USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Bernardston > History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Volume II, 1900-1960, with genealogies > Part 12
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The Bernardston American Legion Auxiliary to Deane-Brown Post No. 362 was formed in May, 1949, by the District II Director, Mrs. Gretchen Beaubien, of Turners Falls, Massachusetts.
The following were the first officers: President, Elizabeth Harris; First Vice-President, Ruth Petrin; Second Vice-President, Norma Churchill; Secretary, Beatrice McCrea; Treasurer, Virginia Deane; Sergeant at Arms, Neta Snow; Chaplain, Rena Deane; Historian, Frances Denison.
The purposes of this Auxiliary are mainly for the rehabilitation of the veterans and their families, and for the furthering of the
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
"aims and purposes of the American Legion," but many other pro- grams are carried on throughout the year.
The work of the Auxiliary began slowly, but as the membership grew, and the chairmen were appointed for the various commit- tees, it was found that there was plenty to be accomplished in the way of Community Service, Child Welfare, Americanism, and in the programs of Girls' State, Poppy Sales, Membership, Rehabili- tation and Christmas Gift Shop. A few members took the Orien- tation Course at Leeds Veterans' Administration Hospital in Northampton, becoming Volunteer Workers.
The Auxiliary's first participation in the Girls' State Program was the sending of Elaine Pratt, a junior at Powers Institute in 1951, to Bridgewater State Teachers' College where she learned of, and participated in, Town, County and State Government, during a week's stay in June. Since that time, the Auxiliary has sent a girl every year, except one, with the financial help of the Community Club.
On Memorial Day, the Auxiliary is well represented in the parade, and in the past four years, the Junior Auxiliary has marched with the Seniors, to honor those who gave their lives. During this holiday, poppies, made by the veterans at Leeds Hos- pital and purchased by the Auxiliary, are distributed by both the Seniors and the Juniors. Volunteers from the unit conduct a Poppy Program at Leeds to assist the veterans in making the poppies for which they receive one and one-half cents each, giving them a few dollars per month to purchase the extras they need.
The Child Welfare Program developed a great deal, and the children of veterans and other needy children are given presents at Christmas, and help when necessary.
The donations of the Auxiliary to the many funds, helping the Little League, Girl and Boy Scouts, and assisting other organiza- tions, are projects of the Auxiliary Community Service and Ameri- canism Programs.
In the last eleven years (1949-1960) the membership grew from twelve to twenty-six Senior members and twenty-two Junior mem- bers. The group has become interested in many other projects, has helped raise money for the new non-denominational chapel at Leeds Hospital, and has had three members advance to the office of District Director of Franklin-Hampshire County. The Auxil- iary has given brush parties, plastic parties, food sales, suppers, card parties and has supported many other projects to raise money for the aid of the veterans.
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
The Auxiliary shares the American Legion Home with the Legion and has purchased dishes, silverware and draperies. Many people in the community have donated pots and pans, and helped to give the former "Green School" the appearance of an American Legion Home.
The hope for the future is to become a greater organization locally, that more work may be done for "God and Country," and that the American Legion Auxiliary may help in its own small way to preserve the peace of the world.
THE AMERICAN LEGION JUNIOR AUXILIARY
T HE AMERICAN LEGION JUNIOR AUXILIARY is composed of girls
eligible through the membership of their brothers and fathers in the American Legion. Junior members do not form a separate organization, but are actually members of the American Legion Auxiliary. They are grouped separately merely because it has been found that their ages demand programs of their own, and in this way, they can best be given early training which will develop them into active and capable adult members. A girl can be enrolled at birth and automatically become a senior member when she reaches eighteen years of age. The prime interest of the juniors is Ameri- canism. Understanding the principles of loyalty, justice, freedom and democracy will better prepare these youth for active and use- ful citizenship.
The Bernardston American Legion Auxiliary Unit had one or two junior members from 1951 on, but the first active group was formed in September, 1957, under the leadership of Joyce E. Petrin, Junior Chairman of the local unit. Seventeen girls were enrolled at that time, and by 1960, the number had increased to twenty-two. Monthly meetings are held and the girls contribute to the Auxiliary's programs in various ways.
