USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Nahant > Some annals of Nahant, Massachusetts > Part 29
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Then came 1916, with no steamboat service to Boston, and soon 1920, which stopped all legal liquor selling. Bootlegging started. Nahant is a coast town and liquor was landed in it. Men formerly in the Bass Point enterprises became bootleggers, with others not so connected. Some bars were opened, and are still doing business. Soon some of the hotels, struggling for a living, yielded to the stress of finance and re-entered the game of selling liquor. Another section of the community, that around Short Beach, sells more or less, also, and there are other scattered sore spots. The shadow of impropriety rests upon the town from the efforts of men to do business yielding large profits because illegal and a little risky. A larger price may always be charged for goods sold thus. As Dr. William J. Mayo once expressed it, the doctrine of moral obligation may become ingrained, but with too
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many people "the Oriental point of view more or less prevails that no obligation exists which is not enforcible." He also named another group with a similar point of view. Again, the evidence against them is hard to get, although it would seem to be rather nonsense that in so small a town official activity may not lead to rapid discouragement.
In the meantime some attempt to spread the amusement resort section to other parts of the town is made. Short Beach village would like it, and none too scrupulous attempts, assisted by lawyers who are ready to circumvent a law or regu- lation, would lead to more of this character of town in this vicinity. By wide-awake measures it will fail. Farther out along Short Beach is another effort to develop in this way. The entire main road to Nahant might be kept clear of such things, if the maximum attractiveness as a residential town is to be maintained.
The Bass Point amusement district is one of the most beautiful parts of the town. Bass Point itself and all the adjacent shores, and Colby Hill, with its wonderful outlook, were jammed with cottages, mostly small, and many of them so flimsily built that they were practically summer camps. In fact, forty years ago or so a large section of this district was a tent colony, and from tents came shanties, from shanties, camps, and from camps some cottages of good appearance. Colby Hill was mostly owned by Miss L. Hortense Colby, a daughter of Alonzo Colby, an old Nahanter who built the McBurney house on the corner of Pond and Prospect Streets. Back of the amusement district, westerly, was the property formerly of Phillips, elsewhere mentioned, and a few good houses with ample land around them. These were broken up into smaller lots, with streets made to serve them, and the place was developed to the pleasant residential district now in evidence. Still later, land by Castle Road to the north, and Fox Hill near by, were laid out into house lots and are now well covered with houses. The last twenty-five years have seen all of this. Flash Road on either side was residen- tial, mostly owned by people of Irish nativity or descent.
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Thus it may be seen that the amusement section or shore resort district, at Bass Point, is restricted to one part, where it always has been and where it developed gradually from small beginnings. The householders in other parts seem to desire none of it extended further, or near them. Thus is the usual experience repeated. Everybody goes more or less to such places of amusement, but nearly everybody would rather not live too near them. Even the good people who come to the midst of it for a summer month, and accept sardine can conditions for a while, would not choose it for a perma- nent home. Yet many homes are near to it and good houses are along some of the near-by streets. For these the hustle and hurly-burly of a few months in summer become familiar and unnoticed, and there are also those who like it, and who are none the worse for it in nerves or disposition. Every one to his taste. The general statement seems to be cor- rect, however, that amusement resort conditions are more or less antagonistic to home-making conditions, exceptions notwithstanding.
More recently Bass Point appears to have suffered a decline as an amusement resort. There are those who say much of the district will change over to houses, with the hotels more like summer hotels elsewhere, instead of places chiefly known for dinners and dancing. What the future holds for Bass Point may be hard to prophesy, but to be a proud part of the town it must further interest itself in community beauty and welfare, so that it may be a district exciting admiration for its good looks in houses and grounds and general cleanliness.
On June 11, 1925, a disastrous fire swept over a large part of Bass Point, starting in a house back of the Relay House property and running easterly over Colby Hill nearly to the water. About sixty houses were burned, including some of the best and some of the poorest in the district, and not so much affecting the part most given over to shore resort busi- ness. Many people were heavy losers. Insurance rates were high, as they usually are in a closely packed area of wooden
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houses not adequately guarded by building laws against a fire menace. The building ordinances of the town are not now sufficient to reduce a conflagration hazard, but they are far superior to those in effect when most of these structures were built. In spite of the perils already exemplified by the fire, efforts have been made several times to modify the build- ing laws, even since this lesson was taught in such a terrible way. These regulations, like all other rules and laws, are restrictive and often cause an increased expenditure. It is the old story over again. When people live together in com- munities they lose more or less independence of action, and must in many ways do what is best for the whole group. The only way to get what is best for all is by means of rules and laws, and frequently, in specific cases, these seem too restrictive and arbitrary. The fire hazard at Bass Point is still tremen- dous, as is evidenced by the insurance rates which remain very high. These rates are not guesswork, but are the result of careful analysis of experiences. Better building laws will reduce them as will nothing else. Adequate water supply and fire-fighting apparatus help a little, but appear not to be the chief factors reducing a conflagration hazard. The insurance rate certainly may be considered a comparative measure of the danger of fire.
