Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 73

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III > Part 73

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On June 28, 1931, representing Wiley and Foss, Mr. Davis broke ground for the erection of the splendid new Worcester County Tuberculosis Hos- pital and Sanitarium, which was completed Feb- ruary I, 1933. The new hospital is located on the edge of Worcester, near West Boylston, on a tract made up of what was three farms, aggregating four hundred and eighty-five acres. At the time Mr. Davis took charge of the construction work, the ground on which the hospital stands was part of a heavily wooded oak forest, where for decades not even a tree had been felled by the hand of man. Oaks of all sizes, from new young saplings to massive, towering, well-established trees, occupied the soil. Mr. Davis set about the task of clearing some ten acres of this heavily wooded land, no small job. The work went forward rapidly, and on June 28, 1931, ground was broken and the con- struction work on one of the largest and best ap- pointed hospital groups in the State of Massa- chusetts was begun. The underlying strata of the

site chosen was solid rock, and the construction gangs dug down from four to six feet and laid the foundations of the buildings upon that bed rock. During the first six months three hundred men were employed, and at all stages of the construc- tion as many as one hundred men were at work. At the end of the first six months, the six build- ings which comprise the group were erected and roofed in, and from that time the work went rapidly forward. The actual construction work was completed according to contract, November I, 1932. Preparations had already been made for furnishing and equipment, and before January, 1933, had reached its end, the magnificent new buildings had been carefully inspected by the county commissioners and by Dr. Glidden, its superintend- ent, who had had much to do with the selection of plans and the outfitting of the hospital. To say that Mr. Davis' careful work passed inspection is to state less than the truth, for not only did the commissioners pass the work, but they gave enthu- siastic praise to Mr. Davis for the very high qual- ity of every part of the work. Invitations were issued to the general public to come and inspect their fine new buildings, and on February 2, 1933, several thousands of people were conducted by specially chosen guides through the completed structures. From this great throng and from the local press came only words of praise for the com- pleteness of the buildings, for the manner in which Mr. Davis had filled the contract made between the county and the firm of Foss and Wiley, and for the appropriateness of the site which had been chosen. All the buildings are large and carefully planned. The outside walls of cream colored brick, inset with beautiful panels, make a most attractive exterior. The main hospital building, four hun- dred and eighty-nine feet and eight inches in length, with a mean width of forty-three feet, is four stories high and contains sixty-nine rooms, besides six sun-parlors, one at each end of the first three stories of the building, each thirteen by nineteen feet. Here one hundred and thirty-one patients can be accommodated with ease, and, with slight changes, two hundred patients can be cared for. The Nurses' Home, which is of modern archi- tecture and contains accommodations for thirty-six beds, is one hundred and thirty-three feet long by forty-three feet wide, and three stories high. There are six dining rooms for patients, providing ac- commodation for two hundred and fifty people; a hospital kitchen, sixty feet by twenty-five feet, equipped with every modern convenience. A serv- ice building one hundred and thirty-six feet long and eighty-five feet wide provides for a kitchen assembly hall; the six dining-rooms mentioned above, each thirty by fifty feet; an autopsy room; several storage rooms; and two operating rooms, equipped with every modern facility and appliance. The doctors' private garage, twenty by twenty-two feet, is housed in the power plant, and the general garage, one hundred and eight feet long by thirty feet wide, can accommodate ten cars. The power house is one hundred and forty-seven feet by forty- six feet, and here is the water tower, one hundred and fifty-three feet high, holding 150,000 gallons of water. Here, too, is the electric lighting plant, the heating plant, with its three boilers, automatically stoked, and the steam laundry. From the water tower mentioned above water is supplied to the entire hospital plant. There is a beautiful super-

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intendent's home, erected at a cost of $30,000, which contains eleven rooms and is heated by a hot-water system.

All the structures of this splendid group are built according to the most modern plans and are equipped with every modern convenience. The entire work was directed by Mr. Davis, and the confidence in his ability shown by the firm of Wiley and Foss, when they placed him in charge of a project which during the first six months required that he supervise the work of three hundred men scattered over a ten-acre tract, each group perform- ing a specific part of the work, was not misplaced. Mr. Davis has handled this large contract involv- ing the expenditure of $2,500,000 in a masterly manner and has fully justified the confidence of his employing firm. His fairness and his considera- tion for his men enable him to secure a class of workmen who cooperate with him in every way, thus securing the most satisfactory results for Mr. Davis and for the firm which he represents.

