March-2012-newsletter

Newsletter

Vol. 9, No. 3

March 2012

Lee Historical Society, Inc.

Crossway Tower

P. O. Box 170

Lee, MA 01238

Visit us: www.leehistoricsociety.homestead.com

The February Meeting of the society was held on February 9th in the Hyde Room at Crossway Towers. All the society

reports were read and accepted and we broke up into committee groups to discuss each committee’s ideas and plans

for the coming year. We are trying to plan a “Program Meeting” for every other month and a possible Pot Luck Supper

for our Annual Meeting in October.

Our March meeting will be held on Thursday, March 8th and will feature Bernie Drew, Great Barrington Town Historian,

author of several books and writer of many articles that are found in local newspapers will join us. Mr. Drew will talk

about his book “Bear Town Mountain” and will be available to sign his book after the meeting is over. There is no charge

for this program and people are encouraged to attend and participate. This program will start at 7:00 p.m. and be held in

the cafeteria of the Senior Center in Crossway Village on High Street. Entrance should be made to the cafeteria on

Crossway Street.

Our regular March business meeting will be held before the program meeting and will start promptly at 6:30 p.m.

We wish to commend the Lee Library of the great display of Lee memorabilia that was displayed during the month

of February in the J. Peter Scolforo Gallery. It was a pleasure to see these items which brought back long ago

memories to many.

We still have members who have not submitted their dues for 2012. We ask these members to; please send them in

if you have not done so. If you have a question on if you are up to date with your dues, give us a call, email us, or visit

the Hyde Room at Crossway Tower on the first or last week of the month between 2: 00 and 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday on

Thursday afternoons. We have a list of members at the meeting room and can tell you what your status is. You can sign

up for a new membership or renew your existing one, check out the items that we are selling, and look at our historical

items, or just talk with Marion about our quaint and unique little town of Lee. If you have paid your 2012 dues and have

not received your membership, please let us know as I might have missed some members.

We are also looking for volunteers to spend an hour or so with Marion during these hours. If you can do so,

please call her at 413-243-0907.

NEW MEMBERS TO WELCOME:

Jane M. Preston, 1 Bartlett’s Reach, Amesbury, MA 01913

Deely & Deely, Attorneys, 218 Main Street, Lee, MA 01238

Matt Liebenow Jr., Trucking, P. O. Box 72, Lee, MA 01238

After reading the article that Marilyn Fontana had written for our December newsletter about the Hyde house, I received

an email from John M. Hyde. He remembers that his younger brother, Steven, is the most “nostalgic” about growing up

in the creaky old family home on West Park Street. Both brothers recall that as children growing up in an old house that,

at night, creaked and “groaned” with noises that were very frightening to young children – it was the bell in the

Congregational Church clock chiming the hours that reassured us that all was well in the world.

Recollections XI

By U. S. Navy Retired Commander Vic Mottarella,

A native of Lee

(Continued from February – 2012)

The Auto Trip From Rhode Island to Texas

I owned a 1946 Plymouth and that would be my means of transportation to Robstown Texas. My roommate, Frank,

decided to take leave at the same time so that he could ride with me as far as his hometown near Pittsburgh. Frank

did not own a car at the time. We left on an early morning in the latter part of November. He drove a major part of the

way and that was a big help. After passing over the George Washington Bridge in New York we headed south where

we picked up the Pennsylvania Turnpike. It was relatively new at the time. I was impressed with all the long tunnels that

had been cut through the mountains. I learned later that a railroad company that had gone defunct had bored all of

these tunnels. We drove all night and entered the Pittsburgh area at dawn on the following morning.

After dropping Frank off I continued west on US Highway 40. At dusk of the following day I found myself in St. Louis

where I finally rented a hotel room and got a few hours shuteye. I was very tired but because of the excitement of

undertaking such a long trip only a meager amount of rest was obtained. It was the only overnight stop on the long

drive to Texas. I continued on and except for a couple of brief naps I arrived in Robstown thoroughly exhausted two

days later. I had intended to stay in the local Robstown hotel but Shirley’s parents insisted that I stay in the house next

door that they had rented.

