USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Melrose > Melrose, Massachusetts, 1900-1950; commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the town of Melrose and the fiftieth anniversary of the incorporation of the city of Melrose > Part 13
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He was a member of the Elks, the Fish and Game Club, the Melrose Athletic Club, and Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus. He had five sons and two daughters, one of them, Elena Kirmes, becoming an opera singer.
E. COPELAND LANG died in Clearwater, Florida, December 13, 1947, when sixty-six years of age. He was born in Reading, came to Melrose as a child, graduated from the Melrose High School, and was employed from 1900 to 1928 by the Heywood- Wakefield Company, rattan manufacturers. In 1909 he was one of the incorporators of the Melrose Free Press. He was active in civic affairs, a member of the Board of Directors of the Young Men's Christian Association and president of the Board from 1912 to 1914, a member of the First Baptist Church and chairman of the Finance Committee. In 1928 he moved to Belfast, Maine, where he purchased the Mathews Brothers Company, manufac- turers of flooring and house finishing, of which he became presi- dent and treasurer for eighteen years. He was a member of the Belfast City Council, 1930-1934; Mayor of Belfast, 1934-1936, 1938-1940 and 1943-1946. He was survived by his wife, a son and three married daughters. His ashes were buried in Wyoming Cemetery.
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JOHN LARRABEE died at his home on West Foster Street on January 8, 1929. He was born in Melrose April 21, 1850, and, when his father died when he was eleven years old, became the support of his mother. He was the first newsboy in Melrose, finally selling his route to Dr. E. R. Knight, a druggist, for whom he went to work and from whom he learned the drug business, and also the methods of city 'government, as Dr. Knight was town clerk for six years, and the Board of Selectmen often met at his drug store.
Mr. Larrabee became a pharmacist in 1867, and continued the business for twenty-three years, when he took in as partner his clerk, A. C. Stearns, and established the firm of Larrabee and Stearns. When he retired in 1913 the firm name was changed to Stearns and Hill. He was a member of the Board of Registration in Pharmacy from 1887 to 1900, being secretary and president for several years. He was also the first cashier of the Melrose National Bank and later a director of the Melrose Trust Company for many years. At the time of his death he was president of the Melrose Savings Bank. He was town clerk from 1873 to 1894, clerk of the Selectmen from 1888 to 1893, a member of the County Commis- sioners from 1875 to 1900 and of the Sewer Commission from 1895 to 1900. When the City Government was formed he became the first city treasurer and was elected the second mayor, 1901-1902. He was also chairman of the cemetery committee. As mayor he carried through the Spot Pond case by which the City was awarded forty thousand dollars. He was also a member of the State Legis- lature, 1886-1887; president of the Board of Trade; a deacon and trustee of the First Baptist Church; a member of the Masons, Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias, the A.O.U.W., the Franklin Fraternity, the American Pharmaceutical Association, and the Republican Club. Burial was in Wyoming Cemetery from the First Baptist Church, Rev. Walter A. Woodbury, the pastor, delivering the eulogy. City flags were at half mast.
DR. RALPH D. LEONARD, born in Westfield, Massachusetts on August 6, 1886, came to Melrose in 1899 where his father was pastor of the First Methodist Church. He attended public and high schools, graduated from Boston Latin High School, then from Harvard in 1907 and from Harvard Medical School in 1910. In 1914 he married Florence E. Sinclair of Melrose, and they have one daughter. He became an X-ray specialist, practising in Bos- ton, in the Melrose Hospital and in nearby institutions. He was connected for twenty years with the Melrose Savings Bank of which he is president. He is also a trustee of the First Methodist
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Church, the Fitch Home, and of the Masonic Temple. He was president and later trustee of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation, part owner of the Melrose Free Press and a member of the School Committee for twelve years. Since 1946 he has been acting superintendent of the Melrose Hospital.
