USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1939 > Part 8
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112
Oil burners
98
Additional tenements
6
New houses
55
Ranges
39
Water heaters
8
Commercial motors
17
Old houses wired
6
Gasoline pumps
6
Temperature controls
5
Signs
13
Carnivals
1
Commercial refrigerators
4
Hen houses
4
Beauty parlors
1
Commercial fans
2
Garage door openers
1
Coal stokers
3
Municipal Light building
1
Pearl St. Schoolhouse
1
Fire repairs
4
Total permits issued
387
Re-inspections
264
Total inspections for year 651
Following is a list of complaints registered and investigated :
Wiring condemned for fires
4
Violations to electrical code
14
Notices to State Examiners 4
Working without license
2
Working without permit
5
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On January 3, 1939 a permit was taken out to wire the new Pearl Street School for which it was necessary to make 71 inspections of the wiring and apparatus during the construction of this building until the final approval on December 23, 1939. I wish to take this opportunity
87
to thank those who assisted in making this school one of the finest school electrical jobs in the vicinity, and also to thank the School Com- mittee for their co-operation on this project.
In conclusion, I wish to thank the honorable Board of Selectmen for their co-operation throughout the year and also those who have notified me of any existing hazardous wiring so that it could be cor- rected. It is my hope that there will be more of this notification so that considerable poor wiring could be corrected before any great harm is done. I also wish to thank any and all others who have assisted in any way in the successful conduct of this office throughout the past year.
Respectfully submitted, ALBERT C. MAXWELL, Inspector of Wires
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF FIRE ALARM
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen
Gentlemen :
I herewith submit my report for the year of 1939.
A 22 conductor underground cable has been installed on Woburn street from Washington street to Pratt street. Due to the widening of Haven street the cable from Linden street to High was re-run in new conduits. New street construction at Lowell, Grove and Willow streets and on Washington street caused an unforseen expense of lay- ing conduits which made necessary a transfer to the appropriation for this department.
Four new boxes were added to the system and many more are needed to properly cover the town. Many of the older street boxes should be replaced and more box circuits added to allow less boxes per circuit.
To follow a W. P. A. plan for laying of conduits and removal of overhead lines a larger appropriation will be necessary for underground cables in 1940.
I wish to thank the Honorable Board for their co-operation and all who have assisted this department.
Respectfully submitted, HUGH L. EAMES, Superintendent of Fire Alarm.
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REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF ANIMALS
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen
Reading, Massachusetts
Gentlemen :
I herewith submit my report as Inspector of Animals for the year 1939.
On January 1, 1940 there were approximately 394 head of neat ani- mals in the town.
The number of animals inspected were :
Cattle
219
Swine 137
Goats 32
Sheep 6
There were 36 cases of dog bites reported and of this number none were affected with rabies.
Respectfully submitted, BERNARD SCHIMPFKE, Inspector of Animals
REPORT OF DOG OFFICER
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen
Gentlemen :
January 1, 1940 Reading, Massachusetts
I hereby submit my report as Dog Officer to December 31, 1939. I have canvassed the town to see that all dogs were licensed. Unlicensed and strayed dogs have been found and disposed of as follows :
289 have been destroyed.
42 returned to owners.
69 hens destroyed by dogs.
3 pigs destroyed by dogs.
4 turkeys destroyed by dogs.
1 rabbit destroyed by dogs.
472 complaints investigated
29 dogs killed by autos.
1 case prosecuted for hit and run-fined $20.00.
At this time I wish to thank the Police Department and the Court for their assistance to me.
Respectfully submitted, CHARLES H. MELENDY, Dog Officer
89
REPORT OF BOARD OF HEALTH
To the Citizens of Reading :
There were one hundred nine contagious diseases reported during the year 1939.
Chicken Pox
13
Dog Bite
39
Erysipelas
1
Lobar Pneumonia
6
Measles
20
Mumps
6
Scarlet Fever
6
Streptococcus
2
Tuberculosis
6
Typhoid
4
Whooping Cough
6
Number of Deaths
82
Male
Female
33
3 were between
90 and 100
17 were between
80 and 90
26 were between 70 and 80
17 were between 60 and 70
50 and
60
1 was between
30 and 40
2 were between
20 and 30
2 were between
10 and 20
4 were between
and 10
Respectfully submitted,
E. M. HALLIGAN, M. D.
R. B. SHEPARDSON, M. D.
C. F. ATKINSON
Board of Health
REPORT OF BUILDING INSPECTOR
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen Gentlemen :
I hereby submit my report for the year 1939.
