LHSNewsletter-Jan-2012

Lee Historical Society

Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 1

January 2012

Lee Historical Society, Inc.

Crossway Tower

P. O. Box 170

Lee, MA 01238

Visit us: www.leehistoricsociety.homestead.com

On January 13th, Lee Police Chief, Joe Buffis, will speak on the history of the Lee Police Department starting at 7:00 p.m. in the Senior Center Cafeteria at Crossway Village. This program is free and the public is encouraged to attend. Please come, meet the chief and listen to the history of our town’s police department.

WE LOOSE A MEMBER:

On Thursday, November 24th, one of our founding members and Board of Directors passed on at the age of 89. Doctor William Augustin Clark, of High Street, graduated from Lee High School, Notre Dame University, and Georgetown School of Medicine. After interning at Albany Hospital in Albany, NY, he served for two years as a Medical Officer in the United States Army and was discharged with the rank of Captain. Bill was the author of a book entitled “Early Lee School Houses”, which may be found in the Lee Library and on our website. Our thoughts and prayers go out the family of Bill Clark.

Society members Barbara Allen and Marion Leach have been working for the last year at the Lee Library sorting out, indexing and repairing all the old Berkshire Gleaners. It is hard to imagine but people have cut out articles and pictures and removed them from the old papers. It would be just as easy to make a copy! A tough job, but one that is progressing in good hands.

NEW MEMBERS TO WELCOME:

Mr. William W. Kerr, N2701 W Pine Hill Road, Black River Falls, WI 54615

A REMINDER THAT THE 2012 DUES ARE BEING ACCEPTED AND WE ASK THE MEMBERS WHO HAVE NOT RENEWED TO PLEASE DO SO. THANKS.

NOW IS THE TIME!!

How many people reading this newsletter have said to themselves, “I’m going to join the Lee Historical Society” or thought to themselves. “I’ve got that old book or picture about Lee that I’m going to donate to the Lee historical Society”?

Well, it’s a new year and why not start it off with becoming a member or donating that old item of Lee to the Lee Historical Society in the name of your family or a family member. Give us a call at 413-243-0907 or 413-243-1797 or better yet come to one of our meetings on the second Thursday of each month. Hey, if you enjoy the newsletter and our programs, why not join us? Fill out the form on the back page and send it in.

A REQUEST AND AN IDEA:

We have had a request seeking information on the Lee Militia. It seems that the researcher was looking up information on her 2nd, great-grandfather, George Rummell, a blacksmith, who was married to Jane Little in the Methodist Church here in Lee in 1846. It seems that she had found information that he had been a member of the Lee Militia and would like to know more about it. She sent an email asking what the society had on the Lee Militia. I responded that we didn’t have any information on the Lee Militia. I remember that I had briefly read something about a Lee Militia somewhere but nothing stuck in my mind. While on a trip to Lee our requester stopped by Memorial Hall and read through some of the minutes of the old town reports. She got back as far as 1844 when her visit ended. She is asking if someone could possibly read through the reports before 1844 and see if they can find out the requirements, and when the Lee Militia was started and for what reason.

As the Society has no information on this important part of our history, I thought that someone or a group of members or interested people might read these documents and find out whatever is available about the Lee Militia and document it for the Society. It would benefit us all. You can reach us at Lee_Hist_Soc@msn.com or call us at 413-243-1797.

From the book, “Lee, The Centennial Celebration, and Centennial History” compiled by the Rev. C. M. Hyde, D.D. and Alexander Hyde, published in 1878 comes the following, copied as printed:

THE OLD MILITIA AND TRAINING DAYS

The laws of the State required the organization of the citizens capable of doing military duty, for the purpose of enrollment and training. It was distinct from the political or municipal organizations, and a few allusions to the militia appear on town records. A vote was passed 1784, March 8, not to divide the militia company, but as no one can tell what a town-meeting will do, it is not surprising that the next year, 1785, May 18, the Selectmen and Militia officers were instructed to divide the town into two companies. The old line of the Hoplands, as far as Mr. Howk’s, was taken as the dividing line of the town, and from thence the middle of the road east to Becket. So exact was this geographical division of the population, that there were 112 men in the North Company, 113 in the South Company. Capt. David Porter was the captain of the North Company at this time. Capt. Thomas Crocker commanded the South Company. These two companies continued thus to divide the town, and a generous rivalry was the natural result.

