USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1922-1923 > Part 11
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REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF SHORES AND FLATS.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
Gentlemen-I submit the following report. The commer- cial clam industry for the past year has not been good as the condition of the flats is poor and the demand for clams no better than in 1921. The market has been supplied almost wholly from the Cape.
Our flats have been covered with mussels and grass which the ice this winter may perhaps help to clear away.
The clam diggers have mostly given up the business, not being able to make living wages. Small clams have died from over crowding.
Should say about 4,100 bushels had been taken out dur- ing the year.
Respectfully submitted,
ALFRED HOLMES, Supervisor.
.
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AGAWAM AND HALFWAY POND FISHERIES.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen :
Gentlemen-We submit the following report of the Plym- outh Committee of Agawam and Halfway Pond herring stream.
The stream was sold March 3rd, 1922, for $850.00, $650.00 more than in 1921. There was a very good run of fish into Halfway Pond.
Respectfully submitted,
ALFRED HOLMES, FRANK HARLOW, WARREN S. GALE.
REPORT OF INLAND FISHERIES COMMITTEE.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen.
Gentlemen-Bought 600 adult White Perch which were put in South Pond. The State sent us 50 adult Black Bass which we put in Boot Pond.
We had a channel dug from Ship Pond to the sea so the White Perch can come in to the pond.
Respectfully submitted,
J. S. CLARK, Chairman.
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BOARD OF HEALTH
FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 1922
RECEIPTS.
Appropriated, March, 1922, $14,000 00
Appropriated, March, 1922, (1921
bills,) 858 91
Appropriated, November, 1922,
2,400 00
$17,258 91
PAYMENTS.
General and Administrative expenses, $754 95 Quarantine and Contagious diseases, 5,411 12 Tuberculosis, 5,033 91
Vital Statistics, 253 05
Inspection (animals, meats and milk), 1,689 86 Public Dumps (labor and expenses), 1,966 74 Tuberculosis Dispensary expenses, 1,088 15
Other expenses, 1,058 68
$17,256 46
Unexpended balance, $2 45
GENERAL REPORT OF BOARD OF HEALTH.
Plymouth, Mass., January 1, 1923.
The past year has not been marked by any sensational changes either in the activities of the Board or in its method of carrying on its work.
The only change of moment in its organization was the
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election of Dr. Walter D. Shurtleff to the Chairmanship of the Board, followed by the appointment of Dr. Elmer A. Barrows to be physician in charge of the Tuberculosis Dis- pensary. The Plumbing Inspectors, Mr. Michael D. Welsh and Arthur Sampson were continued in office, as was Mr. Edwin B. Young as Milk Inspector, and Dr. Frederick H. Bradley as Cattle Inspector, while Mr. Edward K. Morse con- tinued to act as Fumigating Officer.
Believing that pure water, clean milk and good sanitation are essential to good health, the Board has caused frequent examinations to be made, of springs and wells used for public or private drinking purposes. Thus, water from Brewster Spring has been analyzed several times, as have the wells at Storrow Camp at Long Pond. Here (meaning at Storrow Camp), several wells or springs were found to be unfit for drinking purposes, and a number of changes were made by the authorities in charge, so that a supply of pure water was assured.
The Laws of the Commonwealth .require that all milk sold shall be free from adulteration, and also be of a certain fixed.standard. These laws are enforced by State Inspec- tors, so that our problem has been almost entirely one of securing an adequate supply of clean milk. Not only have local dairies been inspected and licensed, but out of Town dairies supplying milk to Plymouth, have been under con- stant supervision. Thus, dairies in the Towns of Carver, Plympton, Marshfield, Middleboro and elsewhere, have been inspected and licensed before milk could be sold from them within the Town limits.
Complaint having been made by the residents of Peck's Avenue, of the large amount of stagnant water which had veen allowed to stand in the road bed at the Westerly end of the Avenue, for days at a time, investigation was made, aand we were informed that the Highway Department would
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not spend their money to remedy the conditions, as Peck's Avenue was not a Public Way. Therefore, the Board au- thorized the expenditure of their funds to be the needed work of correcting conditions, and the actual work was car- ried out by the Highway Department.