MRS. MARY ASHTON (RICE) LIVERMORE was born in Boston December 19, 1820, and lived in Melrose for thirty-five years. Her husband, Rev. Daniel Parker Livermore, died in 1899. Their home was at 21 West Emerson Street. A woman active in public work, a member of the Unitarian Church, she was one of the outstand- ing personalities in the history of Melrose.
Before coming to Melrose, and while working on her hus- band's paper in Chicago, she organized, with Mrs. Rachel Hoge, the Sanitary Commission of the West and Northwest, a forerunner of the Red Cross, furnishing hospital service and welfare work on a large scale to the soldiers of the Civil War. This was fol- lowed by a notable lecture career, beginning in Iowa, for the Redpath Bureau and the Chautauqua. When the newspaper was sold, she and her husband made their home in Melrose, while he acted as pastor in Hingham. She was the organizer of the Woman's Suffrage Association in Illinois and in Massachusetts, the first League of Women Voters, and of the Woman's Christian Tem- perance Union in Melrose.
On December 19, 1900, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, the Melrose Woman's Club and the Highlands Woman's Club held a joint reception in City Hall to honor her eightieth birthday. Mrs. Walter Littlefield and Mrs. C. F. Hancock repre- sented the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Mrs. Frank Stantial the Melrose Woman's Club, and Mrs. Burke F. Leavitt the Highlands Woman's Club.
Mrs. Livermore died May 23, 1905, after a few days illness from pneumonia. City Hall bell was tolled and the flag was at half mast. The funeral was held in the First Congregational Church, with pall bearers from the G.A.R. Many state and city officials were present, also Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, then eighty- six years of age. The business firms were closed from 2.00 to 4.30 P.M. On June 4 a memorial service was held in the Unitarian Church, and on June 13 a memorial service was held in the Congre- gational Church by the various women's organizations in the City.
WALLACE RAYMOND LOVETT was born in Melrose August 6, 1880, the son of George Frederick and Eliza (Carleton) Lovett. He was educated in the Melrose schools, and then was employed
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by the Second National Bank in Boston from 1900 to 1907, by Loring and Noble, trustees, from 1907 to 1918, and then by the Standard Diary Company from 1918 to the date of his retirement in 1946 as president of the company. He was also director and vice-president of the Malden Savings Bank and of the Melrose Cooperative Bank; president of the Fitch Home; a member of the Board of Aldermen and the Melrose School Board; a member of the Massachusetts State Guard, 1917-1919; chairman of the Unemployment Relief Committee; a 33d Degree Mason, and active in the Congregational Church. He was married in 1902 to Maude Alice Morrin of Newton.
REV. HAROLD MARSHALL was born in Kingston, New Hamp- shire, June 8, 1866. He studied at Tufts Divinity School where he was made a Doctor of Divinity in 1920. On September 11, 1893, he married Bertha Hills of Boston, by whom he had one daughter, now Mrs. Eaton H. Perkins of Melrose. He was ordained a min- ister in the Universalist Church and served as pastor in Beverly from 1891 to 1897, in Swampscott until 1904 and in Melrose 1904 to 1917. He became manager of the Universalist Publishing House and editor of the Christian Leader in 1917. He was active as a lec- turer on American history and civics, and one of the authors of 'Democracy in the Making," in 1915. He was founder of the Boston Flower Mission and organized the Community Meetings held each Sunday afternoon in Memorial Hall. He was active in support of the soldiers in World War I and in bond drives, and was of constant help to the civic officials, always with the inter- ests of the people as his first object. He made his home in Melrose, where he died July 14, 1932.
EUGENE H. MOORE was born in Somerset, New Hampshire, in 1863, came to Melrose in 1872, and lived on Porter Street, except for a few years on a farm in Lincoln, Massachusetts. He was a dog fancier, and bred prize St. Bernards. He was connected with the firm of Arnold Lawson Company, stock brokers, and also developed real estate on the East Side.
