USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Newton, Garden City of the Commonwealth > Part 5
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HUNNEWELL CLUB.
Courtesy of clubhouse extended to visiting Knights Templar, Aug. 29, 1895.
For three seasons the club held exhibi- tions of paintings of noted artists, and its open-air band concerts in June have been noteworthy features since 1895.
The following gentlemen have served as presidents of the club: Hon. R. M. Pulsifer, 1887-88; Hon. R. R. Bishop, 1888-90; Hon. H. E. Cobb, 1890-96; Hon. S. L. Powers, 1896-98 ; Hon. J. A. Fenno, 1898-99; Edwin B. Haskell, Esq., 1899-1901 ; James Richard Carter, Esq., 1901-02.
great that an enlarged sphere of action was determined upon, and Sept. 25, 1897, an application was made for a charter of incorporation. The Hunnewell Club of Newton was thus incorporated under date of Nov. 15, 1897, Messrs. Charles W. Hall, Edward W. Pope, Nat C. Whitaker, Albert B. Jewell, Albert D. W. Sampson, Francis H. Nichols, John D. Barrows, Freelan O. Stanley, Theodore W. Trowbridge, Reuben Ford, Charles E. Currier and Hon. Hermon E. Hib- bard being the incorporators. Dec. 9, 1897, the first board of officers were
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elected, consisting of Edward W. Pope, president ; George Agry, Jr., vice-presi- dent; J. Edward Hills, secretary ; John D. Barrows, treasurer ; directors, Her- mon E. Hibbard, Samuel Farquhar, Al- bert B. Jewell, Charles W. Hall, Francis H. Nichols, Henry W. Kendal and Walter B. Trowbridge. The limit of membership was then fixed at two hundred. April 1, 1898, the club took possession of its pres- ent clubhouse, erected at private expense by the Messrs. F. E. and F. O. Stanley and formally opened by a reception on April 14 of that year. Since that time
were G. Fred Hall, William Fleming, W. H. Barnes, George Coffin, Samuel F. Brewer, George Frost, William T. Farley, George H. Benvon, E. T. Slocum, J. F. Ryder and W. F. Slocum, Jr., and of these Messrs. Farley, Coffin and Frost have been continuously on the membership list.
The first officers were: William Flem- ing, president ; W. H. Barnes, vice-presi- dent ; S. F. Brewer, secretary ; G. H. Ben- yon, treasurer ; E. T. Slocum, captain.
The club took the second story of the Robertson boathouse, recently torn down, for its quarters, having room on the lower
RESIDENCE, CHARLES E. RILEY, BELLEVUE STREET.
the club has become firmly established as one of the attractions and special features of the city, and its clubhouse is recognized as the headquarters of an organization es- tablished for the purpose of adding to the comfort and happiness of its members and friends.
NEWTON BOAT CLUB.
N EWTON BOAT CLUB was first organized in 1876 to increase the interest in boat racing on the Charles River. Among its first members
floor for storing boats. The membership grew rapidly and new quarters were se- lected where the Wabewawas are now located. The new site was inconvenient to many of the members, and with a large debt a hard struggle ensued to keep up the organization. In 1886 Mr. R. M. Pulsifer, who had before befriended the club, purchased the site of the present clubhouse on Charles Street, and a cor- poration, known as the Newton Boat Club, was formed to meet the expense of build- ing a new clubhouse estimated to cost $10,000.
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Upon its erection the club grew very rapidly until its ultimate limit of three hundred was reached and a waiting list established.
The canvas canoe is the favorite craft on the river, and on every pleasant day hundreds of these graceful boats can be seen on the Charles.
The club gives band concerts weekly during June and September of each year, and otherwise takes the lead in events along the river.
was organized. This club continued in active existence a little less than three years. After that occasional meetings of citizens of Newton Centre were held to consider subjects of public interest, and on Sept. 10, 1879, such a meeting resulted in the organization of the Newton Centre Improvement Association, which has re- mained in continuous existence since that time, being the oldest improvement asso- ciation in the country.
The association was incorporated under the state laws, July 24, 1901. The pres-
The present officers are : Harry L. Bur- rage, president ; Henry Whitmore, vice- ent officers are : W. M. Noble, president ;
BAPTIST CHURCH, NEWTON CENTRE.
president ; Richard W. Buntin, secretary ; Charles E. Hatfield, treasurer ; and Eugene E. Pettee, captain.
NEWTON CENTRE IMPROVE- MENT ASSOCIATION.
