USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Berlin > History of the town of Berlin, Worcester County, Mass. from 1784 to 1959 > Part 12
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It was on September 19, 1924, that John F. Lovell of Maynard began running his buses through Berlin to Clinton. By the first of the following year (1925) he had extended his run to Leomins- ter. He soon became incorporated as the Lovell Bus Lines, Inc., with the home office and car barn at Maynard. The line was extended to Arlington Heights where you connected with the Boston Elevated, thus assuring a continuous passage to Boston.
By the year 1950 the Lovell Bus Lines had developed a net- work of routes with branches from the Actons, Bedford Airport, and to Waltham and Watertown. Thus Berlin felt that they were
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on a system that would last indefinitely. There was an hourly service for Berlin, in either direction, from 6:20 A.M. to 11:20 P.M. daily. This service was more dependable than the former trolley service, especially during the snowstormy weather, when the trol- ley generally waited for nature to clear the tracks. With modern snow removal equipment, both the bus lines and the Town kept the highways cleared and traffic proceeded in a uniform manner.
However, the inhabitants of Berlin were soon to be disap- pointed in their expectations. The bus company claimed that they were not receiving enough patronage to pay the expenses of operation, and the citizens of Berlin learned that they could not depend upon the bus line for schedule. Thus people invested more and more in private cars.
On January 25, 1953, Lovell Bus Lines service between Clinton and Leominster, and between Clinton and Maynard was sharply curtailed. All Sunday and holiday service was discontinued. Early morning and evening service between Clinton and Maynard was curtailed, so that there was no bus before 8:15 A.M. or after 8:15 P.M. The Company filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy in the Federal Court, and on Tuesday, February 24, 1953, the Lovell Bus Lines, Inc. went out of business. Since then, Berlin has not had any bus service.
The Automobile
During the early years of the twentieth century, the most common means of travel was with horse and carriage; but for many, who could not afford or find it convenient to keep a horse, there was the bicycle. The bicycle was the most convenient means of travel for the young ministers of the community in making their weekly calls among their parishioners. Rev. Alfred S. Durston, during his pastorate from 1918 to 1921, used his bicycle to contact the members of his parish in the outlying districts. Even today many of the young folks, under sixteen years of age, ride bicycles-but not much after sixteen, for then they can secure a license to drive an automobile.
The first automobile owned in Berlin was a Stanley Steamer which Forrest E. Day bought of Charlie Boyce of Hudson in 1907. About the year 1910 the same was sold to David S. Tyler,
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who tried his patience with the "pesky thing." Another Stanley Steamer was introduced to Berlin about this time by M. Reed Tyler, which stood in his barn-garage on Pleasant Street since 1909.
These cars were used only as pleasure vehicles, but some of Mr. Day's experiences with boiler and engine troubles were far from being a pleasure. Nevertheless, his interest and repairs on these models developed into the opening of a garage, in a barn at the rear of the residence of the late Ethel M. G. Sawyer, corner of Central and Linden Streets. It was here that he took in Earle A. Wheeler as an assistant, and from this beginning there developed the Wheeler Garage of West Street, which moved to its new quarters in the old Stone Craft Building of Carter Street in 1951.
There was very little trouble about speeding with these early models, but their unusual appearance and noises frightened the cattle and horses as they puffed and barked along the highway. It was a customary experience to call upon the aid of horses to drag the car up the hill or out of a mudhole in the road.
It was so unusual for a person to own an automobile that, even as late as the 1920's, the fact was published in the local news. Here are two items that appeared in the Clinton Courant (Berlin News) :
April 18, 1924, "E. Montrose Evans has purchased a new auto- mobile."
May 2, 1924, "Selectman L. D. Carter has purchased a fine seven- passenger Marmon Limousine."
In the year 1918 the Selectmen ordered signs placed along the highways warning the motorists of a speed limit of fifteen miles per hour. This limit was increased to twenty-five miles per hour in 1940, and to thirty-five miles per hour in 1950. We judge that if the super-highway passes through Berlin by 1960 a speed of forty-five miles per hour will be permitted.
There has been a gradual increase in the number of cars and trucks owned by the inhabitants of Berlin. Not only has the number increased, but also the valuation of cars. By looking at the report on excise tax, we may observe the increase-which, in late years, is due largely to the absence of public commutation.
