USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Duxbury > Town annual report for the town of Duxbury for the year ending 1931-1935 > Part 19
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OSCAR B. RYDER
EDEN S. GLOVER
G. BAILEY CUSHING
J. FRANCIS REYNOLDS
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REPORT OF THE BOARD OF HEALTH
Duxbury, Mass.,
January 30, 1934.
To the Voters of the Town of Duxbury:
Greetings:
There have been reported to the Board of Health the following reportable diseases :-
Chicken Pox, 88
Malaria,
1
German Measles,
2
Septic Sore Throat,
1
Scarlet Fever,
4
Mumps, 34
Tuberculosis,
4 (1 death)
Venereal Disease, 2
Dog-bite, 5
Pneumonia,
1 (1 death)
Other than the mild epidemics of chicken pox and mumps, the general run of cases of reportable disease has been low. The case of malaria was brought back from the south by the patient. The cases of tuberculosis are re- ported as slightly improved but will require continued hospitalization. Only one of these cases has a settle-
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ment in Duxbury. Up to date, the Commonwealth has been unwilling to reimburse this town for the expenses of these cases.
The usual number of nuisance cases, over-flowing cess-pools, sink drains, pig pens, fish on beach, garbage, etc., have been reported, investigated and abated or such recommendations made as seemed appropriate.
The granting of permits for the sale of milk has been accompanied by a good deal of trouble (outside of Dux- bury) due to the unsanitary conditions found on produc- ers' farms, both in equipment and methods used. Pro- ducers are discouraged by the low prices received for raw milk and do not care. Fewer laws and better prices to the producer would result in better conditions. The present laws make the local Board of Health responsible for the final inspection and the granting of the permits for the sale of milk within the town limits.
Inspection of the nine wayside stands has found them to be neat, attractive and sanitary.
Respectfully, CHAS. W. EATON, C. J. SANTHESON, JR., J. NEWTON SHIRLEY, M. D.,
Board of Health.
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LIBRARIAN'S REPORT FOR 1933
The number of books put out during 1933 was almost as large as in 1932 when the circulation reached a record figure for this library. With the circulation keeping up, with no decrease in publishers' prices, and with less money in the budget than usual, it was difficult to supply all the demands for adult reading. Another factor was the i. ecessity of buying more than the average number of juveniles.
Children are now using the library to the extent of about 200 visits per week. This includes their casual as well as school reading. They are much harder on books than adults and a popular book is soon worn out in their hands. During the past year, besides the regular number of new juveniles, a good many replacements were made, and gaps left by worn out volumes that could not be re- placed were filled by substitutes. Nearly one-third of the books on the required school reading list are in bad con- dition and must be rebound or replaced in 1934.
The one important physical change during the year was the transformation of a large basement storeroom in- to a reading and work-room for library patrons. A com- plete system of wall shelves, the installation of a radiator, etc., now makes the room available for anyone who wishes a quiet place in which to read or write. Art, genealogical and vital records, military records, natural history and a small library of French books are among the volumes on the shelves.
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The genealogical and natural history sections have been enlarged and brought up to date by generous gifts from Mr. William H. Young, Treasurer of the Board. Though the room was barely completed by the end of the year it is already being used by our patrons. Cata- loging and especially the indexing of the large amount of natural history material is under way. The Wright col- lection in the Director's room, over twelve hundred vol- umes (1200), has been cataloged with special annotations as to first editions, illustrations, etc. In this connection we wish to thank Mr. Roger Pierce for his voluntary and painstaking services, which continue to be of much value to the library.
A detail of management during 1933 was the segre- gation of certain books covering a wide range of sub- jects under the head of General Information. As indicative of the scope of the collection its definition might be given as "what is going on in the world today". Ordinarily such books would be scattered about among twenty dif- ferent departments and would be noticed or used by few patrons. Gathered under one broad heading and placed in the rotunda where everyone has access to them they now circulate freely. As they are books of the better class, with an educational value, the result is most satis- · factory.
As heretofore the main demand is preponderantly for fiction, as is the case in most small town libraries. Any plan to encourage a more balanced literary diet, such as the cre mentioned in the previous paragraph, may suc- ceed in stimulating a little the circulation of non-fiction, but does not lessen the main need. As already stated it has been difficult to purchase enough of the popular fiction cf the day to supply the increasing demand, especially among the summer residents who are our heaviest patrons.
