Lee Historical Society
Newsletter
Vol. 9, No. 9
September 2012
Lee Historical Society, Inc.
Crossway Tower
P. O. Box 170
Lee, MA 01238
Visit us: www.leehistoricsociety.homestead.com
Contact us: Lee.Historical@hotmail.com
The Society is planning an “Appreciation Pot Luck Supper” for our members and invited guests to be held the evening of
October 11th, 2012. This will also be the evening of our Annual Meeting, where new board members and officers will be
elected for next year. We are trying this “Appreciation Pot Luck Supper” for the first time this year and are hoping that many
of our members will attend this “gala” affair. For needed information and reservations, please call Bambi at 413-243-2485 or
Brenda at 413-243-3009. If you need to leave message, please leave your name and a number where you can be reached. All reservations must be made by October 4th to enable the supper committee to establish a count of attending people. There is
no charge for this meal, but you are going to be asked to bring a food item. The Society will also be inviting people who have
helped us get our organization to where it is today, with 110 members from all over the country.
Our September meeting will be held on the 13th of September starting a 6:30 p.m. in the Hyde Room at Crossway Tower. This
is an important business meeting and we request all officers, board members and available and interested members to please
attend. Our agenda at this meeting will include a gentleman from Pittsfield, who wishes to present the society with some older
items from the history of the town. We will also be nominating members for positions on the Board of Directors. Anyone who
would like to be considered for being a board member or an officer, please let us know prior to the September 13th meeting.
We will be finalizing our involvement in Founder’s Day Weekend, our “November Calendar Raffle” and our Annual Meeting that
will include our first “Pot Luck Supper” on October 11th.
The Fundraising Committee has been writing letters and soliciting gifts for the “November Calendar Raffle” and hope to have
the tickets ready by Founders’ Day Weekend. One of our members, Bud O’Neill, from Sebastian, Florida gets the honor of
being the first person to buy a 2012 raffle ticket. Bud, you are #1 in our book (of tickets). We still need volunteers to pick up
the last minute prizes and to sell tickets. If you can help, please give Marion Leach a call at 413-243-0907. We can use all the
help we can get.
The Lee High School, Class of 1962, 50th Reunion:
According to Class President, John C. Costello, the Lee High School, Class of 1962, will hold its 50th Class Reunion during the
weekend from Friday, September 28th through Sunday, September 30th. Scheduled events include nine holes of golf on Friday starting at 1:00 p.m. at Greenock Country Club and a reception at 7:00 that evening at The Locker Room Sports Bar on Main Street.
On Saturday, classmates will meet at the Chamber of Commerce booth in the town park at 2:00 p.m. to participate in a walking
tour of the town hosted by Caroline Young, who is a member of the Town of Lee Historical Commission and the Lee Historical
Society. Saturday evening, a dinner will take place at the Cork ‘N Hearth Restaurant overlooking Laurel Lake starting at
6:00 p.m. following cocktails and hors d’oeuvres in the Lake Room at 7:00. “Fun and games” will follow dinner.
he reunion will conclude starting at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday in Tyringham at the home of Henning and Joyce Carlson that will
feature a hayride, a picnic and class auction.
The Lee High School, Class of 1957, 55th Reunion:
The Lee High School, Class of 1957, will hold its 55th Class Reunion on Saturday, September 29, 2012 commencing at
6:00 p.m. The popular Morgan House Restaurant will be the venue according to Class President, John Cinella.
A gala and fun evening is planned, and graduates to date have indicated their initial attendance from as far away as Oregon,
California and Florida. Invited guests include former teachers, Hank and Joan Zukowski. Classmates may contact Sandy
LeProvost, Frank Consolati, Norma Kelly, Keith Raftery or Tom Kelly for further information. John Cinella can be contacted at jcinella@verizon.net.
Condolences:
Condolences and prayers go out to society member Ethel Noonan and her family on the passing of Ethel’s sister.