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Cars and Trucks
Year
Excise Tax
Valuation
1930
$ 2,043.60
1935
2,138.96
1936
470
2,419.26
1940
507
3,239.96
1950
728
9,564.42
$255,200.00
1954
778
14,356.76
324,440.00
The heavy motor traffic with automobiles and massive trucks taxes the durability of the highway and accounts for the increased cost of construction and maintenance. An average of 100 cars per hour pass a given point on Route 62 during a fair weekend. There was a count made at the West Berlin R.R. Bridge and crossing on September 11, 1936 that reported 2,440 cars passed this point in eight hours.
Telephone Service
It is said that Alexander Graham Bell, a professor in Boston University of 688 Boylston Street, invented the telephone in 1876, but it took over twenty-five years for it to move the thirty-one miles westward to Berlin.
The first public phones in Berlin were located in the three general stores of the Town. One at the Center, one at South Berlin, and one at West Berlin. These were connected to the Clinton exchange, and the wires were carried on the poles of the toll line extending from Hudson to Clinton along the B & M right- of-way. This system consisted of one wire and a ground, run on ground batteries. Every electric storm put it out of commission. It was operated by the Bell Telephone Company between the years 1882 and 1903.
The first private telephone used in Berlin was manufactured by Forrest E. Day, about 1900. It was a one-piece affair; that is, you spoke into and listened in the same receivo-transmitter. Within the year he and his brother, Lewis, had constructed a six-party line. By this means six families on Wheeler Hill were placed in direct communication. Through this medium great comfort was administered to the elderly women of the com- munity who could sit at home and converse with their friends two or three miles away.
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When Mr. Day desired to extend his lines to the homes in Carterville, he met with an obstacle at the B & M Railroad crossing, and a more acute one at the trolley line, for they would not permit him to place his wires over or under their tracks; but through sheer stealth and ingenuity, he connected with the phones in residences of Carterville.
With this introduction, the New England Telephone & Tele- graph Company felt that here was an opening for them, but Mr. Day would not sell out to them at this time. Nevertheless, the company arranged to locate a telephone exchange in Berlin. After securing fifteen subscribers, an exchange was set up in the residence of James W. Barter, on Carter Street (where Clifford Kent lives ). This was in 1903, and Mrs. J. W. Barter became the first operator.
The exchange remained in the Barter family until April 1, 1919, when it was moved across the street to the residence of Mrs. Ella Jones. At that time there were ninety subscribers. Ralph L. Jones had charge of the exchange until December of 1939, when Mrs. Marion A. Mccullough took it over and became the operator. Mrs. Blanche Bayer took over the operation of the exchange in December of 1944. After one year of service Mrs. Phyllis S. Warbin became the operator in November of 1945, and continued in this position until October 28, 1951. On the aforesaid date Mrs. Nettie A. Taylor took charge of the exchange and continued until replaced by the dial system.
The system expanded to a list of 340 subscribers, with a force of nine operators, which gave a continuous twenty-four hour daily service. Some thirty-three resident subscribers are con- nected on the Hudson exchange. In 1942 the open-line wires were replaced by a 350-pair wire cable, thus giving the chance for additional phone connections. This is also a central for time signals, fire alarms, and air raid warnings. Within the past two years (1954-55) a new, larger cable, and other equipment have been installed preparatory to shifting over to the dial system, which took place on April 25, 1956. Direct Distance Dialing, a new fast method for dialing station-to-station, long distance calls, became effective on Sunday, November 15, 1959.
Almost simultaneous with the introduction of the telephone into the homes of Berlin was the advent of the phonograph-
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the type that held the record on a cylinder sleeve. Forrest E. Day tells of a jovial prank that was played upon Paul A. Randall by the use of a combination of the telephone and the phono- graph back in the early 1900's. A record of a military band was slipped onto the phonograph at the home of John L. Day. Then he called Mr. Randall on the phone, and when he answered, the music began, whereupon Mr. Randall dropped the receiver and rushed to the window to see the parade coming down the road. After much anticipation, he was informed that the music was coming over the telephone wire. He declared that this was in- credible, and refused to be convinced.