Mr. Davis is a member of Hobaska Lodge, No. 176, Free and Accepted Masons, of Ithaca, New York; and of Weeveda Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Port Elgin, Canada. His reli- gious affiliation is with the Wesleyan Methodist Church.

Leslie J. Davis married September 25, 1915, Eva Tingley, who was born in Melrose, Canada, daughter of Frank Tingley, a well-known con- tractor.

GEORGE FRANCIS HUTCHINS-For over half a century, George Francis Hutchins was ac- tively associated with the management of the Crompton and Knowles Loom Works at Worces- ter. He first became connected with this enterprise in 1873 and by reason of his mechanical ingenuity, inventive talents and executive capacity soon proved himself indispensable to the organization. He played a major part in the development of the company to a dominant position in the industry and for many years was a prominent and respected figure in Worcester life.

Mr. Hutchins was born in Hepburn, Pennsyl- vania, on October 5, 1841, son of Charles and Har- riet N. (Hunt) Hutchins. His father and uncles were all mechanics of exceptional skill, so that the boy came naturally by the considerable talents which he manifested early in life and which later were to prove of such great value to a leading industry of Worcester.

Charles Hutchins, the father, was born in Bidde- ford, Maine, on June 7, 1814, son of John and Hannah (Stacy) Hutchins and a descendant, both paternally and maternally, of pioneer New England stock. Early in life he entered the employ of Jarvis Manly, a prominent Pennsylvania contractor, under whom he received his training as a mechanic. For a period of years he was engaged in setting up machinery and installing rolling mills in different parts of the country. In 1846 he became master mechanic in the old Douglas Axe Works at East Douglas, Massachusetts, where, a number of years earlier he had set up improved machinery for cut- ting bar iron. He remained with the Douglas Axe Works until his death, which occurred as the result of an accident in the plant. Charles Hutchins con- tributed many important devices to the improve- ment of machinery for manufacturing axes and spent the greater part of his life in designing and

perfecting these devices. He was a man of impor- tance in his community, serving for several years as Representative in the General Court. He died on April II, 1867.

Charles Hutchins married, November 2, 1834, Harriet Newell Hunt, who was born at East Douglas on November 21, 1814, daughter of Dea- con Oliver and Phebe (Balcolm) Hunt and a direct descendant in the seventh generation from Samuel Hunt, of Halifax, Yorkshire, England, who estab- lished this family in America at Concord in 1635. Her grandfather, Ezekiel Hunt, was a soldier of the American Revolution. Her father and his brother, Joseph, founded the axe industry in Doug- las in 1795 and her brother, Deacon Warren Hunt, was for many years the most prominent citizen of East Douglas.

George Francis Hutchins, of this record, was only five years old when his family removed from Hepburn, Pennsylvania, to East Douglas. He re- ceived his education in the public schools of the latter town, completing the high school course at the age of seventeen. At that time he was already a well-trained machinist, having spent much of his spare time in mechanical work under his father's guidance. After leaving high school he worked for about a year in the Douglas Axe Works, follow- ing which he accepted a position with Harrington and Heald, manufacturers of bayonets at Millbury. A year later the Civil War broke out, with its increased demand for firearms. Mr. Hutchins went to Boston and was there engaged in the manu- facture of Spencer rifles for the government, until the strain of overwork to keep pace with the demand for firearms brought about a physical breakdown.

After a year, in which he gradually recovered his health, he enlisted, in the fall of 1862, as a drummer boy in Company I, 5Ist Regiment, Mas- sachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He participated in several engagements in North Carolina, was as- signed to duty at Newbern in that State, and was later transferred to Baltimore. This was at the time of the Confederate invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and he and his entire regiment re- enlisted to meet the challenge of the South, al- though their original term of service had expired. The malarial fever, which reduced the regiment to two hundred and seventy-four effective men, did not spare him, and after eleven months at Balti- more, he was invalided home, his health again broken. It was a full year thereafter before he could return to any kind of labor.

Eventually, however, Mr. Hutchins reentered the Douglas Axe Factory. Subsequently, seeking larger opportunities, he resolved to become a civil engineer and, with the bounty money he received at the time of his enlistment, together with a few hundred dollars he had saved, he was able to enter a technical training school at Providence, Rhode Island, studying higher mathematics and civil engi- neering. Here he completed a two years' course, after which he began active practice as a surveyor and civil engineer. Mr. Hutchins had decided to go West, where there was a greater opportunity for professional advancement, but his father's death in 1867 made it necessary for him to return home to support his widowed mother. He became mas- ter mechanic at the Douglas Axe Works, succeed- ing his father, and continued in that connection until his mother's death four years later.

