USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Andover, Massachusetts, in the world war > Part 10
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That they counted not the cost, But at their Mother-Country's call they came. They came a wrong to right, They came to end the blight Of a vast ungodly might.
Those who lived and those who died, They were one in noble pride Of desperate endeavor and duty nobly done; For their lives they risked and gave Very Soul of Life to save, And by their own great valor and the Grace of God they won. Britons, Britons, Britons are they! Britons, every one!"
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ABBOT ACADEMY GIRLS IN THE RED CROSS PARADE
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THE PHILLIPS ACADEMY BATTALION
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X
THE SCHOOLS IN THE WAR
PHILLIPS ACADEMY
D URING the Civil War period, Phillips Academy, then under the direction of Principal Samuel H. Taylor, apparently took only a small part in the various patriotic demonstrations arranged in the town. The school was loyal and eager to help; but it preferred to act as a separate institution, isolated from the townspeople. Nothing could be more decidedly in contrast with this attitude than the position assumed by the Academy authorities from the beginning to the close of the World War.
As we have seen, Phillips Academy moved in advance of public opinion in 1917. Military training was established by vote of the students early in March; the Trustees adopted, in April, a resolution advocating universal military training; and, on April 28, an Andover Ambulance Unit, made up of twenty-two Phillips boys, sailed overseas. Outside contests in athletics were abandoned during the spring term, and school was placed on a war basis. Some short- sighted critics condemned the Academy for taking the war so seriously; but it was not long before the supporters of the "school as usual" doctrine discovered that Principal Stearns had had a further vision than them all.
Those connected with Phillips Academy, whether instructors or students, tried simply to do their share as good citizens of the town, and to promote every patriotic movement. No "drive" was carried on without the cooperation of Phillips teachers, some of whom took regularly places of leadership. Dr. Stearns served on several committees, including the Committee of Public Safety, and presided over the great "Victory Banquet," when the boys were given their "Welcome Home"; Professor Charles H. Forbes was called upon for addresses on many significant occasions; Dr. Peirson S. Page had a distinguished record as captain of the Andover State Guard Company; Mr. Markham W. Stackpole and Mr. Frederick J. Daly were with the armies in France; Mr. Archibald Free- man spent a year as captain under the American Red Cross, chiefly in the Balkan States; and there were many others who, in civilian positions, gave freely of their time and money.
There was no campaign for funds in which the boys of Phillips Academy did not participate. They gave to the Red Cross and to the Salvation Army; they bought Thrift Stamps and Liberty Bonds; and their contributions were credited,
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as they should have been, to the town of Andover. Brothers' Field was turned over gladly to the town by the Trustees for ceremonial occasions, and the Borden Gymnasium was used regularly as a drill hall and armory by the Andover Com- pany of the State guard.
The Phillips Battalion, formed in the spring of 1917, was soon able to present a creditable appearance, and it was not long before it was prepared to accept invitations to join in formal parades. The school authorities, not without some just pride, allowed the boys permission to march on such occasions. During the summer of 1918 the Phillips Summer Military Camp on Andover Hill gave a military tone to the ancient institution.
Through the initiative of the Academy many stirring speakers were brought to the town. Such men as General Leonard Wood, Colonel Henry L. Stimson, Dr. Hugh Cabot, Major Ian Hay Beith, Captain André Morize, and others spoke before large audiences.
Although the war record of Phillips alumni has little to do with the history of the town, it is, nevertheless, worth mentioning that at least twenty-four hundred graduates were enrolled in the various branches of the military or naval service, and that eighty-nine gave their lives in the cause of their country. Few of these, of course, were well known in Andover; but the stories told of their heroism and fidelity were read with satisfaction in the town where they had been educated.
The full details of what was done by Phillips men in the World War have been given in another volume, and it is unnecessary to dwell further on that record. It is interesting, however, to note that the school and the town have never been more closely linked than they were in the stormy war days, and that the spirit thus developed is likely to be a permanent heritage of the conflict.