Yet, within less than a quarter of a century, sound came into the homes in Berlin, not only over the wires, but by "wireless" -the radio. Soon this was followed with the television. Many homes in Berlin, on the hills, have good reception without an outside antenna. They tell us that the day is near when you may see the person with whom you are conversing over the telephone. Practical commercial color television has also been developed.
Electric Light and Power
Soon after the establishment of the telephone service in the Town, the people became interested in securing a better method of illumination and power service. The first move to install electric lights, as a means of illumination, was presented in an article of the Warrant for the March Town Meeting of 1908, which was "to see if the Town will vote to install electric lights in the streets and Town House."
The action under this article resulted in the appointing of a committee, who reported at the meeting called for August the 14th. There, it was voted, on motion of Charles H. Allen, "that the Selectmen, with the addition of Ira G. Dudley and James D. Tyler, be authorized to contract with the Marlboro Electric Company for the lighting of the streets in Berlin for a period of five years." At the same time it was voted to leave the matter of lighting the Town House in the hands of the committee, with power to act. Evidently the committee did act favorably, for a bill of $193.40 appeared in the report for the year ending Febru- ary 1, 1910, for wiring the Town Hall, and $58.80 for lights in the
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Town Hall, in addition to $568.38 for street lights which was paid to the Marlboro Electric Company.
The electric street lights were turned on in January of 1909, and it was voted at the Town Meeting of 1910 "that the old (oil) street lamps be given, by the Selectmen, to those who will erect and maintain them by the road-side, near their home."
Very few houses were wired for electricity during the first five years for the current was not practical for general use. There was only one circuit. Street lights and dwellings were on the same line, and the current was on only between dusk and midnight, so if one wished to go into the cellar or some dark place during the daytime, it would be necessary to resort to the old lighting method, a candle, lantern, or oil lamp; or, if one wished to use any electrical appliance, such as an iron or washing machine, it became necessary to perform this task at night when the current was on.
In 1914 the townsmen sought a new contract with the Marlboro Electric Company for reduced rates, and an all-day service. The new contract was signed in 1916. Since then more and more homes have been wired, until all of the residences have electricity and have installed electrical appliances. In fact, one of the first moves toward the construction of a new house is to have electricity installed, which is essential for the operation of power tools and lighting.
Under date of April 20, 1938, the Public Utilities Commission granted a permit to the Worcester Suburban Electric Company to absorb the Marlboro Electric Company, which was serving customers of Berlin, Bolton, Marlboro, Northboro, Southboro, and Westboro. To date (1955), service bills are paid to the Worcester County Electric Company, through their office in Marlboro, for this territory. The bulk of the power is bought of the New England Power Company, but in an emergency they have the option of connecting with other systems. The facilities have been modernized so that Berlin receives constant and dependable service.
Water Supply System
There is no municipal water supply system in the Town of Berlin. Yet, the Wachusett Aqueduct of the Metropolitan District
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Water Division passes through the Town from the western- center of Boylston line, southeasterly to a south-center point in the Northboro line. This aqueduct consists of 1.16 miles of tunnel and 2.20 miles of covered construction, making a total of 3.36 miles, which occupies a section of 49.82 acres. Work on this conduit began in 1895 and was completed in 1898. It is fed by two reservoirs.
The Wachusett Reservoir, completed in 1906, impounds 63 billion gallons of water and the Quabbin Reservoir, situated twenty-five miles to the northwest, has a capacity of 415 billion gallons. The gates to this connecting tunnel were opened on September 17, 1941. So, there is a head of 478 billion gallons to supply a daily flow of approximately 155 million gallons, passing through Berlin, to supply the thirsty of metropolitan Boston. It does seem that they could supply Berlin with a few gallons for fire protection.
A pumping station located near the North Brook at Linden Street, opposite the Worcester Suburban Electric Company's transformer station, could be connected to the aqueduct, which is within 450 yards. The advice from the Worcester County Ex- tension Service to the Committee on "Community Life in Ber- lin" was to look into the possibility of connecting with the aqueduct.
