USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of Plymouth, MA 1953 > Part 10
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Mr. Blackmer had served the Town in many capacities but we believe the one of deepest interest to him was the Cemetery Department. With his wisdom, knowledge and experience he was a valuable member of the Board of Cemetery Commissioners and will be greatly missed by his associates.
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Mr. F. Willard Dittmar was appointed to the Board of Cemetery Commissioners to fill the vacancy left by the death of Mr. Blackmer.
OAK GROVE AND VINE HILLS CEMETERIES
The Town has been fortunate in acquiring from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approximately 15,000 square feet of land, adjacent to the Westerly Route, to be used as a part of the Vine Hills Cemetery Addition. Much progress has been made in the filling and grading of this area.
We hope to install a much needed water main in the northerly part of Vine Hills Cemetery during the coming year.
A large percentage of the lots sold in the various cemeteries are pre-need sales, and we wish to encourage this trend as it is much better for all concerned when such facilities are needed.
BURIAL HILL
A few trees afflicted with the Dutch Elm Disease were removed from Burial Hill in 1953 and it is to be expected that more elms may be destroyed. We have planted approximately eighty trees in Burial Hill and in the various cemeteries this year.
Work has been done on the brick and granite walks, and more should be done in 1954 to put these walks in good condition.
Further progress has been made with the project of recutting and capping the historical stones in this old cemetery.
OUTLYING CEMETERIES
This year because of the expansion of the Manomet Congregational Church the brick building belonging to the church had to be moved or demolished. This building is used as the tool house for the Manomet Cemetery. The
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Commissioners accepted an offer of the church to give this building to the Town, and it has been moved to the center of the cemetery.
In the Chiltonville Cemetery in 1954 a new section will be opened up for the sale of lots. We hope that some- time in the near future enough land may be acquired to make the entrance to this cemetery wide enough for two- way traffic.
The general maintenance work in all the Outlying Cemeteries was carried on as usual and trees planted where needed.
The following appropriations are recommended for 1954:
Salaries
$11,576.00
Oak Grove and Vine Hills Cemeteries
14,940.00
Burial Hill
4,760.00
Outlying Cemeteries
3,325.00
Special Appropriations:
Fill for Vine Hills Cemetery Addition
2,000.00
Water Pipes for Vine Hills Cemetery
500.00
Walks for Burial Hill
300.00
Removal of Trees Infected with
Dutch Elm Disease
1,000.00
From Sale of Lots and Graves:
Oak Grove and Vine Hills Cemeteries
1,800.00
Outlying Cemeteries 200.00
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN B. FINNEY, Chairman, RICHARD T. ELDRIDGE, F. WILLARD DITTMAR, Board of Cemetery Commissioners.
HOWARD L. PRIESTLEY,
Superintendent.
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1953 REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD
The Board has had a busy year, holding twenty-three scheduled meetings and several special ones, also making a number of trips in the field for inspection purposes.
A great deal of our time has been devoted to the vari- ous articles which were referred to us at the last town meeting, such as the disposition of the old Town House and adjacent property and the study of the waterfront protection, and to the revision of the Zoning By-Laws.
The waterfront protection problem required several meetings with both private and state engineers, as well as many hours of informal discussions among ourselves. This report is now in the hands of the Town Clerk and the Finance Committee.
The old Town House report will be ready very soon and, while it is not a complete report, we believe it is the first step that should be taken.
A master plan of the Town, for which $3,000 was appropriated at the last town meeting, is taking shape and a similar amount for 1954 will go a long way toward its completion. The members of the Board, with the Town Engineer, have watched its progress with great interest.
Very little time was spent on the old Standish Mills property on Billington Street, as we understand this prop- erty has changed hands and the new owner intends to fix it up and start a new business.
Some revisions in the Zoning By-Laws have been proposed and we have inserted articles in the town warrant for your consideration.
JAMES A. WHITE, ELLIS W. BREWSTER, AMEDEO V. SGARZI, A. LINWOOD ELLIS, JR., WALTER H. NEAVES, Plymouth Planning Board.
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REPORT OF THE PARK DEPARTMENT
PARKS AND GARDENS
All Parks and Gardens have been kept in a safe and presentable condition during the year. Town Brook has been cleaned from Spooner Park, Market Street, through Brewster Garden. Portions of the wall along Town Brook have been re-layed. The Town Brook Committee, Mrs. Edward R. Belcher, Mrs. George C. P. Olsson, Mrs. Charles O. Barke and The Woman's Club, made a plant- ing of Flowering Dog Wood at Brewster Garden, in mem- ory of the late Dr. Helen F. Pierce, who served as Chairman of this committee for many years. The Kyle Lot has been drained, graded and loamed and is ready for seeding in early spring.
