Lee Historical Society
Newsletter
Vol. 4, No. 3
March 2007
The purposes of the Lee Historical Society are to promote and foster a greater knowledge and appreciation of the unique history of the Town of Lee to friends, students and citizens through research, lectures, exhibits, acquisition and preservation of historical material and sites for future generations. We also offer assistance to those in the pursuit of local historical information.
The funding that our society receives is strictly from membership dues and other private sources. There is no financial support received from any governmental source or agency. The Lee Historical Society is a non-profit corporation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, classified as a 501 (C) (3) charitable organization under the U.S. Revenue Service Code.
February Meeting:
The February Program Meeting was held on February 8th at the Lee Fire Department’s Central Station on Main Street. A power point presentation was given by Vice-President Gary Allen for the members and guests. A question and answer session followed and some of the questions were answered by the firemen in attendance. Everyone was able to see the articles, memorabilia, and pictures that the department has on display; Gary was presented with a certificate of appreciation for his presentation and research on the Lee Fire Department.
2007 MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS
If you have not renewed your membership for 2007, please send it in now. If you are not sure of your status, email, call or drop us a line.
New Members to Welcome:
Marilyn R. Rossier, 80 Mountain View Terrace, Lee, MA 01238
Stanley C. Rossier, 80 Mountain View Terrace, Lee, MA 01238
George O’Neil, 692 Brush Foot Drive, Sebastian, FL 32958
March Meeting:
The March Meeting will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2007 at the old courtroom in Memorial Hall. This will be strictly a business meeting for Board members, Officers and interested members.
Please support our local business members:
B & B Landscaping & Excavation, 475 Pleasant Street, Lee
Bartini Roofing, 290 Pleasant Street, Lee
Ben’s Shop, 68 Main Street, Lee
Consolati Insurance Agency, 71 Main Street, Lee
Country Curtains, Route 102, Lee
Atty. Michael J. Considine, 49 Main Street, Lee
Charles Flint Antiques, 52 Housatonic Street, Lenox
Devonfield, 85 Stockbridge Road, Lee
Greylock Federal Credit Union, 47 Main Street, Lee
Hunter & Graziano, Attys., 10 Park Place, Lee
Joe’s Diner, 85 Center Street, Lee
Jonathon Foote 1778 House, 1 East Street, Lee
Kelly Funeral Home, 3 Main Street, Lee
Lee Bank, 75 Park Street, Lee
Lee Chamber of Commerce, 3 Park Place, Lee
Paperdilly, 74 Main Street, Lee
Suburban Internal Medicine, 710 Stockbridge Road, Lee
Sullivan Station Restaurant, 109 Railroad Street, Lee
Toole Insurance Agency, 175 Main Street, Lee
Toole Lodging Group, 461 Pittsfield Road, Lenox
Wealth Technology Group, 75 South Church Street, Pittsfield
RECOLLECTIONS II
By Vic Mottarella
(Continued from the February issue)
Short Cuts
Louie and I were walking home from school one cold winter day in 1935 and took our usual short cut by the old Park Garage where the Price Chopper Market is now located. Dr. Bryans (a former dentist) had a house under construction at the current site of the Lee National Bank. A hole had been dug for the cesspool that had filled up with water and had frozen. As we were walking along we heard a loud voice of a girl screaming for help. We ran to the source of the voice and found that the girl had broken through the ice and was up to her neck in ice cold water. We both pulled the girl out. The girl’s name was Betty O’Neill. I hardly knew her at the time because she was two years younger than me and attended a different school. Little did I know at the time that about fifteen years later she would be the girl I would choose to marry on August 30, 1950 when I was a Lieutenant in the Navy. We recently celebrated our golden anniversary.
On another occasion Louie and I were taking our other short cut via Marble Street and Lee Lime Kilns. When transiting the area in the vicinity of the Marble Works there existed a short stretch that would only allow one-way traffic. Along both sides of this stretch were stacked hundreds of marble slabs. They were probably rejects. One day I came up with the bright idea of placing a continuous row of slabs across the narrow road. No one would be injured since all the drivers slowed down at this point to ensure no traffic was coming from the opposite direction. We had just placed the last slab (all about 5 inches high) when we heard a car coming from the direction of the Lime Kilns. We panicked and ducked behind the marble slabs. The car came to a stop and we heard someone say “damn kids” with a very disgusting voice. We recognized the voice of Peter Comalli Sr. who at the time was Superintendent of the Lime Kilns. He removed the slabs in about two minutes which to us seemed like eternity. We couldn’t have more than ten feet away from him and fortunately he did not look over the pile of marble slabs but it scared the hell out of us.
