USA > Massachusetts > Bristol County > Fairhaven > Town annual report of the offices of Fairhaven, Massachusetts 1938 > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11
Balance January 1, 1938
$ 35.00
Collected
6.00
Abated
16.00
Balance due
13.00
$ 35.00
1938 VESSEL EXCISE
Committed
$ 319.03
Collected
317.36
Balance due
1.67
$ 319.03
1938 SEWERS
Committed
$ 132.15
Collected
44.26
Balance due
87.89
Committed Interest
$ 20.40
Collected
7.14
Balance due
13.26
$ 20.40
1937 SEWERS
Balance January 1, 1938
$ 129.83
Collected
$
106.70
Balance due
23.13
$ 129.83
Committed Interest
$ 17.40
Collected
11.94
Balance due
5.46
$ 17.40
$
132.15
Town Clerk's Report
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938
Date
Name of Child
Jan. 5 Robert Ronald Rogers
8 Mary Elizabeth Lanagan
10 Anne Frances Mosher
10 Manuel Callassa
13 Illegitimate
17 Patricia Ann Borges
17 Patricia Louise Govoni
20 Felicia Wauda Sylvia
20 Stillborn
22 Marilyn Louise Hann
24 Janet Lorraine Flood
25 Illegitimate
28 Jerry Wayne O'Driscoll
Feb. 1
Fay Patricia Cathcart
3 Douglas Joseph Dwelly
5 William Arthur Wittenbauer
6 Robert Charles Leahy
7 Pauline Alice Lainey
7
Jacqueline Rose Gadbois
9 Margaret Elizabeth Lacerda
10 Robert Dominic Benoit
13
Eileen Lopes
14 Winston King Jr.
20
Roberta Anne Morin
21 Illegitimate
21 Richard Joseph Duarte
23 Carol Joan Hodgins
25 Barbara Dreher
25 Nancy Ruth Czaya
26 Eileen Dupont
Mar. 1 Carl Robert Saunders 1 Robert Henry Isabelle
2 Homer Desrochers
8 Barbara Ann Wilber
9 Faith Elizabeth Albiston
65
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938 (Continued)
Date
Name of Child
9
Beryl Walmsley Albiston
9 Jesse Joseph Mottas
11 Nancy Ruth Haydon
11 Harry John Lampara
20 Manuel Cabral
22 Ronald Joseph Beaulieu
24
James Francis Leahy
27 Paul Barry LeBlanc
28
Harriet Cynthia Hawes
30 John Correia
Apr. 1 Eleanor May Rogers
2
Clement Alves
7
Roland Joseph Rioux
13
Carol Frances Johnson
15
Antone DeTerra Jr.
15
Joan Barbara DeSouza
17
Esther May Maciel
19
Gilbert Antonio Santos
20
Joaquim Almeida Faustino
20
Bruce Everett Rickard
23
Bothelo
27
Joan Mello
27
Patricia Ann Nelson
John MacFarlane Hassett
28
John Keefe Donovan Jr.
May 1
Manuel Mederios
6
Richard Edwin Spencer
10
Roger Robidoux
12 Karl Thomas Smith
12 Stillborn
18 Jennie Presner
21 Joan Helene Gillespie
21 Theodore Bennett Carter
26
Stillborn
27 Donald Theodore Pothier
27 Alfred Augustine
28 Antonio Santos
29 Louis Joseph Alban Racine
June 1
Patricia Adelaide Cornell
2 David Langevin
5
66
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938 (Continued)
Date
Name of Child
2
Anne Galligan
4 Eunice Ann Sylvia
11
Illegitimate
14
Bella Edith Bettencourt
17 Barbara Ann Shirley Roche
18
Beverly Ann Mareiro
25
Paul Hampson Hirst
26
Gale Patricia Duxbury
29
Roberta Ann Maxwell
30
Natalie Marie Martin
30 Mary Hamer
July 1
Clifton John Rogers
9
Rosella Ann Silva
10
Harold Waterman Crapo
15
Stillborn
18
Ann Garcia
21
Shirley Ann Lopes
23
William Leo LeBlanc
23
Nancy Pacheco Moniz
23
Judith Ariel Perry
25
Carlton Herbert Fuller
29
Rosalie Ann Medeiros
29
Zoe Marie Dvorak
29
Glenna Elizabeth Dobson
