Remember Jamaica Plain?

Where In The World Is Benjanim Bussey(s house)?

2008-07-23T00:01:00.003-04:00

Bromley, 1896 (BPL)

Benjamin Bussey was born in 1757. After serving as a soldier in the Revolutionary army, he settled down to the life as a Boston merchant. In time, he would use his wealth to invest in local industry, developing state of the art woolen mills on Mother Brook in the town of Dedham, where Bussey street still crosses a mill pond. As was common at the time, he retired from business and bought a farm from Eleazer Weld in Jamaica Plain, on the grounds of today's Arnold Arboretum. Over time, he added to his holdings, and Woodland Hills came to occupy over 300 acres of land. There, he occupied himself in scientific farming and landscape gardening. There were hay fields, barley, and fruit trees,including plums, apricots and cherries.

Of particular interest for this article is the house he built stood on the side of Weld Hill, what we now call Bussey Hill, in his honor. The house (which can be seen in the article linked below) was somewhere on the south side of the hill, and stood until it was demolished in the 1940s. So where was the house? The map above shows the buildings of the Bussey Institute, with one house and an outbuilding on Bussey Hill within the current Arboretum (see the red arrow). The picture of the front of the house in the Arnoldia article shows a driveway similar to that shown in the map, so I think we can be confidant that the map does show the original Bussey house.

The Arnoldia article linked below says that remnants of the Bussy outbuilding remained until the 1990: there is picture in the article showing a low wall section. I do remember some low walls in that part of the Arboretum, so I took a walk to see if I could find the location I remembered. I parked at the South street entrance to the Arboretum and walked up towards Bussey hill. After a bit of poking around, I came upon the site of the top two photos. A small foundation of about 23'x32' remains at the site, and matches the location shown on the map above. A massive European Beech tree overlooks the site - could it be a remnant of the Bussey estate? Down the exposed hill. the third photo above shows a row stones exposed in the turf. Based on the map view, these would perhaps have been at the front of the house, or perhaps part of the driveway.

The house in the Arnoldia photo seems to have a mansard roof, which would make it too late to be the original Bussey house. The house that was under construction in 1816 was decades before the craze for the French roof style that is still commonly seen in Jamaica Plain. Perhaps the house was modified over time. Or perhaps it's a different house altogether, and something has been lost from the story. In any case, something is still there, serving as a reminder for those who know what to look for. What could an archeological dig find at the site? There must be traces left in the ground of the lives lived at the old farm - the Welds and the Busseys both. I'd love to put a team of grad students on the job and see what we could find.

Source: Benjamin Bussey, Woodland Hills and the Origin of the Arnold Arboretum. Arnoldia, 64/1.

Jefferson School

2008-07-21T00:01:00.001-04:00

Bromley, 1931 (BPL)

Somehow, I've managed to miss the Jefferson school until now. Schools in Boston had been divided into primary schools (K-3), grammar schools (4-8) and high schools (9-12), but by the time of this article, the Jefferson was kindergarten through eighth grade. Heath street was considered Roxbury at the time, but I'll include it here as fitting into my contemporary borders of Jamaica Plain. The map above shows the location of the school at the southern edge of Parker Hill. You can read the names of the students above by clicking on the listing below the group picture.

Boston Daily Globe June 24, 1911

Morality Play Given At Jefferson School Graduation.

Mayor Fitzgerald Speaks on Progress and Class of 49 Pupils Appears in Performance of Rhythmic Steps.

"Progress" was the graduation theme of the boys and girls of Jefferson school last evening at the exercises in the school hall. It was illustrated in song, story and play, followed by the class giving rhythmic steps. Mayor Fitzgerald gave an address on the same subject.

The program was under the direction of the master, Edward P. Sherbourne. It included singing by the school of "Awake, My Soul," "Nightinggale's Complaint," "Progress Song," "Alleluia," "The Merry Dance" and "Auld Lang Syne": the recitations of "The Foreward," by Irwin J. Haussler, "The Upward Reach" by Hester MacDonald and "Grow Old Along With Me."

The chief feature of the evening was the production of "Every Child," Lena Dalkeith Burton's morality play. This play is in keeping with the "progress" movement in the public schools under the direction of Miss Marion K. Brown. It shows a little fellow who is being tempted away from the path of duty by a group of careless children called negatives. While the negatives are trying to have him go their easy going and careless way, he is met by a group of positive or good children who persuade the boy to go the way of happiness and usefulness.

The play concludes with the spelling of the word "Failure" on shields worn by the negatives and "Progress" spelled on shields worn by the positives. The leading parts in the play were Lester Krone as Every Child, Irwin Haussler as Spirit of Youth and Carl Fischer as Spirit of Progress. There were 49 children in the play. The boys wore yellow with white baldrieks and the girls were gowned in white.

The mayor presented diplomas to the 18 girls and 31 boys. He said in part: "I am proud to say that Boston still leads in the educational world. We have as fine schools and equiptment and spend more money on education of the children proportionally, I believe, than any other city in the country.

"The schools are better than they were when I went to school in the old North End and later on to teh English high and Boston Latin schools. Five years ago we did not have trade schools, we did not have a school for practical arts or continuation schools or commercial schools.

"True progress means that one must work hard to succeed. Progress means that the one most valuable thing in life is education. If you boys and girls intend to go to work, then continue your education in one of the many evening high schools. It is your duty, boys and girls, to follow the right lines of progress, making yourselves all that you possibly can become."

Franklin Park Bear Dens

2008-07-17T16:18:00.006-04:00

When men were men, and bears were out of luck. I left all these pictures full size to show detail. Click on the pictures to see the full versions.

Looking up at the approach to the bear dens.

From within the main bear cage, looking at the back right corner.

At the back of the main cage - bears stand guard over Boston - or are they attacking?

A bear's eye view, from inside the main cage.

Most of the doors at the back of the cage are sealed up. I had to crouch to shoot this picture inside the back wall of the cage.

The second cage, to the left of the main cage.

Not a happy place.

Inside the main cage - notice the round metal cage and barrel that protected a tree that grew within the cage.

William Bourne & Company - Piano Makers

2008-07-14T00:01:00.004-04:00

Bromley & Bromley, 1895
David Rumsey Collection

In 1837, at a time when Ohio was still considered "the West," William Bourne set up a piano factory in Dayton, a city of 1000 souls. Within three years, he had removed to Cincinatti, where he took a lead position in another piano factory. In 1842, he took a job with Chickering in Boston, becoming a department foreman. In 1846, he started his own business. Bourne died in 1885, leaving the company to a son. In 1911, the company built a factory on Highland avenue in Needham.