In the matter of contagious diseases, the tabulated table speaks for itself. Rigid quarantine measures finally check- ed an epidemic of Scarlet Fever, that was general through- out the State. Cases of other diseases did not approach the epidemic stage.
Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
April
May
June
July
Aug.
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
Total
Chicken Pox,
1 6 11
2
2
5
6 9 41
Diphetheria,
2
5
1
1
4.1
1 1 16
Dog Bite,
1
1
2
German Measles,
1
2
3
Mumps,
1
1
Lobar pneumonia, 1
1
9
2
1
2
1 17
Influenza,
1 1
2
Opthalmia Ne- otatorum,
1
1
Septic Sore Throat,
1
1
Scarlet Fever,
8 23 33
9 653
2
4
1 94
Tuberculosis, Pul-
monary,
2 14 1
2
1 1
3
1 16
Tuberculosis, Other Forms,
1
1
1
1 4
Trachoma,
1 1
4
3
2
11
Typhoid Fever,
1
Sleeping Sickness,
1
1 2
Whooping Cough,
1
5
Measles,
3
1
1
1
·
1
13 33 64 23 9 12 11 8 3 18 10 14 218
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An unusually large number of expensive Tuberculosis cases have been a drain on our finances. At the present time these cases in South Hanson alone, cost the Board near- ly Four Hundred Dollars a month, or between Four Thous- and or Five Thousand Dollars a year; although it is true that in some cases a subsidy will eventually be paid the Town, by the Commonwealth, and in one or two cases pay- ment will be made to the Board by relatives or friends of the unfortunates, to reimburse us for our expenses.
The Jordan Hospital has again been used for the majority of contagious cases aided by the Town. It will be of in- terest to note that the amount paid to the Hospital this year,. including the annual payment of Two Thousand Dollars,. amounts to about Forty-five Hundred Dollars.
The Fremont Street Playground, so-called, is being built largely at the expense of the Board of Health, a man being kept there constantly, to burn, bury or otherwise dispose of rubbish. While the expense is heavy, the work is well done, and a very valuable piece of ground is being built, while at the same time the question of disposal of rubbish, garbage and other waste material is well solved for the greater portion of the Town.
In the North End of the Town, the Public Dump on the Cordage Land off Standish Avenue, is still maintained, and on the whole has been satisfactory, but in order to get the best results, a care-taker should be employed there constant- ly, and this, we have not felt that financial conditions war- ranted.
At White Horse Beach the disposal of rubbish and gar- bage during the summer, has been unsatisfactory, and a. petition has recently been received, requesting the Board to maintain a system of Garbage Collection, and to establish there, a Public Dump under competent supervision. Some-
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thing along this line must be done during the coming sum- mer, and our budget calls for an appropriation to carry on the work.
Attention is called to the reports of our various ap- pointees as shown elsewhere in the Town Report.
We recommend for the ensuing year, an appropriation of $17,000 to carry on the work for 1923.
Respectfully submitted,
WALTER D. SHURTLEFF, M. D. Chairman
HARRY R. TALBOT, Secy., HIERBERT S. MAXWELL.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF SLAUGHTERING
FOR THE YEAR 1922.
During the past year the following animals were slaught- ered and inspected in Plymouth :
Cattle
Calves
Pigs
Sheep
January,
16
10
23
February,
13
9
16
March,
11
10
11
April,
12
12
12
May,
10
12
5
June,
15
19
4
July,
7
8
2
August,
11
5
2
September,
13
4
21
October,
12
23
November,
14
5
57
Totals,
149
99
219
2
During the past year two cattle have been condemned as unfit for food, having tuberculosis.
The carcasses of three pigs have also been condemned, and three heads of pigs have been condemned.
On April 21st, 1922, one calf was found in a store not stamped, the same was seized.
One calf was also condemned as unfit for food.
FREDERICK H. BRADLEY, Inspector.