Aug. 3
Jean Travis
3 Joan Travis
4 Douglas Clifton Chandler
5 Simone Marie Martin
5
Mary Annette Claire Breault
10
Robert Frank Lucas
12
Patricia Ann Richard
12
Anna Bertha Brunette
16
Leslie David Freeman
16 Albert Eugene Fleurent
18 Phillip Alan Burke
18 Susan Amy Leach
21 Sylvia Marguerite Rose 22 Horsley
22
Jo-ann Chaves
23
Richard Paul Vohnoutką
67
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938 (Continued)
Date
Name of Child
23
Donald Clifton Green
29 Bermina Mae Vaz
Sept. 2 Kenneth Sofus Mortensen
4 Janice Violet Surprenant
5 Helen Duff Mowatt
13
John Rogers
18
Rita Agnes Mello
20
Jeanine Estelle Morency
21
Sylvia Ann Howland
26
Stillborn
26
Perry
28
Alfred Albert Fonteneau
Oct. 1
Richard Lionard Trudeau
3
Joan Ann Briggs
3 John Robert Brown
6 Robert Braga
6
Sylvia Ann Soares
9
Robert Joseph Pacheco
15
Robert Machado
16
Robert Joseph Pimental
25
Patricia Ann Rivard
28 Raymond Babineau
30 Leah Mary Oliver
30
Stephen Gifford Drew
30
Millicent Laura Morgan
Nov. 1
Arleene Days
5 Charlis Mildred Nurse
6 Viola Mello
8 Leonard Ansel Cornell
9 Edward Soares Monteiro
9 Ruth Alberta Perry
11 Edna May Laiscell
11 Doris Ann Halpin
12 Phyllis Grace Hayes
14 Charles Marshall Faria
15 Elizabeth Jeanne Vieira
16 Ralph Patrick Potter
18 Wilfred Henry Moreau
18 Michael Sylvia
20 Stillborn
68
BIRTHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938 (Continued)
Date
Name of Child
25
Harold Lawrence Johnson
25
Albert Amos Hammond Jr.
26 Lewis Frank Jenney
29
John Edward Morang
Dec. 1 William Jeffrey Culbert
3
Richard James Hall
4
Ruth Mary Bissonnette
5
Charles Roger Tripp
6
Harold Ellis Fox
7
Richard Joseph Norris
9
Regina May Morris
10
Jean Evelyn Dutra
15 Ernest Stanley DeBlois
18
Loretta May Hatch
18
Lois Bette Meyer
23
Joseph Medeiros Jr.
25 Donald Milton Thompson
Parents be sure to record the birth of your child with given name in full.
READ THE LAW
"Parents, within forty days after the birth of a child, and every householder, within forty days after a birth in his house, shall cause notice thereof to be given to the clerk of the town where such child is born .*** "
Gen. Laws, Chap. 46, Sec. 6.
69
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN-1938
Date
Bride
Groom
Jan. 1 Evelyn Mello
1 Beryl Bowers Dyson
4 Dorothy Louise Potter
8 Thurley Lillian Blanchard
12 Sophia (Rodriques) Jesus
12 Inez Alice Sumner
Manuel Oliver
15 Yvonne LeBlanc
17 Mary (Duarte) Calassa
John Alves Ferro
22 Margaret Brazil
22 Marion Gertrude Paull
Raymond Richard
Feb. 2 Elizabeth Bowen Griftin
William Ellery Gifford
Walter Miller
Joseph Rebello Pimental
Aime Normand LaPointe
Mar. 9 Deolinda Marks
12 Gladys May Hebden
27 Irene Mary Bardbury
Apr. 7 Ellen Howarth
11 Catherine Avid Logan
17 Priscilla Wrightington
18 Eileen Mary Casey
19 Sylvia Beverly Lea
19 Jennie Dlugosinski
19 Alice Anita Richard
23 Virginia Rebello Pacheco
23 Donalda Anastasie Faford
23 Caroline G. Tyler
24 Priscilla Lena Ferreira
Angelo Mello
Manuel Gracia Mello Jr.
Alton Frederick Baker
Freeland H. French
Laurence Hillman Barnett Jr.
John Frasier
Manuel Gouveia
Lester George Silva
Manuel Costa Casilhas Jr.