The 1895 map segment above shows the location of the Bourne Piano factory on Lamartine st. The information I've located about the Bourne company is thin, but I thought it was worthwhile to record that Boston's extensive piano business extended as far as the edge of today's Jamaica Plain.

Sources: Pianos and Their Makers, History of the American Pianoforte, History of Needham Massachusetts.

Drivin' Round the Pond

2008-07-08T18:34:00.003-04:00

I found this magazine advertisement for sale on Ebay. Below the front right wheel are the words "Jamaica Pond, Boston."

Jamaica Pond Goes To Court

2008-07-07T00:40:00.002-04:00

In the year 1693, the Freemen and other inhabitants of the Town of Roxbury granted Mr Joseph Belknap permission to draw water from from Jamaica Pond to run a mill for grinding grain. The amount of water to be taken was to be decided at a later date, and Mr Belknap was required to maintain the road where he would dig (The only place that water from Jamaica Pond could drain down hill would have been towards Ward's Pond, so we can assume that the road referred to was the one now known as Perkins street, which was laid out in 1662).

In 1739, a petition to the selectmen complained that the mill erected to grind corn for families of Roxbury and Brookline was being used to grind large quantities of wheat from Boston, and requested that Mr Belknap and his grantees and heirs cease drawing water from the pond to grind grain coming from outside Roxbury and Brookline. The selectmen met and wrote a report recommending that the grantees of Mr Belknap be required to post bond and cease grinding wheat from Boston. At the annual town meeting held in May of the following year, the report was accepted and confirmed by vote.

In 1783, another petition from Roxbury land owners claimed that large quantities of water had been drained from the pond in recent years, causing the selectmen to order the proprietors of the mill to cease taking water from the pond until conditions could be ascertained.

The year 1788 brought the pond back to the notice of the town. Following a petition of the current mill proprietor Mr. William Marshall, a committee consisting of Selectmen William Heath, Dr. Eliphalet Downer, David s. Greenough and Martin Brimmer was to consider conditions regarding the pond, the mill and nearby wells. The committee recommended that the mill sluice be set such that the level of the pond could be drawn down no more than six inches lower than its existing height. The report and its recommendations were put to a vote and rejected. A motion was then put forward to allow Mr Marshall to draw down the pond to the same level as was allowed to Joseph Belknap in 1698. That motion passed.

In 1791, an action by William Marshall against Martin Brimmer was referred to arbitration, the arbitrators ruling for Mr Marshall, with a recommendation that the drawing of waters from the pond be regulated by the selectmen in the future.

All of which leads us to the legal case of the Inhabitants of West Roxbury vs. Enos M. Stoddard & another. A report by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court describes the case, argued in October, 1862, as "Tort for breaking and entering the plaintiff's close, described in the writ as Jamaica Pond, and carrying away eight thousand tons of ice, the property of the plaintiffs, for the purpose of selling the same." Mr Stoddard owned the ice house at the south side of the pond, and stood accused of stealing the watery property of the town!

Along with the preceding history, the plaintiffs (the Town of West Roxbury) introduced a remonstrance submitted to the legislature in 1795 by the selectmen of Roxbury against the incorporation of the Jamaica Plain Aqueduct Company. The selectmen claimed that the town of Roxbury should have exclusive rights to the waters of the pond, having never granted use of the pond's water except for the use of the mill discussed above.

The town went on to show that a part of the pond had been reclaimed in 1856, and a walk built along the eastern shore, with a policeman stationed during the day to prevent bathing. In January of 1860 the town posted a notice near the defendants ice houses giving boundaries within which ice could be cut. The defendants were informed by the town that there would be a charge for cutting ice. The defendants then cut and took away about eight thousand tons of ice from the pond, selling it outside the town of West Roxbury. The town then presented the defendants with a bill at a rate of three cents per ton.

In their legal argument, the Town of West Roxbury asserted the following: that an act of 1636 had granted the territory which includes Jamaica Pond to the town of Roxbury; that a 1647 ordinance granting the public access to all "great ponds" (those larger than 10 acres) for "fishing and fowling" did not dispossess the Town of Roxbury of its possession and control of the pond; that the act of separation between Roxbury and West Roxbury in 1851 had passed possession of the pond and its contents to the plaintiffs; and that the town had sufficient title to support a charge of trespass against the defendants.

The court was required to decide whether the 1636 grant, giving possession of Jamaica Pond to the town of Roxbury, took precedence over the ordinance of 1647, which guaranteed citizens access to great ponds for fishing and fowling, by statute, and for swimming, watering animals, and harvesting ice, by practice.

The court decided that the ordinance of 1647 made public all great ponds not previously granted to a single individual.The town of Roxbury had no possession adverse to the rights of the public to access the pond for accepted activities, including boating, bathing, skating, taking water for domestic or agricultural purposes, and for the cutting and taking of ice. The town could adopt by-laws that regulate unreasonable or excessive use of such liberties, and if such by-laws were insufficient, the only resort the town had was to be found in the legislature.

So, the town's case for breaking and entering against Enos M. Stoddard in 1862 failed. The town could regulate the use of Jamaica Pond as a commercial source of ice, but it could not prevent it through criminal charges. While the court seemed to support the rights of citizens to use great ponds for swimming, bathing, skating, etc., the rights of communities to regulate such uses seem to have overtaken and overridden the initial promise.

Perhaps the most interesting information coming from this case was the long history of corn and grain grinding at Jamaica Pond. Between 1693 to 1791, a mill was operating at the pond. The incorporation of the Jamaica Plain Aqueduct Company in 1795 puts a late limit on the operation of the grist mill at the pond. Maps from the 19th century show building owned by the Aqueduct company along Perkins street between Jamaica and Ward's ponds, at the same spot where the mill must have taken water from Jamaica Pond.

As more legal decisions from our state's past come online, we may learn more about Jamaica Plain that has lain hidden in dusty court records.

Source: Reports of the Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts - Volume VII

Brewer Necrology

2008-07-02T18:31:00.004-04:00

A follow-up on the previous entry:

The photos above were taken at Forest Hills cemetery, where Captain Charles Brewer, his parents, wife Martha, and some of their children are buried or memorialized. The Captain and his wife had five surviving children, Edward M., Eliza, John Dominis, Joseph and William Parsons Avis.

Source: A Genealogy of the Descendants of John May, Who Came from England to Roxbury in America

Captain Charles Brewer - An Extraordinary Man

2008-06-29T23:36:00.004-04:00

The Friend - November 14, 1845

Richards, L.J. 1899
David Rumsey Collection

At the time this map was published, the former home of Captain Charles Brewer was in the hands of his son Edward, and sat directly in the path of the Prince street extension that would soon run from Pond street to Centre street. For the estate as it was in 1874, look here.

