USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Palmer > Town Annual Report of the Officers of the Town of Palmer, Massachusetts 1909 > Part 4
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Milton Bradley Co., diplomas and engrossing diplomas, 32.35
Bay Path Printery, letter heads and Grammar School graduation programs, 13.00
S. H. Brown, carting ashes and labor at Wire 4 Mill School, 2.10
Thomas Blanchard, team, 1.25
Walcott-Cameron Co., door mats, chairs, cur- tain cord and caning chair, 11.08
Boston Duck Co., water rent for Bondsville, 18.90
Worcester Co. Gas Co., 2.00
71
Geo. D. Mooers, freight and express on desks, $ 7.63
Lee T. Gray, expense of hiring teachers, 6.00
Charles Robinson, express, 1.95
Edward Brown, taking school census, 50.00
Smith Harrington, labor in districts,
3.00
A. F. Bennett, cleaning Forest Lake school- house, 2.50
J. L. Hammett Co., kindergarten chairs, call bells, etc., 21.33
Thorndike Co., fastening seats to floor at
Thorndike Grammar, labor and materials, 9.74
C. W. Darling & Co., wood, 5.00
Bay State Drug Co., carbonal, petroleum, bandages, adhesive plaster, etc., 4.08
David Farguhar, binding books, 106.14
T. D. Potter, lumber for Bondsville, 9.35
Central Mass. Electric Co.,
18.52
West Disinfecting Co., chloro naptholeum disinfectant, 6.25
Remington Typewriter Co., typewriter ribbon, .75
E. Brown Co., general hardware and labor, 9.91
M. E. Leonard, ribbon,
.82
American Seating Co., desks and chairs for Three Rivers, 98.96
Forbes & Wallace, burlap,
1.80
Johnson's Bookstore, raffia, etc.,
.88
J. J. Kelley, matches, cheese cloth, Dutch cleanser, etc.,
2.50
W. E. Stone & Son, cheese cloth,
1.00
P. S. Trumble, fixing lock at Palmer Center schoolhouse,
1.00
Kenney Bros. & Wolkins Co., furniture for Bondsville, Three Rivers and Thorndike schools, 62.75
Springfield Sanitary Drinking Co., four drink- ing fountains,
32.00
C. D. Holden, soap, oil, etc.,
1.16
Geo. H. Kent, paper,
3.81
D. E. Marcy, team to Thorndike,
1.50
$1,225.39
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MEDICAL INSPECTION.
Dr. J. P. Schneider,
$50.00
Dr. H. C. Cheney,
50.00
Dr. E. L. Sullivan,
25.00
Dr. S. O. Miller,
50.00
Dr. H. A. Dumphy,
25.00
$200.00
INSURANCE.
W. W. Leach & Co.,
$30.00
S. H. Hellyar,
30.00
A. E. Fitch,
7.87
$ 67.87
FOREST LAKE SCHOOL.
C. J. Roche,
$36.41
Whitcomb & Faulkner,
6.64
T. Arcott,
7.50
T. D. Potter,
23.75
American Seating Co.,
77.27
E. Brown Co.,
30.00
$181.57
BALANCE ACCOUNT.
ACCOUNTS.
Appropriated
Expended
Unexpended Overdrawn
Salaries, Supt. and Teachers.
$19,825.00 $19,542.34
$282.66
Music and Drawing.
1,000.00
927.82
72.18
Janitors .
2,000.00
2,091.38
$ 91.38
Text Books and Supplies
1,400.00
1,504.09
104.09
Fuel and Light.
2,500.00
2,450.70
49.30
Transportation
1,800.00
1,576.00
224.00
Repairs
500.00
977.34
477-34
Insurance
200.00
67.87
132.13
Contingencies
$500.00
Dog Tax
. 565.22
Tuition.
464.10
Merrick Fund
. 29.99
1,559.3I
1,225.39
333.92
Medical Inspection .
200.00
200.00
Forest Lake School.
