USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Tercentenary history of Newton, 1630-1930 > Part 35
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41
GOLD STAR RECORD
ABBOTT, GARDNER C. Seaman, N. R. F.
Died of disease, September 12, 1918
ALVORD, CLARK. Ambulance Service, U. S. Army Died of disease, February 23, 1919
ANGIER, ALBERT E. First Lieutenant, 308th Infantry, A. E. F.
Killed in action, September 15, 1918
ASPINWALL, AUGUSTUS. Second Lieutenant, 110th Infantry, 28th Division
Killed in action, August 26, 1918 BENNETT, JOHN A.
Died of disease, March 9, 1918
BERDEN, EARLE B. C. E. F. Killed, August 15, 1917
BLANCHARD, JOHN J.
Died of disease, October 11, 1918
BLODGETT, RICHARD A. First Lieutenant, Air Service
Died of wounds in hospital, May 17, 1918
449
NEWTON IN THE WORLD WAR
BROWN, STAFFORD L. First Lieutenant, Air Service
Died of accident, September 28, 1918
BRYANT, CHAUNCY D. Company E, IOIst Engineers Died of disease, January 5, 1918
BRYSON, RAYMOND G. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, October 27, 1918
CARLEY, EDWARD E. Company C, IoIst Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, October 23, 1918
CHALMERS, THOMAS. First Lieutenant, 4th Field Arti lery Died February 12, 1918
CHAPIN, ELLIOTT A. First Lieutenant, Royal Air Forces, B. E. F. Killed in action, June 27, 1918
CHIVERS, FRANK H. Sergeant, Battery B, Ist Field Artillery, N. G. Died of wounds, July 23, 1918
CLAPP, HOWARD R. First Lieutenant, Air Service
Killed in action, November 3, 1918
CLARKE, HENRY W. Second Lieutenant, 16th Infantry, First Division Killed in action, May 29, 1918
COBB, MORTON E. Captain, Q. M. C.
Died of accident, August 17, 1917
COLBY, ELWOOD L. Corporal, U. S. Marine Corps Killed in action, June 12, 1918
CRANE, ALFRED T. Second Lieutenant, 302d Infantry, 76th Division Died, September 11, 1918
CROSBY, DOROTHY W. Student Nurse at Camp Devens Died of disease, September 23, 1918
CURLEY, JOHN J. Sergeant, Company I, 325th Infantry, 82d Division Killed in accident, October 12, 1918
CURRY, DONALD W. Apprentice Seaman, N. R. F.
Died of disease, December 17, 1918
DALEY, EUGENE J. Sergeant, Company G, 326th Infantry, 82d Division Died of wounds, October 19, 1918
DALEY, WARREN K. Battery B, IOIst Field Artillery, 26th Division Died of accident, August 19, 1917 DAVIS, PHILIP W. Second Lieutenant, Air Service Killed in accident, June 2, 1918
DAY, FREDERICK D. Sergeant, Company A, IOIst Engineers, 26th Division
Died of disease, January 22, 1918
450
HISTORY OF NEWTON
DENNIS, VICTOR L. Aviation Section, U. S. Signal Corps Died of accident, February 19, 1918.
DERUSHA, HENRY W. M. G. Company, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division
Killed in action, July 15, 1918
DEVINE, MICHAEL J. Company F, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Died of disease, April 7, 1918
DOOLEY, LOUIS J. Sergeant, 20th Company, C. A. C. Died of disease, October 2, 1918
DOWLING, ROBERT A. Landsman for Machinist's Mate, N. R. F. Died of disease, October 11, 1918
FARNUM, PAUL J. IOIst Ambulance Corps, IOIst Sanitary Train, 26th Division
Died of disease, March 18, 1918
FERRIS, VALENTINE E. 304th Mechanical Repair Shop Unit Died of disease, October 11, 1918
FISHER, WALLACE. 305th Field Artillery
Killed in action, September 5, 1918
FLANAGAN, CHARLES A. Company I, 18th Infantry, Ist Division Killed in action, October 8, 1918
FORBUSH, ROBERT L. Master Engineer, Headquarters Co., IOIst Engineers
Died of disease, March 14, 1919.
Fusco, VINCENZO. Company D, 26th Infantry, Ist Division
Died of wounds, October 6, 1918
GILES, RALPH R. Sergeant, U. S. General Hospital 34, E. Norfolk, Mass.
