USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1923 > Part 3
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22
Instructor
Reading
21 Shoemaker
Reading
21 Shoemaker
Reading
27 Heating Engineer
Reading
Stenographer
Reading
21 Lincoln Tucker Prescott Elizabeth Tyler Carter
39
Clerk
Wakefield
57 Janitor
Lowell
32 Gold Plater
Reading
22 Rubber Worker
Reading
19 Shoeworker
Reading
14 Ralph E. Hunnewell Josephine C. Flanagan
15 Morris Anthony Tucker Dorothy Mildred Currell
19 Ralph Alexander Gray Alvina Elizabeth Gay
31
MARRIAGES REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date
Names
Age Occupation
Residence
19
Jesse Nason Hutchinson Florence (Leighton)
53
Janitor
Reading
Dickenson
53
At home
Cambridge
22
Peter Arsenault Obelin Peters
19
Millhand
Reading
26 Norman L. Rand Margaret F. Porter
19
Auto Mechanic
Kennebunk, Me.
22 At home
Reading
29 James McLellan Ruth White
21
Shipper
Winchester
19 Millhand
Reading
May
7 Thomas Peabody Johnson Florence Louise Pedersen
37
Housekeeper
Melrose
12 Henry F. Bowes
42 Spreader
Melrose
Agnes May Burns
42
At home
Reading
16 Joseph Louis Marchetti Helen Carolyn Burns
22 Shoe worker
Wakefield
20 Michael John McGrath Julie Alice Gallant 21 Rubber Worker
Reading
24 William H. Manning Lillian M. Bancroft
51 Weigher
Reading
49 Housewife
Reading
June
1 Whitman Irving Freeman Florence Morgan Anthony
24 Organ Pipe Maker
Reading
22 At home
Reading
2 Arthur Henry Stock Martha C. Henry
21 At home
Reading
4 George W. Gile
26 Engineer
Dorchester
Phyllis E. M. Towle
23
Housekeeper
Reading
25 Physician
Reading
26 Teacher
Lawrence
67 Retired
Peterboro, N. H.
10 John Louis Lefave
25 Moulder
Everett
Mabel Marie Doucette
18 Housework
Reading
30 Chauffeur
Stoneham
34 At home
Reading
12 J. D. Murray Sutherland Georgia M. Finnegan
28
Pianist
Boston
16 Isaac Chase Grace W. Eaton
49 Necktie Worker
Reading
39 Accountant
Reading
20 Leslie Cox Hadley Annie S. Doucette
18 Packer
Wilmington
23 Alan B. Campbell Carolyn E. Buxton
28 Wool Salesman
East Milton
23 Carl W. Batchelder Elva J. Clyde
25 Teacher
Woburn
24 Fish Handler
Reading
16 Weaver
Reading
30 Louis Davis Priscilla Twombly
30 Insurance
Reading
22 Teacher
Reading
56
Trainman
Reading
22 Inspector
Reading
29 Rubber Worker
Andover
19 Millhand
Reading
7 Harold Vanderelst Williams Elise Brecker
9 Forrest G. Field Helen M. Bearse
50 Housekeeper Peterboro, N. H.
11 Wilfred E. Pratt Marion Wiswall Crafts
28 Brakeman
Reading
50 Mechanic
Reading
17 Daniel Cullinane Margaret H. Condon
36 At home
Dorchester
22 Chauffeur
Reading
27 At home
Reading
22 Machinist
Boston
24 Frank S. Burke Mabel C. Smith
26
Painter
Reading
32
MARRIAGES REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date Names
Age Occupation
Residence
July
1 Joseph Patrick Morris
23 Rubber Worker
Reading
Martha Muise
18 Brush Worker
Reading
4 Walter B. Kimball
44 Salesman
Reading
Marie R. Brown
22 Telephone Operator
Medford
7 David James Martin
22
Mechanic
Reading
Ethel Althea Stevens
20
At home
Reading
21 George Gilbert Asnault Florence Sophia Barton
21
Carpenter
Reading
28 Albert Charles Goodwin Elsie May Hobby
28
Dentist Assistant
Reading
29 Francis L. Sullivan Dorothy Ethel Short
22
Ironworker
Reading
20 At home
Malden
30 Henry Stephen Peterson
43 Hair Dresser
Reading
Kathryn Eileen Quinn
40 Milliner
Woburn
Aug.
