By Muriel Bristol (Transcriber) | January 23, 2020
In this year, we encounter a pair of Milton snowbirds, a letter to the editor, Milton cottages for rent or sale, a running child, the Minnewawa Council, Little America cottages for sale or rent, a summer job (and coffee cake recipe), a fatal auto accident, two toddlers killed in an auto fire, a hunting death, and Robert E. Jones’ birthday remembered.
Sisters Mrs. Ingeborg V. “Ivy” (Swanson) Townsend, of Milton Mills, widow of Henry Townsend, and Mrs. Ruth H. ((Swanson) Iovine) Dawson, of Milton, visited Orlando, FL, as tourists in February 1951.
I.V. Townsend, a widow, aged seventy-two years (b. NH), headed a Milton (“Milton Mills”) household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. Her household included her boarder, Harold Dawson, a life insurance salesman, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH). Ingeborg Townsend owned her house on [Milton Mills’] Main Street, which was valued at $2,500.
Tourist Registrations. Mrs. I.V. Townsend. Milton Mills, N.H., Mrs. Seth F. Dawson. Milton, N.H. (Orlando Evening Star, February 14, 1951).
Mrs. Ingeborg Townsend served on the Frisbie Hospital open-house-day committee in September 1951 (Farmington News, September 28, 1951). Mrs. Ruth H. Dawson would embark upon a political career.
Milton Leatherboard manager M. James Guild wrote to the editor of the Boston Globe with his concerns that unbalanced budgets constituted a threat to democracy.
M. James Guild, a leather-board manager, aged fifty-two years (b. Scotland), headed a Rochester, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife, Eva [M. (Taylor)] Guild, aged forty-seven years (b. MA), and his children, Josephine C. Guild, aged twenty-two years (b. MA), M. James Guild, Jr., a leather-board laborer, aged eighteen years (b. VA), Frederick W. Guild, aged fourteen years (b. VA), and Kenneth S. Guild, aged ten years (b. NH). M. James Guild owned their house on White Hall Road, which was valued at $8,000. They had resided in the “same house” in 1935.
Meston James Guild of Whitehall Road, Rochester, registered for the WW II military draft in Rochester, NH, April 27, 1942. He was fifty-five years old (b. Wells, Somerset, England, March 7, 1897), and employed by the Milton Leather-board Co. of Milton, NH. His contact was [his wife] Eva Mertis [(Taylor)] Guild of Whitehall Road, Rochester. Their telephone number was Rochester 1162. He was 5′ 9″ tall, weighing 240 pounds, with blue eyes, grey hair, and a ruddy complexion.
What People Talk About. Our Own Stupidity and Ignorance Could Make Democracy Fold Up. To the Editor – John Harriman is right. Democracy is not going to fold before the bluster of Communism. Nobody I know of wants Communism or Socialism. Then what is going to make what we call democracy fold? Our own stupidity and ignorance – they could very easily cause it to fold up. We refer not to money, but the handling of money as the most important thing in the world. If an individual spends beyond his means, he ends at the poor farm. A state would probably be taken over by the Federal Government. If the United States becomes insolvent, with the resulting financial and social chaos, what is the result? The Government would take over control of everything and everybody. This would be a totalitarian state, any way you figure it; call it anything you want. This is the only thing that can destroy free enterprise or democracy. A free democratic government must, by the very nature of it, live within its means or, as we say, balance the budget. If it does not, it is bound to be a failure which means the end of that or any other system. M.J. GUILD, Milton, N.H. (Boston Globe, February 14, 1951).
Guild did not live to see $23 trillion dollar debts, which have been climbing under both parties at over a $1 trillion per year (and whose rate of increase is increasing). Many monetary analysts claim that debts of this size can never be repaid or outgrown; it can end only in a default or hyperinflation.
Summer Cottages and Houses. MILTON, N.H. 4-rm. lakefront cottage for rent, all conv., boating, fishing, swim. Aug. only. $50 wk. Write D 341 Globe. SSu (Boston Globe, May 5, 1951).
