harbingerOctober2013.pdf

8/14/2019 harbingerOctober2013.pdf

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HARBINGERN E W S L E T T E R O F T H E W E S T P O R T H I S T O R I C A L S O C I E T Y www.wpthistory.org

po box n188, westport, ma 02790-1203, [email protected]

Fall 2013, vol.46, no.3 Letter from the Director

Our summer ended with a tremendously enjoyable party, Splice the Main Brace!

The support shown for our first large-scale fundraiser, as well as the enthusiasm

for the special location of the eventhistoric Lees Wharf and the Paquachuck Inn

combined to create an overwhelmingly successful event.

The Society is truly indebted to the vision and sheer hard work of our event commit-

tee, Betty Slade, Cindy and Al Lees and Laura Raposa as well as to the dynamic silent

auction team of June Roche and Sharon Connors. This event has placed the Westport

Historical Society on the path towards long-term financial sustainabilityand we

thank you!

Later in September, more than 200 of you enjoyed a memorable evening with our

local rum running raconteurs at a packed Howland Hall at the Point. I was reminded

how lucky we are to have so many entertaining storytellers such as Cukie Macomber,

Richie Earle, Howie Gifford, Dawn Tripp and Davison Paull. It is greatly satisfying

that the Westport Historical Society can play a role in the preservation of these

storiesfact as well as fictionfor future generations.

Jenny ONeill

MAGE COURTESY OF THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM

SUPER SUMMER INTERN AND

HISTORY LOVER, ARIANNA TRAHAN

Arianna Trahan, who entered Westport

High School this fall, more than proved

her enthusiasm for history this summer.

In fact, she became an indispensable

member of our team here at the Bell

School by undertaking the daunting task

of creating a comprehensive family

tree of all Cadmans, Whites and Handys

connected to the Handy House. On the

last day of her internship, we unfurled

the family tree which was 22 feet long

and includes 500 individuals. We hope

to see Arianna back at the Bell School

to continue her research.

EXPLORING THE LIVES OF 18TH CENTURY SETTLERS IN WESTPORT

What brought people to this area in the 18th century?

What role did religion play in the early development of the town?Were slaves commonly found in the household?

How did settlers relate to the Native American population?

What was life really like in this remote region? Birth, marriage, death?

What is the legacy of these first settlers in Westport?

Watch this space (and our website and Facebook page) for answers to these

questions as we undertake a fascinating research project into the life of

Elizabeth Cadman White (1685-1768), the earliest resident of the Handy House.

Her life illuminates a little documented chapter in our towns history.

Funded by Mass Humanities and Westport Cultural Council.


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The Westport Historical Society

BOARD MEMBERS

President:Tony Connors

Vice President:Betty SladeSecond Vice President:Yvonne Barr

Treasurer:Albert Lees

Clerk:Emily Sutton

Charley Appleton

Nicholas Christ

Carol Coutinho

Laura Raposa

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jenny ONeill

MANAGER OF EDUCATION

Kathleen McAreaveyBOOK KEEPER

Nancy Andersen

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Westport Historical Societyis to engage the public in the exploration ofthe towns rich history and culture, to inspire aspirit of discovery through educational programsand encourage active participation in thepreservation and interpretation of our past.

The Society collects and shares this history.Its goal is to foster the imaginative processof connecting to the past, making it relevant

to our present and vital to the future of ourcommunity.

The Harbingeris published by the

Westport Historical Society, a 501(c)(3)

non profit organization.

25 Drift Road, Westport, MA 02790

website www.wpthistory.org

phone 508-636-6011

email [email protected]

Find us on Facebook! 2

to assist with the interpretation and preservation of the interior of the Handy House.

The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund for Historic Interiors enables us to delve deeply

into the many mysteries of the Handy House and to bring in experts to help with

interior conservation and interpretation.

We hope to reveal some of the secrets of how the Handy House was constructed.

What is behind the plaster, behind the shingles, under the floorboards? We plan to

use dendrochronology (tree ring dating) to answer the $10,000 Question: Just how

old is the Handy House?

The process of researching and learning about old houses is certainly fascinating.

In every way possible, we plan to involve the community in this process of discovery

and to share our findings with you!

handyhouse

news

STUDENTS IN BROWN UNIVERSITYS PUBL IC HUMANITIES PROGRAM FOCUS THEIR ATTENTION

ON THE HANDY HOUSE.

Ronald Potvin, Assistant Director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public

Humanities and his students will spend this semester getting to know the Handy

House as they formulate ideas about how to interpret the site. We are excited to

hear their ideas and perhaps to see some of their concepts come to fruition in the

Handy House!

