USA > New Jersey > Morris County > Dover > Dover dates, 1722-1922 : a bicentennial history of Dover, New Jersey , published in connection with Dover's two hundredth anniversary celebration under the direction of the Dover fire department, August 9, 10, 11, 1922 > Part 11
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4. First-Aid Classes-
Dover 3.
Rockaway I
Succasunna I
Wharton I
Mountain Lakes I
:.
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Instructor
Enrolled Graduated
Dr. W. F. Costello. 41 27
Dr. G. H. Foster. I'2 8
Dr. C. A. Plume. IO
9
Dr. H. W. Kice 34 14
Dr. Bernstein 20
14
Most of the other places ignored the chapter and sent lists directly to Washington.
5. Junior Activities-
Junior auxiliaries, 13; membership, 3,402, as follows :
139
Boonton (one organization, three schools) . . ( : 184
468
----
Denville®
106
Dover Northside School 1,150
Dover Southside School.
329
Marcella 48
Mine Hill
42
Mount Hope Avenue, Rockaway Township. .
42
Mountain Lakes
132
Morris County Children's Home
25
Rockaway (one organization, two schools) . (
25I
341
Towaco
100
St. John's School, Boonton
45
Total 3,402
Their work consisted of 1,255 sewed and 681 knitted articles, also poultry raising and gardening ; funds contributed to National Children's Fund, $280.61.
6. : Belgian Relief-
Used clothing. Mrs. Luther Tompkins and Mrs. Edward G. Lewis. First drive, September 23-30, 1918, 8,450 pounds; second drive, March 24-31, 1919, 5,241 pounds.
7. Military Relief --
Knitted garments (sweaters, caps, helmets, scarfs) furnished to soldiers at Picatinny Arsenal and marines and sailors at Naval Ammu- nition Depot, Lake Denmark, N. J., in accordance with directions received from John Magee, director, Military Relief, Atlantic Division. 8. Civilian Relief.
In addition to the cases that came under the care of the home service committee, this chapter co-operated with the town authorities in furnishing and maintaining an emergency hospital containing twenty beds and seventy patients in St. John's parish house during the Spanish influenza epidemic, October-November, 1918. Musconetcong branch organized and maintained an emergency hospital at Stanhope, New Jersey. In other branches and auxiliaries persons who had taken first- aid courses rendered valuable aid in caring for the sick in their homes.
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9. Publicity-
The chairman has received all communications from the Atlantic Division, intended for publication, through the local chapter; has taken extracts therefrom and had same published in the local newspapers weekly and sometimes semi-weekly. The public has been given detailed monthly reports of all meetings of the executive committe, also items of interest to local Red Cross activities.
IO. Membership-9,01I.
II. Celebration for "boys," supper and parade, July 16-17, 1919.
The chairman of the luncheon committee, Mrs. Louise Fanning, reported that on July 16 a supper was served in Arcanum Hall to the soldiers and sailors of the Second District of Morris County, by the members of West Morris County Chapter. In addition to contributions of money from the various branches and auxiliaries, one hundred quarts of ice cream were donated by W. C. Van Benschoten, and one hundred cakes were donated by members of the Red Cross. After the supper a sale of ice cream and cake was held, netting $36.55, and the remainder of the cakes were donated to Dover General Hospital, the local Salva- tion Army, and the Children's Home, at Parsippany. The treasurer, Miss Mary Sutton, reported receipts amounting to $194.65, and expenses $107.23, leaving a balance of $87.42, which, plus 75 cents, was donated to the World War veterans.
CHAPTER HISTORY COMMITTEE,
Walter Edwin Howe, Louise Fanning, Minerva Freeman, Chairman.
Mary Sutton,
HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE
Robert Richards, Chairman, West Morris County Chapter.
The month of February, 1922, has come and gone, with its patriotic holidays in honor of Lincoln and Washington, long celebrated in our schools by special exercises commemorative of these great Americans and the principles for which they stand. We now face a new day with its international conferences consequent upon a greater struggle than Lincoln or Washington knew. May their noble example still be potent in leading us forward to a world peace founded upon true principles of world statesmanship. America means more to the world than it did fifty years ago.
We incorporate in our "Dover Dates" the history of the American Legion and the report of the West Morris Chapter of the American Red Cross as one means of commemorating the patriotic services of men and women in Dover and vicinity. And we should remember that many not prominent in these organizations contributed in other ways to the sup- port of those who were at the front.