9 Frederick Handel Clark Clara I. Richardson
49 Salesman
Reading
39 Clerk
Reading
15 Loris Johnston Smith Pearl Elizabeth Moore
27
Bookkeeper
Reading
15 Charles W. Shute Bertha M. Reynolds
34
Machinist
Hyde Park
18 Howard Henry Gaskill Alice Storey Hardcastle
21
Arlington
21 Clerk
Reading
21 At home
Swampscott
18 Robert Fairchild Elder Ethel Maynard Churchill
21
Chem. Engineer
Los Angeles, Cal.
22 At home
Lynn
19 George Thomas Hickey Elizabeth Loretta Meuse
22
Fisherman
Reading
17 Housework
Reading
19 Daniel Lawrence Reardon Gladys Augusta Surrette
27
Chauffeur
Wakefield
20 Lawrence Lyman Horton Marion Preston MacDougall
21
Stenographer Reading
Asst. Supt.
New York, N. Y.
21 George Washington Hoyt Elsie Moran
38
Nurse Springfield, Vt.
Clerk Reading
Yarmouth, N. S.
25 Printer
Reading
23 Frank Shaw O'Brien Delia Frances Riley
25 Graduate Nurse
Reading
28 John A. Boyd
62 Engineer
Reading
Margaret A. French
52 Hairdresser
Woburn
Sept.
2 John Harry Muise
Mary Phoebe Surette
23 Waitress
Wilmington
2 Christopher Knight
37 Teamster
Reading
Mary Meuse
42 Housekeeper
Reading
5 John O'Malley
32 Rubber Worker
Reading
Anna Conlin
32 At home
Reading
55 Laundry Salem
5 George Wilbur Hooper Rebekah Louisa Bruorton 40 Teacher
Reading
24
Bookkeeper
Wakefield
27
Arlington
18 Robert S. Granfield Eleise Cobb
22
At home
Reading
17 Packer
Wilmington
29
Merchant
Reading
22 Stenographer 28 Foreman
Reading
Brighton
$3 Warren Foster Charles Katherine Villa Skinner
27
35 Dressmaker
19 Stone Mason
Reading
32
33
MARRIAGES REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date
Names
Age Occupation
Residence
12 Levi Reynolds Gladys Cail Foster
27
U. S. Mail Clerk
Reading
26
At home
Reading
16 Carl Spencer Cook Eleanor Elizabeth Purtell
29
Brakeman
Reading
16 Arthur Leo Redmond
26 Chef Montreal, Can.
Blanche Veronica Colford
25 At home
Reading
22 Herbert Austin Brackett, Jr. Gladys Linn Whaley 23 Stenographer Salesman 21
Reading
22 Russell Lowell Sawyer Hortense Douglas Solomon
23 Bookkeeper
Reading
20 Chemist
Reading
22 Harold Miner Rogers Hattie Olivia Newcomb
19 At home
Stoneham
23 Cotton Salesman
Reading
26 Robert Reuben Sewell Katherine Purnell
22 At home
Scituate
27 Theodore Wright Turner Alice Marion Coles
18 At home
Reading
Oct.
1 George Eli Gadbois Mary Marguerite Amirault
26 Shoeworker
Reading
30 Housework
Reading
1 William Edwin Johnson Blanche Louise Glover
34 At home
Melrose
3 Harry Sumner Wright Margaret Jane Matheson 40 Nurse
Reading
12 Carroll Edward Valentine Nellie Philena Whitmore
34 Teacher
Seal Harbor, Me.
17 John J. Ferrick Hannah Bowen
31 28 Highway Dept. Domestic
Reading
17 William James Scanlon Florence Cecilia O'Connell
25 Meat Cutter
Reading
18 Edward Joseph Muise
27 Bowling &
Billiard Prop.
Annapolis Royal, N. S.
21
Mary Madeline Amero Wilfra Louis Swindlehurst, Jr. 27 Margaret Theresa Carney
Salesman
Melrose
24 Knitter
Reading
24 Francis Timothy Slack Mary M. Desmond
30 Police Officer
Reading
28 Clerk
Reading
26 John Woodbury Harrison Bertha Elizabeth Ward
21 Stenographer
Reading
30 Abraham Lipson
23 Clerk
Roxbury
Lillian Menovich
23
Clerk
Reading
Nov.