The left hand side of the entrance to Morton Park, at Summer Street, has been graded, loamed and is ready for early spring planting, which will greatly improve the appearance of this Park. We hope to have the Billington Street entrance done in the spring and the signs erected as recommended by The Morton Park Committee. The new parking space at Morton Park, as recommended by the Morton Park Committee, has been put in a usable condition. The lumber from the lot was sold for $50.00 (fifty dollars).
PLAYGROUNDS
All playgrounds have been kept in a safe condition and have been well patronized. Two new slide chutes and a climbing tower have been purchased. The two slide chutes were replacements and the climbing tower pur- chased as new equipment. The Little League played their games at Stephens Field and the games were well attend- ed. The High School Baseball-Football games, and the Girl's Hockey games were played at The Standish Avenue
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Playground. The Rockets also played their games there. The Soft-Ball League played their games at The Nook Farm Playground. The stadium and the two sets of bleacher seats at The Standish Avenue Playground have been painted. All bleacher seats at Stephens Field have been repaired and painted. For the summer supervised playground activities, see report of the Supervisor.
PARK DEPARTMENT PLAYGROUND REPORT Antone Spath, Playground Supervisor
The Plymouth Playgrounds were well attended with weekly average of eight hundred boys and girls taking part in the summer program. The following is a summary of the activities that made up the major portion of the summer program.
Baseball League-Two leagues (junior and senior), each team playing the other four times. One hundred fifty participating.
Arts and Crafts-Instructions were given at three playgrounds, three days a week, with ninety boys and girls participating. A display of the projects was held at the M & M Sporting Goods Store.
Tennis and Croquet-Instructions and tournaments were held throughout the summer at the three play- grounds.
Swimming-Swimming classes were conducted at Nelson Street and Stephens Field by qualified Red Cross Instructors. One hundred ten boys and girls participating.
Playground Field Day-Held at Stephens Field. This included a baseball championship game, baseball contests, swimming and playground races and awarding of prizes.
Trip to Fenway Park-For interested boys and girls who paid for bus transportation, admission to the game was free. Approximately one hundred and sixty attended.
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Routine Activities-Include active and quiet games, croquet, checkers, cards, horse-shoes, badminton, soft-ball, archery, volley-ball, touch football, see-saws, jungle-gym, swings and slides.
BATHING AND CAMPING
Parking space continues to be the problem at the bathing beaches, especially at Beach Park on Sundays. The Beach Park bathhouse and the Nelson Street bath- house have been painted. All buildings at Indian Reserva- tion have been painted. All places were well patronized during the season. Considerable damage was done at Beach Park by the two severe storms in November. The lattice work on the front of the building was destroyed, the veranda on the north end undermined, and the old sea wall was also undermined. The parking space on the north end was badly washed, requiring 225 cu. yds. of fill, the riprap along the River settled.
The new sea wall on the north and east ends of the bathhouse is approximately eighteen inches higher than the sea wall in front of the building, making the building a target for severe easterly storms. The lattice work and all undermined portions of the bathhouse and sea wall have been taken care of without asking for a special appropriation. Considerable fill and grading remains to be done. A parking fee has been charged this year at Beach Park Saturdays and Sundays and at Morton Park on Sundays only, to non-residents, who apparently are more than willing to pay the fee for the privileges re- ceived, as no admission fee is charged. The camping places have been well patronized. The Indian Reservation Camp has been filled to capacity. I recommend that this camping place be surveyed and laid out in uniform lots and improved in many ways. If this is done, a small advance in rental fees can be charged. Parking permits will be issued from our office in the Town Office Building,
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Lincoln Street, this year., date to be announced later. The following property has been maintained in a pre- sentable condition during the year:
Parks:
Brewster Garden
Bangs Park
Training Green
Burton Park
Bates Park
Carver Square Circle
Park Avenue
Circle at Water St. on Park Ave.
Spooner Park Plot opposite Mabbett Mill
Morton Mill Site Kyle Lot
Playgrounds:
Stephens Field
Nook Farm
Standish Ave.,
Manomet
Veterans Field
Holmes Field
Nelson Street
South Street
Bathing Beaches:
Beach Park
Stephens Field
Morton Park Indian Reservation
Nelson Street
Camping Grounds:
Indian Reservation, Manomet Nelson Street Camp Ground
Our recreational spots still continue to be very pop- ular. Many people come from surrounding cities and towns on picnics, especially on week-ends. We wish to thank Mrs. Cora Grady and all department heads who have co-operated with us during the year. We also wish to thank the Morton Park Committee for their help, and The Town Brook Committee for the interest they have taken in Brewster Garden and the development of Town Brook, which is greatly appreciated by our department.