In 1810, it was found necessary to re-organize the militia system of the State. But about this time, also, appear physician’s certificates, at $2 each, which released the holder from the duty of training. The war of 1814 revived, in a measure, the military spirit in the community, but 10 years brought about such social changes that the Selectmen were ordered to sell all the powder on hand, secure the other military stores in casks, and deposit them for safe keeping under the stairs in the meeting house.

Twice a year, the active militias were warned out to general training. It was a day for excitement to the boys, who gathered from far and near to see the “doings”. If any boy had a penny to spend, it was as much as he expected, and a sixpence was enough in his opinion to make him feel as rich as Croesus. The parade ground was the then open field north of the church, Barnabus Adams’ ten-acre lot. There was not often “a general muster” at Lee. There was company drill in the morning, dinner at twelve, dress parade and battalion drill in the afternoon. During the arduous duties of the day the men were refreshed with pailsful of liquor furnished at the expense of the officers; and at the close of training, a few words of compliment were expected from the captain. Election to military office was sought in those days as a means of political preferment; but gradually the system became not only inefficacious in drilling soldiers, but odious from the abuses which crept in. Training day was a day of drunkenness and confusion. It was difficult to find any who would consent to take office, Vote after vote would be taken, but no one would accept. Jepthah Kellogg’s speech, when he was elected, has been handed down as an example of the prevailing feeling: “I don’t thank you, and I won’t serve you.”

All the elders of the community gathered on training day for a gala time. Booths were built, and cider and ginger-bread, sold to the thirsty and hungry: sometimes articles mysteriously disappeared with out being sold, as on one occasion when a huckster’s back was turned, a horseman rode up to the stand, stuck his sword through the pile of cakes and carried them off as a trophy. It must be confessed that a military display, the horses and feathers of the cavalry, the uniforms and glittering bayonets of the infantry, the martial music, and the roar of the cannon, have something in them bewitching to the common mind; but the training days occupied much time, and were accompanied with so much drunkenness and rowdyism, that the best men in the community came to regard them as a nuisance, and these gala seasons became obsolete about the year 1830.

The interest of the community in military drill could not long be maintained, when assured peace at home and abroad made military duty obnoxious, because useless, and worse than useless. The trainings of the militia became occasions for drunkenness and degenerated finally into such disgraceful buffooneries that there suppression was effected none too soon. The system not only did not train good soldiers, it made bad men of many of them. Sometimes ramrods, in some awkward fellow’s haste, would be left in the musket, and when fired, pass through some poor unfortunate’s body. “The last musket in this vicinity was at Stockbridge, in 1830. The North Lee Company was commanded by Captain Thomas E. M. Bradley, with Dickinson Graves as Lieutenant; South Lee Company trained under Captain Zach Winegar, detailed that day to act as Major, leaving to Lieutenant Henry Smith, assisted by First Sergeant Harrison Garfield, and Corporal Barbabas Hinckley. William P. Hamblin was Lieutenant of a Cavalry Company.”

Recollections X

By U. S. Navy Retired Commander Vic Mottarella,

A native of Lee

(Continued from November – 2011)

Tripoli

We landed in Tripoli about three hours after takeoff. A short time later a helicopter from the Kearsarge, now anchored in the nearby bay arrived to pick me up. It was my first ride in a helicopter and I didn’t like the way it shook. I especially didn’t like it when the pilot decided to put it down in the sand because of some mechanical problem! He finally decided it was still flyable and we made it back to the flight deck of the Kearsarge all in one piece. I still don’t like helicopters! I went ashore a couple of times while in Tripoli. The Bay of Tripoli was littered with sunken ships, all victims of the war. While the newer part of the city was quite modern the rest was slummy. Interesting sights in Tripoli were largely confined to the natives themselves. The tribesmen from the desert, the hooded women, wrapped in huge sheets of rough linen, and the modern dress of others, made a strange mixture in the city square.