During the Spanish American War the United States government maintained a range-finding station on Bailey's Hill, which was soon after developed into a permanent fix- ture. Almost at once came the proposal to build a fort on one of the hills, the one westerly from Bailey's Hill, and the government bought all the land from Bailey's Hill to Flash Road and from Bear Pond and Pond Beach to Castle and Trimountain Roads. In 1900 and 1901 the transfers were made of the many pieces of property, which included one hotel, the Trimountain House, and thirty-three houses. The hill was full of small houses, mostly for summer use, and out toward Flash Road were others, the latter owned by year-round residents. The former owners were allowed to stay on for a while, but finally all the remaining buildings
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were sold at auction. The fall of 1903 saw many houses moving at once, chiefly across Flash Road to land bordering on it or on the newly made Fox Hill Road. One building mover towed one house behind another, three at once. Some house owners were lulled to security by this occupancy after they had sold, and paid no attention to the auction or to preparations for houses in a new place. Thus they lost their homes and bought them back again from the shrewd pur- chaser, who made a large profit while not taking too great an advantage of the losers.
Then for several years this tract of nearly two million square feet of land lay idle and filling up with wild growth as does all uncared-for land. Soon most signs of any habitation were gone, while the houses moved over across Flash Road lost all the appearance of travellers and seemed permanent fixtures. In most cases they were improved, as the whole gamut of transactions, with the government paying fair prices, resulted in some money available for betterments. Finally plans for the fort were completed and construction began. The hill was undermined with passages, magazines, barracks, and whatever pertains to such an establishment. Two great guns were brought on scows and landed on Pond Beach, to be dragged laboriously up slopes left or made for the purpose, and mounted ready for use. One went up the old Willow Road and along a nearly level cut to its position; and one around to Trimountain Road and thence up the hill to a similar runway, left to give access for such a heavy weight, to the masonry platform whereon it was mounted. Soon after the World War was over this addition to the defences of Boston Harbor was completed, and stands today in such condition that readiness for effective service would mean only a short time. This fort was named Fort Gardner for the Hon. Augustus P. Gardner, a Congressman from Essex County and son-in-law of Senator Lodge, who died in service during the World War.
A familiar place dismantled by this government purchase was the homestead of Robert Coles, an Englishman and well-
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known figure about town until his death in 1913 at the age of eighty-two. He left a large family of children many of whom are now Nahanters. A son, Robert, has been chief engineer of the fire department; Herbert is town forester and tree warden; and James A. is sewer commissioner. This home place was westerly from Willow Road and up a hundred yards or so from Bear Pond.
This acquisition by the government meant the discontinu- ance of Willow and Bass Point Roads where crossing this land. The former now comes to a dead end westerly just beyond Bear Pond, and the latter runs along easterly as far as Trimountain Road. The government has permitted the use of the abandoned portion, but with no maintenance they are in bad condition. This land, bordering Bear Pond and a part of the marsh adjacent, cuts Bass Point off from the rest of the town so that there is no public access to it except by Flash and Castle Roads. These seem ample for all needs, though sometimes less convenient than was Willow Road.
Further speculation on the development of Nahant is rather idle. The influx of visitors on wheels is a nuisance to Nahanters, who can thank their lucky stars that the Beach Road is a town road over which they have full control, or can speedily get it, even in front of the State Bath House up to the Lynn line. One can, however, imagine Nahant increasingly infested by automobiles, with its present shore resort district altered to serve this newer sort of temporary crowd, and with other sections also given over to it. Perhaps the State might step in and turn the whole town into a State reservation. The State inundates towns for a water supply, why not condemn them for a breathing area? It already places the State's rights, or imagined rights, above the town's sovereignty. As an example, consider the Little Nahant sewerage construction, well under way in the fall of 1927. Permission to enter the sea through any near-by outfall was refused. It was too near the State-owned beaches, and the town was compelled to expend a few thousands more to reach another location near a town-owned beach. The fact is im-
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material, as pollution from these outfalls on Nahant is wholly negligible; but the principal remains. The State's interests, through its park system, are deemed superior to the town's interests. How much further this will go, who can tell? Already there is a spoiled Short Beach, and recently an important town road was used for parking, for bathhouse, eating place and rest room, regardless of the real traffic condi- tions for which the road was built. Lately the State author- ities have increased available parking areas outside the road limits along Long Beach. These are most used at night, and are a paradise of a petting place, as well as a haven of refuge for those who would evade the true-name law at hotels. There are also a few who use it appropriately. A part of the training of the modern miss appears to be the reverse of reserved, while of course the callow youth takes what he can get. All this, with such splendid opportunities afforded, contributes to the terror and sometimes humiliation of parents, and thus becomes an important factor in adult education by the young.
