USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the year ending 1924 > Part 24
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OAK GROVE & VINE HILLS CEMETERIES Appropriation, $10,000 00
Income from Funds (for care and general use), 1,534 43
$11,534 43
Expenditures
Superintendent's Salary,
$1,550 00
Labor,
7,162 35
Teams,
399 30
Loam and Fertilizer,
1,017 95
Trees, Shrubs, Grass Seed, etc.,
211 90
Fencing, 66 35
Tools and Repairs,
189 36
Clerical Assistance,
322 08
Telephone,
22 01
All other,
584 71
11,526 01
Unexpended,
$8 42
Receipts
Sale of Lots,
$1,250 28
Care of Lots,
2,213 67
Miscellaneous (including Graves
and Foundations),
3,993 14
$7,457 09
We recommend an appropriation of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) for general care.
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OAK GROVE AND VINE HILLS FENCING Special Appropriation, $3,500 00
Expended, 3,500 00
August 1st, 1925, the Town appropriated the sum of Thirty-five Hundred (3,500) Dollars towards a new fence for Oak Grove & Vine Hills Cemeteries.
The Commissioners made a contract with C. A. Gates & Co., Boston, Mass., for the erection of a Page, double galvanized wire fence from Summer to Samoset Streets, on the East line, which is completed, and very satisfac- tory to the Commissioners.
We recommend an appropriation of Thirty-five Hun- dred Dollars ($3.500.00) to extend the same in 1926, and when the fence is completed, it will last for many years.
SPECIAL APPROPRIATION FOR SURVEY, GRADING AND LAYING OUT LOTS IN VINE HILLS CEMETERY
Unexpended, January 1, 1925, $26 99
Expended during 1925, 26 99
BURIAL HILL CEMETERY
Appropriation,
$2,000 00
Expenditures
Superintendent,
$180 00
Labor,
1,241 18
Teams,
30 51
Tools,
23 40
Loam and Fertilizer,
27 35
Fencing,
281 50
All other,
66 15
1,850 09
Unexpended,
$149 91
Receipts
Care of Lots, $96 00
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Miscellaneous, 83 57
$179 57
We recommend that the sum of Two Thousand Dollars, ($2,000.00), be appropriated for general care.
BURIAL HILL FENCING
Special Appropriation, $1,000 00
Expended, 1,000 00
We recommend a further appropriation of $1,000.00 for the extension of fencing already begun.
CHILTONVILLE, MANOMET, CEDARVILLE AND SOUTH POND CEMETERIES
Appropriation,
$800 00
Expenditures
Labor and Teams,
$198 25
Markers, and Fence,
503 75
All other,
5 82
707 82
Unexpended, $92 18
Receipts
Manomet, Sale of Lots,
$14 76
Chiltonville, Sale of Lots,
63 92
Cedarville, Sale of Lots,
15 20
$93 88
We recommend an appropriation of Three Hundred Dollars, ($300.00), for the year 1926.
Plymouth Fourteen
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Special Appropriation for Addition to Manomet Cemetery
Unexpended, January 1, 1925, $136 90
Expended during year 1925
(Labor), 93 80
Unexpended, $43 10
Thirty-one new Funds have been established the past year, amounting to $4,358.81, all of which can be found in the report of the Town Accountant.
Respectfully submitted,
HORACE M. SAUNDERS,
ARTHUR E. BLACKMER, RICHARD T. ELDRIDGE,
Board of Cemetery Commissioners.
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Plymouth Public Library
The following reports of the Librarian and of the Pres- ident for the year ending December 31st, 1925, are re- spectfully submitted to the taxpayers of the Town:
After a faithful service of seven years Miss Lillian Kerr, owing to continued ill-health, resigned as librarian, and Mrs. Minnie Burke Figmic, who had satisfactorily filled the position during Miss Kerr's leave of absence, was appointed permanent librarian. Her report hereto appended, gives evidence of the constantly widening usefulness of the library. It has long since been very much more than a distributing centre of general liter- ature, or a quiet place where reading and study may be enjoyed. Among other activites it is doing work in Americanization of far-reaching value in a community such as ours, in which people from foreign lands have found employment and have established homes and are rearing families. Furthermore as an adjunct of our public schools the necessity of its service is constantly in- creasing as appreciative teachers can testify.
