Lee Historical Society
Newsletter
Vol. 7, No. 8
August 2010
Lee Historical Society, Inc.
P. O. Box 170
Lee, MA 01238
www.leehistoricsociety.homestead.com
There will be no meeting of the society during the month of August, however the Fundraising Committee will meet at a date to be determined to discuss and make plans for our November Calendar Raffle. If any member would like to join this committee, please call Marion Leach at 413-243-0907. We can use your help.
New Members to Welcome:
Christopher & Annette Perilli, 415 Fairview Street, Lee, MA 01238
Thoughts and prayers of the Lee Historical Society go out to the family and friends of Anne Lostrangio, a past member and friend to our Society.
Get well quick wishes go to society member, Mary Holt, who is recovering after her recent surgery.
A meeting of the Fundraising Committee was held on July 22, to plan for the November “Calendar Raffle”. This is an annual raffle which funds our Scholarship fund and other Society programs. The members of the committee have started to solicit for gifts and prizes and hope to have another great raffle ready for the fall.
Thanks To: Laura Armstrong Mange for the copy of the 1909 picture of the men working on Main St. repairing the road; Don Lucy for letting us borrow the picture of the 1906 Lee Athletic Club and to Ray Fischer of Dalton for the glass plate negatives.
Step right up, don’t be shy: Anyone that is interested in becoming a member of the Board of Directors or an Officer in the Lee Historical Society, please let us know so that your name can be added to the Nominating Committee’s list. Our Annual Election will be held in October.
Copied from the 1916 Annual Town Report:
Report of the Board of Health for the year ending December 31, 1916
The year 1916 caused more anxiety and fear among the people of all classes than any year for a long period. Early in the season anterior poliomyelitis (infantile paralysis) broke out in Brooklyn and spread rapidly through the country. State authorities were consulted, and the board, by general approval, placed a competent man at each of the Railroad stations, and all incomers were questioned as to their residence and proposed destination, age of children, etc., and all who came to stop in Lee were at once quarantined, and all destined to other towns and had to pass through Lee, were promptly reported to town boards of health by our board. One hundred and twenty trains were met and 78 minor persons reported to the board by the persons so empowered. Many people were inconvenienced by the quarantine and but a very few of them made the board any trouble. The public schools, churches, Sunday schools and public places of assemblage were very considerate, and as good fortune came of our rigid requirements, only one case was reported. Certificates of health and non-contact with cases of contagious nature were given to all parties going out of town.
Four cases of typhoid fever, one case of diphtheria, two cases of tuberculosis, one case of chicken-pox, bring the total number of contagious and infectious diseases reported to the board up to 23.
The small-pox outbreak caused wide alarm, and again the board was compelled to place strict quarantine on several places, and the general public places of assemblage. Trade and travel was somewhat interfered with. General vaccination was ordered and was carried out. Something like 600 being treated. And again we were greatly blessed, as no deaths occurred. Two cases were violent, all others mild. The expense to the town was very small, considering the two separate epidemics.
Very few complaints of common nuisances were made and all adjusted easily. Inspection of premises, as usual, were of common occurrence. Disinfecting material was freely used and a supply is still on hand for any call. The board feels that they have had a strenuous experience and only for the hearty co-operation of all the other public boards, the state board included, we might feel that a public trust was a burden. We heartily thank all who have assisted us and stood their share of the burden and responsibility.
Respectfully submitted,
H. M. Smith,
R. J. Hayden,
J. M. Cassidy
Board of Health
The Town Report of 1899 reports that the town paid Mrs. Elida Garfield the sum of $2500.00 for new land for cemetery purposes.
Board Member, Bob Kelly, who lives on South Prospect Street here in Lee had a problem with a retaining wall in his back yard a couple of months ago. It seems that this wall was probably put up in the 1960’s when his house was built and after many years of leaning toppled over. As he examined the wrecked wall, he was surprised to find what looked like gravestone markers. One of the stones measured 12” wide by 36” high by 4” deep and was most likely a rejected stone out of the local quarries in Lee that had contracts to supply the U. S. Government gravestones for those who died in the Civil War. He wonders how many more area residents have found similar stones.