ABBOT ACADEMY
In Abbot Academy, as in the rest of Andover, the war brought out a strong feeling of the responsibilities of citizenship and the need of organization and co- operation in the work of helping our own soldiers and sailors, our allies, and the people of war-stricken Europe. For stimulating this idea of responsibility and increasing the school's efficiency for service, a Patriotic League, under the ac- tive leadership of the principal, Miss Bertha Bailey, was established soon after America entered the war. In connection with the League were vol- untary classes for the study of the principles of democracy and of Civics, and in home nursing and surgical dressings. All the students and several members of the faculty were enrolled for Military Drill, under the supervision of Major R. N. Davy, Military Instructor, and Dr. P. S. Page, Athletic Instructor, both of Phillips Academy. Under their careful training, the girls developed quick and accurate obedience to orders, and were able to take a dignified part in the two war
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THE SCHOOLS IN THE WAR
parades of the town, that of the Red Cross in the spring of 1918 and the Armistice Parade in November.
During the two war years when labor was so scarce, the girls eagerly entered into the needs of the time, taking all the care of their own rooms, and doing much of the outdoor work on the grounds. Volunteers were needed for work in the garden and for lawn-mowing, and never was the response to the call lacking. In the large school war-garden most of the work of planting, cultivating, and weeding was done by the students. In 1918 the potato crop for the entire year's supply was planted by the girls. In the fall of that year, when the scarcity of labor threatened the loss of valuable crops, parties of fifty or more students offered their services to Mr. O. P. Chase and Mr. F. H. Foster for husking corn, and husked in all between two and three hundred bushels, turning over the honoraria received to the war fund. The response, too, to the call for food conservation was whole-hearted, the girls gladly cooperating with the house-keeping staff in economies in sugar and butter. Personal economy was practised in every way possible, and in the year 1918 nearly $4000 was held by the students and faculty in Thrift and War Savings Stamps. Besides this many Liberty Bonds were bought.
From the beginning of the war most of the spare time of the household was given to knitting, large quantities of yarn being bought and distributed among the students and faculty and domestic staff. The sweaters and stockings and scarves were at first sent overseas to British sailors, and later through the Red Cross to our own boys. In 1917, regular work in surgical dressings was started under the American Fund for French Wounded, large packages being sent off every few weeks. There were also evening classes for the maids.
Throughout the war the girls were quick to respond to the many appeals that came for money for war and relief work. Early contributions were sent for Belgian, Syrian, Armenian, and Polish relief, and forty French orphans were adopted by the students and faculty. A further gift of $281 for French orphans and refugees was made to Baroness Huard after her moving account of the suffer- ings of the people of Northern France as they fled before the advancing German armies. Much interest was felt, too, in the talk by Miss Tileston on her work with the Serbian army. The sum of $230 was given her to take back toSerbia. Later, after the great needs were thrillingly set forth by Dr. Rosalie Morton, $1048 was given for Serbian education. There were two contributions for Near East relief, amounting in all to $655. The sufferings of the Armenians came very close to Abbot Academy when Mrs. Lyndon S. Crawford, an alumna, told something of her terrible experiences in Trebizond during the Armenian persecution, and when Mrs. Hildegarde Gutterson Smith, a recent graduate, gave an account of her post-war industrial and relief work in Turkey. The appeal for general European relief by Mr. Hoover in January, 1921, met with a response of $1367, and a table was reserved for the school at the "Invisible Guest" dinner in Symphony Hall. The enrolment for the Red Cross was always 100%. The sum of $1536 was con-
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tributed by Abbot Academy to the Andover drive for the Y. M. C. A. fund in 1918, and $2801 to the War Work drive the next year. The entire sum approxi- mates $10,000.
Whenever possible the school joined the town in its patriotic meetings. No- table occasions were the preparedness rally in the town hall, the service at the Free Church at which Captain Ian Hay Beith spoke, and the celebration of the signing of the Armistice in the South Church. Very inspiring were the morning exercises near the Punchard School when the enlisted Andover boys left for camp. One of the first men to leave Andover for the war was in the employ of Abbot Academy, Norman K. McLeish, who in 1914 worked his way to England, and joined the 2nd Cameron Highlanders.