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Other libraries, both small and large, have tried to .overcome this difficulty by establishing a "rental shelf". Two or more copies of the popular books are bought. One is placed on the free shelves as usual, the others are rented to those willing to pay a small sum per day or week rather than wait for the chance to get the free copy. The object is not to make money, but to give readers an op- portunity to secure certain books without the long delays consequent under the ordinary routine of the library. If the rental books pay for themselves that is really all that can be asked. It seems to the librarian that it might be worth while to try out the rental plan at the Duxbury library.
In closing the report for 1933 the librarian wishes to express his gratitude to the many donors of books and periodicals.
FISHER AMES,
Librarian.
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REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE DUXBURY FREE LIBRARY, INC.
Expenses .
Wages:
Ames
$875.00
Bolton
600.00
Needham
320.00
$1,795.00
Higgins
480.00
Telephone
$46.10
Light
51.59
Water
18.81
Wood
5.00
Coal
226.32
Safe
10.00
$357.82
Insurance
382.00
Books
678.00
Taxes
3.91
Total Expense
$3,696.73
Principal
4,925.00
$8,621.73
Balance December 31, 1933
725.48
$9,347.21
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The amount appropriated by the town ($1,000.00) does not appear in this account. It is all used in paying wages in addition to the sums shown here.
Income
On hand, January 1, 1933 :
Principal Account $382.81
Income Account
$1,129.95
Income from :
Wright Fund
$2,796.32
Winsor Fund
242.50
Hathaway Fund
71.62
Harding Fund
59.89
Duxbury Hall Fund
160.00
$3,330.33
Other income
4.12
$4,464.40
Principal fund col- lected
$4,500.00
$4,882.81
$4,882.81
$9,347.21
WILLIAM H. YOUNG,
Treasurer.
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REPORT OF CEMETERY TRUSTEES
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens
of Duxbury:
Again we would make a report of the work accom- plished in this department during the past year.
The usual work of clearing the ground of dead limbs and raking the leaves was done.
The trees have all been sprayed and thousands of moth nests creosoted.
The fences around Mayflower, Myles Standish, Ash- dod and Dingley Cemeteries have been painted and other necessary painting done.
The avenues were raked and repaired and the grass topped lots were kept mowed and the sand topped ones hoed and raked, also all lots under our care were well fertilized and kept watered during the dry weather.
Forty-seven graves that had settled were refilled and sodded and ten new lots were built and seven old ones re- built and the ground cleared for many more.
Thirteen foundations have been built for new monu- ments and many old ones reset.
Six new lots have been added to the perpetual care list this past year, making a total of 247 now being cared for by this fund.
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There have been twenty interments of those who died in town and forty-two from out of town during the year.
The lots in the new part of the cemetery are fast being taken up, requiring a lot more area to care for. We are planning to build a large section of new lots and also extend the water pipes to that part.
It will also be necessary to give the avenues a coat- ing of oil and sand this coming year. We appreciate as always the help and co-operation of the citizens of the town and ask for your continued help in 1934.
Respectfully submitted,
ALBERT M. GOULDING, Chairman, JOHN SIMMONS, Secretary, THEODORE W. GLOVER, ERNEST H. BAILEY, THOMAS W. HERRICK,
Trustees.
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REPORT OF SHELL FISH WARDEN
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens
of Duxbury:
I am pleased to report that this year has been a great improvement over last year in regards to out-of-town diggers.
By having the Selectmen close the main shores to the public, there were very few that tried to dig there.
I stopped about 100 persons from digging on these shores and I saw more than that on an average in a day last year.
The grant owners, with the clams they have planted on their grants have helped to seed about 1,000 acres in the bay very thickly, and this seed would have been about all destroyed by now if the public could have dug through them.
We have closed up Standish Shore to all digging un- til the seed, about 40 acres, gets large enough to dig.
The three acres of clams that were closed until they got large enough to dig, when re-opened, employed on an average of twenty-five men a day for three months, and they dug over 4,500 bushels on this patch. If the public could have dug there it would not have lasted over a week.