The building construction for the past year was as follows : 1 new schoolhouse at an estimated cost of $159,000.00 1 new office building and salesroom at an estimated cost of 10,000.00 55 new one family dwellings at an estimated cost of 202,100.00
90
49
6 were between
4 were between 40 and 50
24 alterations and additions to dwellings at an estimated cost of 9,310.00
13 new private garages at an estimated cost of
3,375.00
1 new filling station.
1 new nursery stockhouse.
1 new diner.
1 new storehouse.
1 new shelter.
4 new henhouses.
1 new clock sign.
1 new greenhouse.
8 alterations and additions to various buildings. Estimated cost of the above building construction $ 30,345.00
Total estimated cost of all building construction $414,130.00 Number of permits granted, 113.
Fees received for building permits, $352.00.
Respectfuly submitted, A. RUSSELL BARNES, Building Inspector
REPORT OF INSPECTOR OF PLUMBING
To the Board of Health
Gentlemen :
I herewith submit my report for the year ending December 31, 1939.
Number of permits granted
106
Number of fixtures installed
571
Bath tubs
67
Lavatories
127
Closets
128
Sinks
84
Wash Trays
78
Boilers
59
Showers
11
Urinals
13
Drinking Fountains 4
I have made 238 inspections covering plumbing.
Respectfully submitted,
DAVID TAGGART, Inspector of Plumbing
91
MIDDLESEX COUNTY EXTENSION SERVICE IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS
The following is a report of the work of the Middlesex County Ex- tension Service in the town of Reading during the year 1939.
In agriculture the principal interest in Reading has been among the poultrymen. Many farm visits have been made to assist in disease con- trol, breeding problems and general management. Mr. Raymond Cleary has been secretary of the Metropolitan Reading Poultry Association. Local men have assisted in the development of the Extension program. William Johnson addressed a county meeting on his trip to the World's Poultry Congress. Mr. Eugley was asked to give a talk and demonstra- tion at the Poultry Breeders' School held at the Massachusetts State College. Co-operation has been given the poultry association at their series of meetings held at the Municipal Building. Local dairymen were assisted in their problems of feeding and herd management, as well as pasture improvement.
During the winter of 1939, Reading women enjoyed the program on the consumer buying of foods and clothing. These meetings were held at the Municipal Building. Some of the leadership schools were held in Reading and in the fall a group took the project "The Making of Slip Covers."
In Boys' and Girls' 4-H Club Work forty-nine girls and sixteen boys have been enrolled with eleven volunteer local leaders. The work has been carried on in the town under the chairmanship of Mrs. How- ard Perley, with the following leaders : Mrs. John O'Brien, Mrs. Harry U. Camp, Mrs. Everett McLeod, assisted by Mrs. Joseph Jacobs, Miss Dorothy Bailey, assisted by Mrs. Stanley Bailey, Miss Lois Connor, Don- ald Hills and Miss Barbara Marshall. The clubs included clothing, food, home furnishing, handicraft, canning and garden. Dorothy Bailey re- ceived state honors in her home furnishing project. She was chosen state delegate because of her outstanding work, which meant a week at the State Camp at Amherst. Mrs. John O'Brien attended the Local Leaders' Camp at the State College. Barbara Marshall was awarded a medal by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for meritorious garden work.
REPORT OF THE PLANNING BOARD
To the Town of Reading :
The Board organized with Winthrop D. Parker as Chairman and Richard F. Drew as Secretary. Regular meetings have been held at
92
the Municipal Building on Friday evenings throughout the year. Mem- bers of the Board have attended various local hearings.
Philip R. White was designated by the Board to serve as a member of the Special Drainage Committee as provided by the vote of the Town Meeting creating that Committee.
The Town Map has been brought up to date and revised to show the addition of new streets and buildings and to reflect the removal of those structures which have been demolished.
During the year the Board has kept itself informed on the devel- opments concerning the proposed Circumferential Highway, known as Route 128, which, according to present State plans, will pass through the southern part of the Town. Continued study has been made of the proposed Traffic By-Pass through the towns of Stoneham, Wakefield and Reading designed to relieve the traffic congestion in the centers of these towns. The pressing need for economy in State expeditures has caused a curtailment of the highway construction program of the State to the end that progress on the construction of Route 128 has been slow and consideration of the By-Pass by the State engineers has been necessarily postponed.