The Rehabilitation program has been carried on through the knitting of squares to be assembled into afghans for hospitalized veterans. The collection of cancelled stamps and coupons from grocery products contributes toward the Auxiliary's Scholarship Program, and the donations of used clothing for the Save-The- Children Federation also aids in Child Welfare. The juniors take part in the American Legion's annual Minstrel Show.
Each spring, a group journeys to the Junior Jamboree, a gath- ering of Junior American Legion Auxiliary from the entire State of Massachusetts. This day of fun and information is held at Fort
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. It provides an unforgettable ex- perience for the girls, and instills in them a sense of pride and ac- complishment, knowing that they are doing their part for "God and Country."
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS WORLD WAR I YEARS
T HERE was an active branch of the Red Cross in Bernardston during World War I, with meeting place and workroom in the Methodist Church building on Center Street (razed in 1947). One public spirited citizen wired the building for electricity and others brought wood for fuel. There the volunteer workers met to make hospital shirts and bandages, to fold compresses, to sew garments for Belgian and French war orphans, and to prepare soldier's comfort kits.
Many knitted articles were made in the homes: sleeveless khaki sweaters, helmets, mufflers and wristers. A "Knitting Bee" was held and a collection taken for the purchase of yarn. Each Ber- nardston man going into service received a sweater and the other knitted articles were sent to Camp Devens (now Fort Devens) to the Red Cross headquarters for distribution. Courses were given in First Aid and Home Nursing, the former as a patriotic contri- bution without fee by Dr. Aaron L. Newton of Northfield.
In addition to the annual Red Cross drive for funds, the local branch held public card parties, one musical entertainment and food sales of war-time bread. The Red Cross also sponsored a fine parade followed by a meeting at which a returned soldier spoke. A pageant, "The Drawing of the Sword," was the most ambitious of these activities. Besides presenting it in the Bernardston Town Hall for two nights, the pageant was given at a lawn party in Shel- burne and at the auditorium in Northfield.
NORTH BERNARDSTON WILLING WORKERS WORLD WAR I YEARS
T " HE part played by the busy farm wife is a well-worn tale, there- fore, it is not surprising to find patriotism and enterprise man- ifest during the war years by the womenfolk who comprised the neighborhood in the north part of town. At the instigation of Mrs. Alonzo Saxton, the housewives met regularly, rotating from home to home, for the purpose of working for the Red Cross. Since
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
transportation in those days was still by horse and buggy, this scheme was likely the means of more persons working with reg- ularity, in contrast to the necessity of the three or four mile trip to town.
The bounds of the neighborhood were from the Ralph Cush- man farm on the south, to the home of Everett Gaines on the north. Families whose children attended the North Bernardston School also came from homes located along Couch Brook and the Keets Brook roads.
An outgrowth of these meetings for serious work eventually de- veloped into a larger group, with the men arriving "after chores" for a meal served co-operatively in the home of the hostess.
Very jolly gatherings were enjoyed; the group often numbering as many as thirty. After a meal, the evenings were spent in group singing with Mrs. Abbott Brown always at the piano. Occasion- ally, readings were given by the members. Games were popular and for some, the opportunity for a visit, provided time for ex- changing notions about household matters, crops or whatever was foremost in interest at the end of the farmer's day. Such a group, without formal organization continued for about five years.
The programs entered into by these North Bernardston people and held in the old schoolhouse, were as varied as a Hallowe'en party and a Christmas celebration. Such experiences as these and other activities that followed were "firsts" for the majority of the children attending. Other neighborhood participation included a sleigh ride with Herman Eldred driving the Cushman horses. There were "sugar on snow" and corn roasts in season. The suc- cess of Ervin Whitney as a hunter provided a venison supper at the home of the late George Warner. The silver wedding anni- versary of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Cushman and the golden wedding observance of Mr. and Mrs. Myron Corbett were community high- lights within these years.
While the approach to social welfare was considerably different from what we know today, there was a need which this group of neighbors recognized and in which they took an active part. Under the guidance of the teacher, Marion (Cranston) Eastman (Mrs. Howard), hot lunches were started, aided by the Grange and sup- ported by the North Bernardston neighborhood.
Chapter X
THE RESIDENT PHYSICIANS OF BERNARDSTON
B ERNARDSTON CAN WELL BE PROUD of the medical and civic con- tributions of its resident practicing physicians, beginning im- mediately with the re-settlement in 1760. The pioneering spirit that they inherited from their Puritan and Revolutionary fore- bears produced personal industry and community leadership that resulted in general benefits for all.