Lee Library News:
The Lee Library has some exciting news. The Boston Public Library received a federal grant last year to help libraries digitize
their materials. The Lee Library Association applied to the BPL to have the historical photo collection digitized and they were
accepted. They received notice last week that their digitizing project is complete and the materials will be returned shortly. It will still be a while before the collection will be available online because there is a lot of work to get the information connected to each photo before the photos are accessible. For that part, they are seeking an intern from one of the library programs to help them with the work. The Lee Library hopes that people will be patient with them while this is happening, but they wished to share the good news and
let us know that they are working to make access to the historical photo collection a reality.
CreativeLEE XII – The Lee Library invites the community to display their art work in our annual exhibit. Items may be brought
to the library on Saturday, September 15th or Monday, September 17th, during regular library hours. Because of space
limitations, there is a limit of two items per person. The opening reception will be held on Founders’ Weekend, Friday,
September 21st from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Recollections XII
By U. S. Navy Retired Commander Vic Mottarella,
A native of Lee
(Continued from August – 2012)
RECOLLECTIONS XII
Living Accommodations
Before classes commenced it was necessary for all of us to find a place to live. Prior to this the Navy provided all living
accommodations including, three meals a day, whether ashore or afloat. Now it was up to each of us to satisfy these needs. I conferred with Joe Sassman and two other bachelor pilots and we finally agreed to rent a large apartment in South Milwaukee. The other two were Bill Raposa, and Bob Byrnes. Bob was the only multi-engine pilot of this group of four. He had been the pilot of
various four-engine transport planes. Joe Sassman and Bill Raposa fought in World War II. Bill was the recipient of two Navy
Crosses while flying torpedo bombers off the USS Lexington. It was not until years later that I learned of his achievements
because he never mentioned it while at Marquette. Among other achievements he was given credit for sinking a Japanese
Cruiser. Joe shot down a couple of Japanese planes while flying Hellcat Fighters from the same carrier. The last landing I made was on the USS Lexington flying an A-4 Skyhawk. The Lexington is now a floating museum located at Corpus Christi, Texas and
Joe Sassman is a member of the volunteer group who keep it in shipshape. I was the junior member of the four since I had
seen no action having received my wings just after the end of the war. I was also the youngest but we were all in our twenties.
No one was very experienced in cooking so this was a new challenge. My meager experience learned while working at Nick’s
Restaurant during my high school days in Lee, Massachusetts, made me the most experienced of the four. I ended up doing
most of the cooking while the others alternated in doing the dishes. The cooking I did was very basic like frying steaks, pork
chops and opening canned vegetables to fill out the meal. We were each responsible for making our beds. As I recall the l
andlady provided clean linen each week.
Routines While at Marquette
At times Joe Sassman and I thought we might have bitten off more than we could chew. While our friends who were taking
Liberal Arts courses were out having fun in downtown Milwaukee, Joe and I were home studying late into the night. When day
classes were over, we disciplined ourselves to immediately hit the books, only taking a short break for the evening meal. The study of mathematics from differential and integral calculus to differential equations caused us to spend many hours in quiet solitude.
Other courses of study were Analytic Geometry, Surveying, English, Chemistry, Physics, Thermodynamics as well as
numerous Electrical Engineering classes. Since Marquette was a Jesuit Catholic College we also had to complete a course in
religion. It was a struggle for both of us but we managed to keep up with most of the younger folks. One reason we studied so hard during the week was so we could spend about three hours on the golf course on Saturday mornings.
As I look back it is hard to believe the Navy was spending all this money for us to attend college in addition to providing our
normal pay as well as flight pay. At the time flight pay equaled one half of our base pay. Our base pay in 1949 dollars totaled
about three hundred dollars. It was not the intent of the Navy to have us graduate with a degree but only to expose us to
some college learning since most of us had earned our wings and were commissioned as officers after joining the Cadet
Program directly out of High School. We were competing with Naval Academy Graduates. We had to fly at least four hours a
month in order to satisfy the flight pay requirement. We normally did this on one Saturday of the month. There was no golf
on those Saturdays. It was the intention of the Navy to have us maintain flight proficiency. There were no Naval Air Facilities in Wisconsin so we had to drive south about ninety miles to the Naval Air Station at Glenview, Illinois located on the northern
outskirts of Chicago. Depending on what airplanes were available we flew a Bearcat, a Hellcat or a SNJ Trainer. I always
asked for a Bearcat but took whatever was available and because of the remote distance I tried to fly all four hours on the
same day. It was mostly punching holes in the sky so it could be a little on the boring side. If the plane happened to be a
Bearcat or a Hellcat I killed time by doing acrobatics but my body could only stand doing this for a short time.