Died of accident, May 16, 1919
GINNEVER, THOMAS H. C. E. F.
Killed in action, August 21, 1917
GOULD, PRESCOTT W. Sergeant, Company C, 102d Machine Gun Battalion, 26th Division
Died of disease, May 16, 1918
HAMMOND, VERNANDO M. Corporal, Troop G, 310th Cavalry Died of disease, October 13, 1918
HERRICK, WILLIAM F. First Lieutenant, Air Service Died of accident, September 16, 1918
HEUTER, ROYAL R. Lieutenant, Officers' Reserve Corps, R. O. T. C. Died of accident, May 5, 1917
HOOPER, EDWARD A. Battery A, IOIst Field Artillery, 26th Division Killed in action, July 29, 1918
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NEWTON IN THE WORLD WAR
HOPKINS, STEPHEN T. Second Lieutenant, Air Service Killed in action, September 13, 1918
HOULIHAN, JOSEPH M. Landsman for Quartermaster, Aviation, U. S. N.
Died of disease, March 4, 1919.
HUDSON, CARL B. First Lieutenant, Medical Corps Died of disease, October 2, 1918
HUGGARD, GEORGE S. Second Lieutenant, U. S. Marine Corps Died of disease, September 27, 1918
HYSLOP, NORMAN W. 16th Company, 153d Depot Brigade Died of disease, October 1, 1918.
JACKSON, LEONARD. Second Lieutenant, Company M, IIoth Infantry, 28th Division Killed in action, August 25, 1918
JASSET, ERNEST L. Battery B, 7th Field Artillery, Ist Division
Killed in action, May 31, 1918
JUSBADONE, ANDREW. Company C, 104th Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, July 20, 1918
KIMBALL, RICHARD. U. S. Marine Corps Died of wounds, June 25, 1918
LEONARD, WALLACE M. First Lieutenant, 379th Infantry Died of disease, December 12, 1918
LUCAS, KENNETH R. Carpenter's Mate, N. R. F. Died of disease, September 25, 1918 MACDOUGALL, ALEXANDER E. C. E. F. Killed in action, September 2, 1918
MACLEAN, HENRY D. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Died of disease, September 1, 1917
MACLEAN, RODERICK A. J. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Died of wounds, April 8, 1918
MAHER, PAUL A. U. S. Army Transport Service Died of disease, April 24, 1918
MANNING, FRANK W. Company D, 5th Machine Gun Battalion, 2d Division Died of wounds, June 28, 1918 MARSH, MALCOLM B. Battery E, 82d Field Artillery Died of disease, February 27, 1918
MAXWELL, GEORGE T. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, July 20, 1918
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
McCELLAN, JAMES. Sergeant, Headquarters Detachment, Motor Transport Corps Died of disease, April 4, 1920
McINNIS, FREDERICK C. M. P. Company, 77th Division
Died of disease, December 1, 1918
McKENNEY, CHARLES O. Corporal, Company C, 9th Infantry, 2d Division Killed in action, July 18, 1918
MCLAUGHLIN, FRANCIS M. M. Company C, IoIst Infantry, 26th Division Died of wounds, July 21, 1918
MCLELLAN, DANIEL. C. E. F.
Died of wounds, September 4, 1918
McMAHON, WALT F. Company L, 107th Infantry Died of disease, February 10, 1918.
McNEIL, JOSEPH A. Cook, Company C, 5th Infantry, Mass. N. G. Died of disease, February 10, 1918
MEEKINS, CLIFFORD K. Bugler, Company L, 372d Infantry, 93d Division
Killed in action, September 28, 1918
MERRILL, WALTER L.
MITCHELL, HOWARD F. Seaman, N. R. F.
Died of disease, September 16, 1918
MOORHEAD, THOMAS J. Seaman, N. R. F.
