March 1917 - 100 Years Ago in "That Thriving Town"

One hundred years ago this month in Bovina saw several deaths, including a death due to tuberculosis of the spine of a 47 year old woman and the passing of two Civil War veterans.

March 2, 1917

·         The last number of the lecture course will [be] given on Tuesday evening, March 6.

·         Mr. and Mrs. David Worden and children, of Pipestone, Minnesota, are visiting relatives in town.

·         Harold Aitken has his head bandaged as a result of being bitten on the ear by Dr. Whitcomb’s horse.

·         Miss Mary Thomson entertained eight of her lady friends at dinner at the home of her brother, Elliott Thomson.

·         John Benjamin has moved from the Denny Hughes house to the rooms in the old Stott cooper shop building, vacated by Hala Travis.

·         Saturday night as Mr. and Mrs. Chauncey McFarland and her mother, Mrs. Anna Ruff, were returning home the cutter upset and Mrs. Ruff had her hip dislocated.

·         Mrs John A. Russell has sold her farm up Pink street to Stephen Shlabowski, who purchases the place for his son.  The place has not been occupied for several years.

March 9, 1917

·         Mrs. William S. Thomson is in poor health.

·         Dr. J.D. Frisbee, the Andes dentist, will be here Thursday, March 15.

·         Mrs. John Oliver, who has been with her daughter, Mrs. Harry Martin in Harpersfield for some time, has returned to Bovina.

·         Mrs. Robert G. Thomson, who underwent an operation in New York January 29, expects to come home about the first of April.

·         H.A. Ayres, butter maker at the Center creamery, has moved from the Michael Dickson place up Pink Street to Mrs Addie Russell’s house (the Richard Smith place) in the village.

March 16, 1917

·         Robert G. Thomson, whose auto was in the recent garage fire at Delhi, has brought home the remains.

·         The older students of the Center school made John Armstrong a surprise visit at his home Monday.

·         The boys are very much interested in a wireless telegraph station being installed by Postmaster Dickson.

·         It is reported that Frank Miller has purchased of Mrs. W.R. Miller, the small farm, known as the Chas Palmer place at the Center.

·         Mrs. William J. Story gave a party last Thursday to a number of young girls in honor of Miss Wilma Doig, of Gunnison, Colorado.

·         Mr. and Mrs. Frank Coulter went to New York this week, where Mr. Coulter will undergo an operation for a bad case of varicose veins.

·         John A. Irvine, up Coulter Brook, who for several years has lighted his house and barn with acetylene gas, will have that system taken out and is having a Delco electric lighting plant installed.

·         Mr. and Mrs. William J. Doig and daughter, of Colorado, who have been here for several weeks, went to Delancey Monday for a visit with her brother, William Sloan, and Mrs. Doig will visit New York before their return to their western home.

The Harvest of the Reaper

Mrs. William S. Thomson died at her home on Coulter Brook about 3 o’clock Friday morning, March 9, having been in poor health for several months.  The cause of death is given as tuberculosis of the spine.  She was the only daughter of Sloan Archibald and was born in Bovina on April 24, 1870, and had always resided in the town of Bovina.  She is survived by her husband and two sons, Ralph, in Watertown and Archibald, at Walton, and one daughter at home; also her father and one brother, Russell Archibald of Delhi.  The funeral was held Monday with interment in the Center cemetery.

March 23, 1917

·         Fred Bramley and J.K. Russell were at Delhi Saturday after a new auto truck.

·         A.N. Wilber, of Arena, has rented the Lydia Thompson house in upper Bovina and will move this week.

·         DeWitt Warren, who was born in upper Bovina 80 years ago, died last week in Delhi.  In the civil war he served in Co E 144^th regiment.  He was a member of the Covenanter church in this place.  He is survived by his wife, who was Jane Aitken, of Bovina, and one son.

March 30, 1917

·         Several have tapped and are making maple syrup.

·         James L. Coulter, of New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, came to attend the funeral of William Richardson.

·         A maple in front of the Chisholm place went down by the axes of Rev. Thos E. Graham, J.W. and Dixon Thomson.

·         Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Russell were at Oneonta last Friday and Mr. Russell underwent an operation for submerged tonsils.  He returned home the same day.

·         Avery Ryer, of Dunraven, arrived in town Thursday and will inspect the barns of the patrons of the Bovina Center Co-operative Creamery Company.

·         Mrs. Robert G. Thomson, who underwent an operation in New York city on January 29, arrived home Tuesday night. Mr. Thomson went to New York to accompany her home.  W.W. Thomson and Harry Robson met them at Andes with an auto.

Had passed Four Score Years

William Richardson of Bovina, Passed away March 24

            William Richardson, one of the oldest residents of Bovina, passed away at the home of his daughter, Mrs. John A. Irvine, Coulter Brook, on Saturday, March 29, from the infirmities of age, having nearly reached the 89^th mile-stone.

            Mr. Richardson was born in Scotland, June 6, 1828, and by trade was a mason.  When about 27 years old he came to Bovina and then went to New Kingston where he lived for a time with an uncle, but soon returned to Bovina. On August 28, 1862, he enlisted in Co E 144^th Regt and served until the end of the war.  He was twice married, his first wife being Miss Isabelle Sloan and she died in 1874, leaving the one child, now Mrs. Irvine. His second wife was Mrs. Eliza McDonald Coulter and she died six years ago.  The funeral was held Tuesday with interment in the Center cemetery. 

Will Be Hot Time in Old Bovina

            One of the chief topics of interest in Bovina is the evangelistic campaign which will begin April 12 and end on April 25.  The meetings will be led by Rev. Thos E. Graham, pastor of the Bovina Covenanter Church and the meetings will mostly be held in that church.

            There will [be] special nights for the W.C.T.U.; for firemen; for employees of milk plant and creamery; for merchants and teamsters; for Butt End folks; for young people especially, and another night for two separate meetings, one in the R.P. church for women only addressed [by] Mrs. J.A. Mahaffey and the other in the U.P church for men only addressed by Rev. Mahaffey.

            Some of the subjects for these revival meetings are: Is Bovina on Road to Hell or on the Road to Heaven; The Unpardonable Sin; Amusements; Intemperance; Heaven; Hell; Christian Home; What shall I do with Him who is called the Christ.

            There are almost 900 people in Bovina but not more than half of this number are even professing Christians.  Bovina is by no means a modern Babylon.  In most things Bovina will compare very favorably with any other community, but she needs to be shaken to her very bottom by the religion of Jesus Christ.  This is to be a series of meetings conducted along the line of vital and practical religion.  There will be hot time in old Bovina.