The plain facts and figures of the Red Cross report should be read with sympathetic interest by thinking men and women. Those facts and figures are illuminated by the following verses contributed by Miss Freeman, suggesting in other terms than statistics the spirit in which the West Morris Chapter did its part. The committee expressed their appreciation of Miss Freeman's efficiency as secretary by presenting her with a Red Cross service medal.
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WOMAN'S WORK IN THE RED CROSS While the men of our nation do battle In the blood-drenched fields of France, And with Briton and Gaul and Fleming Are checking the Hun's advance,
'Tis the ancient lot of us women To practice each homely art, To wait at the rear and the sidelines, And loyally do our part.
So, under the banner of service We, too, enlist for the fight, And never our hearts shall falter Until the great triumph of Right.
In city and town and in hamlet And places remote from our ken We women have answered the summons And we follow the steps of our men.
In humble cot and in mansion, From dawn until late at night, In the hands of women and maidens The needles are flashing bright.
And under our busy fingers The piles of garments grow- Sweaters and caps and mufflers, In cases, row upon row ;
Comfort kits for our soldiers, Surgical dressings, supplies, And millions of "refugee garments," For the needs of our brave Allies.
Beneath the red cross of our banner, With its field of snowy white, Eager, devoted, untiring, We women toil on, day and night.
And though our bodies be weary, Our labors shall never cease Till the jangling tocsin of warfare Gives way to the joy-bells of peace.
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THE FIRST DECADE OF THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF DOVER
By Minerva Freeman
One of the undertakings of the Woman's Club which involved a great amount of labor, with a corresponding amount of satisfaction, was its share in checking up the 1917-1918 birth record. The State register of vital statistics for that year was known to be incorrect, and the woman's committee of the State Council of National Defense requested the Woman's Clubs throughout the State to make a house-to-house canvass in their districts, examine baptismal records in the churches, and check up their findings with the local registrar of vital statistics. The district allotted to the Dover Woman's Club included Dover, Whar- ton, Mine Hill, Shongum, Millbrook, Center Grove, Mt. Freedom and every house along the roads leading to these towns and villages. The civics committee organized the town into districts, and with the aid of residents in the other communities a thorough canvass was made. A list of more than 240 babies was made, including names of babies whose births had not been recorded and which were added to the State register of vital statistics. The Woman's Club takes pleasure in acknowledging the splendid co-operation of John G. Taylor, local health inspector and registrar of vital statistics. For this work the Woman's Club received special commendation from the State chairman of the woman's com- mittee, New Jersey State Council of Defense, at a social gathering of all the "workers" held at the home of the club president when the work was completed.
The Woman's Club has always co-operated with the public library in every possible way, and has accumulated a small sum of money to be contributed some time toward the construction of a permanent library building.
For several years the Woman's Club has been a member of the Travelers' Aid Association, and the club's representative, Mrs. Walter E. Howe, has on many occasions rendered valuable assistance to inexpe- rienced travelers, young children who were traveling alone, etc.
The entire time of the club members has not been spent at "hard labor," as might be imagined. Once a month a program meeting has been held, and some of these meetings have been addressed by very distinguished speakers.
A partial list includes :
May Riley Smith, former president of Sorosis.
Jessie B. Rittenhouse, Poetess.
Mrs. Beatrice Stern, of Newark, "Woman and Labor."
Mrs. Alice Jaynes, secretary of Consumers' League.
Dr. J. J. Savitz, principal State Normal School, Trenton, on "The Relation of the Home to the School.".
Colonel Edwin A. Stevens, of Hoboken, State road commissioner.
Mrs. William T. Ropes, president, New Jersey State Federation of Woman's Clubs.
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Mrs. John R. Schermerhorn, president.
Mrs. Charles W. Stockton, president.
Miss Sarah Askew, State librarian, Trenton.
Mrs. Julia Heath, founder of the National Housewives' League.
Dr. Katherine Bement Davis, former police commissioner, New York City.
Dr. Mary Gordon, of England, relief work with Serbian army.
Sergeant Ruth Farnham, officer of Serbian army.
Mrs. E. F. Feikert, State Republican vice-chairman for women voters.
Mrs. Otto Wittpenn, State Democratic vice-chairman for women voters.
