portioned structure, an ornament to the village, and an honor to the town, housing the lower grades and the high school."
30
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER
A very much larger and truly handsome brick school-the Upton School-was built in 1912. Town funds were augmented by gifts from George and Charles Upton and it was erected on land pre- sented to the town by Frank W. Fenno in memory of his wife, Mary Nichols Fenno. But even with these new quarters (which also served as an elementary school) the high school was an orphan child, feeling more and more pinched as pupils increased in number.
The high school was everywhere a troublesome problem. Some communities had solved it by sending their high school pupils to larger towns or cities. Would it be wise for Westminster to do the same? Would the children gain much in a larger school? How would closing the high school affect the town itself?
At a special town meeting held on May 8, 1928, the question was decided after much discussion both for and against. One can easily picture the excitement when the vote was at last taken and the result announced to keep the high school, 69 votes; to discon- tinue it, 70. Thus high school students were sent to Fitchburg in September 1928. For the next thirty years Westminster's main problem was the payment of tuition and the providing of trans- portation.
TEACHERS
Administration and teaching in Westminster during the past half century seem to have been of a high standard. There can be little doubt that the many influential citizens taking an active part in school affairs have attracted and held teachers of better than average ability.
Mrs. Jessie L. Shepard was one. She exerted great influence over her pupils; from 1895 to 1910 she was the one and only teacher of the three-year high school, and principal of the building. "Discipli- narian, organizer, teacher of a high order, many of her pupils went on to make excellent records."
Through the years of service of Lucas Lee Baker, principal of the high school from 1910 to 1921, the school was accredited with an "A" rating by the State Board of Education. Among those teaching with him were Miss Mary Cate, Miss Lois Mossman, Miss Marion Walker, and Miss Frances Jenkins.
3I
SCHOOLS
Maurice P. Billings was appointed principal in 1927, and remained until 1943. He was also actively interested in the community.
Mrs. Agnes W. Mansur, bearing a name familiar in Westminster history, taught from 1895 until 1917; Miss F. Helene Peter taught from 1903 to 1915; and Mrs. Virginia Brenenstuhl-after the "dame school" days of classes in her kitchen-taught for some years at the Center. Miss Sylvia Turunen of Fitchburg was here from 1928 until 1947. Other teachers with exceptionally long periods of service are: Miss Carrie I. Estabrook, who taught from 1910 to 1956, Miss Doris M. Fenno, 1920-1950. Mrs. Gladys B. Towle who was en- gaged in 1925 and Miss Mary B. Smith who began her work in 1930 are still members of the school faculty.
Music supervisors were Mrs. Edith Griffin, Miss Etta Harring- ton, Mrs. Priscilla Mansur Howard, and Miss Hazel Johnson. Art teachers have been Edmund Ketchum, Miss Lois Mossman and the Misses Helen and Juanita Groves. For many years Miss Helen T. McKowen was the school nurse, followed by Mrs. Lempi Tuomi Aalto. It was in 1927 that Miss McKowen established the school dental clinic.
Westminster, Sterling and Princeton formed School Union Num- ber 9 in 1890 with an elected superintendent. By 1909 the office of superintendent was becoming increasingly important under an able administrator, George Rugg. He was followed among others by Guy Vail, Mrs. Marion Stanton, Harold Jackman and Harold L. Ballou. Mr. Ballou served for fourteen years; he was succeeded by Laurence A. Fogg in 1943.
WESTMINSTER SCHOOL SYSTEM, 1947-1957
The development of the school system during the past decade is traced in a paper by Edwin Ruuska in the files of the Historical Society. A somewhat condensed version of his account follows.
In recent years Westminster has come in for its share of "residen- tial developments." Many new homes have brought an ever-increas- ing number of school children. Enrollment jumped from 248 in 1948 to 640 in 1957. A school building committee was organized in an effort to keep ahead of the classroom shortage.
At a special Town Meeting, December 7, 1950, the town voted
32
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER
to build a six-room addition to the Loughlin school. S. A. Haynes, architect, and Wiley and Foss, contractors, completed the building -after delays from strikes and shortages-in November 1952. Even as the addition was being dedicated, it was said that still more class- rooms would soon be needed.
