USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1940 > Part 13
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AMERICA
Smith
Audience and Senior Class
PRAYER-Rev. Willard C. Arnold
Salutatory "Youth Enlists for Peace on Earth" Mary Gladys Maguire
TORCH ORATION Jeanette Evelyn Davis, Class President
ESSAY "You Bet Your Life" Raymond P. Hutchinson Faculty Honors
ESSAY "Women at Work" Jean Sargent Class Honors
ESSAY "Pietas et Gravitas" Richard H. Lewis Faculty Honors
ESSAY "The Placing of Responsibility" Charles Francis Sullivan Class Honors
CONFERRING SCHOLASTIC HONORS Rudolf Sussmann, Head Master
Valedictory "Education, An Open Door To Youth" Elisabeth Eaton White CONFERRING DIPLOMAS Frank D. Tanner, Chairman of School Board
SALUTE TO FLAG STAR SPANGLED BANNER Keyes
Audience and Senior Class
BENEDICTION-Rev. Willard C. Arnold
RECESSIONAL MARCH
High School Band
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GRADUATION CLASS READING HIGH SCHOOL 1940
Accounting Course
Kathleen Browne
Franklin Hardy Bryant
William J. F. Hennessy Donald G. Hills
John J. Leonard
Walter Francis Lewis
George C. True
Richard H. True
Robert Van Laethem
Florence Whittaker
Civic Preparatory Course
Norman Joseph Atkinson
Dorothy Leach
Richard Daniel Avery
Robert G. Mason
Allie Jessie Benton
David Eugene McGee
William B. Birkmaier
Joseph I. McGrath
William F. Connelly
Muriel Margaret Powers
Emma I. De Felice
Martha Louise Randall
John B. Dissel Bernard Doucette
Anthony J. Rose Robert I. Storey
Harold Joseph Doucette
Charles Francis Sullivan
Robert I. Dunn
Philip A. Surette
Christine Mary Ellis
Fred Atwell Swett, Jr.
Edson Irving Gray
Charles Taylor
John Sherman Greenleaf
John Kasimierz Hrynowsky
Mary Ellen Ward
Edward B. Keene
Charles J. Warren
Guy Leslie Kittredge, Jr.
Herbert Daniel White
Thomas Amos Lacey
John Earl White
Classical Course
Dorothy Babcock Barbara Elaine Cleveland
Kathryn Jennette Conron Theo L. Farr
Erdine Farwell
Irving Warren Holcomb
Horace H. Jones, Jr.
Mary Gladys Maguire
Sherman Poland
Ruth Chandler Shumaker
Doris Elizabeth Steele
Stanley R. Stembridge, Jr.
Elisabeth Eaton White
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Elwood Lyndon Richardson, Jr.
Frank Doucette
Anthony Tine
Clerical Course
Edith G. Arsenault Jean A. Blier Elizabeth Jane Coan Mary Bernadine Conefey Barbara Currie
Evelyn Virginia Franklin Barbara Holden
Audrey Elizabeth Humphrey Catherine Agnes McDonough Virginia Frances Perkins
Olive Louise Skane
College Course
Rae Amback
Muriel Mossman Arthur
Dorothy McRae Barstow
Gregg C. Brewer
Evelyn Marie Comey
Jeanette Evelyn Davis
Betsy Cooke Foxcroft Barbara Gonnam
Wallace Meredith Haselton
James Webster Hawes
Walter C. Hilton, Jr.
Robert W. Hitchcock
Benjamin F. Hodges, Jr.