Considerable publicity is given the library, under the present administration, by frequent articles contributed to the Old Colony Memorial, and also by interesting talks given by the librarian in a number of our public schools whose pupils have reached the study age and have need of being led into a love of literature, and helped to acquire a discriminating taste for the best reading. Advanced pupils have also been invited and encouraged in these oc- casional talks to use the library when in their studies it is necessary to consult books of reference, assured of willing and glad assistance in that direction.
Nor are the younger children overlooked, in this solici- tude to be of service, for even the third-grade schools
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have been visited and pupils told of the attractive read- ing the library provides for them.
An impressive evidence of the awakening of young minds to a love of the best reading, to which these talks of the librarian have contributed, is the fact that in two schools alone eighty-nine pupils read twenty books each, or 1,780 books in all, from the State Certified Reading List, and thus earned, and were formally given, the honor Certificate awarded by the Commonwealth for that ac- complishment.
An increase in attendance of over four thousand, and of more than 12,000 in the circulation of books over that of last year, as noted in the librarian's report, is an out- standing gain over any record of the past and a notable evidence of the growing appreciation of the library.
In the figures quoted the juvenile proportion is so very large and is increasing so rapidly as to constitute a seri- ous problem, for the space set apart for the young peo- ple was long ago outgrown, forcing them to intrude upon the area reserved for adults. The directors have realized this unhappy and annoying situation for some years but can see no way to meet it but by an extension of the li- brary building sufficient to house a separate and distinct department for the exclusive use of the children. We realize the utter futility of asking the Town for an ap- propriation such as this plan would require, in view of existing demands that must be met, and in the face of the highest tax rates in its history; but we continue to hope that so very worthy an object may be noted by some person of ample means and altruistic spirit who will be glad to finance it in view of its far-reaching value and importance to the Town. The cordial appreciation of a grateful community, and the association of the donor for all time with a memorial of perpetual usefulness, would be among the abiding rewards of such a benefac- tion.
As the fiscal year of the library ends in April the exact
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cost of maintenance for the calendar year cannot now be given. It is however always in excess of the amount appropriated by the Town, the difference being met by the income from invested funds, accumulated from gifts and legacies in the seventy years of its corporate exist- ence, which now amount to $26,700.
Despite the utmost prudence it is necessary at times to draw upon this capital for current bills, and that has been the case in the past year to a greater extent than heretofore; a regrettable proceedure that should be averted by an increase in the appropriation.
The library is maintained with efficiency as to service at an expense materially less than that of other towns fairly comparable with ours but its means are inadequate to meet the increasing demand for books of reference and for general reading. It is hoped and believed, how- ever, in view of the impressive facts set forth in the re- port of the librarian which follows, that the Town will prove its appreciation of the library by such a substan- tial increase in the appropriation as will help meet its immediate needs and enhance its usefulness to the com- munity.
The Board of Directors,
WILLIAM S. KYLE, President.
REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN
To the directors of the Plymouth Public Library :
The following annual report of your librarian is re- spectfully submitted.
In spite of movies, radios, athletics and other modern amusements which tempt our leisure nowadays, our pub- lic library more than maintans its past record of ser-
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vice, for in order to keep abreast of the rapidly increas- ing inventions, discoveries, and complications of our twentieth century life, it is necessary to read, study and think more than ever before.
Our library is as serviceable as its limitations will allow, but its value could be greatly extended if more funds were available.
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Dedicated as it is to the high purpose of helping every individual to realize a happier, a more interesting and more abundant life, its work is an integral part of our community welfare, furthermore as a recognized adjunct of our public schools it is contributing a service of far- reaching educational value.
It is hoped these facts, and the detailed record of the year's work which follows, will incline the Town to such an increase in its allowance to the library as will admit of extending its usefulness to the community.
