A Different Spring€¦ · There were tales of Henry who, as a charter member of the Gaspee Days...

Spring 2020 Vol 47 Number 1

A Different Springs the spring issue of The Bridge goes to print, our country and communities are experi-encing unusual times. We’ve been impacted

by a pandemic flu that has caused us all to honor a stay-at-home order and practice social distancing, to remain safe and healthy and to stop the spread of the virus. It’s been a challenge for our personal lives and our many spring activities, and has deeply affected the businesses that have had to close.

To lessen the burden on our local businesses, the PVA will publish this issue of The Bridge with standard ads at no cost to our loyal advertisers as a gesture of support. We hope to see them open their doors again soon.

The biggest impact as a community is that we won’t have the annual Gaspee Days events that mark the start of our summer season. This is perhaps the second time since its inception that Gaspee Days has been cancelled. Many of us will miss these celebra-tions and gathering with friends, but we support the Committee for their decision and hope this builds new energy for next year.

Pawtuxet is much quieter than normal due to the circumstances. But we do have some bright spots. There are more people out walking and fewer cars coming through the village. Many are reaching out to one another to be sure we’re all safe and well, and becoming creative about how we spend our time. Spring is bursting forth with trees blooming and gar-

dens pushing up tulips and daffodils. Despite what we don’t have, there is still much we can appreciate.

A unique quality of our community is a legacy of constancy. Maybe it’s the nature of being an historic district that has survived many tribulations over hun-dreds of years. But this place keeps its beat continuing on and so should we.

The printing and recording of this issue are im-portant as it documents this unusual shift in our lives. It will be digitally archived along with the other is-sues that have documented our community over time (thebridge.warwickonline.com). It’s the reason the paper exists and why people look forward to seeing it each season. We’re pleased to bring you this issue of The Bridge and hope you find pleasure reading it dur-ing your quiet times! v

By Susan Hartman

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The Kindness Project in Pawtuxet Park is one way to engage with the community while social distancing. Photo by Donna DeForbes.

enry Brown always has a story. He’s written hundreds of them; he’s authored many books, which are frequently ref-erenced when it comes to Rhode Island history. And even

today, his memory doesn’t elude him when it comes to growing up in Warwick more than 80 years ago.

But Tuesday evening, the tables were turned and the stories were about Henry.

The occasion was the annual meeting of the Pawtuxet Village As-sociation, and Henry was honored with the group’s lifetime achieve-ment award.

When it was time to turn the spotlight on Henry, Ginny Leslie assumed the role of historian. She’d done her research, starting with Henry’s birth Dec. 23, 1931, and how he has lived at Spring Green Farm for all his life for the exception of two years when he served in the Army and was stationed in Germany. She was also certain to mention that Henry is descended from John Brown Francis, who served as a U.S. senator and Rhode Island governor.

“Henry has been involved with so many groups over the years, and luckily the PVA and the Gaspee Days Committee and the War-wick Historical Society have been beneficiaries of his generosity of time and knowledge and his infectious joie de vivre,” she said.

She spoke of Henry’s many literary contributions to The Bridge, the semi-annual PVA publication, as well as his service to the city (he is Warwick’s official historian), Clouds Hill Victorian Museum, John Brown House and the Nathanael Greene Homestead.

There were tales of Henry who, as a charter member of the Gaspee Days Committee, rides in a convertible in the annual Gaspee Days Parade. He’s hard to miss with his salty beard and top hat.

Former Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian told of growing up with his sons, Billy and Daniel, and of the time when Trinity Church conducted a ghost tour through the village as a fundraiser. Evidently there was some debate whether this was an appro-priate activity for the Episcopal church to sponsor. Nonetheless, Henry went along with the plan, com-ing up with the stories to give it authenticity. Avedis-ian questioned if they were all true, but that didn’t seem to matter as the fundraiser was a great success.

Avedisian said he welcomed the opportunity to speak because “it is nice to say nice things about him who has only nice things to say about everybody else.”

Indeed, there were a lot of nice things said about Henry’s willingness to share his knowledge and time with those who sought it and his generosity. Rep. Joseph McNamara spoke about Henry’s work with the Marine Archeology Project and the work done documenting the remains of two ships, one on the remains of Greene Island and the other in Occupass-

tuxet Cove. He thanked Henry for preserving significant pieces of U.S. history and those of the state and city, saying that has contributed to our culture.

Henry recounted a few stories of his own, keeping his remarks brief. And he had a confession, which was greeted with laughter. “I’ve been known to stretch the truth a little bit … but not much,” he said. He was presented a rocking chair, which he gratefully accepted and from which he greeted his many friends. v

Village Honors Historian Whose Work Has Bonded CommunityBy John Howell (Warwick Beacon, November 14, 2019)

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Photo by Jim Turner.

Spring 2020The Bridge2

The Pawtuxet Village Association is committed to the preservation of our National Register Historic District. We strive to stay abreast of issues affecting the District and encourage proper management of period architecture. We seek to protect our natural resources, improve important sites, and foster good community relations.

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 8626Pilgrim Station Warwick, RI 02888 E-Mail: [email protected]

JOIN US! Become a MemberIt’s a small investment in your community and a great way to become involved.We’re always looking for new members, and, at the starting level of $10/individual, you can easily ensure receiving notices of events and meetings that take place in the area.We never share our membership list, and you’ll learn in advance about summer concerts, volunteer opportunities, gardening activities, holiday events and general meetings.Individual - $10 Patron - $50Friend - $25 Benefactor - $100www.pawtuxetvillageassociation.org/membership

Advertise in The Bridge

*NEXT AD DEADLINE: OCTOBER 1, 2020• Small Ad (3.5” wide x 2” high): $50• Large Ad (3.5” wide x 4” high): $75

Email completed black and white or grayscale ads to [email protected]. Ads must be high resolution (JPG file at 300 dpi or an Illustrator EPS file with fonts converted to outlines.) Visit our website for more details on ad guidelines: www.pawtuxetvillageassociation.org

Message from the Chair

Get ConnectedIf you haven’t visited the PVA website recently, you should check us out. Go online towww.pawtuxetvillageassociation.org for news, photos, and back issues of The Bridge.

SHARE WITH US! Link to our Facebook page and post your photos and news of the village.

awtuxet Park is a remarkable gem in our charming village, and the PVA has partnered with the City of Warwick in an ongoing park cleanup and beautification campaign.

James Scott, director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Warwick, has become a won-derful advocate and supporter of Pawtuxet Park. He has city crews pruning trees, removing brush, and taming the invasive weeds on the shoreline.

The PVA has embarked on a twice-a-year park cleanup campaign. Every April and October the PVA, in collaboration with Save The Bay, the Boy Scouts, Johnson & Wales Centennial House, and other local volunteer groups has organized to pick up trash, leaves and limbs, cut back hostas and shrubs, and tidy up beds while Save The Bay volunteers have cleaned up and trimmed the shoreline. Particular thanks go to PVA Board member Barbara Rubine, who has spearheaded the relationship with Save The Bay and has guided our overall cleanup plan based on her many years leading the Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Association. Her hard work and expertise can be witnessed by looking at the beauty and upkeep of Stillhouse Cove. Barbara single-handedly championed that effort and continues to drive it forward.

The PVA postponed its “Spring 2020 Clean-up Saturday” and is now planning the Fall 2020 date. We encourage anyone who loves the park and the work we are doing to join us that day and lend a hand. It is wonderful to see local residents enjoying the beautiful park.

Details of the new date will be announced in our Facebook page and on our website. v

Pawtuxet Park Beautification

By Roy Evans, PVA Co-Chair

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was really looking forward to writing my first column as co-chair of the Pawtuxet Village Association. In fact, I wrote it while on a flight to Washington, D.C. in late January. Now in late March, as I shelter-in at home in the Village, it’s time for a different message as our

lives have been turned upside down by an invisible virus that is now a pandemic. And by the time you read this, I can only wonder what our world, our country, our region, our state, and the Village itself might look like.

And that leads to what I’m sure many will wonder as to the rather odd title for this column. Yet, some of you may know it or perhaps even lived it. It’s the title of a cookbook, mainly es-says interwoven with a bunch of basic recipes written by M.F.K. Fisher in 1942 during the lean years of World War II when there were shortages of everything, especially food. She intended the book to say that even in the hardest of times, we can still survive, and we can still take joy from the world. One of the chapters, “How to Stay Alive,” speaks to those times when “the wolf has one paw wedged firmly into what looks like a widening crack in the door”—in other words, when you’re destitute. And for many of us, that might be the case with jobs lost, businesses closed, some never to return, even with a federal stimulus check that only keeps that door closed just a bit longer for many.

The wolf at our collective door now is uncertainty. Uncertainty regarding our health and well-being. Uncertainty as to our financial survival. Uncertainty as to the stability of our daily lives that were once filled with schools, movie theaters, travel, restaurants, and shops. Uncer-tainty as to what the future might look like. In short, the uncertainty of what appears to be an uneasy new normal that is anything but that.

What then are we to do? What can we do? I’m reminded of another great classic written at the end of World War II by a survivor of Auschwitz and Dachau, Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning. “Everything can be taken from a person but one thing: the last of human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” From his experience in the concentration camps and the loss of his own family, Frankl found the meaning of life in doing three things: work daily with motivation, live life from the perspec-tive of love, and have courage at all times in facing adversity.