In Andover town, Abbot Academy representatives carried heavy responsi- bilities. Mrs. H. H. Tyer became in 1914 the first chairman of European relief work through the Red Cross. Miss Elizabeth and Miss Esther Smith responded in hearty and efficient fashion to the appeal for garments for the French wounded voiced by their sister in Paris, Mrs. Marlborough Churchill,- an appeal so per- sonal as to arouse at once the interest and support of the townspeople. Their enthusiasm was later transferred to the Red Cross, a valuable service which is recorded elsewhere in this book. Mrs. Markham W. Stackpole will be especially remembered for her untiring labors on the Surgical Dressings, and among the influenza-stricken families. Mrs. John V. Holt conducted one of the Liberty Loan campaigns among the women. These are but a few outstanding names in a long list of women whose steady, unremitting efforts in many and often unappreci- ated lines of work added to the general sum of Andover war service. Several of the younger Abbot alumnae volunteered to leave home for nursing, farming, Y. M. C. A. canteen, and government work.
The patriotic service of the two thousand five hundred scattered members of Greater Abbot Academy, forms, even in the incomplete records on file, an im- pressive story in itself. There were doctors, nurses, organizers, administrators, librarians, farmers,-and greater than these, mothers, sisters, and wives giving their all. The Honor Roll of those who served overseas in different capacities, some of them amid hardships which brought out heroic qualities, records the names of twenty alumnae and former teachers, headed by Mrs. Mary Smith Churchill and including Miss Helen Whittemore and Miss Cornelia Williams, former Andover girls. The one gold star commemorates the work of Miss Eliza- beth Tyler, a former teacher in the department of French, who gave up her life in France in February, 1919.
Reports of these noble women, at home and abroad, rising to great emergen- cies of responsibility or danger, or patiently working through weary days of drudgery, came back to Abbot Academy and reacted upon the impressionable young students, inspiring them to steadiness of purpose, and giving them an insight into the joy of sacrifice for a great cause.
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AMERICAN LEGION PARADING
PHILLIPS ACADEMY BATTALION BAYONET DRILL
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THE SCHOOLS IN THE WAR
THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
As was quite natural, the school children of Andover, stirred by the patriotic spirit which they saw and felt everywhere around them, did their best to contrib- ute to the winning of the war. It is impossible in the space allowed to give more than a rough outline of what was actually accomplished; but it must be remem- bered that practically every relief activity found support among the teachers and students in the Andover schools.
Quite naturally the Junior Red Cross was an important element in the ac- tivities, and the membership in that organization regularly consisted of practically every pupil in the various schools. Many of the students had war gardens at their own homes, and at one time an exhibition netting $10 from the sale of vegetables and canned goods was held. The Stowe School gave $5 a month regularly to the Red Cross Fund during one whole year.
In the Stowe School on January 1, 1919, out of a total number of pupils ag- gregating 181, 163 owned Thrift and War Savings Stamps. The total holdings of the pupils reached $2972.91, an average per pupil of $16.43. In this school a $100 Liberty Bond and a $50 Liberty Bond were purchased and presented to the school committee. The Stowe School contributed to the Second Red Cross Fund the sum of $80 in cash, which was earned by the students; to the United War Work Campaign $79 was pledged by individual pupils; and to the European Relief Fund $35.
The activities thus outlined in the Stowe School were carried out in the other schools to practically the same degree, differing only in the number of children concerned. One of the classes in Punchard High School supported a French orphan for nearly a year. Many of the school children, under the direction of teachers, wrote letters to French homes for the purpose of encouraging the right attitude towards war work.
In general, it may be said that the schools throughout the war reflected the patriotism and the loyalty of the town. There was hardly a child who did not do something in a small way to help the Allies and their cause. As an education in patriotism and as a stimulus to future philanthropic activities, the period of the world war will long show its effect on the students, who, while it was going on, were enrolled in the Andover Public Schools.
XI
MISCELLANEOUS ORGANIZATIONS
"In faith and hope the world will disagree But all mankind's concern is charity."
It is possible in this book to touch only cursorily upon many forms of war activity which, at the time, were of inestimable importance in furthering the mo- bilization of our national resources, and which, therefore, deserve full recogni- tion. To understand how far-reaching was the conflict, one must realize that, from the Alleghanies to the Sierras, there were everywhere little groups, meeting, often informally and intermittently, to do what was spoken of, rather vaguely, as "war work"; that in most communities one "drive" was sharp on the heels of another, with very little pause for taking breath, and each absorbing for the mo- ment the thoughts and the energies of a considerable number of solicitors; and that a local newspaper, like the Andover Townsman, would report each week a great variety of meetings and interests, some, indeed, local and transitory, but each con- tributing its "bit" to the larger result.