O N Sept. 16, 1852, in response to a call addressed " The citizens of Newton Centre and vicinity who are fond of cooling shades in sultry days and who are in favor of forming a Tree As- sociation," a meeting was held in Lyceum Hall and the Newton Centre Tree Club
Dr. George L. West, vice-president ; C.M. Goddard, secretary ; I. C. Paul, treasurer ; Charles Copeland, auditor. The above officers, with the exception of the auditor, constitute the executive committee, with the following gentlemen: George F. Spaulding, J. A. Cole, W. E. Parker, John E. Rockwood, F. T. Parks, Arthur Muldoon, W. H. Rand, C. E. Kelsey and E. B. Bishop.
The work of the association has been to look after the interests of the village of Newton Centre, and most of the public grounds in the village have been due to its
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efforts. Over fifteen thousand dollars was raised by subscription in order to establish the Newton Centre Playground. It has given very elaborate entertainments in the way of sports and fireworks on the Fourth of July almost since its organization, and always stands ready to take up any subject which affects the interests of Newton Centre in a careful, systematic manner, and has usually been successful in carrying such projects to completion because it has had an organized association to fall back upon.
in matters affecting the public good ; the beautifying of the streets and pub- lic squares of the village, and stimulating our citizens each to make his own prem- ises and surroundings more attractive ; to provide such entertainments as the board of government may think best ; and to look after the interests of the vil- lage generally. The annual membership fee is one dollar.
One of the first things accomplished by the society was the leasing from the city of the schoolhouse upon Ash Street which
RESIDENCE, WILLIAM H. EMERSON, HOVEY STREET.
AUBURNDALE VILLAGE IM- PROVEMENT SOCIETY.
T HE Auburndale Village Improve- ment Society was organized Oct. 31, 1883, at a public meeting held in the chapel of the Congregational church.
Fifty-one gentlemen signed the consti- tution at this meeting, and later, by vote of the society, ladies were made eligible, and the total membership reached some two hundred of the leading people of the village.
The object of the association is to cre- ate and encourage a spirit of improvement
had been abandoned for school purposes, and the converting of the second story into a hall capable of seating one hundred and seventy-five to two hundred people.
This hall was suitably furnished at a cost of over one thousand dollars, and for some twelve years was of great value to the people, as it was the only public meet- ing place in the village.
Another of the larger improvements brought about by the society is the sub- way under the tracks of the Boston & Albany Railroad, toward which the society contributed nearly two thousand dollars. The park now belonging to the city and extending from Commonweath Avenue to
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the Waltham line and comprising some thirty acres was purchased in part by the society and presented to the city, the people of Auburndale contributing some three thousand five hundred dollars through the society for this purpose.
The establishing of the branch of the Public Library at Auburndale is the work of the society, which collected and ex- pended something over one thousand dol- lars for this purpose. Besides these larger improvements the society has accom- plished a great deal for the benefit of the village, in setting out trees, erecting bill
presidents of the society: Edwin B. Haskell, Charles F. Ranlett, C. C. Burr, William H. Blood, George M. Fiske, Frederick Johnson, E. E. Hardy, Arthur C. Farley.
NEWTON HIGHLANDS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION.
T HE Newton Highlands Improve- ment Association was organized April 12, 1886, for the purpose of improving and beautifying that section of the city, and has been the instrument of
BIGELOW GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
boards, in clearing up the premises of non-residents or of others who neglected to do it themselves, in arranging for lectures and other entertainments, etc. Some idea of the importance of this work is indicated by the fact that since its formation the society has collected and expended over twelve thousand dollars in various improvements in Au- burndale.
Not only this, but the officers of the society from year to year have devoted a great deal of time and effort to effecting the improvements referred to. The fol- lowing named gentlemen have served as
a great deal of good, as its membership embraces about all of the influential citi- zens of that village.
The range of its activities is unlimited, covering everything relating to the general welfare of the village. The new Hyde Schoolhouse, the Crystal Lake improve- ment, the fountain at the corner of Wal- nut and Forest streets, the enlargement of the village square, and the setting out of many trees are some of the things the as- sociation has already accomplished. The abolition of grade crossings and the estab- lishment of a park and playground are matters upon which the association is still
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engaged, and which will undoubtedly be realities in the near future.
The officers of the association are : Erastus Moulton, president ; J. A. Lowell, vice-president ; Fred W. John-
son, secretary ; J. H. Vose, treasurer ; executive committee, Miss C. Y. Went- worth, Mrs. A. L. Pratt, Mrs. H. F. Wells, H. G. Brinckerhoff, F. H. Tar- bell and Dr. S. L. Eaton.
OLD CHANNING CHURCH.