How I learned to drive
Even as a small child I was always fascinated with any mechanical device. This including anything from the smallest watch to a large automobile engine. My uncle Louis who lived in New Rochelle, N.Y. repaired watches and clocks as a hobby and I would watch him for hours while he tinkered with various parts of a time piece. I had always studied my father’s movements while driving such as when he pushed in the clutch while shifting to different gears. One day when
I was about 11 years old I noticed that the Model A Ford Pickup was set up to cut wood. The left rear wheel had been removed and was replaced by a pulley to which a belt was used to turn the circular saw. I could not resist the temptation of tinkering with the Model A. I took it in steps. First I learned how to start the engine and then I had to figure out how to shift the different gear ratios after pushing in the clutch. The method I used was to look back at the pulley where I could tell the each gear ratio by the relative RPM of the pulley vs. the particular position of the gear shift. By continuous repositioning of the gear shift I was able to determine the proper position for reverse. After cycling through several gears and gaining confidence in this respect I decided it was time to try the next big step. I jacked the truck up and removed the pulley replacing it with the wheel. I started down the cow path in low gear and headed for the woods. No problem---I had learned to drive without instructions from anyone. After about an hour of this I attempted to put everything back exactly as it had been so that my father would never know. It sure looked the same to me but the very next time my father attempted to cut wood the belt kept slipping off the pulley.
After several attempts and considerable cussing my father went into the house and apparently my stepmother told him what I had done. It was the only time I can recall that my father laid a hand on me.
After the wood cutting project was completed the Model A became my favorite toy. For a long time every spare moment was occupied by tinkering and trying to find out exactly how every accessory worked. I would set and reset the timing, take the carburetor apart in an attempt to increase the gas mileage and power, adjust the brakes, clean and adjust the spark plugs, change the point gap, etc. On weekends it was routine for me to siphon about a gallon of gas from my father’s 1936 Plymouth pickup or his 1932 Willey’s automobile every Friday evening. No! I didn’t have permission. On Saturday mornings Louie and I would take off in the pickup and head for the woods and the open lots. Later, we became more courageous and headed for the same horse paths on the Wellington Smith property on which we had earlier ridden the horses. We never got caught. It was great sport considering I was only about eleven years old at the time. Since there was no discipline I kept pushing my luck and it wasn’t long before I was driving up and down Fairview Street without a license. At this stage of the game I still had enough sense to stay off the mail highways---that would come later---license or not. On one occasion while passing the Naventi residence the Model A started acting up. Fortunately, Paul who was married by then happened to be visiting his old homestead. He was a highly qualified mechanic and immediately spotted the problem. I was back on the road in ten minutes.
(Continued to the April issue)
Soldiers of Lee in the Civil War:
ROLL OF HONOR SOLDIER
Private Henry A. Gifford – Company C, 27th Massachusetts Infantry
Found in the American Civil War Soldiers Records:
Name: Henry A. Gifford
Residence: Lee, Massachusetts
Occupation: Laborer
Enlistment Date: 09 February 1865
Distinguished Service
Side Served: Union
State Served: Massachusetts
Unit Numbers:
Service Record: Enlisted as a private on 09 February 1865. Enlisted in Company E, 27th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on 09 September 1865. Mustered out on 06 June 1865 in New Berne, North Carolina.
Henry A. Gifford died at age 16 making him the youngest soldier from Lee to die in the Civil War. The Civil War Soldier’s Record shows him being mustered out on 06 June 1865 in New Berne, North Carolina but the Roll of Honor in Memorial Hall tells that he died in the service to the Union.
He may have died from wounds or disease from his enlistment. The only battle I find that the 27th was engaged in during his enlistment was on 08 March 1865 at South West Creek, North Carolina. At this battle the Union forces were surrounded by Confederate forces and 7 were killed, 40 were wounded and over 200 were taken as prisoners. It is also found that many of these prisoners died during captivity, so Private Gifford may have died at home from disease.
I find Henry A. Gifford in the 1860 United States Federal Census of the Town of Lee, County of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts. He is listed as the 11 year old son of Jesse R. and Julia A. Gifford. The post office address of the Gifford family is listed as South Lee. Also in the family is an older brother Stephen E. Gifford, age 13 and a sister, Lillian, age 2.
Officers of the Lee Historical Society for 2007:
President – Stephen A. Cozzaglio, 413-243-3204 or scozzaglio@rcn.com
Vice-President – Gary Allen. 413-243-2140 or GaryWAllen@Earthlink.net
Secretary – Position open
Treasurer – Mal Eckert 413-243-1797 or Lee_Hist_Soc@msn.com
Board of Directors:
Marion Leach/2007 Mary Holt/2008 Ethel Noonan/2009
William Clarke/2007 Henry Holt/2008 James DiMario/2009
Cindy Packard/2007 Mary Morrissey/2008 Mary McGinnis/2009
Society Historian: Charlotte Davis, 413-243-1092
Newsletter Editor: Mal Eckert, 413-243-1797 or Lee_Hist_Soc@msn.com
The Lee Historical Society is continuously looking for articles and stories of Lee and its people to include in our newsletters. If anyone has an article or story, or is looking for an ancestor, please contact one of our officers or board members or send me an email.
