USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Newburyport > Waban, early days, 1681-1918 > Part 13
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Then came the pioneer days of the automobile.
"When you're up, you're up; When you're down, you're down; But when you're halfway up, You're neither up nor down, Says Webster to his auto. It auto, but it won't."
(From an old Minstrel Show program.)
The early days of the auto in Waban bring to mind the piercing whistle of the Stanley Steamer, the chug, chug of various cars, particularly Arthur Crain's. The men of the vil- lage spent a good bit of their time prone under their cars in the dirt, tinkering with their underpinnings and usually getting nowhere in more senses than one. Breakdowns on the road were the order of the day, expected and taken stoically. Our residents decked themselves out in "dusters," driving gloves, and goggles, the male cap secured by a string in case the terrific speed removed it, and no lady ever thought of mounting the auto without a veil over her hat. Automobile costumes, includ- ing a veiled bonnet, were the rage. Mrs. Archie Burnett came home from Paris with one which was the envy of the town.
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Runaway horses were frequent, a cause of constant dread; rearing, prancing steeds bolted at the sight of an auto while terrified passengers in both vehicles screamed loudly and the drivers had a very worried time of it. Many a horse plunged cross-country through the fields of Waban, and the autos were not at all sure where they were going, either, on such occasions. An approaching auto made pedestrians step well off the road to become somewhat uneasy spectators, poised for flight, while a very tense motorist whizzed through at ten miles an hour. Runaway horses rather than jay-walkers kept the hospital busy in those days. The following pages show the sort of vehicles seen on the roads of the village of Waban in the early days.
MRS. CONANT ON MOFFAT ROAD, 1899 Courtesy of (Mrs.) Della Conant Stanley
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VEHICLES
THE SAVILLE FAMILY AND THE DONKEY, "BELLA," 1893 Courtesy of Mr. William Saville, Jr.
THE CHILDS' HORSE, "KITTYWINKS" (Bertha Childs driving)
Courtesy of Miss Edith Childs
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
THE GROCERY WAGON. MR. CONANT, EMILY PISER AND OLD NED Courtesy of (Mrs.) Della Conant Stanley
E.W.
GROCERIES FRUIT.
THE FIRST POSTMAN, HARRY PRESTON Courtesy of (Mrs.) Della Conant Stanley
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VEHICLES
THE DEPOT CARRIAGE, 1911
Courtesy of Mr. Joseph Gleason
THE STORE PUNG
Courtesy of (Mrs.) Jane Bacon MacIntire
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
WILLIAM SAVILLE IN HIS STANLEY STEAMER, 1902
Courtesy of Mr. Cyrus Ferris
AL LOCKE'S WINTON, 1904
Courtesy of Mr. Ellsbree Locke
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VEHICLES
V
MRS. CONANT IN STANLEY STEAMER, 1905 Courtesy of (Mrs.) Della Conant Stanley
THE BURNETT BUICK, 1907. MRS. BURNETT AT THE WHEEL Courtesy of Mr. Newton C. Burnett
TROLLEY CAR DAYS
(The data on the Street Railway was contributed by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway Company. Ed.)
The first electric car whizzed down the newly-built "boule- vard" (Commonwealth Avenue) on March 8, 1896. The next year Norumbega Park was built, complete with monkey cage, a very smelly bear's den and buffaloes shedding - or almost shedding - huge hunks of shaggy hide, hanging tantalizingly by one thread. All Waban trooped down to the trolley line on hot summer evenings, Sundays and holidays to board the open cars which made their way breezily to the Park. While awaiting the arrival of the car, the young ones sometimes made baskets of the burdocks which grew in plenty there at the cor- ner of Chestnut Street; little girls often boarded the car with burdocks tangled in their hair by gleeful little boys, all mean- while having been warned to keep out of the poison ivy and "Be quiet or you'll be all worn out before you get there." Some- times, on breathlessly hot evenings, the Wabanites would go · down to the car line and spend entire evenings riding on those open cars down the boulevard, circling through the Park and up the line again, hairpins strewn along the way by the breeze.