Armand Louis Joseph Cote
Elmer Moss Radcliffe
Stephen Hebden
Frank Brown
Oscar Francis Morency
May 3 Mary Amaral Fayal 14 Elaine Exeline Gagne
14 Ruth L. Johnson
21 Kathleen Gladys Nuttall
28 Evelyn Mello
June 4 Georgianna Furtado 4 Constance Mello
4 Francisca Ferreira da Silva
4 Ida Roseda Guilmette
4 Helen Peirce Hiller
11 Mary Elizabeth Aspin
11 Catherine Alua 11 Hazel Whalley Howard
Frank Medeiros Madeira
John Cory Brightman
Ralph Eugene Stoddard
John Dennis Roche Jr.
Antonio Soares Monteiro
James Magmon
12 Annie Rytelewski
26 Alice Rose Rebello
Earl Henry Hebert
Robert Beckett Arden
Manuel Sylvia Garcia
Howard Henry Griffin
Howard Francis Jenkins
Conrad Gerard Lauzon
Walter Raymond Burke
Alphonse Felix Strojny
Oscar Henry Lebeau
John Sylvia
Hilaire Arthur Robitaille
Alfred T. Sheldon
Harry Rebello
70
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938-Continued
Date
Bride
Groom
11 Pauline Martel
18 Sophie Marion Rogald
George Clifton Hebert
18 Bessie Miller
Joseph Wygrzywalski
18 Helen Akerley Knowlton
William Fancher Pelton Jr.
18 Emily Avila
John Rego
18 Violet Eldora (Tripp) Hall
19 June Lois Ashley
24 Virginia Morgan
25 Agnes Mae Goggin
Frederick Aloysius Scheibl
25 Florence Thelma Hopp
Stanley Joseph Baron
25 Mercedes Correia
28 Louise Edith Osberg
July 2 Bernadette Cecile Roy
2 Laura Marie Roy
9 Sarah L. (McKamey) Jarry
16 Edna May Calloway
16 Jeannette Claire Martin
19 Barbara Lindquist
20 Mary Rose Perry
23 Katherine Warren Talley
Wilbur John Rook
William Enos Silva
Aug. 6 Lillian Viola Varieur
13 Alice Louise (Showell) Ward
16 Veronica Chodkowska
22 Mary Elizabeth Wing
25 Marie Gabriel Marcia Laplante
25 Marian Kay Wingate
25 Anna Fernandes
27 Fern Wolschendorf
Sept. 2 Marguerite Louise Richards 3 Lenora Agnes (Souza) Claudino
3 Eleanor Pearl Desjardins
3 Patricia Frances Cabral
5 Marie Clara Thelma Costa
17 Margaret Louisa Johnson
17 Helen Elizabeth Lafferty
19 Margaret Reed Davis
19 Elsie Dias Sylvia
Harvey Gould
John James Bancroft
Philippe Joseph De Blois
Herbert Desire Cray Jr.
Omer Brunelle
William Wheeler Leonard Jr.
John Enos Vetorino George Bachman
Frank Estes Robinson
Frank Duffern Mont
Ralph Winifred Walker
Ernest Ovila Cote
Lionel Goguen
Lionel Anthony James Sousa
Edmund Leo Daley
Archie Potter Akin
David Mendes Santos
25 Maxine Souza Lemos
Antone Souza Faustino Jr.
John Brown
Raymond Gray Besse
Wilfred Lafleur
Albert Joseph Bissonnette
Frank Correia
Harold Upham Pierce
Raymond Pierce Hubert
Walter Guy Campbell
William Manuel Cabral
30 Louise (Robidou) Price Cunningham
Albert Resendes
Ernest Anthony Costa Jr.
Clayton Nelson Westgate
Edward Mikati
71
MARRIAGES RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938-Continued
Date
Bride
Groom
22 Bernice Mabel Reed
Robert Keddy Gardner
Charles Jay Foskett
1 Christine Margaret Martin
Emerson Shapleigh Norris
8 Lydia Cecelia Freitas
Antone Serafino Gomes
15 Evelyn Jeanette LaFleur
15 Marion Babbitt Milhench
Robert Charles Glasspool
22 Clara Bettencourt Picanso Almeida Manuel Perry Moniz
29 Blanche Gaucher
Arthur G. Leblanc
29 Stella Mary Chmiel
Nov. 3 Hildegarde Elinor Fox
5 Mary Elizabeth Lavell
William Frederick Gifford Jr.