I spent a little over two weeks in Texas. The parents treated me as one of the family as they had done before. Shirley

had a job working as a secretary so we didn’t see each other as much as we would have liked. Not much had changed

between us since I left in 1946. We still cared a lot for each other and discussed the possibility of marriage but the same

old problem surfaced. I was Catholic and she was Protestant and at that point in our lives this difference seemed to trump

all other matters. With the parent’s blessing we decided to take a trip to Monterrey, Mexico. The distance was about two

hundred miles. We crossed the Rio Grande at Laredo, Texas. I knew nothing about the city except what I had learned from

seeing numerous Western movies during my youth. As I recall it was a typical border town with dirty streets and litter

everywhere. It was quite obvious that most of the people were very poor. Monterrey was a tourist town and very different

from the border towns in that the streets were clean and people seemed to be more prosperous. We checked in at a

palatial hotel in the center of the city and yes, it was two separate rooms. Other than the beautiful cathedral surrounded

by a huge park enhanced with many types of flowers and plants I remember little of the city. We returned to Robstown and

after more tenuous discussions about our overall situation I departed on my road trip back to Quonset Point, R. I. Although

we still corresponded this terminated my romance with Shirley Shanley.

A New Romance

An old friend from my hometown (John Turner) was stationed at Newport, R. I. We had been classmates during the

early years while attending the Lee schools. When he discovered I was stationed across the bay at Quonset Point he

looked me up and we renewed our friendship. Being a sailor with limited resources he didn’t own a car. I offered to

have him ride home with me to Lee on any weekend that our off time coincided. That occurred almost every weekend.

We double dated several times and in late January, by coincidence, we dated the girls that we would eventually

marry. I was his best man when he married during the spring of 1949. My celebration would not occur until the

following year. I will say more abut this in the next edition of my Recollections. The girl I met was Betty O’Neill.

I was twenty-three and she was twenty-one. Her grandmother was a friend of my father and from the same village

in the Italian Alps.

Betty was a cute gal and I had an eye on her for some time but we never dated since she was two years younger

than me. While in high school dating someone two years younger seemed like robbing the cradle but at age

twenty-three it was no longer a problem. At the time she worked at the local Johansson Variety Store and it was

there that I asked her out on our first date. For some time it was just another date with another cute gal but she

gradually grew on me and after a few months I gave her a diamond and we became engaged. Showing off over

Lee, since meeting her, became routine because I now had someone for whom it was important for me to impress.

The wedding was set for sometime during the following year. I let her pick the specific date. Like most marriages

there have been a few minor bumps along the way but as I look back it was the best decision I ever made.

Truman’s Inaugural Parade

On 18 January 1949 twelve of our Bearcats departed Quonset Point, R. I. for the Naval Air Test Facility at Patuxent

River, Maryland. The purpose was to prepare for President Harry Truman’s inaugural parade. On January 20 our

squadron flew in a huge formation along with other Navy and Air Force squadrons at 1000 feet over Pennsylvania

Avenue. There were no spectacular flight demonstrations. It was all straight and level flying but in close formation.

With that many planes in the same air space our main concern was collision avoidance. The flight to and over

Washington only took a few minutes but our total flight time from takeoff at Patuxent River, Maryland including our

return to Quonset Point totaled over three hours. As mentioned before I was disappointed with the re-election of

President Truman. Part of the reason related to my being a conservative Republican but another reason had to do

with the military. It was no secret that Truman despised the Navy. He seemed to have it in for several Navy Admirals

and his bias was confirmed when it came to military appropriations. Several of the most senior Navy Admirals resigned

their commission.