In the field of surgery prior to the advent of general anesthesia, the accomplishments of Dr. Samuel Prentiss were sought by in- dividuals throughout the counties of western Massachusetts, south- ern Vermont and southern New Hampshire; after the advent of general anesthesia, the skills of Dr. Willard Pierce finally re- sulted in the establishment of the first hospital in Franklin County at Greenfield.
In the prevention of accidental sickness the efforts at the na- tional level of Dr. Charles E. Holton, son of the famed Civil War recipient of the Medal of Honor and one of the first physicians in the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, have too long been overlooked. So, too, have the contributions of Dr. Ruggles A. Cushman in the field of psychiatric care.
In the field of education, the staunch leadership as officers of Powers Institute and the Cushman Library, has given prestige for decades at the regional level, and at the state level through Dr. Orswell Wheeler.
Physicians have been also the town's ministers, leaders of Sun- day Schools, postmasters, overseers, selectmen, members of the state legislature and general stimulators of worthy accomplish- ments. Out of such precedents came, for instance, the contribu- tions of the three Prentiss boys.
RESIDENT PRACTICING PHYSICIANS
Polycarpus Cushman
1772-1797
Caleb Chapin
1785-1817; 1826-1839
Gideon Ryther
1795-1833
Samuel Flagg
1798-1804
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Samuel Prentiss
1808-1812
Elijah W. Carpenter
1814-1855
John Brooks
1827-1852
William M. Dwight
1856-1873
Noyes Barstow
1860-1865
Leander W. Combs
1871-1884
Charles Bowker
1865-1906
Orswell A. Wheeler
1877-1887
Willard H. Pierce
1885-1893;
then intermittently to 1938
William J. Bolton
1892-1899
William G. Curtis
1897-1898
Charles E. Holton
1899-1907
Harvey H. Whitney
1907-1909
Webster K. Clark
1909-1910
John T. H. Powers
1910-1911
Warren J. Bostick
1913-1913
Edward B. Hodskins
1915-1917
Bertrand A. Chapman
1921-1922
William J. Madsen
1923-1928
R. Sheldon Clapp
1930-1932
F. Wilton Dean
1934-1935
Thirteen of the town's resident practicing physicians already have been eloquently and interestingly presented by Mrs. Lucy Kellogg in her history of the town. The others are of equal in- terest although, with the increased ease of travel, the period of residence has tended to shorten and finally to cease.
Of the first resident physician, Dr. Ezekiel Foster, we must ask: "Who was he, really?" Although it is a matter of record that he, Major John Burke and Benjamin Green were the sole settlers in district four in 1760, little else is known except that a letter awaited "Doct. Foster of Bernardston" in the Greenfield post- office in 1796. The opportunities for medical practice were surely extremely limited.
Of outstanding qualities as physician and stimulator was Dr. Samuel Prentiss, who lived in town for only four years although he had been long available from Northfield. Of the sixth genera- tion from the Captain Thomas Prentiss, who was one of the quar- tet of white men first to view this area as the official explorers, he was born in Stonington, Connecticut, in 1759. During the Revolu- tionary War he served as military waiter to his famed father, Colo-
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
nel Samuel Prentiss. Later, after completing his education, medi- cal training and a period as military surgeon, he started a practice in Worcester. In this war-bankrupt, sleepy town of two thousand people, he was successful in starting a local medical society and served as its secretary, but in the presence of nine physicians he was much less successful in developing an adequate practice.
Dr. Prentiss moved to Northfield in 1786, at the height of the Shay's Rebellion; his zealous support of the government failed to delay his most successful practice of twenty years' duration. After a year's absence in Vermont, he returned here in 1808, settling in Bernardston. In 1809, he was one of the first to approve the new minister, the Rev. Timothy Rogers. In 1812, he returned to Northfield and a brand-new house, where he died December 3, 1818, at the age of fifty-nine. His leadership qualities are indicated by the records of the four sons, out of his nine children, who sur- vived him: Samuel, twice elected to the Senate in Washington and then a member of the Vermont Supreme Court; John H., twice elected to the House of Representatives in Washington from New York; William, Mayor of Milwaukee and later Presi- dent of the Legislative Council of the Territory; and a publisher son in Keene, New Hampshire.
