USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Bernardston > History of the town of Bernardston, Franklin County, Massachusetts, Volume II, 1900-1960, with genealogies > Part 3
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
PLAN TO OPERATE IRON MINE
There is a large deposit of iron ore on the farm in Bernardston now owned by George E. Thurber, and there has been some effort made to mine it in the past, though nothing great has resulted. Mr. Thurber has now succeeded in interesting a party of capi- talists in New York, and it is hoped that operations will be begun before long which will result in a new industry in the town. (Springfield Republican 1906.)
OLD TABLE CUTLERY
James L. Perry of this town is the possessor of a set of table knives manufactured by the E. S. Hulbert Company of Bernard- ston in 1876. These knives were presented to him by a friend who noticed the word "Bernardston" on the cutlery, after buying them at an auction in Topeka, Kansas, about 1957.
The knives, which have handles of crystal encased in pewter and blades of fine steel, are inscribed with the name "Crystal Cutlery Company, Bernardston, Mass., Pat. Aug. 26, 1876." They are de- scribed in the Hulbert Catalogue as "notable for strength, dura- bility, and fineness of finish." Also they are advertised as being "hot water proof and indestructible."
DOING THEIR BIT
The following appeared in the Greenfield Gazette and Courier in November, 1917:
"Bernardston has several boys that she feels she can boast a little of in the way they have been doing their "bit" this season to help out the food supply. First there is "Big James Perry," who left his college in Topeka, Kansas, the first of May and came on here to raise a bumper crop on his father's farms. Labor being high and scarce he purchased a tractor and with it did all of his plowing, harrowing, etc., besides doing a lot for his neighbors. Then he put in eight acres corn, two acres beans, some potatoes, vegetables, etc., one field of the corn was considered by good judges the best in Franklin County. He took the entire care of his crops alone and harvested them with a very little outside help and returned to his college Oct. 5th.
"Another boy who has done his bit is Lynn Wyatt. He has raised on his father's land by his own unaided efforts 80 bushels corn, 30 bushels potatoes, six bushels strawberries, three bushels beans, 11/2 tons cabbages, 30,000 cucumbers and a lot of garden
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
vegetables, besides taking care of a lot of hens and has worked out nearly half the time besides. A third boy is Fred Miller, who left high school May Ist, and has done a big summer's work for E. B. Hale, where he lives. Besides his regular work he raised, picked and sold over $100 worth of cucumbers on one-half acre of land furnished him by Mr. Hale. He did most of this work nights and mornings and odd times that didn't interfere with his regular work. He also cares for a large flock of hens of his own.
"Three sturdy boys are Frank, Elliot and Henry Root, sons of W. H. Root, aged 14, 12 and 11, who left school May 1st, and drafted into work on their father's farm. He being sick for the greater part of the summer these boys carried on the work and raised a large crop of corn (12 acres), 500 bushels potatoes, 200 bushels oats and a lot of vegetables, etc. They have milked 15 cows through the season. Since haying time they have hired one man to work. There are many others deserving of mention, but these show what the boys of Bernardston are made of. Let's hear from the boys in other towns."
THE NEW OVERPASS
October 31, 1939-"Traffic was rumbling for the first time to- day across the new overpass at Hale's crossing in Bernardston, just north of the Greenfield town line, and a grade crossing which had been a nightmare to motorists and the scene of many tragic acci- dents for years was finally eliminated. The project was begun on May 12, and necessitated cutting away the side of a hill, material from which was used for the fill."
An article in the town warrant of 1905, asks the selectmen to petition the Railroad Commissioners to abolish this crossing. Thirty-four years later it was done.
CRUMP AND FOX
Three green glass bottles are all that now remain of an early Bernardston industry. Two bottles are in the possession of the Donaldson family and William Field, Jr., has the third. These bottles are of "bottle green" color, about eight inches tall, with long necks, and hold about three-quarters of a pint. On one side, cast in the glass, is "Crump and Fox, Bernardston Mass."; on the other side, "Superior Soda Water." Little is known about this business and it was probably of short duration. It is not known whether the industry consisted of making the bottles or of making
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
the "Superior Soda Water." Mr. Crump remains a mystery, as his name is not mentioned in the Kellogg History. The only record available is his name on the bottle.
The Fox brothers, Noah and William, came to Bernardston about 1750. Noah was "warned from town" in 1780; reason not stated. William, the father of twenty Foxes, lived on the west side of Fox Hill Road near a shed on the present James Perry prop- erty. The cellar hole and a large stone covering a well can still be seen.