At the end of World War II the Navy inventory was composed of almost one hundred flattops. The total included many small

jeep carriers. By 1950 only seven large carriers remained in commission. The total inventory included four of the Essex

Class and three of the new Midway Class. Further bias by the administration was demonstrated when it was revealed that

discussions had been held concerning the elimination of the Marine Corps. The Air Force had Truman and his Defense

Secretary (Louis Johnson) convinced that the B-36 Peacemaker could handle any problem anywhere in the world. As far

as the Air Force was concerned, carriers were considered obsolete. This airplane turned out to be a monster with a horrible maintenance record. The B-36J model weighed 410,000 pounds loaded with a cruising speed of 203 miles per hour. It had

a total of ten engines with six radials and four jets. I have since talked to several Air Force pilots who admitted that it was a

maintenance nightmare.

At the time funding for our Navy squadrons was limited. Among other constraints fuel consumption had to be continuously

monitored due to restricted monetary allocations. Limiting flight hours can be dangerous for flight proficiency especially

when flying from carriers. The outbreak of the Korean War finally brought about a change. A single Essex carrier (The Valley

Forge) helped stem the tide at the war’s most critical time and saved South Korea from being overwhelmed by the North.

Numerous Essex Class carriers that had been put in mothballs were quickly resurrected and put back in commission. I was

personally involved in the re-commissioning of the U.S.S Randolph in 1953. I reported aboard when it was in dry dock and

being refitted at the Portsmouth Navy Yard.

(Continued in the April-12 issue)

Would any one have any information on a man named James L. Young, who served in Company G, 1st Massachusetts

Calvary during the Civil War? We have a Certificate of Commendation to him from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

for his service in the Civil War and a membership certificate to the Knights of Pythias, here in Lee. We are also interested

in information about this organization. We would appreciate any information on either.

John Adams once said, “In my many years I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm,

and three or more is a congress”.

SOLDIERS OF LEE IN THE CIVIL WAR

Captain Franklin W. Pease – Roll of Honor Soldier

Massachusetts 37th Infantry Regiment

The Massachusetts 37th Regiment Volunteer Infantry was largely composed of men from the four counties of western

Massachusetts and organized at Camp Briggs in Pittsfield in August and early September of 1862.

Major Oliver Edwards, the commander of Camp Briggs, was commissioned to the rank of Colonel on August 27, 1862 and

between August 30th and September the companies were mustered in the United States service. On September 7th the

regiment left for Washington, D. C. and arrived there on the 9th. The regiment was then attached to the 2nd Brigade,

3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac.

According to the U. S. Draft Registrations Records, Franklin W. Pease was a class 2, from the 10th Congressional District

being born about 1823. His occupation at the time of enlistment was saddler. He enlisted at the rank of Captain on August

27, 1862 at the age of forty. He was commissioned to Company B, 37th Infantry on September 4, 1862. The 37th fought in

such battles as; 8 December 1862 at White Oak Church, Virginia, 13 December 1862 at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on 1 May

and 3 May and 5 June 1863 again at Fredericksburg, Virginia. On 2 and 3 of July 1863, they fought at Gettysburg, Pennsyl-

vania, 30 November 1863 at Mine Run, Virginia. On the 5th and 6th of May in 1864, there in the Battle of the Wilderness

in Virginia. On 8, 10, & 12 May, 1864 the regiment was engaged at Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, where it had a

severe experience on the 12th when it assisted in supporting Hancock’s assault near the Bloody Angle. During this day the

37th lost 32 men, either killed or mortally injured along with about that many surviving wounded. Captain Franklin W. Pease

died on 14 May 1864 from wounds inflected from the battle on the 12th.

Athough Captain Franklin W. Pease is remembered as a Civil War soldier from Lee and his named is etched in the marble

tablets in Memorial Hall, I find him living in Pittsfield, along with his wife, Alice in 1850. The 1860 U. S. Census finds him living

in Lenox with his wife and a three year old son, David. This is the last mention of the Pease family that I find.