Chances are pretty good that the wall might have been constructed by one of the members of the Mottarella family, who were very talented masons that lived here in Lee. We would be interested in who else may have gravestones in their back yard. As a very young child, I grew up on Greylock Street and one day while digging in our back yard, I also found a grave marker. I immediately found another area of the yard to dig in as I really wasn’t sure if a ghost might come after me, but, lucky for me, it never happened.
Recollections VII
By U. S. Navy Retired Commander Vic Mottarella, A native of Lee
(Continued from the July-10 issue)
Bombing and Fighting Three (VBF-3)
John and I were only twenty when we joined VBF-3. At that time the squadron was composed of about thirty pilots and several of these had fought in the war. Among the thirty there were about ten full Lieutenants most of whom were graduates of the Naval Academy. There were also about eight who ranked as Lieutenant Junior Grade. Almost all of these eight had seen action during the war. Except for the two Lieutenant Commanders and all the Lieutenants, the rest of us were all Ensigns. John and I were the youngest and the most junior.
Naval officers tend to make a big deal out of “date of rank”. An officer of the same rank but with an earlier date of promotion is senior to one of a later “date of rank”. In any case the senior officer would always be given more responsibility. The Ensigns, and there were many of them did not take this very seriously. I remember an occasion when an Ensign who was fairly senior tried to pull his rank on a junior Ensign. The indignant response was “seniority among Ensigns is like virginity among prostitutes”. This of course incited a burst of hilarious laughter.
Several of the Naval Academy graduates had served in the fleet before going though flight training and because of their seniority got to lead the sections and divisions in the squadron even though they had no more flying experience than us junior Ensigns. Of course John and I got to be wingmen with little or no responsibility. We flew several routine flights in the Hellcat when after a period of only two weeks we started to hear rumors that VF-3 and VBF-3 were going to be assigned the sleek new F8F Bearcat. The rumor turned out to be true. For a period of several weeks starting in late October and extending into most of December 1946, our Hellcats at NAS Oceana, were gradually being replaced with Bearcats. Eventually, each pilot checked out in the new plane. Back in those days there were no simulators, two seat fighters or mockups of the plane you were about to fly. You received a few briefings and given a handbook. After that you were on your own. Each pilot was assigned a particular air space in order to check out and really get a feel of the plane. In my case I remember first testing its power on and power off stall characteristics. After that it was slow flight with landing gear, flaps and tail hook out to simulate carrier approach conditions. Next came acrobatics with slow rolls, barrel rolls, loops, and Immelmanns, followed by high-speed runs. It was long before the days of supersonic flight but there was a concern that had been passed down by Navy and Army Air Corps pilots during the war in which a fighter plane could become almost uncontrollable when put into a high-speed dive. The term that was used at the time was compressibility. When a plane attained a very fast speed the controls would gradually stiffen making it very difficult for the pilot to exert enough force on the stick to overcome the air pressures on the elevator while attempting to pull out of a dive. I put the plane in a steep dive from over 20,000 feet and got a feel of this compressibility phenomenon but with my limited time in the plane I did not dare to push it to the limits.
After check out in the Bearcat most of us were flown to the Grumman factory at Bethpage, New York in a Navy transport plane to pick up a brand new airplane. John and I were in a group of four who carried out this duty on December 16, 1946. I had never before or since been given such an opportunity. Because of the fabulous treatment provided by the Grumman people at Bethpage it made even us junior Ensigns feel important. Besides a great lunch, each pilot was provided with a beautiful model of the Bearcat. On our return trip Leo Krupp led the flight of four Bearcats. Everything appeared normal except that John fell back in the formation and could not keep up regardless of throttle setting. Another pilot advised him that one of the panels behind the engine was loose and causing increased drag on the plane. Leo Krupp decided to land all planes at Atlantic City. John had some difficulty in landing but after the second attempt managed to put the plane down safely on the runway.