Died of disease, September 26, 1918
MULLANEY, THOMAS J. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Died of disease, October 23, 1918
NATHAN, THOMAS C. First Lieutenant, Air Service
Killed by accident, March 20, 1918
NILES, WILL C. First Lieutenant, Dental Corps
Died of disease, October 4, 1918
O'DONOGHUE, PATRICK V. Company M, 325th Infantry, 82d Division
Killed in action, October 11, 1918
OUELETTE, JOSEPH C. Battery B, IOIst Field Artillery, 26th Division Killed in action, July 18, 1918
PALAMOUNTAIN, PAUL B. Company M, 59th Infantry, 4th Division Died of wounds, October 5, 1918
PEABODY, ELLERY, JR. Sergeant, Battery A, IOIst Field Artillery, 26th Division
Killed in action, October 23, 1918
1
1 R
453
NEWTON IN THE WORLD WAR
PICK, CECIL H. C. E. F. Killed in action, September 30, 1918 POLLEY, FREDERICK W. C. E. F. Killed in action, March 31, 1917 PORTER, FRANK E. C. E. F. Died of wounds, April 19, 1917
PUTNAM, DAVID E. First Lieutenant, Air Service Killed in action, September 12, 1918
REILLY, JOHN L. Company K, 30th Infantry, 3d Division Died of wounds, July 15, 1918 REINHALTER, EARL J. Band Detachment, First Depot Division Died of disease, December 22, 1918
RICH, WESLEY E. Intelligence Service, Camp Devens Died of disease, September 25, 1918 RICHARDSON, WALTER G. Lieutenant Commander, U. S. N. Died of accident, May 29, 1919 RIDEAL, FRANK H. B. E. F. Killed in action, August 8, 1915
Ross, FRANK A. Company B, 59th Infantry, 4th Division Killed in action, September 28, 1918
RYDER, WALTER I. Lieutenant, Medical Corps, N. R. F. Died of disease, September 24, 1918
SARTINI, ADOLFO. Company E, 215th Engineers, 15th Division Died of disease, October 7, 1918
SHUSTER, HENRY S. Supply Sergeant, Company E, 57th Engineers Died of disease, September 30, 1918
SMITH, EDWARD B. C. E. F.
Killed in action, August 27, 1918
SMITH, JAMES W. Corporal, Battery C, 149th Field Artillery, 42d Division Killed in action, October 14, 1918
SPINNEY, GEORGE F. Corporal, Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, October 27, 1918
STRONG, ELLSWORTH O. Second Lieutenant, Battery A, 305th Field Artillery, 77th Division Killed in action, August 25, 1918
SULLIVAN, EDWARD M. Company C, IOIst Infantry, 26th Division Killed in action, October 27, 1918
SWORNSBOURNE, WALTER W. Company C, 102d Machine Gun Bat- talion, 26th Division
Died of wounds, October 28, 1918
454
HISTORY OF NEWTON
WATERS, PATRICK. Company A, 59th Infantry, 4th Division Killed in action, October 1, 1918 WEST, RALPH O. U. S. Marine Corps Killed in action, September 15, 1918 WIGHT, EDWARD A. First Flying Cadet Corps Died of disease, October 24, 1918 WILCOX, DEWITT G., JR. Chief Quartermaster, N. R. F. Died of accident, August 29, 1918
WILLIAMSON, JOHN A. Seaman, N. R. F. Died of disease, October 8, 1918 WISWALL, CHARLES H. Battery A, 335th Field Artillery, 87th Division Died of disease, October 17, 1918
WOOD, HAROLD J. B. E. F. Died in Germany, prisoner of war
ZUMA, SEBASTIAN. Company M, 23d Infantry, 2d Division Died of wounds, November 3, 1918
UNITED STATES CITATIONS
ANGIER, ALBERT E. Distinguished Service Cross
BURRISON, ROBERT J. Cited for gallantry
CARTER, ELIOT A. Cited for bravery
CHIVERS, FRANK H. Distinguished Service Cross
EDMUNDS, LIEUTENANT EDWARD. Distinguished Service Cross
GATELY, ARTHUR. Military Medal for bravery
GOODWIN, FORREST E. Cited for gallantry HOPKINS, STEPHEN T. Distinguished Service Cross MANNING, JOHN R. Distinguished Service Cross
RAYMOND, ROBERT F., Jr. Distinguished Service Cross
SIEBERT, ERNEST T. Cited for extraordinary heroism SPINNEY, GEORGE F. Distinguished Service Cross
TEDESCO, ALEXANDER. Cited for bravery
WESTPHAL, FIRST LIEUTENANT ARTHUR E. Distinguished Service Cross
FOREIGN CITATIONS
ALVORD, CLARK. Italian War Service Ribbon
BLISS, HENRY M. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star BOUGHAN, JOSEPH F. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star BURTON, CAPTAIN HAROLD E. Belgian Croix de Guerre
455
NEWTON IN THE WORLD WAR
CARPENTER, FIRST LIEUTENANT CHARLES H. French Ordre des Palmes Universitaire
CLAPP, JOHN S. French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
DRINKWATER, CAPTAIN JOHN G. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star
FARRELL, REVEREND WILLIAM J. French Croix de Guerre