The circulation of the past year was 67,081, the larg- est in the history of the library; a gain of 12,138 over that of 1924, and almost four times as great as the gain of the previous year.
The total attendance of 39,457 also exceeded that of any other year, and was more than 4,000 in excess of the record of the previous year. The juvenile attendance was 17,726; adult, for reading and reference alone, was 21,731. There was gain of 2,352 for the adult attend- ance and of 1,697 for the juvenile.
The total circulation of 67,081 consists of 45,647 adult books, 19,873 juvenile, 1,651 of which were circulated by various school deposits, and of 825 prints. Of these 1,479 were current periodicals, 106 Yiddish, Greek, German, French and Italian books.
Through the Inter-Library Loan, many volumes of non-fiction have been borrowed from the Boston Public and Boston Medical Libraries, and from the Division of Public Libraries at the State House. This work with
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the Inter-Library Loan is increasing rapidly and more and more requests are filled every year. If we do not have in the Library an important work which is desired by a borrower, the librarian will obtain it through some one of the Inter-Library Loan exchanges.
During the school year of 1925, the librarian visited the High School, the Junior High School and every third and sixth grade in town, and addressed the pupils on the functioning of the Library and its relation to the schools. The visits to the third grades were made during the week preceding "Children's Book Week," November 11. Many of the new children's books were exhibited and the children were told that they could have a card at the Li- brary as soon as they were able to write their names in ink. These visits and talks resulted in 110 new juvenile registrations during "Children's Book Week," when the boys and girls came to the Library to examine the new juvenile books which were on exhibition.
· In January, 1925, all registrations back of 1922 were cancelled, and the re-registration of all the borrowers, whose cards were more than three years old, was begun. 'This was done so that our records would contain accurate and up-to-date information, and to weed out the regis- trations of borrowers who were no longer alive or living in Plymouth. This re-registration now takes place auto- matically when each card reaches its expiration date at the end of three years. During 1925, 2,997 registrations took place, 2,130 of which were adult, 867 were juvenile and 315 were temporary residents. There were 238 new adult registrations, 274 new juvenile and 73 new tem- porary residents. Strangers spending a short time in Plymouth may obtain a card by depositing $3.00, all of which is returned to them when the card is cancelled; 28 people availed themselves of this privilege during the year.
The importance of the work with the children and the schools cannot be over-emphasized and every year finds it
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increasing rapidly. Beginning with March 18, 1925, a daily record of the reference questions has been kept, and from that date through December 31, 2,702 refer- ence questions were asked at the Library desk, and the great majority of these inquiries came from the school children and the information desired was a necessary completion of their daily lessons. The State Certificate reading has grown in popularity, and in June, 1925, Miss E. Kathleen Jones from the Division of Public Libra- ries, in the State House, Boston, Mass., presented 89 Honor Certificates to the pupils of the Knapp and Bur- ton Schools. She accompanied her presentation with a short talk on the value of books and reading in the devel- opment of one's life. To obtain an Honor Certificate each pupil must read twenty books from the State Certificate Reading List, and 89 Honor Certificates signify that 1780 books were read for this purpose alone. Deposits containing books on this list are placed in the school- rooms engaged in interesting the pupils to obtain an Honor Certificate, and in this way the books are avail- able at once for the pupil and the teacher. There has been the largest demand of any year for library book deposits in the schools, many teachers asking for them to use in addition to the school books, as well as for the Certificate reading. This has necessitated the buying of a large quantity of duplicate juvenile books, and even yet there are not enough.
The children's story hour, which Miss Haigh, the Children's Librarian, holds twice a month from Novem- ber until April, is greatly appreciated by the children who come in large numbers every year. During the win- ter of 1925, 307 children were in attendance.
