January 2014 Newsletter
.Lee Historical Society
Newsletter
Vol. 11, No. 1
January 2014
Our unique history and blend of people defines the foundation of our town.
Crossway Tower
P. O. Box 170
Lee, MA 01238
Visit us: www.leehistoricsociety.homestead.com
Contact us: Lee.Historical@hotmail.com
The monthly society meeting that was scheduled for Thursday, January 9th had to be cancelled due to a combination of sickness and bad weather. We are sorry if any member came to meeting and found no one there.
The next meeting of the Lee Historical Society will be a business meeting for Officers, Board Members, Committees and any interested members. It will be held on Thursday, February 13th starting at 6:30 pm in the Hyde Meeting Room at Crossway Tower.
NEW MEMBERS TO WELCOME:
Buz and Pat Hanley, 20 Parkview Terrace, Lee, MA 01238
We would like to send our thanks out to Peter Brown, who sent us a large cardboard box filled with old Lee pictures. Peter is moving to Florida soon and will hopefully enjoying a healthy and warm retirement in the Sunshine state.
Please send in your 2014 membership fees, thank you.
Unless you have renewed your membership or have become a new member after October of last year, your 2014 membership fees are now due. If you are not sure is your membership has expired or have a question, please let us know and we will look up your membership status.
Below is this month’s picture sent to us from the Lee Library’s Historical Collection of Lee photographs. This collection has been digitalized for the Lee Library by the Boston Public Library. We thank the Lee Library for making this possible for our readers. If any of our readers would like to comment or add additional information, please contact Mary Philpott at maryphilpott@mindspring.com.
This photo is of the first trip on the Western Mass Railroad, December 1, 1913. The photographer was W. Rondal. The Lee Library received the photo from Mrs. Clara Waddock, Fuller Street, on June 1, 1970.
LIBRARY NEWS:
Do you have a eBook reader? The Lee Library has been chosen to participate in an e-book pilot program. Search here for new and exciting eContent – books and other materials available to Lee Library patrons before anyone else in the state. Just search, checkout and download to a device and you’re off and running! The Mass eBook Project is brought to you by the Massachusetts Library System in partnership with the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and your local library, funded, in part, by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services. http://ebooks.masslibsystem.org/
In the Gallery – Welcome to Our World in the Milky Way Galaxy, an exhibit of paintings by Rick Costello. The opening reception is Saturday, February 1st from noon to 2 pm. Rick Costello is an amateur astronomer and artist. He paints astronomically correct paintings of our place in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Rick Costello will give a talk on Monday, February 24th at 7 pm. In the J. Peter Scolforo Gallery at the library. His topic will be “How telescopes let us see the history of the universe”.
RECOLLECTIONS XIV
By U. S. Navy Retired Commander Vic Mottarella
A Lee native
(Continued from the November-13 issue)
FIGHTER SQUADRON 73
The five months I was assigned to ship's company with the USS Randolph were enjoyable for the most part since I did not have to live on the carrier and was able to go home each night. The carrier was undergoing major updates and repairs getting ready for re-commissioning. Most of the World War II carriers had been decommissioned during the Truman Administration following the end of World War II, but the Korean War changed everything. Like all of the large remaining carriers, the Randolph was of the Essex class and had sustained major damage during a Kamikaze attack. I still remember the old twisted Japanese propeller hanging in the officer's wardroom during my few months aboard her during a northern European cruise in 1947, when I was flying Bearcats with Fighter Squadron 31. On March 31, 1944 the Randolph was moored at anchor along with many other ships at Ulithi, a sea anchorage in an area far from land when it was hit by a Kamikaze on the starboard side just below the flight deck killing 27 men and wounding 105. The ship was repaired quickly while at Ulithi and was back in action on April 7, 1944
My primary responsibility now was to indoctrinate the ship's CIC crew consisting of about 80 personnel in preparation for the ship's next mission. The ship was in dry dock during the five months that I was assigned to her. One thing that amazed me each morning when I reported aboard was the ship's immense size. I never realized how big these ships were while at sea because very large portions of them were under water. On the other hand when flying overhead and while approaching the ship for a landing it was just the opposite - they looked very small.