Jared, one of William's sons, settled in Bernardston and may have lived on the old place on Fox Hill. Jared's son, Eli, once kept the New England House for several years, and it is surmised that he conducted the bottle-soda-water business.
Chapter IV
EARLY AND PRESENT-DAY BUSINESSES
B ERNARDSTON in 1900 was a community of small farms, with a population of 792 and 222 voters. It was said that Bernard- ston has always been, and probably always will be essentially an agricultural and educational town. The passing years have brought many changes. While in the early days there were many small industries which used water power from Fall River, in 1900 the only manufacturing was the E. S. Hulbert Company. At the site of the old iron works on Fall River, Mr. Hulbert, in 1852, had begun the manufacture of hoes-whence the name, "Hoe Shop Road." Later mason's trowels, rakes and corn-knives were made, and finally a high-grade line of butchers' and kitchen cutlery was the principal product. This factory employed about twenty-five men at the turn of the century. After Mr. Hulbert's death in 1906, his partners, Henry Crowell and Alonzo Alford, continued the business for a time. Nichols Brothers of Greenfield, forerun- ners of Greenfield Tap and Die, bought the plant and business about 1911, soon transferring most operations to Greenfield. The old factory was closed for good about 1913, except as individuals have done private work there. The picturesque old building was still standing in 1960.
Lumbering was an important industry in the early 1900's, with John Chapin doing an extensive business. His sawmill on Fall River, now owned by Raymond Dunnell, was a busy place, with logs piled clear up to River Street. The area east and south of the railroad station was covered with piles of boards and ties. Chestnut trees were plentiful in those days and one source of income for the farmers was the cutting of railroad ties. The chestnut trees have been gone for many years, victims of a blight. One of the pleasures of late autumn was the gathering of chestnuts, which the stores sometimes took in trade. The cutting of telephone poles for the New England Telephone Company, to be used for farmers' lines in northern New England, was another source of income; for a time a carload was shipped each day.
Large quantities of sweet corn were raised about 1904 and sold to a Brattleboro cannery. This was given up in 1907 as the returns were unsatisfactory. The raising of cucumbers was an important
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
crop for some time. About 1914, the Jewett Company of South Deerfield bought them for pickling and stored them in huge brine-filled vats across the tracks from the railroad station. To- bacco has never been a major crop here, as much of Bernardston's soil is unsuited for its growth. Small amounts have been raised from time to time, from the 1890's to 1950. One tobacco barn still stands on Burke Flat meadow.
For many years, the main industry was dairy farming. At one time milk was collected each day from thirty-three farms, and carried in large cans to the railroad station for shipment. In 1960, there were few residents engaged in the dairy business.
There were two blacksmith shops in Bernardston years ago. Egbert E. Cairns, blacksmith and wheelwright, owned a shop on Dewey Street, which he operated until 1903, when it was taken over by Edward Carson. Fred Allen operated a shop on River Street for many years. After his death in 1935, it was soon pur- chased by Harold Streeter and used for storage. Farther down the street and south of the William Kocian place was Cook's shop, pond, and ice house. Charles O. Cook, wheelwright and wood- worker, came to Bernardston in 1888 and ran the shop for many years. Ice was cut there each winter and Cook's pond was always a popular place for skating. The wooden dam gave way about 1922, the pond drained, and the buildings in disrepair, were taken down in 1930.
When the Hulbert Cutlery closed, several of the employees found work in the factories of Greenfield, travelling on the trains, which ran frequently in those days. Then the industrial activity due to World War I gave further employment to shop workers. Other Bernardston residents found work in offices and stores in Greenfield. Less and less farming was done and Bernardston gradually became the commuter town of today.
Although there are no factories in Bernardston, belching black smoke from homely smokestacks, many small businesses do exist. There are several restaurants and snack bars, including the Four Leaf Clover, operated by Charles Skiathitis, and the Lunch Box, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Darwin Scott, on South Street just below Cushman Park. Bernardston Inn, the New England House of olden days, has been a very famous hostelry. The Inn suffered par- tial burning and a shooting affray in 1960. The Chase House, in North Bernardston, formerly Eck Inn, after a disastrous fire in 1960, is about ready to serve the public once more. A field, op- posite the Chase House, contains a dance pavilion which was once the Northfield Railroad Station; here auctions are held weekly in
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
the summer and the Old Home Day Association holds its horse- drawing contests and other festivities on "Old Home Day" in July. Hollywood, owned by Clarence Forbes, in North Bernard- ston, serves as a combined restaurant and motel, the latter called Sunset Motor Court. Other motels are: Wilbur Fallon's Pioneer Valley Motel and Mrs. William Brightman's Bernardston Motel, both on South Street. Also on South Street, the Morning Star Rest Home, owned by Rev. Ralph Jelley, caters principally to elderly people and there are also private homes in town where care for the aged may be obtained.