Houses for Sale. 120. A COTTAGE on Town House Pond, Milton, N.H., 3 yrs. old, $4,000, 5 rooms and bath, Youngstown kitchen cabinets, combination gas and oil range, tile floor in kitchen and bathroom, Elec. hot water, 2 bedrooms, living room, glassed in porch, full length copper screens on all windows. Completely furnished. Cement cellar under kitchen, 12’x12′. Call Rochester 780. 2t m11 (Portsmouth Herald, May 11, 1951).
REAL ESTATE. NEW HAMPSHIRE Highway Farm, $10,000 – House, 10 rooms, large sheds and barn, 90 acres, long high way frontage. C.T. BALCOM, Realtor; ME 4-2140. or Rte. 16, Milton, N.H. SSuW (Boston Globe, May 26, 1951).
Robert D. Runnells of Milton had a child run into the side of his car in Portsmouth, NH. You have seen perhaps the Crystal Motor Express freight trucks with their safety motto: “Behind a rolling ball comes a running child.”
Police Reports. Police reported that a girl five-year-old girl identified as Dona Jean Powell of 35 Profile avenue ran from behind a parked car into the side of a car operated by Robert D. Runnels, 19, of Milton, yesterday near her home. The girl was taken to Portsmouth hospital. (Portsmouth Herald, May 16, 1951).
The child, Donna Jean Powell, survived to graduate from Portsmouth High School in June 1963.
Milton long had a chapter of the unfortunately-themed Improved Order of Red Men (IORM) fraternal mystic order. Here several candidates are to have a higher degree conferred upon them in Manchester, NH.
Mystic Orders. Red Men. The 30th annual meeting of the Old Deerfield Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday in Manchester, N.H., in Odd Fellows Hall. 83 Hanover st. The Pocahontas Degree will be conferred on several candidates by Minnewawa Council of Milton, N.H., at 8:00 p.m. The annual business meeting of the Conference will be called at 9:00 a.m. Saturday. A reception and ball to Great Chiefs and guests at 8:00 p.m. New England will be represented by Great Chiefs from the several Reservations (Boston Globe, June 3, 1951).
Many of these mystic orders had their nineteenth century origins as mutual insurance benefit societies. The Red Men claimed to have their origins in the Boston Tea Party. Presidents Warren G. Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt were in their time all members of the IORM.
William P. Boivin advertised a new cottage for sale. (He had previously offered similar “Little America” cottages for rent in 1949).
Summer Cottages and Houses. NEW COTTAGE FOR SALE, IN PINE GROVE on shore of Milton Lake, N.H., finished and furnished like a home, 4 rooms, flush, screened porch, good well, electric pump, will sleep 6 people, price $5200. Write WM. BOIVIN, Box 90, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, June 16, 1951).
Summer Cottages and Houses. VACATION IN N.H. LITTLE AMERICA housekeeping cottages by the lake, boating, bathing, fishing, $35 to $45 a week; vacancy second week in July and the month of Aug. Write WM. BOIVIN, Box 40, Milton, N.H. SSu (Boston Globe, June 23, 1951).
Miss Edith J. Hodgdon, proprietor of The Little House (hotel) and Pantry in Northfield, VT, recruited her niece, Joyce Hodgdon of Milton Mills for some summer assistance. She had opened the hotel in 1940, changed its location in or around 1948 and, more recently, there had been a kitchen fire there in May 1951 (Burlington Free Press, May 21, 1951).
Edith J. Hodgdon, a commercial food work dietician, aged thirty-four years (b. VT), headed a Northfield, VT, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. Her household included her hotel guest, Rufus C. Jones, a memorial granite salesman, aged forty-two years (b. TX). The hotel was situated at 9 North Main Street. Edith J. Hodgdon had resided in Boston, MA, in 1935; her guest had resided in Colfax, WA, in 1935.
Edith J. Hodgdon appeared in the Northfield, VT, directory of 1949 as proprietor of The Little House and Pantry, with her house at 40 So. Main street. The Little House and Pantry appeared as a restaurant and tea room at 40 So. Main street, with Edith J. Hodgdon as its proprietor.