1225 new books have been added to the Library, of these 159 were gifts, and 397 were replacements and du- plicate copies of standard works. 1856 useless books were discarded as a result of a complete and thorough investigation of the stacks on the part of the Librarian,
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Children's Librarian and the Book Committee, thereby securing more room for the adult books, and postponing the erection of new stacks for perhaps two years. This was a long and arduous piece of work, but a most nec- sary one, and the effort has been fully repaid with the knowledge that there is no "dead wood" on the Library shelves. There are now approximately 18,000 books in the Library.
In addition to the activities described above, several changes of interest and improvement have occurred in the Library. Beginning with March, 1925, adult bor- rowers were allowed to take as many books of any kind as they wished on one card, the only restriction being that of one seven day book to a card. In order to sup- plement our copies of new fiction so that they would be available to a larger number of patrons a "Duplicate Pay Collection" was started on April 17. The books in this collection are duplicate copies of those on the seven day shelf, and five cents a week is charged for them. They soon pay for themselves, and are then added to our permanent collection. The duplicate pay copies can be reserved for any borrower upon request.
An intermediate book-shelf for Boys and Girls from 12-18 years was begun in July, and is of great help in filling in the gaps between the juvenile and adult depart- ments. It is endeavored to have in this department, some adult and some juvenile books that will appeal to the boy or girl who feels too old for the juvenile department, or too young for the adult, or who is not yet old enough (14 years) to obtain an adult card.
The exhibition given during Children's Book Week was followed by an exhibition for Education Week. Oc- casional articles in regard to the use of the Public Li- brary have been contributed to the Old Colony Memorial, and several posters calling the attention of the commun- ity to the Library have been placed in appropriate places about town. A new "Public Library" sign has been placed on the telegraph pole at the head of North Street,
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and our "Plymouth Public Library" electric sign has been re-set and re-painted. Several deposits of books were lent to the various Boy Scout camps in the out- skirts of Plymouth during last July and August. In September the "American Library Association Reading Courses," a part of the A. L. A. Adult Education plan were introduced by the Library, and the first one, the course in "Biology" attracted much interest. A different subject is issued each month, and the public found them very helpful and interesting.
The Library is very grateful to the following donors for many acceptable gifts of books, periodicals, pictures, etc. :-
Mrs. George Stephens, Jr., Rev. A. R. Hussey, Mrs. Wm. S. Townsend, Mr. Fritz Bittinger, Mrs. Henry Hedge, Mr. Wm. S. Kyle, Miss Hubble, Mrs. Arthur Finney, Mr. R. S. Kellen, Plymouth Antiquarian Society, Mrs. Alice Goddard, Mrs. Roger Holden, Mr. Joseph Helling, Plymouth Book Club, Government Printing Office, Dennison Mfg. Co., Mr. John Courtney, Smithson- ian Institution, U. S. Bureau of Education, Miss Anne P. Appleton, H. W. Wilson Co., Ford Motor Co., Mr. Chas. M. Remey, Plymouth County Health Association, Mass. Public Library Commission, Miss Lillian Poch, Mrs. E. H. Bradford, Mrs. Lombard, Mass. Dept. of Agriculture, Anne and Margaret Torbert.
MINNIE BURKE FIGMIC,
Librarian.
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List of Jurors
Adamson, William, Billington street, Standish Mill emp. Addyman, Arthur, 2 Phoenix court, machinist. Akeley, Leon B. 70 Allerton street, dresser. Alexander, Earl, 65 Alden street, weaver.
Alsheimer, Albert P., 58 Summer street, rivet maker. Anderson, Robert, 12 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Anderson, Walter A., 57 Alden street, clerk. Andrews, William F., 24 Mt. Pleasant street, clerk. Armstrong, Robert, 5 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Armstrong, William, 370 Court street, machinist. Badger, Frank N., Edes street, weaver.
Bagnell, Michael J., 19 Winslow street, weaver. Bain, James, 1 1-4 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Baker, Harold W., 8 Chilton street, store manager. Barlow, George F., 103 Court street, janitor. Barnard, Peter D., 16 Murray street, loom fixer.
Barnes, George C., 9 Washington street, clerk. Beauregard, L. Edgar, 4 Alden street, weaver. Beever, John A. 268 Court street, overseer. Bennett, G. Vernon, 208 Court street, clerk.
