Edward and Harris Harris Blanchard and Edward LeClair were Boy Scouts in Granville Troop #113. Harris was a Scoutmaster, and Edward was a senior patrol leader. Edward's two younger brothers were members of the same troop. Edward excelled in the Boy Scouts. He earned more than 30 merit badges in a relatively short time. Harris took a strong liking to him; some folks called it unnatural. Harris and Edward attended a Court of Honor ceremony on February 16, 1938, at which time they were each presented with the prestigious Eagle Scout Award. As newly minted Eagle Scouts, the Boy Scouts' highest rank, they wasted no time as they continued their scouting journey and were awarded Eagle Palms on September 13. For reasons unknown, Edward's brothers quit the troop. Harris found out that Edward planned on quitting, too. On March 19, 1939, Harris had Edward sign a blank sheet of paper. Edward figured it had to do with a scouting activity, so he did not give it much thought. Troop #113 m...

The Harger Farm The Umansky family lived at the old Nelson Harger place near the crossroads of the Otis and Tolland roads in West Granville, Massachusetts. When Minnie Umansky returned home from Tolland (Massachusetts) around three o'clock on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 27, 1911, she found it odd that all the doors were locked, one barricaded with a beer keg. She heard her baby crying inside the home and called out for her mother-in-law, Rosa "Rose" Umansky, but there was no response. After finally gaining entry, Minnie found the kitchen smoky; her mother-in-law's bedroom ransacked. She quickly grabbed her baby and ran to her nearest neighbor's house, Charlie Sheets, which was less than 3/4 miles away. Charles' son Albert accompanied Minnie home. While searching the house for Rose, they found a pillow smoking in the oven in the kitchen. When their search of the house turned up nothing, they checked the barn and walked around the property. Again, ther...

Alton E. Holcomb of Granville, Massachusetts, married Pauline B. Lathrop of Hartland, Connecticut, on June 8, 1875. The couple welcomed two daughters, Clara, born on March 9, 1877, and Maud on July 15, 1880. (Pauline's mother died shortly after giving birth to her, and she was sent to live with her maternal grandparents in Hartland.) When Pauline fell ill sometime around 1882, she traveled to Bridgeport, Connecticut, for medical care, leaving her husband to raise their girls and attend to the household alone in her absence. After a few months, Alton sought help. In May, he induced Pauline's friend, Miss Mary Giddings of Hartland, to move in with him and the girls, and in doing so, it did not take long for neighbors to become suspicious of the pair's rapidly developing relationship, one of intimacy.  Mary returned to Connecticut in October, first visiting relatives in Hartland. Alton showed up there on or about November 28, and he and Mary then headed to Torrington, where th...

Della Artin John and Della Artin lived in Granville, Massachusetts, with their five children. The small Artin farm served as a lodging house for the workmen of the new Springfield waterworks at nearby Borden Brook. John started displaying symptoms of insanity in 1908. In June, he attempted to kill himself by drinking carbolic acid; this led to a short stint in the Northampton State Hospital. Authorities deemed his condition improved, and they released him from the asylum sometime around October; gross overcrowding may have played a part in their decision as the hospital was a dumping ground for the poor, elderly, and homeless. John had a bit of a jealous streak, something the workers said was without reason. But John saw otherwise, having found some letters he thought more than justified his suspicions. On the evening of December 3, he complained bitterly about Della's conduct to Officer Maloney, sharing his supposed evidence with the lawman who said he was powerless to act.  Della...

 "1800 House" Edward Harris of Brooklyn, New York, was a chauffeur for noted New York City interior designer David Laurence Roth who owned a country home in Granville, Massachusetts. The home, which Roth used on the weekends, was known as the "1800 House." He purchased it on September 9, 1963, and furnished it in its original 19th-century style. In the sloping backyard was an in-ground pool hidden behind some bushes and trees. Roth also owned the antique shop in the barn next door. Edward, his fiancée, Mrs. Carolyn Agnew, and her two children, Raymond and Roland, were at the estate on hot, steamy July 19, 1977. They reportedly stopped there on their way back to New York City from vacation. Trying to escape the soaring mercury, the two boys, who could not swim, were in the shallow end of the pool along with an unidentified boy, believed to be nine years old. Sometime between 3:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., Roland slipped into the deep end, and seeing he was in trouble, his ...

Two years before the first Indianapolis 500, there was the Prest-O-Lite Trophy Race, sponsored by Prest-O-Lite, the maker of automotive lighting systems. Billy and Harry Nationally known racing chauffeur Wilfred "Billy" Bourque (26) of Springfield, and his mechanic, Harry Holcomb (23) of Granville , were killed almost instantly during the August 19, 1909, inaugural 250-mile race of the newly built Indianapolis Motor Speedway. There are different theories regarding the cause of the crash, but as they came down the homestretch, it appeared that a loose rear wheel or a broken or faulty axle caused their car to swerve and crash into a fence near the grandstands. The vehicle flipped over three times before pinning the men inside. At the time of the fatal accident, they were in second place. The track itself may be to blame. The materials used in building it were crushed rock and tar, which didn't hold up well. The track's owners had it entirely repaved for events held the ...

This article was originally part of the "From Today's Motorcycle Ride" series, the predecessor to the Southwick Time Machine. 7:45 a.m. Off we go. We head down to the Granville Country Store , famous for its cheese, to pick up the made-to-order breakfast sandwiches we called in minutes ago. Ham, egg, and sharp Granville cheese for me; bacon, egg, and extra-sharp Granville cheese for her. Full of history, entering the store is like being transported back in time, for this is the quintessential classic New England general store. We sit at a small outdoor table overlooking the town green and eat. Established in 1851 by Carlos Gibbons, the business was eventually renamed J. M. Gibbons after his son, eighteen-year-old proprietor John Murray Gibbons, who took over the store later that same year. The young Gibbons was so successful that it was said he put neighboring Timothy C. Gillett’s store out of business. Gillett’s store stood immediately west of Gibbons’ store. This secti...

In 1912, Thomas Jensen purchased a secondhand automobile to transfer summer tourists to Granville , where he lived. Jensen's car service venture was so successful that he bought a new vehicle the following year. Jensen was standing next to his automobile, which he had parked in front of Apothecary Hall on Elm Street in Westfield, as he awaited customers around lunchtime on July 10, 1913. Meanwhile, an unidentified Southwick woman with a young girl, likely her daughter, was driving by the United States Whip Company on Main Street in an old Concord buggy when the horse attached to it got spooked, possibly by a passing trolley car or broken harness strap. The startled horse bolted down the street, and the woman reacted by pulling on the leather reins in a desperate yet failed attempt at regaining control. As they neared the post office, the horse swung around and made a beeline toward Court Street via Park Square with the carriage still attached. When the runaway horse and carriage sp...