We will get through this. We will somehow recover, though not easily in all ways. Someday, we’ll be able to look back on this as one of the most meaningful periods of our lives. I’m going to hold onto all that, but now I think I’ll just go and make some soup. v

How to Cook a Wolf (How to Stay Alive in the Age of the Coronavirus)

By Adrian Beaulieu, PVA Co-Chair

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The BridgeSpring 2020 3

Yes, I’d like to sponsor: m 1 flag ($15) m 2 flags ($25) m Other _________________

Name: ___________________________________________________________________

Mailing address: ___________________________________________________________

Phone _____________________ E-mail: ________________________________________

Select one, and list name(s). m In memory of: m In honor of: __________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Total amount enclosed: $ _________________________________________________

Sponsor a Flag!The Pawtuxet Village Association is raising the flags once again! Each year the flags fly from Memorial Day to the 4th of July, proudly decorating our main streets. We invite you to help us maintain this fine tradition by becoming a flag sponsor for a donation of $15 for one flag or $25 for two flags. Your donation can be made in honor of someone, as a family gift or as a tribute to someone special. Your sponsorship will help us defray the cost and maintenance of the flags. Sponsor names will be listed on our website and in the fall issue of The Bridge.

Cut out or copy and mail this form with check or money order to: PVA, P.O. Box 8626, Pil-grim Station, Warwick, RI 02888. Please write the word “flags” at the bottom of your check. THANK YOU!

awtuxet Village has benefit-ed greatly from a small but vibrant group of volunteers

going back a few decades that has beautified Paw-tuxet Park and the bridge, as well as planters and traffic islands throughout the historic district. That tradition will continue this spring and summer—and volunteers are needed!

The Garden Group will connect virtually for projects (keeping up flower beds, watering, main-taining planters) that can be done in accordance with safe social distancing. Volunteers are welcome to work on their own time and pace—at any time during the day or evening.

We are pleased that Carole Panos will be pro-viding guidance from her many years of leading the Garden Group. She, along with another valued veteran of the Garden Group, Chris Hannifan, will be caretaking the Ed Greer Memorial Garden, which lies just off Narragansett Parkway at the entrance to Pawtuxet Park. Ed Greer was a long-time volunteer for the Village and integral in starting the Garden Group and bridge boxes we know today.

Ginny Leslie will also continue her work at the traffic island at Post Road and Narragan-sett Parkway, a highly visible area at the junction of Pawtuxet Village’s three main thorough-fares. The Garden Group will be working in conjunction with long-time volunteers who have watered the bridge boxes. There are planters, flower beds and traffic islands, however, that still need attention. A goal of the Garden Group this year is to initiate new ideas to beautify the Village in preparation for the attention and visitations the Village will receive for the 250th anniversary of the Burning of the Gaspee in 2022.

The City of Warwick has also done a lot of clearing of the park this off-season and removed dead limbs from several trees, particularly along Narragansett Parkway—opening up new vistas that will need attention this spring and summer. They will again cut down the tall phragmites along the water that blocked the view of the cove.

The Garden Group is not just about beautification, however. Plants also contribute to the environment and support our local ecosystem. Along with enhancing village aesthetics, the Garden Group wishes to integrate climate change mitigation (more shrubs, additional trees, ground cover) into some of our planting decisions. Did you know that perennials absorb more CO2 (greenhouse emissions) than annuals? It is also the reason we are planning more ground cover in the newly cleared areas along Narragansett Parkway. So the Garden Group is about more than just our good looks!

The Garden Group looks to continue the vision set forth by its founding members—to beautify the Pawtuxet historic district and Village. We welcome participation and need volun-teers for this endeavor. We also encourage plant donations or cuttings from your own favorite garden plants and flowers to share in the Village.

For more information, contact Mark Howard at 212-807-9244 or [email protected] v

PVA Garden Group Has a Revival!By Mark Howard

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The Avenue of Flags at Pawtuxet Memorial Park, Memorial Day weekend. Photo by Alice Pace.


hen Jean Petrocchi bought her house at 70 Fair Street back in September of 2000 for $132,000, it was covered in mint green vinyl siding with white vinyl shutters. She had been searching for her first home when she saw the ad for this house in

Pawtuxet Village. She really liked the area so she arranged to see the property right away. The first day at the open house brought three offers so she increased her offer and won the bid. “I hated the look of it. It was awful on the outside. It didn’t look like a Victorian at all but the inside was nice. It was staged well and there had been improvements made to the interior,” she said. “It was a big investment for me as a woman on my own.”

The house had promise, with good bones and porches at the front and back of the house. Railings and posts had been removed, leaving the entrance looking awkward. Passersby would not envision the house becoming an appealing late Victorian cottage that would measure up to many of the more fortunate houses nearby.

The years passed and Jean wanted to improve the appearance, but the budget wouldn’t allow it. At one point a house sider offered to do the whole house over for $10,000. Jean doubted that trim would be included and she wasn’t sure about going back to wood after vinyl. She refused the offer in favor of holding out for something better.

Other surrounding houses were restored one by one, accentuating the bland, uninspiring look of the hidden Victorian cottage. Directly across the street, two spectacular multi-million dollar projects were done by the House of Hope. The community applauded them for saving the original home of the first State Fairs in Rhode Island dating to the 1800s. Several single family homes were restored, painted, and landscaped, changing the street scape incrementally—house by house by house.

Sadly, Jean lost her brother, who left her an inheritance, and she returned to thinking about her house’s exterior. Her cousin is a contractor, so she and her mother began to lay plans for putting the house in better condition. Her cousin, Justin DePasquale of Marino Construction Co., was accomplished, but had never done a restoration project before. He knew he had to go before the Warwick Historic District Commission, and when he did, they told him the siding should be wood. “I was secretly thrilled,” Jean confessed.

Victory Over Vinyl: Another Success Story for the Historic District

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By Janet Hudon Hartman

Editor’s Note: This is a reprint from the Fall/Winter 2019 issue where this story was incomplete.

The house “before” restoration in mint green vinyl.

5 The BridgeSpring 2020

“The team at Marino Construction guided the project from presentations to the Historical Commission through the entire restoration. The vision was to not only enhance the historical as-pects of the house but to also reflect the histori-cal value of Pawtuxet Village,” commented Jean’s cousin Justin.

Jean said, “When they ‘sided’ it [originally] they ripped off the detail pieces, so my cousin worked hard to recreate all that detail at the top. I always knew there was wood underneath and a lot of wood was preserved. Some boards had to be replaced but I was very lucky.”

As I came down Fair Street one day, I was struck by the activity in front of the house. The old mint green vinyl was being ripped off, dump-ster swallowing gobs of debris, and trucks block-ing views of the first floor. I was alarmed at what

might be happening but so relieved to learn the local Warwick Historic District Commission was watching over the project.

Once the house was stripped and restoration was underway, Jean said, “It is like a movie star, people walking by and driving by are always ex-citingly and passionately complimenting the work we’ve done and saying how much they love it. The guys would be out there doing the work and peo-ple would drive by and yell from their car, ‘Looks great! Looks great!’ Now everybody that walks by wants to stop and talk, and they all say it’s a great job. ‘Thank you so much.’ ‘It really adds to the neighborhood and the value.’ Everybody loved it.”

Donna Tobin, chairperson of the Warwick Commission, said, “It is always a pleasure to work with historic district homeowners who love and

respect the character of the district. The owners of 70 Fair Street succeeded in demonstrating just that. By removing vinyl and repairing and match-ing original wood, the beauty and craftsmanship of this late Victorian home has been restored. Thanks to them and other neighbors for helping us grow a quality historic district.”

Sue Baker, the Warwick Planning Depart-ment staffer assigned to the commission, reports

that there is a plaque being prepared for the residence.

It takes time before all the houses in an historic district finally get the face lift they need to look the way they were intended to look when originally built. Not all of our homes are rare antiques or spectacular gems, but each period is represented here and they are all contributing members of the overall historic district. As the origi-nal National Register Report (prepared by Bonnie Warren) in 1973 points out, “The total environment is considered, not just a few buildings which are known for ‘age’, ‘style’ or ‘historic value’. Important consid-eration is also given to areas which, because of other indigenous character, through a variety of architectural styles or long es-tablished landscaping, achieve a varied yet unified neighborhood. Buildings of all periods and construction types which constitute the fabric of any neighborhood are evaluated together with consideration of siting, scale, planting, and geographical features.”

Pawtuxet has come a long way since that first 1973 report, and we should all celebrate each and every restoration, making the district stronger and more beautiful at each passing year.

“I am so very happy with the work myself and never imagined that a treasure was sitting under all that vinyl siding. I never imagined it would look as cute as it does,” Jean concluded wistfully, as she settled back in her chair. v

CloCkwise from Above: Jean Petrocchi, the owner; the house as a work in progress; and Jean’s restoration at 70 Fair Street.

“Cyrus F. Baker House (ca. 1900)

Constructed for Baker as his residence, or built for William E. Roward, who also built the similar house at #74 Fair Street as an investment and sold it to Baker upon completion.

1 ½-story; cross gable; vinyl-siding; 2-bay-façade, sidehall-plan cottage; with wrap porch (west and south) and cut-away corner window under porch. Post replaced and new fenestration added to rear southeast corner of house.”

Description provided by Jeffrey Emidy of R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission from the 1973 National Register Report of the District. Description will be updated following restoration.

“I am so very happy with the work myself and never imagined that a treasure was sitting under all

that vinyl siding.”


n 1930 a church was born—the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church. It didn’t just happen, as there was a great deal of preliminary work done in preparation for this historic event. Gaspee Plateau was being designed as an exclusively residential area in the 1930s. However, a plot of land was being offered by the

developer to any religious denomination that would locate there. My grandfather, Reverend Francis Henry Spear, a retired Methodist minister, was asked to “look into the Gaspee situation.” He was impressed by what he found, as there was a general desire for a church in this area as well as a warm welcome for a Methodist Episcopal Church. He was asked to take charge of organizing this church and became its first minister.