Once gaining the Park and tearing through the turn- stile, Wabanites made for the merry-go-round, ate pink pop corn, rode on lofty, undulating camels (or were called "Sissies" for choosing donkeys), and walked admiringly by the large display of animals - every animal known to man and a lot more besides. A very extensive zoo in those days - roaring lions (very nervous, both the visiting Wabanites and the lions), nasty-faced hyenas, stately deer and elk, a mean pacing
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creature labelled "The Timber Wolf"; a real rhino, very dead pan about the whole thing; ostriches who never seemed to drop a feather, and peacocks - white ones, too, exquisite in the sun - worth a long wait to see those tails spread; alligators, cockatoos, the Great American Eagle, unperturbed on his perch and occasionally winking; and skunks (no one in Waban in those days needed to be taught to know a skunk by sight!). The children knew by heart what each cage should contain and each May 30th when the Park opened, they raced around to see if their animal friends were still there and if any new ones had been added.
Then there was the tiny rustic open-air theater (vaude- ville; before, long before, the days of cinemas) - and how the audience stampeded at the rise of a summer tempest, which was often! Then to the trolley shed, all determined to get the front seat or the back one or at least an end seat-and the love- ly soft breeze of the ride back to Chestnut Street, Waban, with
NORUMBEGA PARK TO LAKE STREET TROLLEY CAR Courtesy of Mr. Harry L. Hanson
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the trees going by swish, swish, in the darkness. Those days are gone.
In February, 1902, Waban had its Street Railway Scare. The town rocked with excitement. Progress was all right in its place, if it didn't come too close. No gas stations, 10 cent stores or moving picture palaces for Waban! And in 1902 Waban said, "No trolley cars!" The route was all planned: from Washington Street to Waban Avenue, Waban Avenue to Beacon Street, Beacon Street to Woodward, Woodward to Boylston. (That was the Waltham Street Railway Company.) While protest was at fever pitch and our peaceful little village on the very brink of ruin, the Waban Improvement Society added its lusty voice to the turmoil. The result of all the agita- tion was that trolleys never invaded Waban; not at that time nor upon any other attempt. Somehow, we accepted busses - and very handy they are, too. On May 16, 1927, busses started to run between Newton and Waban, and gone are the days of the "Norumbega Park trolleys."
THE FIRST OCEAN RACE of CRUISING POWER BOATS
WON BY WILLIAM SAVILLE
CYRUS Y. FERRIS
In 1905 the Rudder Cup was presented to the Knicker- bocker Yacht Club, to be raced for by cruising power boats not exceeding 40 feet in length. The course was New York to Mar- blehead, 280 nautical miles. A number of boats were built especially for this race. There were originally sixteen entries, but only twelve competed. Of these, the Talisman, owned by William Saville of Windsor Road, Waban, was the small- est. She was built the season before as a comfortable family cruiser. Talisman was 32 feet, 8 inches overall, with an eight
THE "TALISMAN"
Courtesy of Mr. Cyrus Y. Ferris
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
horse power heavy duty engine giving her a maximum speed of seven knots.
The race started in a flat calm, but a stiff easterly gale was met on leaving Long Island Sound; there was hail and sleet for a short period, but it was mostly a dry storm with a very heavy sea. The Nantucket steamers turned back and tied up, small boats stayed at their moorings. Point Judith, Nantucket Shoals, around Cape Cod - no chance to sleep in that sea; little chance to cook a meal. All were tossed about by the seas and thoroughly exhausted when they made Marblehead Light. Under such conditions, the Talisman competed with and won from the other eleven boats. The judges on the schooner yacht Romona at the finish line were astonished to see the smallest entry come in first - and by eight hours. The boat was undamaged and there were no leaks, but the putty was squeezed out of her forward seams. The photograph shows the boat at the Eastern Yacht Club float after the finish!
THE CREW
Courtesy of Mr. Cyrus Y. Ferris
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CRUISING POWER BOATS
The time for the 280 miles: 45 hours, 24 minutes, 56 seconds. The log ended with, "We hoped for clear weather and rough water and we got it. It was our only chance, and we kept going when the rest had to run for a harbor. That is the whole story." The crew from left to right in the picture are William Saville, John Saville, Raymond and Cyrus Ferris and Arthur Colchester, who designed the motor.