Charles Brewer was born in Boston in 1804. His father was Moses Brewer, a direct descendant of Daniel Brewer, who arrived with his wife at Roxbury in 1632. He is listed as both a dry-goods dealer and a ship's captain. His mother, Abigail May Brewer, was of the Jamaica Plain Mays, whose name is remembered by May street, at the bottom of today's Moss hill. Through the Mays, she was also descended from the same Daniel Brewer. After his father died in 1813, his mother moved to her family home in Jamaica Plain, where she remained until she died in 1849 at 79 years.

From the earliest age, Charles wanted to go to sea, inspired at least in part by his reading of Captain Cook's Voyages. While boys as young as 14 went to sea in his time, Charles' mother Abigail refused to let him go, and sent him to a series of schools in hopes that he would loose interest in the sea. During the War of 1812, as a schoolboy he marched with his classmates and others to Long Wharf, where they were carried across to Noddle's Island (present day East Boston) and then Dorchester Heights to work on the fortifications of Boston Harbor.

At the age of 14, he left school and went to work in a store. After three years, his mother relented, and allowed him to take a position as a seaman aboard the brig Palmer, bound for Calcutta. After 16 months at sea, it was only weeks before he heard the call and returned for a second voyage, this time to Liverpool.

In 1823, he sailed on the Paragon to the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) picking up Sandalwood to sell in China, and returning to Boston with tea. After a few weeks at home, he was back at sea, this time as a second officer. During a trip to Liverpool, he fell 55 feet from the rigging,
damaging one leg permanently. He returned to the Sandwich Islands again, this time as first officer of the Chinchilla. Between 1826-28, they sailed between China, Russia and the Islands, bartering and selling various cargoes.

In 1829, he sailed the Ivanhoe to China for the Bryant & Sturges company of Boston, one of the great merchant companies of its time. After a dispute with the captain, he left the ship and in a short time was offered his first command, a small schooner trading at the Mexican coast.

As a captain, he sailed to Siberia to trade, and brought back the news to American whaling captains in Honolulu that whales could be found in the Sea of Okhtosk - a favorite whaling ground for many years after. Upon returning to Honolulu, he joined another Boston man, Henry A. Pierce, in a trading firm. When Pierce decided to return to Boston, Brewer bought him out, and named the firm Brewer & Co. That firm, which began provisioning New England whaling ships, would later become involved in the sugar trade and join with other American firms to be known as the Big Five. These companies dominated the Hawaiian economy and politics right up until statehood in the 1950s.

During a trip home in 1840, Captain Brewer married Martha Turner, daughter of Rev. Edward Turner. He returned to Honolulu with his wife and aunt. After a trip back to Boston, he returned to the islands with his wife to close out his business interest. On their return in 1849, they sailed on the Tsar, which carried the first gold dust from the California gold rush to Boston.

Back in Boston, Captain Brewer joined in partnership with Henry A. Pierce and James Hunnewell - the original owner of his Hawaiian firm. The three men came to own one of the largest fleet of ships in the nation. He built a house on ten acres of his great-grandfather's land in Jamaica Plain, on a site where Prince street now meets the Arborway..

In 1884, at the age of 80, Charles Brewer wrote his Reminiscences for his children, which inform much of this article. A year later, he died, one of the most distinguished and successful residents of Jamaica Plain. At a time when the use of bicycle helmets is near-universal, we can only look back at such a life with a sense of wonder and awe. His journeys as a teenager were more dangerous than space flight is today. Many of his good companions from his sailing days died in shipwrecks. Each time he returned home safely from a voyage, it was a matter of weeks before he felt the call of the sea and returned. He felt his ship lifted by the massive body of a passing whale, and he was a life-long friend to a Hawaiian king. He was born of Roxbury and Jamaica Plain stock, and he retired to the family homestead. Progress, in the form of the Arborway and Prince street, has wiped out any evidence of the old Captain Brewer estate, but perhaps this article will bring him back to mind for some few commuters as they drive across the Captain's old property.

Other sources: Hawaii's Big Five

Let's Put On A Show!

2008-06-23T00:09:00.005-04:00

Boston Daily Globe February 15, 1900

Young Women Run Theatricals Alone. Members of the Boylston Schulverein Give Three Plays, Two in German, and Make a Big Success of the Affair.

Boylston Schulverein hall, at Boylston station, was the scene of a novel entertainment last evening. It was furnished by the young women of the Schulverein and consisted of two plays in German and one in English. The young women prepared and presented them with no assistance from the male members.

The first play, given entirely in German, was entitled "Zerstreut," which literally translated means forgetfulness. As for the play itself it might be characterized as a general misunderstanding. A lot of clever, witty byplay greatly amused the audience.

Those who took part were Miss Elsa Sisterman, Miss Louise Malsch, Miss Marie Lenzi, Miss Elsie Malsch, Miss Emma Schweitzer, Miss Minna Bamseyer and Miss Bertha Bamseyer.

When the curtain went up the second time a vacant jury room was seen. In a few minutes "A Gentle Jury" filed in, led by Cyrus Hackett (Miss Dorothea Malsch), the sheriff. The jury was made up as follows:

Mrs Dingley, forewoman, Miss Minna Bamseyer
Mrs Fritz..................Miss Lena Lenzi
Mrs Dyer..................Miss Annie Doering
Mrs Small.................Miss M Monpiton
Mrs Fort...................Miss Agnes Malsch
Mrs Fairly................Miss Bertha Bamseyer
Mrs Jones................Miss Otelin Walther
Miss Skinner............Miss Elsie Malsch
Miss Jelivson...........Miss Emma Schweitzen
Miss Smith...............Miss Elsa Listermann
Miss Sharp...............Miss Anna Malsch

After the sheriff leaves the jury there ensues a scene remarkable and entertaining. The question of the guilt or innocence of the party tried is spoken of only casually midst the discussion of genuine gossip of the town, the latest recipes and the like.

The result if that the accused party is being fought over, some wanting to let him go because he is a handsome man, and others to convict him in order to stand by their sex, for the accuser was a woman.

The third play, in German, entitled "Ein Kaffeeklatsch," was an amusing little sketch. It disputed the occurrences of an afternoon tea. The cast was:

Frau Muller, hostess.. Miss Otella Walther
Frau Schulze............... Miss M Monpilton
Frau Meier...................Miss Agnes Malsch
Frau Mudicke..............Miss Annie Doering
Frau Lehrmann..........Miss Anna Maisch

The affair was under the management of Miss Louise Maisch and Miss Anna Maisch, with Miss Minna Ramseyer as theatrical director. The ushers were Misses Clara Walther, Minnie Setye(?), Marie Sanderstrom, Agnes Lewis and Isolde Listermann, and were dressed in white.