By March 25, 1930, thirty-four persons had expressed their desire to join this new church and held their initial gathering in a home on Osceola Avenue. For two years Sunday services were held in private homes. Around this time the Asbury Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church in Provi-dence was disbanding, so they pledged $15,000 to this new church if it would take the name Asbury.

Groundbreaking for the church building was on June 25, 1932, and the first service was held on Sunday, February 5, 1933, downstairs in the Social Hall. It took nine years to raise an additional $3,600 to complete the sanctuary, which was dedicated May 26, 1940. The interior of the rest of the building was finally completed in 1947. On its 20th anniversary, on March 25, 1950, membership had grown to 331 persons.

Much has changed over the years in Warwick, in the community, in the family, at church, and even our name changed to Asbury United Methodist Church in 1969. But our ministry and mission remain the same as we continue our worship, our fellowship, and and our outreach to those in need locally, nationally, and internationally. Come celebrate and worship with us on Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m!

Anniversary events will take place sometime in the months to come.There will be a re-telling of Asbury’s story presented by some long-time members, special music, congratulations read by former pastors, a display of old pictures, and a rededication of the church. The 90 Graces and 90 Crosses activity will also be celebrated as a critical component of the celebra-tion. Food and fellowship will follow. v

“90 Crosses and 90 Graces” all spring. 90 Crosses decorated by church members will grow into one large cross. 90 Graces will feed 900 children in a Guatemalan mission, will provide funds to translate the first 90 pages of the Jesus Storybook into Swahili, and will support the Methodist Camp Aldersgate in Glocester, RI.

Asbury United Methodist Church Celebrates 90 Years

By Becky Arnold

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book entitled Gaspee Point Camp Ground History will be available within the coming season. This is a compilation of reflections of many and a rec-ollection of my 84-year journey living near this historic peninsula seen

“in a mirror, dimly.” Of course, we cannot overlook the Native Americans who were keepers of

the bay: they hunted, fished, and established a community on this shore adjacent to Narragansett Bay for thousands of years. The arrival of Roger Williams in Rhode Island was followed closely by that of English immigrant surgeon John Greene, and his purchase of the sandy promontory from the chief Sachems of the Narragansett nation in 1642.

Three hundred-seventy years later, we find that the “High Banks” is now known as Gaspee Point in recognition of the colonists’ confrontation and destruction of the English revenue schooner Gaspee in 1772. The penin-sula became a refuge from the heavy industri-alized Providence area, free of the foul air and pollution. Gaspee Point began as a summer tent community to restore the body and mind. A bonus was the saltwater bathing with access to the abundant bivalves, clams, quahogs, and whelks.

This journey will delight the reader as we walk through the red cedar trees that line narrow winding roads while viewing beach cottages that were former tent sites.

The stories are my recollections of a neighborhood world of good will, a camp ground where neighbors helped those in need and bore the heartbreaks in silence. The stories are my gleaning of people and incidents. This is a community that passed through an era of tenting, attempts to create an airport, a land grab by the Rhode Island General Assembly, the Great Depression, frost fishing, World War II, a community hall, and beach and yacht clubs. Add two major hurricanes, oil pollu-tion, and “this is not the Gaspee”: all facets of life on this peninsula that come into focus.

Most important are the people in today’s community who are the stars and bright lights of Gaspee Point.

Gaspee Point Camp Ground History By Henry A. L. Brown

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By Colonel Ronald W. Barnes, Commandant, Pawtuxet Rangers, RIM, and Dr. John Concannon, Historian, Gaspee Days Committee

he Pawtuxet Rangers are proud to an-nounce that they will be awarded five military campaign streamers (Revolu-

tionary War years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1781, and for the Dorr Rebellion) at a ceremony following next year’s Gaspee Days parade. The campaign stream-ers attached to a military flag denote campaigns fought by the unit throughout our nation’s history. Each streamer (2¾ inches wide and 4 feet long) is embroidered with the designation of a campaign and the year(s) in which it occurred. The colors de-rive from the campaign ribbon authorized for ser-vice in that particular war.

Campaign streamers were developed during the Civil War when Army organizations embroidered the names of battles on their organizational colors. This practice ended in 1890, when units were au-thorized to place silver bands, engraved with the

names of battles, around the staffs of their organizational colors. General Pershing authorized the use of small ribbons bearing the names of the World War I operations. In 1921, all color-bearing Army organizations were author-ized to use the large campaign streamers currently displayed.

For the Rangers to be awarded these campaign streamers, a military historian was contacted to verify and generate a “Lineage and Honors Statement” for our active ser-vice. This historian successfully documented our service during the Revolutionary war for 1776, 1777, 1778, and 1781. This ser-vice includes time mustered into service and officially on duty. Even though the Rang-ers were chartered in 1774 and may have been protecting Pawtuxet, the qualifying service is when officially on duty per the colony. Interestingly, no qualifying service has been found to date for the War of 1812, though general thought is that the company manned the fort for a period during that conflict. It was around the time of this war that the company changed its name to the Pawtuxet Artillery. Research will continue to learn more about the Rangers during this period.

The other campaign streamer is for our documented service to the state during the time of the Dorr Rebellion. The Rangers re-mained loyal to the state and were provided the armory because the Rangers needed a safe place to store weapons.

During the ceremony, the Rangers also will stand for inspection by the Adjutant General, Commander of the Rhode Island National Guard, to whom they report. By the state Standard Operating Procedure, all Rhode Island militia units are required to be inspected by the Adjutant General each year. We invite all of our community to wit-ness this ceremony. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, the ceremony has been post-poned until after the Gaspee Days parade next year, when the entire community is in-vited to attend. v

*A guidon is a military standard that company/battery/troop or platoon-sized detachments carry to signify their unit designation and branch/corps affiliation or the title of the individual who carries it.

Pawtuxet Rangers Awarded Military Campaign Streamers Based on “Lineage and Honor”

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Pawtuxet Rangers guidon* with Fife & Drum muster streamers.

Savoring the stillness and warmthof a late summer daybeneath the cedar’s shade, it was a struggle to focuson the book waiting to be readwhile tempted to daydream.

Something moved near the impatiens,was it a large flying insect?No, it was more vibrant—hovering almost within grasp,its wings beating a dizzying blurwas the tiniest hummingbird

I’ve ever seen—a juvenileruby-throated female.

So delicate and determined,focused on gathering nectar,the bird flitted from flower to flower.By autumn, it migrated southperhaps to Florida or Mexicobut will it reappear in spring?

With a bit of luck soon I’ll spy again that welcomed tiny guestand greet it as a dear old friend.

Poem by Frederick Fullerton

A Welcomed Tiny Guest


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Call me to find out if it’s time!

Maureen McGovernWilliams & Stuart Real Estate2172 Broad StreetCranston, RI [email protected]

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Harbingers By Maizy Penrose

UH? WHA’? Enuff with the indiscernible mumbling, head in refrigerator, and hand full throttle

upon a gushing faucet. The unfortunate misinterpre-tations of snide asides, the unremarked upon innu-endo. Forget sotto voce. Reality has to be faced, dealt with. All this not the totally inexplicable results of a marvelously misspent youth, and she was unwilling to risk being misconstrued as aloof and stand-offish, a fate not so unlike that of the suffering of the near-sighted.

Aware that the science of audio enhancement is on the cusp of a major upgrade, she invested in a pair of entry level hearing aids. Nothing near the cost of a new lounge chair, nor as complex as its owner’s manual. Certainly more costly than a modest dazzle of multi-carat diamond clips yes, but still a bargain at twice the price. Small enuff to be easily lost, large enuff to be easily spotted from a mile away according to the many who have thus far found it to be beneath the dignity of their own often-as-not-wildly exaggerated remaining youths. Like eyeglasses, hair extensions, joint replacements. Expectations must be kept in check. There’s nothing like the real thingamajig. But as it turns out, sign language is at least as difficult to learn as French spoken with a German accent, given a Nordic flair and served up with dramatic energy. Try lipreading. Strain to read the thought-provokers ut-tered through cosmetically enhanced lips from across a crowded room. Given the alternatives, what is the answer? How can anybody really believe that using a cane causes its wielder to appear more elderly than shuffling dangerously between curbs while wearing novelty boots. You’re old! (No need to shout.) And carrying a walking stick at least signals that a person has managed to keep some wits about them.

Listen to those birdies trill. Hark! The seemingly ceaseless cacophony of assorted power tools out-roaring the very wind. Overhear the porcelain figurines slowly chelating away on dusty shelves. Bring on the clanging and banging of pots and pans, assorted cutlery, church bells, fire stations, rescue units. The high decibel volcanic rumble coming from a scrap of crumpled cellophane. How best to take full advantage of this revivified sense of hearing. Even idle chit chat provides added enrichment to the usual, everyday plot. Even an otherwise uneventful Village wander has the pos-sibility to become the stuff of legend or at least a scrap of good gossip. Now she knows the private pleasure of cranking herself up or down depending on a fast fluctuating level of momentary interest or lack thereof.

Not for her, the blabberings of cell phone users bellowing their most personal beeswax to an uninvolved audience barely able to be heard over the hellish whine of the motorbike or the cyclist often listening to his own blaring radio, which will eventually render them both deaf to their own dramas. Turn on. Tune in. Turn off/up. The usual comings and goings of the everyday mundanity become much more compelling. Well worth the batteries.

One afternoon separated only by a prickly Rosa rugosa and a distant gaze, she became an inter-ested nonparticipant in an ongoing conversation. Fascinating. Beyond her too. Exactly why would a same sex couple ever wish to engage the services of a disapproving vendor who has to be forced by Law to participate. Why would anyone hire such reluctance to be anywhere near the nuptial ceremonial, the cake, florals, the entire etcetera. Still wondering.