275.00
181.57
93.43
$1,187.62
$672.81
672.81
Balance unexpended.
514.81
$514.81
$31,259.31 $31,259.31
Report of Superintendent of Schools.
To the School Committee of the Town of Palmer :
Gentlemen : - I herewith present my third annual report as Superintendent of the schools of Palmer. This is the seventeenth in the series of reports issued by the superintendents of the schools of the town.
In this report the statistics in regard to attendance refer to the school year from September, 1908, to June, 1909 ; those in regard to expenditures to the year from March 1, 1909, to March 1, 1910.
STATISTICS.
I .- POPULATION.
Census of 1905,
7,755
School population Sept. 1, 1908, 5 to 15 years of age,
1,503
School population Sept. 1, 1909, 5 to 15 years of age, 1,526
Illiterate minors,
263
II .- PUPILS.
Number of children in town September 1, as taken from the school census and registers :
1907-8.
1908-9
Between ages of 7 and 14,
1,032
1,069
Aggregate enrollment, Sept. to June,
1,174
1,383
Average daily attendance,
1,094.03
1,130.3
Average number belonging,
1,151.19
1,193.56
Per cent of attendance,
95.
94.7
Average number of pupils to each teacher,
In High School,
23.
23.
In other schools,
35.23
41.
74
COMPARISON FOR TEN YEARS.
YEAR.
1901-2
1902-3
1903-4
1904-5
1905-6
1906-7
1907-8
1908-9
'09-'IO
Av. Membership Av. Attendance Percent Attenda'ce
1075.85 1002.05 93.14
1051.9 977.12 92.89
955.61 891.65 93.35
978.82 1031.64 1107.91 901.82 92.14
1084.67 964.93 1045.92 1040.47 93.58 94.4
95.4
982. 94.49
1039.24 1151.19 1193.56 . 1094.03 1130.3 95.
94.7
ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL.
SCHOOLS.
Average Membership.
Average Attendance.
Per Cent of Attendance.
Enroll- ment.
High.
104.8
100.4
95.8
114
Palmer Grammar.
385.23
359.44
93.3
454
Thorndike Grammar .. .
191.63
184.24
96.1
221
Three Rivers Grammar.
224.06
213.04
95.1
262
Bondsville Grammar. ..
209.94
199.14
94.9
236
DISTRICTS-
Center
21.5
20.35
94.7
24
Wire Mill.
44.19
41.92
94.9
55
Shorley ..
12.21
11.77
96.4
17
TABLE OF COST.
1904-5
1905-6
1906-7
1907-8
1908-9
1909-10
Salaries ..
$16,518.74
$17,231.53
$16,673.25
$17,032.10
$18,734.56
$19,542.34
Music and Drawing ..
994.75
1,048.01
985.57
948.87
936.67
927.82
Janitors .
1,696.00
1,650.50
1,744.21
1,722.54
1,832.78
2,091.38
Contingencies. .
1,400.90
1,324.92
1,100.35
1,573.00
889.41
1,225.39
Text Books and Sup- plies . .
1,396.57
1,401.03
1,598.70
1,479.59
1,385.48
1,504.09
Repairs ..
467.31
1,009.92
382.45
339.56
439.37
977.34
Fuel and Light.
2,148.76
2,106.37
2,148.36
2,598.08
2,886.07
2,450.70
Transportation.
662.50
1,247.50
1,719.03
1,808.70
1,641.70
1,576.00
Medical Inspection ...
200.00
200.00
200.00
$25,345.54
$27,019.64
$26,351.92
$27,702.44
$28,946.04
$30,495.06
Av. Membership .....
1,031.64
1,107.91 1,045.92
1,084.67 1,040,47
1,039.24 982.
1,151.19 1,094.03
1,193.56
Av. Attendance ..
964.93
1,130.3
Cost per pupil, based on average member- ship ...
24.57
24.38
24.29
26.65
25.14
25.55
Cost per pupil, based
on average attend- ance. .