A school-facilities study group, made up of townspeople, re- ported to the voters at a special Town Meeting held September 14, 1954. An eight-room addition was recommended, connecting the Upton and Loughlin buildings, with a cafeteria, auditorium, and industrial crafts and home economics facilities. This was approved by a one-vote majority.
Baker and Dingman were retained as architects; Columbus and Berg, contractors. The addition was dedicated on November 7, 1956, and called the Fenno Wing in memory of Frank W. Fenno, who had given land for the schools.
Meanwhile several more rooms had been provided by making use of basement space and a converted gymnasium. More land was acquired from owners French, Fenno, Sargent, and Husari, bringing the total to 17.8 acres. A large swamp area was filled to provide extensive play space and athletic fields. An active Parent- Teachers Association has donated playground equipment.
In 1948 a committee began to study ways and means toward a union high school to accommodate Westminster, Sterling and Princeton. When this committee decided the elementary-school needs must be supplied before embarking on any high school project, Sterling and Princeton withdrew and joined the Wachusett Regional High School district.
After the Loughlin addition was finished Westminster started consultation with Ashburnham, Ashby, Barre, Hubbardston, Lu- nenburg, Phillipston, and Templeton. Eventually an agreement was reached with Ashburnham: to build a high school for both towns, capital cost divided.
On April 6, 1956, Westminster voted in favor of the scheme and Ashburnham against it. Westminster again turned to other neigh- bors. While discussing an arrangement with Hubbardston and Barre, Ashburnham came back into the picture with an offer of forty-six percent of the capital cost. Both towns ratified this plan August 14, 1957.
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SCHOOLS
A drastic change in the administration of Westminster schools occurred in 1953. The town was permitted to withdraw from the union with Sterling and Princeton. Superintendent Fogg stayed with the other two towns and Westminster appointed W. Alan McCracken, a local principal, to be its own superintendent, in addi- tion to his regular duties as principal.
When Mr. McCracken left, the committee decided a superintend- ent should not also be expected to carry on the job of principal. Frank D. Lawler of Manchester, an experienced administrator, was engaged as superintendent; and Joseph B. Aveni of Westminster became principal.
Maintenance has become another ever-increasing problem with the sudden growth of the schools. Before he retired in 1952, one janitor, Fred Goodridge, was able to care for the two buildings of that time, firing separate coal-burning boilers. Today, even though heating is by an oil-fired central system, two fulltime custodians, a part-time helper, and a part-time matron are necessary. We must use new and more appropriate words-the old-time "janitor" is now "custodian"; doubtless he will soon graduate to "maintenance engineer."
A typing class for the ninth grade was set up in 1949; Industrial Crafts and Home Economics courses in 1956. A dental clinic was re-opened. The cafeteria opened in 1956, serving hot lunches to six hundred. The interroom communications system was installed in the same year. And in 1957, a new class for retarded children was begun.
The P.T.A., Woman's Club, and other organizations, and the generosity and interest of many citizens, have all contributed much to the thoroughly modern and scholastically high Westminster schools of today.
A list of the school staff from 1947 to 1957 appears in the Ap- pendix.
å Chapter Seven
THE LIBRARY STORY
EDITOR'S NOTE: While the account which follows-by Mabel Ray Fenno and Josephine D. Gilman-goes back somewhat into events covered by the Heywood History, the material was considered of more value if included as a whole.
The impressive building which contains both Library and Mu- seum was designed at the turn of the century by architects Frost, Briggs and Chamberlain of Worcester. Contractors were Allen Brothers of Amherst, and the basic cost was about eighteen thousand dollars.
Charles A. Forbush, whose will contained the original ten-thou- sand-dollar bequest, was the last of a well-known Westminster family. He never married; he lived on an extensive estate in the northern part of the town, where he had been born February 25, 1830. He traveled widely throughout the world during the years just prior to his death on November 14, 1899. Mr. Forbush speci- fied that the library be dedicated to the memory of his cousin, Joseph W. Forbush, from whom he had received a legacy. The family had operated successfully, in earlier years, a Westminster tannery, a chair factory, and a bakery.