I had received orders in which I was to fly a very big airplane that was also quite slow compared to jet fighters that the Navy had at the time. In fact it was to the biggest single engine plane that was ever assigned for carrier duty. It was loaded down with all kinds of radar, sonar and various other devices related to electronic countermeasures. The plane was a Grumman AF Guardian. It was designed specifically for search of Russian submarines during the middle of the cold war. I didn't mind flying big airplanes but I did not like flying slow airplanes. I had already served in two fighter squadrons and I wanted to remain in fighters. The Guardian had a wingspan of over sixty feet and weighed over twenty -two thousand pounds when launched with a full load of fuel. It carried a crew of three and was sixty feet long and sixteen feet high. Fortunately, Commander Stowers, my old boss in CIC on the USS Leyte, had recently been ordered to head the assignment detail for the Admiral who commanded COMAIRLANT. COMAIRLANT is the logo that represents Naval Aviation for the entire Atlantic Fleet. CDR Stowers was responsible for making all pilot assignments for this fleet. Having learned of his assignment I immediately preceded to his office with the intention of making an earnest plea for an assignment change to a jet squadron. Just before meeting CDR Stowers I met young Ensign Ted Cunningham who was there for the same purpose but he had better information than me. I mentioned to Cunningham that I had just been promoted to Lieutenant Senior Grade - he never let me forget it since it later made me the most junior Lieutenant Senior Grade in the squadron. While getting acquainted he told me about a Jet squadron stationed at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island that had just been assigned the new Grumman Cougar, which was the swept wing version of the Panther that had served in Korea. We both went in to see CDR Stowers at the same time. It turned out that the squadron had recently returned from the Korean War and needed new pilots so it did not take much coaxing. I let Cunningham do most of the talking since he knew more than I about the situation. From that day forward we became close friends on the ground in many foreign ports and whenever we were airborne. At age 87 I still hear from him almost daily via e-mail and as I write this he just left for his home in Pensacola Florida after spending four days with us. Pensacola has justly earned its nickname as the cradle of Naval Aviation since that's where it all started and is where thousands of Navy Pilots earned their wings of gold. Ted rose from enlisted to officer in a short period of time after he enlisted. We both received orders to report to Fighter squadron 73 at NAS Quonset Point, R. I. My orders from the Navy Bureau of Personnel read: "When directed by Commander Air Force, U.S, Atlantic Fleet you will regard yourself detached from duties involving flying and proceed to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island and report to the Commanding Officer, Fighter Squadron Seventy-Three for duty in a flying status involving operational flights." I reported to VF-73 at 9:46 PM on August 19, 1953.
(Continued until the February-14 issue)
This is a photo taken on graduation day, June 27, 1923 of the Lee High School graduating class. The photo was donated by John C. Costello of Bradenton, Florida and a summer resident at Greenwater Pond.
The Class: Back row, left to right; Carl Curtain, Virgil Stewart, Ralph Smith, Edward Hayes, C. W. Millar, Henry Milton, Leon Nettleton, Walter Bossidy, Ben Tolvo and Dennis Hayes.
Front row, left to right; Clara Langdon, Evelyn Burns, Elizabeth Walker, Mary Curtain, Elsie Broga (John’s mother), Marie Shultis, Charlotte Noonan, Ruth Wade, Mildred Walker, Mary Bradley, Nora Curtain and Florence Guiles. Also graduating, but absent from the picture was Marion Jones.
HOW ABOUT BECOMING A MEMBER OF THE LEE HISTORICAL SOCIETY? OR GIVING A GIFT MEMBERSHIP TO A FRIEND, OR RELATIVE. IT IS INEXPENSIVE, IT DOESN’T HURT AND IT MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY AND IT SUPPORTS OUR SOCIETY.
Student Membership - $5.00 Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00
Senior Membership (one person over the age of 65) - $5.00Business Membership - $25.00Individual Membership (one person under the age of 65) - $10.00
Individual Membership (one person under the age of 65) - $10.00Family Membership (all members of one family living at home) - $15.00
Name: __________________________________________________________Mail to:
Mail to:Address: ________________________________________________________Lee Historical
Lee Historical Society,City/Town: _________________________State:_____________Zip:________P. O. Box 170,
P. O. Box 170,Lee, MA 01238Telephone: ______________________Email:__________________
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 MorrisseyEthel NoonanPeg BironAlan BuckesChristine ParesiJoAnn ZarnochBrenda LiebenowAdele Hawley Society Historian – Charlotte Davis
Collection Chairman – Open Position
Newsletter Editor – Mal Eckert
The Lee Historical Society has the following items that are related to our town available for sale.