During another outing she eavesdropped on some concerned citizens positing that Our Na-tion’s endless and tallest Great Southern Wall was becoming a fearful expense. Some other con-nection was made and then another suggested and then suddenly a recycling contingent chimed in with their endless embarrassment of riches, lamenting about the inexhaustible heaps of recyclables strewn everywhere. Bingo!

Grand melange of the simply haphazard. Build the miles-long, 20-foot high solid wall out of discarded goods plus most of the original packaging lashed together, no, no, fused solid with new vacu-form technology. Even better, someone knows some underemployed artists willing to use their Gods-given talents to work for zip in exchange for portfolio fodder. Well then, why not component pieces. Individually rendered on-site with much hard labor paid even le$$. All Villagers within hearing mostly vehemently agreed that this was a win-win and might even serve to give pause to a desolate migrator.

As could be expected, there’s lots of buzz about a Citizen’s Bank re-do. With an almost four century history of non-native architectural invasion from which to choose, which will be what? Roughly hewn indigenous riverside stone by over-educated artisans? Shingle, clapboard, brick ve-neer. Colonial, Greek Revival, Gas Station Brutalist? Early, mid, late century (which?). Neo Classy, Owner’s Whimsey, Architectural SignaturePause for a loud-mouthed tutorial about more stringent licensure requirements for architects which would entail lengthy building maintenance internships.

Of course it was possible the project would only amount to a minor reconfiguration of shrub-bery, subtle twist of column. A flick of some mood-inducing paint, a swathing of drapery (or not), new lollipop dispensers, freshly chained pens and new carpeting for the Safety Deposit Box Vault Viewing Room. Again with a similar rant about Interior Decorator internships and doing serious time with a professional cleaning crew.

Yes, there seems unlimited opportunity to eavesdrop on scintillating conversations. No, she had not previously noted how many neighborhood couches have their backs to the view. And yes, wouldn’t it have been much nicer if Noni from the Old Country had been given a helping hand, the average fan finally got a decent break and everyone walked miles in someone else’s shoes. In truth, so much to ponder she can hardly hear herself think. Click. v

HVILLAGE WONDERS


The Last Wreck in the Cove By Dave Aspray

aving grown up on the cove, I was re-cently asked what I knew about some old timbers sticking out of the bottom on

the cove side of the point (this would be by the turnaround at the end of Seaview Avenue where the public access sign is). Of all my years spent on the cove, I don’t remember anything about it nor could recall any of the old timers talking about it, and believe me, the old guys had a lot of stories! So, on the next low tide I braved the “no parking’’ sign, conveniently located right next to the public access, to have a look.

Looking closely at the remains, I’m quite sure they’re the bones of some old barge on the smaller size, maybe 40 or 50 feet long. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, small barges were quite common. Aside from their pile driving and waterfront construction chores, they were the ul-timate bulk carriers of the time. By far the most prevalent were the coal barges, usually around 60 feet long by 20 feet wide and double ended (pointed on each end). As the name implies, their main job was to transport coal, but these barges also handled other types of bulk building materials, stone, gravel, sand and such.

As roads improved and dump and trailer trucks came on the scene, most of the barges quickly be-

came obsolete and were abandoned up and down the Providence River and upper bay. Then as now, time was money, and when a trailer truck could transport bulk materials in hours as compared to days, the deal was done. Most, now long gone and forgotten, may be a row of nondescript stumps on a beach somewhere. Many were just filled with stone and sunk, out of sight, out of mind. I remember as a kid a couple of large barges sunk right across

the shipping channel from the cove. Aspray’s boat yard did good by them when an occasional hapless boater would make contact with one on a low tide finding themselves in the wrong place! As time has gone by and the wood of these old barges have slowly deteriorated, they have left behind their piles of stone, a perfect habitat for all kinds of ma-rine life.

But the majority were just driven up some salt creek on a high tide foggy night to slowly rot away, gradually giving their timbers back to mother earth as little kids played summertime pirates on the last of their decaying decks. I’m thinking that the fact that little bit of wreckage has remained in the cove for so long is the reason the point and cove have always protected them from strong wave action of winter storms.

So, there you have it, some muddy old stumps in the cove, the last remnants of a long lost and forgotten piece of our waterfront history, just one of god knows how many, lost to time… v

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Last remnants of the old barge. Photos by Andy De Long.

FINS AND FEATHERS

he time has come after 33 years of writing articles

for my beloved BRIDGE! I am hanging up my pen!

I started by writing articles with my neighbor Addy Hardisty about different creatures—squir-rels, birds, and rabbits. Later I found myself co-

editing The Bridge with Vicky Holman for eight years. At that time we were still doing four issues a year. Vicky did the layout at a print shop in Apponaug and I wrote articles about various individuals in our community, along with different establishments like the two yacht clubs (Rhode Island and Edge-wood), Lindsay’s Market, Cameron’s Pharmacy, and many more. My favorite contribution was my regular byline for Fins, Fur, and Feathers for 17 years.

I have worked with many talented and wonderful people and greatly appreciated their dedication.

Oh, you may be just lucky enough to see me in the future. Thanks!

Note from the Editor: Carol Hills has been our long-time contributor of articles under Feather,

Fur, Fins and Nests. She’s written about her observations and research on a wide variety of animals and birds we see around us in our daily lives, along with the many animals she learned about while working for over 20 years as a docent at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. At the same time, she managed The Bridge as the editor for eight years when we still produced four issues a year. We benefited from her interesting stories and observations and greatly appre-ciate her contributions to the Pawtuxet Village Association. We’ll miss having her as a writer but look forward to seeing her around at the Farmers Market this summer! Thanks for everything, Carol. v

Goodbye (Don’t Cry)

TBy Carol Hills


n the very heart of Paw-tuxet Village one of the oldest roads is George

Street. Given that the Village was first established in 1638, the street was most likely named after King George I, who reigned between 1714 and 1727, or his son, George II, who reigned between 1727 and 1760. In more modern times, Pawtuxet Village is widely known as the locale near where the hated Brit-ish revenue schooner, HMS Gaspee, was attacked and burned in 1772 as America’s “First Blow for Freedom.”™ So, it should come as no sur-prise that most citizens think back to the reigning British king of that time, King George III. George II was the grandfather of George III, the younger’s father having died in 1751.

King George III was born and raised in London, well-tutored in the liberal arts and sciences, and was fluent in both English and German. The future king was very proud of his British upbring-ing and is quoted, “What, tho’ a boy! It may with truth be said, A boy in England born, in England bred.” He more formally disavowed his German-Saxon ancestry when he succeeded to the throne in 1760 at the age of 22. Ironically, he shortly afterwards entered into an arranged marriage with Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz; they first met each other on their wedding day. Together they had a seemingly happy, faithful, and long marriage that produced 15 children.

George III was considered a powerful force in English politics and a strong supporter of the war against the American colonies. He became a shrewd and sensible statesman, although one of conservative views, and went on to become the longest reigning male monarch of Great Britain. In his later years he was much afflicted by severe mental deterioration, thought by modern medical historians to have been due to porphyria, a blood condition. By 1811, he was locked away at Wind-sor Castle and his eldest son George, Prince of Wales, was declared regent (acting king). George III died on January 29, 1820 and is buried at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. v

KING GEORGE:… And when push comes to shoveI will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!… Cuz when push comes to shoveI will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.

“You’ll Be Back” Excerpts of lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda from the 2015 musical Hamilton.

King George III of Great BritainBy Dr. John Concannon, Historian, Gaspee Days Committee

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The ducklings played in little swirling pools,Those water-filled depressions in the rocksLeft long ago by glaciers that once pushedAnd dragged the land, and formed the waterfallO’er which the river flows. They splashed and swam,Delighting in the freedom and the sun,And ventured out a bit to test the world,The danger of the rushing river-flowJust close enough to make a watcher watch,And hold her breath at sudden darts and turns,And marvel at the innocence and joy,The boldness and the trust of such new life;Their home is there in ancient river’s beat,And there is strength in little paddling feet.

Poem by Deborah L. HallidayWatching

Photo by Donna DeForbes


oney bees, bumble bees, and other pol-linators co-evolved together with flow-ers in a close, symbiotic relationship

that remains a constant after 60 million years of evolution. By visiting flowers for pollen, bees have provided cross pollination which benefitted the flowering plants and nourished the bees. As the New England spring brings forth the flowering bulbs, planted last fall or in years past, many, but not all, attract bees. The first flowering bulb to at-tract the honey bee is the February-March bloom-ing white “snowdrop” (Galanthus) that continues annually and graces our own back yard, readily naturalizing. Seeing this early honey bee activity gladdens the heart and promises the end to win-ter. Next come Siberian Scilla, or Siberian Squills, planted as small bulbs that also naturalize and can turn a back yard into a wild blue carpet of flow-ers where the foraging honey bees, collecting pol-len and nectar, are so numerous as to be audible. Then come the better-known crocuses, buttercups, and anemones which honey bees love, while being utterly uninterested in the larger showy daffodils and tulips that predominate around Easter and

Passover times. Honey bees love the wild, native flowers, such as the dandelion, that many perfect lawn devotees want to eliminate. But doing so can introduce harmful herbicide chemicals that infect the soil and are dangerous to pollinators.

During these early periods of foraging the cu-rious observer may see bumblebees foraging with honey bees as they are attracted to the same flow-

ering plants and are both pollinators. However, honey bees are the only insect to store honey for food during the periods when there are no flowers from which to collect both pollen and nec-tar. Pollen is also stored in the hive as a food source and is referred to by beekeepers as “bee bread.”