The evening's enjoyment was continued after the show by dancing.

***********************************************************************************

Boston Daily Globe May 30, 1900

Young Actors Do Some Clever Work Members of St Thomas' Parish, Jamaica Plain, Present "The Broken Bowsprit" to a Large Audience.

The young men of St Thomas' parish, Jamaica Plain, produced last evening in Leo XIII hall, "The Broken Bowsprit." A large audience enjoyed the acting of the young people, who did some very clever work. The cast was as follows: Henry Damond, Thomas Barry; George Watson, Joseph Carroll; Nathon Tanner, James Smith; old man Tanner, Charles Mahan; Dave Martin, Louis Brown; Cleve Knipe, Thomas Roch; Bob Braser, Timothy Murphy; Mrs Vincent, Frederick Donavon; Adelaide Vincent, Bernard Ward; Mary Watson, Hugh Tate; Sarah Watson, Frank Collins; Delia, Joseph Glynn.

The executive staff was composed of Daniel Lynch stage manager, Eugene Duplain and John Cronin assistants, Messers Cronin, Ryan, Harrington, Shaw, Coughlin and Reagan ushers, Patrick Smith and Walter Roch ticket takers and John Kelley stage carpenter.

The Paul Gore Street Quarry

2008-06-19T00:01:00.002-04:00

Paul Gore street, 2008. The stone wall rises to Cranston street behind the white garage in the background.

When I first read the first article below, I imagined that a block of exposed rock ledge had been crushed for gravel. It wasn't until I took a walk down Paul Gore street that I first saw the rock cliff that rises between Paul Gore street and Cranston street above. It was difficult to get a good picture of the rock face, but it runs along the north side of Paul Gore street and rises to Cranston and Sheridan streets for quite a way down Paul Gore street. There is a smaller but similar exposed rock face along the south side of Paul Gore street that rises to the houses along Oakview Terrace. I wonder if the rock climbers have any idea that this place exists.

Boston Daily Globe February 7, 1913

Stone Pile Caves In. Piscipo is Carried Through Chute in Jamaica Plain, Smiles and Resumes Work.

Frank Piscipo of 92 Quincy st, Roxbury, narrowly escaped serious injury while at work at a stone crusher on Paul Gore st, Jamaica Plain, yesterday afternoon.

Piscipo was working on a pile of crushed stone which caved in, carrying him along with it, half-buried, through a chute more than 25 feet long and landing him, feet foremost, on the loading platform.

Fellow employees, seeing him lying on the platform, motionless, rushed to his side, half expecting to find him dead. By the time they had reached him Piscipo had risen to his feet and declined all assistance, smilingly returned to his work, apparently none the worse for his unusual experience.

Boston Daily Globe May 14, 1923

Officer Praised For Saving Child Policeman Rescued Little Girl From Ledge Jamaica Plain Civic Association Commends Roy Bates

The Jamaica Plain Civic Association at its meeting in Boylston Hall yesterday afternoon voted to send a letter of commendation to Police Commssioner Herbert A. Wilson of the heroic act of one police officer and a letter of condolence to the familyof the late patrolman Oginskis.

The commendation recites the rescue from a perilous position on a 50-foot ledge on Paul Gore st of 10-year-old Catherine Curwen of 54 Danforth st, by motorcycle officer Roy Bates on the afternoon of April 29.

The little girl slid down the ledge about 20 feet and attempts of several citizens to rescue her with the aid of ladders proved fruitless. Officer Bates,who was off duty at the time, responded to an emergency call. He removed his rubber boots, slid down the ledge in his stocking feet, and brought the child to safety.

[unrelated matter follows]

The Arboretum Mocker

2008-06-17T00:01:00.002-04:00

If Jamaica Plain had its own Official Bird, it would certainly be the mockingbird, as embodied by the famous Arboretum Mocker. Between 1914 and 1920, this singularly talented bird amazed observers with its large repertoire of songs and calls. He resided, for the most part, in the area of the Arboretum around the three small ponds below the Bussey Institute building and near the Forest Hills entrance. Over the years of his residence at the Arboretum, he was seen to subsist primarily on pokeweed, juneberry, hop hornbeam, barberry, inkberry, highbush cranberry, Siberian crab apple and corktree. He apparently kept to himself, even during a year when a female mockingbird was seen regularly in the Arboretum nearby.

As for his claim to fame, this notable bird was heard by his faithful observers to imitate 39 bird songs, 50 bird calls, and the calls of both frog and cricket, for a total of 91 sounds imitated. Some of the species imitated only pass through the Boston area during migration, and normally don't sing while migrating. Others were birds that normally didn't live as far north as Boston, suggesting that he may have come from a more southern region.

The Arboretum Mocker made his way into the scientific literature of his day, and still gets mentions whenever notable mockingbird singers are discussed. In our days of molecular biology and DNA sequencing, the observations of amateur naturalists don't often make their way into publication, but we owe those curious and observant naturalists of the early 20th century a debt of gratitude for recording the exploits of Jamaica Plain's most famous bird.

Source: The Auk: Vol. XXXIX 1922

Let's Go Walking

2008-06-11T22:06:00.003-04:00

I'll be filling as leader for a Jamaica Plain Historical Society walking tour of Green street this Saturday, June 14th, at 11:00 AM, weather permitting. We meet at the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center at 640 Centre st - that's the corner of Centre and Green sts. You can read about this tour and others here. Come by and say hello.

400 Entries? Holy Smokes!

2008-06-09T00:18:00.003-04:00

With that last post, I've hit 400 entries. Some have been trivial, but I've tried to find interest in each, and hey, this isn't a book, and it's worth every penny you pay for it. I've already picked all the low-hanging fruit of Jamaica Plain history I could find, and although I have some things in the works, I'll be stopping the every day posts now. For those who have been coming back regularly - both of you - I appreciate the interest, and I'll be adding items as I can put things together.

Make sure you come out to JP Historical Society walks on Saturdays during the summer. I'll be helping out this year on two of the walks, and people always seem to have a good time.

Banned in Boston - Animal Dances

2008-06-09T00:01:00.001-04:00

I've been sitting on this article for a while, and I've decided that although it has no Jamaica Plain content, it is Boston, and it's just too good to keep under wraps. I've posted a few articles about dances held during the late 1800s and early 1900s, and I've often wished I could see a demonstration of what kind of dances they were doing. By 1913, a new type of dance had hit the scene - the "animal dances." Unlike the more genteel dances of the past, these steps involved partners pressing against each other in tight embraces. These dances were banned in many cities across the country, with Boston joining the killjoy effort. A year later, the foxtrot would become popular, and this new mode of dance would take the country by storm.