Beytes, Leon H., 430 Court street, civil engineer. Bittinger, Fritz John, 140 Court street, Mgr. Editor. Bliss, Frederic A., 5 No. Green street, clerk. Blueit, Edward, 16 North street, loom fixer. Bodell, James, 427 Court street, Cordage emp. Bosworth, Leslie F., 427a Court street, engineer. Brenner, Henry, 191 Standish avenue, laborer. Brewer, David L., Cliff street, Ins. Agent. Brewster, Wallace B., 51 Allerton street, electrician. Briggs, James A., 10 Lothrop street, percher. Briggs, Lyman W., 22 Oak street, clerk. Buchanan, Vincent, 15 Winslow street, painter.
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Bunker, Guy C., 4 Sever street, foreman. Burns, Alfred S., 109 Court street, clerk. Cadman, John O., 128 Sandwich street, prison officer. Callahan, Michael T., 60 Court street, shipper. Cameron, William, 51 So. Spooner street, foreman. Carr, Charles F., 26 Middle street, laborer. Carver, Frank W., 20 Brewster street, salesman. Cash, Henry T., 49 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Cash, Willis F., 411 Court street, Cordage emp. Cassidy, Bernard W., 9 Oak street, clerk. Cassidy, Thomas L., 60 Summer street, clerk. Christie, Alfred C., 7 Fremont street, Cordage emp. Clark, William N., 30 Mt. Pleasant street, chauffeur. Coakley, Dennis P., 75 Samoset street, weaver. Cole, Charles F. Jr., 128 Sandwich street, machinist. Costello, Thomas J., Cedarville, laborer.
Dennehy, Jeremiah F., 47 Samoset street, finisher. Dittmar, Warren E. 152 1-2 Court street, Cordage emp. Dixon, Charles A., 4 So. Russell street, retired. Donovan, Richard J., 33 Allerton street, weaver. Douglas, Harold E., 88 Sandwich street, clerk. Drew, Ralph L., 4 Holmes Terrace, Cordage emp. Ellis, Elton P., 27 Mayflower street, carpenter. Ellis, Ernest C. Ellisville, carpenter. Flavell, Thomas F., 8 Park avenue, blacksmith. Fogarty, Thomas S., 11 Bay View avenue, clerk. Fox, Alfred, 10 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Gardner, John H., 51 Allerton street, chauffeur. Garvais, George, Oak street, weaver.
Girard, Raymond F., 76 Standish avenue, electrician. Goddard, Harrison F., 14 Chilton street, clerk. Goddard, Walter W., 29 Samoset street, rope maker. Goldthwaite, George A., 3 Whiting street, woodworker. Goodwin, Bernard J., 28 1-2 Middle street, electrician. Gray, Norman W., 362 Court street, salesman. Grey, Burton R., 23 So. Spooner street, steam fitter. Hagen, Frank A., 16 Atlantic street, foreman.
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Harriman, William H., 150 Court street, salesman. Hathaway, Elmer W. 22 Pleasant street, retired. Hazen, James W., Manomet, farmer. Hedge, Isaac L., 367 Court street, retired. Hemmerly, William H., 11 Bartlett street, chauffeur. Holmes, Charles B., Allen court, painter. Holmes, Isaac T., 189 Court street, poultry raiser.
Holmes, Roland T., 11 Whiting street, clerk. Hultenius, Axel, 37 So. Spooner street, Cordage emp. Jewell, Albion G. 5 Chilton street, musician. Kelley, Frank C,, 372 Court street, foreman.
Kinsey, Herbert F., 42 Alden street, pattern weaver.
Lanman, Herbert H., 7 Davis street, clerk. Leach, George A., Clifford road, farmer. Loring, Bernard D., 18 Clyfton street, musician.
Lowry, Abraham, 17 Whiting street, painter.