2 Everett W. McLeod,
Grace Mildred Richardson
18 Salesgirl
Reading
2 Harold S. Stevens
20 Student
Reading
Ella Gertrude Lovering
18 Stenographer
Reading
4 John Leander Muse Sylvia White
27 Shoemaker
Wakefield
24 Machine Operator
Reading
61 Carpenter
Boston
17 Vincent Leslie Mary Etta (Proctor) Thompson 58 Housework
24 Hamlet Richardson Bancroft Jennie Verena Bradley 38 Clerk
41 Shipper
Reading
Roxbury
No. Cambridge
23 Clerk
Reading
43 Conductor
Reading
54 Plumber
Reading
29 Elec. Engineer
Pittsburg, Pa.
Reading
23 Bookkeeper
Andover
22 Housework Reading
21 Carpenter
Reading
21 Milkman -
Reading
19 Garage Helper
No. Reading
Reading
18 Rubber Worker
Dorchester
34
MARRIAGES REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date Names
Age Occupation
Residence
25 Jerome Downing Sara Duff
41 Farmer
Wilmington
38 Housekeeper
Reading
25 William Lewis Mellen Mary Christine Devaney
25 Printer
Reading
22 Stenographer
Stoneham
26 Ernest William Meuse Annie Mildred Frotten
19 Shoemaker
Stoneham
18 Stenographer
Reading
Dec.
15 Clayton Alward Tracy Mildred Olive Bennett
26
Steamfitter
Reading
24 At home
Reading
35
DEATHS REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date
Name
Y M D Cause of Death
Jan.
4 Grace F. Jones
29
9
26
Acidosis
7
9 Pearl V. Gaffney
0
9
22
Pneumonia
11
Benjamin G. Jones
59
6
11
Indigestion
11 Theresa F. Lynch
35
1
28
Embolism
11 Earl Joseph Birchall
0
0
3
Stenosis
14
16 Myer A. Esner
54
Angina Pectoris
16 Alfred B. Smith
62
2
17
Pneumonia
18 Caleb F. Stevens
84
4
27
Apoplexy
20 Edward F. Golladay
39
6
15 Pneumonia
24 Laura C. Dunbar
36
6
16 Tuberculosis
24 Lillian Whitefield
83
0
30
Pneumonia
28 Theresa M. Gray
39
0
20
Tuberculosis
Feb.
8 Timothy J. Cummings
65
Carcinoma
8 Peter Cunningham
80
8
25
Arterio Sclerosis
10 Mary B. Glidden
70
9
4
Cancer
12 Thomas B. Middlebrook
69
0
1
Heart Disease
14
15 Ellen Maguire
58
Hemorrhage
19 Margaret M. Donahue
0
0
1
Hemorrhage
19
24 Russell C. Wade
19
10
9
Pneumonia
26 Alphonse Bertrand
73
0
8 Hemorrhage
Mar.
1 Thomas J. Mathews
42
3 23
Volvulus
2
3 Nathaniel Farrant
60
6 8 Phthisis
7 Elizabeth H. Belcher
1
0 13
Fistula
7 Mary L. Perry
79
2
13
Myocarditis
8 James A. Bancroft
88
8 13 Hypertrophy
10 Clara J. Wadsworth
34
8 1 Pneumonia
10 Thomas F. Turner
32
11
10 Tuberculosis
13 George V. Hickman
15
1
4
Endocarditis
13 William A. Stevens
86
7
22
Nephritis
14 Elizabeth F. Whitney
79
7
7 Hemorrhage
16 Abby C. Clark
91
8
4 Heart Disease
17 Mary C. Richardson
69
6
25
Pneumonia Carcinoma
23 Lucy A. Mack
73
0
6
25 Peter Doucette
48
7
4 Accidental Burns
27 Marion Meuse
4
8
15
Heart Failure
29 Everett B. Richardson
74
6
11
Heart Disease
29 Delia A. Knight
55
3
17
Nephritis
Apr.
