Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 94

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

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Mr. Adams is a leading townsman and serves on the board of water commissioners and the board of appropriations. He is a director of the Baldwinsville Cooperative Bank. Among his fra- ternal affiliations are: Niagara Falls Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Royal Arch Masons, Royal and Select Masters, Scottish Rite Consis- tory, Niagara Falls Lodge of Perfection (charter member), Ismailia Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (life member), of Buffalo, New York. He is a former captain of the guard, a life member in his "Blue" Lodge of Masons, and member of Baldwinsville Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. His religious fellowship is with the Congregational Church at Baldwinsville.

Mr. Adams married, November 17, 1891, Cath- arine Billmore, of Watertown, New York, and they have a daughter, Pauline May, who married Lester Day, of Baldwinsville, associated with the A. L. Adams Paper Company, Inc.

REV. LOUIS T. RODIER, D. D .- The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, which is now presided over by the Rev. Louis T. Rodier,

D. D., and is today one of the largest parishes in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, had its beginnings in the last decade of the nineteenth century, when a little chapel was erected at the corner of Southgate and Grand streets, Worcester, by the pastor of the Church of Notre Dame, the Rev. Joseph Brouillet. Early in 1893 this new Franco-Canadian parish was set apart from the mother church and on February 7th of that year, the Rev. Joseph Edmund Perreault was sent by the Bishop to be the first resident pastor. On the Sunday following his coming he said mass for the first time in the chapel and so entered upon the ministry which he was to continue for almost forty years.

Father Perreault was born in the parish of the Assumption, Quebec, Canada, on July 12, 1847. He completed his classical studies in the College of the Assumption in his native village and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on the 18th of August, 1872. For three years he was an assist- ant at the Church of St. Henri, Montreal, and in 1876 became assistant at the Church of St. Remi. Two years later he was sent as a missionary to Coopersville and Sciota, in the Diocese of Ogdens- burg, New York. He organized the parishes in these places and continued his labors there until he was taken with a serious sickness. Obliged to end his work, he repaired to Sault-au-Recollet, St. Janvier, Quebec, where he remained with Msgr. Ignace Bourget, the aged Bishop of Montreal. In August, 1880, as private secretary to the Bishop, he attended him on his last visit to Rome. Two years later, when his health was somewhat restored, Father Perreault came again to the United States and became a curate at Webster, Massachusetts, where the Rev. Arsene Landry was pastor. In July, 1884, he was named the first pastor of the Franco-Canadian parish at Turners Falls, which had been established by Bishop O'Reilly. He took possession on the 16th day of July, 1884, and remained until 1893, when he was called by Bishop Beaven to Worcester as pastor of the new parish of the Holy Name of Jesus, which the Bishop had then created. Here he served for thirty-seven years and nearly until death ended his faithful ministry. But he was forced on account of ill health to resign some time before that.

In 1893 Father Perreault purchased land for a new church, facing Clark University, for which he paid $11,000. He then began construction of the church edifice which served the parish until 1916. In 1895 he also built the rectory at a cost of $8,000, and in 1898 laid the corner stone for the parish school, which had hitherto been held, since 1885, in the basement of the chapel at Grand and Southgate streets. In 1914 the corner stone of the present church was laid and the building was completed in 1915. In 1930 a new school was completed and this, with the church, rectory and convent now comprise the buildings of the parish. All are situated on a hill, overlooking Clark University Park, one of the most beautiful loca- tions in the city of Worcester, and form a group architecturally harmonious, being built of red brick with white granite trimming. The church itself is one of the finest in Worcester. Entry is made from a flight of granite steps which gives, through the portals, on the three aisles of the interior. At the head of the center aisle stands the magnificent white marble altar, with two smaller altars, one

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on either side. Fourteen stained-glass memorial windows, representing principal events in the life of Christ and His disciples and prophets, add to the rich beauty of the scene and to the atmosphere of devotion which the visitor immediately feels as he passes through the portals.

The church and the present church buildings reflect the growth of the parish, largely achieved during the long ministry of Father Perreault. When he first came to the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, he found it small and unorganized, but he left it one of the most flourishing parishes in the diocese. When the parish was founded, it had about five hundred families. Today it has some fourteen hundred families and a total mem- bership of about forty-five hundred. The original school furnished instruction to about one hundred children. Today, the fine new school has about nine hundred pupils and eighteen separate grades, under the supervision of twenty-five Sisters of St. Ann. The convent has accommodations for about thirty Sisters and includes every modern comfort and convenience.