There was also fair digging on Captain's Flat, the clams there being all large. The clams on the Village
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shore were about all dug by out-of-town people before the Selectmen closed it to them. Just as soon as the clams got two inches long the people began to dig them. I stopped quite a number from digging when the clams were seed.
The grant owners this year have planted 528 bushels of clams, 496 bushels of quahaugs and five bushels of oysters, making a total of 1,029 bushels of shell fish.
We have issued five grants this year on the flats and sixty-five digging permits at $2.00 each, totalling $140.00.
There are thousands of bushels of clam seed that will go to waste and it is too bad that we do not save some of it. There are plenty of flats that have not anything on them, where we could put this seed. The spat, or spawn from them with conditions right, would re-seed these flats in two years.
From last January to June there was an average of sixty men employed in the bay; from June to September, twenty-five men; from September to November, twelve men and now there are thirty-five diggers.
I would like to state to the citizens of Duxbury, most of them have the impression that shell fish grows in a few weeks but from the time of spat it takes them on the average two years to grow two inches.
Amount of shell fish marked: 7,011 bushels clams and 907 gallons shucked; 7,290 bushels quahaugs; 1,571 bushels razors, totalling 15,872 bushels and 907 gallons, value $32,772.50.
This report of shell fish is not fully complete, it be- ing impossible to get it owing to some diggers neglecting to make a report of what they have dug. This is about five times more shell fish marked than last year, and the
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most shell fish taken by town people in many years.
Expenses for year : Mileage 17,890, an average of 49 miles daily; 1,090 gallons of gasoline, $200.56; sixty- seven quarts of oil, $22.00; material for forty-eight signs $28.90; tires, repairs, registration, with no depreciation on car, $111.91. The total expenses were $363.37. This leaves an average of $3.39 a day for man, car and boat.
I checked up several times this year and the most out-of-town people I saw were on August 12th. There were fifty persons on the flats of Duxbury Beach. I could see that the same people came here week after week get- ting shell fish but now that they cannot go everywhere, take everything and take any amount, it does not pay them to come.
When I caught any of the public on the open terri- tory taking shell-fish, I seized it and put it on the main shores for the Duxbury people to get.
It looks as though now, with all the seed we have in the bay we shall have plenty of shell fish for many years if we protect them.
Respectfully submitted,
HARRY C. FOYE,
Shell Fish Warden.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
SCHOOL COMMITTEE
OF THE
TOWN OF DUXBURY
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31st
1933
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE
Joseph W. Lund
Term expires 1936
Miss Agnes S. Ellison, Secretary
Term expires 1934
Dr. George M. Mayers, chairman Term expires 1935
Regular meetings of the School Committee are hell in the Duxbury High School building at eight o'clock on the evening preceding the first and fifteenth of each month.
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
George E. Green, Duxbury, Massachusetts Office Telephone : 346
SCHOOL PHYSICIAN
Dr. Connie H. King, Telephone: Duxbury 212
SCHOOL NURSE AND ATTENDANCE OFFICER
Miss Annie Williams, Telephone: Duxbury 175
STAFF
George E. Green, Superintendent, B. S. Bates College, Graduate Work at Boston University.
Leroy N. MacKenny, Submaster, B. A., University of Maine, Graduate Work at the University of Maine. Harold K. Halpert, Latin and History, Director of Orches- tra, A. B., M. A., Brown University.
Amelia E. Hausman, French, B. A., Middlebury College, Graduate Work at the University of Colorado and Middlebury College.
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Kenneth O. Macomber, Manual Training, Print Shop, Coach of Boys' Basketball and Baseball, Gorham Normal School.
Winifred E. Sanders, English, B. A., Bates College, Grad- uate work at the University of New Hampshire.
Deseret Wright, Coach of Girls' Basketball, Commercial Becker College, Study at Boston University, Harvard Summer School of Physical Education.
Thelma S. Friedrich, Home Economics, B. S., Massachu- setts State College.
Ellen W. Downey, Seventh Grade, Mathematics, Music, Partridge Academy.
Margaret J. Coffin, Sixth Grade, Washington State Nor- mal School.
Jennie White, Fifth Grade, Bridgewater.
Mary Abbie Baker, Tarkiln Primary School, Partridge Academy.
Sarah Paulding, Village Primary School, Partridge Acad- emy, Study at Columbia University and Harvard, Hyannis Normal School.