FARRINGTON, HARRY A. Honorary Officer, Tenth Cuirassiers, France
FOWLER, FIRST LIEUTENANT JOHN E. French Ordre des Palmes Universitaire
GIBBS, HENRY P., JR. Italian War Cross
GUILBERT, FIRST LIEUTENANT HORACE M. French Croix de Guerre with palm
HEINRICHS, FIRST LIEUTENANT WALDO H. French Croix de Guerre with palm
KINSLEY, FIRST LIEUTENANT ALAN D. French Croix de Guerre with gilt and bronze stars
LEONARD, FIRST LIEUTENANT WALLACE M. French Croix de Guerre with palm
McFADEN, FIRST LIEUTENANT ANDREW. French Medaille Militaire and Croix de Guerre with palm
MASTERS, CHARLES E. Italian War Cross
MELLEN, SECOND LIEUTENANT GEORGE H., Jr. French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
PALAMOUNTAIN, PAUL B. French Croix de Guerre with silver star PUTNAM, FIRST LIEUTENANT DAVID E. French Legion D'Honneur
by presidential decree and French Croix de Guerre with five palms and silver star
RIPLEY, DAVIS. French Croix de Guerre
ROBINSON, SERGEANT FRANK N. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star
RYAN, THOMAS A. French Croix de Guerre with bronze star SALTONSTALL, ELEANOR. French Croix de Guerre for war relief work SHERIDAN, JOSEPH L. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star SIMPSON, COLONEL JOHN R. French Ordre de l'Etoile Noire SPAULDING, SERGEANT ALMON W. French Croix de Guerre with silver star
STOESSEL, SECOND LIEUTENANT ALBERT F. French Ordre de Palmes Universitaire
WEEDEN, SECOND LIEUTENANT CHARLES F., Jr. French Legion d'Honneur
456
HISTORY OF NEWTON
WELD, MAJOR A. WINSOR. Decorated by King Alexander of Greece for Red Cross Work
WHEELER, ROGER. French Croix de Guerre with bronze star
WHITNEY, CAPTAIN WILMOT. French Croix de Guerre with gilt star WILLIAMS, CAPTAIN RICHARD N. French Legion d'honneur and French Croix de Guerre with gilt star
WESTWOOD, RICHARD W. French Croix de Guerre
WELLMAN, WILLIAM A. French Croix de Guerre and $100 prize money
It is for the living as they read to ask if the war was worth the cost, and if they who gave their lives died in vain. Joyce Kilmer asked it with his dying voice. The battle grounds in Flanders Field and the Argonne mutely ask it. And the future will ask it. In memory of the past and in the hope of a better future the present may well pray in the words of Kipling's "Recessional":
Lord God of hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget.
Such a convulsion as the World War was not over in a moment. It took time to reconstruct habits and customs, to resume business as usual, and to find a place for the returning soldiers and for those who had been engaged in war industries. Senator Weeks had the foresight before the war was over to propose national plans for reconstruc- tion, but the war ended too soon for much to be accom- plished. Every locality, indeed every citizen, had to make his own readjustments. At first business forged ahead, most people were earning good pay and they spent money freely, although they had contributed generously to the war loans. The abnormal wages paid during the war had made it possible to indulge in unaccustomed finery, auto- mobiles were in general demand, and a spirit of opulence and optimism prevailed. Abnormal conditions could not remain permanent, and soon some lines of business were declining, unemployment increased, and though wages
457
NEWTON IN THE WORLD WAR
maintained a high level the money markets of the country reflected business depression. The railroads of the coun- try had been taken over by the national government dur- ing the war, and rolling stock needed replenishing. The demand for food products was still abnormal because the distressed peoples of Europe were not producing as before the war. Hard times were characteristic of the year 1921, but slowly business began to recover. Newton suffered less than many communities because of its character as a residential city, but many of her well-to-do citizens experi- enced a shrinkage of their resources and a reduced volume of business. The people had passed through the greatest war in history, an experience which they never would for- get. Their children would read about it in later years, but for a time there was a revulsion against war literature. Men and women wanted to forget, but many of them bore scars that were slow to heal. War's aftermath was slow in passing.