By summer, bees and pollinators reach a peak of foraging, feasting on the later spring and summer flowering trees, especially maple, linden, and sweet gum locally, and the popular flowering shrubs and bushes, flowering hedges, azalea, and clover. Rho-dodendron are not worked by honey bees. Many popular summer annuals and perennials are also favored by honey and bumble bees, including sun-flowers, zinnia, coneflowers, calendula, sweet alys-sum, hollyhocks, geranium, cleome, and heliotrope. Also many popular herbs produce flowers that bees

love, including mint, lavender, sage, cilantro, thyme, fennel, and borage. July is a dearth period for flow-ers and bees, and they may rely upon stores to get through this period; some beekeepers will supple-ment with sugar water and pollen patties. If you have a vegetable garden and there is a beekeeper nearby, you may find honey bees foraging on your squash blossoms and on the late summer flowers

on herbs and fruits. My annual raspberry crop has doubled or tripled thanks to the work of honey bees; the same is the case for my apple tree, but the squirrels usually get to the fruits before they are fully ripe for picking.

In late summer and fall, bees forage on our New England late bloomers: bee balm, Russian sage—whose small clusters of purple flowers are a favorite where scores of bees can be seen and heard—and Rose of Sharon where bumble bees and honey can often be seen on the same blossom. The lovable and hearty Montauk Daisy is also very attractive to the honey bee well into the fall as she prepares for the coming cold days and eventual retreat into the hive for the late fall and winter months.

Common milkweed and the ever-present gold-enrod are actually favorites of the honey bee, and in our New Hampshire apiary we note the special tang to the goldenrod honey from our fall crop. With proper technique and favorable weather, we can harvest twice in New England: in June about the time of the summer solstice, and in the fall, September or October. The chrysanthemum, the favorite fall flower, is of no interest to the bees. The Edgewood Garden Club’s Public Garden along the walk at Stillhouse Cove is very bee-friendly, and, if you stop for a moment, you may see honey and bumble bees working the flowers. Our bee hives are visible from the street at 23 Fort Avenue and we welcome interested passersby to pay a brief visit and perhaps sample some honey. On such visits you may see a variety of different colored pollen being carried into the hives on the backs of honey bee legs.

Best Tip: Honey bees love the wildflowers of-ten considered as weeds. These include dandelion, goldenrod, wild aster, and others considered nui-sance plants. v

Honey Bee Local Foraging

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By Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban

Honey bees forage on snowdrops and Montauk daisies. Photos by Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban.

Rhode Island has two towns bearing names of Indian extraction, one being Pawtucket and the other

Pawtuxet.

It happens, either on account of careless writing or misunderstanding, that the letters of each get provokingly mixed up, so that the two towns constantly hurl epithets at each other and the postal clerks at both of them.

Finally Postmaster General Maxwell addressed a letter to

the postmaster of Pawtuxet asking him to call a meeting of the people and change the name of the town.

The people met, but not to change the name of the town. Old men came out shaking their canes threateningly and, facing the place where the British sloop of war Gaspee was burned, they declared that after owning their name 150 years they would sooner be deported than to change it, even for Uncle Samuel.

It’s a small matter to change the names of settlements in new western communities, and two New England towns sometimes fuse into one. But when six generations of homes have sanctified the name of a venerable town, the older citizens naturally look upon a change of name as an unpardonable sacrilege.

Pawtuxet will still be Pawtuxet unless a Constitutional amendment deprives her of her honored name.

Clinging To The old names | Boston Globe, Saturday December 2, 1893

Spring 202012 The Bridge 13 The BridgeSpring 2020

Parading through Pawtuxet By Janet Hudon Hartman

Gaspee Centennial, 1872A hundred years after the men of Providence burned the Gaspee, there was a grand celebration at Mashapaug Pond in Cranston, where tents, bonfires, games, and boat races thrilled the crowds. The “first battalion infantry, RIM in full uniform, numbering 163 muskets, accompanied by the Pawtuxet band, performed in the presence of an admiring crowd.” John Slocum served a clam bake and chowder under one of the big tents on the shore of the pond where some 1,000 persons partook of the succulent clams.

“Chinese lanterns gaily hung along with locomotive headlights for il-lumination in the evening. A signal rocket called the vast assemblage to the shores of the pond to witness the event of the day, as they set the Gaspee replica ablaze. There were universal shouting and clapping of hands as the flames spread along the hull and up the rigging. The band played while sky-rockets and fireworks helped illuminate the scene. When the Union Jack went out in blaze, there was another outburst of patriotic joy.”

The Women’s Centennial Commission, with 250 ladies at work through-out the day, served and entertained thousands in attendance, according to the Providence Newspaper, which called it a “spectacle.”

Presidential Election, 1880There was a different sort of parade in the village following the Presidential election of 1880. James Garfield (R) narrowly beat Winfield S. Hancock (D), and the exciting campaign brought the highest voter turnout in the nation’s history at 78%. The Village must have been predominantly Republican at the time because the celebration that took place involved almost every house to be illuminated and decorated. There were Chinese lanterns in profusion in front of houses and strung on lines between trees. The Custom House, the Kearsarge House, and the Female Institute were highly illuminated with wax candles and American flags. The whole town was ablaze. “An exciting torch light parade with the National Band marched to Pawtuxet Neck down to the point and back to the bridge where great quantities of red fire and Roman Candles burnt and had a splendid effect in the reflection in the water of the cove.”

Nearly every house had candles burning in all the windows and Charles Hawkins was inspired to write to his son, “the old village fairly astonished everybody with its illuminations and red fires.”

Harmony Lodge No. 9 - 1905Our local Harmony Masonic Lodge No. 9 took part in numerous cavalcades, and we were lucky to find pictures of them proudly strutting in their top hats during their cen-tennial celebration year. Lined up on Remington Street, we see the Armory behind them, which was their home during the years when the Pawtuxet Rangers were extinct. The celebration was described as “the greatest event in the history of the Lodge.” May 7, 1905, was the day set apart for the formal celebration in the village of Pawtuxet. “A parade will take place with brethren and guests, accompa-nied by the Reeves American Band” along with members of the Grand Lodge, Master, Wardens and Subordinate Lodges from throughout the state and their invited guests. “After the parade the Lodge will repair to the Baptist Church, Pawtuxet, where the exercises appointed for this part of the celebration will take place, (speakers) and accom-panied by appropriate musical exercises. After the service at the church, the Lodge will proceed to Rhodes-On-The-Pawtuxet, where a suitable banquet will be prepared for the members and guests.” (A Hundred Years of Harmony Lodge)

What a great image of them marching down narrow Post Road! The Reeves American Band led the procession in helmet style hats and with a simple but-toned jacket, but with no identifying flags, banner, or medallions. Looking closely, we see the Harmony Lodge No. 9 Masons following in their tall silk hats, Lodge emblems, and aprons. It must have been a very grand celebration.

We all know about the participation of the Shriners from the Palestine Temple on Broad Street (another division of Masonry). Their clowns, cartoon cars, horseback riders, and calliope truck have entertained us for decades dur-ing Gaspee Days parades.

Volunteer Fire Co. #1, 1950’sThe Volunteer Fire Co. #1 was housed on Commercial Street in Pawtuxet for many years. They were often called to support Warwick, Cranston, and

Providence fire departments, supplementing with manpower, truck and ladder as their mascot Dalmatian perched on top of the pumper. The Baptist Church bells would ring, sirens screeched, and the traffic signal at Sheldon Street flashed red to stop the traffic and allow the fire truck to maneuver the corner and speed up Broad Street. Generations of men served proudly in Fire Co. #1, with a long history of firefighting and raising money for trucks and equipment. They also took great pride in their Fife & Drum Band that paraded in all the Veterans Day parades.

Their Fire King Band was anoth-er generation tooting their brass and providing stimulating music to keep the members step-ping lively. Contemporary devotees still sound the siren of Pawtuxet’s fire company truck in current parades.

Veterans Day Parades, 1950’s The Veterans Day parades in the early 1950’s lined up on Ocean Avenue and proceeded through the village to Post Road historic cemetery where there would be a few speeches. From there, the march headed to the bottom of Remington Street where wreaths would be thrown into the water in mem-ory of veterans.

Miss Levesque’s dance stu-dio participated with the baton twirling class. We wore white satin mini-skirts and tap shoes that tied with a big bow— I was ten years old and feeling very theatrical.

Our Gaspee Days, 1960’s and BeyondMayor Hobbs appointed Dave Stackhouse to form the Warwick Heritage Commission. As part of this work, he proposed the crea-tion of a historic district in the village of Pawtuxet to the State Historic Preservation Commis-sion. At the time, colonial homes in the Village were being torn down to make room for parking lots and larger commercial enterprises.

“Lies were spread about the proposal,” Stackhouse said, “by politicians and oth-ers, who spread rumors that village resi-dents would be told just what colors they could paint their homes, or how they could landscape the grounds. They killed it.”

As an alternative to the historic district, he hit upon the idea of a colonial celebration for the Village to highlight the unrecognized burning of the H.M.S. Gaspee. “We got one thousand dollars from the city of Cranston, and two or three thousand from Warwick,” he said, ‘“and they had no idea what they would see for their money.” It was an awful lot of hard work, he remembered, “but it worked—they all loved it.”

Ultimately, in the fall of 1973, the village of Pawtuxet did enter the National Register, and Stackhouse’s first wish was realized. “I’m tickled silly.” He said in an interview. (Warwick Beacon, June 9, 1976)

The early parades consisted of strictly colonial units marching to the slower cadence of the early fife and drum music. Groups formed at the Shrine Temple and marched south into Warwick as is

shown in this early parade photo with Stackhouse dressed in colonial garb leading the parade.

Enthusiastic residents dressed their families in costume just to watch the parade and local res-taurants offered special dishes and drinks designed for the day. The Gaspee Days costume ball at Rho-des was wildly popular with many attendees wearing period cos-tumes—breeches and buckles won the day.