Hon. William N. Runyon, Senator and ex-Governor of New Jersey.
C. L. Stonaker, secretary State Charities Aid and Prison Reform Association of New Jersey.
The following is a list of the presidents of the club during the first decade of its existence :
Mrs. R. A. Bennett, Mrs. S. J. Palmer, Mrs. T. J. Winslade, Mrs. Seth Ely.
A series of informal lawn and porch parties are usually held at homes of members during the summer, as well as the annual whist and dance which is given each winter.
The Woman's Club celebrates its birthday each year by an annual birthday party, at which a special entertainment is provided for the members and a donation presented to the Salvation Army to be used for the children's Christmas celebration. For several years the little Belgian Christmas stocking has received a generous contribution for the little children overseas.
The directors of the music department have always utilized the talent of the club members and their friends by presenting delightful vocal and instrumental selections at every meeting, and for several years the Woman's Club had a splendid orchestra, under the efficient direction of Miss Alice Rogers. One pleasant feature of each meeting in recent years has been ten or fifteen minutes devoted to community singing.
The dramatic talent of many club members was discovered and developed by Miss Ruth Beth Watts, and several noteworthy productions have been given. In addition to the annual high-class vaudeville given by the club members for several years, the club gave finished and artistic presentations of Tennyson's "Princess"; "The Taming of the Shrew"; "The Worsted Man," by John Kendrick Bangs. The Shakespearean tercentenary was celebated by presenting scences from "As You Like It," "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Taming of the Shrew." In recent years Miss Jane Lynd has arranged a number of very charming little plays and folk dances by children, and a beautiful old English Christmas pageant for the club's seventh anniversary.
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The Woman's Club of Dover boasts three daughter clubs, at Long Valley, Chester and Succasunna. It has always maintained most cor- dial and intimate relations with these clubs, as well as the Boonton and Mountain Lakes clubs, and many delightful friendships have grown out of these club visits.
While the Woman's Club is proud of its achievements during the past decade, the members realize that they are deeply indebted to the kindness of the men who have so generously co-operated with them and aided them in every undertaking, viz .:
S. J. Palmer, for the use of Palmer Hall without charge.
Board of Education, for the high school auditorium.
Vestry of St. John's Church, for the parish house.
Mayor and Councils, for co-operation in many enterprises.
Charles Munson, host of club at Pine Terrace Inn.
Dover merchants, for financial support.
Editors of local papers, for many courtesies.
The club has reached the stage where it feels the need of a perma- nent home, and members are devoting their energies to accumulating a fund to be used eventually for the purchase of a club house, which shall also serve the town as a much-needed community house.
"Woman has found a joy in all her work, Because through it she may express herself, Her longings, aspirations and desires. She feels herself a part within the plan Of all the universe. With lonely heart No longer does she stand, but, joining hands With all the hosts of women through the world, Works with them for a common goal at last, And sees attainment, where before there was Much drudgery and weariness and doubt. In magic uniform she now keeps step, Obeys, commands, accomplishes; and Hope, Resplendent, crowns her efforts day by day."
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THE RHYME OF THE WOMAN'S CLUB OF DOVER NEW JERSEY 1912-1919
By Minerva Freeman, Sometime Secretary Dear friends, we give you greeting fair on this our festal day ; We bid you in our gladness share, with spirits light and gay. As one who, having reached a height, surveys the scene below, Obstacles vanishing from sight, only the beauties show, So, having climbed for seven years, we look back o'er our past- Vanished the ridicule and jeers ; only the pleasures last.
To tell you all the aims we've sought would be an endless task ; To mention some achievements wrought, permission we will ask. The civics group found dirt a foe to proper sanitation ;
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Whate'er is done they do it well; they always draw a throng. Straightway they set to work, and so soon changed the situation. They purchased rubbish cans galore, and "Clean-Up Week" they founded Where weeds had flourished rank before, fair flowers now abounded.
Each opportunity they seize the town to beautify ; A row of splendid maple trees to Hurd Park they supply. This year, in August's scorching heat, the State requested aid ; Its tale of births was not complete ; a survey must be made. So, not alone in Dover, but in the county 'round They traveled, tireless, up and down, and every infant found.
