These news items were the talk of the town on September 22, 1905
Mr. Alfred Tannehill and son Drayton have returned from a three months, sojourn at Cottage City.
Joseph Landry has been confined to the house the past week. Charles Ryan has been taking his place in Landry’s barber shop.
Miss Edna McElhenney is learning to be a telephone operator at the Norwood exchange and will be given a position as soon as the three position board is completed.
All the local druggists have been at the convention of the National Association of Retail Druggists held in Mechanics building, Boston, during the past week.
Miss Maud P. Hartshorn has resumed her studies at the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics.
Winston Churchill of Plymouth has been visiting friends in town this week.
Miss Maud Woods, teacher in the public schools, was confined to the house Monday and’ Tuesday. Miss Burns filled her position during her absence.
The Norwood Tennis Club plays the Weston Tennis Club at Weston, Saturday. Lawrence Huse, Henry Stone, Charles Rich, Harold Gay, and Harry Kendal^will represent Norwood. A number of enthusiasts will probably follow the club.
Miss McCarthy, a graduate of Bridgewater Normal School has been taking Miss Curtin’s place in the Balch school during the past week, Miss Curtin being unable to be present owing to the death of a brother.
Miss Ella May Churchill visited friends in Franklin the first of the week.
Postmaster Eales has been confined to the house the past week and unable to attend to his duties.
A large number of baseball fans welcomed the would-be champions on their return home from their western trip Thursday.
Charles O’Brien will enter the Boston Post Office as a clerk, October 1st.
The local surveying firm of Smith and Kiley, has been setting street bounds the past week.
Cornelius Horgan, the popular livery stableman, took a three day’s vacation commencing last Saturday. Where “Nelins” went is not known.
Work has commenced on the cellar of Mahlon Perry’s new house on Walpole Street.
Miss Eva Marden of Quincy is the guest of Miss Ruth Farnsworth of Cottage Street.
The tax bills are being distributed this week and everybody is glad of course to see their bill.
The little child of Jason Daniels of Vernon Street, six days old, died Wednesday. Services were conducted over the body by Rev. W. R. Vaughan.
Mr. Editor:
I have tried for some time to get the opinion of some of the boys of Norwood as regards the probability of taking Prospect Park away from them, and what they would do for a sporting ground if the park is sold for building purposes. The opportunity came at the close of the ball game last Saturday, when your scribe, walking down Vernon Street behind a dozen enthusiastic young men, overheard the following discussion:
‘‘Say, fellows, I wonder if we will be climbing this hill next season to attend ball games!” said one.
‘‘Sure thing.” answered another.
‘‘Look, Do you know, I think the town will buy Prospect Park and dedicate it to the uses of the boys of Norwood for a playground. I have heard some of the men talking about it. They are going to have an article inserted in the warrant for the next annual town meeting ‘which will read like this: ‘To see if-the town will vote to purchase Prospect Park for a public playground, and raise and appropriate money therefor. ’ I think if the voters get a chance to vote on this article, it will ro through a humming.”
‘‘Ratal We don’t want the town to furnish us with a playground, for the simple reason that we can’t charge admission to games if the place is public.”
‘‘But you can pass the hat.”
“That’s ¡all right, but I want to have enclosed grounds, with a fence around and a ticket office. The boys play better if there’s a little ‘mon’ coming.”
“If you are going into money making, why don’t you lease a lot of land somewhere and lay it out in athletic style?”
“Too much of an undertaking. There aren’t people enough in town to make it pay.”
“If that’s the case, we won’t try it, but if the town sees fit to give us a lot anywhere, let’s accept it even if it is wide open to the public.”
I said to the local sport by my side, who by the way, is a regular attendant at all the games at Prospect Park: “These boys seem to be rather anxious about where they are going to play next season. You are in touch with the sporting element in town, and I want to ask you what the feeling is regarding a playground, in case the park is cut up for houselots.
“Oh, well, the boys should not worry about the future. Prospect Park isn’t cut up yet, but of course it will be very soon, because the land is too valuable to keep it for present purposes. There is vacant land right here in the village, that would serve the purpose, though naturally it is not quite suited for an athletic field, but could be made an ideal ground with a few thousand cart-loads of gravel. I refer to the land back of Folan’s property, owned by Jolm Smith.”
“But,” I interrupted, “would there not be strong objection to this location on account of the noise7 I hardly think the business element would tolerate a nuisance of this kind, and another thing, plans are already on foot to cut streets through this property, which improvement would benefit more than a playground.”
“Don’t understand me as advocating this lot. I merely mentioned it as makeshift in case nothing better could be done. I have in mind a scheme which it seems to me might be practical. My idea would be for the school children to raise money by means of a fund, which might be called a “Play-stead Fund,’ to be used for the purchase of a suitable athletic field. We usually find that what the children are interested in, the parents take up and in the end ‘it is a go.’ A plan something in this line is being taken up in Brooklyn, N.Y ., where the children are raising money to purchase the old frigate, ‘Constitution,’ and have it placed upon one of the parks in that city, provided that the boat can be purchased. Now, although Brooklyn is a somewhat larger place than Norwood, who knows but a similar plan would work well here. It might, perhaps, develop in the youth of the town, a spirit of pride and dignity which would be healthy accessories to good citizenship. If children will start to work on this plan, I will head a subscription list with ten dollars and I know of others who would help more substantially.”
Here our paths parted and as” I walked home I wondered if the plan was really feasible.
LOQUAX.
(Originally published in the Norwood Advertiser and Review)