Over the years, the parade route was reversed (south to north) and

a variety of events was added. During the Gaspee burning bicentennial year in 1972, “Hoot” Hart-man revived the Pawtuxet Rangers fife and drum corps so there would be a home town unit to lead the parade. The excitement and pride of villagers from that parade until now swells at the sight of our own Rangers. Later, Bob Lynch established the Pawtuxet Rangers Artillery with red coats, can-nons, and muskets, which expanded the unit and enabled them to buy back and restore their original Armory as their home.

Gaspee Days has evolved into a gala multi-event extravaganza, turning our town into a car-nival of color, cannons, fun, music, and muskets. Our well-loved Pawtuxet Rangers lead the greatly enlarged parade through the two-and-a-half mile march, bringing pride and joy to all of us.

It doesn’t stop there. The Rangers march through the Children’s Walking Tour, the open-

ing of Edgewood Yacht Club, and the Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Fes-tival, among dozens of venues. Our Pawtuxet group marches in many parades: at Bristol for the 4th of July, Providence and West Warwick for St. Patrick’s Day, the Mayor’s and Gov-ernor’s Inaugurations, Waterfire, and they’ve even made an appearance in old Williamsburg, Virginia.

But after all of that, there is some-thing so very special about the PVA Christmas event when we stop traf-fic and the Pawtuxet Rangers lead carolers in a parade of citizens down Broad Street to Pawtuxet Park to light the giant Christmas tree. Step-ping through the village to the beat of the drums, carrying candle lit lan-terns, illuminating their angular hats and red coats, is an exceptional way to end a year of parading. v

hile collecting photographs for our Pawtuxet Village Archive Project, we found some great photographs of parades that had taken place over the years. It’s interesting to see how many celebrations and marching

bands have made their way through our narrow streets and yet here we were thinking our parading began with the Gaspee Days celebration.

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(A) Harmony Lodge Centennial Parade with Reeves American Band; (B) Pawtuxet Volunteer Fire Co.#1, Commercial Street, Pawtuxet; and (C) Harmony Lodge 100th anniversary.

(D) LeVesque Dance Studio, Veterans Day Parade, Broad Street, Pawtuxet; (E) “Hoot” Hartman and Pawtuxet Rangers Fife & Drum Corp., RI State House, 1972; (F) David Stackhouse leads first Gaspee Days Parade, Paw-tuxet Bridge; (G) Shriners prepare for parade at the Shrine Temple, Broad Street; (H) Gaspee Days Parade, Pawtuxet Rangers; and (I) Rangers and PVA Christmas procession.

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Spring 202014 The Bridge

he largest group of homes of any architec-tural style in Pawtuxet Village is our dis-tinctive collection of two-and-a-half story,

four-bay, gable-roofed, center chimney houses. For five decades, from 1725 to 1775, housewrights built at least twenty homes of this style. Fifteen remain today, eleven in Warwick and four in Cran-ston. Old photographs and postcards show addi-tional structures of this style along Post Road and Broad Street.

Many pre-Revolutionary houses all along the East Coast are considered Georgian in style, the style named after four English kings (Georges I through IV) who ruled from 1714 to 1830. Geor-gian style is highly variable but is marked by sym-metry and proportion based on classical architec-ture of Greece and Rome. This is manifested as a symmetrical five-bay façade (a bay is a window over a window or a window over a door). But in Pawtuxet, our pre-Revolutionary houses are not of the traditional symmetrical Georgian style. Ours feature asymmetrical, four-bay façades.

At first glance, the houses have much in common, the most obvious being the four-bay front façade. But each building has distinctive features – no clones here! The houses vary in size from 28 feet by 28 feet to 34 feet by 28 feet, with most having street front-age length of 31, 32 or 33 feet. Some of the front doors are to the left of center, others to the right. The spacing between windows and in some cases the size of the windows vary as well. Many of the doors originally had horizontal transom windows above them but only a few re-main because houses were modernized over the years with newer styles.

The exteriors of houses in the eight-eenth century were often not painted. The color schemes of those that were painted were very sim-ple. Walls, window frames and sash, and corner boards were one color, with the doors a different color, usually a strong contrast. Only two of Paw-tuxet’s homes of this style have historically accu-rate exterior colors: the Sylvester and Mary Aborn Rhodes house at 37 Post Road and the Comfort Carpenter house at 2139 Broad Street

The interior layouts of the homes were often similar. The front door opened to a small entry hall, usually with a staircase to the second floor. There were two rooms, one larger than the other, on the sides of the entry hall; each had a fireplace. The largest room was the kitchen, with the largest fireplace and often a beehive oven built into the chimney, located in the rear of the house, usually with a smaller room (often used as a bedroom) to one side.

The second floor contained several bedrooms, some with fireplaces. If the family was large, the attic was used for sleeping as well. There were no bathrooms. An outhouse served that function.

The houses in Warwick are listed first, heading south from the bridge on Post Road and then on Bank and Fair Streets. The Cranston houses are listed going north from the bridge, from Bridge Street to George Street to Broad Street.

Articles about some of these homes have appeared in past issues of The Bridge. To view these archived issues, go to the Warwick Beacon website, click on The Bridge link, or use http://thebridge.warwickon-line.com. Once inside, search for the name of the house’s owner or for The Bridge issue indicated.

WARWICK HOUSES

(A) 2 and 4 Post Road – Samuel Byles house, circa 1738This house was built on one of ten lots that were created in a 1734 subdivision of land owned by James Rhodes, who probably used part of the pro-ceeds from the sales of the lots to build his own three-bay house at 27 Post Road. The lot was first sold to Cotton Palmer, a “joyner” or carpenter, in 1734. He sold the lot the following year, with no dwelling, to Thomas Kinicutt who then sold it to Samuel Byles in 1738. Byles was a miller, so he

just had to walk out of his front door and straight across the road to get to Pawtuxet’s grist mill and saw mill at the falls.

This house is one of the smaller ones of this style. It was converted to a two-family dwelling so the original door has been replaced by two. At one time it served as a tavern.

(B) 6 and 8 Post Road - John Batty house, circa 1734The largest of Pawtuxet’s four-bay colonials (34 feet by 28 feet), this house was built on another of the ten lots, but not the one where it is located now. It originally stood next to the Byles house but it was moved to behind the Byles house in the early twentieth century when Narragansett Parkway was created.

The front doorway, with Ionic pilasters, was probably redesigned in the 1800s.

(c) 30 Post Road - Arnold house, circa 1760Several members of the Arnold family, descend-ants of William Arnold, one of Pawtuxet’s original four settlers in 1638, lived in this house, including Remington, Mary and Martha. Remington was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, and he left the house to his daughter Mary, who in turn left it to her niece Martha. It was probably Martha and her husband, Nelson Slocum, who added the Victorian doorway.

The house appears oddly situated, not facing Post Road like those surrounding it. Until the early twentieth century there was a road (Elm Street and later Emmons Avenue) that ran from Post Road down to the cove. This house faced that street. When Narragansett Parkway was constructed, the part of the road in front of the Arnold house was abandoned.

See article in the online archives in the Fall/Holi-day 2010 issue of The Bridge.

(D) 37 Post Road – Sylvester and Mary Aborn Rhodes house, circa 1760 or earlier This is one of the best-preserved examples of this house style in the Village, with the front door transom window, intact chimney and historically correct color scheme. On the inside, the fireplaces, doors, hardware and floors are mostly original.

This house was deeded to Sylvester on 1777 by his father, James, who lived next door at 27 Post Road. It was described as “the house where he now dwells.” He may have moved in around 1770, when he married Mary Aborn. Sylvester was the sailing master aboard a privateer during the Revolutionary War, and his ship was captured in 1781. Sylvester was imprisoned and treated brutally; he died on his way home to Pawtuxet.

See article in the Fall 2004 issue of The Bridge.

Pawtuxet’s Eighteenth-Century Colonial Homes

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By Ginny Leslie

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(E) 100 Post Road – Captain Thomas Reming-ton house, 1785 This house is the second largest of this style and maintains original features including the transom window above the front door.

Thomas Remington came from a family with strong ties to the sea: his grandfather, father and two brothers were all sea captains as well. Thomas’s three sons, however, did not follow their father, grandfather and great-grandfather into the mari-time trade. Two of them moved to the remote vil-lage of Rockland in Scituate and built a cotton yarn mill. The Industrial Revolution also changed the lives of other Pawtuxet families as textile mills at the falls provided more jobs than sailing ships.

See article in the Spring 2010 issue of The Bridge. Also in that issue is an account of the brig Matilda, captained by Thomas Remington.

(F) 110 Post Road – The Sheldon Family house, circa 1775 or earlier Another well-preserved home, featuring an unu-sual transom window above the front door with di-agonal bars instead of the usual vertical ones. There are tales that the house is haunted!

A Sheldon family website claims that genera-tions of Sheldons lived there since 1740.

(G) 126 Post Road – Malachi Rhodes house, circa 1760 or later Malachi Rhodes’s first house, now 29 Post Road, was an addition to his father James’s house. He gave his part of that building to his son Daniel and

moved to this home at the corner of Post Road and South Atlantic Avenue.

A later resident was Captain John Carr, who owned the house from 1847 to 1875. He added a one-story rounded ell (later removed) to the right side to remind him of his cabin aboard ship. He may also have added the Victorian front door hood.

(H) 7 Bank Street - Sea Captain’s Double house, before 1775 This structure is two four-bay gable-roofed houses joined together. The one to the left is slightly long-er and the spacing of the windows is different. If you look at where the houses are joined in front, the one on the right is set back a small distance from the other.

Supposedly, one of these now joined houses was built by a sea captain before the Revolutionary War and the other was moved and attached to it. Or both may be been moved from elsewhere. Addi-tions have been added to the backs of the houses, and the four dormers were recently added on the roof.