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PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES.
REPRESENTATIVE MEN OF NEWTON.
SAMUEL LELAND POWERS was born in Cornish, Sullivan County, N. H., Oct. 26, 1848, and is the son of Larned Powers and Ruby (Barton) Pow- ers. He is of the seventh generation among the descendants of Walter Powers who came from England to Salem in 1639. He prepared for college at Kimball Union Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy ; entered Dartmouth in 1870, graduating in the class of 1874; studied law in the law school of the University of the City of New York and in the law office of Verry & Gaskill of Worcester, and was admitted to the Worcester County Bar in Novem- ber, 1875. He commenced the practice of law in Boston in January, 1876, and has continued the practice down to the present time. He removed to Newton in March, 1881, where he has since re- sided, and has taken an active interest in social and public affairs. Mr. Powers was a member of the Newton common council for three years, two years of which he was its president, a member of the board of aldermen for one year, and for three years a member of the school board. In the fall of 1886, as the Republican can- didate for mayor, Mr. Powers was defeated on account of factional jealousies. His popularity soon outgrew the limits of ward lines, and in 1900 he obtained every New- ton delegate to the Republican Congres- sional Convention, and was easily nomi- nated and elected to the 57th Congress from the IIth Massachusetts District.
SAMUEL L. POWERS.
He is a member of the Hunnewell and Newton Clubs, and was one of the founders of the latter club, and for three years its president. He is also a member of the Boston University Club, the Boston Athletic Association, and of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He was for many years con- nected with the militia of Massachusetts. He was married in 1878 to Eva Crow- ell, daughter of Captain Prince Crowell of Dennis, Mass. They have one son, Leland Powers, who was born July 1, 1890.
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JAMES F. C. HYDE.
JAMES FRANCIS CLARK HYDE, the first mayor of the city and one of its most prominent citizens for many years, was born in the Hyde home- stead, Newton Highlands, July 26, 1825. His parents were James Hyde and Clarice Clark, a daughter of Norman Clark. He was educated in the common schools of Newton and at the private school of M. S. Rice, and then entered the nursery busi- ness with his father, and also established a real estate and insurance agency, which he continued until his death in 1898. Mr. Hyde was also a director in the John Hancock Life Insurance Company, in the First National Bank of Boston, in the Newton National Bank, the presi- dent and a director of the Newton Sav- ings Bank and a trustee of the Newton Cemetery.
His public services were many. He was a selectman of the town from 1854 to 1870, and acted as moderator from 1853 to 1873 with but four exceptions. He served in the legislature for four years, was a member of the state board of agriculture and president of the Massa- chusetts Horticultural Society for four
years. Mr. Hyde was also a member of the school committee of the town, was the mayor of the city in 1874-75, and president of the Newton Horticultural Society for two years. He was a justice of the peace for fifty years and a trial jus- tice for six years.
Mr. Hyde joined the First Congrega- tional Church in 1848 and moved to the Newton Highlands Church in 1872. He was a member of the Newton Congrega- tional Club until his death, and of the Boston Congregational Club, and served as president of the latter for one year.
Mr. Hyde was twice married. His first wife was Miss Sophia Stone, by whom he had a son and a daughter, Elliott J. and Clarice S. Hyde. His second wife was Miss Emily Ward, and the children by this marriage were Mary E. and Frank C. Hyde.
JOHN WINGATE WEEKS, fourteenth mayor of Newton, was born in Lancaster, N. H., April 11, 1860. He received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis when seventeen years of age, and completed the
JOHN W. WEEKS.
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---
EDWARD L. PICKARD.
regular four years' course. He subse- quently was assigned to the ships Pow- hattan and Richmond until he left the naval service in 1883.
During the following five years he served as assistant land commissioner in the Florida Southern Railway.
In August, 1888, he engaged in his present business as junior member of the firm of Hornblower & Weeks, bankers and brokers.
Mr. Weeks is well known in financial circles as a member of the New York Stock Exchange, president of the Massa- chusetts National Bank of Boston, and as president of the Newtonville Trust Com- pany of our own city. Before entering the board of aldermen he was also active in the local street railway companies, but disposed of his interests in them when elected to the city government.
A striking tribute to his financial stand- ing is the fact that his appointment by the Comptroller of the Currency as stock- holders' agent for liquidation of the affairs of the Broadway Bank some two years ago was unanimously assented to by the stockholders of that bank.
Upon the organization of the Massa- chusetts Naval Brigade, Mr. Weeks was elected commander of the 4th division, later succeeding to the command of the first battalion, and subsequently command- ing the brigade for six years.