The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus has had in its history only three pastors. Upon the death of Father Perreault of blessed memory, the Rev. Joseph A. Dolph came to Worcester as his successor in 1925 and served until he, too, died, in August, 1933. He built the new rectory, now considered one of the finest in the diocese. He was followed by the present pastor, the Rev. Louis T. Rodier, D. D., who was born in Worces- ter, July 8, 1872, and was the first Franco-Amer- ican priest from the city to be ordained to the Catholic priesthood.

Father Rodier is a son of the late Joseph Rodier, who was long engaged in business in Worcester and was a pillar of the mother church of Notre Dame. Father Rodier was born in old Notre Dame parish, was educated in the public and parochial schools of Worcester and, following his decision to enter the priesthood, matriculated in the College of Science and Philosophy at Mont- real, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1891. For the next eight years he studied in Europe, spending two years at the University of Paris and six years at the Uni- versity of Rome, where he took the degrees of Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy. He then returned, in the summer of 1899, to the United States. He was ordained to the priest- hood by the Most Rev. Thomas D. Beaven, D. D., late Bishop of Springfield. He was then assigned to Notre Dame Church in Adams, where he served for three years as curate with Rt. Rev. L. O. Triganne. From Adams the Rt. Rev. L. O. Triganne was sent to Southbridge, and Father Rodier went with him, spending an equal period as assistant pastor of Notre Dame Church. At the end of this time he went again to Europe for four years of post-graduate study at the University of Rome. Upon his return Father Rodier became a curate at the Church of the Immaculate Con- ception at Fitchburg. After fifteen months of service there, he received his first pastorial assign- ment, being sent to two churches, St. Raphael's Church at Williamstown and, in 1910, also the Holy Family Church at Greylock. Under his militant leadership the parishes, in two and a half years, paid off their entire indebtedness and built up a balance of several thousand dollars in the

treasury. In January, 1913, Father Rodier was sent as pastor to the Church of St. John the Baptist at Ludlow, Massachusetts. Here he served for fifteen years, building up the parish in a re- markable manner. He paid off the entire parish debt and built a handsome school and convent. At the close of his pastorate there he left behind him many accomplishments of enduring value and was widely recognized as one of the ablest adminis- trators among the priests of the diocese.

From Ludlow, Father Rodier went abroad on a year's. pilgrimage to Rome, Egypt and the Holy Land. On his return to the United States he was assigned as pastor to the Church of the Assumption in Chicopee, taking up his duties there on July 15, 1928. At Chicopee, while never neglect- ing the spiritual needs of his people, Father Rodier continued to emphasize the necessity for better educational facilities and a more thorough under- standing of Americanism in the parish. As a result of his efforts many boys and girls were induced to continue their education through the higher institutions of learning, while the parish school itself was greatly enlarged. During the last year of his pastorate he erected a building containing twelve temporary classrooms to accom- modate the larger enrollment at the school. Early in the spring of 1933, Father Rodier also com- pleted negotiations with the Federal Government for the sale of the old school property in Chicopee for the proposed new post office and about the same time the parish, under his direction, purchased a large tract on Springfield Street, where he made plans for the construction of a large modern school.

When he came to the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus at Worcester, in July, 1933, Father Rodier's reputation as one of the most active and successful priests of the diocese had already pre- ceded him. He was doubly welcomed, therefore, both as an inspiring leader, well qualified to under- take this important ministry, and as a son of the city, returning under the auspices of the church to his home. The remarkable demonstration accorded him, as he took up the duties of his new pastorate convinced him at once that his appointment to the parish was looked upon by its people as a genuine homecoming. While he had felt some misgivings that he might not be so successful in the parish where he was born as elsewhere, the exact opposite has happily proved to be the truth. The parish has never been in a more flourishing condition and it is a source of great pride and satisfaction to all that the work is going forward so well. In his church, Father Rodier has all the usual socie- ties, which look to him for guidance and encourage- ment, and he is assisted in his duties by three curates. His kindness and deep human sympathy have won him the affection of all his parishioners and they have given him many tokens of their zeal to assist him and the church in every possible way. In addition to his work in his own church he speaks interestingly upon various topics of the day and has become well known as an orator.