Most Nahanters want Nahant a pleasant residential town, with citizens interested in town welfare, living, therefore, in houses that are not merely summer camps, and not so crowded together that no one looks at them with pleasure. Good people herd this way. That is not the point. Nahant as a fine place in which to live will not grow that way. Houses may be small or large, but they must aid community beauty, and their owners must strive for Nahant welfare as a residential town, or else the place will cease to be such. If one does not want a public dance hall, a whiskey still, a blatant band or a half dozen shacks on the next lot to his own home he must assist in keeping them away from other homes, for most Nahanters do not want these things next door. Such have their place and are sought by many people once in a while. It is the old question put yet again. What do Nahanters want their town to become? The things which are indicated are not matters depending upon money. In England or France the smallest cottager's house fits and enhances the landscape, usually, while in America too often
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it does not. Great corporations try for results by carefully planning and building, and careful communities have plan- ning boards and zoning committees, both of which are on the way to help Nahant. The important related question of valuations, taxation and expenditures is considered elsewhere.
But the crux of the matter now considered is that citizens cannot watch the town drift, doing or allowing one action or another, and see the community reach a condition they may desire. The better way is to look ahead, if possible, and set a standard they think should be attained, and measure con- temporary activities by it. This seventy-fifth birthday year is a good time to halt for a while and look backward and forward, planning what may come and what is wanted and work accordingly.
The Nahant Town Hall
The Nahant Public Library
CHAPTER XXIII
THE NINETIES AND LATER
THE period of the 1890's is often called the glorious 90's. Events were not moving too fast for general appreciation. People were not puzzled by new incidents of life and living, as they have been in this last decade. Prices were low. Wages were low, also, though it is often questioned if the wages of that time did not buy more of the so-called needs and luxuries than the wages of today can buy of the greatly increased "needs" of this period. It is often claimed that the 90's were a far more comfortable time in which to live than has been any decade since.
On Nahant a transition was occurring. Bass Point was growing. Opposing political forces were gaining in strength, and the number of men increased who could get their will in town meeting, and get election to town offices on account of a following of their own which their activity and aggressive- ness had built up. Among these was James A. Carahar, a Bass Pointer, who served on the Board of Selectmen three years. He was a candidate for the Board of Selectmen for several years, but had consistently opposed the opinions and policies of Joseph T. Wilson and J. Colby Wilson, so that he was not successful until their retirement at the end of 1905. The annual town meeting in 1906 saw the greatest change most voters ever knew in town officers. The older Wilsons were gone and the Board of Selectmen was Charles D. Vary, Harry C. Wilson and James A. Carahar. Vary had been on the Board for some time and was therefore experi- enced. He was almost an old Nahanter, coming here a score of years earlier, and marrying a daughter of C. Hervey Johnson. He retired from the Board of Selectmen in 1915,
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on account of ill health, and died in 1917. Wilson, son of J. Colby Wilson, had completed a term on the school com- mittee and retired from that office. He also is linked with the old Johnson family of Nahant through his marriage to a daughter of H. Shepard Johnson. The town meeting item for which Carahar is best remembered is his advocacy of the purchase of a stone crusher. This he brought forward many times, but never successfully, and it was some years later, in 1915, that the town made the purchase. For several years this was operated under the control of the highway department. The counterclaim always was that crushed rock could be bought cheaper than the town could make it. Apparently this claim was justified, for although no accurate account of production was kept, rough measurements and calculations occasionally made seemed to show a high cost. During the last few years the plant has not been used and is now out of condition. Charles D. Vary is among the men rising to public notice during this time and serving first on the school com- mittee and then as selectman, and later as chairman of the Board. Harry C. Wilson, coming to town office first as school committeeman in 1897, went over to the Board of Selectmen, where he has now seen nearly a quarter century of service. Charles Cabot Johnson is another who gathered a constituency of his own, serving the town first as town clerk and then as town treasurer, a position he now holds with over a score of year's service behind him. Johnson has also been a member of the Legislature and of the Senate of Massachusetts, - positions which, of course, meant a following beyond the limits of Nahant. Walter H. Southwick is another, not holding town office, except the Governor's appointment as trial justice, but frequently bringing new ideas and proposals to town meetings. The beginning of this decade finds Joseph W. Hammond and Samuel H. Hudson on the school commit- tee, as will be seen in the lists of town officers. Hammond is a son of John Q. Hammond, an early school committee member who is mentioned elsewhere. Soon after this he moved out of town and does not appear in Nahant affairs.
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Hudson is a son of Samuel Hudson who lived on Pleasant Street, owning the house now owned and occupied by William F. Waters. He was librarian of the Public Library for several years. He resigned from the school committee before com- pleting his three-year term of office. Soon he ceased to be a Nahant resident, and he is today a prominent lawyer of Boston.