Corporal Charles W. Freeman – Roll of Honor Soldier

Massachusetts 37th Infantry Regiment

Corporal Charles W. Freeman was a twenty year old farmer when he mustered in as a Corporal in the 37th Infantry Regiment

on 15 July 1862. As I looked for records of Corporal Freeman, I was amazed that I found at least thirty-five other Lee residents that had enlisted in the 37th. It seems that Charles’s brother, Noah had enlisted the day before on 14 July 1862. I think this is astonish-

ing that the little town of Lee sent so many of its young men to war. I have not even looked into the other regiments that

represented Massachusetts in the Civil War, but I am sure I will find more. I found that the three Bliss brothers; George, Martin,

and Quentin (issue of 03/08) had all volunteered.

Corporal Freeman was enlisted in Company B, the same as Captain Pease, on 30 August 1862. He was promoted

to Full Sergeant on 30 January 1863 and on 1 January 1865 to Full 1st Sergeant. He died on 16 April 1865 in Annapolis,

Maryland from wounds sustained in battle. I find him in the 1860 U. S. Census of Lee living with his parents and four siblings.

He was not married at the time of enlistment.

In future newsletter issue I will try to look up more of the brave and dedicated young men of Lee that gave their lives and limbs for the cause of the Union. If anyone has information on Civil War soldiers of Lee, please let us know.

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

(2.)

if they need to be shipped.

(3.)

Refrigerator magnets – (approx. 2” x 3”). Three are of old street scenes from the early 1900’s and one is an

(4.)

“Entering Lee” replica sign. They are $3.00 each or buy all four for $10.00 with no shipping charges.

(5.)

Cookbook – “Boiling Water” – a 400 recipe cookbook, put together by the ladies of the society for $10.00, plus

(6.)

$3.50 if shipped.

(7.)

“Historical Lee” – a tribute to the late Betty Dennis. A seventy-three page book containing the articles that

(8.)

Betty wrote between April 1971 and August 1977 that appeared in the Penny Saver. Price is $8.00, plus

(9.)

$2.50 if shipped.

“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.

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

Officers of the Lee Historical Society for the year

President – Stephen Cozzaglio – 413-243-3204 or scozzaglio@roadrunner.com

Vice- President – Gary W. Allen – 413-2543-2140 or garywallen@earthlink.net

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

Mary Morrissey

Maria Hopkins

Peg Biron

Matt MacNayr

JoAnn Zarnoch

Marion Leach

Robert Kelly

Ethel Noonan

Annette Perilli

Dolores Eckert

Brenda Liebenow

Society Historian – Charlotte Davis

Newsletter Editor – Mal Eckert

Collection’s Chairman- Marion Leach

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

413-243-0570

413-243-0242

413-637-1634

Karen Keenan Gifts & Home

Quality Plus Custodial

Locker Room Sports Pub

151 Main Street

260 Chesnut Street

232 Main Street

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-2689

413-243-2197

413-243-2662

Frank Consolati Ins. Agency

Paperdilly, Inc.

Dresser Hull Company

71 Main Street

74 Main Street

60 Railroad Street

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-0105

413-243-1928

413-243-1400

Robert M. Kelly, Paperhanging

Kelly Funeral Home

The Jonathon Foote 1778 House

South Prospect Street

3 Main Street

1 East Street

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-3489

413-243-0204

413-243-4545

Monk’s Professional Barber Shop Lee Bank

Devonfield Inn

91 Main Street

75 Park Street

85 Stockbridge Road

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-3341

413-243-0117

413-243-3298

Hunter & Graziano P. C

Terrace Hair Studio

Wilcox Plumbing & Heating

10 Park Place

135 Housatonic Street

P. O. Box 561

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-0789

413-243-1799

413-243-2494

Deely & Deely, Attorneys

Matt Liebenow Jr., Trucking

218 Main Street

P. O. Box 72

Lee, MA 01238

413-243-2720

413-347-7048

Check out TownOfLee.Com for information about Lee, where to eat, places to stay, shopping, etc.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 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____________________________

Mail to: Lee Historical Society, P. O. Box 170, Lee, MA 01238

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? ____________________