The Housewives' League lagged not behind; they made sharp-eyed inspections
Of every dairy they could find, searching in all directions. The stores and shops, the bakeries too-no place they missed or slighted ; Painstakingly they brought to view all things that germs invited. No hidden spot escaped their glance if microbes there might lurk; Unceasing was their viligance; untiring was their work.
Next, in associative bands, they home and school united; The welfare of our land demands that youth should not be slighted. The club donated many seeds to children of the schools; Fiercely they battled with the weeds; they followed all the rules, Till stalwart stalks of Indian corn, asters of varied hue, Were proudly to the club rooms borne when harvest time was due.
Later a Christmas party came; 'twas filled with glad surprises; With laughter sweet and hearty joy they all received their prizes. And many other things we've done, well worthy your attention, But since the time is speeding on, none but a few we'll mention.
To make our town a healthful place we strive with might and main; We've sent our nurse, with heart of grace, to ease the pangs of pain. We instituted "Baby Week," with weight and measure test; The mothers were not far to seek-they came at our behest.
Each worthy cause we help along; we aid the best we can; We labor hard to right each wrong with money, work or plan. When war was taking toll of lives, unceasing was our toil; We helped "put over" all the drives-faithful we were and loyal. For the Red Cross we served with zeal, our fingers flying fast; We gave our time to others' weal; ourselves considered last.
Not all our energies we spent in public enterprise, For in this club is no intent all pleasure to despise. In the dramatic art we found performers not a few ; Plays over all the world renowned they placed before our view. In vaudeville our girls excel in both the dance and song ;
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The charms of music always thrill our hearts to ecstasies ; Our orchestra with rarest skill makes sweetest melodies.
In wisdom's way our pathway lies. Eager to know each thing, We humbly hear the message wise that learned speakers bring. And now, before we separate to go our various ways, Our friends we wish to celebrate with their due meed of praise. The officers, who guided us with wisdom, tact and skill,. Faithful, whate'er betided us, their duties to fulfill; Our members, too, leal women all, who strive with all their might Always to answer duty's call, strong to uphold the right; The host of men, who. year by year, their aid and counsel give- We owe to them our thanks sincere; they help our club to live.
Much happiness the past contained ; the future holds still more ; For us the goal is not attained ; our prizes lie before.
Now let us take to-day, dear friends, our motto tried and true, "By noblest means the noblest ends" we strive our work to do. Then will be heard a glad refrain, acclaimed the whole town over ; Thousands will rise to bless our name-the Woman's Club of Dover.
HURD PARK
Donated by John W. Hurd and Dedicated, October 12th, 191I
I lived a neighbor to Mr. Hurd for thirty-one years and knew his mother and sister, wife and two daughters, who all lived together. We visited back and forth and they were among our best friends. After a few years' acquaintance, his mother and sister died, next his oldest daughter, then his wife, and last his youngest daughter passed away and left him all alone.
About two years before he died, knowing he had no immediate rela- tives to leave his property to, I spoke to him about leaving the meadow (as we used to call it) to the Town for a park. He was a good-natured, jolly, unassuming old man, but was very slow in committing himself ; so he smiled and passed it off and there was no use pressing the matter and so it went on for some time. Nearly every time I would call on him I would ask him to consider the matter and finally I said to him one night, "Your family was one of the earliest settlers of Dover and among the prominent families of the town and you are the last one of the family. A short time after you are gone, the family name will be forgotten. Leave this land across the street to the town and we will call it Hurd Park, and it will be a monument to you and your family forever." He smiled and said he would think it over. I repeated the above to him from time to time and at the end of two years he sent for me to come down to his house. He said to me, "Mr. Buck, I have thought the matter over and decided to give the town the land for a park." A deed was made out the following day.
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At the next Council meeting, I presented to the town, on behalf of Mr. John W. Hurd, the deed for the land, consisting of about nine acres to be used for a park and for no other purpose. I consider the property at this writing worth about $100,000.00. He was criticized by people for unloading it on the town, that it was not worth paying taxes on and so forth. Same old story, God himself could not please every- body.
The Council then appointed Mr. Emil Katterman, D. R. Hummer and myself Park Commissioners and about the first thing we did was to put our hands in our pocket for money to buy an iron flag pole, and the Hoagland Guards presented the flag.