2
15
5
43
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REPORT OF INSPECTION OF MILK
Plymouth, Mass., Jan. 29, 1923.
To the Honorable Board of Health of Plymouth :-
As milk inspector for the Town, I herewith submit my report for the past year.
The records, up to the present time, show the following facts: Licenses taken out for olemargarine were six in number, as in the preceeding year. Seventy-eight dealer's licenses to sell milk were granted as against sixty-four in the ' preceeding year. The distribution of the latter was as fol- lows.
Class A, for dealers such as hotels, restaurants, tea rooms, lunch rooms, drug stores, etc., where milk is dispensed mainly by the glass, and where the patrons drink it on the premises- twenty-seven in number.
Class B, for dealers such as stores and markets, where milk is bought by the pint, quart, etc., and carried to the home- nineteen in number.
Class C, for persons primarily dealing in milk, or produc- ing it for wholesale or retail trade-thirty-two in number.
In addition to the above, there are many persons who have permits to produce milk but who have no licenses as dealers. It should be remembered that the law allows a producer of milk to retail an amount up to twenty quarts without a milk dealer's license.
The inspector wishes to call the attention of a few people to certain things which they should bear in mind. All per- sons who have cows should get a permit from the Board of Health. As mentioned above, producers who wish to sell milk to consumers should get a milk dealer's license, unless the amount is below twenty quarts. Milk dealers should
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.avoid using containers which have the names of other men on them. If consumers will return the right bottles to their milk men they will help the latter not to break the law. Sufficient care should be used in cleaning containers; cold water is not enough. As all licenses expire on the thirty-first of May regardless of when they were taken out, all persons needing the same should make application at that time. Places such as mentioned in "Class A" above, where raw milk is served, should remember that Victualers' licenses do not cover their needs, in the case of said product.
There is as yet no supply of certified or of pasteurized milk in town. Here is still an open field for some ambitious person to establish a profitable pasteurized trade, should he have a good business head and a little capital.
Respectfully submitted,
E. B. YOUNG, Milk Inspector.
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PLYMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and Citizens of Plymouth :
As an index of the increasing activity and general use- fulness of the library in the community it should be noted that the total circulation during the year was 52,540, the largest in the history of the library, and an increase of 4,178 over 1921. It is gratifying also to find that the in- crease in non-fiction alone was 2,109, more than half being in the children's department. This does not include the school deposit, which is largely non-fiction. · 442 foreign books were circulated and 662 prints, the latter from the pictures given by Miss Mary Graton Bartlett, the Arts and Crafts Collection, and the post cards.
The Morton school reported a circulation of 374 books from the school deposit sent there last year. This is a large circulation, as they have only twenty-five or thirty books at one time, seldom exchanging them for new ones. Deposits of books have also been sent to a school at Chiltonville, to the Jordan Hospital, and, during the summer, to the Na- tional Girl Scout Training School, at Long Pond.
Books in Greek, Yiddish, Russian and Italian have been borrowed from the Division of Public Libraries, State House, Boston. Upon the request of persons interested in a special subject, books of non-fiction, not found in a lib- rary of this size, have been borrowed from the Boston Pub- lic Library. A few volumes have been lent to libraries in Carver, Duxbury, Kingston, Marshfield and Plympton. This is done through the Inter-library loan.
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In response to a call from the American Merchant Ma- rine Library Association, a number of books and periodi- cals, contributed by the public, have been sent to Boston for the American merchant ships. Periodicals have also been sent to the Duxbury Pier lighthouse and the Manomet Coast Guard. Books not needed in this library have been sent to the Plymouth County Hospital, at South Hanson.
There are 17,651 volumes in the library, 895 volumes hav- ing been added in 1922, 623 adult and 272 juvenile; of these, 270 were gifts.
The number of card holders is approximately 4,781; but as many people leave town without giving up their cards, it is difficult to give the exact number. 372 adult and 219 juvenile cardholders have been enrolled during the year, making a total of 591; of these, 140 were temporary.