I have no specific reference to how the Mayor's edict affected dancing in Jamaica Plain, but I'm sure that as elsewhere, the kids found a way shock and annoy their elders.

Boston Daily Globe October 11, 1913

Bars Improper Dancing.

Mayor's Orders for Public Halls Includes the Tango, "Animal Dances" and Some Others.

By orders of Mayor Fitzgerald yesterday, improper dances of all kinds are excluded from the public dance halls of Boston. The prohibition includes all the so-called animal dances, such as the turkey trot, bunnie hug, bear dance, etc, also the kitchen sink, tango and other extravagances.

John M. Casey, the licensing clerk, wrote out the Mayor's directions in 17 short rules which are to be posted in a conspicuous place in each dance hall. The management of each hall will be held strictly responsible for enforcement of the regulations, and violations will result in the suspension or revocation of the license, it is announced.

Some of the regulations follow:

Improper dancing will not be tolerated; persons so indulging will be immediately ejected.

No moonlight or shadow lighting effect. The hall must remain fully lighted.

No dance shall continue after 3 o'clock a.m. unless by written permission of the Mayor,and not later than 11:45 Saturdays.

Pass-out checks are not to be issued.

Matrons shall be employed at every public dance and have entire charge of ladies' rooms.

Minors under the age of 17 years shall not be admitted to hall unless accompanied by parent or guardian.

By special instructions of the directors of the Musician's Union, all orchestras are directed to obey the orders of the representative of the Mayor to cease playing should conditions so justify.

Mrs Mc'Keige's Seminary for Young Ladies

2008-06-06T00:01:00.003-04:00

In 1807, a Mrs Cranch and her daughters opened a school for young ladies in Jamaica Plain. The following entry is a transcription of a notice published some time before 1823 for a second young ladies' academy in the village. A scan of the original sheet is available for viewing online at the Boston Public Library web site.

MRS. Mc'KEIGE'S

SEMINARY FOR YOUNG LADIES.

JAMAICA PLAIN, FIVE MILES FROM BOSTON,

WHERE THE FOLLOWING BRANCHES OF EDUCATION ARE TAUGHT:

The English, French and Italian Languages... Sacred, Ancient and Modern History... Geography... Astronomy... The Uses of the Globes... Composition... Drawing and Painting of Figures, Landscapes, and Flowers... Writing and Cyphering... With Useful and Ornamental Needle Work, including Embroidery, Tambour, and Rug Work.

Instruction in the above branches, and Board,......$50 per Quarter.

Music, ............................................................................15 "

Use of the Piano, .............................................................3 "

Dancing, ..........................................................................12 "

N.B. Should any further information be required, respecting the great attention paid by Mrs. Mc'Keige to the Morals and Manners of her Pupils, the healthy situation, the convenience and spaciousness of the house and grounds attached to the establishment, rendering it in every respect a most eligible residence for Young Ladies, apply to

Gen. ARNOLD WELLES, Boston,

THOMAS AMORY, Esq. Roxbury,

REV. MR. GRAY, or JOHN PRINCE, Esq. Jamaica Plain.

==================================================================

REGULATIONS

TO BE OBSERVED BY YOUNG LADIES ENTERING

Mrs. Mc'Keige's Seminary.

The hours for rising, from May to December, are at half past five; and from December to May, at half past six. In summer, the bell rings for prayers at half past six, and in winter at half past seven; all the Pupils are expected to attend, with their hair, teeth, and nails, in exact order; having made their beds, and regulated their clothes.

The Young Ladies enter class at eight, and pursue their studies until one; during which period, at eleven o'clock, twenty minutes are allowed for recreation. After dinner, the Pupils retire to their chambers to dress for the afternoon. At three, they enter the class again, and prepare their duties for the ensuing day, until five; after that hour, they amuse themselves with reading, music, or walking, until half past eight; when the bell rings for prayers, and they retire, in silence and good order, to rest; no conversation or noise will be allowed afterwards. In half an hour a person will attend, to take the lights. It is also a regulation of the Seminary, that a young lady cannot receive or write letters, without the inspection of Mrs. Mc'Keige, or receive visitors until the afternoon; as such interruptions during the morning, would be detrimental to improvement.

As French is constantly spoken during the hours of class, and at meals, it is expected every young lady will use her endeavours, after studying that language a short time, to comply with this regulation, as it will greatly facilitate their progress in the knowledge of that language. The Pupils entering the Seminary, are expected to be diligent, attentive, and obedient, as those qualifications are necessary to all who wish to make a rapid progress. Every indulgence compatible with improvement, will be acceded to with pleasure by Mrs. Mc'Keige, to add to the happiness or comfort of the Pupils of JAMAICA PLAIN SEMINARY.

Each Young Lady brings a silver Tea and Table Spoon, Knife and Fork,Blankets, Sheets, Towels, Tumbler, Mug and Basin, which are returned when the Pupil leaves the Seminary.

JP High School Hockey Team - 1924

2008-06-05T00:01:00.000-04:00

There seems to have been nothing special about the 1924 Jamaica Plain High School hockey team, but this very nice picture gets them remembered for posterity. The coach was John Kay. Sadly, we only get their first initials.

Boston Daily Globe January 22, 1924

Jamaica Plain High Rink Team In Long Uphill Fight

[excerpt]

Jamaica Plain High School hockey team has done fairly well in its games in the Boston District High School League series this Winter and hopes to improve its record in the remaining games.

Only one outside game was played last week, with Belmont High School, which succeeded in taking the measure of the boys from the West Roxbury District.

Raymond is captain of the Jamaica Plain team and has distinguished himself as a player. Other members of hte team who have covered themselves with glory are A. Raymond, J. Maguire, E. Kelleher, E. Cox, W. Norton, C. Cronin, C. Holmquist, T. Mills, B. Hicks, E. Costello, F. Randall and G. Porter.

A Jamaica Plain Confederate

2008-06-04T00:26:00.004-04:00

Anna Greenough was the daughter and third child of the second David Stoddard Greenough of Jamaica Plain. She was born in 1817, and in 1838 married Henry King Burgwyn, planter, of Northhampton County, North Carolina, who had attended Harvard. They lived on the Burgwyn plantation, where they had eight children.

Of note to history was their first son, Henry King "Harry" Burgwyn, Jr., also known as "the Boy Colonel. He had studied at West Point, the University of North Carolina and Virginia Military Institute, and at age 19 was elected lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army. He served in eastern North Carolina and in Virginia, and was killed in the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.