Raymond P. Hutchinson
William Danahy Jaques Richard H. Lewis Margery Ellen Maguire
Mary Berenice Maling
Betty Lorraine Miller
Robert B. Sullivan
George E. Whelpley, Jr. John Swain Zynsky
Fine Arts Course
Bette Kimball
Hubert D. Liebermann
Normal Course
Carleton Perry Adams Dorothy McIntyre Bailey Harry Cameron Barr, Jr. Elizabeth Bertha Beaudry Grace Elizabeth Bowers Janetta Grace Boyd Gilbert Powers Camp Thomas J. Connelly Betty C. Dalton Shirley Eleanor Field Elbridge Waldo Grover Ruth Wilhelmina Hamilton William Winslow Hoffman
Vivian Rose Hook Norman M. Lloyd
E. May Melanson Joseph Clark Nyman
Norman A. Putnam John J. Quinlan, Jr. Chester E. Roberts
Anthony Vincent Sarcone Ronald W. Sawyer Grace Irene Schofield Jo Anne Burgoyne Stewart David E. St. Hilaire, VI. Richard Kershaw Young
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Practical Arts Course
Alice A. Gorey Richard H. Merritt
Harold S. Roberts Ruth L. Tooley
Scientific Course
Richard Weston Fellows Richard Wright Henderson Robert Fisher Henderson
Secretarial Course
Elizabeth Lloyd Blaikie Margaret E. Carney
Elizabeth L. Carter
Margit Emmy Courossi
Jean Sargent
Helen Doris Crane
Jeanette Grace Sargent
Barbara Elizabeth Tasney
Rita Mary Toussaint
Marilynn Elaine Vaughan
Gertrude Frances Lorgeree
Alma Gladys Mansfield
Agnes Mary White
Virginia Lorraine O'Brien Louise Pattison
Catherine Virginia Witham Dorothy May Young
Irregular Course
Arthur Franklin Batchelder George Albert Bridges
William F. Campbell, Jr.
Franklin Stanley Davis
Marjorie Moses
Lorraine Day John Charles Donovan Kenneth E. Gaw
Willard F. Perkins Eileen Lucy Peters
Edward Mark Selfridge
Lillian Alice Goodwin
Arthur Milton Gray George A. Hamm
Marion M. Henderson
Winnifred May Johnston William F. Jones, Jr.
Jeanne Louise La Fave Richard F. Lawler
Albert N. Leman, Jr.
Roberta Elizabeth Smith Natalie Clara Staples George Watson Tedeman
Joan Elizabeth Vasey Leonard Bradley Wright Marjorie Claire Wright
,
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Eleanor Gloria Pestana Helen Mary Robbins
Dorothy Shirley Ruderman
Helen Elizabeth Foster Priscilla Mildred Garey Margaret F. Griffin
Marjory Wentworth
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In Memoriam
MRS. EDITH P. BRYANT
In remembrance of faithful services to the Community as a member of the Public Library Staff
REPORT OF THE LIBRARY TRUSTEES
The personnel of the library has changed but little during the past year .. Miss Grace J. Abbott continues her efficient services as li- brarian with Miss Marjorie Kenney as her assistant. Miss A. Rebecca Turner continued at her post as children's librarian, but, because of increased demands placed upon the staff this year, it was necessary for Miss Turner to also render considerable assistance in the main lib- rary. The experienced assistance of two part-time regular attendants and at frequent intervals the added help of a high school girl during rush hours rounds out the personnel of the library staff.
Under the direction of this staff of workers, the library has con- tinued to give real services to this community far in excess of the actual dollar investment. The Trustees can truthfully affirm that here is a department where little waste ever occurs. They can also assert that here is a department that functions at maximum capacity, at a very small margin of cost. From a carefully prepared table of com- parative costs of town services over a period of years, the Reading Public Library has dropped from less than 3 per cent of the total Town appropriations in 1906 to about 1.3 per cent of the total Town appropriation for the year 1937. If this trend continues, the services of the Public Library in this progressively growing community might be so seriously curtailed as to endanger the very life of the institution.