Dorothy Rust, Point Primary School, Salem Normal School, Study at the University of Vermont.
Ruth Cresse, Village Primary School, Wheelock School. Margaret R. Bockmann, Tarkiln Primary School, Wheel- ock School.
Samuel Warner, Supervisor of Drawing, Boston Art Club, N. E. Conservatory Art Department.
May Blaire McClosky Music Supervisor.
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ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
To the Citizens of Duxbury:
The School Committee herewith presents its report for the year 1933.
The past year has seen no abandonment of our regu- lar school program, though a sharp curtailment of the annual appropriation made additional expenses impos- sible. The Committee were able to keep within the bu :!- get appropriation owing to a reduction secured in the new bus contract and also in pro-rating the insurance on the school property.
The teachers, with one exception occasioned by mar- riage, were continued in their respective positions, and have given graciously of their time and services, which has meant much when their class rooms have, in several instances, been too crowded for more than regular routine work.
In view of this overcrowding, the School Committee has considered carefully the question of erecting a new school building to house all the elementary school pupils in the Town, and believes that such a building should be erected. Many expenses now incurred with the present buildings would be abolished, the establishment of an opportunity class for the children requiring special assist- ance and training and the centralizing of our whole school
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system would be among the benefits obtained.
The matter of Physical Education has also received attention and the Committee will not oppose its introduc- tion into the Duxbury Schools when the proper financial conditions warrant the additional expense necessary to provide the teachers and equipment.
The most necessary repairs have been made on the various school buildings during the past year, and as usual, these must be provided for this coming year, along with other necessary expenses, and the School Committee therefore asks for an appropriation of $44,000.00 with the dog tax for the year of 1934.
Respectfully submitted,
DR. G. M. MAYERS, AGNES S. ELLISON, JOSEPH W. LUND,
Duxbury School Committee.
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REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT
To the School Committee of Duxbury:
I herewith submit for your consideration my seventh annual report as Superintendent of Schools.
1933 has been a year of quiet but effective work for the pupils of our school system. Our teaching force, hav- ing had but one change during the year, has shown greater strength due to added years of experience, ex- tensive summer school work, and the broadening influence of travel. School enrollment has continued to grow with ever-increasing acceleration until now several school rooms are seriously overcrowded.
There have been no serious epidemics; but while the attendance percentage of 93.8 is somewhat above the aver- age for the state as a whole, it is not so high as could be expected in a community where the general level of health and the transportation facilities are as good as they are in Duxbury. In a recent survey by a graduate student in Bos- ton University a study was made of the causes of failure among employees. The cause of lost jobs, in over 90 percent of the cases studied, was given by employers as character weaknesses of which absence, tardiness, and listlessness were most outstanding. Lack of knowledge was at the foot of the list, with only one percent of the failures attributed to it. Surely if we are giving the proper training for future security and success, regu- larity and punctuality cannot be ignored. In this, the
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home must cooperate whole-heartedly with the school. The cases of truancy in Duxbury are very rare. The only legal excuse for absence is sickness; therefore, if the parents will cocperate in seeing that the child is on the job at every session that he is physically able to attend, a contribution will be made, not only to the school, but to the assurance of future success of the child.
ACADEMIC
Latest reports indicate that the graduates from our high school continue to do the same good quality of work in college and other institutions of learning that they have done in the past. An increasingly large percentage of recent graduates have either found jobs or made jobs for themselves; and of those who are still with us as post graduates, a majority are striving for a definite goal.
With the demands for economy which conditions in general have placed upon every individual, home, and community there could be little justification for expansion of our program, except to take care of the ever-increasing enrollment of our schools.
The printing, which was only in its infancy at the time of my last report, has grown so much in popularity among the pupils that it was found necessary at the be- ginning of the year to give more time to the course. This cut into the time allotment for manual training so that the class for older boys has had to be discontinued. The printing department was added to the curriculum with practically no expense to the tax payers of the town. All the apparatus, including the press and the type, was pur- chased by pupil organizations. The saving to the school department has far more than offset any expense of up- keep.
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Increased enrollment and pupil needs necessitated the organization of a class in business arithmetic. A readjust- ment of teaching load took care of this without adding expense other than for extra books and supplies.