When the aqueduct was constructed, they destroyed some springs of the Barnes Hill section which supplied water for the houses of the West Village. S. Rolla Carter was a member of the Board of Selectmen and his property would become a heavy loser in this event. At any rate, these homes became connected to the aqueduct, which service was continued until around 1944 when the pipes had become so badly clogged that the system was abandoned. Artesian wells were driven, which has become the customary and necessary method of securing a water supply.
Some data on this system of the Water Division of the Metro- politan Reservoir may be opportune. Preliminary work for determining the site of the Wachusett Reservoir began in August of 1895. This involved the evacuation of over 2,000 persons from their 510 homes scattered through the towns of Clinton, Boylston, West Boylston, and Sterling. When cleared for a sanitary basin, there was an area of 6.44 square miles, or 4,125 acres. The shore
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN
line is 38.66 miles in length, the extreme width is 2.05 miles, the length is 8.25 miles and the greatest depth is 129 feet. The area of the watershed is 118.25 square miles.
Construction on the Wachusett Dam began in June of 1897 and was completed on February 27, 1906. It is built of stone laid in 1,322 carloads of cement, with an elevation of 207 feet. It tapers from a 185 foot base to a 222 foot top, mounted by a promenade of 964 feet in length. The main dam is 911 feet long, with a waste weir of 452 feet which takes a 107 foot spill, and extends east as a core wall 53 feet long.
The Wachusett Aqueduct conveys water from the Wachusett Reservoir to the Sudbury Reservoir (in Southboro), a distance of twelve miles. This consists of two miles through rock, seven miles of masonry and three of open channel. In December of 1939 the three miles of open channel was confined into a fourteen foot diameter pipeline. In September of 1940 fifteen more miles of tunnel was completed, thus bringing the waters from Southboro to Chestnut Hill, where it connects with several supply junctions for the Boston Metropolitan District. In 1948 the tunnel over the Assabet River at Northboro was transferred to a sub-river tube, but the seven 29.5 foot span bridge was retained.
In the making of the Quabbin Reservoir the Metropolitan District Commission took 80,000 acres and gulped down ten villages and towns, two lakes, one hundred miles of highway, fifteen miles of railroad, hundreds of camps and summer homes and scores of cemeteries. This body of water covers 39 square miles, is dotted by 106 islands and has 118 miles of shoreline. Quabbin is estimated to be the "world's largest man-made domestic water supply reservoir" (Donald F. Williams, Gazette Sunday Magazine).
Several natives of Berlin were associated with the construction and maintenance of these engineering projects. Arthur Hastings served on the Board of Selectmen during the period of the con- struction of the tunnel of the aqueduct and a force of special police (including George W. Barnes, George H. Carpenter, Lemuel D. Carter, Henry A. Wheeler, Theodore Guertin, Isaac Holbrook, and Arthur L. Brewer) were busy keeping order and tranquility among the Italian and Negro laborers at the shafts in Larkindale.
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Even more prominent was the position of Christopher S. White, son of Daniel A. White and Ellen, daughter of Christopher S. Hastings, of Pleasant Street, who surrendered his office as Post- master and General Manager of the General Store (at the Cen- ter) in December of 1895 to become Assistant Superintendent of the Wachusett Division of the Metropolitan Water System, which position he held until retiring in 1933.
Another former native of Berlin associated with this Com- mission was William N. Davenport, son of William J. Davenport and Elmira G., daughter of Rufus Howard of Pleasant Street, who became Secretary of the Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, which position he held for twenty-five years, including the entire period of the construction of the Wachusett Reservoir.
Furthermore, Charles S. Knight, son of George W. and Lettie A. (Whitney) Knight (formerly of Carter Street, Alvin Walker house) started on his career with the Metropolitan Water Works Commission as a special police at the construction of camps of the Aqueduct in Berlin in 1895. On April 9, 1938, he was the representative for the Metropolitan Commission in charge of the evacuation of the inhabitants of the Town of Enfield, pre- paratory to the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir.
Another feature of interest was the relocation of the tracks of the Massachusetts Central Railroad (B & M). Formerly the line proceeded due west from the L. D. Carter (or John Niedzial) house of Boylston Street, to the South Clinton station (which is now submerged in the Reservoir). To change to its present position, four and one-half miles of track were laid in a north and west course, parallel to West Street and passing through a 1,133- foot tunnel and thence over a 921-foot steel bridge across the Nashua River north of the dam.