The adult attendance for reading and reference alone was 13,533, while the children's attendance was 16,383.
In connection with this statement which indicates that a very large number of children use the library, in point of fact a number so large that the building is hopelessly inadequate to accommodate them, it should be noted that the Town Improvement Committee of the Chamber of Commerce has a project which, although it has not at pres- ent assumed definite shape, includes a Memorial Library for the children which presumably would be made a part of the present library building and operated in connection with it. Such a memorial would certainly be a fitting and dignified one, serving to relieve the crowding and discom- fort of the present accommodations, every year becoming more aggravated, and materially furthering the efforts of our institution to open the minds of the children to those high ideals which shall later bear fruit in enlightened serv- ice.
Should the proposal of this committee prevail, the Russell
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Library building might be directly connected with a com- munity building including a hall which could be used for public lectures as a recognized feature of the library work, a feature which though extremely desirable, has heretofore been wanting.
The generous bequest of $10,000 to the library by Miss Mary Pratt who was always a liberal supporter of Plymouth institutions places us in a better position to equip and maintain a children's library should the building be forth- coming and this use of the fund we feel would meet with the unqualified approval of the donor.
The Board of Free Public Library Commissioners has issued a graded list of reading for children in grades three to eight in the public schools. Any child who reads five books receives a certificate, bearing the state seal, and signed by the Commissioner of Education and the Librarian of the Boston Public Library. This opportunity was re- ceived with enthusiasm by both teachers and pupils, over 150 certificates having been issued. It is hoped that more children will take advantage of this selection of good read- ing during the coming year.
During Children's Book Week, November 12-18, books especially recommended for children's reading were dis- played in the Library and at a meeting of the Plymouth Woman's Club. Mr. Lyscom A. Bruce, Director of Com- munity Service, very kindly assisted by giving talks in the schools upon the subject of books and reading also the first story hour of the winter was held. Miss Greene told Czechoslovak fairy tales and showed a map of the country explaining about its history.
This children's story hour held under the direction of the assistant librarian, Miss Greene, has been greatly en- joyed by the children whose appreciation is indicated by the attendance. Those who have assisted at the story hour
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which is held twice a month on Saturday mornings are Dr. H. H. Burns, Rev. Ernest Pugh, Miss Florence Leland and Miss Dorothy Bruce. .
On July 6th, a tea and sale was to have been held out- of-doors on the estate of the late William Hedge whose de- votion to the library is well known. Unfortunately the day was cold and wet so that it was necessary to make use of Kendall Hall which was kindly offered for the purpose. A feature of the occasion was an interesting exhibit show- ing features of the library work and as the number of visitors was very gratifying, something was accomplished in the way of making the library and its needs better known. The money realized was used for the purchase of books.
Gifts of books, pamphlets and periodicals have been re- ceived from the following donors: Miss Elizabeth Thurber, Miss Alice Stedman, Miss Lucie R. Hedge, Miss Caroline B. Warren, Mrs. Agnes A. Gibbs, Miss Anne P. Appleton, Miss Sophia R. Westwood, Miss Harriet Warren, Mrs. George R. Briggs, Mrs. Theodore P. Adams, Miss Elizabeth Perkins, Miss Helen D. Irwin, Miss Emma Grozinger, Mrs. Arthur Lord, Mrs. Henry R. Hedge, Mrs. Herbert II. Chandler, Mrs. Frank Sheppard, Mrs. William S. Town- send, Miss Rose S. Townsend, Mrs. Howland Davis, Mrs. Harold D. Harvey, Mr. William C. Smith, Percy Haigh, Dr. L. B. Reed, Mr. Samuel W. Travers, Harold E. Mans- field, Mr. John Courtney, Dr. J. Holbrook Shaw, Rev. Al- fred R. Hussey, Dr. Harold M. Bruce and Plymouth Book Club.
Books have also been received from the Division of Pub- lic Libraries, the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Smithsonian Institution, the Dennison Manufacturing Com- pany and others.