Also of note, the couple's second son was William Hyslop Sumner Burgwyn, a name well known to Jamaica Plain historians. Another son whose name is relevant to Jamaica Plain was John Alveston Burgwyn. In the book Victorian Boston Today, Edward W. Gordon informs us that Alveston street on Sumner Hill was named after Anna Greenough Burgwyn's North Carolina estate. The only reference I can find online to the Alveston of the Burgwyns is a death notice from March 11, 1851: On the 20th ult., at Alveston, Halifax Co, the residence of Thomas P. BURGWYN, Esq., Donald, son of Rev. Cameron F. McRAE, in the 3d year of his age.

The grave monument of Anna Greenough Burgwyn can be seen here. The monument to her son Henry King Burgyn Jr and his picture can be seen here.

Sources: The Pilgrims of Boston and Their Descendants , Inventory of the Burgwyn Family Papers, Abstracts from the Fayetville Observer, John Burgwyn MacRae papers.

Ruth Vogel - Supergirl!

2008-06-02T22:42:00.002-04:00

Boston Daily Globe March 12, 1922

Boston's Perfect Schoolgirl

Ruth Vogel Wins First Prize in Competition for Poise -- Just a Normal Girl, Her Parents Say, Except That She Likes to Wash Dishes

With the exception of adoring to wash dishes and disliking fish, also oysters, Ruth Vogel has in all her 15 years of life been just a normal healthy girl.

This must be said in the first breath because Prof and Mrs Frank Vogel want so much to have it understood that their little girl is simple and natural. Ruth is a student at the Girls' Latin School and has two more years to go.

Ruth won the first prize in the first competition for poise in Boston schools last week.

Twenty-four girls took part in the competition as representatives of 16 High Schools, each girl being chosen from every 500 pupils in the school. The final stunts included walking, standing, marching, sitting and getting up, running, climbing stairs and severe physical tests.

Judges, the best in the physical culture world, eliminated entries until Ruth stood unexcelled, Ruth, the best-poised of Boston school girls.

Way Any Child Should be Brought Up

How?

Why?

That's what so many have been wondering. But Prof and Mrs Vogel treasure the normalcy of childhood so much they declined to assist in making a to-do about the award and firmly refused interviews. (Making the Globe feel rather exclusive with this, the only one.)

Tuesday morning, the day of the competition, Ruth mentioned carelessly that there was going to be "some kind of a thing going on" at school in the afternoon. That's all any one at her home, 95 Robinwood av, Jamaica Plain, knew about it.

When she returned she brought the posture winner's certificate with her, and according to her mother "was so extraordinarily overwhelmed that she began jumping up and down the minute she got inside the door."

Ruth knew she was going to take part in a competition drill, but as for winning - the idea had never entered her head.

Ruth has never consciously done anything to get perfect poise, her father says.

They what about her home life? Ruth's mother insists it is quite ordinary and certainly nothing more than the way any child should be brought up.

Things That Have Helped

Mrs Vogel, mother, said that, yes, when Ruth was a baby she rubbed the little back every night before putting her to bed. She did it with all the children.

"Is it more than every mother does?" she asked. Perhaps it isn't, but it is one thing that gives a key to the theme of the story - "a military regime with Mrs Vogel as commander-in-chief, always," quoting Prof Vogel.

Is it every family who sleeps right outdoors Winter and Summer, snowdrifts, below zero or sleet?

Or who has informal gymnastics now and then.

Or who takes breathing exercises night and morning, "common breathing exercises," said Prof Vogel, illustrating, as much to say, "Why, what every one does, don't you know?"

Ruth has been brought up like that. Is it every family who is "all in bed" at 10 o'clock at night? Ruth's bedtime begins at 9:15.

The family does not drink tea or coffee, either. Ruth doesn't know what they taste like. Frank junior, who is a chemistry student at Tech, where his father is a professor, is beginning to drink coffee, however. He is quite a modern young man, anyway.

No rules have been laid down to Ruth about posture. But there are a number of things which might count as "influences."

Inherited Poise

First, Ruth's ancestry was pretty fine. Her father's father, George, was in the Regular Army from 1852 to '57. He took to chasing Indians and then went into the Civil war for two years. He is the author of a book of his experiences in the land beyond the Mississipppi before any railway had got there. He had traveled every State and territory on horseback.

"Ruth is probably the exact opposite of her father," said her father. "I've liked to bend too much over books, I like to slump in my chair." (Don't be really deceived. Mr Vogel is a tall and splendid looking man). He continued: sits straight up. I've never seen her lean back.

"There's Ruth's mother. Her back is as straight as a ramrod... Isn't your back straight as a broomstick?" asked Prof Vogel, when his wife came in later. And Mrs Vogel fluttered her hands and look discomfited and demure, just like the dear commanderette-in-chief she undoubtedly is.

About this time it was settled that Ruth's grandparents gave Ruth an inheritance of poise.

"Yes, Ruth's straight as an Indian," commented Ruth's father.

"But she isn't an Indian," commented Ruth's mother and there seemed to be a kindly electric message waving through the air. So we asked if Ruth liked sewing.

Leader in Girl Scouts

That's when we learned Ruth liked washing dishes.

Something else strikes us as interesting. Ruth will ofter get up before the rest of the family are awake so she may creep downstairs and prepare breakfast, time about 6 o'clock. Ruth likes all kinds of housework. She likes darning stockings!

Her outdoor activities take up two hours every day and in the Summer time she's outdoors all the time, running, playing, rowing a boat, tramping or swimming. She took to the water when she was 2 and 3 years old and she spends a great deal of time in it during the months when she is with the family on vacation at a camp or farm.

One of Ruth's Winter sports is shovelling snow. She and her brother take turns at it.

Ever since she was old enough she has been active in the Girl Scouts and is now a leader of a troop at her school.

So with her musical talent, which has been trained from childhood by her mother. When she was a baby her mother says she would sway and dance and balance spontaneously to a tune. The rhythm and the grace seemed right in her and her interpretations were charming. Now she plays the piano, sings well and can also play the violin.

Watched Brother at Drill

Healthy as a day of sunshine, Ruth has never had even the string of child diseases. With her health has grown up an exuberance and enjoyment of life. She has initiative, an admirable capacity for concentration and a will power.

"She does whatever she sets out to do," her father says, "and I suppose she has always wanted to stand straight."

One little thing was almost skipped over. Frank Jr was practicing for drill when he was 14 years old and going to the Boys' Latin School. His little sister - Bertha, now in her last year at the Girls' Latin School, and Ruth - watched him practice the drill at home and child-like wanted to drill also. He showed them how, and they practiced together.