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As he was preparing to resume work as a civil engineer and surveyor an unexpected opportunity came to him. The firm of L. J. Knowles and Brother had recently established its shop in Worces- ter and was now engaged in perfecting the loom which the senior partner had invented. Mr. Hutchins was offered the position of foreman in their shop, where an expert machinist was needed to take charge and to assist in the perfection of the loom. He accepted the opportunity and in Feb- ruary, 1873, came to Worcester, where his activ- ities were to center until the time of his death. Mr. Hutchins possessed the technical knowledge and resourcefulness to develop in workable form the ideas of the inventor of the loom. He sug- gested many improvements of his own, which were incorporated in the device and during the lifetime of Lucius J. Knowles he was his indispensable assistant. Mr. Hutchins became foreman and super- intendent of the factory, devoting his time prin- cipally to developing new models. Many new fea- tures were of his invention, and he took out, alto- gether, some ninety-six patents relating to the loom industry, all of which were in general use for many years. He was to a large extent responsible for the continued success and progress of his com- pany and for the efficient supervision of a plant employing at a maximum, 2,500 men. This figure may be contrasted with the fifty men who were originally employed by the company. With the organization of the Crompton and Knowles Loom Works, Mr. Hutchins became general superintend- ent of the company, continuing in that office until his retirement in 1917. Even after he was relieved from the active duties of management, he continued to devote his time to the problems of the company in their larger aspects.

Mr. Hutchins' accomplishments commanded re- spect and brought him a position of great prom- inence in Worcester life. He used his influence wisely for the advancement of the city's general welfare and always lent his support to worthy com- munity movements. He was a member of All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church and for many years was a vestryman of that church. He was active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, helping to raise the necessary fund for the erection of its building, and for over sixty years was a member of Solomon's Temple Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at Uxbridge. He was also active in higher bodies of the Masonic Order, receiving its highest honor, election to the thirty- third degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. Mr. Hutchins was a Republican in politics, al- though invariably refusing the many public offices which might have been his, had he so desired. He was a member of the American Society of Me- chanical Engineers, the Worcester Mechanics As- sociation and of several other organizations, in- cluding the Worcester Club, the Tatnuck Country Club, the Worcester Country Club, the Common- wealth Club and the Worcester Chamber of Com- merce.

On December 28, 1869, George Francis Hutchins married (first) Annie Louise Bodkin, who died June 3, 1874, daughter of Washington Lee and Catherine (Harper) Bodkin of Alexandria, Vir- ginia. He married (second), May 12, 1875, Edna Porter Fairbanks, daughter of Franklin and Susan (Stewart) Fairbanks, who died August 30, 1884. On June 12, 1889, he married (third) Jennie Maria

Kettell, daughter of James and Sarah J. (Metcalf) Kettell of Worcester. On the first marriage, two children were born: I. Charles Francis (q. v.). 2. William Lee, who was accidentally killed at the age of twenty-seven. There were also two chil- dren of the second marriage: 3. Dr. Henry Talbot, a Boston surgeon. 4. Edwin Donald, who died at the age of fourteen. Of the third marriage, there is one son: 5. Richard Kettell.

Mr. Hutchins died at Worcester in 1928 in his eighty-seventh year. His death brought to its close an exceptionally useful and distinguished ca- reer, whose constructive influences were of value alike to American industry and to the city in which he so long made his home.

CHARLES FRANCIS HUTCHINS-As president and treasurer of the Standard Foundry Company, Charles Francis Hutchins controls an enterprise which is numbered among the important industries of Worcester, continuing in his own ca- reer the tradition of prominence in the city's life which has long been connected with the family name.