Mr. Moore was a selectman from 1893 to 1898, alderman at large from 1900 to 1906, and elected mayor from 1907 to 1911. He died March 6, 1919, after two years illness. He was survived by his wife, a son, Winthrop H. Moore, a daughter, Mrs. Ger- trude Provandie, and five grandchildren. The funeral was from Trinity Episcopal Church, attended by Mayor Charles H. Adams, former mayors, selectmen and other officials. The City flag was at half mast and the City offices closed.
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DR. PAUL H. PROVANDIE was born in Boston February 25, 1875, educated in the public schools of Somerville and Melrose, the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard in 1893, and graduated from the Harvard Medical School Cum Laude in 1896 with the degree of M.D. He was appointed assistant instructor in anatomy and physiology at Harvard and later assistant instructor in hy giene at the Lawrence Scientific School.
Dr. Provandie then practiced medicine in Melrose, and for many years was a member of the medical staff of Melrose Hos- pital. In 1916 he entered the Officers Training Camp at Platts- burg, and was commissioned a lieutenant. He was then assigned to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and appointed instructor in first aid. He next joined the Harvard Medical Unit and went overseas, where he was appointed captain in the British forces and assigned to a British hospital in Northern France. He later became a mem- ber of the Melrose Board of Health, and city physician during a smallpox epidemic; a member of the School Committee in 1914, resigning in 1923 when elected Mayor in 1923 and 1924, after which he was reelected to the School Committee; he was also an Elk, an Odd Fellow, and a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society. He died suddenly of heart disease at his home on Bellevue Avenue April 7, 1931. The funeral was at home with Rev. Warren C. Herrick of Trinity Episcopal Church officiating. Schools and city offices were closed and the city flags at half mast.
FRANK JAMES SHERMAN Was born in Manchester, New Hamp- shire; educated at Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire, Boston University Law School and Clark University. He was principal of the High School in South Dartmouth when he was married in 1894. In 1895 he was principal of Kesser Academy in Canterbury, New Hampshire, and later principal of McGaw Normal Institute in Monson, Massachusetts. After a few years he resigned to become salesman for Silver Burdett Company in New England territory, and in 1907 joined the Newson Com- pany, both publishers of school books. He retired from active business in 1938. He had organized and was secretary-treasurer of the Educational Salesmen's Association of New England. He was also a Mason, a member of the Melrose Athletic Association and the Unitarian Church. About 1907, when living on Renwick Road he was elected alderman for Ward One, but when the bound- ary line was corrected he was found living in Wakefield, so he moved to Warwick Road, and was re-elected several times. He was also a member of the School Committee and was appointed
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assessor in 1931, becoming chairman in 1938. He died at his home on Porter Street on February 23, 1945, at the age of seventy, and was buried from the First Unitarian Church. He was survived by his wife, a daughter and six sons, all officers in the Army or Navy.
His son Forrest Percival Sherman was in command of the carrier U.S.S. Wasp when it was sunk while on patrol duty near Guadalcanal, September 15, 1942, when he was cited for gal- lantry. He was Deputy Chief of Staff for the Pacific Ocean Area in 1943, Commander of Carrier Division One in 1945 and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations in 1946, with the rank of vice-admiral. In 1949 he was made Chief of Naval Operations.
FRANKLIN P. SHUMWAY was born in Auburndale, Newton, Massachusetts, October 23, 1856 and moved to Melrose in 1879, where he joined the First Congregational Church in 1881, was superintendent of the Primary Department for eight years, taught the Bible Class twenty-one years and was senior deacon in 1935. He helped organize the Young Men's Christian Association in 1890, was a director forty-five years and chairman of the building trustees, also unpaid clerk of the State Executive Council for twenty-five years. He was a trustee and honorary deacon of Hill- crest Church, member of the Melrose Sinking Fund Commission until bonds were paid, and in 1898 was president and chairman of the executive committee of the Amphion Club. He was elected an incorporator of the Melrose Savings Bank in 1901, a trustee in 1904 and vice-president in 1932.