A number of post cards and photographs of foreign views were presented to the Library by Mr. William N. Drew, from
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the estate of Mrs. Susan D. Gaylord. These, with many cards and photographs of scenes in North America, received from Miss Emma S. Hall, form a valuable collection, which will be used in the schools, when studying special countries.
Pictures relating to the Pilgrims in England have been pre- sented by Miss Jennie S. Hubbard, and books and a large number of pictures from the Arts and Crafts Committee of the Plymouth Woman's Club, make an interesting addition to their collection.
We mourn the loss of one of the noble Lindens which for years have lent distinction and beauty to our library. This tree in the judgment of the Tree Warden was so weakened by internal decay as to be a menace to the public, and was taken down leaving a portion of the trunk standing to a heighth of about 15 feet from the ground. The center of the trunk is entirely rotted out leaving only a cylinder of sound wood about four or five inches thick inside the bark. The roots, however, are still vigorous, and we are assured that the now bare trunk will send out numerous shoots which will afford abundant and protecting foliage, screening the unsightly stump.
Realizing that other trees might be in an unsatisfactory if not dangerous condition, and wishing to prevent if possible the necessity for further sacrifices of this sort the Directors asked that a careful examination of the remaining trees be made by the Tree Warden and an expert from the office of the State Forester. This was done and certain recommen- dations made which will be carried out when weather condi- tions permit.
There are few people today who would question the use- fulness of the public library in the community, but it is gratifying nevertheless to have our opinions supported by evidence from reliable sources.
Mr. Ralph G. Wells, Secretary of the National Employ-
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ment Managers Association and a national authority on hu- man relations in industry, stated positively in a recent lec- ture here that he believes in the public library as it gives the workers a broader outlook on life, helps to keep them con- tented and removes class consciousness which, he says, is at the bottom of all labor troubles.
Mr. Wells' opportunities for studying labor problems have been exceptional as he was employed as an expert by the Duponts' during the war when they established a number of great industrial centers in one of which alone 44,000 people were assembled requiring the building and equipping of a complete industrial city with dwellings, stores, theatres, churches and public utilities.
As Plymouth is an industrial town the citizens should feel · that every dollar invested in the public library will be re- turned to them in better social conditions and industrial prosperity.
Respectfully submitted,
For the directors,
J. HOLBROOK SHAW, M. D., President
Plymouth Sixteen
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LIST OF JURORS.
-
Prepared by the Selectmen of Plymouth, Mass., for 1923. Alden, Fred, 6 Oak street, salesman.
Anderson, Albert S., Manomet, merchant.
Anderson, Lester, 71 Allerton street, caretaker. Anderson, Robert, 12 So. Spooner street, Cordage employee. Austin, James C., 213 Summer street, gardener.
Axford, William C., 14 Mayflower street, weaver.
Barnes, Alfred L., 202 Court street, clerk.
Bartlett, Edwin H., Manomet, steamfitter. Beever, John A., 268 Court street, overseer.
Bennett, Sylvanus S., 7 Highland place, Carpenter.
Bent, Walter E., 14 Hall street, carpenter. Berg, William J., 42 Court street, clothier. Birnstein, Emil C., 221 Summer street, weaver. Brown, Richard B., 7 Winslow street, overseer.
Brown, Walter H., 7 Holmes terrace, foreman.
Buchanan, Vincent, 15 Winslow street, painter. Bumpus, Albert A., 22 South street, painter. Bunker, Guy C., 4 Sever street, foreman. Burns, Alfred S., 109 Court street, clerk. Butland, Elmer E., 4 Massasoit street, clerk.
Cappannari, David A., 7 Bradford street, clerk. Carpenter, Louis M., 10 Sever street, weaver.
Carr, Walter E., 92 Spooner street, assistant foreman. Carver, Frank W., 20 Brewster street, salesman. Caswell, Thomas, Billington street, weaver.
Cook, Ralph E., 28 Centennial street, percher. Costa, Gedo A., 41 Court street, fruit dealer. Courtney, John J. D., 31 North street, musician.