The Boston Herald: "In view of the fact that her speed limit is seven knots, and that she labored all the time under conditions which rendered helpless more powerful boats, the record of the Talisman is looked upon by yachtsmen here as little short of marvelous, and Capt. Saville is everywhere the recipient of congratulations on the performance of his boat."
THE MOTTO OF MARION YALE SAVILLE
"The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's, Is not to fancy what were fine in life Provided it could be - but finding first What may be, then find how to make it fine."
ROBERT BROWNING.
HISTORY of THE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY
1888
NEWTON C. BURNETT
(PREFACE: Before attempting to recount a history of the Waban Improvement Society, I must state that I have had made available to me all of the official records kept by the various secretaries of the Society since its foundation, together with other valuable information and material furnished me by Jane Bacon MacIntire, compiler of Waban - Early Days. I have also taken the liberty of quoting from certain reports in order to assist me in making this history as nearly accurate as possible.)
At a meeting of Waban residents held in the fall of 1888, a committee consisting of W. C. Strong, W. R. Dresser and H. L. Warren was appointed to consider plans for a permanent Improvement Society. This committee called the first Annual Meeting of Waban residents on April 9th, 1889, at the home of Mrs. E. J. Collins. The meeting was well attended and the original constitution was adopted, containing, in part, the fol- lowing: "NAME: The name shall be the Waban Improvement Society. PURPOSE: The purpose shall be to take such measures from time to time, and to make such recommendations to the members, as may seem to be for the improvement of the neigh- borhood of Waban." Dues originally were established at $2 per member, and have varied somewhat through the years until 1911 when they were set at $1 per family, where they have since remained.
The first slate of officers elected was as follows:
President WILLIAM C. STRONG
1st Vice-President EDWARD L. COLLINS
2nd Vice-President H. L. WARREN
Treasurer W. R. DRESSER
Secretary
S. H. GOULD
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HISTORY OF THE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY
There was also appointed an Executive Committee, which, to- gether with the officers, were charged with the duties of con- stantly watching for the best development of the community and for the promotion of such projects and improvements as the growing village required.
From the beginning and until about 1915, annual meetings of the Society were held in Collins or Waban Hall, after which time the schoolhouse was used with the permission of the School Department of the City. Mass meetings and annual meetings continued to be held in the old and new schoolhouse until 1940, when the Waban Neighborhood Club graciously offered the Society the use of its attractive quarters for large gatherings. Executive Committee meetings were usually held at the homes of the various officers and also in the Neighbor- hood Club lounge room.
From a perusal of the activities of the Society it will be readily observed that practically all plans and projects for im- provement within the village of Waban were initiated in and through this organization, frequently in co-operation with other Waban groups. Very often it was some time afterwards before the projects actually bore fruit. It is also true that many plans received careful study and much time, only to be later discarded as impossible of realization or compromised in various degrees.
Meetings, in the early days, were held each month, and it is rather interesting to note some of the matters then before the Society. At the first official meeting in April, 1889, plans for the proposed Charles River Drive connecting Upper and Lower Falls, eventually Quinobequin Road, were presented. A committee was appointed to see if the Newton & Watertown Gas Company would introduce gas into Waban. Needed school facilities was also brought up. Also the need of a general store, hall and post office was discussed, and Mr. Collins later agreed to erect a suitable building upon being guaranteed for a three year period six percent return on his investment. This building
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
became known as Collins Hall, or Waban Hall, located at the corner of Wyman and Woodward Streets, now the Fyfe Block, though considerably changed in its interior and exterior today. In 1890 a petition was circulated among the residents to lease the new hall on the second floor of this building for temporary school quarters and the same was leased for this and other purposes for $100 per year. The hall was furnished and main- tained by the Improvement Society and was used for public meetings and Sunday church services as well as for school quar- ters. Even as early as 1890 the Society was instructed to also petition the Committee on Public Property of the City of New- ton for a hearing in regard to a location for a permanent school- house; this project did not come to fruition until a few years later when the Roger Wolcott School was erected on the loca- tion of the present Angier School. In 1890 official papers advocating a post office for Waban were forwarded to Wash- ington by the Society, the result bringing to Waban a branch of the Newton Highlands Post Office, changing through various stages of growth to the present free delivery system which we enjoy today.