26.26
25.83
25.32
28.21
26.45
26.98
Insurance.
$60.00
$551.25
$243.00
$ 98.63
$400.50
$67.87
. .
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ATTENDANCE.
During the school year of 1908-9 the per cent of attendance was 94.7, a little less than that of the preceding year. While this rate is not low, yet the attendance should be higher in order for the schools to serve most efficiently the greatest number.
Irregular attendance is responsible to a large degree for both the retardation and the elimination of pupils, which are two of the greatest problems to be solved by every school administration.
Children are often kept from school on flimsy excuses, or to do something that could just as well be attended to after school or on a Saturday. Such a practice injures the child in two ways,-it leads him to believe that his work in school is relatively unimportant, and it seriously hinders his regular progress through the grades.
No school system can be administered in the interest of the greatest number without the constant co-operation of all parents in securing regular attendance.
HOME STUDY.
Not enough home work is done by pupils in the High School. This is due largely to the indifference of parents to a condition that should not be lost sight of. In the grades home work is usually limited to one subject. This is a change that has taken place with- in ten or fifteen years and represents the opinions of parents and of school officials that children were being overworked at home by the school. Irrespective of the truth of those opinions, the result is that very little studying is done outside of school by those in the grades. This is an unfortunate condition, because (1) it prevents the de- velopment of the power of concentration in the child at the time when it should be developed ; and (2) it promotes idleness.
If education accomplishes what it should for a child it will increase his mental power and will enable him to attack even an uninteresting problem and follow it through to a conclusion. Study, however, is the one method without which this power can not be attained, for dispersed attention never yet produced anything of a high order. Art is the work of a concentrated mind. Lack of home study promotes idleness by not affording the child enough to do outside of school.
While the effect of this is serious in the grades, it is of even greater consequence in the High School. Since there is only one
76
session in the High School, and since the child has not acquired the habit of industrious study in the grades, he goes out of school at one o'clock with the idea that his study for that day has ended.
Now a normal child represents a certain amount of energy, and his actions are determined by the direction of that energy. If not directed into good pursuits evil will be the result, not that the child is inherently bad, but that he is determined to do something.
The fact that parents have formed the habit of not insisting on home study by the child while in the grades leads them to continue the same policy in regard to him after he has reached the High School. The fault is one of omission rather than of commission, but its consequences as to the child are no less serious on that account.
When the child reaches the High School parents must insist on not less than two regular hours for home study, regular hours for recreation and regular hours for retiring, if the best school work is to be done, and the best mental development secured.
RETARDATION AND ELIMINATION.
Everybody who has made a study of school administration knows that retardation and elimination are two important indexes of the efficiency of a school system.
A retarded pupil is one who is older than the grade in which he is. For instance, if the normal age of pupils in the first grade is six to eight, a pupil eight or more is retarded.
By elimination is meant leaving school before the elementary grades have been completed.
By applying these two tests we shall be able to determine the efficiency of our school system. I therefore invite your attention to the following table :
77
RETARDATION. Table I. Showing the age and grade distribution, September, 1909.
GRADE.
Age
I
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Total
4
5
5
5
77
4
6
77
49
3
129
7
35
73
30
4
I42
8
8
39
45
23
7
I22
9
4
24
40
35
I5
2
I20
IO
3
6
24
31
34
27
2
I27
3
2
7
IO
27
38
19
3
109
I2
4
I2
I8
26
34
32
8
I34
I3
T
I
3
4
12
25
I8
25
I5
IO4
I4
3
7
9
29
67
15
I2
I6
I
6
7
Total
213
198
I57
I20
II6
I25
82
79
69
II59
Above
normal
19
33
39
27
33
32
9
T
6
199
age
Per Cent above
8.9
16.6|24.8
22.5 28.4 25.6 10.9
1.2
8.6
I7.2
normal age
You will notice that the per cent of retardation is 17.2. That for the whole country is from 16 to 20 per cent.