William Francis Spry
Virginio Martin
5 Sophia Cabral Augusta
5 Queenie Mae Armstrong
George Freeman Young
Ralph Parker Bismore
Robert Stanley Mayo
Charles Rodriques Avilla
12 Gracia Anna Gendron
12 Eleanor May Costa
19 Lillian Alice Roberts
19 Stella Avila
19 Eva Nunes
19 Julie (Tetreault) Bessette
19 Madeline Eleanor Guilford
19 Doris Woolley
22 Doris Annette Bagnant
23 Mary (Rogers) Phillips
24 Mary Costa
24 Euphrazia Torres
24 Flore Auger
24 Caroline Lucas
24 Florence Picanso
24 Eleanor Elizabeth Cyr
24 Mary DeLourdes Caldeira
24 Mary Isabel Medeiros
24 Rita Mary Richard
24 Lenora Goulart Bettencourt
Dec. 1 Julia (Rogers) Doyle
26 Hilda Botelho
29 Julieta Diana Jacques
29 Florence Dorilla Chartier
George Leonard Gonsalves
Vincent Joseph Munroe
Charles Lewis Faria
Alvaro Souza Jardin
Albion Horace Lefebvre
Raymond Anthony Morse Charles William Cook
John Sylvia
Thomas Joseph Quann
Norman James Hardy
12 Rose Cardoza DeRocha
Roger George Lebeau
Manuel Silva
Charles Radcliffe Jr.
Manuel DeTerra
Stanley Clunie
Lucien Beauregard
Frederick Ernest Thatcher
Ernest Tripanier
Adam Leon Misiaszek
Frank Emery Minott
Edward Souza
Manuel Freitas
Ernest Wilfred Charbonneau
Norman Paiva
10 Georgette Antoinette Harpin
10 Evelyn Sylvia
Stanley John Wybraniec
Allan Edgar Lilley
5 Marion West Hatch
Gerald Jacques Martin
Oct. 1 Lillian Livesey
72
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938
Date
Name
Yrs. Months Days
Jan.
6
Maria Barboza Andrews
66
11
21
..
12
Alton York
. .
..
15 Frederick H. Wilson
46
.
17 Charles H. Furness
9
7
. .
66 20 Benjamin Fell
68
. .
66
20 Stillborn
Catherine (Kilroy) McGrath
78
4
20
Jeanette M. Mason
50
9
20
6.
22 George B. Stafford
73
9
16
66
23 Brother Willebrod Cools
63
10
. .
25
Georgianna Lapham
78
8
11
66
29 Evelyn L. Frates
10
3
13
Feb.
4
Truman D. Pollard
61
7
28
66
7 Ellen Barbara Martin
11
5
. .
6.
10 John R. Torres
..
78
4
14
:
13
James Bradford DeMoranville
78
10
17
14
Elva Annabelle Humphrey
86
5
9
66
20 Edmond Koenig
73
11
9
66
21
Martin Aas
29
9
5
66
23
Robert Machado
. .
1
29
..
23
Joseph Sylvia
55
6
..
. .
66
28 Annie E. Sargent
81
6
23
Mar. 2
Lucy J. Taft
89
9
18
.6
4
Flora Helen Leighton
81
9
4
66
5 Albert R. Broadbent
58
5
0
66 11
John M. Perry
54
. .
14 Nora A. Middleton
54
. .
. .
17
Rosa Silveira Machado or Marshall
74
. .
66
19
Josephine Swift
83
. .
21
Maguelina Cabral Mello
69
. .
23 Emma Treworgy
84
3
. .
26 Manuel Joseph
83
. .
..
29 Edna L. Hawes
64
10
14
Apr.
4 Elizabeth P. Morse
87
10
30
7
Clara A. Heap
71
7
. .
7
Manuel DaRoza
71
.
2
9
12
Georgie Jones Bruce
13 Rosanna Maker
78
24
Adam Bond
65
75
. .
18 William J. Hart
10
20
73
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938-Continued
Date
Name
Yrs. Months Days
5
Manuel P. Costa
74
. .
5
William Ridings
64
. .
..
11 Joseph Gloria
80
. .
. .
٠،
11 Prime Beaulieu
75
8
..
11 Elizabeth J. Cornell
58
1
27
..
12
Walter M. Lemos
59
2
15
Nora Maria (O'Leary) Norris
70
.
. .
15
Isaac Nathaniel Sowle
84
8
14
16
Maria Felizarda deSouza
62
.