The authors of the following paper are both presently residents of the town. Mrs. Fenno is a descendant of the Ray family, familiar in Westminster history. She has long been an enthusiast in library work. Several years of business training and experience plus extra- curricular courses in library science at Simmons College and Clark University have added to her value as a librarian.
Mrs. Gilman has been a free-lance writer for several years, and has had articles published in many leading newspapers and maga- zines.
34
35
THE LIBRARY STORY
WESTMINSTER PUBLIC LIBRARY, 1853-1959 By Mabel Ray Fenno, Librarian
with Josephine D. Gilman
1195478
The birthday of Westminster's first free public library now reaches back one hundred and six years. On a cold winter's night in 1853, a group of civic-minded young people met at a private home to form the Young People's Literary Society.
This was the forerunner of several groups working toward the eventual building of a permanent library. The present Westminster Public Library, housed in the Forbush Memorial Building at the corner of Main and Bacon Streets, is the culmination of the dreams and tireless efforts of many people through many years to advance culture in their town.
Even before our first free libraries, the citizens of the town were book-minded. A "social library" was started in the late 1700's. According to the town history it ". . . had wide patronage and ran a long career of usefulness." Begun by an association of joint stock- holders, it was accessible to the public on payment of fixed annual fees. The books were sold at public auction in 1835 and the asso- ciation dissolved.
Later, church societies organized libraries of religious books for both children and adults. There followed a Common School Li- brary, sanctioned by the State Board of Education.
A public library's needs have always been basic-money, prac- tical management, and a constant supply of good books for the townspeople. In this respect, the Westminster Public Library of today, with its twelve thousand volumes, has much the same aims and problems as the little group who met over one hundred years ago.
Its first officers-"organized to promote the moral, intellectual and social improvement of the community"-were: President, W. S. Abbot (Academy principal); Secretary, Darius M. Allen (later called "Parent of the Library"); Treasurer, Abraham W. Wood; Directors, George Peckham, S. A. Burgess, Martha B. Fenno, Sarah Cummings.
From fees (one dollar annually for men, seventy-five cents for
36
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER
women) and a loan, they were able to raise seventy-five dollars. Then they made their original purchase of a hundred books: their first choice, Bayard Taylor's travel books.
Five years later, despite the addition of several hundred volumes in the flush of early prosperity, interest began to wane. Mrs. Sarah H. Whitman, the secretary, asked of her committee: "Shall it dwin- dle from want of support or shall it become the foundation of a large and valuable Town Library?"
Apparently it was to dwindle for a while. It wasn't until 1865 that the Society joined with the Farmers' Library and reorganized under the name "Westminster Library Association," with a hundred and forty persons.
After refusing several times, in 1868 the town finally voted to accept the Library Association as a town institution. Fifty dollars was appropriated annually, its care being left in the hands of the Selectmen.
The books were presented to the town with the understanding that a committee be chosen annually for their care. This condition seems at first to have been disregarded: for ten years complaints were many and bitter concerning the lack of regard for the books.
A committee was eventually elected, making its first report at the town meeting in 1878. (Years later, this was noted as the turning point "since which, the growth, interest and usefulness of the Library have steadily increased.")
After the committee took charge, the first librarian was Miss Hattie Minott. Her term, unfortunately, was cut short by death after a year's service. Mrs. Sarah C. Warner was the second librar- ian, holding the office for eighteen years, after which Mary Belle Hager was elected.
When State laws required free public libraries to have a Board of Trustees, another member was added to the committee in 1896- making six, known henceforth officially as the Library Trustees. These were Mrs. Sarah C. Warner, Mrs. A. R. Hager, Miss Abbie S. Brown, Mr. A. J. Bolton, Mrs. Helen L. Bruce, and Mr. Hobart Raymond.
In the years leading to the building of the present Library, at various meetings, it was recorded that:
37
THE LIBRARY STORY
The balance of a long-standing Singing School fund was ac- cepted.
Three reams of paper were purchased for book jackets-heavy brown paper much like that used in a butchershop.