Luce, Arthur H., 17 Clyfton street, retired. Lumb, Fred, 11 Fremont street, harness raiser. Lumb, Thomas, 66 Samoset street, weaver. Manter, Arthur L., 13 Mt. Pleasant street, painter.
Martin, Frank M., 243 Sandwich street, machinist.
McArdle, John F., 22 Davis street, salesman. McCosh, John A., Manomet, clerk.
McEwen, Thomas G., 18 Fremont street, cloth examiner. McNeil, H. Gordon, 63 Oak street, clerk.
Mooney, Earl, 24 Oak street, plumber. Morse, Arthur L., 21 Mayflower street, clothier. Morton, Donald W., 31 Vernon street, musician. Morton, Harry H., 3 Whiting street, clerk.
Morton, Louis, 4 South street, Cordage emp.
Mulcahy, Frank H., 40 Russell street, weaver.
Murphy, Cornelius P., 11 Court street, foreman. Nickerson, James M., Clifford road, carpenter. Norton, Thomas E., 16 Vernon street, weaver. O'Connell, John J. Jr., 20 Hall place, laborer. Oosterdiep, John W., 98 Allerton street, overseer. Otto, Albert B., 8 Centennial street, weaver. Paranteau, Alphonse, 31 Russell street, weaver.
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Paty, George L., Samoset street, Cordage emp. Peck, Adam, 366 Court street, foreman. Perkins, Isaac H., 19 Mayflower street, mason. Pierce, Charles H., River street, fisherman. Pratt, Ernest B., 52 Russell street, laborer. Priestley, Edmund J., 116 Sandwich street, weaver. Quartz, Frank Jr., 156 Court street, grocer. Raymond, Charles H., 41 South street, rivet maker. Reagan, Thomas W., 102 Sandwich street, watchman. Rich, Fred I., 99 Court street, overseer. Richard, John B., 21 Brewster street, barber. Richardson, Robert, Ship Pond, fisherman. Sampson, Harry G., 4 Bradford street, weigher. Sampson, Ossian M., 66 Standish avenue, tack maker. Sears, Luther F., 240 Sandwich street, Cordage emp. Shaw, Elwood A., 70 Court street, retired. Sherman, Louis N., 133 Summer street, clerk. Simmons, Harry L., 36 Mayflower street, carpenter. Simmons, Walter T., 1 Murray street, shipper. Sink, Sidney L., 6 Lewis street, telephone inspector. Strong, Warren P., 27 Allerton street, insurance agent. Swanton, James S., 54 Allerton street, carpenter. Webber, Charles Jr., 28 Centennial street, percher. Woolford, George R., 24 Bay View avenue, jeweler. WILLIAM T. ELDRIDGE, HENRY W. BARNES, JR., WALTER E. BENT, FRANK EASTWOOD,
Selectmen of Plymouth.
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Report of the Town Planning Board
In the death of Mr. Arthur Lord, who had served as Chairman of this Board since its inception, the Town has suffered a great loss. His value will become more and more evident as we miss his wise counsel in all matters pertaining to Town welfare.
Since August, 1925, monthly meetings have been held and the following is a list of the various projects consid- ered by the Board :
1. The Westerly Route through Plymouth, which is still under consideration by the Board in conjunction with the State Public Works Department. There are some disadvantages in connection with the route first proposed, notably the cost of the fill necessary at Goddard's Meadow to extend Oak Street northerly to connect with Standish Avenue; the narrowness of Oak Street for a through route; the bad corner at Summer Street, and the cost of crossing Town Brook. Another route, still further west- erly and crossing Town Brook at or near Deep Water Bridge, is now being studied.
2. A plan for using Depot Park as a parking place for automobiles. This project was unanimously disapproved by the Board.
3. Parking place on School Street. Careful plans and estimates were made of this project and, after mature consideration this plan, too, was disapproved. In connec- tion with this a number of other suggested locations were studied but, for what appeared to be adequate reasons, were disapproved. " The last suggestion for a parking place which came before us was the northerly shore of Town Brook, west of the Morton grain mill, and this may be worthy of further consideration.
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