For forty years Mr. Shumway was on the executive com- mittee and president of the Boston Seaman's Friend Society and helped establish the Vineyard Sound Mission. He was chairman of the executive committee of the American Congregational Asso- ciation, first president of the Melrose Historical Society, an asso- ciate member of the G.A.R. Post, president of the Municipal League. For forty years, until the time of his death, he was presi- dent of the advertising agency in Boston bearing his name.
Mr. Shumway died at his home on Bellevue Avenue January 11, 1941 after a short illness. Rev. Richard E. Bennett of the Belmont Congregational Church and Rev. Olin B. Tracy of the First Congregational Church officiated at his funeral. The city flags were at half mast. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
JOHN C. F. SLAYTON Was born in Calais, Vermont, June 27, 1856, moved to Morrisville as a boy, and to Boston when he was
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twenty-two, where he was employed by Q. and O. W. Mead in the produce business. After a few years he founded the firm of Slayton and Boynton, later becoming sole owner, but retaining the name. In 1884 he moved to Melrose and purchased a house on West Wyoming Avenue.
Mr. Slayton was elected an alderman, a member of the Gov- ernor's Council; was first member of the Melrose Planning Board, active in clearing up the difficulties over the Spot Pond Brook, chairman of the building committee on Memorial Hall. With James M. Maguire he purchased the old icehouses at the foot of Porter Street and gave them to the City to demolish, and later secured the vacant lot on Main Street that made possible the park and promenade along Ell Pond. He gave the illuminated clock to City Hall, the paintings of the Jungfrau and of Lexington to Memorial Hall, and also the organ in Memorial Hall. He was also active in the establishment of the Mount Hood Reservation. He was a member of the Massachusetts Food Commission, the Melrose Young Men's Christian Association, the Red Cross, chairman of the Community War Chest committee, and alderman in 1903-1905.
Mr. Slayton died January 4, 1922 and on January 29, 1922 a memorial service was held for him in Memorial Hall, with some one thousand eight hundred persons attending. Charles H. Adams was chairman; Governor Channing Cox and Ex-Governor Bates attended. The address was by Rev. Harold Marshall. Resolutions of sorrow were voted by the Governor's Council, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Melrose Board of Aldermen.
WILLIAM DUDLEY SPRAGUE retired as principal of Melrose High School in 1945 and died August 5, 1947 at his home in Rowley just a month after losing his wife. He was seventy-five years of age, and known familiarly as "Uncle Bill." He was graduated from Harvard in 1894, and was headmaster in Dummer Academy and principal of Salem and Dedham High Schools before becoming principal of the Melrose High School for twenty-four years. He was secretary-treasurer of the Massachusetts High School Athletic Association, president of the Massachusetts Principals Association, a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, a Mason, an Odd Fellow, a life member and presi- dent 1941-1942 of the Amphion Club, a vestryman and trustee of Trinity Episcopal Church. He was survived by two children.
THOMAS LADNOR THISTLE was born in Hillsboro, New Bruns- wick, on March 14, 1894; was brought to Wakefield in 1902,
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graduated from the Wakefield High School, then employed first by the National Shawmut Bank in Boston, and then by the Mel- rose National Bank. The family moved to Melrose in 1919. He worked his way through Boston University Law School, gradu- ating in 1920 with degree of LL.B. This was interrupted by his military service in 1917, when he was a sergeant with the 301st Field Artillery, 76th Division. Graduating from the Saumur Artillery School in France, he was commissioned second lieu- tenant. He was admitted to the Federal Bar in 1921, and appointed official Land Court Examiner in 1924. In 1938 he was elected president of the First District Eastern Middlesex Bar Association. He served as a member of the Melrose Board of Appeal 1931-1937. In 1941 he was appointed appeal agent on the World War II Draft Board. In 1942 he graduated from the Judge Advocate's Course, National Law School in Washington, and was ordered to active duty as major in the Judge Advocate General's Department, sub- sequently promoted lieutenant colonel. He received a Legion of Merit Citation, awarded in 1946. In 1941 he was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Industrial Accident Board, inter- rupted by army duty, but later resumed, and reappointed in 1947. He was elected Mayor of Melrose in 1947 and re-elected without opposition in 1949. In 1924 he married Bernice A. Barrows, and the same year built a home on Youle Street. They have one daughter, Elinor.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE FUTURE
What of the future of the City of Melrose? Prognostication might logically be based on an analysis of its history of the past fifty years which this volume is recording. But in this rapid mov- ing age of changing conceptions of human relations, expanding mechanism, and scientific development, what is to be the out- come of the succeeding half century is none too well defined.