Frank was awarded first prize in the individual drill that year What sort of impression do you suppose that made on a little girl named Ruth?

Was it an inspiration for a young lady's 5 feet 8 of perfect balance?

Death Of A Priest

2008-06-02T10:37:00.003-04:00

The weekend obituary informs us of the death of Msgr. Edmund Sviokla, formerly Fr. Sviokla of St Thomas Aquinas parish. When he came to St Thomas parish in the early 1960s, he organized a marching band for the local youth under the auspices of the Catholic Youth Organization, or CYO. It was just in time to catch the wave of baby boom children who were filling the streets from the Arborway to Franklin Park. Bands, drum corps and drill teams from Rockland to Gloucester marched in parades and competed in CYO contests on summer weekends.

Fr. Sviokla hired top-notch instructors for the band, which led to a quick rise to success in competition. His own role, as "spiritual advisor," was more complex. He was a combination of father figure and army general, loving but stern. He was playfully referred to as "The Pope" by the children, and his large car known as "the Popemobile." When the Archdiocese decided to move him from St Thomas to another parish, protests and petitions from Jamaica Plain caused a rare stay of the order.

Like other priests and ministers before him, Fr. Sviokla stood out from churchmen of his time - he affected the lives of literally hundreds of children, who now live with fond memories of those special days. He didn't have a school named after him, like Ellis Mendell of Boylston Congregational, a library, like Msgr. Connolly of Blessed Sacrament, or even a traffic overpass, like Msgr Casey of St Andrew's, but he will be honored in the memories of those of us whose lives he touched.

Bless his soul.

Rogerson House/Home For Aged Men Open In Jamaica Plain

2008-06-02T00:01:00.000-04:00

Rogerson House, 2008.

The Rogerson House is another in the long list of institutions that came to Jamaica Plain after beginnings in Boston proper or the South End. It is still open at its location on the Jamaicaway, but now cares for people with Alzheimer's disease and memory loss.

Jamaica Plain Citizen January 24, 1957

Home for Aged Men in Planned on Local Site

Jamaicaway Building to be Called Rogerson House

Boston Mass, January 22 -- Plans for the opening of a modern 40 room home for aged men at 434 Jamaicaway were announced by the board of directors of the Home For Aged Men, following the 96the annual meeting of the organization.

The new building, to be called the Rogerson House, will replace present facilities at 133 West Springfield st., where the home for aged men has been located for nearly a century. It will be opened in the Spring of 1957.

Norfolk Laboratory

2008-06-01T00:01:00.001-04:00

1832 - found online.
The word Laboratory is difficult to read, but it is in the lower right quadrant, between the long straight Washington street and the meandering Stony brook above it. This is two years before the laying out of the railroad tracks, but this map and the one below show a similar area.

The Map of Roxbury (John G. Hales) 1832 at the JP Historical Society web site give a much clearer view from the same year.

Sidney & Shields, 1853 (BPL)
The word "Laboratory" goes through the dotted line of the railroad tracks, just above the large capital "R" near the lower right corner.

Finally, this 1874 map from the JPHS shows Chemical avenue, today's Cornwall street.

I've been puzzling over a street name for a while. Cornwall street, which runs from Washington street to Amory street, was once called Chemical avenue. The 1874 map linked above shows Chemical avenue ending at Brookside avenue, where the Aetna Rubber Mills stood. By 1885, the Cable Rubber Co. stood on the opposite corner. Now the process of vulcanizing rubber is a chemical process, but I would think that Rubber street would have been a more appropriate way to memorialize the business than Chemical avenue. Soooo.... I kept looking. Or at least I finally got around to looking into Chemical avenue.

I believe that I've probably accounted for the "Chemical" name by starting with a notation on an old map, seen above. Both maps, published 20 years apart, show the word Laboratory. It turns out that there was a Norfolk Laboratory in Roxbury during those very years. I suspect that Chemical/Cornwall avenue was the original driveway to the factory from Washington street. In the early 1830s, Amory street, Brookside avenue and Green street had yet to be laid out, so this was an isolated location, with easy access to the Dedham Turnpike (Washington street). The articles below tell us that there was a fire at the factory in 1830, and that they were still in business in 1847.

A note on the first article: they were producing ether in 1830 - that's before the discovery of the anesthetic effects of ether. It was being used for medicinal purposes, but the anesthetic powers of ether were not recognized until the next decade, when Boston played a major role in it's introduction into surgical use. Also, a demijohn was a large glass bottle of up to several gallons, often covered with a weaved matting for cushioning.

And finally, I finally found something to deal with my chronic King's evil.

Essex Gazette March 16, 1830

A Fire broke out on Monday noon, in the Chemical Works of the Norfolk Laboratory, in Roxbury, from the bursting of two demijohns of ether. The fire spread so rapidly that the whole building, with its contents, was consumed. Loss estimated at 10 or 12,000 dollars, and no insurance.

Boston Daily Atlas August 4, 1847

CHLORIDE OF SODA. An Article which has proved highly beneficial in scrofula, king's evil, and most of the cutaneous affections, and as a disinfecting agent. Prepared at the Norfolk Laboratory, and for sale at No.5 Hichborn Block, Ann street, by O.W.F. MELLEN.

Additional source: History of ether.

When Jamaica Plain Was Dry

2008-05-31T00:31:00.002-04:00

Boston Daily Globe February 19, 1921

Jamaica Plain Police Prosecute Cleanup

The liquor squad of the Jamaica Plain station spent the greater part of yesterday in the West Roxbury District Court.

Vincent Zambelli and Thomas L. Williams, charged with an illegal sale of whisky to a police officer at the barber shop, 736 Centre st on Feb. 7, were fined $50 each. They appealed.

Martin Costello and William Connolly, charged with an illegal sale at 3008 Washington st on Feb 7, were also fined $50 each. They appealed.

In the late afternoon, Federal Enforcement Agents Rogers and McNulty, wiht Sergt Healy and Sergt Fitzpatrick and Patrolman Foley, visited the store of Thomas Normile, 169 Lamartine st. The police claim that when they entered the clerk succeeded in breaking a bottle containing what they supposed was liquor. No liquor was found.

They then visited the store of John J. O'Connor, 430 Amory st, where they claim to have seized 2 1/2 gallons of liquor.

Dancing In The Streets

2008-05-30T00:00:00.000-04:00

Boston Daily Globe August 25, 1920

Dance In Street In Jamaica Plain

Fully 10,000 Enjoy the Innovation in District

The novelty of dancing in the street to the strains of a jazz band was provided for residents of Jamaica Plain last night by the Boylston Hall Recreation Center, and fully 10,000 persons, men, women and children, enjoyed the innovation.