WESTPORT HISTORICAL SOCIETY HAS RECEIVED A $10,000 NATIONAL TRUST PRESERVATION GRANT


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of Westport Art and Garden and his team, dug into the gardens at the Handy House

to create a historically themed medicinal garden and to beautify an unkempt and

unattractive vista at the front of the house. The Society is extremely grateful for Johns

offer to donate his services as well as his creative energy to this project. The medicinal

garden includes yarrow, black cohosh, amaranth, wild indigo, milkweed, turtle head,

hyssop and bergamot.

In the 19th century, Dr. James Handy used some alarming remedies such as calomel

(a form of Mercury that was often mixed with Jalap and also served as a laxative and

cathartic), and Spirits of Vitriol (sulfuric acid mixed with alcohol to create ether, a pain

killer; vitriol itself could also be used to burn away sores). However there is plenty of

evidence that natural remedies were also prescribed. One of the books that Dr. Handy

consulted was the Medicine Chest which included the following:

Westport Art and Garden creates a medicinal garden

at the Handy House

ON ONE OF THE HOTTEST DAYS OF THE SUMMER, JOHN MCCORMACK

Snake-Root, a very valuable medicine,

in the weak and low condition,

attendant on the latter stages of Fevers

Chamomile Flowers for a weak stomach;

make a tea of them by steeping a

handful of them in a quart of boiling

water and drink of it freely.

Essence of Peppermint relieves colicky

and other pains in the bowelscures

seasicknessstops vomiting, and

performs many other valuable things.

Rhubarb, an excellent purge and all

the Fluxes of warm Climate.


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Growing up on a farm was a lot of hard

work but remains one of my fondest

memories.

There was always a lot of work to bedone on the farm. I often worked with

my Pa outside, cutting and storing hay,

cutting and lugging green feed for the

calves and heifers, planting potatoes,

and beets, etc. It was also my job to take

the horses and cows to the spring brook

for a drink and drive them back to their

pasture or to their barn. Something

important that I learned was to always

be careful where I was to place my feet!

If you could not find me out in the fields

with my father, you could find me feed-

ing the chickens, collecting their eggs, or

shutting them up in their coops at night.

Except for one summer, I remember I

did all the canning by myself. Of all

things, that was the year the canning

closet fell over and a lot of my work was

for naught. The jars ended up draining

through the dirt floor of the cellar!

My sister Esther did a lot of needlework,and with my mother, made most of

our clothes. We were very frugal. For

example we would use the cotton from

the flour sacks to make our aprons. I

remember that instead of throwing our

old sweaters away, we would unravel the

yarn, then wash and clean it to take out

the wrinkles. I still have two vests that

I knitted from old sweaters. My mother

had the expression Use it up, wear it

out, make it do, or do without. We lived

by that slogan then and I still do now.

That slogan definitely helped us through

the Depression. Its because we livedon a farm and had plenty of vegetables,

fruit and even chickens, we were self-

sustaining through the depression.

Although, I did become very tired of

chicken!

We ate differently on the farm. For

instance, we never ate raw peppers. They

were always fried. Rice was used mostly

for rice pudding. Corn was a meal, not

added to a meal. And with the first crop

of strawberries, we had strawberry

shortcake for dinnera sign that garden

season had arrived!

We had plenty of raspberry and blue-

berry bushes on the farm. I had great fun

picking several buckets with my sister

and it was a good change from being in

the fields with my father; not to mention

how much we looked forward to blue-

berry pie!

A relish that always accompanied our

bean supper was raw onion sitting on

the table in a saucer with vinegar, and,

always a piece of salt pork could be found

in the baked beans. Our cows provided

cream, milk and cottage cheese that were

stored in my Uncle Johns springhouse

that was located over a spring brook in

between our farms. We also had a root

cellar to store winter vegetables.

We had one farm dog, Breame, a Scottish

name. Our horses were part of the work-

ing force on the farm. Bell was our best

workhorse; Bess was the friskiest, while

Kate just plodded along. Later on, we had

Donald and Billy.

We always had cats as they kept our

grain room free of mice. Buffie was

our best mouser. I can envision him now

sitting in the grain room watching my

father move the grain bags. When my

father saw a mouse he would point it out

to the cat and the cat would pounce on

the mouse and catch it for us. The cats

were not just farm animals; they were

our pets and friends as well.

Ambrose was my favorite cat. I remem-

ber one night she came to the front door

and kept calling and calling. I finally went

downstairs to find out what the ruckuswas all about. There she was, as proud as

could be, showing me a mouse that she

had just caught. I petted her and went

back upstairs to bed but she did not leave

and continued calling and calling until I

went back downstairs. I took the mouse

by the tail and dangled it in front of her,

praised her, and gave it back. She was

then satisfied and went on her way. She

just wanted to be sure that I knew that

she had brought me a special gift.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without


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BORN IN 1914 AND STILL GOING STRONG, ELVIRA SMITH LOOKS BACK ON HER YEARS GROWING

UP ON A WESTPORT FARM LOCATED DOWN A LONG LANE OFF HORSENECK ROAD.