HERBERT J. GRIFFING-The business ca- reer of Herbert J. Griffing, executive of the Nor- ton Corporation of Worcester, began with the famous Quaker Oats Company, of which his father was one of the organizers. He had no particular liking for milling and was soon connected

Wiliam Conq

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with the rubber industry, eventually finding his proper niche as a sales research -engineer, the post he now holds with the Norton Company. In order of progress Mr. Griffing left the Quaker Oats Company to go with the Morgan Company, of Akron, Ohio, and was later with the Union Rub- ber Company of that same city. In 1919 he came to Worcester, where he has since been associated with the Norton Company, at first as assistant sales manager, and was promoted to head of the sales research department.

Mr. Griffing was born at Jackson, Michigan, November 2, 1886, son of William Herbert and Ada L. (Johnson) Griffing. His father was an expert miller and one of the founders of the Quaker Oats Company. He was a native of Al- bany, New York, and died in 1905. His wife was born at Albion, Michigan, and died in 1924. Their son, Herbert J., was given the advantages of a public school education, which he supplemented by some years of study at Buchtel College, Akron, Ohio. His business career has already been briefly outlined.

Fraternally, Mr. Griffing is affiliated with Adoniram Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; the Massachusetts Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scot- tish Rite, in which he has attained the thirty- second degree; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the University Club and the Chamber of Commerce, both of Worcester, and attends the Unitarian Church.

In 1925, Herbert J. Griffing married Dorothy M. Nutt, of New Rochelle, New York, daughter of Charles Nutt, well known historian and author of a "History of Worcester." It may be noted that Mr. Griffing is an occasional contributor of articles on various technical subjects to the trade journals of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Griffing are the parents of a son, David T., born March 12, 1926. They reside at No. 32 Bellingham Road, Worcester.

JOHN K. BYARD-Born at Fly Creek, New York, February 27, 1886, John K. Byard is the son of John S. and Della A. (Fitch) Byard, the former of whom was interested in agriculture throughout the most of his life. Both parents are members of old New York State families.

John K. Byard grew up on a farm, was edu- cated in the public schools of his native State and entered Williams College in 1904. Graduated with the class of 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, he matriculated at the Columbia Univer- sity Law College, from which he was graduated in IgII with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. Admitted to the bar of New York the year of his graduation, he began the practice of his profes- sion in New York City and so continued until 1924. As a lawyer his work for the most part was of a general character, but both in further study and practice he specialized upon corpora- tion law and upon laws affecting the ownership and use of real estate. During the World War period, Mr. Byard was counsel for the French High Commission in connection with the purchase and leasing of real estate and the provision of terminals and other buildings in which to receive and store war munitions prior to their shipment to France. Mr. Byard is a director of several of New York City corporations. In 1930 he was

elected vice-president of the Worcester County Bank and Trust Company, in which post his serv- ice began on January I, 1931. He has identified himself with the life of Worcester as a member of the Worcester Club, the Lawyers Club, and of the Tatnuck Country Club, his chief recreation being golf. Art has long been one of his interests, and he is a member of the Salmagundi Club and the National Arts Club, both of New York City. He is also a member of the Williams College Club and the Zeta Psi Club.

Mr. Byard married, January 26, 1916, Dorothy L. Randolph, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

WILLIE OGG-Golf, in its athletic, social and industrial aspects, has been featured successfully by Willie Ogg, professional of the Worcester Country Club and president of the New England Professional Golfers Association. So thoroughly grounded is he in all departments of the game that he is qualified to inform all-comers on every pro- cess of manufacture of clubs and their uses and on cach item that takes the player to the finish of a given course. His invention of toe-weighted irons is probably the most valuable improvement of golf clubs made in a generation.

Mr. Ogg's parents, William and Margaret (Bis- sett) Ogg, of Scotland and Worcester, make their home in this city much of the time, the father being a retired greenskeeper.