1 William E. Pollard
70
9 24 Carcinoma
3 Anna Smith
66
1 22
Carcinoma
6 Lavinia Myers
78
1 27
Arterio Sclerosis
-
-
-
1
9
Pneumonia
9 Francis E. Doucette
36
DEATHS REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date
Name
YM
D Cause of Death
11 Minnie Fratus
43
9
-
Automobile Accident
12 Alice Barrows
65
4
26
Myocarditis
13 Clarissa J. Brown
85
10
12
Carcinoma
14 Leonard T. Eames
68
9
7
Obstructing Prostate
18 Mary G. Turner
39
4
5
Tuberculosis
22 George A. Smith
72
1
1 Paralysis
22 Julia A. Michelini
51
8
13
Pneumonia
27
Thomas L. Putnam
81
6
18
Myocarditis
27 Sarah A. Jones
88
Apoplexy
May
3 Mary A. O'Connor
4
9
29
Endocarditis
17 Susan A. Thompson
64
5
24
Anaemia
20 Jane A. Cummings
94
2
0 Arterio Sclerosis
21 Rachel A. Coggin
81
11
3 Myocarditis
24 Frederick W. Allen
54
21
Gastric Ulcer
27 Dohert Lavery
2
8
Asidosis
June
2 Charles H. Moore
81
6 12
Hemorrhage
6 Lizzie M. Poock
67
25
Myocarditis
6 John W. Perry
30
8
19
Phthisis
6 Catherine Meekins
52
3 28 Hemorrhage
9 Ivar Gustavson
28
9
4 Motorcycle Accident
12 Arthur C. Copeland
73
10
17 Arterio Sclerosis
13 Aaron F. Prichard
21
10
14 Automobile Accident
18 Mary E. Burgess
88
10
1 Carcinoma
18 Walter J. Bailey
52
6 16
Myocarditis
19 John Fitzpatrick
1
1
5
Broncho-Pneumonia
20 Mary E. Castine
1
5
18
Gastritis
21 Flora E. Cook
48
9
21
Epilepsy
21 Carl M. Johnson
58
0
25
Hemorrhage
22 Franz C. Baumann
34
6
16
Cancer
24
28
John MacMonagle
60
4
5
Pancreatitis
July
11 Charles Kaiser
50
Heart Disease
12 Ellen Morrison
77
6
1
Exhaustion
12 Enoria M. Walsh
53
2
6 Arterio Sclerosis
15 Marion V. Kimball
14
3
2
Heart Disease
19 John C. Phinney
71
2
20
Sclerosis
Aug.
1
9 James L. Castine
4
5
26
Pneumonia
19 Ellen A. Lerned
63
3 17 Embolism
22 Stephen Muse
48
10 - Embolism
23 Elizabeth L. Sawyer
73
11 10 Hemorrhage
23 R. Dexter Clapp
70
6 25 Arterio Sclerosis
23 George Parslow
78
8 2 Heart Disease
26 Mary E. Sewall
72
- 8 Uremia
-
-
16 Alice M. Spiller
24 Congenital Heart
37
DEATHS REGISTERED IN TOWN OF READING FOR YEAR 1923
Date
Name
Y M D Cause of Death
Sept.
5 Lewis M. Bancroft
71
9
5
Hemorrhage
6
10 Clara Schiena
4
8
Marasmus
12 Annie J. Bancroft
65
13
Hemorrhage
16 Caroline E. Adams
80
4
27
Myocarditis
16 Robert B. Weston
43
14
Myelitis
17 Edward E. Rudolph
45
5
1 Alcoholism
20 Elizabeth E. Cummings
57
11 13 Carcinoma
21 Sarah A. Pitman
79
6
14 Heart Disease
23
Eugene W. Clark
79
20
Hemorrhage
28 Mary H. Richardson
89
9
19
Intestinal Obstruction
Oct.
3 John E. Fox
78
4
4
Heart Disease
3 Endocia V. MacMonagle
60
4
12
Cancer
10 Alfred W. Danforth
79
11
11
Heart Disease
10 Mary M. Cullinane
44
1
10 Tuberculosis
16 William F. Ployer
14 Hemorrhage
17 Clarence Tucker
55
8
7 Pneumonia
24 Anna M. Sargent
64
- Diabetes
28
Patrick Leary
58
3
23
Pneumonia
29 Dionis Weber
90
5
28
Myocarditis
Nov.
3 Adelaide M. Gentner
55
16
22
Pneumonia
4 Sarah S. Trask
85
23
Bronchitis
12 William N. Fletcher
94
6
8
Myocarditis
24 Mary J. Flint
85
2
4 Hemorrhage
Dec.