One memory I do not cherish is that the

back of our out house was situated to

the North. Boy, that North wind could

get mighty cold! Oh, and I would rather

not be reminded of having to use a cham-ber pot in the winter time, then empting

it in the morning.

I remember one day Esther and our

cousin Jane and I were wandering around

the ruins of the old George Edward

Handy house, which was the property

next door to us, and found a working still.

Janie, who was quite a few years older

than us, came up with the idea to toss an

old water kettle into the still to show her

protest and to let whoever was making

the moonshine, know that they had been

discovered. Those were the times we

would often hear the rum running

wagons go by in the middle of the night.

When I was sixteen my father told an

auto dealer in town, Mr. Davis, that if

he could get me through acquiring an

automobile license, he would purchase

a car. As a result, my father bought a

1930 Chevy. He then gave up driving.So at the age of 16, I became our familys

driver.

One day, as my mother and I were driv-

ing to Swansea for a high school football

game, we came to a stop sign. One of my

fellow students, Wordell Sampson, drove

up next to me getting ready to pass. My

mother baited me and said, You arent

going to let him pass you, are you? That

was all I needed. I took the challenge and

left him behind!

I was the only one in the family with

a license for years. Currently my license

shows a hundred year span, from my

birthday in 1914 to 2014, when the

license expired. On my 100th birthdayI hope to drive one last time. Watch out

everyone!

When my high school graduation came

around it was very exciting to go into

the city to buy two dresses, new shoes,

a handkerchief, stockings and undies.

One dress was for the school dance, the

other for the graduation. It was also a

special day to celebrate because I was

chosen as Salutatorian for my graduating

class of 1932.

For an extra special treat my parents

purchased some flowers, and also let me

get a finger wave, which was one of the

first developed permanents. My friend

Hazel, who worked at the Star Store,

made the arrangements. My father would

not let my mother ever cut my hair so

when I had my finger wave, it was

quite a job for the hairdresser as my hair

had grown so long I could sit on the ends!

The year after I graduated I noticed an

article in the Sewing Circle column

in the newspaper where someone had

written in and commented how costly

it was for a graduation. I wrote an article

in response listing all the expenses for

my graduation showing that it did not

have to be so costly.

As you can see, working with my father

on our farm provided me with wonderful

memories. But those times also shaped

my life. I believe all that hard work

contributed to my physical strength and

character lingering throughout my long

life, even to now, at my age of 99.

My parents were very loving, wise and

taught me how to get along in this life

by hard work, minding my own business

and keeping my mouth shut!

We lived on the farm until I was 24.

Upon my fathers passing, we sold the

farm and move to Dartmouth in 1938,

just prior to the infamous 38 Hurricane.

However, home for me will always be

Westport. It lives closest to my heart.

Our thanks to Elvira Smith and Emily

Edwards for this look back into

Westports farming history. Please

visit our website to read more about

Elvira and to see more photos.

Photos, left to right:

Elvira Smith with her favorite doll Annie;

Elvira on the farm;

Elviras first car, a 1930s Chevy;

Elviras father, James Smith.


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Splice the Main Brace!

The Westport Historical Societys

first big fund-raiser Splice the

Main Brace! on September 7th

was a rip-roarin success!

Some 400 people enjoyed

beautiful weather, delicious

savories catered by Lees Market

and music by the Spindle Rock

River Rats and Blues Train at

the sold-out party at the Point.

The skiff parade during the

Captains Party was a big hit with

the guests as well as our silent

auction that reaped $20,000 forthe Societys coffers.

The entire event brought in

over $40,000 (net!) thanks to the

generosity of our business and

individual sponsors. We expect to

throw a command performance

in 2015, so do stay tuned

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

BUSINESS SPONSORS

AGENT

BayCoast Bank

Carls Collision Service

Credit Card Reviews Inc.

Douglas G. Vrona DMD TMJOrthopedics

J.A.R. Bakers Supply, Inc.

John Patrick Long, Attorney

Ken Simon Photography

Lees Market

Lees Oil Service Inc.

Mechanics Cooperative Bank

Paquachuck Inn

Partners Insurance Group

Partners Village Store

Plimoth Investment Advisors

R.E.S. TransportWestport Federal Credit Union

MASTER

ABC Tent

Baraby Electric

Bittersweet Restaurant

Bradshaw Insurance Inc.

Bristol Pacific Homes, Inc

Elegant Restrooms

Country Woolens

Dartmouth-Westport Chronicle

Financial Planning Alternatives, Inc.