Various phases of the Master Plan have been studied and the Plan has been developed in specific form. It includes the contemplated By- Pass, a plan for an underpass and street rearrangement at the Main Street railroad grade crossing, a general outline for the location of new principal streets in the outlying sections of the town to encourage the orderly development of these areas and several other features to assist in adapting the town's natural resources to the best interest of the town.
Recognizing the need for relief of the traffic congestion in and about Reading Square the Planning Board undertook to coduct a sur- vey of the parking conditions in the area. From the data compiled, and with charts and maps prepared by Professor Frederick J. Adams, a report was submitted to the Board of Selectmen with recommendations for the betterment of conditions. The Planning Board trusts that the report will be of material assistance to the Selectmen in solving the problem.
Respectfully submitted, WINTHROP D. PARKER,, Chairman A. LIOYD DAVID RICHARD F. DREW SHERBURNE J. WATTS PHILIP R. WHITE
Planning Board
93
REPORT OF TOWN FOREST COMMITTEE
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen Gentlemen :
Ten years ago the 19th of this April the Town Forest Committee had a Community Day and many Reading people came and planted trees.
H. A. Reynolds, Secretary of Massachusetts Forest and Park Association, sent a crew of five men who planted 5,000 trees free of charge.
Today, I am proud to say, we have a real forest which would give much joy and pleasure to those people that planted trees ten years ago, if they could take a trip up to the Town Forest and look at the trees they planted at that time.
In April of 1939, 1500 more trees were planted under the direction of the Board of Selectmen.
A fire on November 16th, 1939, destroyed about 400 trees which were set out nine years ago. There would have been a much larger loss if it had not been for the quick work of the Firemen.
I would recommend that we keep a watchman from April to Novem- ber for the safety of our forest.
We appreciate the co-operation of the Board of Selectmen and the various agencies furnishing men for service on the Town Forest work.
Respectfully submitted,
ORVILLE O. ORDWAY, Acting Chairman LELAND KINGMAN HENRY DONEGAN
Town Forest Committee.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CEMETERY TRUSTEES, FOR THE YEAR OF 1939
To the Citizens of the Town of Reading :
The Cemetery Trustees submit their annual report as follows :
The Board organized for the year by electing Clarence C. White as Chairman and Fred L. Nutter as Secretary. William P. Pierpont was re-appointed Superintendent.
The appropriations for the year were $8,000.00 for maintenance of Laurel Hill Cemetery and $1,000.00 for Forest Glen Cemetery, and $1,100.00 was transferred from the Cemetery Reserve Fund, to assist in carrying on the work of the Department.
The general routine of Cemetery work has been supervised very carefully by the Trustees with a view to keeping within these appropria- tions.
94
The Reports of Superintendent Pierpont, approved by the Trustees and appended hereto, covers so fully the work carried on during the year in both Cemeteries, that a repetition in the Trustees' Report seems unnecessary. These Reports of the Superintendent speak for the efficient management of the Superintendent and the good work and loyalty of his assistants.
Respectully submitted, CLARENCE C. WHITE, Chairman. FRED L. NUTTER, Secretary. FRANK LEE EDGERLEY HAROLD F. DAVIS W. F. TWOMBLY HARRY C. BARR
Board of Cemetery Trustees.
LAUREL HILL CEMETERY REPORT 1939
To the Board of Cemetery Trustees,
Gentlemen :
I have the honor to present herewith my annual report ending De- cember 31, 1939.
The work during the year shows a somewhat parallel feature to that of previous seasons, considering the fact that very dry season existed during the summer months and well into the fall, requiring special labor, particularly on perpetual care lots and lots that were re- cently seeded, to prevent the grass from being entiredly destroyed. Some lots needed resodding and much more water had to be used than in other years.
This year we were fortunate in obtaining men from the Welfare Department to care for the Old Cemetery and old lots. The men also raked leaves and cleaned up the Cemetery in the fall.
We cut down fourteen poplar trees along the fence at the northern boundary that had become unsightly, and planted flowering shrubs in this section to replace the trees.
Work on the State W. P. A. Project of rebuilding the Cemetery wall at Main Street started June 5th. Most of the wall had to be taken down to the sidewalk and rebuilt to a height of approximately thirty inches, from the entrance at Charles Street extending south to the top of the hill, a distance of four hundred and ninety-three lineal feet. Fifty-four tons of granite blocks, two tons of granite chips, eighty-two bags of cement and eleven cubic yards of sand were used in this Pro- ject, which was completed July 21st. The rebuilding of this wall elim- inates the danger that existed for several years caused by raising the grade of the road and sidewalk.