Neither John nor I had ever been to Atlantic City. Of course we had heard much of the famous boardwalk. John mentioned that he had seen pictures of the boardwalk where his father and mother had honeymooned and was anxious to see the place. It did not require much coaxing on my part. We got a ride into the city and headed straight for the boardwalk thinking we might run into some “strays”. It was very disappointing because it was cold, snowing and deserted. For a couple of young Naval Officers the most appropriate word to describe the overall scenario was “dismal”. John’s Bearcat was repaired and made flyable on the next morning. We took off at about noon and were back at Oceana in thirty minutes. .
The New Grumman Bearcat
This airplane had been specifically designed during World War II to combat the very speedy and maneuverable Japanese Zero. While still flying the Hellcat and before being introduced to the Bearcat we were given several briefings on the new plane. I can remember a specific warning issued by the assigned Grumman engineering representative. Although he was not a pilot, he warned us that the plane would do everything the Hellcat would do except that it would do it about twice as fast. I heeded the warning at the time but found out later that it had been a gross exaggeration.
It was certainly faster and different than the Hellcat and there were some characteristics that one had better be aware of but it was hardly twice as fast. To provide maximum speed and maneuverability it was designed to be much lighter than the Hellcat and weighed in at 7070 pounds (empty) as opposed to the Hellcat’s 9238 pounds. Both planes used basically the same engine but because of the weight differential the speed was substantially faster in the Bearcat. The Bearcat was even smaller than the rather small Wildcat and it was completely dwarfed by its big brother, the Hellcat. The Wildcat preceded the Hellcat and was the premier Navy fighter at the start of the war. The internal fuel tank had a capacity of 179 gallons. An external drop tank with the capacity of approximately 75 was also usually carried. Average fuel consumption was about one gallon per minute.
The Bearcat incorporated a huge four bladed propeller that was over twelve feet in diameter. One had to be particularly aware of the enormous amount of torque the plane could produce when this was coupled with the powerful engine. If the throttle was not handled judiciously torque could rotate the entire plane in the opposite direction of the propeller resulting in an inverted position. This was almost always fatal when flying at low altitude and especially when approaching the carrier. When flying at slow speeds, like when making a carrier landing it was necessary to advance any throttle movements slowly and incrementally. We lost four pilots while I was attached to the squadron. Torque rolls caused two of these fatalities during final approach to the carrier.
I learned the torque lesson in the Hellcat while at Cecil Field. Since the Bearcat could produce even more torque than the Hellcat I tried to never forget what happened at Cecil when I jammed the throttle full forward on takeoff.
(Continued to the September –10 issue)
Officers of the Lee Historical Society for the year of 2010
President – Gary W. Allen – 413-243-2140 or garywallen@earthlink.net
Vice- President – Ethel Noonan – 413-243-0263
Treasurer – Mal Eckert – 413-243-1797 or MalEckert@msn.com
Secretary – Bambi Johndrow – 413-243-2845 or disdeer62@netzero.net
Board of Directors of the Lee Historical Society
Marion Leach/2010William Clarke/2010Mary Morrissey/2011
William Clarke/2010Mary Morrissey/2011Peg Biron/2011 Josh Hall/2011 Matt MacNyar/2011
Josh Hall/2011 Matt MacNyar/2011JoAnn Zarnoch/2012 Maria Hopkins/2012Robert Kelly/2012
Maria Hopkins/2012Robert Kelly/2012Immediate-Past President and Board Member – Stephen Cozzaglio
Society Historian – Charlotte Davis
Newsletter Editor – Mal Eckert
A FITTING QUOTE BY WINSTON CHURCHILL:
“I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man
standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself by the handle”.
The Society is always looking for articles and small pieces of information to print about Lee.
If you have anything that you would like to share with our readers or any questions that some one might know the answer to, please let us know. Please let the Society know if there is a specific subject that you might be interested to hear about as we are all interested in learning more about the history of Lee.
The Lee Historical Society has the following items for sale. Any one of these would make a great gift for an out of town friend or relative.
(1.) Picture Packet – Six, 8” x 10” colored prints of “Old Lee” for $10.00 each or 3 packets for
$25.00, plus $2.50 if they need to be shipped.