A library which was built adequately large for a community of 5,000 persons has become overcrowded. Evenings find the reading room tables filled to capacity, and the congested conditions tax the patience of the librarians almost beyond endurance. High School children so monopolize the reading room space as to discourage adults from
167
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indulging in the privilege of lingering to read and browse. Increased circulation, from 97,119 to 102,139, with an increase in the number of registered borrowers, have resulted in a demand for more books and magazines. Yet the Trustees and Librarian are at loss as to how to find space and shelf room for the books in demand. Adequate shelving space, and at the same time enlarged reading room facilities and re- spectable office quarters for the librarian represent grave problems for the adult department. How to achieve these within the walls of the present structure is a problem for an engineer or an architect and not for a Library Board of Trustees.
In spite of growing responsibilities and increased duties, the sal- aries of the librarian and the assistants remain unchanged. In the budget for the forth-coming year, there will be no salary . advances. Present salaries of $1,500, $1,200 and $960 are far from adequate compen- sation for the responsibilities which these positions have acquired. They are not in line with salaries paid for similar positions in near-by towns. Again and again the Trustees have recommended that these salaries be increased only to have such petitions rejected. Last year's chair- man, Mr. Lyons, stated in his report that the "office of chief librarian in Reading is a position of responsibility and requirements comparable to that of an elementary school principal." Nothing that has happened during the past year has changed the sentiments of the Trustees on that question. Unless the Town is willing to provide a more adequate income for library services, it is a serious question if the present staff could ever be replaced with trained personnel if and when such even- tuality should occur.
As in the past, the library has tried to service the schools and civic organizations. School pupils use the library for collateral reading and reference work afternoons and evenings. Frequently, it takes the entire services of one of the librarians to provide research assistance for this ever-growing group. When better library equipment is available in the Junior and Senior High Schools, this load may be lightened.
The disciplinary problem during the past year, though irritating, has not been unmanageable. Possibly the use of the old Center School as a social center for Reading youths has contributed to the relief of the library. Certainly the Trustees do not feel that the library is either equipped or maintained for the purpose of providing the young people of Reading with a club room for social gathering and friendly visiting, nor is it intended to take the place of a much needed Boy's Club. There is a class of boys and girls who habitually frequent the library for no other purpose than to find a warm shelter and have a good time. To turn them out night after night is not a permanent solution to what in reality is a grave community problem. Limitations of salary budget does not permit the hiring of a regular adult custod -
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ian. For the present, there must be closer co-operation between school authorities, parents, and public-spirited citizens in an attempt to relieve this problem.
In spite of many handicaps, the library offers services to the people, young and old, of the community. It is well stocked with good books, both fiction and non-fiction. There is always a long waiting list for the latest best sellers. The world situation has provoked a wide general reading on international problems of War and Peace and it is difficult to supply the demand for books on current affairs. Our shelves, stocked with up-to-date reference works ranging from Encyclopedia of the So- cial Sciences to Classic references on Art and Music attract an ever- growing body of more serious readers. It is to those who appreciate these real services which the library has to offer that the Trustees look to for support in their endeavor for improved conditions and services.
A. IMRIE DIXON, Chairman C. NELSON BISHOP, Sec. LOUIS M. LYONS WARREN L. FLETCHER ISABELLE G. HEDGES HELEN P. TIRRELL
LIBRARIAN'S REPORT
With an increase in circulation of 4,310 over last year, bringing it to over 132,000, plus 607 new borrowers, the library has had the busiest year of its history. Still we have the same small amount of desk and office space, where we are continually getting in each other's way, and where the business work of the library is plainly visible to all who come in. We hope that some time we can have an enlarged office and more shelf room, but meantime we are doing the best we can.
We try to buy most of the new books the public is asking for, some- times having to buy several copies of those for which we have long waiting lists, also we must buy many light love stories, westerns and detectives, for which there is a constant demand. Much of the non- fiction is just as popular as the fiction, and at this time we must keep on hand many technical books for men interested in the Army and Navy and those men engaged in the government's National Defense Program. All these new books mean that the money for replacements is rather limited, so that the older books on the shelves, especially fic- tion, are in rather poor condition.
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We have had many interesting exhibits in the show case. The most recent ones of old silver, antique jewelry, majolica, old glass etc., were put in by the Preservation of Antiques Society of the Reading Woman's Club.