The following is quoted from a paper written in February, 1915, by Lewis H. Bacon, Jr., regarding the early history of the Waban Improvement Society: "For the first few years after the opening of the railroad, the village developed slowly, but after about five years, building operations commenced in earnest and have continued without pause and in constantly increasing proportions up to the present time. The Society figures as the principal factor in the transformation of the old-time farms into a village for residential purposes, and practically all of the improvements and conveniences which the City could furnish were obtained through the influence and the efforts of the Society. In the early days, the Society took the place, not only of the old-fashioned town meeting, where all matters of public interest were discussed and acted upon, but it also inaugurated
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HISTORY OF THE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY
entertainments and social affairs in which all of the residents were expected to take part. Religious services in the village were first held under the auspices of the Society, later on by an organization known as the Waban Christian Union, which con- ducted Union Services for a number of years. This was in time succeeded by the Waban Church Corporation, a legally char- tered body organized in the year 1896, for the purpose of building and holding church property and for conducting services of such form as the members might from time to time desire."
In the first years of the Society's operations, such improve- ments were sponsored and acted upon as street lighting, plank sidewalks, grass plots and their care, planting of shade trees, street repairs, drainage of land, street signs, erection of fire alarm boxes and police signal boxes, train service, control of dumping, etc. It is to be noted that most of these same prob- lems have always been in the hands of the Society each year even to the present day, and will probably continue to be the routine matters for watchfulness. The wise tackling of these projects, simple and fundamental as they may seem, has kept our village the pleasant residential suburb we have enjoyed through the years, and it is not an exaggeration to say that the Waban Improvement Society, with the help of the people living here, is entirely responsible for Waban as we know it today.
In these first days of the Society, receipts from dues were small, of course, and a great deal of the financing of various projects was done either through private donations by public spirited citizens, or through the raising of money by holding various forms of entertainment programs. It is interesting to note the figures in the treasurer's report for the year 1892-93 (Lewis H. Bacon, Sr., Treasurer) :
Balance on hand March, 1892 $ 19.42
Receipts during the year 362.70
Expenses for the year 380.37
Balance on hand March, 1893 1.75
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
Many parallels of events and developments of the early days of Waban have occurred in very recent years, such as the problem of Ward lines within the city. In 1892, a committee of the Improvement Society was appointed to see that all of the village of Waban should be included in one Ward in the city. Most of us well remember the protest of Waban residents to the City Hall in 1934, when it was proposed to change the lines of Ward 5 to cut Waban in half.
In 1897, after several years of well directed and fruitful efforts on the part of the Improvement Society, it seemed as though the Society had accomplished all that could be reason- ably expected of it, and it appeared that the usefulness of the Society was drawing to a close. For nine years the Society was inactive and took but little part in the affairs of the village, during which period the social activities were carried on by the Beacon Club, organized in 1900. This Club continued until it was absorbed by the Waban Neighborhood Club in 1916. How- ever, the constantly increasing number of residents in the fast growing village of Waban instilled new life into the com- munity, resulting in the revival of the Improvement Society in 1906 into a live and effective organization which has continued to the present day without further interruption.
The important part which the Society was called upon to play in the early development of Waban, from 1906 on, may be gained somewhat from population statistics which showed an increase in Waban population from 824 in 1905 to 1347 in 1915, or an increase of 63%. During this period many prob- lems calling for solution faced the Society, and many improve- ments were initiated and seen through to later accomplishment. Gypsy and browntail moth control, watering of unpaved street, widening of main arteries, extension of sewage disposal system, street lighting changes from arc lights to incandescent lamps, erection of the first automobile warning and direction signs, and construction of the first playground and tennis courts on the
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HISTORY OF THE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY
grounds of the Roger Wolcott School were some of the matters handled from 1906 to 1910. It is interesting to note that in 1907 the Society urged upon the postal authorities that the City of Newton as a whole be combined into the Boston Postal Dis- trict, thereby affording improved postal service. In 1908 the first fourth of July celebration, particularly for children, was arranged and carried through by a committee of the Society, and these celebrations continued without interruption through July 4th, 1919. The program started early in the morning, frequently with a "Grand Antique and Horrible Parade," fol- lowed by track and field sports for boys and girls in various age groups. Adjournment of the program was held during the noon hour, resuming in the middle of the afternoon with a "Championship Ball Game" between the east side and west side of the railroad track. A band concert shortly after dinner was usually in order, followed by a fireworks display from dark until 10.00 P. M. Elaborate "Official Programs" were printed each year, listing all events and the day's activities, including sight-seeing auto trips around various sections of Waban. In the program for July 4th, 1913, there appears the following event: "5-7 P. M. EVENT No. 5: House-to-house canvass by the Amalgamated Order of Willing Drinkers. Have a good time, but remember the day isn't over yet." (Perhaps it was a great mistake to drop these programs in 1919.)