An iron gate has been erected at the Main Street Entrance near
95
Charles Street. A chain barrier was installed at the upper Main Street Entrance, as it was impossible to use a gate at this entrance because of the steep grade entering the Cemetery at this point. We also installed a chain link gate at the foot path leading from the Cemetery to Federal Street. At a meeting of the Trustees on September 8th it was voted to lock the gates each night at sunset to vehicular traffic. The Trustees thought it advisable to take this step because of late automobile parkers making a disturbance and destroying property. One hundred bronze Veteran Markers of various Wars had to be replaced this year, as they were broken by boys passing through the Cemetery.
The new World War Memorial, with its arborvitae hedge bordering the plot of land and the background of shrubs, makes a wonderful set- ting and is a big improvement at the Lowell Street Entrance to the Cemetery.
There were ninety interments in Laurel Hill during the year. Forty monument and marker foundations were built, several foundations re- built and monuments reset. Eighty sunken graves were repaired and twenty-nine winter graves seeded. Ten lots were reloamed and seeded. Eleven hundred square feet of sod was used in resodding bankings. Perpetual care lots and Town plots were fertilized. Hedges and shrubs were kept trimmed, trees pruned and dead wood removed. Seventy-five cement numbers were made for replacements in lots, catch basins were cleaned out, paths loamed and seeded and Olive Path had a coat of hot top. Annual care, avenue and path signs and urns on perpetual care lots were painted.
We laid a new floor in the shop and tool house and reshingled the shed roof.
Three lots and six single graves were sold this year and four graves were used by the Welfare Department. Ten old lots were placed under perpetual care. This fund constantly increases from year to year, in- suring lot owners against neglect and the need of future payments for maintenance.
This covers in detail the general operation of the year's work of this Department in Laurel Hill Cemetery.
I recommend a chain link fence at the Lowell Street Entrance, extending from the World War Memorial to the Cemetery gate. We are very much in need of a new building for storage for equipment of both Cemeteries. This was recommended by me last year and could be built by the W. P. A.
The financial statement will appear in the report of the Town Ac- countant.
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM P. PIERMONT, Superintendent.
96
FOREST GLEN CEMETERY REPORT 1939
To the Board of Cemetery Trustees,
Town of Reading, Mass.
Gentlemen :
I herewith submit a summary of the work accomplished in Forest Glen Cemetery this past year.
While the general maintenance and upkeep of the grounds has been met by the Cemetery Department, work on the W. P. A. Project has been carried on.
There were seven interments during the year and one lot was sold. We made seven hydrants, six hundred and twenty-seven lot bounds and numbers and two hundred and fifty stepping stones. The section now developed was fertilized, shrubs were pruned and stepping stones raised and trimmed. The grass had to be mowed at intervals and watered continually during the days of the dry season.
Up to the present time nothing has been done towards laying out the Veterans graves and embellishing the Veteran Plot. I hope next year this work can be completed and be in readiness for future use.
With this year's work, further progress has been made in the de- velopment of the remaining section of this Cemetery. The W. P. A. cut down one hundred and twenty trees and cleaned up the brush. Five hundred and ninety-six lineal feet of twenty-four inch drain pipe was laid, two catch basins and three man holes were built. Seventeen thousand one hundred and seventy cubic yards of earth were excavated, one thousand square yards subgraded with steam shovel and fifteen hundred square yards of lawn graded and seeded. Fourteen ever- greens, purchased by the Cemetery Department, were set out at the east side of the house in the Cemetery, and six hundred and seventy square yards of macadam avenue built. Four hundred and eighty-eight cubic yards of gravel was hauled from the Town pit and spread for avenues.
Work on this Project stopped August 8th, as the men were trans- ferred to the grounds at the new Pearl Street School. It is expected that work on this Project will start at an early date and continue until the Cemetery is completed.
I recommend the purchase of a new power mower and additional funds to lay out the remaining section now developed into lots of various sizes and also single graves and baby graves. With only a few lots left in Laurel Hill Cemetery to sell, this work should be done this year. The wall at the west boundary should be capped, as the cement on the top is breaking up and in a short time the elements will do considerable damage.
97
In this report I have covered the work accomplished by the Cem- etery Department and also the operations on the W. P. A. Project this year.
The financial statement will appear in the report of the Town Ac- countant.
Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM P. PIERPONT, Superintendent.
REPORT OF CUSTODIAN OF SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' GRAVES
The Honorable Board of Selectmen,
Town of Reading, Massachusetts.
I beg to submit my report for the year ended December 31, 1939, as Custodian of Soldiers' and Sailors' graves.