CAUSES : Retardation in our system, as well as in others, is due to late entrance or to slow progress. The theory of late en- trance is that the child who enters school at seven, eight, or nine, will be able to catch up with the child who enters at five. That theory, however, does not accord with the practice. Children rarely skip a grade, unless the grading is flexible. In our system the grading is not flexible. Our school work is definitely marked out, and a certain amount apportioned to a given year, and pro- motion takes place once a year. The result is that a pupil who fails must repeat the work of an entire year, while the repetition of only a part of the work is perhaps necessary.
Retardation, therefore, is due more to slow progresss than to late entrance. Slow progress is due partly to deficiencies of the
I8
I
I
81
78
school system, and partly to outside conditions. Inflexible grading, lack of individual assistance on the part of the teacher, and the fact that the school is operated for the brightest and for the dullest, rather than for the average pupils, are the principal shortcomings of the system. Outside conditions are responsible for irregular at- tendance, lack of home study, and lack of direction of activities during leisure time.
REMEDIES : As remedies I suggest the following : More flexible grading, or the employment of a teacher in each building to do individual work in those grades where the per cent of retardation is greatest, namely, in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades.
REPEATERS.
The number of repeaters is recruited from retarded pupils, although it is less.
Table II, showing number and cost per year, at $25.00 each, of repeaters, September, 1909.
Grade
Enrollment
Repeating
Cost
1
213
35
$875
2
198
17
425
3
157
7
175
4
120
7
175
5
116
14
350
6
125
4
100
7
82
0
000
8
79
3
75
9
69
1
25
Total
1159
88
$2200
Per Cent
7.5
Calling the cost per pupil $25 the total cost of repeaters per year is $2200. While the per cent of repeaters is only 7.5, yet this money cost is considerable for any given year. The saving of a part of that amount by an expenditure of less than the sum saved would be a wise expenditure.
79
ELIMINATION.
In considering the elimination of pupils I ask your attention to the following table :
Table III, showing elimination and rate of same in each grade, September, 1909.
Grade
Beginning
Elimination
Per Cent
1
178
2
198
3
157
21
11.7
4
120
58
32.5
5
116
62
34.2
6
125
53
29.7
7
82
96
53.9
8
79
99
55.6
9
69
109
61.2
High School
I
54
124
69.6
II
25
153
65.9
III
23
155
87.0
IV
21
157
88.2
According to this table we are carrying through the ninth grade only two out of five, or forty per cent of those who begin the first grade. Sixty out of a hundred fall by the wayside or are elimi- nated. A manufacturing establishment wasting sixty per cent, or at least not finishing more than forty per cent of its raw material, would so on become insolvent.
There can be no question of the statement that the least amount of education that every child of to-day and of to-morrow should have, to properly discharge the duties of a true citizen, is that furnished by the elementary schools.
We carry through the High School ten per cent, or one out of ten, of those who begin the first grade. Throughout the country about 50 per cent of those who enter the first grade are carried through the elementary school, and one in ten complete the High School course. This is an unfortunate condition. In Palmer we are below the average in the per cent of elimination in the grades, and equal the average number which is carried through the High School.
80
Respect for and obedience to law, recognition of the rights of others, and, in fine, the success of a democracy, depends upon the amount of education received by the greatest number. That body politic, therefore, which is giving an elementary education to only forty per cent of its citizens cannot permanently maintain a democracy, since it is constantly menaced by the impulsive sixty per cent.
CAUSES : The causes of this elimination are both internal and external, but the exact extent to which each is responsible is yet to be determined. In the school system itself retardation, slow progress and the fact that the subjects are not always adapted to the needs of the pupil, result in elimination. Outside of the school, the economic conditions of the home, illness in the family, and personal illness, are the leading causes of this condition.
The State also encourages elimination by the statute in regard to compulsory attendance, which allows a child of five years to attend school and compels all children between the ages of seven and fourteen to attend. Since the average age of beginning the first grade is between six and seven years, regular progress through the grades will not enable a child to begin the ninth grade until he is between fourteen and fifteen years old. Add to that the fact that the child does not progress regularly through the grades, and the result is that many children at fourteen have reached only the sixth or seventh grades.