At the instigation of the Society, plowing of snow from the sidewalks was started in the winter of 1909. The site where the present Waban Branch Library now stands was a swampy pond and used by the city as a dumping ground; this unsightly spot in the center of the village was cleaned up and ceased to be used as a dump at the insistence of the Society. In 1910 there appears in the records the following project: "To elim- inate the nuisance caused by horses standing under the Porte Cochère at the railroad station." Hitching posts even in those days were placed at intervals along our roads.
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WABAN - EARLY DAYS
With the rapid growth of the village came the demand in 1910 for better railroad service, better school conditions, and enlarged playground facilities with proper instructors for the children. In 1911 the Branch Library was located in the rear of Rhodes Drugstore and proper bookcases were furnished by the Improvement Society. Plans for a new enlarged playground at the school, the land for which was to cost $10,000, was submitted to the city by the Society, and subscriptions were started among the residents to raise $6000 of the total, the city to furnish $4000; this project was completed in 1912. Through the efforts of the Society in 1911, Dr. Besse's gymnasium was used in the winter months for the benefit of the children of Waban.
In 1912, in a notice sent by the Society to the residents of Waban urging them to join, the first opportunity was given to the citizens as a whole to offer suggestions in writing for the improvement of the village; as is well known, this has remained an annual practice since then. Although the Waban Improve- ment Society never actively entered into politics, they neverthe- less saw that Waban, as such, was continually represented on the Board of Aldermen of the city government as a matter of village protection. The Society placed the matter of campaign- ing upon the residents themselves.
In 1913 the possible early necessity of a new enlarged school was discussed, and it was recommended that the city purchase more land adjacent to the Roger Wolcott School for the purpose. It will, however, be noted that this particular project was rather long bearing fruit, for such was not com- pleted until 1921. From 1913 through 1915 the usual routine matters appeared before the Society, including such additions as mosquito control, railroad bridge repair, and extension of sewage system.
In February, 1916, a committee consisting of the presidents of the Waban Improvement Society, the Waban Woman's Club,
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HISTORY OF THE IMPROVEMENT SOCIETY
the Beacon Club, the Tennis Club, and a few others, was formed to discuss the possible question of the establishment of a community club house. The result was the purchase of the land now owned and occupied by the Waban Neighborhood Club, and the erection thereon, in the following year, of the present Club House. During this year also, it was proposed that Waban had grown to such an extent that better fire pro- tection had become necessary, and the proposal for a new fire station within the confines of the village was advanced; this matter later became an actuality. It likewise became necessary this same year to prohibit hunting or shooting of any sort within the limits of the village.
In 1917 the first Bulletin Board was erected at the railroad station in which were placed all notices of public interest to the people of Waban. The Society shared that year in the lighting of a Community Christmas Tree on the school grounds, and although this project was dropped in 1920, it was resumed in 1927. Also in 1917, through the efforts of the Society, the erection of a garage in Waban was prevented, it being con- sidered by the citizens as unnecessary and detrimental to the general beauty of the village. During this war year, "Food Production and Conservation" was sponsored by the Society through the War Garden project, and it is interesting to note that 718,000 square feet of land was harvested by adults, in addition to some 77,000 square feet handled by a group of twenty-six boys under adult supervision. Purchases of all seed, fertilizers, allotment of land, etc., was handled most efficiently by a committee of the Society on a community basis. The sponsoring of the Constabulary, or "Home Guard," was like- wise fostered during this war year with considerable success.
In 1918 the major matter of concern to Waban seemed to be extensive street acceptance, and this was the most pressed project during the year, although a great deal of the work was not carried through until subsequent years.
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