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RECEIPTS FROM CAMPING, BATHING, AND PARKING
(1952)
(1953)
Beach Park
$954.00
$961.35
Beach Concession
725.00
750.00
Indian Reservation
2,433.50
2,624.00
Morton Park
104.50
103.05
Nelson Street
1,249.40
1,111.05
Stephens Field
32.95
56.90
Sale of Timber
3,500.00
50.00
Parking, Beach Park
1,678.00
Parking, Morton Park
917.00
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN A. SIEVER, Chairman
EDWARD J. E. HAND
ARTHUR M. SIRRICO
By CLIFTON C. WOOD, Supt.
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PLYMOUTH HOUSING AUTHORITY
Full occupancy of the 40 units in the Plymouth Housing Project was maintained throughout the year except for short periods between the vacating of an apartment and the moving in of new tenants. The major exterior painting of buildings since erection of the project took place in the summer months, with 4 duplex buildings repainted in their original colors. The apartment interiors have been maintained by the tenants generally in a high degree of cleanliness, and a substantial amount of interior decorating has been done by the tenants themselves with the permission of the Authority.
The heating systems have again proved very economi- cal, with some tenants reporting expenditures of as little as $50 for a whole year's heat, and the average expendi- ture being not over $80 to $85.
The Authority was pleased at the end of the year to receive a ruling from the Attorney General confirming the stand of the Authority as against the State Auditor that all payments to the architect in the construction of the project were proper.
At year's end, the Authority voted to raise the Admis- sion Income Limits to some extent to keep pace with the rise in incomes generally. Judging from the substantial number of ex-tenants who now own their own homes, the Authority feels that one of the objectives of the housing program is being satisfactorily attained, namely, providing desirable housing for veterans on moderate terms until they are in a position to provide their own housing, and not for a substantially longer time.
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The new income limits and rental charges may be summarized as follows:
Minor Admission Limits
Continued Occupancy Limit
Rent
Dependents
One or Less
$3,650.00
$3,900.00
18% of Income
Two
3,775.00
4,025.00
16% of Income
Three or More* 3,900.00
4,150.00 14% of Income
*$100 deduction from total income for each minor depend- ent child in excess of three.
PLYMOUTH HOUSING AUTHORITY Plymouth 200-1 Mass.
BALANCE SHEET - December 31, 1953 Assets
Development Fund
$3,561.73
Administration Fund:
Plymouth National
10,560.41
Federal Savings & Loan
15,000.00
$29,122.14
Accounts Receivable-Tenants'
335.10
Debt Service Fund
$8,621.07
Debt Service Trust Fund
1,100.74
Investment D. S. Trust Fund
4,000.00
13,721.81
Development Costs
$447,000.00
Less-Dev. Cost Liquidation
16,000.00
431,000.00
Total Assets
$474,179.05
Liabilities
Prepaid Tenants' Accounts
$54.35
Accounts Payable-Development
3,473.81
Accrued Insurance
$2,380.00
Accrued Pilot
1,043.72
3,423.72
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Bonds Authorized Less-Bonds Retired
$447,000.00 16,000.00
431,000.00
Reduction of Annual Contribution
$2,759.90
Matured Interest and Principal
12,061.25
Working Capital
67.02
Debt Service Reserve
3,775.53
Unamortized Bond Premium
5,100.74
Operating Reserve
9,885.35
33,649.79
Net Income (see operating statement)
2,577.38
Total Liabilities
$474,179.05
Analysis of Operating Reserve Account December 31, 1953
1
Balance-October 1, 1953
$9,285.35
Quarterly Accrual
600.00
Balance-December 31, 1953
$9,885.35
Respectfully submitted,
THOMAS F. QUINN, Chairman,
CLIFFORD C. AGNEW,
M. HERBERT CRAIG, LOUIS G. GIOVANETTI,
LAWRENCE W. STILES,
LESTER W. THURBER, Executive Director, Plymouth Housing Authority.
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PLYMOUTH PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LORING BRANCH LIBRARY REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1953
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mr. John D. Brewer President
Dr. Bryce Prindle Vice-President
Miss Sara C. Bodell
Clerk
Mrs. Roy E. Beaman Treasurer
Mrs. Edward R. Belcher Mr. Roland W. Holmes
Mrs. Robert B. Bowler
Mr. Cyrus W. Jones
Mrs. Edward W. Burgess
Miss Katharine Lord
Mr. Walder J. Engstrom
Mrs. Francis W. Savery
MAIN LIBRARY Hazel M. White, Librarian
Number of staff in equivalent of full time (40-hour week) 6, Janitor service 1/2.