Then, notwithstanding the fact that a town maintains at great expense eight or nine grades, the State tells that child that, in what- ever grade the age of fourteen may find him, he is no longer obliged to follow the course of education furnished him, and that he may leave school forever, - an injustice to all concerned.
REMEDIES : In the first part of this report remedies for re- tardation and a slow progress were suggested. To further reduce elimination there must be a greater adaptability of subjects to pupils. While improvement along that line can be made in the subjects already taught in our schools, the introduction of new subjects would materially increase the efficiency of the school system.
Wherever manual training for boys and sewing for girls have been introduced, pupils have been retained in school from two to four years longer. A boy who represents on paper a chair, book-case, or any other idea, and then, with tools, works out his design in wood,
81
has expressed a thought more accurately, as a rule, than he could express the thoughts of the author of a history, geography or other text book. He has acquired the power of self expression, and the result is the development of mental power. That particular form of expression is natural to him, he is interested, and thereby develops more power than he could develop by the pursuit of any other subject.
A girl who designs a curtain, pillow top, handkerchief, waist or other useful article, and works out that design in some suitable material, has expressed a definite thought and has increased her efficiency. She has demonstrated her power of self expression. She is the type of girl who usually makes slow progress in her studies, because of lack of power to express the thought of an author.
Our school system affords nothing to bring out the best there is in boys and girls of that type. An expenditure of one thousand dollars toward their development by that method would be an economic expenditure, from an educational standpoint.
A commercial course in the High School, properly correlated with other subjects, would produce a similarly beneficial result.
The external encouragement of elimination would be minimized by a State law compelling all children between the ages of seven and sixteen to attend school. Such a law would enable towns to get a more nearly equitable return on the investment required to maintain the eight or nine grade school system of the present, and the future citizens of the Commonwealth would be much better qualified to assume their duties as such.
An alternative, however, is for the town to rearrange its system on the basis of eight grades instead of nine. This would enable a greater number to complete the elementary grades before reaching the age of fourteen. It would also necessitate more intensive work throughout the grades.
In closing my report I wish to thank the parents, the teachers and the School Committee, for their continued cooperation in the welfare of our schools.
Respectfully submitted,
LEE T. GRAY,
Superintendent.
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APPENDIX A. SCHOOL ORGANIZATION. MARCH 1, 1910.
Year
Appointed ,
Salary
SUPERINTENDENT AND PRINCIPAL.
1907 Lee T. Gray, $2.000.00
HIGH SCHOOL.
1904
Genevra F. Clark, Latin,
700.00
1910 Ernest E. Larrabee, Science, 700.00
1908 Mildred R. Stetson, French and German,
650.00
1906 Pauline C. Melius, Mathematics,
700.00
1909 Clara Hawks, English, 500.00
PALMER GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
1900
Elizabeth I. Heenehan, Prin., Grade IX,
608.00
1906
Susette Gravestein, Grade VIII, 456.00
1890
Annie E. O'Connor, Grade VII, 456.00
1909 Agnes I. Mahoney, Grade VI, 380.00
1909
Mary B. Dillon, Grade V,
418.00
1905
Lillie M. Sullivan, Grade IV,
456.00
1906
Mildred M. Hartwell, Grade III, 456.00
1906
Jennie C. Roche, Grade II, 456.00
1907
Edna Flanders, Grade I, 456.00
1908
Helen Henderson, Assistant, Grades I and II, 418.00
THORNDIKE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
1891 Katherine M. Twiss, Prin., Grades VIII and IX,
608.00
1909
Laura V. Arentzen, Grades VI and VII, 418.00
1909
Flora Morey, Grades IV and V, 380.00
1909
Ina D. Babb, Grade III, 418.00
1909
Natalie Jackson, Grade II,
418.00
1874
Mary E. Murdock, Grade I, 456.00
THREE RIVERS GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
1907 Martha Buzzell, Prin., Grades VIII and IX, 608.00
1909
Florence Heenehan. Grades VI and VII, 380.00
1910 Rena Hemenway, Grades IV and V, 418.00
1896 Lucy B. Twiss, Grades III and IV, 456 00
1901 Julia G. Daley, Grade II,
456.00
1909 Bertha Pulsifer, Grades I and IV, 380.00
1908 Harriet J. Wilder. Grade I, 456.00
83
BONDSVILLE GRAMMAR SCHOOL.