Mr. Hutchins was born at East Douglas, Massa- chusetts, on February 1, 1871, a son of George Francis Hutchins (q. v.) and of Annie Louise (Bodkin) Hutchins. He received his education in the public schools of this State and at a commer- cial college, beginning his active career with the Crompton and Knowles Loom Works, with which he was connected for thirty years. During part of that time he was a director of the company. In 1899, however, Mr. Hutchins organized, in asso- ciation with Frank T. Williams and Thomas T. Booth, the Standard Foundry Company, to which he has given the greater part of his time for more than three decades. F. T. Williams was the first president of the company and was succeeded in that office by Thomas T. Booth. The business of the company consists largely in the manufacture of gray iron castings. Mr. Hutchins was active in its management from the time of its establishment and in 1920 acquired full control. He has since con- tinued as sole owner of the company and as pres- ident and treasurer of the corporation. The orig- inal plant was located at No. 75 Tainter Street, but in 1921, because of increased business, Mr. Hutchins acquired the factory and site formerly occupied by the Whitcomb-Blaisdell Company at No. 25 Southgate Place, which is the company's present location. Floor space available in their buildings amounts to 750,000 square feet, while the entire plant is double that area. The Maximum number of employees is one hundred and fifty. In addition to gray iron castings, the Standard Foundry Company also casts semi-steel. The bulk of their business is confined to the New England states, but the company has been established on sound principles and can show a record of steady progress which reveals the high quality of their work. George F. Hutchins, 2d, and Charles W. Hutchins, sons of Charles Francis Hutchins, are now associated with their father in the business. Mr. Hutchins has built up a very efficient organ- ization which is competent to meet every demand made upon it.

Apart from his business interests, he is a mem- ber of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, the Worcester Club, the Tatnuck Country Club and the Economic Club. He is an Episcopalian in

Rt. Reb. Msgr. Anthony 2. Cyran

ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH, WEBSTER, MASS.

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religious faith and is well known in the general life of this city.

In 1899, Charles Francis Hutchins married Helen J. Wheeler of Rutland, Vermont. They are the parents of three children: I. Helen J., who married John H. Orr, Jr., and has four children, Helen J., Joan B., John Henry Orr, III, and Janice W. 2. George Francis, 2d, who attended Boston University and is also associated with the Standard Foundry Company. 3. Charles W., who was educated at Wentworth Institute and is now an associate in the Standard Foundry Company.

RT. REV. MSGR. ANTHONY A. CYRAN, Deceased, Pastor of St. Joseph's Parish of Webster-Since 1926 the Rev. John R. Klekotka has served St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Webster, Massachusetts, first as assistant pastor and since the death of the beloved Monsignor Anthony A. Cyran on September 4, 1933, as ad- ministrator.

St. Joseph's Parish is one of the oldest Polish parishes in all New England. It was established and named in 1887, after the Polish people of Wor- cester, numbering some four hundred, had sought permission from Father Quan, their pastor, to erect a Polish church. Previously it was necessary for them to attend the Irish parish of St. Louis. The first mass for this group of Polish people was said in the basement of St. Louis' Church by the Rev. Marvin Kowski in September, 1886. In the fall of the same year, three-quarters of an acre of land was purchased on Whitcomb Street, Web- ster, and the basement of the new church was completed in the summer of 1887. The corner stone of the church was laid in September, 1887, by Father Quan. The Church of St. Joseph was completed in the spring of 1888 and dedicated in the summer of 1889. The founder and builder of the church was Father F. S. Chalupka. Father Chalupka said the first mass in St. Joseph's Church on Trinity Sunday, 1888, and remained as pastor of the parish for over seven years. In March, 1890, he purchased close to the church land for a school and in 1891 began the erection of the first frame schoolhouse, where the Polish children of the parish were educated by the Sisters of Saint Felicia. By 1906 the school had an enrollment of five hundred children, whose instruction was in the capable hands of six Sisters. After the completion of the school Father Chalupka began the enlarge- ment of the church to a seating capacity of eight hundred. In the summer of 1893 St. Joseph's Church was rededicated by Bishop Beaven.

In February, 1895, Father Stanislaus Laczynski was appointed pastor of the parish and served until October, 1898. For a short time thereafter the parish was administered by Father Venceslaus Lenz, but with the beginning of the new year, 1899, the duties of the parish were taken over by the Franciscan Fathers, Stanislaus Harnowski and Idza Bok. They remained until 1902, when Father F. S. Chalupka returned for the second time, as pastor, serving in that capacity until 1908. In that year, Father M. Kopykiewici began a two years' pastorate at St. Joseph's, being succeeded on Jan- uary 10, 1910, by Monsignor Anthony A. Cyran, whose labors in the parish continued for more than twenty-three years and meant so much to its people.

Monsignor Cyran was born in Poland on Feb- ruary 25, 1883, and came to the United States with

his parents, when he was only three years old. The family home was established in Chicopee, Mas- sachusetts, where he received his early education in the Holy Name School, conducted by the Chris- tian Brothers. After his graduation from that in- stitution, he attended the school of the Resurrec- tionist Fathers in Berlin, now Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and remained until 1901, when he became a student in the Seminary of the Sulpician Fathers at Montreal. Here he prepared for the priesthood, studying philosophy and theology. On December 22, 1907, he was ordained in the Cathedral in Montreal by the Rt. Rev. Archbishop Bruchessi and on the following day celebrated his first mass in Chicopee. On Christmas Day, 1907, he came to Webster on the invitation of Father Chalupka and celebrated mass at St. Joseph's Church, where two years later he became pastor.