Bill Raposa and Bob Byrnes hated college and continuously complained to us about attending. They both forwarded a letter
to the Bureau of Naval Personnel asking to be transferred back to an active squadron. Their wish was satisfied shortly after
the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950. At the same time my old squadron, Fighter Squadron 32, was recalled from the Mediterranean. The squadron was operating off the Aircraft Carrier USS Leyte. The Squadron Bearcats were replaced with
orsairs and the unit immediately sailed through the Panama Canal to the waters adjacent to Korea. The reason the Bearcats
were superseded was because the Corsair could carry a much heavier payload. The Bearcat would have been an ideal
fighter to take on the Japanese Zeros but it had several limitations such as payload. Joe Sassman and I elected to remain in
college but now occupied a smaller apartment of the same building.
Christmas 1949
During the Christmas break of 1949 I drove back to see Betty in Lee, Massachusetts. I stayed at the farm on Fairview Street
in Lee for about ten days. Betty and I spent a lot of time together and discussed our pending marriage. We had not set a
date up to this time. I left it up to her but mentioned that it had to be on a date between college semesters. After looking at
the schedule she picked the date of August 30, 1950. This would occur immediately following completion of my third semester
at Marquette. We were both Catholic and were to be married in the local Saint Mary’s Church. We had to give the pastor
about a three-month notice at which time we conferred with him while he warned of the usual trials and tribulations of
undertaking such a serious commitment.
Betty mentioned that she would like me to wear my officer’s dress white uniform during the wedding ceremony. After my ten
days of leisure I drove back to Milwaukee and resumed the study of Engineering at Marquette. On my next trip to the Naval Air Station at Glenview, Illinois I decided to buy a new pair of white shoes for the wedding. After ensuring a proper fit I had the Navy
Exchange employee wrap the box up securely so there would be no chance of the shoes becoming soiled before the wedding. I did not open that box until early on August 30, 1950, our wedding day. What I found in the box was a very big and unpleasant
surprise that caused some panic. The surprise would become the subject of humor for years to come but it was not funny at
the time. I will explain more about this below.
(Continued in the October -12 issue)
As I read Vic’s article, I notice that Vic and Betty have just celebrated a wedding anniversary on August, 30th. If my math is
correct, that would be #62, so congratulations are in order for their anniversary.
SOLDIERS OF LEE IN THE CIVIL WAR
Private Charles Luman Nye
Company E, Massachusetts 27th Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Name: Charles L. Nye
Residence: Lee, Massachusetts
Occupation: Farmer
Age at Enlistment: 21
Enlistment Date: 9 June 1861
Rank at Enlistment: Private
State Served: Massachusetts
Was Wounded: Yes
Survived the War: Yes
Service Record: Enlisted in Company E on 20 September 1861.
Mustered out on 27 September 1864.
Birth Date: About 1840
Sources: Massachusetts Soldiers, Sailors and Marines in the Civil War.