1894 Jennie C. Twiss, Prin., Grades VIII and IX,
608.00
1908 Lucy Fitzgerald, Grade VII, 418.00
1910 Elizabeth A. Keefe, Grades V and VI, 418.00
1890 Cora B. Clark, Grades III and IV, 456.00
1908 Una L. Bangs, Grades II and III, 456.00
1908 Mary I. Fussell, Grade I, 418.00
PALMER CENTER SCHOOL.
1901 May E. Mahoney, Grades I and VI,
418.00
WIRE MILL SCHOOL.
1908 Mollie R. Felton, Grades I and IV, 437.00
SHORLEY DISTRICT SCHOOL.
1909 Maude Foley, 342.00
FOREST LAKE SCHOOL.
1909 Margaret Scannell, 418.00
DRAWING.
1904 Florence L. Tarbell, 500.00
MUSIC.
1897
Joanna V. Cantwell, 420.00
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APPENDIX B. "NO SCHOOL" SIGNAL.
The signal is given by direction of the Superintendent of Schools.
The School Committee has adopted the following regulations respecting the "no-school" signal :
The "no-school" signal, when given at 8 o'clock a. m. indi- cates that there will be no morning session in grades 1, 2 and 3.
When given at 8.30 a. m. indicates that there will be no school in all grades.
When given at 11.15 indicates that there will be no after- noon session for grades 1, 2 and 3.
When given at 11.45 indicates that there will be no afternoon session for all grades.
The "no-school" signal in precinct A will be given on the fire alarm by three strokes of the bell twice repeated, making nine strokes in all, thus :
In precinct D or Bondsville the "no school" signal will be sounded upon the steam chime whistle at the mill of T. D. Potter.
In other precincts the "no-school" signal will be given by three blasts on the steam chime whistles, each blast from 3 to 5 seconds' duration, a pause between each blast of from 3 to 5 seconds, thus : It will also be sounded by the chime whistle of the Wright Wire Co.
The "no-school" signal does not effect the High School ; sessions are held there every school day.
Town Warrant.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, } ss. HAMPDEN,
To either of the Constables of the Town of Palmer, in said County.
GREETING :
In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, you are hereby required to notify and warn all the inhabitants of the Town of Palmer, qualified to vote in elections of town officers, to meet at the several polling places in said Palmer, designated by the Select- men, to wit: In Precinct A, at the Engine House on Park street in the Depot Village ; in Precinct B, at Temperance Hall on Com- mercial street in Thorndike ; in Precinct C, at Ruggles' Hall on East Main street in Three Rivers ; and in Precinct D, at Holden's Old Store in Bondsville, on Monday, the 21st day of March, A. D. 1910, at 6 o'clock in the forenoon, then and there to give in their votes on one ballot to the precinct officers of the several voting precincts of said town, for the following town officers, to wit : Three Selectmen, a Town Treasurer, a Tax Collector, two Auditors, five Constables, three Fence Viewers, three License Commissioners and a Highway Surveyor, all for the term of one year ; one Assessor, one Overseer of the Poor, two members of the School Committee, one member of the Board of Health, and one Cemetery Commissioner, all for the term of three years ; one member of the School Committee for two years, to fill a vacancy ; also to vote by ballot, which shall be "Yes" or "No," in answer to the question, " Shall licenses be granted for the sale of intoxicating liquors in this town ?"