Miss Turner reports a gain in circulation of 585 for the Children's Room. In the spring she started an experiment in the Pearl St. School, which, if it could be developed, would be appreciated by many children and parents far from the center of the town. She visited the school every two weeks with a supply of books; those children who wished could have books charged to them and keep them until her next visit. This plan had to be given up during the winter months but will be resumed this spring.
The certificate reading has been popular this year also, eight child- ren having received the large certificate representing twenty books read and reported on, while 83 received the smaller ones, representing five books each.
Exhibits for the Children's Room have been borrowed every two weeks from the Children's Museum in Jamaica Plain. The exhibits include, "The American Indian", "Geology of Boston Basin", "Early America" and others. They are very interesting and are accompanied by many pictures to illustrate the topic.
The non-fiction in the main library has been re-arranged so that it should be much easier for people to find their own books.
We hope that those who think that they have to wait too long for the books they want will take into consideration our increase in circu- lation and the business which it entails, with no increase in help or funds.
GRACE J. ABBOTT, Librarian.
Appropriation
Salaries
$ 5,550.00
Maintenance 3,375.00
Expended
Salaries : Librarian, Assistants, Janitor
$ 5,496.06
Fuel, Light, Water, Sewer
342.22
Books, Periodicals and Binding
2,177.21
Printing and Supplies 357.27
Maintenance and Repairs
426.92
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Miscellaneous
65.99
$ 8,865.67
Balance unexpended and returned to revenue :
On Salaries $ 3.94
On Maintenance
5.39
$ 8,875.00
Books purchased from Library Trust Fund
$ 187.70
Receipts
Fines Collected
$ 520.64
One Fee from Out of Town Borrower
2.00
$ 522.64
Paid to Town Treasurer
$ 522.64
Balance, Dec. 31, 1940
0.00
Statistics, 1940
Volumes in Library, Dec. 31, 1939
22,688
Volumes bought :
Adult fiction
579
Adult non-fiction ..... 532
1,111
Juvenile fiction
225
Juvenile non-fiction ....
88
313
Reference Books
6
Received by Gift
33
1,463
Total
24,157
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Withdrawn during the year
628
Total number of volumes, Dec. 31, 1940
23,629
Circulation for home use, adult
80,642
Circulation for home use, juvenile
21,497
Total circulation in 1940
102,139
Total circulation in 1939
97,829
Gain in 1940
4,310
New borrowers registered, adult
418
New borrowers registered, juvenile
.
189
Total new borrowers
607
Number of days the library was open
294
Average daily circulation, adult
285
Average daily circulation, juvenile
72
Borrowed from other libraries
35
Loaned to other libraries .
19
Form of Bequest
I hereby give and bequeath to the Town of Reading the
sum of to have and to
hold, the income only of which shall be used for
for the Reading Public Library.
172
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF CEMETERY TRUSTEES FOR THE YEAR 1940
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 $1,500.00 for Forest Glen Cemetery. $1,350.00 was transferred from the Cemetery Reserve Fund to assist in carrying on the work of the Department.
The maintenance of Laurel Hill Cemetery and the maintenance and development of Forest Glen Cemetery have been supervised carefully by the Trustees, with a view to keeping within these appropriations.
The Reports of Superintendent Pierpont, approved by the Trustees and appended hereto, cover very fully the work carried on during the year. The Trustees feel that the excellent condition of both Cemeteries reflect the efficient management of the Suprintendent and the loyalty and faithfulness of his assistants.
Respectfully submitted,
CLARENCE C. WHITE, Chairman FRED L. NUTTER, Secretary HARRY C. BARR HAROLD F. DAVIS FRANK LEE EDGERLEY W. FLETCHER TWOMBLY Board of Cemetery Trustees
LAUREL HILL CEMETERY REPORT 1940
To the Board of Cemetery Trustees,
Gentlemen :
I have the honor to present herewith my thirteenth annual report since I was appointed Superintendent of Cemeteries.