Lucius Stark's Evergreen Nursery, on the Brattleboro Road, has a brisk roadside business as well as sales by order.
Raymond Dunnell's gristmill, on River Street, is a busy place. Many farmers obtain grain there and corn is brought to be ground and possibly added to a mixed feed. This is one of the few grist- mills in the state which still uses water power for grinding. A win- ter's supply of coal can also be purchased here.
Several stores meet the various grocery and dry goods needs of townspeople. On Church Street, L. L. Harris and Son's store fea- tures Red and White products while Streeter's Bernardston Auto Exchange, Inc. carries a variety of goods; meats, groceries, dry goods, farm machinery, auto accessories, and Mobil gas. There are also two Package Stores in Bernardston, one in the center of town and one in North Bernardston.
Several service stations are located in town; Norman Drew's, Way Foss', and Julia Lailer's in North Bernardston; Fritz's Texaco Station and Livermore's Garage on South Street; Deane's Cities Service in the center of town. So many service stations guar- antee that cars are "fed and fixed" without much travelling and service is available in all parts of the village. On South Street, Myron Barber and Sons conduct a used car business.
The Bernardston Welding Company, Inc., owned by Harry Seager, is located just over the line in Greenfield. Clarence T. Caldwell owns the Franklin Tree Expert Company, Inc. on South Street.
Haskell and Sons conduct a wholesale and retail lumber business on Brattleboro Road in North Bernardston. The builders in town are Lea and Deane, Edward Davis, and Gerald Poirier. Henry Deane and his son, James, do a paint and paper-hanging business.
Edwin Damon has a thriving business in cedar posts and fences on the Northfield Road and the B & B Motor Sales ("Bud" Streeter and "Bud" Foster) is found on the same highway. The Bernardston Auto Wrecking Company, run by Steven Siciak, is
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
located on Turners Falls Road in East Bernardston. Off Shaw Road is found the Slaughter House.
Norman J. Duprey, owner of the Sunbrite Farm, on West Mountain Road, does a large wholesale and retail milk business in surrounding towns as well as Bernardston. Louis Pratt, on South Street, is in the business of buying and selling cattle. The Deane Brothers do custom farming which includes plowing, mowing, and baling.
Morgan Insurance Agency is on Center Street. Bud and June Foster, Cola Nelson, and Louis Pratt deal in real estate.
Inglewood Cabins, located off Bald Mountain Road, owned by the David Messers, is a camping area with cabins for rent. Motor- ists or tourists may do their own housekeeping in these cabins for several weeks or they may stay only overnight.
Clearwater Camping Center is a new enterprise found on Pur- ple Meadow Road in East Bernardston. The Barber Boys, owners, have built a lodge, have dug a well and pond, have built fireplaces, and have prepared the camp site for any persons who have camp trailers or wish to pitch a tent.
There is a thriving maple sugar business in Bernardston. How- ard Grover for many years has made and sold maple syrup at his sugarhouse on Fall River off Burke Flat Road. The Streeter Brothers operate their sugar business on Huckle Hill Road and were the first in town to use plastic pipe lines for gathering sap. Maple syrup is also made by William Underwood and Sons on Chapin Road and Clarence Gray of Fox Hill Road.
The old red wooden sap buckets are now a thing of the past, having been replaced by pails, plastic bags, and pipe lines. During the "boiling" season, visitors are invited to observe the process at these sugarhouses and many groups take advantage of this oppor- tunity to watch "sugaring."
Some additional businesses are: Fred and Paul Donaldson's Ryther House Barn located on Brattleboro Road, which advertises 10,000 antiques, Richard Zehnter's Four Columns Antiques on South Street, Laurence Newton's Fall River Print Shop, on Bald Mountain Road, and Lee's Beauty Shop on Church Street, owned by Lena Corkins.
At present there exists an Economic Development Committee, appointed in March, 1961, to study conditions and to interest small businesses and industries in locating in Bernardston. An ad- visory board was later appointed to work with the original com- mittee. This group has met several times and recommends further study.