Visitors to the roped-off area of Amory st, between Minton and Porter sts, were not confined to the residents of the district and all who came were welcome to participate. The affair was voted as unqualified success.

Amory st, where the dance was held, has an asphalt surface, as smooth as a dance hall floor, and this was covered with cornmeal, which accentuated the smoothness of the surface, No additional lights were provided, as the arc lights used for lighting the street are of sufficient power.

Miss Elizabeth Paine, director of the Center, and Mayne Holdsworth, physical director, were in charge of the dancing, assisted by a committee of 50 men and women.

The Jamaica Plain Town team, the West Roxbury champions and the Jugaleers of West Roxbury, were special guests of the evening. Several candidates for political office appeared during the evening, but no addresses were made. Dancing continued from 7:30 till 11.

Charles Ponzi - The Jamaica Plain Connection

2008-05-28T16:36:00.003-04:00

The following is part of a larger article from the Boston Globe. I'll assume the reader is familiar with the name Charles Ponzi and the eponymous investment scam, so I'm posting just the Jamaica Plain content of a larger article. I think it's fair to say that ice cream was the last thing the Italian Children's Home ever saw from Mr Ponzi. Within two weeks of the fund-raiser described below he was under arrest.

Boston Daily Globe August 1, 1920

Ponzi Won't Reveal His Method At Present

Promises to Give $100,000 to Italian Children's Home

[excerpt]

Charles Ponzi, standing on the steps of the Italian Children's Home at Jamaica Plain yesterday afternoon, told Rev Fr Pasqule Di Milla, one of the directors, that he would subscribe $100,000 to the home as soon as he could arrange to meet the board of directors of the institution. He added that he would give the money in memory of the late Maria Gnecco of this city, Mrs Ponzi's mother.

The event which attracted Mr and Mrs Ponzi to the home was the field day of Ausonia Council, Knights of Columbus, held on the grounds in aid of the institution. Ponze spent his money freely at the various booths and supplied every woman and child with ice cream at his expense.

The affair in itself was a great success, to which the good work of the committee, headed by Felix Mrcell, GK, assisted by Paul Perotti, Rocco Leone, and members of Ausonia Council and ladies' Italian societies contributed largely.

The guests of honor included Rev Fr Anthony Sousa, Rev Fr Pasquale Di Milla, Rev Fr Daniels and Rev Fr Cosma.

Ponze left the grounds early in the evening and was given a rousing ovation as his limousine drew away.

For The Love Of Poultry

2008-05-28T00:01:00.005-04:00

It's always good to see a local boy do good, even if in hindsight. Donald Rust seems to have lived at the Bacon estate on Pond street overlooking Jamaica Pond. This 1924 map shows the property, which aligns with the address in a Google Maps search.

This article raises a question I've been curious about: when and why did West Roxbury/Jamaica Plain high school start offering an agricultural program? Agricultural courses were offered when my parents and uncles attended the school in the late 1930s and 1940s, and were still offered at the time my brother was at Roslindale high school in the mid-1960s. This earlier entry shows no agriculture instructors in 1906, but the article below has a poultry course offered in 1921. I have wondered whether the presence of the Bussey Institute nearby influenced the agricultural course offerings in Jamaica Plain, but the Bussey undergraduate program in agriculture and landscaping had probably ended by the time the high school started its program.

So I'm still left wondering: why an ag course in JP? It seems to have started just after most of the great estates of Jamaica Plain had been divided up into the house lots we see now, and long after local farming had ceased to be a going concern. More digging to do.

Boston Daily Globe April 17, 1921

Hens Make Him Champion Donald Rust of Jamaica Plain Boston's Prize Poultry Raiser -- Will Make Poultry His Life Work After Going to College

If you wish to be a successful raiser of poultry you must love the hens and chickens, and the roosters too.

So says Donald W. Rust, the 17 year old schoolboy champion poultry raiser of Suffolk County, who has just won his spurs as the best poultry raiser in the Suffolk County Poultry Club by his brood of 15 prize hens. He won the sweepstakes prize and also the first prize for the champion of the county.

"You must take as much care of hens and chickens," he says, "as mothers do of their babies. That is what makes hens lay and what keeps them in good health and cheerful about their business in life. Feeding them properly, along scientific lines, is necessary and their living quarters must be as carefully cleaned and attended to as the rooms of the best hotel."

Donald knows, too, for when he is through with his classes at the West Roxbury High School he is going to enroll among the students at the Massachusetts Agricultural college at Amherst and become, after a four-year course, an expert poultry raiser, which he will make his life job.

Champion of the County

This schoolboy champion poultry fancier lives at 262 Prince st, Jamaica Plain, where his father is gardener on a large estate. Donald has little room for even his small brood of hens, but he has made the most of his space and has succeeded in raising the best hens in Suffolk County.

This boy has been exhibiting his hens for a long time, and in most cases he carries off prizes. His champion hen took the winning trophy at the Junior Boston Poultry Show, and he has won several prizes at poultry shows at Lynn, Chelsea and at the Eastern States Exhibition at Springfield. Last Winter he went to New York to visit the poultry show in Madison Square Garden, but did not exhibit his hens.

All his hens are barred Plymouth Rocks and his prizes have been won by the perfect shape, color and excellence of their feathers.

Boys from the West Roxbury High School won all the prizes in the recent awards of the Suffolk County Poultry Club. Young Rust, who is a third-year pupil at the school, was named champion poultry raiser of the county. Harold W. Fraser, another pupil, won the second prize. Other boys in the school who received honorable mention were William Budge, Kenneth Steere, Joseph O'Donnell and Malcolm and Kenneth Craig.

Donald Rust has been raising hens for the past four years and has, meanwhile, been studying the scientific end of poultry raising under Thomas P. Dooley. Rust, according to his instructor, is a probable candidate for the State championship next year, when he will be a student at the Amherst Agricultural College. This year he has won over $60 in prizes at various poultry shows.

Going to Have a Real Farm

All the boys raise their chicks and buy their feeds under the supervision of Mr Dooley and are encouraged in the work by contests in the school as well as outside contests and shows.

At present there is an egg laying contest at the school, with bags of feed for prizes.

"If I only had more room," he says, "I am sure I could do much better with my hens. I should like to have hundreds instead of only 15. Sometime, after I have learned all there is to know about the business, I am going to have a real farm and go into the business of raising the best hens in the country. That is the work I love and I am going to make it my life work. There is plenty of money in it if one goes about it scientifically."

At the time of the recent county contest, young Rust had made a profit of $187.58 for the year from his 15 birds. His award for winning the championship will be a week at Amherst this Summer with all expenses paid.