Library was open for reading and lending 303 days, 66 hours weekly.
In the Junior Dept. there were 7,580 readers and visitors. No attendance record is kept in Adult Dept.
The Library subscribes to 77 periodicals and 5 newspapers. 28 periodicals and 1 newspaper are received as gifts.
BOOK STOCK
Number of volumes, Dec. 31, 1952
29,270
Number of volumes added in 1953 1,702
By purchase 1529
By gift 173
Total
30,972
Number of volumes withdrawn in 1953
1,380
Total volumes Dec. 31, 1953 29,592
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MAIN LIBRARY-ADULT DEPARTMENT
It is interesting to note that though the circulation decreased, the number of registrations increased. Actu- ally, during the last 10 years, with the exception of one year, registrations have consistently shown an annual increase. This would seem to indicate that there are more borrowers, but that each reads fewer books than before.
In 1953 there were 800 registrations in the Adult Dept. (This does not represent the total registration, since registrations run for 4 years.) Some of these were new, and the rest were re-registrations. The records of the occupations of those 800 show that the largest is the student group, numbering 300, made up of College, High School, and Junior High students. Next in size are those who are "at home." Of these there are 270. In round numbers the others are:
70 office and clerical workers
60 professional people-Clergymen, doctors, lawyers, and teachers
40 unskilled workers
30 skilled workers
14 persons in management or personnel work, or self- employed
20 other miscellaneous occupations.
Gifts
Miss Elizabeth Townsend has again been very gener- ous to the Library. This past year she gave $100.00 to be used for the comfort of the staff, or for any need of the Library, an additional $100.00 to be used toward a memo- rial for Mrs. Edith Reed, and $25.00 for the purchase of new books in the Junior Dept.
We also received a number of books as gifts.
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Publicity
Starting in January of 1953, the local newspaper has made a regular weekly feature of book reviews by the Librarian. The aim has been to acquaint the public with the new books on as many different subjects as possible. The reviews have also appeared in the Brockton Enter- prise in condensed form.
Summer Book Sale
Under the chairmanship of Mrs. Francis W. Savery, the summer sale of used books was a great success. The receipts were $132.00, a slightly higher figure than in 1952. The sale disposed of the surplus book stock, and everyone seemed to have a very pleasant time.
Exhibits
The art exhibits by local people have been varied and interesting. There have been paintings in oil, water colors, and pastel, pottery pieces and figurines.
Personnel
Mrs. Rae resigned in January to take a position in the School Department. Later in the year Miss Osmond, who had been working part-time, was given Mrs. Rae's posi- tion. Miss Grace Haigh, formerly of the Detroit Public Library, joined the staff in September. She has been assisting in the organization and book selection of the Young People's Dept. Previously the staff has not had sufficient time to spend on this project. The idea of the Young People's Dept. is to bridge the gap between the Junior and Adult Departments. Many readers have been lost to the Library because no special effort was made to attract this age group. Many libraries have a separate room for this new department, but lacking this, we have assigned a few shelves in the Main Reading Room for the books in this Young People's collection.
Shelving
One of the major problems facing us next year is
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providing adequate shelving. On the main floor and in the balcony, there is practically no space left to shelve new books. Although we are constantly discarding worn and out-dated books, the number discarded does not equal the number that are added. This year, for instance, we added 1700, and discarded approximately only 1400. It is true that the Library owns a number of volumes that do not circulate often, but they are standard works and should not be discarded.
JUNIOR DEPARTMENT - MAIN LIBRARY
In the Junior Department, the daily attendance of readers and visitors shows an increase over the previous year, and the circulation of books and magazines to the individual child also shows a gain. During the month of November when we celebrated Book Week, more than a thousand visitors came to the Junior Department. Teach- ers from the elementary schools brought their classes to look over the new books, and to register if they had not already done so.
Before Book Week, pupils in the 5th and 6th grades of the Burton-Cornish Schools came for a series of talks by the Department Librarian on how to use the Library. The children profited greatly and now enjoy using the card catalog to find the books that they want to borrow. They also help other children who have not yet had this instruction.
We are indebted to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society for the loan of a collection of children's books of former generations. The children have been impressed with the age of these books (some are over a hundred years old), and also with the reading abilities of the original owners.
Respectfully submitted,
ANN EDGAR LUCAS, Children's Librarian.