Personal News Items. Miss Joyce Hodgdon of Milton Mills, N.H., a senior in Milton High School, is assisting at The Little House this summer. She is a niece of the owner, Miss Edith Hodgdon (Burlington Free Press, July 11, 1951).
And if Joyce Hodgdon were to have brought home to Milton Mills her Aunt Edith’s Quick Coffee Cake recipe, it would have looked like this:
Favorite Recipes of Famous Taverns. The Little House and Pantry. Next to the post office in the village of Northfield, Vermont, this restaurant, owned by Edith Hodgdon, specializes in real New England dishes. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., every day. Closed December 20 to January 5. Baked goods may be purchased in the Pantry.
LITTLE HOUSE QUICK COFFEE CAKE
-
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons shortening
- 2 eggs
- 1¼ cups milk
- 2½ cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
Cream sugar and shortening. Add eggs, beat well. Stir in milk and dry ingredients. Spread in oblong 9 x 12 cake pan and sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts. Bake in moderate oven. Serve warm with butter. Makes 12 portions (Ford Times, December 1956).
Herbert M. Drew of Milton is thought to have suffered a heart attack while driving to Farmington, NH, on the Farmington-Middleton road, i.e., the modern NH Route 153. Drew died and his wife was injured in the ensuing accident.
Five Killed in New England Road Accidents. Five persons were killed and several others were injured yesterday in a series of accidents through New England. In Farmington, N.H., Herbert M. Drew, 53, of Milton, N.H., was killed and his wife was seriously injured when their car careened down a steep embankment on the Farmington-Union road. Mrs. Irma Drew, 43, suffered a fractured right leg, head injuries, and a dislocated knee. She was rushed to Frisbie Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Dr. George McGregor of Durham, medical referee, said the accident may have been caused when Drew had a heart attack. He was treated for a heart condition recently. Drew died from the injuries suffered in the accident. Dr. McGregor said. (Portsmouth Herald, August 7, 1951).
MILTON MAN DEAD, WIFE HOSPITALIZED, AFTER AUTO ACCIDENT ON MIDDLETON ROAD. Herbert M. Drew, aged 53, a resident of Milton and recently employed as a chimney cleaner, lost his life, and his wife was hospitalized when the car he was driving plunged off the Farmington-Middleton highway last Monday morning between 9 and 10 o’clock. The accident occurred as Mr. and Mrs. Drew were on their way to work in Farmington and it is believed that Mr. Drew suffered a heart attack as the car was rounding a sharp curve in the road directly opposite the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Tibbets. The vehicle went out of control, plunged down over a steep embankment and turned over on its side. The front end of the vehicle crashed into a large pine tree, causing considerable damage. Mrs. Drew the only other passenger in the oar was taken to the Frisbie Memorial hospital in Rochester and was later removed to the Huggins hospital in Wolfeboro where she is being treated for head injuries, leg and hip injuries, with possible fracture of both and severe bruises. Dr. George MacGregor of Durham, the attending medical referee, pronounced the man dead upon arrival at the scene and the body was removed to the Norman L. Otis funeral parlor. Mrs. Drew is a well known beauty parlor operator in Farmington and her husband had been employed variously as a woodsman, chimney cleaner, and at other occupations. They lived a short distance from the accident scene. Rural mail carrier Harry Nute narrowly escaped being involved in the accident. At the time of the crash he was scheduled to stop at mail boxes only a scant few feet from where the Drew car left the road, however due to extra heavy mail he was a few minutes late and thereby escaped possible injuries to himself and damage to his car. Mr. Drew was born in Concord and survivors include his wife, Mrs. Irma Drew; a son Frederick Drew of Laconia; two sisters, Mrs. Arthur Foote and Mrs. Leonard, both of Concord; and three brothers, Harry of Bow, Chester of Meredith, and Andrew of Concord. Funeral services were held on Wednesday afternoon at the Norman L. Otis funeral parlor. Remains were taken to Bow (Farmington News, August 10, 1951).
Late in the evening of the same day as the accident, and less than a mile away on the same road, a drunken Milton Mills driver crossed over into oncoming traffic, causing a head-on collision in which seven people were injured, one of them hospitalized (Farmington News, August 10, 1951). (There was a serious roll-over accident on this road in December 1949).