Since assuming charge of the Cemeteries in 1928, I have made some necessary improvements each year to bring them up to the high stand- ard of other high grade Cemeteries. This year a chain link fence has been installed at the Lowell Street entrance to replace the iron fence that had become unsightly. This completes the fencing project that
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was started in 1929 in this Cemetery. We also had to purchase a new heater for the shop, as the old one was beyond repair. Several other minor improvements have been made, all of which add to the general appearance of the Cemetery.
On April 1st we were able to start our season's work in the Ceme- teries, gradually increasing the working force to ten men during the month of May. After Memorial Day the extra help were laid off, leav- ing six regular men, who carried on the work of both Cemeteries during the season. It is necessary to keep the grass cut regularly on both per- petual and annual care lots and there is always additional service and special work which has to be provided for as it appears during the season.
In addition to the regular men, we have a part time man who mows the Veteran lots and also a man from the Welfare Department who mows the old Cemetery and uncared for lots, rakes leaves and shovels snow in the winter.
There were ninety-eight interments in Laurel Hill Cemetery during the year. Fifty-six monument and marker foundations built, several foundations rebuilt and monuments reset and sixty sunken graves were repaired. The number of sunken graves are decreasing each year, due to the fact that many cement vaults are being used by lot owners. This eliminates unsightly sunken graves and keeps the lots in good condition.
Thirty-six winter graves were graded and seeded in the spring. Twelve lots were reloamed and reseeded during the season and nine lots had minor repairs. Forty-eight cement numbers were made and replaced in lots. Perpetual Care lots and Town plots were fertilized, hedges and shrubs kept trimmed, Annual Care signs and urns painted, stepping stones raised and trimmed and many other things done to improve the appearance of the Cemetery.
Fifteen lots and twelve single graves were sold this year and four graves were used by the Welfare Department. There are only a few more lots available in this Cemetery. One two grave lot, six four grave lots, four six grave lots, and five eight grave lots; thirty-nine adult graves and thirty baby graves. At the rate lots and graves are selling, these will be sold in a short time. There being no other land available for further development in this Cemetery, the sale of lots will increase in Forest Glen Cemetery.
Eighteen old lots were placed under perpetual care and one lot had an additional amount added. It has been one of the special features of this Department to promote perpetual care on lots and it is gratifying to state that there is an inclination on the part of owners of old lots to put them in perpetual care.
This covers in detail the work in Laurel Hill Cemetery this season. I recommend the purchase of a compressor for digging frost in the
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winter graves and also removing ledge and boulders. The avenues should have a coat of tarvia next season.
The financial statement will appear in the report of the Town Ac- countant.
Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM P. PIERPONT, Superintendent.
FOREST GLEN CEMETERY REPORT 1940
To the Board of Cemetery Trustees,
Gentlemen :
In addition to the regular maintenance and upkeep of the Cemetery this year, five hundred and thirty-three lots, one hundred and forty- nine adult graves and one hundred and fourteen baby graves were laid out in sections developed by the W. P. A. With the lots that were previously laid out, we have on hand six hundred and seventy-six lots in this Cemetery. We have sold nineteen four grave lots. One lot was sold this year and we had two interments.
Sixteen hundred and fifty-one lot bounds and numbers were set, four hundred and fifty markers and one hundred and forty-four stepping stones were made and three hundred were set in paths. The Cemetery was fertilized, shrubs trimmed and watered, the grass kept mowed dur- ing the season, hydrants painted and stepping stones raised and trimmed. Flowering shrubs and evergreens were set out in the oval south of the Forest Glen Road entrance.
Work on the W. P. A. Project at the south section of the Cemetery was discontinued August 8, 1939 and the men were transferred to other projects in the Town. It is hoped the work will be resumed soon and continue until completed.