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LORING BRANCH LIBRARY North Plymouth
BOOK STOCK
Number of volumes added by purchase 596
Fiction 427
Non-fiction 169
Number of volumes withdrawn 373
Fiction 260
Non-fiction 113
Total circulation figure for adult and juvenile books is 19,369, showing an increase of 734 over the year before. The number of registered borrowers increased from 1227 to 1263, with practically half of the total in the Junior Department.
The Library continued to furnish book deposits for the Hedge School and welcomed the visits of individual classrooms with their teachers throughout the school year. National Children's Book Week was celebrated in November with our usual display of new children's books.
On school days there is greater use of the library building by the young people of the neighborhood than there was last year. The Librarian assists them with their required reading for school, study, and recreational read- ing. This summer a very successful reading club for the children registered 50 members.
Besides this work with the children, the Library also meets the demands for adult books of the Cordage employees and other readers in this community.
Respectfully submitted,
KATHARINE F. FREELAND, Branch Librarian.
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COMBINED STATISTICS
TOTAL CIRCULATION (Adult and Junior Depts.)
1952
1953
Increase
Decrease
Main
69,345
64,806
4,539
Loring
18,635
19,369
734
Total
87,980
84,175
3,805
CIRCULATION IN JUNIOR DEPTS. ONLY
1952
1953
Increase
Decrease
Main
18,716
17,522
1,194
Loring
11,057
12,106
1,049
Total
29,773
29,628
145
REGISTRATIONS
1952
1953
Increase
Main
4,159
4,216
57
Loring
1,227
1,263
36
Total
5,386
5,479
93
The Executive, Book, Finance, and Personnel Com- mittees have all given generously of their time and efforts. For this co-operation of the Directors the Librarian is more than grateful.
Respectfully submitted,
HAZEL M. WHITE,
Librarian.
NINETY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE
Water Commissioners AND
Superintendent
OF THE
Town of Plymouth MASSACHUSETTS
1820
MA
A
H
JS
NMO
FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31
1953
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NINETY-NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WATER COMMISSIONERS
The Board of Water Commissioners presents its Ninety-Ninth Annual Report covering the year 1953.
The total rainfall during the year amounted to 62.42 inches, which is the largest ever shown on the records of the department, covering a period of forty-seven years.
At the end of the year, the water in Great South Pond stood at elevation 105.5, a gain of 2.70 ft. during the year and the highest level since April, 1949. Reference to the chart published in our report for 1950 will show that this level is as high as the pond has been since 1941.
The largest consumption in one day in the high service system was on June 20, when the pumps operated for 191/4 hours and pumped 1,981,000 gallons.
The Manomet station again operated satisfactorily, taking care of the very peak demand during the summer season with no diminution in the supply of ground water available in the well. The greatest consumption in one day was 707,300 gallons on July 4th. Total pumped was 34,795,500 gallons, somewhat in excess of that of 1952, when it was 32,721,700 gallons.
The amounts received by the Town from the sale of water, connections to new mains, services rendered, etc., were as follows:
Rates
Labor
Misc.
Total
North of Stone Tank,
Rocky Point
$58,654.43
$51.00
$254.00
$58,959.43
South of Stone Tank
Rocky Point
14,079.94
373.00
1,103.00
15,555.94
$72,734.37
$424.00
$1,357.00
$74,515.37
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PURCHASES OF LAND
The purchases of the following parcels of land have been completed, as authorized by the Town under the respective articles at the March 1953 meeting:
Article 39. Marois Land, Braunecker Road.
Article 42. Brooks Land, near Wanno's Pond, Manomet.
Article 43. Land of the Roman Catholic Archbishop- Wanno's Pond, Manomet.
Article 44. Porter T. Harlow Land-Wanno's Pond, Man- omet.
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MAINS
The construction of new mains is shown in a follow- ing tabulation, total 16,174 ft. or a little over three miles in length.
The mains to serve the high areas on Standish Ave. and to the west were laid as soon as materials were available in order to provide improved service without unnecessary delay, notwithstanding the fact that the new storage tank to be built on Braunecker Road will not be constructed until some time in the summer of 1954. The contract for its erection was awarded to the Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. in July 1953 with completion expected in August 1954. The contract for the construction of the foundation for the tank has been awarded to Malaguti Bros. of Plymouth.
NEW GROUND WATER SUPPLY
The new eighteen-inch gravel packed well, as author- ized by Article 38 at the 1954 annual meeting of the Town, has been completed. It was driven to a depth of about 129 ft., where excellent water bearing material was found, as had been ascertained by the exploratory well previously driven. Samples of the water taken at regular intervals during the test run were sent to the Mass. Dept. of Public Health and also to Metcalf and Eddy, Engineers.
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