Chapter V
UTILITIES
BERNARDSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
O NE Monday evening in September of 1908, there was held in the Bernardston Town Hall, a special meeting to consider matters pertaining to better fire protection for the town. It was voted to procure a hose cart, water pails and three hundred feet of additional hose. Fred B. Denison was chosen as chief engineer, and he, together with a committee of five, consisting of Arthur H. Nelson, Edward N. Carson, Irwin B. Hale, Leon O. Burrows and Warren H. Root, were to complete plans for the organization of a fire company. This action was a result of a fire in the center of town the last part of August when John Chapin's team barn and his old home, located just east of the barn, burned. Mr. Chapin's new home, now owned by Lena Corkins, was on fire several times, but through the efforts of men, women and children, was saved with very little damage. It is interesting to note that the hose cart cost $54.00; three hundred feet of hose, $53.75; and miscellaneous equipment, $2.50. Edward Carson was paid $9.00 for care of fire equipment.
In 1910, Mr. Edward E. Benjamin was named Fire Warden at a salary of $5.00. His expenses for the year were $1.65, and Harry Hargraves, who was injured at a fire, was reimbursed the sum of $20.00.
For the next several years the old hand pumper, hose cart and a few ladders were stored, together with the hearse, in the build- ing in the rear of the Town Hall. With modes of transportation being slower in those days, generally by the time somebody hitched up a horse and drove to the Town Hall to fetch the pumper and hose cart, either the fire had gone out or the building burned up. It was used quite successfully at a few fires in the center of town.
One July 3rd, after the hand pumper had outlived its best days, a group of spirited young men took it on what was supposed to be its last ride. The town fathers apparently did not approve, and the old pumper was restored and put into very good working order.
At times the townspeople talked of a water system and in 1916,
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
a meeting was held and a motion to build a water system for $32,- 000.00 was lost. World War I came along then and nothing more was done about a system until 1929.
The Town of Bernardston bought its first piece of motorized fire equipment in 1925. It consisted of a Model T Ford with two forty-gallon chemical tanks, two hundred feet of hose and fifty water pails, costing $1900.00. This addition to the Fire Department was considered quite a forward step and several buildings were actually saved by its use. At this time Herman A. Wiemers was appointed Forest Warden serving until 1929, when Waldo E. Prentice was appointed to the position. Harold S. Streeter was appointed Fire Warden in 1932, and served for over twenty years.
A bill was passed in the legislature creating the Bernardston Fire and Water District in 1930. By 1937, the water system was built and for the first time water was available in the main part of the town which could be used for fire fighting.
In 1938, the town purchased a new V8 Ford truck for $615.00 equipped with a front-end Barton pump with four hundred gal- lon per minute capacity. The pump with some hose cost $1125.00.
In order to get a lower insurance rating it was necessary to have a five hundred gallon per minute pump, so in 1941, the town traded for another V8 Ford truck, this time getting one with a cab on it. This truck is still in service being used as a forest fire truck. This same year the town purchased a large siren to be used as a fire alarm. A short blast is sounded each Saturday at 12:05 p.m. to make sure all is in good working order.
In 1945, the town voted to form a Volunteer Fire Department with the selectmen appointing a group of not more than twelve engineers, who would elect from their group a chief, and any other officers, they felt were necessary. It was their duty to run the Fire Department. Oscar R. Woodard was the first chief under this system, holding the position until 1948. Wendell E. Streeter was then elected, serving to the present time.
At the annual town meeting in March, 1954, on request of the engineers, the town appropriated $10,000.00 to buy and equip a new truck to supplement the 1941 Ford. This was delivered in De- cember of that year, a much needed addition to the Department.
In 1955, with the help of Fred A. Donaldson, the Fire Depart- ment conducted a very successful drive for funds to purchase an Emerson Resuscitator which has proved to be most useful. Both trucks were equipped with radios in 1956, and a portable set was
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
also purchased. This is used to keep in contact with the trucks when they are out or to take into the woods during forest fires.
Realizing that many fires could be put out with very little damage if fire extinguishers were available in the home, the en- gineers, in conjunction with the observance of Fire Prevention Week, conducted a house to house drive in October, 1959. Ap- proximately one hundred extinguishers were sold to the towns- people.
Periodically fire schools are run to train new members of the Department and they also serve as review sessions for veteran members. General fire fighting practices are taught by instructors approved by the Massachusetts Department of Education.