1 Chester W. Brown
42
1
14
Tuberculosis
5 Albert P. Damon
87
5
27
Hemorrhage
14 Katherine V. Turner
18
7
6 Tuberculosis
16 Samuel R. Abbott
70
2 29 Cancer
17 Arabella Davis
50
7 Carcinoma
18 Nahum M. Nickerson
57
7
1 Angina Pectoris
18 Hattie L. Smith
63
1
8 Carcinoma
20 Kenney C. Lowell
82
4
29 Pneumonia
21 Rena F. Doucette
1
7
2 Bronchitis
29 Mary E. Lord
83
7 20
Carcinoma
29 Alice F. Hunt
62
3 17 Hemorrhage
-
25
38
1
THIRD ANNUAL REPORT BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS
The report of our Superintendent sets forth the activities of the departments operating under the direction of this Board.
Expenditures of each department are set forth in complete detail and we invite careful attention to these expenditures and to the results obtained.
Some improvement will be noted in the use of sewers by property owners to whom they are available, but we must again urge the prompt connection of property abutting on sewers now laid as a duty which the owners owe to the community.
The Water Department has been on a self-supporting basis during the year, and has also paid all construction charges from available receipts. For the years 1924 and 1925 bond maturities are heavy and this depart- ment will be restricted in expenditures for Service Extensions.
We are recommending a beginning on drainage work for 1924, for which plans have been completed, and on which substantial expenditures should be made annually to gradually complete this most important and necessary improvement.
We feel that the condition of our streets is gradually improving, and that such improvement will continue from year to year, if the programme which has been established is followed with patience and persistence.
Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH W. BOOTH, GEORGE H. CLOUGH, Chairman, JOHN W. OWEN, CHARLES VAN STONE, CLARENCE C. WHITE, Sec'y,
Board of Public Works.
1
39
ORGANIZATION
George H. Clough, Chairman
Term expires 1925
C. C. White, Secretary
1924
Joseph W. Booth
66 1926
Charles Van Stone
66
1924
John W. Owen
66
66 1925
Harry B. Collins, Supt. L. M. Cook, Clerk
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT Edward Crowe, Supt.
WATER AND SEWER DEPARTMENTS Frank Strout, Chief Engineer, P. S. Grover Eaton, 1st Assistant P. S. George Putnam, Foreman Water Dept. Alex Richmond, Foreman Sewer Dept. C. J. Jaquith, Clerk Water Dept.
PARK DEPARTMENT The work of this department was carried on by the men of the above departments.
40
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT
December 31, 1923.
To the Board of Public Works:
Gentlemen: As required by Section 4, Chapter 118, of an Act author- izing the Town of Reading to establish a Board of Public Works, I most respectfully submit for your consideration, the third annual report of the Department of Public Works, the Highway, Water, Sewer and Park, including a financial report of each department, and a chronicle of the principal work performed with recommendations for the coming year.
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Appropriations and Balances.
1. Voted in March Town Meeting for highway maintenance $ 50,000.00
2. Removal of snow and ice. 7,500.00
3. Cleaning drainage ditches
3,000.00
4. Balance to be spent on Survey and
plans for Special Drainage
System
2,500,00
5. Balance to be spent on sidewalk No. Main St. 175.06
6. Balance to be spent on Forest St.
307.54
7. Balance to be spent on South St. ..
538.08
Total
$ 64,020.68
Expenditures and Balance of the above appropriations.
1. Appropriation for Highway Main- tenance
$ 50,000.00
Pay Roll Distribution :
1. General $ 3,654.92
Maintenance 5,719.60
3. Catch Basins 299.31
4. Gutters
739.33
5. Drains and Culverts
778.85
6. K. P. Patching
933.92
7. Repairs to equipment 555.86
8. Shop 731.14
9. Burning Leaves 153.09
10. Crushing Stone 327.77
11. Cutting Brush 399.62
41
12. Sidewalks 486.89
13. Sand Pit
185.65
14. Gravel Pit
40.13
15. Miscellaneous 2.86
$15,008.94
Bills :