An additional note is due Dr. Noyes Barstow, as he was one of the vice-presidents of the Bernardston Town Centennial that was held on August 20, 1862, and was the first librarian of the Cush- man Library. He was a native of Leyden. After studies at the Berkshire Medical College in Pittsfield, he was graduated in 1846 from the Woodstock, Vermont Medical College. After practicing in Vernon near his parents, and in Brattleboro, he commenced a practice in Bernardston, in 1860, at his house near the railroad station. He had a great interest in agriculture, and gave very help- ful public lectures on practical aids in this field. In 1865, he removed briefly to Chicopee and to Indian Orchard, and then commenced a very worthy practice of twenty years' duration in Springfield. He also served many years as an alderman there, re- tiring from both professional and civic fields in 1885. He was married in 1846 to Mary Caldwell of Northfield, who died in 1895. When Dr. Barstow died in Springfield in 1903 at the age of eighty-two, only two daughters of their five children survived him.
Of considerable interest is the note in the Greenfield Gazette & Courier of August 7, 1871: "Bernardston attractions, nine min- isters and one coming, two doctors and one coming, five churches,
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
choir of one hundred and fifty members, brass band of 26 pieces, one postmaster and one coming, taxes about 20 cents on the dol- lar, no town debt; only one thing wanting, and that is the name changed and called Paradise."
The "one doctor coming" was Dr. Leander W. Combs, who moved his practice to Bernardston from Leyden where he had succeeded the late Dr. Thomas S. Vining in 1866. In his house, just purchased from H. N. Dewey, across the street from the Cush- man Library, he established his practice; a drug-store and a gen- eral country-store were added in 1874. He was in considerable demand for his tenor voice in solo and quartet appearances. Fol- lowing the death of his father in Vernon in 1882, Dr. Combs moved with his wife, the former Emma R. Bellnap of Northfield, to Becket where, after many years of practice, he died March 10, 1922 at the age of eighty years.
An additional note is due, in this Civil War Centennial year, to Dr. Charles Bowker as he was the only resident physician in town to have served during the conflict. Entering service on May 28, 1864, he was an assistant surgeon both in the field with a di- vision and in the hospitals around Washington; his services were terminated because of sickness on April 24, 1865. Two of his daughters, Mrs. Theodore C. Forbes and Mrs. Frank H. Maxwell, still live in Greenfield.
Dr. William J. Bolton, a native of Hinsdale, New Hampshire, attended Mt. Hermon as a student from Northfield and was gradu- ated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Baltimore in 1892. Substituting at first, he remained in town until 1899 in rather close association with Dr. Willard Pierce, who by then had removed to Greenfield. After four years in Athol and a year in California, he returned to Athol and remained until 1919. He was quite successful as a practitioner, but remained in borderline health. Upon completing his office of Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in 1919, he moved away. Following nineteen years as a medical representative of a Portland, Maine, drug company, he died in Washington, D. C., on June 18, 1938, and his ashes were buried in Maryland.
Dr. William G. Curtis, who substituted for Dr. Bolton from 1897 to 1898 during a period of the latter's illness, is a most inter- esting physician who is still in active general practice at the age of ninety-three in Brewster, Massachusetts. Born in Abington, Massa- chusetts, May 6, 1868, he was biologist for the Boston Water
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Works for two years following his graduation from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following his graduation from the Belle- vue Hospital Medical School in New York City, he interned at the City Hospital on Blackwell's Island. There he roomed with his friend and classmate, Dr. Clifford S. Chapin, a Bernardston boy. Through Dr. Chapin he was induced to substitute for Dr. Bolton. While here he was secretary of the medical staff of the Franklin County Public Hospital. It was entirely natural, therefore, when the hospital was dedicating its new addition in October, 1952, to invite him to attend as the guest of honor in view of his being the oldest living member of the previous medical staffs. This he did, with great honor to himself and the hospital. After a year of "four- horse" practice he moved to Greenfield following Dr. Bolton's return, but stayed only a few more months. However, he influ- enced the late Dr. Benjamin P. Croft, also a graduate of Bellevue Hospital Medical School (in 1897) to come to this area.