CARD OF THANKS. I am deeply grateful for the cards, flowers, and many kindnesses and expressions of sympathy in my recent great misfortune. Mrs. Irma Drew (Farmington News, August 17, 1951).
Mrs. Irma Drew may have suffered after-effects from the accident in which her husband died. She published the following notice a year after she sustained her injuries.
NOTICE! MRS. IRMA DREW wishes to notify her friends and customers that she will be at Wolfeboro Hospital for a few days. Her shoppe will be open for telephone calls and future appointments, under the care of her apprentice, Miss Phyllis Masse (Farmington News, August 22, 1952).
Two young children burned to death in a horrible fire on Jug Hill Road in Milton Mills. Their family had only recently moved here from Gorham, NH.
Cornelius R. Murphy, a paper mill laborer, aged twenty-seven years (b. NH), headed a Gorham, NH, household at the time of the Sixteenth (1940) Federal Census. His household included his wife (of one year), Leah B. [(Cousens)] Murphy, aged twenty-two years (b. ME), his child, Mary E. Murphy, aged one month (b. NH), and his step-child, Bobby A. Poutin, aged three years (b. ME). Cornelius R. Murphy rented their house on Lancaster Road, for $10 per month, He had resided in the “same place,” i.e., Gorham, NH, in 1935, while his wife had resided in Portland, ME.
Cornelius R. Murphy (with wife Leah B. Murphy) appeared in the Gorham, NH, directory of 1948 as an employee of the BCo, i.e., the Brown Company, with a house on Upper Main street.
Sisters, 3 and 2, Burned to Death in Parked Auto. MILTON MILLS, N.H., Oct. 11. – Two little sisters burned to death in a fire which destroyed an automobile parked outside their parents’ farmhouse on Jug Hill road at noon today. The victims were Lynn Murphy, 3, and Donna, 2, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Cornelius Murphy. The family moved here from Gorham only a month ago. Medical Referee George McGregor of Durham said he believed the children set the car afire while playing with matches. However, State Police were called in to investigate. The parents had missed the little girls, but had no idea they were in the automobile until firemen extinguished the flames. Lynn and Donna had been playing in the yard with their kitten when last seen alive. There are three other children, Adrian, 10; Cornelius Jr., 6, and Mary, 11 (Boston Globe, October 11, 1951).
Alphonse P. Plante of Dover, NH, son of Joseph E. and Marie E. (Lavertue) Plante, lost his life in a Milton hunting accident.
18 PERSONS DEAD IN NEW ENGLAND. Fires, Drownings, Highway Crashes Take Big Week-End Toll. HUNTER WOUNDED FATALLY IN N.H. Alphonse E. Plante. 21, of Dover, N.H., who had enlisted in the Marine Corps only a week ago, was killed when his shotgun banged against a stump and discharged into his abdomen while he was hunting in Milton, N.H. (Brattleboro Reformer, December 3, 1951).
Famous Milton-native Robert E. Jones’ birthday was remembered in syndicated newspaper birthday columns around the nation.
Today’s Birthdays. Robert E. Jones of New York, noted stage designer, born Milton, N.H., 64 years ago (Shreveport Times, December 12, 1951).
Previous in sequence: Milton in the News – 1950; next in sequence: Milton in the News – 1952
References:
Crystal Companies. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from www.crystalmotorexpress.com/about-us/
Find a Grave. (2011, September 15). Alphonse P. Plante. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/76570266
Find a Grave. (2014, June 2). Donna Lee Murphy. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/130751243/donna-lee-murphy
Find a Grave. (2014, August 4). Edith Julia Hodgdon. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/133853501
Find a Grave. (2014, June 2). Lynn Murphy. Retrieved from www.findagrave.com/memorial/130751226/lynn-murphy
Wikipedia. (2019, September 24). Improved Order of Red Men. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improved_Order_of_Red_Men
Wikipedia. (2019, September 11). Robert Edmond Jones. Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Edmond_Jones
Milton Observer 