Persons using the Library were allowed two books a week, one fiction, the other nonfiction. Teachers had special borrowing privi- leges.
In case of contagious diseases in families whose houses contained library books, the volumes were to be destroyed by the librarian, and the family charged for them.
An orphan child, the Library had moved around from one place to another since its beginning. Books had been kept at the Univer- salist Church (now the Legion Hall), the Brick Store, in private homes, and finally in the Selectmen's Room at the Town Hall. At last they found a permanent home, when the Forbush Memorial Building was erected in 1901.
The site of the Library had proved to be a bone of contention. Three lots were available. The committee's choice now seems best, in point of appearance and convenience, though at the time it was the most costly. The price of twenty-five hundred dollars was subject to agreement that the four-story Reed house on the plot be moved to a suitable location on Main Street.
In those days, it was common practice to move houses on huge rollers, using horsepower aided by a capstan. Some of the towns- people of today can remember when the tall, pillared house sailed majestically up the road and came to rest several blocks west. This building was later to become famous as the Westminster Tavern; it was destroyed by fire in 1948.
A ten-thousand-dollar bequest to the town for the new Library from Charles A. Forbush, in memory of his cousin, Joseph W. Forbush, was augmented by a gift of more than $6000 from some eighty generous citizens. Among them were F. W. Fenno, C. C. Dawley, D. C. Miles, Hiram Ray, E. B. Lynde, J. C. Goodridge, C. F. Giles, F. H. Battles.
A formal dedication ceremony in August 1902 included appro- priate speeches, noted guests, and entertainment provided by poetry readings and music.
38
HISTORY OF WESTMINSTER
General Miles, Westminster's most famous citizen, was guest of honor; Hamilton Mayo of Leominster, main speaker; D. C. Miles, chairman of the building committee, presided.
The two-story English-style brick building housed, then as now, reading and reference rooms on the ground floor, with the entire second floor used as a museum. This museum has continued to interest the public, and the flow of gifts that began at the opening has never ceased. Long ago it became necessary to house the larger objects-plows, sleds, looms and spinning-wheels-in the basement. Upstairs are flags and guns and swords of the Revolutionary, Civil and World Wars, Indian relics, the town's first piano, important paintings-objects that follow, step by step, the years from the founding of the two-hundred-year-old town to the present day.
Thus the Library was off to a good start, with Mary Belle Hager in charge of some five thousand volumes. There was warm-air heating, and gaslight. The town could be expected to raise an annual two hundred and fifty dollars. There was also the dog tax, curiously making the number of dogs in town determine the num- ber of books available.
The secretary's book notes progress and problems of the Library during the next score of years. An assistant librarian was hired for twenty-five dollars a year. Schools were invited to exhibit arts and crafts. Circulation went to six thousand.
Sarah F. Greene became librarian in 1904, a woman whose work was painstaking and accurate in classifying and cataloguing the books. In that year thirty trees were planted on the three-quarter- acre lot, many of which still remain.
In 1908 it was voted to allow the librarian to select and purchase books-the ladies of the committee, it was complained, had too feminine a taste in reading matter. More scientific books were added.
By 1911 such chronic problems as dealing with youthful noise- makers and even occasional breaks into the building were becoming taken for granted. Librarian and janitor were each paid a hundred dollars a year, assistant librarian fifty.
In 1913 the age limit for children borrowing books was lowered to ten years. (Today pre-school children may take out books if accompanied by adults.) In 1916-1917 the Cutter cataloguing sys-
39
THE LIBRARY STORY
tem was put into use; a War Library added; and a two-cents-a-day charge on new books was initiated.
Beginning in 1919, there was for a time a branch library in Whit- manville, and five years later another at the Narrows, in the home of Miss Lizzie E. Baker. Books were carried to and fro from the main library by a grocer's deliveryman. (Today the grocer's basket is displayed in the Library.)
Several new lights were installed in 1924.
In 1925 a swarm of bees made the chimney its home, the first of several such visitors. In 1938 three hundred pounds of honey and ten quarts of dead bees were removed from the chimney flues.
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