The Dedication of the Veteran Plot took place Armistice morning with an impressive ceremony. Mr. Clarence C. White, Chairman of the Board of Cemetery Trustees, after reading the document for the Plot and making a few brief remarks, presented it to Commander Richard J. Skane of Reading Post No. 62, American Legion, who accepted it with a few appropriate words. The Veteran Plot is situated on the southern slope of the hill and has been laid out and embellished with numerous shrubs. Two hundred and fifty stepping stones were placed in the paths, a flag pole was erected and a boulder with a bronze tablet was set with numerals "1940" to signify the year of dedication. A field gun is to be placed at the brow of the hill in front of the flag pole. With the arborvitae hedge at the northwest and southeast boundaries and
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shrub beds at several sections of the Plot, it makes a wonderful setting. There will be one hundred and thirty-two Veteran graves, which will be laid out and numbered in the spring.
The Board of Public Works has agreed to recondition the plot of land at the intersection of Pearl Street and Forest Glen Road, remove the boulders, reloam and seed. When this is completed the Cemetery Department will assume the care. This has been unsightly for some time and when finished will improve the appearance of the approach to the Cemetery.
The power mower purchased this season has given excellent service in Forest Glen this year. I recommend the purchase of more shrubs to further embellish the Cemetery.
The financial statement will appear in the report of the Town Ac- countant.
Respectfully submitted, WILLIAM P. PIERPONT, Superintendent.
REPORT OF THE FOREST FIRE WARDEN
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen,
Gentlemen :
The annual report of the Forest Fire Warden is hereby submitted. The department has responded to 99 grass and brush fires this year, a decrease of 57 from 1939. Many were caused by improper or defec- tive incinerators.
There has been a large decrease in the number of incendiary fires. I wish to thank all who have assisted this department.
Respectfully submitted,
HUGH L. EAMES, Forest Fire Warden.
REPORT OF THE TREE WARDEN
January 27, 1941.
To the Honorable Board of Selectmen,
Gentlemen :
As Tree Warden and Moth Superintendent for the Town of Read- ing, your attention is respectfully invited to the following report :
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The Tree Department planted about two hundred trees, the last season and we were called on for a large amount of spraying by the gypsy moth and elm leaf beetle.
Respectfully submitted, HENRY M. DONEGAN, Superintendent
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REPORT OF TOWN COUNSEL
To the Honorable, the Law Committee of the Town of Reading :
My report as Town Counsel for the calendar year 1940 is sub- mitted herewith :
Opinions have been rendered to the Board of Selectmen on var- ious municipal matters. Traffic regulations have been drafted, the approval of the Department of Public Works obtained, and such regu- lations have become effective by publication as required by Law. Ser- vices were rendered, advice given and forms prepared in connection with the Contributory Retirement System which became effective for employees in the Town on July 1st, 1940 Formal charges were pre- ferred against two police officers under the classified civil service law and after hearing, as required by law, the Board of Selectmen ordered the definite suspension of one officer and the removal from the Police Department of the other. In connection with the case of the police officer removed, proceedings have been commenced in the Fourth Dis- trict Court of Eastern Middlesex for review by the court of the case heard by the Selectmen and the same police officer has commenced a petition for writ of mandamus in the Middlesex Superior Court seek- ing to secure an order requiring the Selectmen to approve his applica- tion for retirement for pension under Section 85 of Chapter 32 of Gen- eral Laws. The pending litigation relating to the removal and pension of the police officer will be disposed of by the court as soon as the cases are reached for hearing upon the court docket. Several release deeds have been prepared transferring property sold by the Board of Selectmen and acquired by the Town through tax lien foreclosure pro- ceedings in the land Court. The contract and specifications for the furnishing of an aerial ladder truck for the Fire Department were drafted and advice and assistance were rendered to the Board of Se- lectmen and Chief of the Fire Department in connection therewith. Articles and motions for the annual and special town meetings on other than routine matters were drafted for town departments. Under the terms of the will of the late Frank G. Jones certain real estate was de- vised to the Town and services were rendered in the matter of the probate of the will in the Middlesex Probate Court. Hearings were held before the State Department of Public Works in the matter of the approval of an advertising sign situated on North Main Street.
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