XIV
POST-WAR EXPANSION
THE World War interrupted certain business enter- prises, while it diverted capital into channels of war main- tenance. A building boom had started in Newton shortly before the war broke out, but was interrupted by the struggle. After the war was over the demand for houses seemed to justify the erection of many new dwellings. Building contractors found it profitable to speculate in real estate as prices advanced with the growth of demand, and sections of the city that had long been vacant were cut up into streets and rows of new houses were built.
In anticipation of this building activity the city fathers saw the advisability of making zoning plans which would protect residential zones from exploitation by ga- rages, filling stations, and other forms of business. There was continual demand for apartments and for a class of houses in which people who were as yet only on the way to expected affluence could afford to live. Two years of dis- cussion preceded the passage of a zoning law. Twice the aldermen passed an act which the mayor disapproved. As passed the law provided for a general residential district, which allowed for schools and other institutions and a limited number of apartment houses. Two-family houses were much in demand and not a few were built under the law, but the sentiment was so strong that the law was amended three years later, providing for single residences only in most sections. Business districts were delimited where stores and other forms of light business might be located, and where fifty per cent of the dwellings might be
458
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POST-WAR EXPANSION
apartments. Besides these a commercial district provided for factories, coal yards, and lumber yards.
One of the first real estate developments was at Oak Hill. New streets were run off Dedham Road, and first- class dwellings with landscaped grounds were constructed. These houses proved salable and the development ex- tended. Nearer Newton Centre an extensive section bor- dering both sides of Parker Street was cut up into streets and building lots were sold. On the west side many two- family houses were built; on the other side single resi- dences were disposed of without difficulty to prospective buyers. With the Boston and Worcester car line near by the transportation was easy, and it was surprising to see how many of the new houses had accompanying garages, so that the occupants would not have to depend on public conveyance. Farther to the east farms were divided on Jackson and Cypress Streets, and numerous less expensive houses were offered for sale. In most cases speculators bought the land and then divided it and built the houses for public sale. In the better class of houses the latest improvements were installed, and the grounds were graded and shrubs and trees planted. By these means a house was built, people moved in within a week or two, and the passer-by would not imagine that all had been done within three months. Many people complained that the houses were not well built in spite of the high prices at which they were sold, but new houses seldom remained long on the market, and population increased by leaps and bounds.
On the way from Newton Highlands to Waban along the length of Woodward Street many houses of high class were built, and side streets were opened up and buildings erected. The old Bacon Farm on Chestnut Street was divided and new houses, many of them of brick, lined both sides of the thoroughfare to Upper Falls. In 1919 the Wauwinet Farm was celebrated for its dairy, and had
460
HISTORY OF NEWTON
about two hundred and twenty-five cows, with a vacation farm for them at Barre, where they roamed over twenty- two hundred acres. But the land in West Newton was too valuable for farm purposes and dairy expenses were mount- ing. The result was that the land was disposed of in house lots and the slopes of West Newton hill by Valentine Street were covered with dwelling houses, some of them crowded together towards Lowell Avenue. Waban opened up new avenues on both sides of Beacon Street, Auburndale had its development opposite the Woodland Park Hotel, West Newton expanded off Waltham Street, a large area was settled through the Cabot Street section of Newtonville, and the Leonard estate on the eastern slope of West New- ton hill in the region of Otis Street invited new home seek- ers, with a development advertised as the Beaumont Estates. The section near Bullough's Pond had been opened earlier on Cedar and adjacent streets. Homer Street looked with amazement on its progeny of houses, and streets were run in adjacent to the Newton Centre playground. At the other end of Ward Street the vacant spaces on the eastern border of the city were occupied where the old Ward farm used to be. An important deal was the transfer of one million feet of land on the side of Waban Hill near the reservoir, which included part of the links of the Commonwealth Country Club. The Chestnut Hill Improvement Society has sponsored a Newton arbo- retum and bird sanctuary. One of the latest projects was a development of a part of the old Paul farm on Centre Street where Newton Centre and Newton Highlands joined, with prospects of a South Side high school before long.