The engineers meet weekly during the summer months and every two weeks in the winter. At these meetings, usually held on Monday nights, the men do necessary maintenance work on the equipment, check to make sure it is operating properly and prac- tice fire fighting techniques. Since the Volunteer Fire Department was formed in 1945, the following have served as engineers: Duane Bliss, Harold Coates, Clarence Deane, Hulbert Denison, Paul Donaldson, David Dwight, Alfred Flagg, Walter Grover, Sr., Harold Hale, Clifford Harris, Charles Herrick, Roy Herrick, Donald Lenois, James McCrea, Cola Nelson, Irah Snow, Elmore Streeter, Ernest Streeter, Holman Whitaker and Junior Wiemers.
Bernardston is one of the original member towns of the Tri- State Mutual Aid System formed in 1949. Tri-State covers the territory from Northampton to Keene and Athol to Charlemont, an overall area of about 1,100 square miles, with approximately forty-five member towns. The Greenfield Fire Department serves as the dispatch headquarters and all calls for additional equip- ment or fire fighters are either phoned or radioed there. The men on duty, in turn dispatch the necessary equipment or men from the nearest available point. At the center there is a complete list of equipment owned by each of the member departments. If the local department finds it necessary to use both of the trucks at a fire, Tri-State sends a truck to stand by at headquarters (Bernard- ston Auto Exchange, Inc.) in case another fire call comes in. In 1959, the Civil Air Patrol became affiliated with Tri-State. The use of airplane observers during forest fires can often shorten the time needed to extinguish the blaze. Each member town pays yearly dues of $10.00 which are used to cover administrative ex- penses.
For the past several years Bernardston has had a very good
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
Volunteer Fire Department and in time of need all of the towns- people have been very cooperative in helping one another in whatever emergencies have arisen.
THE BERNARDSTON FIRE AND WATER DISTRICT
T HE question of a water supply for the Town of Bernardston appeared periodically in the news as early as 1900, but the campaign for a water system in Bernardston began in earnest at the annual meeting in March, 1915, when the following vote was passed:
"That a committee be appointed by the Moderator, of which he shall act as one member, to make investigation as to the pos- sible sources and the feasibility of getting a water supply for the village."
Hugh E. Adams, moderator of the meeting, appointed Dr. Wil- lard H. Pierce and John W. Chapin to serve with him on this com- mittee. Reports were secured from four different engineers in- cluding one from the State Department of Health and one from the New England Insurance Exchange. Mill Brook (also called West Mountain or Barton Brook) seemed to be the most likely site and the reports and estimates were based on this location. Some questioned the reliability of this supply but the committee wrote in their report:
"Your committee begs to state that no apprehension need be felt as to the possible failure of the water supply if taken from the source mentioned in the several reports (Mill Brook) as the State Board of Health have accumulated data for many years as to the rainfall and runoff of the water-sheds of the various streams of the state and you will see by their report that they consider the supply adequate."
The committee's report was apparently not enough to convince the voters that a water system would benefit the town. No action was taken on this proposal, and mention of a water system virtu- ally disappeared from the records for fourteen years.
The period from March 4, 1929, when an article appeared in the Town Report asking that the town vote to appoint a commit- tee to negotiate with the Town of Greenfield to supply Bernard- ston with water, until the completion of the construction of our own separate system in 1936, marked the real beginning of the
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HISTORY OF BERNARDSTON, 1900-1960
present day Fire and Water District. It did not come about easily. Both those favoring the water system, and those opposing it were well organized, and the entire seven-year period was marked with petitions, counter-petitions, special meetings, protest meetings and disputes.
In 1930, as a result of a petition through Representative David I. Walsh of Clinton, and with the aid of J. B. Kennedy of Green- field, the Bernardston Fire and Water District was formed by act of legislation in the State House in Boston. A meeting of the in- habitants and voters of that part of the town within the bound- aries of the newly formed Fire and Water District was held on July 18, 1930. The meeting was called to order by Herman A. Wiemers, one of the petitioners, who presided and read the war- rant. Myron E. Barber was chosen clerk and Frank R. Foster, Sr. was elected moderator. Herman Wiemers described the boundaries of the Bernardston Fire and Water District and it was voted to accept the Act establishing the District. Howard Moat was then elected clerk, Myron Barber, treasurer, with the following Water Commissioners: Herman A. Wiemers, three years; John W. Chapin, two years and Warren H. Root, one year.
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