To be sure, our past history has been most creditable. By some it might perhaps be deemed as prosaic and uneventful, but the growth of Melrose from the date of its incorporation as a city has been a record of conservative progress, indicative of thoughtful planning and careful execution. Within our own Commonwealth, and even beyond, Melrose has acquired a repu- tation as an outstanding community from many points of view. Without any semblance of boasting, we do not hesitate to present some of the features of which we can well be proud. In the first place, we are a quiet community, without the noise and confu- sion of a manufacturing area. In the second place, we are not infested with business or recreational elements of an undesirable nature. The cleanliness of the City and its freedom from objec- tionable features are readily apparent. In the third place are the people of Melrose. From them stems the character of the com- munity. They are home lovers and home owners, and vitally interested in the higher standards of community life. This char- acter is clearly demonstrated in our school system, with the school children well housed, with modern equipment and accom- modations; well taught by efficient teachers, properly supervised. Again the character of the Melrose people is demonstrated by the predominance of churches and religious activities. A common interest is manifest in interdenominational activities, without narrowness or bigotry, all readily cooperating in maintaining the best in community welfare.
Politics in Melrose cannot be described as violent or rabid. The City government to an unusual extent has been in the hands of citizens of integrity and ability, so that as a community, political chicanery, waste and mismanagement have been un- known factors. From the external angle, Melrose has ever been a "well-kept" city. Clean streets, good sidewalks, ample play-
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grounds, well-constructed municipal buildings, attractive resi- dences, and a general all-round appearance of good American living clearly stamp Melrose as the ideal city in which to live.
Looking to the future one could easily visualize the con- tinued growth of our city along the same conservative lines as in the past, were there room for such growth. But with its phys- ical area permanently established, future building of necessity will be limited to the filling in of rather scarce vacant spots. The Main Street and its mercantile trend will undergo changes as new styles become fashionable. Quite likely the coming years will witness a greatly extended retail business section. Public build- ings of ancient structure will doubtless give way to those of more modern design. More recreational facilities will be demanded and created, for the leisure time of the coming generation seems to be on the increase. As a people we are today in a period of changing thought and ideals. How much the stability of human character is to be affected by the innovations of this new social scale of living is yet to be determined. As a city, we have had a past that is creditable. As a city, we have a present that has not yet suffered any deterioration. As a city, we must look to and plan for the future with all the best that is in us, of character, clear thinking, integrity, and energy, and the history of our first fifty years will be enhanced and the century rounded out with an outstanding record of wise and honest accomplishment. To be a resident of Melrose is an honor. Let us ever esteem that honor, and hold it high.
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APPENDIX A
A list of Melrose citizens killed in World War I and World War II, as shown on the tablets erected in their honor by the City of Melrose.
WORLD WAR I
Stuart F. Messenger
Lawrence D. Cox
Arthur S. Hunt
John Joseph Brown
William R. Taylor
William E. Schofield, Jr.