Another man of this period was Dr. William Donison Hodges. He was for many years a resident of Nahant and interested heartily in the welfare of the town. He served as town physician for four years, disinterestedly, and in 1892 was elected to the school committee. In this same year he was a member of the State Legislature from the district which included Nahant. He was born in 1854, a son of Dr. R. M. Hodges, well known in his profession in Boston, who built the house at the corner of Pond Street and Nahant Road in 1872. This house is now owned and occupied by another son, Winthrop T. Hodges, also a well-known Nahanter, interested in all Nahant affairs and Nahant people, and giving frequent service on various town committees. In 1927 he was elected to the Board of Public Library Trus- tees, succeeding Albert G. Wilson. Dr. W. D. Hodges, who died in 1893, is remembered by many for his cordial friendli- ness which endeared him to all who knew him. He practiced his profession in Nahant, making long seasons here, latterly in the Welcome W. Johnson house next to the old general store and post office, and even those who only met him pro- fessionally felt a pleasure in his geniality. He was an amateur enthusiast in the weather, and for several years some of his records were published with the town report.
Dr. Hodges was succeeded on the school committee by Jonathan E. Johnson, who served for one year and then resigned to accept an out-of-town pastorate in the Episcopal ministry for which he had studied at Harvard and elsewhere. Johnson's successor was Otis A. Johnson, another native Nahanter, who served on the Board for twenty-one years and was chairman for a good part of the time, until his death in
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1915. He was a son of J. Bishop Johnson, who lived on Nahant most of his life, but who was not related to the larger Johnson family of the town, although his first wife was a sister of Edward J. and Annie E. Johnson. Bishop Johnson and a crew operated a fishing vessel, when fishing was an industry here, and he also conducted a retail business, continued by his son, in a building lately remodelled into a house and located at the corner of Willow and Valley Roads. J. Bishop Johnson was a selectman in the early days of the town. He died in 1896. Daniel G. Finnerty soon loomed as a political factor, serving as selectman and as assessor. He was always a well- known old Nahanter, reckoning many years of life in the town until his death in 1928, and often called the "most good- natured man in town." And there are others, of a later period, who will not be specifically mentioned because con- temporary. Many of those mentioned have come through to the present time, but it is not intended to discuss individuals or their policies of within fifteen or twenty years, except for unattached general statements. An exception may be made of William F. Waters, who does not go back to the 90's. He was first elected town clerk in 1904, and has held the position ever since, and so acceptably that he has no opposition, proving himself careful, accurate and impartial in his conduct of his office. These various elements, more in number, perhaps, than previous years had shown, meant political conflict and some turmoil. This extends to the present time. Usually the various aims are for the town's welfare, but sometimes the individual, group or sectional need is placed ahead of the town as a whole. There is much honest difference of opinion, much that is mere politics of good and bad kinds, and much that is only intolerance, for tolerance, like the measles, is always more or less unpopular.
The turmoil sometimes occurring in the Board of Select- men is often confused by the election of the whole Board each year. With a board of three, two are a control and choose a chairman. Hence there is a concentration on two candidates, many people voting for two and not for a whole Board. The
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ardent supporters of any one candidate vote "bullets" for him, casting two blanks. Thus there are always, nowadays, many blank votes cast for this important office. People who would like to vote for a full list of three often dare not, fearing the third (or even second and third) vote may put another candidate up to defeat the one who has their first preference. The cure is easy, and was proposed in town meeting by Fred A. Wilson a score of years ago. Elect this Board one a year for three-year terms. Then the candidates will be squarely opposed to one another and the issue will be direct and not confused. This proposal has been rejected in two town meet- ings, but it is hard to see why any should oppose it excepting those who want to continue this less direct method, trusting sometimes to its chances to slip into office, and fearing a direct single-headed opposition vote. The wishes of the people would, however, then be executed, and every elected member would receive a clear endorsement which present conditions do not allow. If the vote were for one candidate he would be rather certain to receive a majority of the votes cast. Under present conditions often no one gets any such vote, and the blanks mean that a political or personal following has preferred one or two candidates, regardless of a proper consideration of the three best among those running, which is what the town has a right to expect for its highest welfare.
In a town report of the late 80's Joseph T. Wilson, looking forward, advised the speedy payment of the debt for water ยท and sewer systems in order that other expenditures might be made as they were found necessary. The building to house the Public Library is of this period of the 90's. This was fol- lowed by the Valley Road schoolhouse, the Town Hall build- ing, the Long Beach Road, and the J. T. Wilson schoolhouse, besides many other expenditures of considerable size, though smaller than those mentioned.
A prominent figure among the summer residents appear- ing during this time was Curtis Guild. He never was a legal resident of Nahant, but spent the greater part of each summer here except when away on government service.
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