Picture Packets – Six, 8” x 10” colored pictures of “Old Lee” for $8.00 each or 3 for $20.00 plus $2.50 if shipped.
Refrigerator magnets – (approx. 2” x 3”) street scenes of early Lee for $3.00 or $10.00 for a set of four different scenes. No Shipping charges.
Cookbook, “Boiling Water” – A 400 recipe cookbook put together by the ladies of the society for the price of $10.00, plus $3.50, if shipped.
“Historical Lee”, a tribute to Betty Dennis. A seventy-three page book containing the articles written by Betty between April of 1971 and August of 1977 that appeared in the local Penny Saver. Cost is $8.00, with an additional $2.50 if shipped.
Picture note cards – Five note cards, including envelopes, with different early Lee scenes. Cost is $5.00 per packet with a $1.50 shipping fee.
Commemorative mugs with six different images;
1. Memorial Hall
2. Central Fire Station
3. Lee Library
4. Congregational Church
5. Hyde School
6. South Lee Covered Bridge
These mugs are $8.00 each or buy the whole set for $40.00. Shipping and handling will be priced according to the shipping location.
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR “BUSINES MEMBERS” THAT SUPPORT OUR SOCIETY
The following is a list of the area businesses that are currently “Business Members” of the Lee Historical Society for this year. If you would like your business or company listed here, please fill out the membership application below and send it to us with a check for $25.00.
Bartini Roofing CompanyBen’s ShopCharles Flint Antiques
Ben’s ShopCharles Flint Antiques290 Pleasant Street68 Main Street52 Housatonic Street
68 Main Street52 Housatonic StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lenox, MA 01240
Lee, MA 01238Lenox, MA 01240413-243-0570413-243-0242413-637-1634
413-243-0242413-637-1634Lee Audio ‘N Security, Inc.Quality Plus CustodialLocker Room Sports Pub
Quality Plus CustodialLocker Room Sports Pub 65 Fairview Street260 Chesnut Street232 Main Street
260 Chesnut Street232 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238800-369-3905413-243-2197413-243-2662
413-243-2197413-243-2662Frank Consolati Ins. AgencyPaperdilly, Inc.Dresser Hull Company
Paperdilly, Inc.Dresser Hull Company71 Main Street74 Main Street60 Railroad Street
74 Main Street60 Railroad StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238413-243-0105413-243-1928413-243-4545
413-243-1928413-243-4545Robert M. Kelly, PaperhangingDeely & Deely, AttorneysJonathon Foote 1778 House
Deely & Deely, AttorneysJonathon Foote 1778 HouseSouth Prospect Street218 Main Street1 East Street
218 Main Street1 East StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Monk’s Professional Barber ShopLee BankDevonfield Inn
Lee BankDevonfield Inn91 Main Street75 Park Street85 Stockbridge Road
75 Park Street85 Stockbridge RoadLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238413-243-3341413-243-0117413-243-3298
413-243-0117413-243-3298Hunter & Graziano P. C.Terrace Hair StudioWilcox Plumbing & Heating
Terrace Hair StudioWilcox Plumbing & Heating10 Park Place135 Housatonic StreetP. O. Box 561
135 Housatonic StreetP. O. Box 561Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238413-243-0789413-243-1799413-243-2494
413-243-1799413-243-2494Kelly Funeral HomeLee Hardware Store, Inc.Berkshire Mt. Country Store
Lee Hardware Store, Inc.Berkshire Mt. Country Store3 Main Street221 Main Street151 Main Street
221 Main Street151 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238413-243-0204413-243-0786413-243-2144
413-243-0786413-243-2144A. F. Viale Insurance AgencyGreylock Federal Credit UnionPumpkin Patch Quilts
Greylock Federal Credit UnionPumpkin Patch Quilts75 Main Street47 Main Street58 West Center Street
47 Main Street58 West Center StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238413-243-0347413-243-2121413-243-1635
413-243-2121413-243-1635Considine & Leary, AttorneysKaren Keenan Gifts & Home
Karen Keenan Gifts & Home49 Main Street69 Main Street
69 Main StreetLee, MA 01238Lee, MA 01238
Lee, MA 01238413-243-4900413-243-2689
413-243-2689Check out TownOfLee.com for information about Lee; where to eat, places to stay, shopping, etc.