66
17
Mary Marshall
18
. .
. .
18
Thomas Black
73
11
30
23
Annie (Smith) O'Neill
62
9
19
66
23
Bothelo
1 hour
24
Herbert L. Sweet
74
20
66
11
Gladys Gelette
39
3
20
66
18
Maria (Leroux) Dupont
70
66
19
Rosa Correira Teixeira
71
. .
. .
66
20
Jennie B. Kelley
62
9
14
21 Helen F. A. Spencer
60
4
13
66
26
Stillborn
38
. .
66
28 John C. Mackey
71
6
. .
66
29
William Siner
84
. .
..
June 2
Edna Drake
77
2
22
6
Rosina (Rosanna) Desrosiers
62
10
2
66
8 Carrie E. Gilman
83
75
. .
66
26 Prince Arthur Rogers
82
3
13
July
4 Thomas Stopford
71
3
19
66
6
Milina (Laroque) Bissonnette
84
. .
7 Anna Jesus Calassa
76
. .
60
10 Paul S. Sheehan
45
7
18
12
Theodore Breault
16
2
11
12 Ann Bradbury
23
6
21
25
Albina F. (Flanders) Veeder
80
3
20
May 1
Arthur Vannevar Pierce
56
4
14
66
27
2
Harry John Lampara
. .
7 Menesfirth Duckworth
70
. .
. .
9
Hannah Tootle
10 Diogo Souza
44
4
26
Omer E. Gauthier
11 Stillborn
. .
74
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938-Continued
Date
Name
Yrs. Months Days
..
14
Mary Bailey
72
5
20
15
Walter E. Ferreira
8
6
4
..
26 George A. Oldham
62
3
2
..
29
Emily Pamplona
34
. .
29
Franklin J. Kilburn
89
4
18
..
31
Robert W. Parkin
37
Aug.
2 Dana P. Marston
16
5
24
..
5
Mary A. (Cole) Place
68
1
30
5 James Kenyon
72
11
1
10
Cornelius Durrigan
77
. .
..
14
Eliza Jane Lloyd
83
1
21
..
14
Mary Caton Barros
65
. .
..
22
Horsley
1 hr
..
22
George F. Westgate
78
. .
..
25
Jennie Holmes Brown
77
11
10
..
25
Adolfo Gubellini
64
. .
..
. .
. .
..
26
Ephraim Gervais
77
3
24
Sept. 3
Mary E. Sidebottom
24
4
10
66
11
Rose Souza Faustino
59
. .
..
13
Cesare Dellecese
78
5
28
66
15
William B. Rounsvell
85
3
23
..
21
Eva J. Cox
65
11
22
21 Mabelle M. Small
48
. .
. .
6.
21
George Jowdy
60
..
. .
21
Mary E. Heath
71
11
16
66
21
George E. Dubois
77
. .
6.
21
Charles A. Fernandes
46
2
. .
06
21
Ruth S. Medeiros
2
7
. .
66
22
Charles F. Fish
72
11
24
66
24
Joseph A. Brun
60
..
66
24
Belle M. Jones
70
0
18
66
26
Mathilda A. Perry
80
6
5
26
Stillborn
66
26
Perry
6 hrs.
66
26
Robert Willard Reed
. .
9
27
6.
27
William Young
74
. .
26
Sophie (Guerin) Baillargeon
81
75
5
. .
10
Joseph Szela
21
Doris Medeiros
· 1
5
15 Stillborn
75
DEATHS RECORDED IN FAIRHAVEN - 1938-Continued
Date
Name
Yrs. Months Days
66
28
George D. Hammond
80
28
66
30
Jane (Boardman) Lilley
84
..
. .
Oct.
1 Rose Beauregard
60
..
..
14
Dometilde (Hebert) Cormier
86
.
..
6.
23
Mary L. Pierce (Brightman)
73
6
25
William H. Taylor
81
11
15
..
26
Myra B. Burgess
78
8
25
66
28
William S. King
71
. .
. .
66
28
Elizabeth (Liberty) Benoit
66
5
14
28
Arthur Hammond
86
10
8
66
31
Joseph T. Grindrod
77
4
26
Nov. 6 Meta Z. Kroger
76
3
4
6
12
Ysola Lanthier
45
6
25
66
13
Edith Fisher Tetlow
72
6
17
66
14
Carleton Dort
36
66
16
Carolyn D. Bushnell
35
8
3
66
20
Stillborn
76
5
17
25
Grace (Mason) Brown
27
66
29
John Edward Morang
11 hrs 11 min.