The polls will be open at 6 o'clock in the forenoon and may be closed at 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
And you are further hereby required to notify and warn the in- habitants of said Palmer, qualified to vote in town affairs, to meet
86
at the Town House at Four Corners, in said Palmer, on Monday, the 28th day of March, A. D. 1910, at 10 o'clock in the forenoon, then and there to act on the following articles, viz :
ARTICLE 1. To choose a Moderator to preside at said meeting.
ART. 2. To choose two or more Field Drivers, Measurers of Wood and Bark, and all other usual town officers.
ART. 3. To see if the town will vote to hire or build a tramp room and lockup.
ART. 4. To act on the reports of the town officers.
ART. 5. To raise money and make appropriations to defray the expenses of the town for the ensuing year.
ART. 6. To see if the town will authorize its Treasurer to borrow money in anticipation of the taxes of the ensuing year, the same to be paid from said taxes.
ART. 7. To see if the town will authorize its Treasurer to borrow money not to be paid from the taxes of the ensuing year.
ART. 8. To hear and act on the reports of committees.
ART. 9. To choose committees and give them instructions.
ART. 10. To see if the town will allow a discount and deter- mine what interest shall be paid on the taxes to be assessed for the ensuing year.
ART. 11.% To determine the manner and state the terms and con- ditions of collecting the taxes for the ensuing year, and fix the com- pensation of the collector of taxes.
ART. 12. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money to suppress the illegal sale of intoxicating liquors.
ART. 13. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the Young Men's Library Association.
ART. 14. To see if the town will raise money to convey pupils to and from the public schools, and instruct the School Committee as to the manner of letting the contract for such conveyance.
ART. 15. To see if the town will vote to raise money for the celebration of Memorial Day.
ART. 16. To see what action the town will take in relation to sewers.
ART. 17. To see what action the town will take in regard to lighting the streets, and whether it will authorize the selectmen to make contract therefor.
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ART. 18. To see what action the town will take in reference to the planting and preservation of shade trees.
ART. 19. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the care and improvement of cemeteries.
ART. 20. To see what action the town will take in regard to sidewalks.
ART. 21. To see if the town will vote to maintain night police in the several villages, and appropriate money for the same, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 22. To see what action the town will take relative to suits and claims now pending against the town.
ART. 23. To see if the town will raise and appropriate the sum of two hundred dollars for necessary aid to soldiers and sailors and their families, and the families of the slain, and entrust the same to L. L. Merrick Post of the Grand Army of the Republic, under the provisions of law.
ART. 24. To see if the town will instruct the Assessors to pro- cure a map of the village of Three Rivers for their use, and raise and appropriate money for the same, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 25. To see if the town will raise and appropriate the sum of $450 for the purchase of 500 ft. of new fire hose, and $150 for painting and re-plating the fire engine, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 26. To see if the town will accept and allow a new town way as laid out by the Selectmen, as follows : Beginning at a stone bound on the northerly side of Pinney street, so-called, 50 ft. north- easterly from the northeast corner of land of Thomas Carroll, thence running north 16 degrees west, and at right angles to said Pinney street, 341 ft. to a stone bound, thence north 40 degrees, 42 minutes east, 134 ft. to a stone bound ; the line described is the westerly and northwesterly side line of said town way which is laid out 50 ft. wide over land of Herbert A. Northrop and land of George A. and Harriet Branford, on the easterly and southeasterly side of said line.
ART. 27. To see if the town will vote to construct a sewer from the Carpet Mill, in the Depot Village, in a southerly direction, through Breckenridge street, thence along the line of the old Monson road, through land of one Nelson, to the Quaboag river, and raise
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and appropriate money for the same, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 28. To see if the town will vote to raise and appropriate money for the repair and maintenance of the clock located in the Universalist church tower, in the Depot Village, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 29. To see if the town will vote to discontinue the whole or any part of a highway in the village of Three Rivers, called Barker street, and extending southeasterly from the Belchertown road, so-called, to the residence formerly occupied by Franklin Barker.