During the Spanish war Captain Weeks was the third volunteer officer to be com- missioned in the navy, and he commanded the second division of the auxiliary navy. He also served as a member of the mili- tary advisory board appointed by Gov- ernor Wolcott.
He was a member of the military board of examiners from 1894 to 1900, and was appointed by President Cleveland in 1896 as a member of the board of visitors to the United States Naval Academy.
Socially Captain Weeks is extremely popular, being a member of the Repub- lican Club of Massachusetts, of the Middlesex, University, Newton, Neigh- borhood and Country Clubs, of the So- cieties of Military Order of Foreign Wars, Sons of the Revolution, War of 1812, and the Naval and Military Order of Spanish-American War.
His political service covers three years in the board of aldermen, including mem- bership on important committees, and his influence in city affairs is far reaching.
Captain Weeks is married and has two children, Katherine S. and Charles S. He resides on West Newton Hill.
EDWARD LITTLE PICKARD, thirteenth mayor of Newton, was born in Lewiston, Me., Dec. 25, 1834. He is the son of Samuel and Hannah ( Little) Pickard. He was educated in the Lewiston Falls Academy and entered into business in 1848 in concern of Roak, Packard & Co., shoe manufacturers at Auburn, Me., and re- mained with them until 1855, when he went into business with George Hill of Auburn, Me., under the firm name of Hill & Pickard, as shoe manufacturers. On March 12, 1860, went to work with Tyler Rice & Sons at Portland, Me., and then was admitted as a partner in the firm of
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N. W. Rice & Co., being a member of the firm since 1865.
Mr. Pickard was a resident of Lynn for many years and served in the common council in 1870-71. In 1872 Mr. Pickard moved to Auburndale, where he took an active interest in the political and religious life of the city, although it was not until 1897 that he accepted political honors. During that year he served as a represent- ative to the General Court and was re- elected in 1898. Mr. Pickard received a unanimous election as mayor for 1901, but retired at the end of his term on account of his health. A unique feature of Mr. Pickard's political life was the donation of his official salary to charitable work.
Mr. Pickard has served for ten years as a director in the National City Bank of Boston and as a director in the Firemen's Life Insurance Company. He is also a member of the Newton Club, a trustee of the Newton Cemetery and of the Newton Home for Aged People, a director in the Newton Associated Charities and a mem- ber of the Auburndale Congregational Church.
Mr. Pickard married Fanny Maria Plummer, and they have four children, Julia M., Charles D., George P. and Ed- ward L., Jr.
JAMES RICHARD CARTER, one of the busiest as well as one of the most prominent men in the city, comes of good old New England stock, his paternal an- cestor, Rev. Thomas Carter, coming to this country in 1630, and his maternal an- cestor, Edmund Hobart, in 1633. He is a son of Richard B. Carter and Lucy Lazelle ( Hobart) and was born in Boston Jan. 4, 1849. Educated in the public schools of Boston, where he was a Frank- lin medal scholar, and graduated from the English High School. His college course was abandoned on account of a severe ill- ness, and two years were spent in Euro- pean travel, visiting every country but Portugal. Mr. Carter founded the busi- ness of Carter, Rice & Co. in 1871 (in-
JAMES R. CARTER.
corporated in 1884), and is now half owner, treasurer and manager of one of the lar- gest wholesale paper warehouses in the country. Mr. Carter married Carrie Giles, and five children survive of a family of seven : Hubert L., Evelyn, Sydney H., Winthrop L. and Eliot A. While Mr. Carter has never accepted public office, his activities cover a wide range, and he has filled many positions of honor and trust, as the following list will indicate : president Boston Merchants' Association 1898, 1899 and 1900; president Boston Associated Board of Trade, 1900 to 1902 ; president Massachusetts New Church Union, 1897 to 1902 ; president Boston Paper Trade As- sociation, 1895 and 1896 ; president Whit- man Manufacturing Company, 1900 and 1901 ; member and secretary Mayors' Mu- nicipal Committee, Boston, 1898 and 1899 ; treasurer Rice-Kendall Company, 1899 to 1902 ; treasurer Newton Kindergarten School, 1894 to 1901 ; treasurer General Convention of New Jerusalem Church, 1900 and 1901 ; treasurer Carter Ink Com- pany, 1896 to 1901 ; director in New Church Theological School, Lynn Market House Company, Freeman's National Bank, For-
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estry Association Kings County, Elevated Railway Company, a member of the Com- mercial, Exchange, Neighborhood, New- ton Boat, Brae Burn Golf and Waumbec Golf clubs, of the Boston Harbor Com- mittee, chairman Committee Consular Re -: form of the National Board of Trade, president of the Newton Club, and trustee and executor of various estates. Not- withstanding his large business interests, Mr. Carter has travelled all over Europe, Egypt, Palestine, the United States, Canada, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies. Mr. Carter is an attendant of the New Church (Sweden- borgian) and resides on a fine estate on Mt. Vernon Street, West Newton.