(I) 27 Bank Street – circa 1725This home is the oldest and one of the smallest of the Village’s four-bay Colonial houses. Its original owner is unknown, but it was NOT the Rev. Easter Bunny as indicated on the plaque!

Perhaps its most interesting fea-tures are the windows—six panes over six panes on the first floor but nar-rower four panes over four panes on the second. This may indicate that this house was originally just one-and-a-half stories. The current second floor and attic may have been raised and a “new” first floor built.

(J) 25 Fair Street – William Holdredge house, circa 1770 A well-maintained and well-loved home, it retains its massive chimney and many original interior features. It also has an interesting narrower second floor window above the front door. By the late 1800s, an-other two-and-a-half story house had been added to the rear of the original house and a vestibule add-ed at the front door.

William Holdredge, a house-wright, bought the lot on which this house is located from Ephraim Bowen, Sr., a Providence physician whose son Ephraim Bowen went on to become the youngest burner

of the Gaspee. William was an original petitioner of the charter for the Pawtuxet Rangers and was one of the Rangers who manned the fort on Paw-tuxet Neck during the Revolutionary War. He also served in the Baptist Society in Pawtuxet, which established an independent organization (no long-er affiliated with the First Baptist Church in Provi-dence) and built a church.

See article in the Summer 2007 issue of The Bridge.

COLONIAL HOMES continued on page 16

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Photos by Jim Turner.


CRANSTON HOUSES

(K) 12 Bridge Street – Remington Arnold house, 1740 This is one of the earliest of Pawtuxet’s mid-eight-eenth century homes and is also the smallest and only square house at 28 feet by 28 feet. Built close to the cove, it has survived many hurricanes and floods. The transom window over the front door was replaced, probably around the turn of the 19th century, with a then more fashionable fanlight.

Remington Arnold was a prominent early trad-er when Pawtuxet was an active seaport.

(L) 21 George Street — circa 1760This structure was built on Broad Street before the Revolutionary War, where it remained until 1893. It was moved around the corner to accommodate the construction of the Odd Fellows Hall, which later became Lindsay’s Market and now houses Follow Your Arrow Nutrition.

Unfortunately, few original features remain. Clapboards on the front have been replaced with shingles and all the six-over-six windows are gone. The new windows have no muntins (wooden strips

that separate individual panes of glass). The front door (with an aluminum storm door) is a later replacement, inappropriate for a house of this period. The door hood is also not in keeping with such an early house.

(M) 2154 Broad Street – Elisha Smith house, circa 1740This building, despite is current appearance, is the oldest house on Broad Street. Elisha Smith was a descendant of William Smith, one of the four original Pawtuxet settlers from 1638.

Sadly, such elements as the large bow windows and the muntinless other windows,

awning, mostly glass front door, missing chimney, and vinyl siding make it hard to believe that this house had such a long history.

(N) 2139 Broad Street – Dr. Comfort Carpenter house, circa 1750 In sharp contrast to the Smith house across the street, this structure is a finely preserved example of the style. It is one of the larger houses and has many original features, including the transom win-dow and impressive center chimney. It also has a color scheme appropriate for the building’s age.

Comfort Carpenter was a descendant of another of the original Pawtuxet settlers, William

Carpenter. He purchased the house from members of the Smith family

Comfort served as the village doctor for many years and it is said that he treated his patients and mixed his medicines in the addition to the rear of the building along Kneeland Street. When he lived there, this house stood at the northern limits of the Village. v

Continued from pAge 15Colonial Homes

Photos by Jim Turner.

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large gray relic of the city’s industry has been reduced to rubble. What will take its place is uncertain.The 210,000 square-foot manufacturing building on Venturi Avenue is gone. The build-

ing, at the entrance to the Pawtuxet Industrial Park, fell in pieces to heavy equipment last fall.

Lee Beausoleil and Artak Avagyan purchased the 15-acre property on April 29, 2019 for $450,000. The previous sale was in 1999 to AZA Realty Trust Inc. for $635,000. The parcel is zoned for industrial use.

Beausoleil is a paving contractor. Avagyan once held a license as a residential contractor, state records show. He is also a principal in Alba Properties LLC of West Warwick which, according to its corporate filings with the secretary of state, is in the business of investing in, purchasing, and managing real estate.

Beausoleil and Avagyan were on the property several times in the spring of 2019. At the time, they said they did not have firm plans for the parcel.They also asked about the height of the flood waters in the spring of 2010. During that flood, the back half of the lot, the portion covered by asphalt, was waist deep underwater.

The building has been mostly empty for a generation. The back of the build-ing was covered in graffiti and the property quickly became a magnet for litter and trash. Among other things, bags of trash, old tires, and broken drywall were dumped there. The building was broken into several times and in 2018, it was the site of an arson fire.

Machinery and piping were removed from the building in the fall of 2019. Plastic pipes and holding tanks left behind in the plant were moved into the parking lot for storage. Crews for J.R. Vinagro Corporation dismantled the building piece by piece. The spoils were sorted into piles with recyclable mate-rial separated. Steel and piles bound for the landfill were carted away. What remains are piles of broken cinder block and separate piles of brick. There is one pile of mixed debris that includes the hull of a broken red sailboat.

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What Comes Next at Pawtuxet Industrial Park?By Kevin P. O’Connor

INDUSTRIAL PARK continued on next page


“That building was a hazard and an eyesore,” Avagyan said. “We took it down, which was a good thing. Now we have to decide what to do next. That is still up in the air,” he said.

“We are still working on it. We don’t have any specific plans yet. Something is going to happen. When is not clear. But we will do something and it will be nice,” Avagyan continued.

After a brief pause, he added, “Do you want to buy it?”

Update on the Industrial Park

As we know, the property along Venturi Avenue was purchased by Lee Beausoleil and Artak Aragyan who are in the construction business. They have demolished the old building and are planning on constructing 80,000 sq. ft. of “contractor units,” presumably garage-like units similar to those nearby along Bellows Road. There are proposed to be eight such units that will have multiple spaces for storage and presumably small-scale work. The plan at this point is for them to be two stories high, to a maximum of 45 feet. Additional space would be devoted to a large parking area towards the north end of the lot.

Luke Murray of the Warwick Planning Department said that it is a Land Development Project. He explained that plans are still in the early stages, although all the specifics are there. It is under review and has not gone before the Planning Board yet. If accepted as a Land Development Project, it moves to the Zoning Board and then the Planning Board. Public meetings would take place with a preliminary meeting and then a fuller public meeting. The Planning Board will make the final decision on the status of the project, but this isn’t expected to happen anytime soon.

There is a wetlands issue for the property as much of it, especially the space that’s planned as a parking area, is in the floodway that stretches along the fringes of the Pawtuxet River. Hence, if the plan is accepted it must also be approved by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Although there are restrictions for building certain units in the flood plain, much of that general area along Venturi Avenue and Bellows Road is on the floodway and other industries have buildings and parking areas in it. In other words, there’s precedence for building in the flood zone there. As close to the Village as it is, it’s worth paying serious attention to con-struction abutting wetlands that are increasingly being enjoyed by residents for exploring our natural environment.

The plans can be reviewed by the public at the Department of Planning on West Shore Road at the crossroads with Buttonwood Avenue. v


Above: The former Hammel-Dahl building. bottom, pg. 16: Remains of the structure. Photos by Jim Turner.

By Andy De Long

Continued from pAge 16Industrial Park


ith the growing number of people who either work from home, have a remote

office from their present job, or just need a space to meet and collaborate with others, there is a bright and cheerful spot in Pawtuxet Vil-lage for this purpose.

CoLab is located at 2206 Broad Street, two doors down from Cork and Brew and next to Bonjour Belle. They are a friendly bunch that manages the space and when you enter, you’re immediately greeted by either Joanna Read or Jake Heffern, who are usually there attending to scheduling and the community of peo-ple who come and go.

CoLab is a bright, sunny, open room with work-ing desks, small offices, a conference room. The real

bonus is a large 800 square foot event room at the back with open windows looking out toward the cove—a rare viewpoint to find in the Village. It’s a convenient location for a meeting, special event, business group, pho-tography session, or just to take advantage of the big windows on a nice day and try to get some work done. They hold an active event calendar of networking gatherings, special guest speakers, and workshops meant to support entrepreneurs and small businesses.

The owner of this distinctive business is Dave Counts. I chatted with him recently about how he came to open CoLab and live in Pawtuxet Village. This business was originally opened by someone else, but in 2018 was going to

close. Dave reached out and asked about the option to purchase the business and take on the lease. After some nego-tiations, and “divine in-tervention,” things came together, and in March 2019 Dave opened the business under the new name CoLab.

Worthy of note is that Dave also owns and lives in one of the older homes in the historic district on Post Road.

The Peleg Rhodes house, built in 1798, was restored several owners ago and is one of the prominent his-toric homes on the Warwick side of the National Register District. When he was searching for a multi-unit home, his agent suggested he look in Warwick. He had been to Pawtuxet Village many years earlier and loved it, but he had not known what the area was called, so he didn’t realize the house he planned to buy was in Pawtuxet. Again, it was a bit of divine guidance! Dave said what ultimately made him want to keep the business here was the feeling of commu-nity and a sense of belonging. It seems a perfect fit for both him and CoLab.