1. General Repairs $ 3,584.97
2. Tools and Supplies 985.42
3. Oil and Gasoline 856.48
4. 45% Asphalt Oil
2,776.71
5. 65% Asphalt Oil
525.19
6. Bermudez and Texas Asphalt
680.00
7. Tarvia A
300.00
8. Tarvia B
10,059.38
9. Tarvia X
2,287.50
10. Tarvia K. P.
742 99
11. Crushed Stone 2,471.81
12. Hauling Stone
559.78
13. Freight and Express
109.86
14. Sidewalk Construction
4,018.74
15. Municipal Light Dept.
52. 12
16. Telephone
55.35
17. Printing
125.45
18. Drain Construction
313.00
19. Ford Runabout 352.08
20. Tractor
1,410.00
21. Miscellaneous
1,759.92
$34,026.75
Total
$ 49,035.69
Balance, unexpended
$ 964.31
2. Appropriation for the removal of Snow and Ice. $ 7,500.00
Expended :
1. Pay Roll $ 3,682.12
2. Cost of snow plowing 2,448.50
3. Repairs to equipment 626.12
4. Gasoline 288.74
5. Miscellaneous 429.08
Total
7,474.56
Balance unexpended
$ 25.44
3. Appropriation for Cleaning Drain- age Ditches
$ 3,000.00
42
Expended :
1. Pay Roll $ 263.15
2 Bills (Outside labor and ma- terials) 2,439.04
Total
2,702.19
Balance, unexpended
$ 297.81
4. Appropriation for Survey and Plans for Special Drainage .... Expended :
$ 2,500.00
1. Barbour & Dixon, Engineers
$
1,500.00
Balance, unexpended
$
1,000.00
5. Balance to be spent on sidewalk No. Main St.
$ 175.06
(No expenditures in 1923)
6. Balance to be spent on Forest St. (No expenditures in 1923)
$ 307.54
7. Balance to be spent on South St. (No expenditures in 1923)
$
538. 08
TOTALS
Items
Appropriations Expenditures
Balance
Balance carried to 1924
1.
$50,000.00
$49,035.69
964.31
2.
7,500.00
7,474.56
25.44
3.
3,000.00
2,702.19
297.81
4.
2,500.00
1,500.00
1,000.00
$1,000.00
5.
175.06
175.06
175.06
6.
307.54
307.54
307,54
7.
538.08
538.08
538.08
$64.020.68
$60,712.44
$3,308.24
$2,020.68
As may be seen by the distribution account in the item of snow and ice, a much larger expenditure was necessary this past year, to keep the sidewalks and roads open for traffic.
With the added concentrated weight of trucking and pleasure vehi . cles, the condition of the Highways in the spring is due largely to the formation of ruts, which prevents the distribution of these concentrated loads over the entire wearing surface. The constant rasping of chains, necessary for traction, is another element which tears to pieces the rain- coat blanketing which is constructed to keep moisture from the surface.
The demand for better road conditions during all seasons of the year due to the unprecedented growth of the use of the automobile is
43
for an ideal type of road to be available immediately. Because the National Government and numerous State Legislatures have authorized the expenditure of staggering amounts for roads, (ideal roads), in no way indicates that it is practical for communities such as the Town of Reading to enter upon such a construction program which is too expen- sive for the average town, and hence a common sense course should pre- vail.
Road building is a process which requires time to perfect. The problem which confronts the Board of Public Works is the construc- tion of roads in such a manner as will insure the greatest possible amount of service, taking into consideration the original cost of the construction, and the cost of maintenance. Every road, no matter what type it may be, requires constant care and attention to keep it in good condition. With this in view, the Board of Public Works more than doubled the quantity of heavy road tar applied last year, since it was to their best judgment a type of road best suited to the financial con- dition and practical needs of the Town.
In general our roads may be divided into three classes: (a) main roads or truck lines ; (b) connecting roads ; and (c) local feeders or resi- dential roads. It is clear that each of these classes will require different treatment. It is perhaps not quite so clear that the same also holds true in general for each of the several roads of the same class, and often for even the several sections of any given road. Each road and every sec- tion of any road should be improved with that type of surfacing which will best answer the traffic requirements at the least total annual outlay, construction and maintenance after completion considered.
Every type of road surfacing has a fairly definite value or ability to render service under a given condition and a corresponding cost. A gravel road in the right place is as good as a brick road where brick or other material is required, and because of the difference of price, a great deal better than a brick road would be, where only gravel is act- ually required.
The orderly and economic execution of any improvement of roads is dependent, first, on the existence of a definite and well ordered plan for the work to be done, and second, on a properly organized and di- rected force equipped for carrying out the work as planned.