EDWIN BRADBURY HASKELL, one of the most prominent citizens of Newton, was born in Livermore, Me., Aug. 24, 1837, and is the son of Moses Greenleaf and Rosilla Haines Haskell.
EDWIN B. HASKELL.
porated. Mr. Haskell has also made in- vestments in other successful newspapers, and is interested in the Minneapolis Journal and St. Joseph News. He was also a vice-president of the South Florida Railroad Company and a director in the Plant Investment Company.
He was educated in the common schools and Kent's Hill Seminary, Readfield, Me., where he fitted for college. Not having the promise of pecuniary assistance. for a college course, he entered the office of the Portland Advertiser, where he worked for a year. He then went to New Orleans, Mr. Haskell was a member of the school committee and president of the common council of Charlestown 1864-65-66, and since his residence in Newton ( 1872) has been president of the Newton Cemetery Corporation and president of the trustees of the Newton Free Library. where he worked as a journeyman printer until August, 1856. He then came to Boston and became a compositor on the Saturday Evening Gazette. Later he was a reporter on the Boston Journal, and in 1860 obtained the same position on the Boston Herald. In 1861 Mr. Haskell He was a member of the Athenian Club of Boston, and is a charter member of the St. Botolph Club, member of the Union Club, Exchange Club, Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Franklin Typo- graphical Society, Examiners' Club and Reform Club of Boston, the Jersey Stock Club, Newton Horticultural Society, New- ton Boat Club, Tuesday Club, and an ex-president of the Newton Club of New- ton and a member of the Reform Club of New York. helped to raise the 11th Massachusetts Regiment of Volunteers, but resigned his commission to another who had had mili- tary training. In 1865 Mr. Haskell formed a syndicate to purchase the Herald, of which he was the editor until 1887. His work here made the Herald the stron- gest paper in the city, and it soon became the leading journal of New England. In 1887 he sold his interest in the Herald, but in the following spring resumed his proprietorship and became a director in Mr. Haskell is also a valued member the Boston Herald Company, then incor- of the Metropolitan Park Commission,
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HENRY E. COBB.
and has been largely instrumental in the good work which has been done by that body in the Charles River basin.
Mr. Haskell married Miss Celia Hill, and they have had seven children, of whom William Edwin, Henry Hill, Margaret and Clarence G. Haskell still survive.
Mr. and Mrs. Haskell live in a beauti- ful estate on Vista Avenue, Auburndale, overlooking the Charles River valley.
HENRY EDDY COBB, eleventh mayor of Newton, was born in Hartford, Conn., June 21, 1839, and is the son of Andrew B. and Lydia ( Eddy ) Cobb.
He was educated in the Newton schools and began his business career as a clerk in the Newton National Bank. Later he was with Potter, White & Bayley, wholesale shoe dealers, and then he entered the firm of R. L. Day & Cobb, bankers and stock auctioneers. Subsequently he became one of the firm of Brewster, Cobb & Esta- brook, bankers and brokers, until he re- tired in January, 1896.
Mr. Cobb is one of the leaders in social life in the city and is widely known for his deeds of charity. He is a member and
ex-president of the Newton Club, member of Hunnewell Club, Winslow Lewis Lodge and Gethsemane Commandery, and a prominent member of the Eliot Church. He is also president of the Newton Home for Aged People, a trustee of Wellesley College and the New England Conserva- tory of Music, and was given the degree of M. A. by Dartmouth College.
Mr. Cobb served as a member of the board of aldermen in 1887 and of the school board in 1 886, but is more widely known as a most popular mayor, in 1896, 1897 and 1898, being the second mayor in twenty- five years to receive more than two elec- tions to the office, the last two unanimous. During his term as mayor the large im- provements of abolishing grade crossings, the widening of Washington Street and the construction of Commonwealth Ave- nue were brought to a successful finish. Mayor Cobb was also the first mayor to exercise the increased powers and respon- sibilities imposed by the new city charter, and on his retirement from office was pre- sented with a silver pitcher by his asso- ciates in City Hall. Mr. Cobb married Hattie M. Cooley and has one son and two daughters. He resides on a beauti- ful estate on Bellevue Street, Mt. Ida.
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