Town of Lynnfield, Essex County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, annual report 1949-1960, Part 60

Author: Lynnfield (Mass.)
Publication date: 1949-1960
Publisher: The Town
Number of Pages: 846


USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynnfield > Town of Lynnfield, Essex County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, annual report 1949-1960 > Part 60


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A recent report shows that, in the six year period just ter- minated, Lynnfield has had the second highest percentage of growth in pupil enrollment in the entire State. This means the enrollment growth, in terms of space, staff, and significant re- organizations, continues to be of primary importance in the activities of the school system. The growth pattern for the past several years is as indicated below:


Dec. 1952


Dec. 1953


Dec


Dec. 1955


Dec. 1956


Grade I


114


115


134


148


175


Grades 11 - VIII


586


687


783


952


1028


Grade IX


46


59


84


85


140


Grades X - XII*


123


127


150


205


226


Vocational


6


7


7


7


0


Totals


875


995


1158


1397


1569


* At Wakefield High School


The most recent addition to the school system plant, the Summer Street School, was opened in September of 1956, and has a full quota of pupils at this time. Our continued growth indicates that there will be necessity for providing six elemen- tary classrooms, beyond the thirty-three now used, with the opening of school next September. Our present class size in elementary grades averages twenty-nine pupils per room, with several classes having a class size in the middle thirties. An- ticipated numbers for the next year and projected classroom needs demonstrate clearly the necessity for providing additional classes for the 1957/58 school year in elementary grades .


Meanwhile, construction is under way on the high school wing, with the expectation that this project will be completed sometime late in the fall of 1957. Commitments are already made requiring that we provide for Grade X within the Town with the opening of school in September of 1957. The total result, in terms of facilities and enrollment, of the anticipated growth will mean that there will be a 50% increase in plant size between June of 1956 and the late fall of 1957. It will also mean that we will be providing for 20% more students within the Town next September than we were in December 1956.


While we will have a reduction in the number of students at Wakefield High School starting in September 1957, there has been a sharp increase in the tuition rate charged for our pupils attending there, effective for the fiscal year 1957. This in- crease is in the amount of $60 per pupil, and means an expendi- ture of $12, 000 additional for high school tuition in 1957 due


to this factor alone. The per pupil costs for pupils educated within the Town and at Wakefield High School for the 1955/56 and the 1956/57 school years are indicated below:


1955/56


1956/57


In Town


$229


$250


Wakefield


412


440


School Income


The following incomes were received by the Town as a result of school operations in 1956:


Chapter 70


- $53,357


Transportation -


23,897


We anticipate that from the same sources we will receive $91,000 in 1957. These amounts are deposited in the General Fund of the Town, and reduce the net operating costs of ed- ucation accordingly. Lynnfield continues to be in a relatively favored position under the State Aid formula now in effect. However, this has not been revised since 1945, and there are bills in the present session of the legislature which might alter the formula. We hope that such alterations will give adequate protection to the rapidly growing community .


The total budget for the 1956 fiscal year was as indicated below. This was allocated in the major budget categories as shown. For purposes of comparison, we have also indicated the national averages, the 1954 budget allocation and the 1957 budget allocation:


1956 Amounts


1952 %


1956 %


1957 %


Nat. Mean


1. General Control


14,485


4.4


3.6


3. 4.6


II.


Expense of Instruction


300, 440


71.


73.


74.


72.4


III.


Cost of Operation


40, 394


7.5


10.3


10.


10.6


IV. Maintenance


9,735


1.2


2.5


2.5


4.8


V. *Auxiliary Agencies


40,680


14.3


10.4


8.5


5.4


VI. Fixed Charges )


100


.3


.3


.6


2.2


VII.


Capital Outlay)


1,100


406,934


*Health and Transportation


You will note that, as the school system increases in size, our budget allocations have taken an increasingly satisfying pat- tern in comparison with the national averages. While our cost for Auxiliary Agencies, which includes our cost for transporta- tion, continues to be higher than the natural average, this category is in better proportion than it has been in the past. The proportionate percentage expended for instruction, which is the actual core of the school program, is realitvely high, while the unit cost of administration continues to decrease .


It is impossible, in a brief report, to discuss the total ac-


48


1954


complishments and needs of the community's largest single in- vestment area, the schools. We will confine the discussion to briefly listing the problem areas to which solutions must be found in the immediate future, plus following our usual practice, a discussion of one element of the school pattern of pertinent, immediate interest .


(1) The largest single task facing the schools is the planning and development of the high school program. Much has already been done in this area, but much remains to be done in terms of planning, programming, and staffing in the years immediately ahead.