Hadley Webb Foundation

Halloran, Lukoff and Smith PC

Jacks Landscaping and Lawn Service Inc.

Marceau Chiropractic and Rehabilitation

Pine Hill Gas and Convenience

Roland Hebert Inc

Sea Glass Cleaning Company

SERS

Whaling City Transit

6

Tents photo by Mary Benefiel

Skiff parade photos by Karen Raus


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MAINSAIL

Anonymous

Henry and Susan Ashworth

Gary Baker and Martha Sears

Trey and Debbie Bianco

Tom Boreiko and Alison Coolidge

Mary Lou BoutwellPatricia Wilde Butler

David Cole and Betty Slade

David Forney and Elizabeth Coxe

Marty and Judy Kelly

Bob and Patsy Lawrence

Al and Cindy Lees

Bill and Lee Morrison

Tom and Barbara Slaight

Garret Stuck and Pamela Coravos

Michael and Martha Sullivan

Steve Syre and Laura Raposa

TOPSAIL

Yvonne Barr

Norm and Irene Buck

Nils Bruzelius and Lynne Weil

Nancy Burkholder

Peter and Gaelen Canning

Whitney Chadwick

Jim Dorsey and Wendy Nicholas

Tony and Sharon Connors

Elizabeth Flemming

Ron and Kathy Flener

Janet Jones

Sally Ann Ledbetter

Florence Lees

Charlotte Metcalf

Tom and Karla Moran

James Rice

Mary Ries

Robert and Norma Sears

Robert Sieminski

Neil and Sue Van Sloun

Rick and Mary Sullivan Smith

Terry and Poo White

NEW ACQUISITIONS

The following are some highlights

of recent donations to our collection.

We are very grateful to all those who

have entrusted us with these gifts.

2013.010 DONATED BY BOB LEMOSFour ribbons awarded to Manuel J.

Lemos for horse pulling at the

Westport Agricultural Society Fair

1917 and 1922

2013.031 DONATED BY ELVIRA SMITH

A large collection of personal items

belonging to Elvira Smith and

other family members, includes 19th

century clothing, dolls, rope bed

and ephemera.

2013.042 DONATED BY BILL P ARDEE AND

LIN BECK

Shop signs We Serve Macombers

Homestyle Ice Cream A Quality

Product Since 1900 and Baileys Ice

Cold Soda 5 cents.

2013.043 DONATED BY MARIE HADFIELD

Unique and wonderful Lobster Man

Sculpture by Sam Hadfield. Made

from real lobster!

2013.048 DONATED BY LUCY ANN LEPREAU

Map of Bristol County and S. Eastern

RI. 1891 Geo. H. Walker & Co.

Boston, Mass.

2013.050 DONATED BY SARAH BAKER

Mailboxes from the Westport Point

post office.

Support LOCAL HISTORYThe Westport Historical Society is s

ported by donations from individual

foundations and businesses that care

about preserving the special heritage

Westport. In addition to joining the

torical Society as a member, please c

sider these other ways you can supp

our mission:

CONTRIBUTIONS IN HONOR OR MEMORIA

GIFTS Honor a friend or relative, com

memorate a special anniversary or m

the passing of a loved one with a con

bution.

BEQUESTS Leave a lasting legacy for

future by naming the Historical Soc

as a beneficiary in your will.

CORPORATE MATCHING GIFTS Please ch

with your employer to see if they of

matching gift program.

BUSINESS SPONSORSHIPS The Historic

ciety offers local businesses many di

ent levels of sponsorship and recogn

A BIGThank youTO OUR BUSINESS MEMBERS!Bartlett Tree ServiceBayCoast Bank

Bradshaw Insurance

Comfort of Touch

Country Woolens

Even Keel Realty

Geraldine Millham Design

Grays Daily Grind and Grays Gristmill

Jacks Landscaping and Lawn Service

Lees Market

Partners Village Store

Sisters of SolaceT.F. Morra Tree Care

Tims Lawn Care

Village Plumbing


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westport historical society25 drift road, po box n188, westport, ma 02790

Non-Profit

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Fall River MA

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membership levels

rINDIVIDUAL $20

rFAMILY $35

rCONTRIBUTING $70

rSUSTAINING $200

rSPECIAL GIFT $

Please make check payable to and mail to:

westport historical society25 drift road, po box n188westport, ma 02790

NAME

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CITY STATE ZIP

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Handy House opening doorways DONATION FORM

Donation $

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OR CHARGE MY r

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To donate securities or stocks or to make a pledge, please contact Jenny ONeill

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Please list donation in publications as a gift from:

MAIL TO:Westport Historical Society, PO Box N188, Westport MA 02790

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harbingerOctober2013.pdf