Bearing these thoughts in mind, the Board of Public Works laid out a well defined program for the coming year, and upon investigating the rolling equipment of the Department, deemed it wise to purchase a new autocar chassis, to replace the first one bought by the Town four years ago. Before the snow and ice were gone the equipment was thoroughly overhauled and put in order.
As soon as the weather permitted all catch basins were cleaned, a gen- eral inspection of existing drains made, and road surfaces which had be- gun to break up during the winter months were patched.
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44
On account of the excessive amount of melting snow, it was found that the old stone culverts on Haverhill St. north of Charles and on Charles St. between Pearl and Wakefield, had become badly clogged which kept the water from running off, thus flooding considerable areas. At these two places 30-inch expanded metal culverts replaced the old stone ones which were, upon opening, found to be in very poor and dangerous condition. While the service drain which runs from the junction of Eaton and Elm, up under Pleasant and then through Me- morial Park, was being ditched, it was found that the old stone culvert on Pleasant St. proved to be also in very poor shape and that too was replaced by a 30-inch expanded metal pipe. A short drain was laid and two catch basins were constructed on Pleasant St. to take care of the sur- face water running from Middle St. east. While repairing a ground water leak in the main sewer on Eaton St., it was noted that the old stone culvert was practically filled and that the sidewalls were in a dangerous condition. This culvert was replaced by one of reinforced concrete ac- cording to the plans and specifications of the new drainage system which the Board had received from Mr. Barbour's office. On account of the ever pressing work of the Highway Department, Mr. John Williams was given this work to attend to, assisted by men from the Highway and Water Departments.
Another 8-inch drain with a catch basin at the end, was constructed on South Main St. from the brook which runs along by Newhouse's Fill . ing Station, to a point 200 feet south, to take care of surface water which stands on the sidewalk during rainy weather. Other drains, ditches and culverts about town have been repaired and cleaned. The appropriation for this purpose another year should be half again as large as the Department had this, to carry on necessary work.
The Department started its road work on May 2nd, on Mineral St., west of the Mineral St. bridge. During the course of the year 38,509 gallons of 45% alphalt oil was used for dust preventative on the less traveled streets; 5,056 gallons of 65% asphalt oil and 80,475 gallons of tarvia B on streets more traveled than those where the oil had been applied. The above applications covered an approximate area of 477,- -
554 square yards, at an average of 3.85 gallons per square yard. It is interesting to note that 85% more area was covered this year than last, and to give a clearer idea of the amount of road surface covered with the quantity of tarvia and oil which we used, one might say that it would cover a 40 foot street 33.92 miles long with a road bed of 24 feet, 5 feet on each side used as a sidewalk, and 3 feet for tree lawns. In covering the tarvia approximately 525 loads of sand were hauled from the sand pit.
To some extent the gravel bank on Mishawam Road, Woburn, has been used to build up on different streets, the old road surfaces which were very badly worn.
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On account of the time taken to do the above work the amount of semi-permanent construction has not been as great as that accomplished last year. The following, however, has been done by the Department. The shoulders of Lowell St. carried out to the full width on both sides from Middlesex Ave. to Lowell St. Bridge; the east shoulder of West St. from the Town line to the entrance of L. B. Lewis estate; that por- tion of Woburn St. between Main and Lowell, running through the Common; and east of the car tracks on Lowell between Main and Wo- burn; the rear entrance drive to the Municipal Building, and the Main St. entrance to Laurel Hill Cemetery from Main St. to the Tomb. The total area covered is approximately 8,700 square yards at an average cost of $0.89 per square yard.
The north side of Middlesex Ave. and a portion of West Street have been seal coated. The materials used in the above work were 21,- 100 gallons of tarvia X, 2,400 gallons tarvia A, 2,000 gallons of 96% asphalt, 2,000 gallons of Bermudez asphalt, and 1,706.74 tons of dif- ferent grades of stone hauled mostly by the Department trucks. 121.40 tons of stone have been used in patching about Town, and 588.19 tons for sidewalk maintenance. This latter work was very much needed and was on the following sidewalks :- Main St. from Salem to Ridge Road; Salem St. from Lowell to Winter; a part of Temple St .; Hill Crest Road, Union, Middle, High, Pierce, Belmont, Warren Ave., John St. from Salem to Pleasant, and Pleasant St. from the Square to Manning St.
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