Father Cyran was first assigned to Clinton, Mas- sachusetts, where he served as assistant pastor of the Irish parish of St. John, ministering particu- larly to the one hundred and eighty Polish fam- ilies which belonged to that parish. On January 10, 1910, he returned permanently to Webster, where he was pastor of St. Joseph's Church until his death. When he came to Webster, a young and energetic priest of twenty-seven, there were some six hundred Polish families in St. Joseph's parish. His first task, on taking over his new duties, was to erect a suitable convent for the Felician Sisters. Their home at the time was a small and inadequate wooden structure, and in its place Father Cyran constructed a modern brick building on Maynard Street. With the completion of this edifice, he turned his attention to the church itself. The old wooden structure was far too small for the needs of the people and in August, 1913, Father Cyran had the great satisfaction of see- ing the corner stone of a new brick church laid and blessed by Bishop Thomas Beaven. It was completed the following year at a cost of $100,000.

The present edifice of St. Joseph's Church has not only the largest seating capacity of any church in the community, but it is one of the most beau- tiful churches in New England. An imposing structure, ideally proportioned and manifesting in every line the skill of the finest architects and builders, it commands the admiration of all who view it and is a constant source of inspiration to the people of the parish. The landscaping of the grounds of the church and its surrounding build- ings is superb. Each unit fits smoothly into its appointed place and blends with the design of the whole. But it is the interior of the church itself that fairly dazzles the eye of the beholder by its richness and beauty, which are unsurpassed by any church in Massachusetts. The entrance to the church is by four imposing granite steps. At the head of the main aisle are three altars, a large center one, and one on either side, all of white marble, beautifully hand carved.

There is one center and two side aisles, and the seats are of oak. The ceiling is plain, but very rich, supported by twenty square pillars, and be- tween them at the top are beautiful oil paintings. On each side of the church are eight memorial windows. The first one on the left of the altar, representing the birth of Christ, was given to the church parish as a memorial to Father A. A. Cyran. It shows the stable, Joseph and Mary, the Babe and the wise men kneeling in worshipful

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attendance. The other memorial windows, also of stained glass, are likewise executed in the most exquiste manner, illustrating epochs and people of importance in the early history of the life of Christ. These windows are without exception unsurpassed if equalled by any church in the United States.

After the completion of the church, the growth of the parish continued undiminished and it was soon evident that the parochial school was far too small for the accommodation of its pupils. In May, 1923, therefore, Monsignor Cyran appointed a campaign week in the cities of Webster and Dudley for the benefit of the Polish Parochial School, and largely through his energetic direc- tion the sum of $55,000 was raised. The old frame school building was torn down and in 1924 the new brick school building was erected at a cost of $220,000. It was blessed by the Rt. Rev. Thomas M. O'Leary, Bishop of the Diocese of Springfield, in the early part of 1925. Today its twenty class rooms easily accommodate the more than 1, 100 children who are taught there annually. In addition to its class rooms, the building also includes a gymnasium, bowling alleys and meeting and recreation rooms-a complete educational insti- tution, which stands as a monument to the vision and energy of Father Cyran. Finally, in 1931, a magnificent new rectory of sixteen rooms was com- pleted at a cost of $50,000, including every accom- modation for the comfort of its occupants. This structure rounded out a group of buildings, com- prising the church, the school, the convent and rectory, which, in beauty and utility alike, are among the finest in the State. St. Joseph's parish today is valued at $445,000. Approximately 1,000 families belong to the parish and the total mem- bership is over 5,000. When these figures are considered in connection with the splendid parish equipment, the magnitude of Monsignor Cyran's accomplishment in building up this parish from a poor small church is better realized. A dozen or more societies belong to the parish, including St. Joseph's Society, which is the oldest and was organized on March 1, 1889. The people of the parish have always done their part, not only in the upbuilding of their own church, but when other calls were made upon them. During the World War thirty-two volunteers from the parish went to serve with the Polish Army in France and many generous contributions were made to various war relief causes.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 73

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933 Publication date: 1934 Publisher: New York, American historical Society Number of Pages: 700

Author: Nelson, John, 1866-1933
Publication date: 1934
Publisher: New York, American historical Society
Number of Pages: 700