Among the campaigns of national scope, the so-called Red Triangle War Work "drive" for funds, carried on in November, 1917, for the benefit of the Young Men's Christian Association, was of high significance. The local Chair- man, Mr. Frederick H. Jones, called a meeting on Tuesday evening, November 13th, of workers and interested citizens, the speakers being Principal Alfred E. Stearns, of Phillips Academy, Mr. M. M. Converse, of Andover, and Mr. George M. Day, a Y. M. C. A. worker who had spent eight years in Russia. After this enthusiastic beginning, the captains in charge of the various districts set about the task of raising Andover's quota of $15,000. Through a carefully arranged di- vision of labor Mr. Jones, after ten days, was ready to report that the town had considerably exceeded the amount assigned to it. In this "drive" the response of the factory workers was especially noticeable.
Even more remarkable in its achievement was the United War Work "drive" of the following year, the object of which was to raise $150,000,000, to be divided among the Y. M. C. A., the Knights of Columbus, the Jewish Welfare Board, the War Camp Community Service, the American Library Association, and the Salva- tion Army. The local campaign, for a quota set at the large sum of $30,000, was also placed in charge of Mr. Jones, who followed the same methods which had al- ready proven so effective. The solicitation was announced to begin on Monday, November 11, 1918; and, in order to usher the campaign in properly, a mass meet-
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ing was arranged for the preceding Sunday evening, on which occasion the Rev- erend John T. Ullom, a Y. M. C. A. representative and chaplain who had been wounded overseas, was the principal speaker. On the following morning came the joyful news of the armistice, and the town, as we have seen, was given over for forty-eight hours to the holiday spirit; the celebrating over, however, the citizens responded with almost unprecedented liberality to the United War Work appeal. The total sum subscribed was $41,332, an amount larger in proportion to our as- signment than that raised in any town or city in our section. Many persons pledged sums ranging from $100 to $1000; while the number of gifts ranging from $1.00 to $100 was more than 800.
This particular campaign was exceptional in its method of organization, which was most comprehensive. Special talks given before the students of Phil- lips and Abbot Academies, and in the various churches, brought astonishingly good results, and the finest kind of publicity was available in the Andover and Lawrence newspapers. But of even more practical value was the work of the so- licitors, who made it a point to see personally every man or woman on their lists. A complete list of all the contributors, published in the Andover Townsman for November 29, included the name of every patriotic citizen in the town.
Andover Council, Number 1078, Knights of Columbus, was represented in the World War by sixty-five of its members. The first official act of the Council after the United States entered the war was to instruct the Treasurer to pay out of the general fund of the Order the dues and assessments of all members who might enter the service of our country. While the Andover boys in the national guard units which later became a part of the Yankee Division were at Boxford, the Council presented a sum of money to the Reverend Father Farrelly, to be used at his discretion for the benefit of the soldiers under his care. During the progress of the Knights of Columbus campaign in 1917 each member of the Andover Coun- cil was assessed two dollars; the amount thus realized, together with a collection taken up in St. Augustine's Church, netted approximately $1000, which was for- warded to the Supreme Officers and devoted to welfare work.
Uniqueamong the war-time organizations of the town was the Andover Com- fort Committee, formed on October 3, 1917, and consisting of Mr. Frederick L. Collins (Chairman), Mr. George Dick (Secretary), and Mr. Ernest L. King (Treas- urer). The aim of the committee was to provide for Andover's service men some of the small comforts not regularly issued by the War Department, and to pro- mote their welfare in every possible way. From various sources, including indi- vidual subscriptions, dances, band concerts, mite boxes, and a minstrel show, the little group secured money enough to carry out their plans, and, before the war was over, had expended nearly $2000, every penny of which had been used to help soldiers and their families.
The Comfort Committee sent out thousands of cigarettes. Through its agency, each Andover boy in the 102nd Field Artillery received a package for
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ANDOVER IN THE WORLD WAR
Christmas, 1917. The Committee gave a service flag to the family of each soldier and sailor; and it presented to the town a large service flag, bearing the number of those in active service (630), together with smaller special stars for those who had been decorated, wounded, or killed.