The 27th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was also a regiment of soldiers from the Western Massachusetts
counties but it was raised by Horace C. Lee of Springfield, who became its Colonel. They trained at Camp Reed in Springfield
and three quarters were mustered in by September 27, 1861. On November 2nd, the 27th left by train for Annapolis, Maryland. Arriving on the 5th, they became part of Foster’s Brigade, Burnside’s Coast Division and left with the Burnside Expedition to North
Carolina. They fought mostly in North Carolina and Virginia and encountered only light losses, but that all changed in May
of 1864 when in the course of the month and up until June 3rd their losses amounted to 488 soldiers. The worse being at
Drury’s Bluff on May 16th when on a foggy morning, they were outflanked and lost over 300 officers and men. Seventeen
were either killed or mortally wounded while 279 were taken prisoner and sent to Andersonville, where many more died. On
August 25, 1864, one hundred and seventy-nine of the men were sent back to Massachusetts to be mustered out as their term of service had been completed. This had to be a very lucky day for Private Nye. Although it states in his service record that
he had been wounded sometime in his enlistment, he could have suffered a worse fate as the 27th, on March 8th 1865 was
completely surrounded by Confederate troops at Kingston where 7 were killed, 40 were wounded and the rest of the regiment
was taken as prisoners and sent to Libby Prison in
Richmond, Virginia. They were confined there until they were paroled and sent home as the war ended.
The Federal Census of 1860 shows Charles L. Nye living with his parents and three siblings.
Town records show that on September 18, 1861, just before entering the Union Army Charles L. Nye, age 21, was married to
Wealthy Ann Tucker, age 19.
The Federal Census of 1870 shows him back living with his parents with no mention of a wife.
The Federal Census of 1880 describes Charles L. Nye as a divorced laborer living at a private home in Lee as a boarder.
The Vital Records show that Charles L. Nye died on 13 July 1885. His cause of death was declared heart disease.
.
After the September Meeting on the 14th, the society will be sending out ballots to our member, either by electronic mail or
by the U. S. Postal Service. These ballots are to allow our members to vote for any of the members that may be nominated for
a seat on our Board of Directors or for any write in names that you might wish to see on our Board of Directors. Your completed ballot must be returned to us by October 10th, the day before our Annual Meeting. Please fill them out and get them back to us ASAP. Thank You!
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.
(e.)A 2012, #5 in our series, mug with a replica of the First Congregational Church on the side.
These mugs can be purchased for $8.00 each plus shipping charges.
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
The Newsletter of the Lee Historical Society is published monthly by our non-profit organization; our society’s mission is to
foster a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history of the Town of Lee through research, lectures, and exhibits, and
of the acquisition and preservation of material and sites. The overall object and purpose of our society shall be exclusively
educational and charitable consistent with 501 (C) (3).
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 MorrisseyMaria HopkinsPeg Biron
JoAnn ZarnochMarion Leach
Dolores EckertBrenda Liebenow
Society Historian – Charlotte Davis
Collection Chairman – Marion Leach
Newsletter Editor – Mal Eckert
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 CompanyBen’s ShopCharles Flint Antiques
290 Pleasant Street68 Main Street52 Housatonic Street
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lenox, MA 01240
413-243-0570413-243-0242413-637-1634
Karen Keenan Gifts & HomeQuality Plus CustodialLocker Room Sports Pub
69 Main Street260 Chestnut Street232 Main Street
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
413-243-2689413-243-2197413-243-2662
Frank Consolati Ins. AgencyPaperdilly, Inc.Dresser Hull Company
71 Main Street74 Main Street60 Railroad Street
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
413-243-0105413-243-1928413-243-1400
Robert M. Kelly, PaperhangingDeely & Deely, AttorneysThe Jonathon Foote 1778 House
South Prospect Street218 Main Street1 East Street
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
413-243-3489413-243-2720413-243-4545
Monk’s Professional Barber ShopLee BankDevonfield Inn
91 Main Street75 Park Street85 Stockbridge Road
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
413-243-3341413-243-0117413-243-3298
Hunter & Graziano P. CTerrace Hair StudioWilcox Plumbing & Heating
10 Park Place135 Housatonic StreetP. O. Box 561
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
413-243-0789413-243-1799413-243-2494
Kelly Funeral HomeMatt Liebenow Jr., Trucking
3 Main StreetP. O. Box 72
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
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 - $5.00Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00
Business Membership - $25.00Individual 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:
Address_____________________________________________________________________Lee Historical Society
City____________________________State__________________Zip____________________P. O. Box 170
Telephone____________________Email___________________________________________ Lee, MA 01238
Is this a renewal membership?__________
Would you be interested in serving on a committee? __________
Or helping out at one of our fundraisers? ____________________