We have continued the use of achievement tests throughout the grades. The average attainment of the children in Duxbury schools runs up to five months in ad- vance of the standards as established by the tests.
These tests and the intelligence tests given annually show quite clearly that there is occasionally a child whose ability is far below that of the average. This lack of abil- ity is in no way the fault of the child for there is little he nor anyone else can do about it. For the child with men- tal weaknesses, in a small town, there is little hope. If there are ten such cases, the state requires a special class taught by a teacher trained to care for such individuals. In Duxbury, there are not ten children subject to this ruling ; consequently, the seven or eight who would fall into this class are allowed to drift along. They have not intelligence enough to do the work assigned them; there- fore, they are not promoted. This soon results in their becoming older, emotionally and physically, than the group with which they are forced to associate. There is nothing they can contribute to this group that is good, and they are marked by size so that all the world knows they are out of place. As a consequence they develop anti-social tendencies which lead to more and more trouble as they become older. A class should be organized with a teacher properly trained to handle the peculiarly diffi- cult problems which this group presents.
ACTIVITIES
In spite of the depression the extra curricula activi- ties have flourished without abatement. The Partridge
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Staff, after assuming responsibility for setting up a print- ing department, suffered many natural but nevertheless discouraging delays. It finally solved a majority of the problems associated with the editing, printing, and pub- lishing of its newspaper magazine and is now operating smoothly.
The Student Council has handled with a great deal of wisdom all the problems within its jurisdiction. I am sure the pupils elected to serve on this body have profited immensely from the concrete examples of government which they have been called upon to solve.
The Senior Class of 1933 chose "Peg O' My Heart" for the annual play which was given in March. The class of 1934, realizing the difficulties other classes had en- countered in attempting to conduct rehearsals during the basketball and baseball seasons, decided to put on "Cappy Ricks" early in December.
The orchestra put on their usual concert during the winter. This group has felt the depression more than any other activity and a scarcity of younger children taking music lessons gave us grave doubts as to whether there would be an orchestra this year. This fear was some- what allayed in the fall when Mr. Kendall Blanchard or- garired a class in violin instruction. There are about twelve pupils taking advantage of this opportunity at present.
The Tarkiln School gave a cantata at the May meet- ing of the Parent-Teacher Association. Practically every high school pupil participated in the operetta, "The Gypsy Rover" given in the spring.
Incidently, the "Gypsy Rover" was given a second time, the proceeds of $85.00 going to the Red Cross for relief of the fire victims of Ellsworth and Auburn, Maine.
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Another contribution to the Red Cross which the children of the high school building make annually is a Christmas gift of candy for disabled war veterans in the Army and Navy Hospitals. Material for the candy is brought in by the pupils, and girls of the domestic science classes make up the candy and put it in boxes.
In athletics we have continued to support inter-schc- lastic contests with baseball and basketball teams; but within our own group a considerable amount of tennis, volley ball, soccer ball, and touch football has been played.
Each and every one of these activities contributes to the development of character, poise, and self-reliance. . It is often through such activities that traits of character can be developed better than through the medium of the more rigidly controlled academic subjects.
GIFTS
Ofttimes a service rendered in a time of need is the most precious gift one can receive. Although each in- stance of kind assistance given almost daily by parents and friends of the school is too intangible to be recog- nized individually in this report, we are nevertheless deeply grateful.
The Partridge Scholarship went this year to Mar- garet Indlekofer who entered the Boston University School of Physical Education in September.
Sons of Veterans and the Auxiliaries, in behalf of the G. A. R., have continued to see that each school build- ing is properly supplied with an American Flag.
Through its annual award to the outstanding girl and boy in the eighth grade, the American Legion carried on
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its established policy of encouraging strength of char- acter. The winners last spring were Ethel Barriault and George Kirkpatrick.
The Duxbury Garden Club has continued its inter- ested activity in the school. Seeds were distributed to the children, prizes were offered for the best flower and vegetable garden, and inducements offered for exhibition at the summer flower show. The club also conducted a prize Christmas Wreath Contest, sponsored lectures on wild flower preservation and bird life, and distributed grain to the children for bird feeding during the snowy months. During the summer this very active organiza- tion gave a play entitled "Garden Conscious" in the High School Auditorium. The proceeds of $175.00 from this entertainment went to a fund which is being used to as- sist underprivileged children.
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