After the signing of the armistice, the Comfort Committee members were among the first to realize that the service men, after being mustered out, would need a well-earned rest and would welcome a place where they could get together. Accordingly rooms were rented in the Burns Building, on Main Street, and sup- plied with a sufficient amount of furniture to make them attractive. Until the formation of the local post of the American Legion, this place was used as a center for the boys as soon as they were discharged; and the Andover Post later took over the same rooms for its headquarters.
It is not easy to restrain one's enthusiasm over the sympathy and intelligence shown by the Comfort Committee in discovering and satisfying the needs of the service men. The Committee, in doing things that came within the scope of no other organization, had a useful and important mission to fulfill. Functioning al- ways in a quiet, unostentatious way, it had very little publicity, but the boys all knew and appreciated what it was accomplishing.
There was, in reality, almost no one of Andover's many social groups which did not devote itself to some form of useful war activity. The Woman's Relief Corps, cooperating with the Andover Mothers' Club, presented to each boy at the time of his departure, a complete kit. By August 3, 1917, the ladies of the Corps had given away no fewer than fifty-one comfort kits, the money for which had been raised entirely by private subscription. The Woman's Relief Corps sewed regularly for the Red Cross, arranged for patriotic meetings, and did its best to keep the fire of loyalty always at white heat.
There were other groups of ladies which must be mentioned, although their excellent work cannot be described in detail. The Mothers' Club sent many gifts to the local boys in France, including gloves, mittens, and other articles of clothing; and at one period its members prepared a large number of layettes for French babies. The Tuesday Club was, of course, devoted to sewing for the bene- fit of the Red Cross; and, on April 9, 1918, the members subscribed over $1000 for the "adoption" of French orphans, a sum which was considerably increased dur- ing the ensuing weeks. Groups like the Ladies' Benevolent Society of the Free Church, and the Girls' Friendly Society of Christ Church, to say nothing of many similar philanthropic associations, had a regular schedule of sewing for the Red Cross, and met frequently for alleviating cases of special need. The Barnstormers, a local dramatic organization, turned over to the Red Cross the sum of $220, this being the amount realized from one of their plays. As for the November Club its rooms, so conveniently located, were at the disposal of every good cause, and in them were given many benefit card parties and teas.
GEORGE WILLIAM SIMPSON Private, Officers' Training Camp, U. S. Army Died, November 9, 1918
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THE ROLL OF THOSE IN SERVICE
The succession of smaller campaigns for worthy objects seemed never-end- ing. One week would come a request for phonograph records, playing cards, games and picture puzzles for wounded soldiers; a few days later there would be an appeal for tinfoil, collapsible tubes, and pewter, to be used for commendable ob- jects. There was a month when everybody saved peachstones, for use in the Gas Defense Department; there was another when everybody bought "Smileage Books," to contribute to the entertainment of the boys in the cantonments. The Memorial Hall Library assisted in collecting books for distribution among the sol- diers, and over ten hundred volumes were sent away from the town to be placed in different camps.
At the period when it was apparent that the scarcity of coal would be likely to be dangerous to industry, a local Fuel Committee, consisting of Mr. E. Barton Chapin (Chairman), Mr. Virgil D. Harrington, and Mr. Alexander Lamont, took charge of all matters connected with the distribution and the economical use of all kinds of fuel. Operating under the direction of Mr. James J. Storrow, the New England Fuel Administrator, this committee made recommendations regarding coal prices, and actually, in January, 1918, established stringent regulations re- garding the purchase and use of coal. Most of these restrictions were repealed early in March, 1918, when the emergency had passed.
It is indeed surprising how little was neglected in those busy times. In September, 1917, as soon as the drafted men began to leave for camp, it was recognized that some systematic effort must be made to keep an accurate record of Andover's service men, and a committee, consisting of Mr. John C. Angus, Mr. Frank H. Hardy, and Miss Nellie H. Farmer, was appointed to take charge of the accumulation and preservation of information regarding our soldiers and sailors. Mr. George Dick was later added to this committee. To their efforts, combined with the excellent work done by Mr. George A. Christie, of the Lawrence Tribune, and Mr. George A. Higgins, the Andover Town Clerk, we are indebted for an ac- curate Roll of Honor.
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