The French Riviera

The longest single anchoring was at Golfe de Juan on the French Riviera – sixteen consecutive days in the middle of summer. Nearby was the city of Cannes and Cap d’Antibes with one of its principle attractions, Eden Roc. Cannes was less than two miles from the landing area. The bikini bathing suits were brand new and I surmise the three thousand Kearsarge sailors, like myself, must have enjoyed some of the scenes. I did not hear of any serious cases of eyestrain, however! On one occasion while I was preparing to go ashore a small boat appeared and out of it Lana Turner dived into the water and swam along side the Kearsarge. On another occasion while dining with friends at the famous Carleton Hotel located on the Cannes beach, I looked over and noticed the famous Norwegian Skater and movie actress Sonja Henie at the next table. She was a Gold Medal Olympic figure skater and had starred in ten Hollywood movies. It was the first time I was that close to anyone famous.

I was first introduced to the game of Roulette at Nice, about twelve miles east of Cannes. Ensign Dick Ryder and myself thought we discovered a system that would allow us break the bank by simply playing the red and the black. As I recall there were thirty black numbers and thirty red numbers, which should make the odds even but there was also a zero. If the ball landed on the zero, the house took all the money on the table. I have learned since that American roulette has even worst odds for the player because there are two zero slots. We had a simple system. If we lost we doubled up on the next game and for quite awhile our winnings kept growing but it turned out to be beginner’s luck. An elderly gentleman saw us winning and befriended us, probably because we were in our uniforms. He tried to get us to quit while we were ahead but we thought we knew better since he was a supervisor at the casino. He brought up the subject of the military and mentioned how ashamed he was concerning the performance of the French army during World War II. He was a veteran of the first war and was proud of the way the French Army performed in that war. We should have listened to him. It was not long before all of our winnings disappeared and we went back to the ship flat broke.

Monaco

On another occasion Dick Ryder and I took a bus to the Principality of Monaco, only a few miles east of Nice. That was long before Princess Grace ascended to her position of Royalty. Monaco is actually a sovereign state but is not any bigger than a small city. We toured the Palace and also visited the nearby Monte Carlo casino. The minimum stakes at this casino were above our meager monetary possessions so we did not participate. We enjoyed the road trip along the Riviera on our trip back to Cannes.

Argostoli, Greece

After completing sixteen days on the French Riviera the Kearsarge hoisted anchor and we proceeded to the Island of Argostoli, Greece. While underway air operations were conducted. The flights consisted of routine formation flying and numerous carrier landings. The main purpose was to allow the pilots to maintain flight proficiency and fly their minimum monthly time. I don’t believe any weapons delivery flights were conducted during this period. Argostoli was far from a great liberty port. I believe I went ashore for about an hour and found nothing of interest. The population of the island consisted primarily of sheep while people were scarce. Judging by our standards it was very primitive.

Oran, Algeria

On September 17, 1948 Jim Dillingham and I were catapulted in our two Hellcats and landed at an airport called Faroui, Oran. The logbook shows my taking off from Faroui and landing on the carrier on September 21st. I don’t remember why we were there. I suspect it was so the planes could be flown while the ship was at anchor. With all the time in various ports I had logged only twenty-five flights up to this point of the cruise. Ten of these were in the Hellcat and fifteen were in the Bearcat. What I remember most about this city were the scores of ships with only their smoke stacks and upper parts of their hulls above the water line. Like so many other places we had visited the standard of living was very poor. It made us thankful to have been born in the good old USA. Most of the women covered their bodies and faces with the standard white Arab attire. On the other hand a few of the men wore typical European suits with shirts and ties.

Malta

Our next to the last stop was at Valetta, the Capital city of the Island of Malta. Malta was the most bombed area of World War Two. It was a major naval installation for the British Mediterranean Fleet as well as a prominent air base from which numerous raids were made on targets of the Third Reich. I remember seeing a few dry docks while there but a bigger interest of mine was a young Maltese gal. I only spent a few hours with her but she got my attention. She was very sweet. I remember her telling me how lucky I was to be American. She spoke with awe about the United States. We only spent about three days there and then we were off to Gibraltar where we waited for the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Roosevelt was one of three ships in the Midway Class and at the time was considered a super carrier. They were all commissioned after the war.

