08 Aug 1940
Page 1
This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
This newspaper page contains 29 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Bath Independent
Location
Bath, Maine, United States of America
Date
Aug 08, 1940
Page
1
The article notes ongoing Bath parking difficulties hindering shopping and errands. It cites no vacant spaces along Front street and Center street and urges a real effort to create parking lots or filling stations nearby to relieve curb congestion and capture business lost to lack of facilities.
Chief Justice Charles P. Barnes resigns at retirement age and Governor Barrows appoints Guy H. Sturgis of Portland as associate justice. Associate Justice William H. Fisher of Augusta also retires and Harold H. Murchie of Calais is named as associate justice. The selections meet broad public approval and are praised for quality.
A German POW who swam ashore from a British prison ship in the St. Lawrence river and crossed into Maine is arrested in Aroostook County. He was jailed in Bangor for illegal entry but released under international law allowing neutral nations to grant liberty to escaped prisoners of war.
United States Public Roads Administration reports the typical driver paid 40.31 in state automotive taxes in 1989. Of that 26.84 was gasoline tax and 13.47 related to registration and other fees. About one third of a billion dollars went to emergency taxes to the federal government, averaging 11 per vehicle. Congress then raised and extended these taxes for five years, with estimates of a further four dollar yearly rise.
Forty years ago Bath and many Maine towns observed the first Old Home Weeks. Much has happened since with the automobile era drawing thousands more visitors to Maine in summer, changing how the vacation period attracts people to the Pine Tree State.
Captain Joseph D. Pennell of the Bath Police Department was discharged by the Board of Aldermen last week on charges preferred by City Marshal Joseph A. Butler and approved by Mayor Robert H. Haskell. Six aldermen voted for dismissal, while Alderman William H. Daley did not vote. Pennell tendered his resignation but it was not acted upon. Patrolman Dana W. York will assume night desk duties as acting captain. The force, normally nine, is down to eight and may drop further when Patrolman Byron E. Clark is returned to compensation status for a back injury. With Clark out, the department would be led by acting Captain York, Lieut. Joseph A. McLaughlin, and patrolmen Foley, Kingsbury, Crosby, and Doyle, with three part time specials DeCapua, Barber, and Cooper. City Marshal Butler said decisions to restore regular staffing have not yet been made.
The 240th Coast Artillery unit of the Maine National Guard may relocate Battery D of Bath to Fort McKinley in Portland Harbor for a year of active training. The plan covers the Bath company with Batteries E and F of Rockland and Thomaston. If called, Bath City Marshal Butler would be replaced and Morse High School and Central Grammar School staff would shift temporarily, with positions restored after training per the bill.
Madame Frances Perkins Secretary of Labor and first woman cabinet member attended the launching of the destroyer USS Livermore at Bath Iron Works. She traveled from a Newcastle summer home with her daughter and son-in-law to the event and luncheon hosted by President William S. Newell. Perkins later headed toward Washington after a brief Bath visit. Dorothy Coombs visits sister in Boston for two weeks.
Ruth Helen Shellenbarger wed Robert Leroy Chamberland in Wesley church in a single ring ceremony officiated by Rev. Chester B. Oliver. The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a white georgette gown with a long veil and carried pink roses and blue flowers. The couple plans to reside in Popham where he serves with the U S Coal Guard. Guests included relatives from Buffalo and Massachusetts. reception followed at the bride's parents home.
Dr Elmer W Campbell of the State Bureau of Health warns the Kennebec River is unsafe for swimming. He notes pollution with sewage in the water and cites a past test making conditions worse since then. Bath residents swim at Thorne's Head Sasanoa Bluff and nearby sites despite warnings.
The large concrete slab over Witch Spring has been smashed again to protect sanitation and keep surface water from contaminating the pure water. A small wooden building will cover the spring, uniting spring water from bushes and bank with gravel underground flow. Estimated cost is $100 with contributions requested at the Times Office or with County Commissioner Roscoe G. Bailey.
The Northern Maine Fair returns this season with cash rewards for horse pulling contests. Using a dynamometer as the fair's scientific standard, entrants compete in three classes plus a sweepstakes to determine the strongest teams and best drivers among neighbors and local farmers.
Mr and Mrs Hugo Baecker and their son Hugo Jr of East Orange New Jersey are visiting Mrs James P Ledyard on Lincoln street for a few weeks.
The City hall women's toilet was reopened Friday after extensive cleaning and repainting. Mayor Haskell cautioned that continued public use depends on behavior and warned that nuisance actions will lead to closure. Officials plan a woman on duty when schools resume to deter abuses. Meanwhile, early primary results were sustained: Ralph O. Dale wins Sagadahoc county attorney nomination by three votes and Rand McIntire gains a Representative seat after recounts, with final margins 1524 to 1521 and 318 to 313 respectively.
North End Community club listed committees for the annual lawn party on Aug 21 22 23 with chairs for executive advertising lighting balloon booth hot dogs cats and balls penny game decorations bowling alley ice cream sugar and groceries and prize booths.