(2) Elementary housing sufficient to handle in a timely manner the numbers of children who will be educated in our schools in the next several years must be provided if we are to avoid deterioration in our educational program due to lack of an adequate number of classrooms .


(3) Some program providing for special education for the seriously mentally retarded child must be launched upon by the community within the next year or two. The necessity for this is two-fold. One is the legal requirement under recent legisla- tion, and the second, and certainly equally important, is the responsibility for providing adequately for those children who fall into this category . While they may be few in number, that does not diminish our responsibility for providing adequately for their needs .


Longer School Day


We are faced with the necessity for launching upon a second- ary school program during a time which is unique in the history of American education. At the same time that we are establish- ing our high school, there is a very extreme growth in high school enrollments throughout the country . This will be climaxed in 1960, the year in which our first seniors will graduate, with an increase amounting to about 50% over the 1955 graduating numbers on a nation-wide basis. This means that nearly twice as many students will be competing for entrance into college, industry and business in the summer of 1960 as contrasted with


ENG


-


Here, in costume, are third grade Center School pupils who took a 35, 000 mile airplane tour through 12 European Countries last summer (in imagination), while their teacher, Mrs. Pauline Chadwell, made the trip in reality, visiting countries which they study in their Basic Reader, "If I Were Going".


the preceding years. Obviously, the competition is going to be very intense. Just as obviously, those children who are least well prepared will be the ones who will stand the greatest chance of failing to be in a position to enter upon their chosen educa- tional or vocational interests on graduation from high school .


For many years, educators have become increasingly aware of the need for improvement in the secondary school program, both in terms of variety of subject area and in terms of quality improvement. Numerous studies have indicated that the in- creasing complexity of the learnings expected of the student point up the need for a longer period of time in which to work with the student within the school situation. This can be pro- vided in two ways:


Under discussion in many communities is the lengthening of the school year, perhaps running into two hundred or more school days as contrasted with the normal present pattern of one hundred and eighty days. The alternative method for providing more learning time for the student lies in the lengthening of the school day .


Starting in September 1956, Lynnfield Junior High School was placed on a longer day than is normal in this immediate area . It is, however, a pattern which has been followed successfully in other parts of the country for many years, and we are certain it provides a greater possibility for preparing students adequately for the competitive situation facing them than any other single device.


We recognize that our students are gaining more help within the school time, but we do feel that there is still the necessity for some amount of out of school study if the student is to com- pare favorably in achievement with other children within the school system and other communities. We recognize that this will call, in some cases, for a reorganization of thinking on out of school time use, including the child's social commitments, but we feel it is only realistic to point out that such organiza- tion of time is a normal part of our life, and that the parent and child should be able to arrive at decisions which will allow for satisfactory achievement at school and still allow for a reasonable number of out of school activities to be undertaken.


We intend, under the longer period arrangement, to provide a certain amount of study time under supervision, but believe that each student should, nevertheless, grow in the ability to study independently, and will expect this independence of study approach to be developed by those students who wish to go on to college .


In terms of standards, we expect our passing grades to be indicative of a standard of achievement comparable with ex- pectations in other secondary schools, and that the large bulk of our students should be able, with moderate effort, to achieve such grades. We feel, however, that B's and A's at the second- ary level should definitely be indicative of high and superior achievement, and we do not visualize that it will normally be possible for students to receive such grades without making significant personal efforts.


Walter J. Vorse Superintendent of Schools


49


Report of LIBRARY TRUSTEES


The Library Department of Lynnfield compares favorably with the State standard .


Representing the Lynnfield Board of Trustees in Worcester at the Annual Luncheon Meeting of the Massachusetts Library Trustees Association in September, Mrs. Pauline Chadwell parti- cularly noted that Lynnfield was well in the forefront in the re- commended establishment of cordial relations with local news- papers; in coordination of public and school libraries for complete service to children; and in location of branch buildings on convenient sites .


According to the State standard, the Lynnfield Board's Annual selection of books and careful supervision of maintenance met with approval.


Townspeople are cordially invited to present suggestions to the Trustees, or Librarians, not only for adult reading matter, but for children's books as well. Reference material for specific subjects will be made available to the public wherever possible .


Graded reading material is available at the libraries for children of varying abilities. Please consult your local librarian about these .


Both libraries show a marked increase in the number of books loaned and the number of books bought .


The Center Garden Club, under the direction of Mrs. Ralph Sias, is especially commended for keeping the Center Library attractive with colorfully filled window boxes, as well as dona- ting the annual Christmas wreath for the door.