The steady gain in population was due mainly to the popularity of Newton as a place of residence. Old houses were razed or reconstructed and structures better adapted to modern conditions of living took their places. The
461
POST-WAR EXPANSION
amplitude of earlier days gave way to more compactness in many cases, but Newton retained its reputation for wealth and the luxury that accompanies it, and estates with extensive grounds and spacious buildings were char- acteristic of many sections of the city.
Since the character of Newton was residential rather than industrial, the expansion of business was mainly in real estate and banking and in retail stores. New indus- tries located within city limits from time to time, most of them small in capitalization and amount of business; some- times expansion was far beyond what might have been anticipated at the beginning. An example of such growth was the Earnshaw Knitting Company of Chicago, manu- facturers of infants' garments, which moved part of its plant to Newton in 1920. A portion of the Shepherd Worsted Mills property on California Street was occupied, but only twelve persons were employed at the outset. During the decade the buildings were enlarged and within seven years the Company was employing five hundred persons. Several other knitting mills were in operation.
Certain of the new industries were indicative of changing fashions and novel interests. Two of the new business concerns which located on the north side of the city in 1929 were the Raython Manufacturing Company, which made radio tubes, and the National Packaging Machinery Company, which manufactured machinery for turning out packages for various goods. The demand for building materials was a boon to the manufacturers, such as the firm of F. W. Stevens and Son, which opened a new factory off Needham Street. The New England Concrete Pipe Company, a new corporation, bought eight acres in that vicinity with seven hundred feet of railroad frontage and erected a plant for the manufacture of pipes, and the Atlantic Cement Products Company had its plant off Grove Street at Lower Falls. While such lines of business
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HISTORY OF NEWTON
as these were prosperous, changing conditions affected adversely certain of the long established companies. The Silver Lake Cordage Company, like many other New Eng- land cotton manufacturers, found it advisable to move to Georgia, where it could employ women workers at a lower wage. The Saxony Worsted Mills were closed altogether.
With the growth of population came an expansion of local business. New business blocks sprang up. Chain stores multiplied. New real estate offices were opened. Branches of Boston stores were reminders that Boston business was moving this way. Public garages appeared as fast as their owners could obtain permits from the city. Filling stations improved in appearance, but they cluttered the landscape. Certain structures added much to the appearance of the village streets. The banks were pros- perous. The Newton Trust Company decided to extend its facilities. By 1924 it had branch offices at Newton Highlands, Waban and Auburndale, and at Newtonville and Newton Centre it built brick buildings of its own, which were attractively located. These made a public appeal with their conveniences and financial strength, and soon were busy to capacity. In 1928 the Newton Trust Company formed a working alliance with the Old Colony Trust Company of Boston. A new national bank was established in the village of Newton. The Newton Mort- gage Corporation moved into larger quarters on Union Street, Newton Centre. New buildings were erected for the post offices at Newton and Newton Centre, with New- ton Centre as the distributing point for the whole city.
Protection for the city necessitated certain improve- ments in the fire, police and water systems. The central station of the fire alarm system was on the second floor of the engine house at Newton Centre. The ten existing cir- cuits were overcrowded, some of them having as many as thirty boxes to a circuit when there should have been not
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POST-WAR EXPANSION
more than twenty. When the system was installed twenty years earlier the number of boxes was only one hundred and seventy-five; now the number had increased to two hundred and twenty. The increase in the number of tele- phones in city homes had resulted in telephone calls for fires rather than resort to boxes in two-thirds of the cases, but a dependable system was requisite for a city like New- ton. Improvements were planned as early as 1925, the necessary provision was made in the city appropriations, and the erection of a new fireproof central station was begun in Newton Centre near its former location. A new fire station was decided upon for Newton. Prolonged dis- cussion as to its location delayed construction, but it was built in 1928 on the site of the old armory at Washington Street and Centre Avenue. A new signal system was in- stalled also for the police, by which it was possible to call a patrolman on occasion from the central station. The water system required additional equipment. This need was met by the construction of a new well at the water works to increase the city supply at the rate of two and a half million gallons a day. It became necessary also to clean the water mains, which required resort to the supply of the Metropolitan water system, made possible by a long standing agreement.
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