The following article was copied from the Penny Saver of March 2, 1972 as written by Betty L. Dennis, the former Town Librarian, who wrote a series of articles regarding historical events about the Town of Lee for the Lee Rotary Club that were published in the Penny Saver under the column of “Historical Lee.”
When the Methodists of Lee were looking for a site upon which to build their first church in the 1830’s they were first offered a site on what is now our Main Street, about where the Central Block now stands. It was little wonder why they declined as this site was looked upon merely as a frog pond, and on a “side street”. The business section was then down on Park Street. Later they were able to secure the property on High Street where our present Methodist Church now stands.
About 1851 the building of the Housatonic Mill shut off the water supply from the “frog pond” and the river was turned to the west. The pond having been robbed of its water supply was filled and the “Northrup” block built on that site. This was a very plain wooden structure which burned in 1857. The very last sign of that pond was removed when the land was scooped out in preparation for the new block, which through the years has gone through many renovations, but still proudly stands as Central Block. A newspaper story reported that Mr. C. P. Cutting, a local photographer of the 1800’s used to recall catching strings of bullheads in the old frog pond.
When Main Street was macadamized in 1898 and the hill in front of the library was cut down, workman found a layer of round cobbles indicating there had been water action. This condition was also found in two or three other instances when cellars were dug for other Main Street blocks, offering proof that at one time the river ran directly through what is now our business section.
SCHEDULE OF 2007 MEETINGS:
Meetings of the Lee Historical Society will take place on the second Thursday of every month at 7:00 P.M. Business meetings will be held in the old courtroom at Memorial Hall and some of the program meetings may take place on the site of the subject matter of the meeting. We will try to advertise all meetings in various places in town. We will also try to advertise in the local media and TV stations. Our Program Meetings are free and open to the public and people are encouraged to attend. This schedule will be updated as more speakers and locations are confirmed.
Thursday, January 11, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members.
Thursday, February 8, 2007 --- Program Meeting for all members and the public. The subject was “The History of the Lee Fire Department”. It was held at the Lee Fire Department on Main St.
Thursday, March 8, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members at 7:00 p.m. in the old courtroom in Memorial Hall.
Thursday, April 12, 2007 --- Program Meeting for all members and the public. Jack Trowill will speak on the history of Berkshire Railways at 7:00 p.m. in the old courtroom of Memorial Hall.
Thursday, May 10, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 --- Program Meeting for all members and the public. The subject will be the History of Lee Marble and Lee Lime presented by Martin Deely and held at 7:00 p.m. in the old courtroom at Memorial Hall.
Thursday, July 12, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members.
Thursday, August 9, 2007 --- Program Meeting for all members and the public. The subject will be the History of the Lee Library and their one hundred year anniversary. The speaker is unknown at this date.
Thursday, September 13, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members.
Thursday, October 11, 2007 --- Program Meeting for all members and the public. The subject will be the History of St. Mary’s Church and presented by Mary Morrissey at 7:00 p.m. at the old courtroom in Memorial Hall. St. Mary’s is celebrating their 150th anniversary.
Thursday, November 8, 2007 --- Business Meeting for all Board of Directors and Officers and all interested members. Nominations for members of the Board of Directors.
Thursday, December 13, 2007 --- Annual Meeting --- Election of members of the Board of Directors and Officers.
When friends, neighbors or relatives move, downsize, move or just clean house, PLEASE, ask them to think of the LEE HISTORIC SOCIETY before they discard any old books, pictures postcards, letters or memorabilia of the TOWN OF LEE. We are also interested in obtaining old Lee High School yearbooks and Town Reports.
BECOME A MEMBER OR ENROLL AN OUT OF TOWN FRIEND OR RELATIVE. HOW ABOUT A PRESENT OF A MEMBERSHIP, COOKBOOK, SET OF REFRIGERATOR MAGNETS OR PICTURE PACKET OF “OLD LEE”?
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Membership fees:
Student Membership --- $5.00 Senior Membership (1 person over age 65) --- $5.00
Business Membership --- $25.00 Individual Membership (1 person under age 65) --- $10.00
Family Membership (all members of a family living at home) --- $15.00
Please circle one: Student Senior Individual Family Business
Name_______________________________________________________
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Is this a renewal?_______or a new membership?________
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