William C. N. Boylen
Arvid P. Mason
Everett G. Philbrick
Arthur Gibbons
Maurice W. Estes
Earl Shea
James McInness
Harold H. Emerson
Carl I. Goodwin
Edward B. Shaw
John W. Bradley
Harold O. Young
Philip A. Robinson
Edward F. Lloyd
Charles F. Hunt
Otis W. Bishop
Dr. Howard B. Jackson
Nelson E. Corthell
William J. Brown
Wilfred A. Vallard
Nathaniel W. Pope
Irving Kennard
Robert C. Pearson
Angus W. Thompson
Angus J. MacLean
Leslie McPherson
WORLD WAR II
George W. Alther, Jr.
Vincent F. Byrne
John R. Alvord
James L. Calt
Leonard A. Ames
John A. Chisholm, Jr.
Roy F. Andersen
William G. Chisholm
Everett R. Backman
Alden W. Clark, Jr.
Eliot R. Barber
Paul S. Colton
Julius W. Barnovitch Alfred W. Bierweiler
Charles M. Cooper, Jr.
Gordon W. Corbin
George W. Bonzagni
Lawrence W. Crozier
John S. Curry
James D. Boudreau Rocco R. Brangiforte Arthur C. Brophy, Jr.
Earle A. DeAngeles
Arthur L. Delaney
John W. Brower
Herbert E. DeMontier
Roger D. Brown
Richard S. Edwards
Freeman C. Bushee
Frank J. Eurmnt
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Joseph A. Gainard Francis W. Goodwin Everett J. Graham, Jr. Joseph E. Grant Edwin H. Hallgren Neil J. Hanley Donald P. Herbert James P. Hill Daniel A. Horgan
George E. McNeil
Francis P. McQueeney
George L. McRae Frank G. Meriam George P. Munroe
Winsor Naugler Otis E. Nelson
Weimar E. Neunzer
W. Earle Newton, Jr.
Henry G. Ingersoll, Jr.
George F. Noyes
C. Glen Jaycock
Rexford C. Noyes
George H. Johnson
Ralph A. Parker, Jr.
Clayton R. Kaulback
Wimburne M. Phinney
John J. Kelley
Richard J. Pulsifer
Robert G. Kelley
Charles A. Richitella
Richard H. Knight
Charles E. Robinson
Clarence N. LeFave
Rodney F. Russell
Richard P. Lyle
Donato T. Scenna
Robert F. Magown
Newton D. Stanley Milton E. Stone
Donald H. Mann
Graham D. Walden
Wallace J. Manson
Roger E. Washburn
Leonard J. Marrs
Earle A. Whidden
Alfred L. Marshall
Ernest E. Whitney, Jr.
Stephen J. McGonigle
Robert S. Williams
Arnold G. McIlwraith
Paul S. Woods
William J. McLean
Wayne G. Woolley
David P. McMurray
William M. Wright
Elmer E. Maihiot, Jr.
John W. Malm
William T. Thompson, Jr.
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APPENDIX B
The Committee appointed to organize the Fiftieth Anniversary of the City of Melrose, January 1, 1900 to January 1, 1950, and the Cen- tennial of the Community of Melrose, May 3, 1850 to May 3, 1950.
Honorary Chairman
Mayor Thomas L. Thistle
General Committee
Dr. Ralph D. Leonard, Chairman
Charles H. Adams
Victor A. Friend
Ralph F. George
Angier L. Goodwin
Willis C. Goss Charles A. Hunter
Frank B. Mclaughlin
Louis K. McNally Mrs. Eaton H. Perkins
Carl A. Raymond Mrs. Thomas F. Troy
Secretary Miss Blanche E. Nickerson
Historian Edwin C. Kemp
Publicity
Benjamin F. Felt, Chairman Arthur C. Jaynes Mrs. Kenneth L. MacLachlan
Edward J. Murphy
Miss Dorothy M. Raymond
Program
Victor A. Friend, Chairman Charles H. Adams
Frank B. Mclaughlin Mayor Thomas L. Thistle, ex-officio
Publication
Mrs. Eaton H. Perkins, Chairman Ralph F. George Louis K. McNally
Concert
Victor A. Friend, Chairman
Dr. Harold L. Margeson Harold A. Sewall
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