It was reported (December 13, 1957) by Harold J. Toole, Water Director of the Metropolitan District Commission, that work on the construction of a $20,000,000 rock tunnel would be- gin during the summer of 1958. This tunnel, penetrating rock 200-300 feet below the surface, will pass through Berlin con- necting the Wachusett Reservoir with the Hultman Aqueduct in Marlboro. Its capacity of 600,000,000 gallons per day would double that of the present aqueduct. This work is now under way.
CHAPTER VII AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRIES
The Town of Berlin has been classed as an agricultural com- munity. Originally, that was the purpose of its settlement. The early settlers devoted their time to clearing the land, hunting, trapping, and farming. There are 8,320 acres of land in the Town, of which 7,557.24 are assessed. This entire territory was owned by a few priority grantees.
Among these we find John Houghton, who acquired a tract of 337 acres of "Third Division Hill," 200 acres of which was in Berlin, comprising the entire northwest section of the Town. To the west of this was the Philip Larkin estate of 144 acres and to the east were the John Moore possessions, which later became the estate of Jonathan Wheeler, Jr., known as "Wheeler Hill." Then, to the extreme east, Stephen Gates owned 314 acres on which the Fosgates settled.
To the south there was the John Houghton, 3rd, parcel of 137 acres, which he sold to Benjamin Bailey in 1718. This he enlarged until it included Berlin Center, and extended from Sawyer Hill on the east to Barnes Hill on the west. The Johnsons established themselves to the south of the Bailey lands.
North of the Johnson grant and east of the Bailey lands, the Jonathan Wheeler estate of 362 acres was located. This embodied the territory from the Elizabeth (Assabet) River on the south to the Sawyer clearings on the north, and touched the Gates prop- erty on the east side.
It was upon these grants that a few of the descendants began to settle in the early 1700's. Their purpose was to earn a living upon the land, but they learned that they must be more than farmers. It became necessary for them to provide for all of the necessities of life-food, clothing, and shelter. Thus they were
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woodsmen, carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, and general mechan- ics. The womenfolk not only cared for the house and the meals, but they must also provide for the clothing, the soap, and the candles.
If a farmer wished to prepare grain for feed or food it became necessary for him to carry it to a mill. The nearest was Prescott's "Corne Mill," located on what is now Water Street, Clinton, west of West Street. Prescott's "saw mill" was located a few rods up- stream from the grist mill. But, if one preferred to get his lumber from Thomas Sawyer, he would find his "saw mill" in the Deer Horn District of Lancaster near the Four Ponds. It was not until around 1735 that the Century Mills of Bolton began their operations as "ye corne mill and ye saw mill."
In a few years, as the settlements increased, the tasks of the farming population became diversified. There was more special- ization. Saw and grist mills, blacksmith shops and potash plants were located on Berlin soil. Carpenters and masons worked at their trades, at least as a part time job. Traveling tradesmen be- came customary, such as those who would abide in the home while they fitted the family with shoes, clothing, or other com- modities.
As one reads the various histories of Berlin, we find that it is listed as an argicultural town. Peter Whitney of Northboro states in his History of Worcester County of 1793 that "The most valuable uplands (of Berlin) are seated on the several hills, which afford excellent pastorage and orchards." Barber's His- torical Collections of Massachusetts of 1848 record the following lines concerning the Town of Berlin: "The most valuable uplands in the town lie on the several hills, which are excellent for grazing and a suitable proportion of it for tillage. This is entirely an agricultural town. Large quantities of hops are annually pro- duced here."
From the C. F. Jewett & Co. History of Worcester County of 1879 we glean these encouraging words: "The whole people were homogeneous. They owned the farm which they cultivated. The business of the people in all generations has been principally in the agricultural line. In 1875, there were 6,918 acres of land under crops, orchards, woodland and unimproved land. Only 110%2 acres are counted as unimprovable. There are 209 dwelling
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houses in the town, 117 of which are connected with farms. There are about 14,000 fruit trees and vines. The value of domestic animals was $42,000. Agricultural products were valued at $91,000. The income of the inhabitants is much larger than the value of the products of their labor, as their money is invested in stocks or in business conducted elsewhere."
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