On October 12th, 1911, the Hurd Park was dedicated. There was a great procession of the fire department, lodges, school children and soldiers from the Arsenal and it was one of the biggest days in the history of Dover up to that time. Mr. Hurd sat upon his porch and enjoyed it all and it was one of the happiest days of his life. He died on December thirty-first following the dedication.
A short time after the dedication, the Park Commission was changed by the Common Council to a Shade Tree Commission and we came under the State Law of Shade Tree Commissions, with an income of one-tenth of a mill per dollar on the total assessment of the town. In other words, when the total assessment is $5,000,000.00 the Shade Tree Commission, under the law, receives for working capital $500.00 a year. One or two years it took all our income to spray the elm trees of the town. Once in a while the Town Council would appropriate an extra $500.00 a year, which we applied to do a little work in the park, princi- pally in cutting the grass and filling it in. Then the World War broke out and labor was so high, it was impossible to think of developing the park at such prices, so things lay dormant until the matter of a Soldiers' Monument came up in 1921 and it happened in this way. I had noticed in driving through the country in my car that several towns had secured a couple of cannons from the Government and I wrote to the Secretary of War for two cannons to place in Hurd Park, and I succeeded in securing them, but it was necessary to have Mayor Lynd sign the appli- cation, so I attended the following meeting of the Council and stated my case and they all seemed pleased that we had secured something for the Park. Then it occurred to me and I told the Council, I had seen a number of towns where they had brought in a large rock from the moun- tains and put a bronze tablet on it, with an inscription like this, "In memory of the Veterans of the World War," put a flower bed around it and a cannon on each side, and why not do the same thing for Dover? The Mayor and Council thought it would be a fine idea, just what was needed and asked me if. I would try and get up something and place it in the park. . I replied, "I would see what could be done and report later."
The next day I thought the matter over and decided that such a monument was on entirely too small a scale for a town like Dover. I then thought of three or four stones. I went out in the woods and secured half a dozen, but that was a failure, so I went again for more
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stones and repeated it a number of times and built up a mound of stones in my office. Then the idea of a stone for each man, with a bronze plate-with his name on it, struck me and I pasted a small piece of paper on them to represented the bronze plates and then came the idea of planting flowers in between the stones and I went home and had Mrs. Buck get out some of her old hats and give me the flowers that were on them to put between the stones and then I had a miniature of the present monument.
Mayor Lynd came along and I showed it to him and he was so favorably impressed with it that he asked me to set it up in the Council room for their next meeting, the following Monday evening. I did as he requested and they all thought so well of it that they passed a resolu- tion adopting the model as a plan for a Soldiers' Monument and instruct- ed me to place it anywhere in the Hurd Park I thought was suitable, and before I left the Council Room I had $100.00 subscribed to it. Had I not gone to the Council meeting to get Mayor Lynd's signature I would never have built the monument.
Then our newspapers, the "Dover Advance" and the "Dover Index," took the matter up and boosted it and subscriptions began to come in and grow and started the foundation, which is eighteen feet in diameter and four feet deep and had to build fires around it to keep the concrete from freezing till we got it finished. Winter set in and stopped any further work until Spring.
As soon as the snow disappeared in March, we started to look for native stone that had lain in the weather for thousands of years and were still sound and without any flaws in them and it was like going up Broadway in New York looking for a perfect man-ninety-nine out of a hundred had a flaw in them and we scoured the country, east and west, from Hibernia almost to Andover and north and south the same in order to find enough to build the monument.
Then the loading and sorting was very expensive. Many of them weigh from one to three and a half tons ; some a little smaller, that were easier to handle. Next came the placing of them in the monument. Take a stone weighing two tons and place it here. "No, turn it over." "That will not do." "Try it over there." "Well, that won't fit; here is an opening ; try it over here." "Let it rest there for the present and we will find a place later." And so it was all the way from the bottom to the top. It is much harder to lay stones as they are in the monument than to build a solid stone wall, and very slow and expensive to handle such large stones. Then began the criticisms and faultfinders, who never gave a cent towards it ; but subscriptions kept growing without my asking for a dollar.
A few of my best friends, who could well afford it, never mentioned monument to me or I to them, and they never gave one cent towards it, but we got along without them. We will not have to write their names on the list to be framed and hung up in the Council Room. And people who could the least afford it, came forward and gave liberally and really more than their share. One man said to me, when the monument was, nearly completed. "Here is $5.00, Mr. Buck; all I can afford; but I
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