Respectfully submitted,


Pauline Chadwell, Secretary James Lake, Chairman Rudolph P. Schlenker, Trustee


LYNNFIELD LIBRARIAN'S REPORTS


Center Library


Books bought


424


Books Given


53


Book Patrons


1,011


Books Loaned


12,864


Magazine Patrons


65


Magazines Loaned


995


r


Received in fines $298.82


Magazine Subscriptions


12


Magazines were given by Mr. and Mrs. John Ward, Miss Alice Ward, Mrs. Harriet Olmsted, and Mr. William Russell.


Books have been presented to the Center Library by Mrs. Fred Klodner, Mrs. Edyth Roach, Miss Gail Goring, Mrs. Mary Goldwait, Mrs. Martha Christopher, Kenneth Welsh, Merita Colonas, Mrs. Robert Bowser, Mrs. Dora Lewis, Janet Bradbury, Judith Bradbury, Paul Schellingburg, Cynthia Pearson, Engina Fitts, and Christ's Methodist Church, N. Y.


Respectfully submitted,


Elizabeth W. Green, Librarian M. Lois Flewelling, Ass't. Librarian


South Lynnfield Library


Patrons


267


New Books Received


299


Books Loaned


5,774


Magazines Received


12


Received in fines


$133.40


Respectfully submitted;


James C. Marshall, Librarian


Report of PLANNING BOARD


The town of Lynnfield has continued to grow at a rapid rate during 1956.


As in previous years the Planning Board made recommenda- tions to the Town on matters pertaining to zoning. Our recom- mendations are based on what we sincerely believe to be for the best interest of all the citizens of the Town, both present and future. We believe that the growth of the Town should follow a pattern consistent with good planning and not be dependent on the desires of people who are interested only in profit .


Unfortunately, on some occasions the recommendations of the Planning Board conflict with the desires of developers, and other individuals, who have plans that will allow them to obtain


the most profit from their investment, regardless of how ad- versely their plans may affect the other citizens of Lynnfield.


The amendments to the Zoning By-laws voted by the Town and approved by the Attorney General on February 23, 1954, were challenged by a group of citizens including some developers, and the Town was sued with the objective of having the amend- ments declared void. The decision of the Court was in favor of the Town and the Zoning By-laws remain as amended.


Those citizens of Lynnfield that were present at the ad- journed Town Meeting last March voted against the Planning Board recommendations on Article 41 and 43. The Planning Board believes that their recommendations were for the best in-


50


te


0 fu


TE


Z


terests of the Town. We also believe that if a sufficient number of unbiased voters has been present at this meeting and had been fully aware of the problems involved, they would have voted to follow the recommendations of the Board.


Article 41 of the March 1956 Warrant was for the purpose of rezoning a small area of land on Salem Street, adjacent to the site of the old South School, from a "Limited Business" to a "Residential Zone." This area should be "Residential ." It is zoned for "Limited Business" only because a small variety store had been located there for many years prior to the necessity of the Town's adopting adequate Zoning By-laws. If thisarea were rezoned to "Residential", it would have no effect on the op- eration of the variety store by the present or future owners of the property "unless and until abandoned for a period of one year . '


If the above area remains as a "Limited Business District", it can be used for any purpose permitted in this type of zone . with an entirely inadequate area and absolutely no provision for parking .


Article 43 of the March 1956 Warrant was for the purpose of rezoning an area at the junction of Route 1 and Salem Street from a "Residential " to a "Limited Business Zone." The Planning Board definitely recommended against the adoption of this change in zoning . This area included the land formerly occupied by the Lynnfield Post Office. The Post Office was relocated because of the inadequateness of parking facilities. A "Limited Business Area" located at the junction of two heavily travelled highways is a definite safety hazard and in every respect is against all good planning principles .


The major objective of a "Limited Business District" is to provide services "primarily for residents of the surrounding neigh- borhood." The Planning Board could not find any reason why a business for "residents of the surrounding neighborhood" should be located at the intersection of two main highways where parked automobiles would add to the already hazardous condition.


Those present at the adjourned Town Meeting voted to change this area to a "Limited Business District", and it now can be used for any purpose permitted in this type of district .


The Planning Board believes that the Town should purchase several areas for Parks or Playgrounds in different sections of the Town before all of the possible areas are developed into house lots. We do not believe that there is adequate land left for this purpose in some of the older sections, and strongly recommend that the articles proposed by the "Park and Playground Study Committee" in future Town Meeting Warrants be given the sup- port of the voters.


The Planning Board has inspected several of the paths and lanes on which some homes have been and are being built and believe that for the safety and convenience of the people of Lynnfield action should be taken to prevent additional building permits to be issued on ways that can never be made into ade-


quate width streets.