Dec. 8 Philip Wilfred Bolster
41
2
15
16
Uriah Brown
87
·
..
66
17
Mary DeSouza
38
·
66
18
Jacintho Cabral
82
. .
. .
66
21
Carrie E. Hanna
80
4
26
66
23 Hilda Avila
18
5
10
66
24
Manuel Oliveira
35
. .
27
Maria G. Brown (Peters)
57
. .
. .
66
29 Antone Moreira
53
5
. .
1
Maria Jesus Pereira Cosquate Raphael
55
. .
. .
..
28
Joseph Lemaire
73
66
22
Agnes G. Benson
15 Annie G. Lester
83
9
29
Report of Police Department
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen and the People of Fairhaven:
Below and on following pages you will find the annual report of the Fairhaven police department for the year end- ing December 31, 1938. You will notice that this report differs from those of other years. We cannot point to an increased amount of court work as taxing our time and men. We cannot complain that an expensive problem arose, crippled our financial setup, and interfered with normal routine.
However, we can boast that every case, backed by suit- able evidence, which merited court action has found us an- xious to prosecute. We can point to an increase in imposed fines. We can truthfully state that a great deal of sincere effort went into safety work, and we can show results for that effort. There were, indeed, isolated instances in which court work was burdensome. We can honestly remind you of the hurricane which, you can appreciate, interfered with normal routine and upset our working schedule.
What Happened to the Safety Record ?
In 1938 sixty-five accidents were reported. There were two fatalities. In 1937 seventy-eight accidents were re- ported. There were no fatalities in 1937.
Two or three other answers to the above question suggest themselves. For one thing, Fairhaven's record in recent years has been an enviable one and, therefore, difficult to maintain. Then, too, because Fairhaven accidents have been so few of late a decrease of thirteen in 1938 became all the more noticeable. A study of offending drivers reveals that a big percentage of them are from out of town and, therefore, not familiar with traffic conditions here and not as careful as they would be at home. Both drivers in the two accidents resulting in deaths were from another local- ity, one being unlicensed, the other intoxicated. Serious charges growing out of both fatalities and many other acci- dents resulted in court convictions.
77
The Hurricane
All of us have seen, heard, and read enough about the hurricane of September 21; but this report would not be complete without some mention of the storm and its effects upon the department.
So far as Fairhaven police were concerned the hurricane started at 3:21 P.M. when two poles on Sconticut Neck Road were reported broken off. Within an hour calls were coming in at the rate of about one every other minute. When two hours had gone by the police station had become the scene of a veritable chaos of human problems. It seemed as though almost everyone was either coming to the station or calling us.
Many spare officers were needed immediately; but only a few were available. Others were busy either at regular places of employment or at home. Many could not be reached because of telephone service disruptions. That night and the days that followed saw police work being done by an augmented force -- our regular day men work- ing almost day and night, our regular night men working almost night and day, our spare men, national guards, mem- bers of veterans' organizations, and various other volun- teers.
Hampered for days by lack of electric lights and, for a shorter period, loss of radio service, we strove to serve what I say without fear of contradiction was the greatest number of people ever to seek our services in a similar period of time.
Lost children and grownups were sought. Anxious folks checked the welfare of distant kin and friends. Toll lines were busy bringing us inquiries from distant points and in- formation from afar for local people. The public assigned us tasks faster than we could perform them.
Nearly everyone seemed to realize that we were working at a disadvantage and was very patient. That splendid attitude is sincerely appreciated and made our work less difficult than it otherwise would have been. The New England Telephone and Telegraph Company did every- thing within its power to expedite our work and offered us every type of assistance and the use of all the facilities at its command. Not for one instant was either of our
78
telephone lines out of service! State police suffered the loss of telephone service, and the fact that both of our lines were in working order proved to be a boon to them. State police headquarters assigned an officer to duty in our station receiving and relaying all state police calls which came over our lines.
Telephone Calls, Etc .- 35,771
On another page, in an inconspicuous location, there ap- pears the line used here as a caption. Although this item attracts little or no attention, there may be some readers who would care to know more about it.