Dr. Charles E. Holton, who practiced in town from 1899 to 1907, succeeded Dr. Bolton. He was born in Lee, Massachusetts, in 1868, educated in the public schools of Burlington, Vermont, and was graduated from the University of Vermont Medical School in 1892. Having the same medical school affiliation as Dr. Cram of Colrain, and with his sister now Mrs. Cram, it was not surprising that his post-graduate training in New York was fol- lowed by medical practice in Whitingham, Vermont, and then in this town. In 1907, Dr. Holton became one of the first physicians to enter the Food and Drug Administration in Washington to as- sist in preventing accidental sickness that was resulting from the patent drugs that were then being sold without restriction. To this end he devoted his life with great success. He died May 22, 1939, in Medford, Massachusetts, after a most honorable career in public service.
Dr. Harvey H. Whitney, a native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and a graduate of the Baltimore Medical College in 1904, suc- ceeded Dr. Holton. He remained until 1909, when he left for Oregon and later for California, where he died in 1948.
Dr. Whitney was succeeded immediately by Dr. Webster K. Clark, who is much better known as a very successful practitioner in Greenfield and the originator of the Clark Apple Orchards. He remained in town for only one year.
Dr. Clark sold his practice to Dr. John T. H. Powers, who then moved to Worcester County in 1911. Dr. Powers, a native of New
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Glasgow, Nova Scotia, was graduated from the College of Phy- sicians and Surgeons in Baltimore in 1910. He returned to Green- field in 1938 as an Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat specialist and again during World War II. He is now practicing in Leominster, Massa- chusetts.
The town now entered upon a period where no resident phy- sician owed allegiance primarily to it. Dr. Pierce intermittently lived in town while maintaining his office in Greenfield. In 1913, Dr. Warren J. Bostick, a graduate of the Medical School at Dart- mouth in 1911, opened an office in his home near the Bernardston Inn. He had become interested in this area as a result of a one day visit to Mt. Hermon where he had met Dr. Newton of Northfield. However, his practice here was interrupted by an attack of ty- phoid fever in November of 1913, and following his recovery, he went to Springfield where he was a general practitioner of greater than average ability until his wife's death in 1952, when he closed his office. He now enjoys retirement in Van Nuys, California, but is still as bright as they come.
Dr. Edward B. Hodskins, a graduate of the Baltimore Medical College in 1893, was in practice here from 1915 to 1917, with an office part of the time in Greenfield. He went to Winthrop, Massa- chusetts in 1919, where he died in 1921 at the age of fifty-five.
Bernardston was the temporary home of Dr. Bertrand Arza Chapman from late in 1921 and remained less than a year. A na- tive of Ludlow, Vermont and a graduate with Calvin Coolidge from the Black River Academy in 1891, he attended Dartmouth and the Baltimore Medical College from which he received his M.D. degree in 1895. After graduation, Dr. Chapman practiced in Springfield, Vermont, as its "No. 5" physician and was the origina- tor of the hospital there in 1913. Dr. Chapman brought his big frame, tremendous energy and ability here in time for the burn- ing of the Brick Store. Boarding with Mrs. Bertha Wilson, he entered promptly into the activities of the town, its clubs and Methodist circles. By springtime, he discovered that his ties to Springfield could not be easily broken, and so returned. There he completed sixty-four years in the practice of medicine, seeing pa- tients on the morning of his final illness in 1959. By this time, he had become not only the last surviving member of the original medical staff at the hospital, but the oldest active practitioner in the state.
Dr. William J. Madsen practiced for a while in this town. After
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
having served in the Farren Memorial Hospital from October, 1922 to December, 1923, he practiced briefly in Montague and then came here in August, 1925. However, he moved to Millers Falls in 1928 for a brief continuation of his practice. Dr. Madsen died July 17, 1930.
Dr. R. Sheldon Clapp, a graduate of Amherst College and a re- cipient there of the Edward Hitchcock Fellowship, and a graduate of Tufts Medical College in 1929, maintained an office at the Bernardston Inn Farm from December, 1930 to February 2, 1932. He is now a much respected practitioner in Amherst where he went from Bernardston.
The last of the resident practicing physicians of Bernardston was Dr. F. Wilton Dean, a native son of Greenfield and a graduate of the Harvard Medical School in 1932. He maintained his office in his home on Center Street from January, 1934 until May, 1935, when he moved to Northfield, with the impending departure of Dr. Hubbard. His talents have continued to be utilized by the physically distressed of this community to their great advantage.
To make this history of physicians connected with Bernardston complete, the following names are added:
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