Gibraltar

The Roosevelt arrived at Gibraltar on schedule and by this time we were all anxious to return home. It was fun and adventurous to fly from and land on the carrier as well as visiting several great ports but we had seen enough. We were ready to get back to the homeland. We only spent three days at Gibraltar before hoisting anchor and heading west. We flew a few times during transit and found the North Atlantic rather rough. It was especially challenging to land on a pitching deck.

The Card Games

Several of us played poker practically every night during the cruise. Participants included Duke Windsor as well as other squadron pilots, the ships Air Officer (Commander Decker) and a few officers of the ship’s crew. The non-aviators of the ship’s crew did not receive flight pay so most of them could not afford to speculate. I will never forget a certain Lt. Commander who lost and owed me about three hundred dollars - he still owes me. Perhaps I was too gullible and became intimidated because of his senior rank.

One of the participants was a very tall, strong and handsome Captain of the Third Marines. He had been involved in every major campaign during World War II including the landing on Iwo Jima. While I never felt that close to him I always admired him because he seemed so tough and had so much experience. When attired in his dress uniform scores of combat ribbons adorned his chest. I was really touched by him on our last night together. He gave me a silver key chain with a statuette of Saint Christopher attached. He had never before given me the impression that he was in any way religious and I had no idea that he formed that close of a friendship with me. I don’t remember his name but I often think of him.

In addition to poker I played gin rummy one on one with Duke Windsor and a few of the squadron pilots quite often. Gin rummy was always a day event and it took place in the Fighter Squadron Ready Room. Poker was always played after the evening meal and it took place in the officer’s wardroom. We kept score and paid each other off from time to time which was usually after the following payday.

(Continued to the February -12 issue)

~ Some people are like clouds; when they are gone it's a brighter day ~ ☺

Starting next month I plan on getting back into the articles on the Civil War Soldiers of Lee. If anyone has someone that they are particularly interested in, please let me know and possibly I can find something on that individual. We would also like stories on local veterans of any of the past and present wars so that they may be honored in a fitting manner. We are still interested in other stories and history about our town.

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 $8.00 each or 3 packets for $20.00, 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 all four for $10.00 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 $8.00, 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 $10.00, 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.

(d.)

A 2011, #4 in our series, mug with a replica of the Hyde School embossed on the side.

These mugs can be purchased for $8.00 each plus $3.00 shipping or two mugs for $15.00 and $5.50 shipping, three mugs for $22.00 and $6.50 shipping or all four mugs for $25.00 and $7.50 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.

The following is a list of the area businesses that are current members of the Lee Historical Society for 2012. If you would like your business listed here, fill out the membership application on the back page and send in the dues of $25.00.

Bartini Roofing Company

Ben’s Shop

Charles Flint Antiques

290 Pleasant Street

68 Main Street

52 Housatonic Street

Lee, MA 01238

Lenox, MA 01240

Karen Keenan Gifts & Home

Quality Plus

Locker Room Sports Pub

151 Main Street

260 Chestnut Street

232 Main Street

Lee, MA 01238

Frank Consolati Ins. Agency

Paperdilly, Inc.

Dresser Hull Company

71 Main Street

74 Main Street

60 Railroad Street

Lee, MA 01238

Robert M. Kelly, Paperhanging

Kelly Funeral Home

The Jonathon Foote 1778 House

South Prospect Street

3 Main Street

1 East Street

Lee, MA 01238

Monk’s Professional Barber Shop

Lee Bank

Devonfield Inn

91 Main Street

75 Park Street

85 Stockbridge Road

Lee, MA 01238

Hunter & Graziano P. C

Terrace Hair Studio

10 Park Place

135 Housatonic Street

Lee, MA 01238

How 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 - $5.00

Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00

Business Membership - $25.00

Individual Membership (one person under the age of 65) - $10.00

Family Membership (All members of one family living at home) - $15.00

Please circle one:

Student Senior Individual Family Business/Corporate

Name_______________________________________________________________________

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