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Cushman, Frank H., 31 North street, real estate. Cuskley, George A., 21 Samoset street, superintendent. Cutter, Harris M., 275 Court street, clerk. Dean, Augustus T., 83 Sandwich street, teamster. Doten, Everett C., 246 Court street, carpenter. Douglas, George W., Cedarville, cranberry grower. Ferguson, Freeman J., 128 Summer street, blacksmith. Field, Bernard, 52 Samoset street, manager. Fletcher, F. Roscoe, 18 Brewster street, clerk. Fogarty, Thomas S., 23 Brewster street, clerk. Fraser, Jesse A., 28 Samoset street, clerk. Freeman, Charles M., 129 Court street, clerk.
Gardner, Clyfton H., off Oak street, clerk.
Gardner, Samuel L., 154 1-2 Court street, weaver. Garvais, George, 35 Oak street, weaver. Gilman, William A., 24 South Spooner street, clerk. Goddard, Walter W., 29 Samoset street, rope maker. Godfrey, Charles L., Jr., 234 Court street, salesman. Goldthwaite, George A., 3 Whiting street, wood worker. Goodwin, John J., 43 Davis street, watchman. Gordon, Samuel, Summer street, farmer.
Gould, Fred E., 34 Stafford street, cranberry grower. Gould, Jesse L., 427B Court street, foreman. Graham, William J., 1 Murray street, weaver. Grandi, Charles J., 145 Court street, assistant overseer.
Grant, Loomis R., 11 Park avenue, freight clerk. Gray, George L., 45 Davis street, steward. Gray, Norman W., 362 Court street, Cordage employee. Gunther, Herbert E., 23 Standish avenue, assistant foreman. Haigh, George F., 152 Court street, designer. Hall, Fred A., 5 Holmes terrace, clerk. Harlow, Frank, 156 Sandwich street, insurance agent. Hatton, Charles H., 15 Oak street, painter. Hedge, I. Lothrop, 358 Court street, wood dealer. Holman, Edward F., Cliff street, clerk.
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Holmes, Charles B., Allen court, painter. Holmes, Curtis, 5 North Green street, Cordage employee. Holmes, Isaac T., 189 Court street, poultry raiser. Holmes, Martin W., 135 Summer street, cranberry grower. Holmes, Robert M., 89 Sandwich street, grocer. Holmes, Roland T., 11 Whiting street, clerk. Holmes, William B., South Pond, laborer. Hughes, Allen E., 36 Union street, laborer. Jenks, Fred A., 275 Court street, sales dept., P. C. Co. Johnson, Horatio W., 4 Fremont street, laborer.
Kellen, Roger S., 9 Chilton street, clerk. Kelliher, John F., Newfields street, clerk. Kingan, Ernest A. J., 143 Sandwich street, clerk. Knight, Henry H., Obery street, laborer. Kyle, Morton, 8 Lothrop street, clerk. Lanman, Frank H., 24 Allerton street, janitor. Lavache, Thomas V., 59 Samoset street, weaver. Leidloff, William F. G., 20 Whiting street, clerk. Lowry, Abraham, 17 Whiting street, painter. Manter, Walter L., 380 Court street, clerk. Marshall, Charles P., 219 Court street, welfare man. Morse, Arthur L., 21 Mayflower street, clothier. Nazro, William E. C., Warren avenue, architect. Nichols, Albert O., Manomet, farmer. Nickerson, Samuel E., 5 Highland place, laborer. Nightingale, George W., 10 Mt. Pleasant street, clerk. Norton, Thomas E., 16 Vernon street, weaver. O'Brien, William, Jr., 13 Allerton street, lineman. Otten, Charles, Jr., 2 Alden street, superintendent Gas Co. Paine, Alfred L., 13 Whiting street, weigher. Paulding, Edwin S., 12 Sandwich street, caretaker. Pearson, Charles S., 11 Chilton street, machinist. Pierce, Charles H., River street, fisherman. Pierce, William S., 1 South Spooner street, boss spinner. Pioppi, Joseph, 29 Cherry street, carpenter.
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