Willie Ogg was born in Carnoustie, County of Forfar, Scotland, May 10, 1888, and received his education in the public schools of his native land and at Massachusetts State College in Amherst. At an early age he became actively connected with the professional side of golf by serving as a caddy on the famous links of Carnoustie. As he became older, he was fascinated by the game itself and desired to know all about it, even from the very beginning or mechanical end. So he signed as an apprentice in the making of golf clubs, served his time and eventually was rated as an expert in this department of the industry. Then he went to Edinburgh, Scotland, to be manager for Hendry and Bishop, one of the best known golf supplies houses in Europe, with which firm he remained four years.

Mr. Ogg came to the United States in 1914 and was installed as professional at the Kettle Cove Golf Club that year. In 1915 he was called in a similar capacity to the Dedham Country and Polo Club, continuing in this position for four years. Then he went to the Atlanta (Georgia) Athletic Club, whence he came, in 1921, to the Worcester Country Club, whose professional he has since been. Enthusiasts of the game are thrilled by his bril- liant playing, and rarely does he appear on a course, either with novices or pretenders, that he does not have a large gallery. The fame of his fine pro- fessionalism has preceded him from coast to coast. In addition to holding the presidency of the New England Golfers Association, he is chairman of the committee on education of the United States Pro- fessional Golfers Association. Among the cham- pionships awarded him are: "Massachusetts Open," "New England Open," "Maine Open," "Eastern Open," and the "New England Professional."

In 1932 Willie Ogg made what is probably the most revolutionary contribution in modern times to the comfort, power and accuracy of playing golf -a perfect iron club for the imperfect golfer. To

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quote the description of these clubs by Gene Sara- zan, who, with other champions, is using them:

Ogg has designed a set of irons on a brand new principle. He has taken some of the weight out of the neck of his iron and put it in the toe of the club. By lowering the center of gravity via a lead- weighted toe he reduces the chances of hooking or slicking because the blade no longer lags behind the hands.

Lead slugs are inserted in the toe, the extra weight being extracted from the hozel. The Ogg iron reduces the angle of deviation caused by a hook or slice at least twenty-five per cent.

Willie Ogg's discovery widens the "sweet spot" -that hitting area on the blade face which is brought in contact with the ball which means a satisfactory shot. The margin of error is decreased. Using an Ogg-mented iron, one can hit much closer to the toe without slicing or sluffing.

Another enthusiast insists that the new club gives three times the driving power with three times the certainty of a perfect shot. And to quote still another :

Apparently Willie Ogg, a hardworking, conscien- tious professional who sticks to his teaching pulpit and his workbench instead of gallivanting around the tournament circuit, has originated a club which will make the golfer's trail less onerous even as it smooths the star's orbit.

He is a member of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce and the Bancroft Automobile Club of this city. His fraternal affiliations include Isaiah Thomas Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Royal Arch .Masons; Royal and Select Masters; Knights Templar, all of Worcester; and Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of Boston. In politics he is a Republican; his real hobbies are bridge and football. His religious preference is Presbyterian.

Mr. Ogg married, in 1912, Davina Lowe, of Dundee, Scotland. She died December 1, 1932. The children are: 1. Wilfred, a student at Dart- mouth College. 2. Florence. 3. Dorothy. 4. Mar- garet. 5. Muriel. The two older girls are students at the Classical High School, Worcester, the two younger children are attending grade schools in Worcester.

THOMAS BARRETT-During his long ca- reer as a building contractor in Worcester, Thomas Barrett erected many of the city's leading build- ings. He first came to this community in 1850, two years after its incorporation as a city, and except for a few brief periods remained a resident until his death.

Thomas Barrett was born in Castle, County Kerry, Ireland, on February 23, 1830, and was educated in the land of his birth. While he was still a boy, he became a stone mason's apprentice and at twenty emigrated to the United States to practice his craft. For two years following his arrival, he lived and worked in Worcester, but at the end of that period removed to Hartford, Connecticut, where he spent three years in learning the brick-laying, plastering and allied trades as they were practiced in this country. He returned to Worcester in 1856 and became associated with A. C. Lovell, one of the city's leading builders.