ART. 30. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money to construct a new bridge, with the necessary piers, abutments, founda- tions and approaches, across the Chicopee river in the village of Three Rivers, within the limits of the lay out of the Belchertown road, or in any other more desirable location, appoint a committee to investigate the advisability of a new bridge, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 31. To see if the town will concur with the Board of Harbor and Land Commissioners in the proposed change in the boundary line between the towns of Palmer and Ware.
ART. 32. To see if the town will vote to mark the graves of soldiers of Colonial Wars, War of Revolution and War of 1812, and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 33. To see if the town will vote to purchase a playground in the Depot Village, and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 34. To see if the town will vote to macadamize North Main street. in the Depot Village. between Thorndike street and Shearer's Corner, so-called, or any portion thereof, and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 35. To see if the town will authorize the School Commit- tee, or any special committee, to dispose of the old boiler at the High School, and any furniture or other property that may be beyond use.
ART. 36. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the construction of new ash or gravel walk, where needed, and repair of the old walk, from the Catholic church in Thorndike to Three Rivers, and construct a crosswalk from said walk to the Polish church pear Four Corners.
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ART. 37. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the construction of a sidewalk in Water street, in the Depot Village.
ART. 38. To see if the town will make a gravel or cinder path on High street, in Thorndike, commencing at Commercial street and extending to School street.
ART. 39. To see if the town will extend the School street sewer, in the village of Thorndike, to the end of said street, and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 40. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the extension of the sewer in Commercial street, in the village of Thorndike, running from the Mrs. Daniel Shields estate to the Keith estate, on the corner of Commercial and High streets.
ART. 41. To see if the town will vote to extend the sewer in South Main street, in the Depot Village, from the northerly terminus thereof, northwesterly, to the brick house of the Central Vermont Railway Co., and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 42. To see if the town will vote to install an electric light on Harvey avenue, in the village of Thorndike, opposite the property of the Misses Cunningham, and raise and appropriate money for the same.
ART. 43. To see if the town will vote to establish an electric light on High street, in the village of Thorndike, near the house occupied by P. Cavanaugh.
ART. 44. To see if the town will vote to establish an electric light at the corner of Pine and Forest streets, in the Depot Village, near the residence of George Mayor.
ART. 45. To see if the town will vote to locate an electric light at the corner of Spring and Pond streets, in the Depot Village.
ART. 46. To see if the town will vote to locate an electric light in Holbrook street, in the Depot Village, near the house of F. H. Hart.
ART. 47. To see if the town will vote to establish an electric light in front of the Polish church, at Four Corners.
ART. 48. To see if the town will vote to locate three electric lights on a way laid out by J. W. Cheney, in Three Rivers, and called Ford street.
ART. 49. To see if the town will vote to discontinue three mem-
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bers of the School Committee and pay the remaining three members $50 each a year.
ART. 50. To see if the town will vote to reduce the pay of the Selectmen by the sum of $50 each a year, or take any action relative thereto.
ART. 51. To see if the town will raise and appropriate money for the construction and repair of walks at the High School building, and for grading, loaming and seeding the lawn.
ART. 52. To vote by separate ballot, which shall be " Yes" or "No," in answer to the following question : "Shall an act passed by the General Court in the year 1908, entitled ' An Act to provide for the protection of forest or sprout lands from fire,' be accepted by this town ? "
And you are hereby directed to serve this warrant by posting up attested copies thereof at the different public places designated by the vote of the town, seven days at least before the holding of said meeting, and cause this warrant to be printed in the Palmer Journal at least two issues before the holding of said meeting.
Hereof fail not and make due return of this warrant, with your doings thereon, to the Town Clerk, on or before the holding of said meeting.
Given under our hands this 10th day of March, A. D. 1910.
HENRY W. HOLBROOK, Selectmen. WILLIAM LAWTON, of
GEORGE S. HOLDEN, Palmer.
A true copy attest :
GEORGE A. BILLS, Constable.
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