The following veterans have passed on during the year :
Spanish American War Arthur F. Austin, Age 61 years, 6 months, 16 days Member of Co. A 6th Mass. Vol. Inf. Died November 16, 1939 Buried November 18, 1939 Lot No. 493, Laurel Hill Cemetery
World War William H. Temple, Age 48 years
Died August 25, 1939 Buried August 27, 1939 Lot No. 1074, Laurel Hill Cemetery
Veterans' Appropriation
$ 600.00
Pay Roll
$ 409.78
Grave Markers
128.72
Freight
1.00
Repairs
60.50
Total $ 600.00
Respectfully submitted, HARRY A. TURNER, Custodian of Soldiers' and Sailors' Graves,
98
REPORT OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY TRUSTEES
The library has been administered since the beginning of the year by Miss Grace J. Abbott whose long experience as assistant well quali- fied her to fill the position of librarian upon the resignation of Miss Bertha L. Brown.
Miss A. Rebecca Turner continued as children's librarian, a position she has filled with especial aptitude for a number of years.
Miss Marjorie Kenney who had for some time assisted in the library was appointed as assistant librarian.
This new staff organization has completed a successful first year. Within the limitations of a one-room library, which is often overcrowd- ed, they have satisfactorily served the library demands of the town.
Some addition to equipment in the year met the problems of an outgrown catalog and crowded shelves. New shelves were installed in the children's library in the basement, wooden shelving proving both economical and attractive, and permitting employment of a local car- penter. In the upstairs library the only possible expansion of book- shelf-space is at the expense of reading space. Already the pleasant fireplace alcoves have been sacrificed to shelf needs, and the latest ex- tension of shelving bites deep into the reading room. A new magazine rack and a few small book stands helped to keep reading material with- in the space bounds.
At the end of the year an improvement in lighting was planned and bids secured. It is planned particularly to install more satisfactory lighting in the eight alcoves. The necessary extension of shelves into the reading room has interfered with maximum light and requires ad- ditional fixtures in the lanes between shelves. Higher wattage in the ceiling lights is also indicated as desirable, and additional lights over the delivery desk and in the office are needed. The lighting problem results in large part from the excessive height of the ceiling in the library. It is just short of sufficient height to permit a balcony for supplemental shelves, but so high that the ceiling lights are remote from the reader.
The Trustees were prevented by failure to secure sufficient appro- priation from carrying out a plan to extend library hours to keep open right through from afternoon to evening every week-day. Partly with this in mind they are again asking for a slight addition to the salary budget. They feel that the library staff should not be asked to serve increased hours on their present salaries, which by any library standard are low wages for the full-time employment which the library job has become.
Any library board would be bound to put first in the needs of the library a more adequately paid staff. Present salaries for the three
99
staff members are $1500, $1200 and $960. The Trustees have recom- mended and recommend again an immediate increase to $1700 for the librarian, and a maximum salary for the position of not less than $1800. This would not be out of line with salaries of librarians in neighbor towns of similar library services. Chief librarian in Reading is a posi- tion of responsibility and requirements comparable to that of an elemen- tary school principal. It should carry at least the salary of an element- ary school teacher. For the other two positions which might well be equal in grade, the recommendation for the present are that they be increased to $1080 and $1280.
The library has made a particular effort to supplement school read- ing needs, both for teachers and pupils. This is not a new service but certain special materials were added during the year, notably a series of vocational guidance materials, and new sets of encyclopedia for junior readers.
The library is most used by school pupils, both afternoons and eve- nings, often to the limit of seating capacity, and very frequently beyond the limit of the order and quiet reasonably required in a reading room. Efforts to employ the services of a monitor to maintain order were only partially successful because of the difficulty found in keeping the position occupied. For busy periods it worked well, but half the money appropriated was turned back unused because of long gaps between the periods of employment of temporary monitors.
The Trustees are convinced that the only permanent answer to. this exasperating question of disciplined use of the library by some of the young people in Reading is to have the services of an active cus- todian available in the library during library hours. This is usual in other libraries. The Reading library has only the part-time services- limited to heating and cleaning-of a janitor whose time is largely taken up working in the town building or elsewhere. As soon as oc- casion appears the library should be provided with custodial services appropriate to the library requirements. It is a simple problem of need- ing a man around the place to deal with disorderly boys. The mere presence of a custodian in the library is normally enough to prevent such a disturbing situation as has just worn out one librarian in Reading and bids fair to exhaust the present staff. The patience of the Trustees has long since been exhausted.
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