In 1868 Thomas Barrett went into business for himself, obtaining as his first large contract the construction of the Hotel Belmont, at Lake Quin- sigamond, on Ramhorn Island near Lincoln Park. Some seven years later he disposed of his business as a mason and formed a partnership with James

W. Doon, under the firm name of Doon and Barrett, dealers in flour and grains. The change was only temporary, brought about by events of the times which had sharply reduced the number of building projects in Worcester. After a year or two the partnership was dissolved, and Mr. Barrett again established himself as a building contractor, specializing in masonry work. This was in 1883. He continued his business without interruption thereafter until his retirement in 1905, a period of twenty-two years.

Mr. Barrett was the contractor for the masonry work of the first State Armory in Worcester, located on Waldo Street and now used as police headquarters. From the many other Worcester buildings, which he constructed in their entirety or for which he had the mason and stone-work contract, the following partial list may be made: Woodland Street Grammar School building; Win- low Street, Gage Street, Chandler Street, Millbury Street, Finland Street and Lamartine Street Gram- mar School buildings; English High School; St. Vincent's Hospital; St. Vincent's Home for the Aged; Park Theatre on Front Street; Lothrop's Opera House on Pleasant Street, later the Pleasant Theatre; Father Mathew Hall on Green Street ; and the new stone building of the State Normal School. He also rebuilt the old State Normal School and erected St. John's Catholic Church in Leicester, the Congregational Church in Spencer and the town hall in Uxbridge. Mills and factories which he constructed include: Charles Allen and Son boiler shops; Walker building in Barton Place (remodeled); Whittall Carpet Mills in South Worcester; Union Water Meter Company shop; J. C. French's shop on Hermon Street; Johnson and Barrett's shop on Foster Street; Whitcomb Machine Company shop on Sargent Street; H. Henry Whitcomb envelope shop on Prescott Street; Draper machine shop on Gold Street; Crompton Loom Works shop on Cambridge Street; Electric Light Company buildings on Faraday Street and others. The business blocks built by him include: Taylor Block at Main and Chatham streets; C. F. Sherer Company store on Front Street and Sherwood Block on the same street ; Taylor Building on Front Street; L. G. White Building on Bridge Street; Harrington Block; Richard Healy Block and R. C. Taylor Block on Main Street, which he rebuilt. He also constructed the following apartment houses: Forrest at Main and Austin streets; Denholm on Wellington Street ; Sheedy's, on Belmont Street; Thomas H. Hall building on Wellington Street; the W. E. Halls block on Wellington Street; and the Houghton block on Park Street.

Mr. Barrett was a member of the Builders Ex- change of Worcester, the Mechanics Association and the Chamber of Commerce. He was an incor- porator and trustee of the Bay State Savings Bank and a trustee of St. Vincent's Hospital. When the Roman Catholic parish of St. Paul was formed in Worcester in 1869, he was one of its first mem- bers and throughout all his life continued his liberal support of religious and welfare work.

Thomas Barrett married Johanna McGillicuddy, of Worcester, and they became the parents of the following children: I. Dr. Thomas James Bar- rett (q. v.). 2. Ellen, a resident of Worcester. 3. Elizabeth J., wife of John J. Linehan. 4. Mary, who married Thomas H. Sullivan.

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Thomas Barrett died at Worcester on November 4, 1916, in his eighty-seventh year. Although as age came upon him, he relinquished many of his former responsibilities, he continued to take an active interest in the city's life until the last.

THOMAS JAMES BARRETT, D. D. S .- For almost half a century, Dr. Thomas James Barrett was an active figure in Worcester life. His distinguished professional career and many services to the city made him one of its best known residents.

Dr. Barrett was born at Hartford, Connecticut, on November 15, 1865, a son of Thomas Barrett (q. v.), pioneer Worcester builder and Johanna (McGillicuddy) Barrett. His parents, who were re- siding in Hartford only temporarily, returned to Worcester before he was a year old and his pre- liminary education was received in the schools of this city. Following his graduation from English High School, he entered the University of Penn- sylvania to prepare for his professional career, taking the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1885. In the same year he began active practice in Worcester. While he was still under thirty, he was appointed a member of the Massachusetts Board of Dental Examiners by Governor William Russell, an honor which reflected the degree of professional eminence he had already won. Dr. Barrett served on his board continuously from 1892 until 1923 and from 1914 onward was its president. In his capacity as a member of the board, he examined between 14,000 and 15,000 candidates for the privilege of practicing dentistry and passed on their qualifications.

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Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume III, Part 94

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