Briefly, it is a classification into which a variety of police transactions fall. Each item so classified, of itself, repre- sents a very minor transaction-one which, in most cases, required little time and slight effort. Taken collectively, though, 35,771 transactions can be seen to have used up considerable time. And, because these transactions are so varied, it can be seen that our officers must have a vast amount of information available for use at a moment's notice.
To be sure, some of these 35,771 items are routine in nature. There are calls for the correct time, inquiries about fires, officers, reports, queries about the location of streets and about persons' addresses. There are calls for news- gathering agencies.
Besides, there are calls from persons seeking exact dates of old accidents, complaints, or arrests. There are calls from people who would sell the department merchandise. There are calls for information on one law or another. Hundreds of people who realize they need legal assistance seek us out in their efforts to determine whether or not solu- tion of their particular difficulties requires police, an at- torney, or services of the courts. People ask us who can pump out their cellars, who will accept a donation of used clothing, why they can't burn rubbish without a permit, and what can be done with a dead cow. And these are only a few of the things people want us to answer!
Our Cruiser Car Service
For those who may be interested I am furnishing here some facts and figures relating to the cost of our cruiser
79
car service. Those of my readers who have compared the department's mileage record with those of other years have found a big increase. This was occasioned by our having two cars in service for about two months after the hurri- cane, protecting beach property. The added service, natu- rally, increased our expenditures for gasoline.
During 1938 we bought 6,999 gallons of gasoline. We spent $494.08 for repairs. The gasoline cost the depart- ment 13.6c and 12.6c per gallon. We used during the year 6,299 gallons of gasoline and 103 quarts of oil.
Our equipment consists of two 4-door sedans-one a 1936 Ford and the other a 1937 Chevrolet. The Ford car has given us 133,425 miles of service. Had it been disposed of a year ago at which time it had run up a mileage of 57,898, the town could have saved considerable money. For one thing, repairs would have been about $291.80 Jess. The trade-in allowance would have been about $125 more, and the purchase price would have been about $17 less. These figures mean that a total of $433.80, or thereabouts, was thrown away by keeping the 1936 car an extra year. And, bear in mind, please, that the loss in service due to the car's being in the repair shop is not figured here!
Thefts and Recoveries
In presenting elsewhere in this report figures represent- ing total thefts and total recoveries I have purposely avoided coloring either with transactions attributable to the hurricane. There are many reasons for this.
If thefts and/or recoveries included hurricane business the value in comparing them with similar figures for other years would be destroyed. Secondly, conditions surround- ing most hurricane reports were sufficiently confusing to render facts and true circumstances obscure or absolutely unavailable. That conditions did distort the appearance of transactions in seen from the fact that nearly all hurri- cane theft reports seemingly made in good faith and ap- parently backed by good information were found to be groundless.
It would have been possible to have added much to our thefts because of the numerous instances in which property disappeared, seemingly, at least, by unauthorized hands. Recoveries could have been augmented by the great num-
80
ber of instances in which property was identified at loca- tions where it seemingly could not have gone without dis- honest human help. But the prevalence of authenticated reports of storm and tide pranks casts a shadow of doubt over theft and recovery reports such as I have mentioned. Their validity, therefore, does not impress me as being of sufficient merit to justfy adding them to our usual and legi- timate figures. For all that, there is no doubt in my mind that there were many actual thefts from hurricane stricken areas.
Respectfully submitted,
GEORGE T. SYKES,
Chief of Police.
OFFENSES
Males Females Total
Accosting a female under sixteen years of age in Public Place
1
0
1
Allowing an improper person to Operate
1
0
1
Assault and Battery
9
0
9
Assault on a Police Officer
1
0
1
Assault to rape a child under sixteen Years of Age
1
0
1
Being a Delinquent Child
15
1
16
Being an Unlicensed Operator
4
0
4
Breaking and Entering and Larceny in the Daytime
1
0
1
Breaking and Entering and Larceny in the Nighttime
1
0
1
Breaking Glass
2
0
2
Carrying a Revolver
1
0
1
Concealing Leased Personal Property .
1
0
1
Desertion
1 5
0
5
Doing Damage to Personal Property
1
0
1
Drunkenness
42
0
42
Failing to Keep to the Right of Road
2
0
2
Failing to Stop when Signalled to Do So 2
0
2
1
0
1
Cutting Timber
0
1
Disturbing the Peace
81
Males Females Total
Fairhaven By-Laws Violations
4
0
4
False Statement in Application for Registration
1
0
1
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.