Mrs. John H. Hunt hosted Free Will Workers of Corliss Street church at her home 362 Middle Street. Assistants were Mrs. Emma M. Knowlton and Mrs. Anne G. Blodgett. Members were invited to an all day picnic August 7 at Mrs. Ida C. Puringtons home 82 Middle Street. They brought lunches and coffee was served. An outing at Bay Point Cottage on August 26, hosted by Mrs. Clara F. Coombs and Miss Lillian F. Fisher, was planned. Next meeting September 4. A social hour followed the business session with cold drinks and cookies. Present were Mrs. Flora B. Robbins, Mrs. William P. Hatch, Mrs. Linwood A. Piper, H. Roy Farnham, Abbie McCabe, Walter F. E. Taylor, Harold Walker, and Frederick P. Moffatt.
Sumner Sewall of Bath, president of the State Senate and Republican gubernatorial candidate, will receive credentials for his new post as national aide decamp on the staff of Otis N. Brown, Commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. A World War I hero, Sewall served as a first lieutenant in the 95th Aero Squadron and received notable bravery mentions for battles in Manilla Tour and Landres-St. Georges in 1918.
Mrs James D Christy of Chicago visits her sister Mrs Donald 8 Sewall in Boothbay Harbor adding a note of family travel to Maine coast social rounds the coming week.
Warner Eustis of Newton Mass owner of the Sedgemere property at Five Islands is making extensive improvements. He has opened a bathing pool with sea water intake and a bath house for weekend use while living aboard his auxiliary yaw Midnight Sun. Excavation has begun for a modern home on the bar with an unmatched sea view. The road to Leggermere is being improved, stones cleared, and bushes trimmed. He travels from Boston weekly to live aboard during visits.
The ninth annual Children's National Photograph Contest began at B Peck Co Lewiston on July 29. Open to all children 14 or younger, it awards 392 prizes including a $500 first prize from Parents Magazine. Since the start 783111 youngsters have posed, with 1416 cash awards totaling 23462 and many discovering fame in film and modeling.
August services at Winter Street church are set for Sundays at 10 30 AM Rev Joseph O Purdue speaks August 11 on Lead Kindly Light August 18 features Rev William W Patton D D pastor of Glen Ridge NJ August 25 Purdue speaks on No Beauty The Oxford County Women's Republican club in Rumford hears State Senator Gail Laughlin discuss politics and local crime mentions ERA funds in Maine without direct conclusions.
July this year was wetter than last with fog and clouds predominating. Maine saw 17 fair days, 9 cloudy days, and 5 rainy days, with values from 55 to 72 degrees and cooler mornings than last July's.
Federal registration and fingerprinting of aliens will begin likely Aug 27 at the Federal building and continue four months. Postmaster Charles H. Cahill prepares for registry and will designate the work room. In prior assessments under Gov Barrows proclamation, about 370 people registered for Adjutant General classification. Postmasters are urged to plan for extra staff and equipment.
Grace Episcopal church hosts Rev Frederic Witmer rector of St Thomas Bethel Conn occupying the rectory with his wife and daughter. Rev Charles M Tubbs of Grace will conduct services at Bethel church in exchange. Witmer is a Juniata and Berkeley Divinity School graduate who studied at Yale and has served churches in Williamsport Renovo Jersey Shore Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg. He is an associate of the College of Preachers in Washington DC and a commissioned first lieutenant in the Chaplains corps RO C.
Robert P. Shaw director of the New York Museum of Science and Industry, son of Fred P. Shaw, is spending the month with Mrs. Shaw and their son Robert Jr. at the home of her mother Mrs. Fred R. E. Dean on Summer Street.
William Plumer, District County Agent for the Maine Extension Service, surveys Twin County and Cumberland and York counties offering vegetable growing advice. He brings Ohio greenhouse experience and will answer questions on varieties, pests, fertilization, and marketing while conducting southern Maine demonstrations. Contact Plumer at 76-78 Pear Street Portland or Lewiston’s Postoffice Building for assistance.
Joseph Hartnett of Auburn, a lineman with New England Tel and Tel, is hospitalized in Memorial with serious injuries after a Thursday fall from a pole near the Woolwich bridge tort house. He has a back injury, two broken ribs, scalp cuts, and numerous bruises. Foreman William O Robson of Bath directed Hartnett to Dr. E M Fuller before hospital care. Hartnett, married with five children, is supported by sister Marguerite Hartnett of Portland, a telephone traffic supervisor, who has been summoned.
Associate Justice George L. Emery of the Maine Superior Court will lecture on Contempt Powers in Municipal Court at the Maine Municipal Judges Association annual meeting and banquet at Bath Country Club August 21. The gathering opens at 11 a.m. with Judge Edward R. Parent of Lewiston presiding, followed by a shore dinner and Emery as guest speaker. Senate President Sumner Sewall will also address the group.
Saco firemen stopped a rapid spread in a three story tenement at 57 Storer Street owned by Philips Gagne. The blaze began in Eli Ouellette’s unit when a bottle slipped from a boy’s grip tipping a stove. The boy escaped with minor burns to his eyebrows.
We want people to find what they are looking for at NewspaperArchive. We are confident that we have the newspapers that will increase the value of your family history or other historical research. With our 7-day free trial, you can view the documents you find for free.
People find the most success using advanced search. Try plugging in keywords, names, dates, and locations, and get matched with results from the entire collection of newspapers at NewspaperArchive!
You can also successfully find newspapers by these browse options. Explore our archives on your own!
Browse by location and discover newspapers from all across the world.
Browse by date and find publications for a specific day or era.
Browse old newspaper publications to find specific newspapers.