We have had representation at most of the "Board of Appeals" hearings. At these hearings we have generally objected to the granting of variances from the Zoning By-laws. In every case we have specifically stated the reasons why we do not believe a variance is justified. The Planning Board does not believe that the mistakes of past years should be perpetuated. Permits should not be issued to build houses on lots with insufficient area to take care of the sewage problem, particularly in areas already overcrowded. Permits should not be issued for homes to be built on narrow ways that can never be made into streets sufficiently wide for safety.


The necessity for adequate lot area for health reasons was pointed out in a recent article in a Boston newspaper regarding the Town of Randolph. The following remarks were made by Doctor F. Randolph Philbrook, Health Officer for the Town of Randolph:


"The poor sanitary condition of septic tanks and cess- pools in the town could favor the spread of virulent germ.


We feel that the Randolph polio rate in 1955, which was higher than any comparable community, may be directly connected to the poor sanitary condition. The number of houses close together in small lots and the poor percolation of cesspool runoff in our soil is a growing health danger in this town which has doubled its popula- tion in the past decade. "


Theodore N. Ferren, Chairman and the most experienced member, resigned from the Planning Board on June 30. Ted served the Town faithfully for many years, both as a member of the Planning Board and as a member of the Finance Committee. The remaining members of the Planning Board regretted that Ted's decision to resign could not be changed.


Mr. John E. Harriss was unanimously elected Chairman and Richard L. Hobbs, a former member of the Board, was appointed to replace Mr. Ferren until the 1957 election.


Mr. Robert Newton, Assistant Clerk of the Planning Board, was transferred by his employer to Puerto Rico. Miss Ruth P. Oliver acted as assistant clerk temporarily until Mrs. Helen Ross accepted the position .


The Planning Board granted 9 requests for Subdivisions con- sisting of 123 house lots and 2.1 miles of streets .


Respectfully submitted,


LYNNFIELD PLANNING BOARD


J. E. Harriss, Chairman F.R. D'Entremont, Clerk C.L. Burbank, Jr. R.L. Hobbs C.J. Osberg


51


Report of BOARD OF APPEALS


The Board of Appeals under the Zoning and Building By-laws held 20 public hearings during 1956.


Variances were granted to permit the erection of 15 dwellings, occupancy of 2 existing dwellings, 3 private garages and a garden tool house on lots where the area, street frontage and/or lot line clearances did not meet the minimum requirements of the Zoning By-law. One such appeal was denied, as was an appeal to per- mit two families to occupy a dwelling in a single residence district.


The Lynnfield Community Church was permitted to erect an addition at the rear of the church building closer to the side lot line than the Zoning By-law prescribes.


A request for a permit to remove gravel from land near the former State Forest was withdrawn after objections were voiced at a public hearing .


The Jenney Manufacturing Co. was refused permission to erect an addition to its service station at Lynnfield Square which would have constituted an extension of a non-conforming use and where the proposed set-back from Salem Street was less than that prescribed by the Zoning By-law.


The appeal of Renda's Market on Main Street for permission to install a third gasoline pump was withdrawn.


An appeal for a permit to erect an additional room to be used for hairdressing in a residence was withdrawn after the favorable decision by the Board was appealed to the Superior


Court .


Colonial Country Club was permitted to build an outdoor swimming pool (with restrictions governing its maintenance and use) and a building to house locker rooms, golf shop and grille.


Construction of a commercial greenhouse on a farm off Chestnut Street was permitted with restrictions as to size and use .


Zion Evangelistic Fellowship of Massachusetts was granted an occupancy permit authorizing it to continue to operate a rest home on Grove Street .


An appeal for a permit to erect a pre-fabricated house which does not comply with some requirements of the Building Code has been taken under advisement .


The decision of the Board in 1954 that the proposed use of property on the Newburyport Turnpike for the manufacture and retail sale of baked goods (with limitations governing the size of the building, etc.) was as a matter of law a permitted use in a General Business District, which was upheld by the Superior Court in 1955, was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court.


The Board collected $280 in fees and had expenses totaling $385.81.


Members


Glen R. Smith Hubert G. Wall, Secretary Eliot K. Grant, Chairman


Alternate Members Augustus S. True William K. Widger Malcolm V. Smith Theodore N. Ferren


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The Village Room


Heathers FOOD MART


LY 4. 301


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52


MARRIAGES


Date Place of Marriage FEBRUARY


Bride & Groom


Residence


Date Place of Marriage JUNE


Bride & Groom


Residence


11


Lynnfield


William H. White


Quincy


2 Lynnfield


Charles A. Jortberg


Lynn Lynn


12


Lynnfield


Angelo Rossi, Jr.