(2.) Refrigerator magnets – (approx. 2” x 3”). Three are of old street scenes from the early
1900’s and one is an “Entering Lee” replica sign. They are $3.00 each or buy a set of three
of your choice for $7.50 with no shipping charges.
(3.) Cookbook – “Boiling Water” – a 400 recipe cookbook, put together by the ladies of the
society for $10.00, plus $3.50 if shipped.
(4.) “Historical Lee” – a tribute to the late Betty Dennis. A seventy-three page book containing
the articles that Betty wrote between April 1971 and August 1977 that appeared in the
Penny Saver. Price is $10.00, plus $2.50 if shipped.
(5.) “Third Strike”- a book, the last of three written by Ralph W. Smith that was published in
1984. It contains stories of people and tales of earlier days in Lee. The price is $15.00, plus
$2.50 if shipped.
(6.) Commemorative Mugs.
(a.)A 2008, #1 in our series, mug with a replica of Memorial Hall embossed on the side.(b.)A 2009, #2 in our series, mug with a replica of Central Fire Station embossed on the side.(c.)A 2010, #3 in our series, mug with a replica of the Lee Library embossed on the side. These mugs can be purchased for $10.00 each, plus $3.00 shipping or two
mugs for $18.00 and $5.00 shipping or all three mugs for $27.00 and $7.00 for
shipping.
Please send me (amount) ______________of (item/items) __________________________
Enclosed is my check for (no cash please)______________________________________
Name_____________________________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________________________
City_________________________State_______________Zip________________________
Mail to:
Lee Historical Society
P. O. Box 170
Lee, MA 01238
Please support our “Business Members” that support us.
Bartini Roofing CompanyBen’s ShopCharles Flint Antiques
Ben’s ShopCharles Flint Antiques290 Pleasant Street68 Main Street52 Housatonic Street
68 Main Street52 Housatonic StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lenox, MA 01240
Lee, MA 01238Lenox, MA 01240Greylock Federal UnionQuality PlusL. V. Toole Insurance Agency
Quality PlusL. V. Toole Insurance Agency47 Main Street260 Chestnut Street195 Main Street
260 Chestnut Street195 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Sullivan Station RestaurantPaperdilly, Inc.Dresser Hull Company
Paperdilly, Inc.Dresser Hull CompanyRailroad Street74 Main Street 60 Railroad Street
74 Main Street 60 Railroad StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238 Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238 Lee, MA 01238Robert M. Kelly, PaperhangingKelly Funeral HomeThe Jonathon Foote 1778 House
Kelly Funeral HomeThe Jonathon Foote 1778 HouseSouth Prospect Street3 Main Street1 East Street
3 Main Street1 East StreetLee, MA 01238 Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Morgan House Restaurant & Pub Lee Bank Devonfield Inn
Devonfield Inn33 Main Street75 Park Street85 Stockbridge Road
75 Park Street85 Stockbridge RoadLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Hunter & Graziano P. C.Myron’s CallLocker Room Sports Pub
Myron’s CallLocker Room Sports Pub10 Park Place49 Fuller Street232 Main Street
49 Fuller Street232 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Monk’s Professional Barber Shop Frank Consolati Ins. Agency
Frank Consolati Ins. Agency91 Main Street71 Main Street
71 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238How about becoming a member to help support our Society? Do you have an out of town friend or relative that might enjoy our newsletters? Sign him/her up as a member.
Student Membership - $5.00Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00
Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00Business Membership - $25.00Individual Membership (one person under the age of 65) - $10.00
Individual Membership (one person under the age of 65) - $10.00Family Membership (All members of one family living at home) - $15.00
Please circle one:Student Senior Individual Family Business/Corporate
Student Senior Individual Family Business/CorporateName_______________________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________________________
City____________________________State__________________Zip____________________
Telephone____________________Email___________________________________________
Is this a renewal membership?__________
Would you be interested in serving on a committee?__________
Or helping out at one of our fundraisers?____________________
Lee Historical Society
P. O. Box 170
Lee, MA 01238