Boston


9


Lynnfield


Benjamin Gould Cox, Jr.


Lynnfield Wellesley


12


Lynnfield


Robert Moore


New York


10


Middleton


Fletcher Irving Oakes


Lynnfield


17


N.H.


Paul Warren Barrett


Reading


16


Everett


Norman A. Newhall


Lynnfield Everett


...


22


Lynnfield


Gerald R. Robinson


Lynn


16


Lynnfield


Adrien E. LeBlanc


Diane E. Crowell


Lynnfield


22


Saugus


Richard Dutton Pope Frances D. Nolan


MARCH


3


Lynnfield


Meridith H. Powell


Boston


23


Lynnfield


Richard F. MacWhorter


9


N.H.


Arthur True Buswell


Lynnfield


23


R.I.


Robert Francis McDavitt Dorothy Mary Cummings


10


Lynnfield


James Ernest Leone


Quincy


24


Lynnfield


George W. Starcher


N. Dakota


Mary Arlene Hayes


Lynnfield


Medway


30


Lynn


Harry E. Scribner, Jr. Janice Rose Smith


Lynnfield Lynnfield Lynn


24


Lynnfield


George H. Pilling


Lynn Lynr


JULY


7


Lynnfield


Terence E. Gibbons


Lynnfield


29


Lynnfield


Gordon C. Millar


Lynnfield


14


Lynnfield


Theodore C. Parady


Rockport


Magda C. Messerschmidt


Lynnfield


16


Lynnfield


Richard A. White


New York


APRIL 1


Lynnfield


Donald Emerson Worth Shirley Evelyn Edwards


Beverly


21


Lynnfield


Herbert N. Holbrook


Lynn


6 Lynn


Roger C. Lummus, Jr.


Lynnfield


21


Lynnfield


Robert E. Bernardin


Metheun


Grace A. Mutrux


Lynn


7 Melrose


Edwin C. Weeks


Lynnfield


Melrose


AUGUST


8


Lynnfield


Robert M. Aldenberg


Wakefield


4 Wakefield


James E. Beherrell


Lynnfield Wakefield


14


Lynnfield


Salvatore V. Barrile


Waltham


4 Chelsea


James E. Peddle


Lynnfield Chelsea


14


Lynnfield


Ann Patricia Wilkie Alfred J. Francullo Lorraine M. Long


Lynn


4 Needham


William B. Puffer


Lynnfield


14 Boston


Robert A. Dwight


Lynnfield


9 Greenfield


Byron Otis Bush, Jr. Doris E. Steward


Lynnfield Lynnfield Wakefield


15


Lynnfield


John Alden Reed


Maine


11


N.H.


John Francis Donegan Annette Marie Haling Jack Terry Evjy


Lynnfield


28


Lynnfield


Charles Dexter Taylor, Jr. Helen Marie Moore


Lynnfield


24


Lynnfield


Ruth Hamilton Burke


Lynnfield Saugus


MAY 20 Lynn


Bernard J. McCadden


Saugus


26


Woburn


David Harry Palmer


Lynnfield


Tora Elizabeth Johnson


Wakefield


26 Fiskdale


Robert L. Cusick


Lorraine I. Menard


Sturbridge


SEPTEMBER


27


Lynn


Lawrence M. Ross


Lynnfield


1


Lynnfield


Robert E. Anderson, Jr. Diane June Dalton


No. Reading Lynnfield


24


Lynnfield


Warren C. Carberg, Jr. Carol M. Roberts


Martha Vera Shea


24


Wakefield


Willard M. Wing


Lynnfield


Wakefield


Loretta R. Foglietta


Lynnfield


Patricia A. Toomey


Boston


Anne M. Connary


Lynn


Lynnfield


Florence F. Stier


Lynn


Gloria Chadbourne


Lynn


Waltham


Sara Jane Phillips


Nancy Wolcott Speer


Needham


Lynnfield


Margaret L. Flaherty


Boston


Waltham


N. Carolina


25


Lynnfield


George V. Williams


Patricia A. Donovan


Lynn


Carolyn G. Taylor


Lynnfield Lynnfield


Lillian Ida Stadolnick


Lynn


Kathleen M. O'Brien


Nancy J. Latheau


Peabody


Lynn


Danvers


Mabel E. Jewett


Middleton


Jean Frances Malenson


Lynnfield


Phyllis H. Howell


Saugus


Thelma Tangredi


Saugus


Lynnfield Lynn Winthrop Lynnfield Lynnfield Rhode Island


Constance Allen


Lynnfield


Marianne C. Ricci


Barbara Marie Maguire




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