CoLab, 2206 Broad Street, www.visitCoLab.com, 401-473-0431 v

Bagel Express and Deli By Sue Ozbek

SPOTLIGHT ON NEW BUSINESSES

n the corner of Broad Street, situated next door to Fellini’s Pizza, is Bagel Express and Deli. The premises are

welcoming with colorful signs, handwritten on bright construction paper displaying the vari-ety of offerings. Smiling, competent servers are ready to take your orders and deliver them to you quickly. Carafes of a variety of coffee specialties line the counter so the choice is yours. Seating is available with a few tabletops, booths and indi-vidual seating along the counter. Some seats offer a view of the passing scene on Broad Street as well. There is access to a small, shared parking lot and street parking. Bagel Express and Deli hours reflect the needs of the community. They are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Bagel Express and Deli is presently operated by Raymond Verrochio and An-thony Lidotte. Ray and Anthony met while playing baseball and found that they had a similar interest. They decided to extend their friendship into a business part-nership.

Raymond wanted to locate in a place that offered a sense of community and friendship. Anthony, the celebrated baker of bagels known in North Providence and on Broadway in Providence, wanted to expand his bagel business.

Together, they chose to rent a space in the village of Pawtuxet and to welcome customers back to a place well remembered as The Water’s Edge.

In a recent interview with Ray, he iterated proudly that the place resonated with folks coming in for an early breakfast of warm bagels and/or a special break-fast Island Express Smoothie he prepares with nutritious elements including pro-tein powder and fresh fruits.

Bagel Express and Deli also offers a lunch menu of soups, salads, and sand-wiches. All meats and cheeses used for sandwiches are of the Boars Head brand, known for quality. The soups are from a local supplier. Ray is proud of his home-made chicken salad, which is a specialty of the house. They also have a Panini Press for hot sandwiches.

Ray is on the premises from 6 a.m. un-til closing at 3 p.m. He enjoys personally welcoming customers and knows many by name. While I talked with Ray near to their 3 p.m. closing, a few regular cus-tomers arrived. Leila pushed her newborn through the doors to be warmly greeted as she settled in for her bagel and coffee on her walk through the Village. Soon af-ter, Randy arrived looking for his supply of Ray’s chicken salad. It’s a large portion, and Ray states that he personally wants all customers to be satisfied so he makes sure servings are ample.

Both gentlemen want to be a part of the community. They help with toy drives,

sponsor many events (including support for local Little League teams), and par-ticipate in Gaspee Days celebrations.

Ray’s warm welcomes and Anthony’s special attention to the bagels and scones make the clientele comfortable as they prepare for their day. v

A Great Collaboration Space Found at CoLabBy Susan Hartman

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top: The Bagel Express storefront. Above: Ray, with staff person Steff Cisneros, remains open for safe take-out during the pandemic. Photos by Jim Turner.

Above: The CoLab storefront. left: Room with a view. Photos by Jim Turner.


ynamic prints of old Pawtuxet will dominate the room in the Aspray Boat House at the long awaited debut of the Pawtuxet Photo Archive Collection now scheduled for September 20, 2020 from 2-5 p.m. Five special scenes were printed on 30”x 40”

canvases to celebrate this great project, and they will be for sale along with a number of smaller prints on canvas culled from the vast 750 photos which were collected starting in the summer of 2019. From old albums around the village, we found pictures of old boats, vintage cars, storms, parades and generations of family businesses along our main street. The collection represents a great record of our past dating back to the 1800s.

Along with the canvas prints, there will be a continuous slide show of a large sample of the images contained in the collection. They will be shown on a large monitor donated to us by Rent-A-Center in Warwick.

A silent auction will be available with framed prints of Pawtuxet donated to the PVA. You may have trouble deciding what to hang in your home, business, or office with so many good choices available!

To commemorate the collection, we’ve had a graphic designer produce an art poster, which will be for sale as well. This would be a nice piece for a holiday gift or for someone from the Village living out of state. These posters will be available for sale throughout the afternoon.

Live music will fill the room and refreshments will be served. We’re expecting this to be an event you won’t want to miss.

You’ll be able to view the entire PVA Pawtuxet Photo Archive Collection online and for free. PVA is the first organization to form a partnership with the Providence Public Library Archives Online. Log in to the ProvidencePublicLibrary.org and find their Online Photo Ar-chives. There are no copyrights or costs involved, should you wish to print them for personal use.

PVA has been supporting this project without the benefit of a grant, so if you would like to donate $10, $20 or more to help support our efforts, that would be very much appreciated. Look for the PayPal Button on our website and be sure to note that you are donating to the Photo Project. Of course, you could also send a check by snail mail to: Pawtuxet Village Association, PO Box 8626, Warwick, RI 02888.

The Pawtuxet Village Association is a non-profit 501C3 organization, therefore, your dona-tions will be tax deductible and gratefully received, to help with the costs of this project and enable PVA to make additions to the collection in the future. v

Attics to ArchivesBy Janet Hudon Hartman

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We wonder, which name would be the real challenge?

Western Newspaper Union Wichita, Kansas • Saturday, October 31, 1908


The Siamese Twins’ Passage Through Pawtuxet

he Two: A Biography of the Original Siamese Twins by Irving and Amy Wallace states

“they came into this world as one —inseparably tied together at their chests—yet they were two. They were born on May 11, 1811, on a bamboo mat in a small houseboat afloat on the river in a village on the Mekong, located sixty miles west of Bangkok, the capital of Siam (now Thailand). They became world celebrities and American citizens, married two native-born southern sisters, and between them fathered twenty-one children, while acquiring re-spectable status as landowners, farmers and pillars of their local community.

Linked by nature, Chang and Eng Bunker were fated to spend their lives joined by a thick, fleshy ligament resembling an arm, five to six inches long and eight inches in circumference, that connected then at the base of their chests. Yet they could swim, perform gymnastic feats and lead “normal” lives.

“The Siamese twins lived, spent their childhood, adjusted to fame, fought against being exploited by showmen, promoters and well-wishers, loved (and made love) and searched in vain for the surgical miracle that could separate them.”

The twins began a tour of America, landing in New York City on March 4, 1831, after enduring 14 tiring months of exhibits in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Thus began a six-year tour of America beginning in New York City and then proceed-ing to Boston. By January 1832, accompanied by their manager Charles Harris, Chang and Eng had performed in Pawtucket and Providence and then proceeded south to New London, Bridgeport, New Haven, New York City and Newark, New Jersey.

In Pawtuxet Village, Judge William Carder (1802-1885) resided at what is now 116 Post Road. According to Pawtuxet historian Horace Greenleaf Belcher in his unpublished 1916 History of Pawtux-et, Judge Carder removed an old tavern sign from an abandoned hotel at Lakewood Four Corners. Still visible was the hotel’s name. Once the sign was in his possession, he painted over the original encryp-tion with the words CARDER TAVERN. He also stated that the Siamese twins Chang and Eng spent a night at the tavern.

According to their manager, the Siamese twins arrived in Rhode Island in 1831 and on “Novem-ber 20, 1831, the twins were in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.”

On January 29, 1832, according to an advertise-ment in a Rhode Island newspaper, Chang and Eng were booked for performances in Providence. Com-pleting their shows in that city, the twins’ manager Charles Harris writes: “On Wednesday morning we rode thro’ a small Village [Pawtuxet] south of it where we continued until Friday morning … when we left for this city (Norwich).” The road through Pawtuxet Village was the Post Road connecting with New York City and Philadelphia.

The advertisement of the Siamese twins in Providence is as follows:

“Great Natural CuriosityThe subscriber is opening his grand repository and

museum, just west of the Great Bridge and invites the public to the greatest and most extraordinary natural curiosity ever exhibited in this city or state. Cases of the union of two bodies, as in the Siamese Twins, have rarely occurred, separate in all respects—thus furnishing a lusus naturae of unequalled and overpowering inter-est. The little stranger is called the Hoppinmander, and throws into the shade the once celebrated Gerrymander of Massachusetts. This remarkable appearance is mani-fested at the time of administering food and drink. One of them will imbibe nothing but water the purest water; while the other is feeble and requires a little something permanent, together with Daffy’s elixir and other stim-ulants.

When the least drop of the drink intended for the body passes into the wrong bifurcation, slight spasm and struggles immediately ensue; and it is seriously feared, that, if the bodies should live to grow older, they will engage in a severe contest consequence of numerous im-positions on the public in the cases of Joice Heth, the mer-maid, the compound shark, the wooly horse, and other fabricated curiosities, the subscriber has taken pains to guard himself by abundant certification from the most scientific characters. The Hoppinmander has been vis-ited by the Drs. Sprague and Simmons, Major Anthony and other distinguished citizens, and pronounced them genuine but the greatest curiosity ever exhibited in this part of the country. A gentleman of ability has been se-cured, who will explain all the medical features of the case, with brief remarks on monstrosities in general. Influenced by a laudable desire to gratify public curios-ity the subscriber will keep open this exhibition; but as such formations are liable to sudden dissolutions, so all inclined are requested to give an early call.

Admittance 25 cents - women and children half price.

Several constables will be in constant attendance to preserve law and order. A select band of instrumental performers, led by those well-known players, Messrs. Watson and Barstow, will give concerted pieces at short intervals. Members of the Hon. Assembly at all times admitted gratis.

For the proprietors, M. Gollyhorn, Agent Providence, Jan. 20th”

Judge William Carder created a wonderful story about the “overnight stay” of the Siamese twins at his home, the so-called Carder Tavern, for which we are deeply grateful. Otherwise we would not have known of the passage of a world wonder of the 19th century through our village of Pawtuxet.

As a boy, I had always been fascinated to know of the Siamese twins’ connection to our village. v

By Henry A. L. Brown

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MYSTERY PHOTO!

THOMAS FREDERICKS correctly identified the mile marker that sits outside his property at 30 Post Road from our Fall 2019 issue. John Brown had the stone placed in 1784 as “one of the stones that marked each of the seven miles from Spring Green farm [his home] to the Great Bridge in Providence [Market Square]. It was originally in a wooden frame but recessed into the granite stone in 1903 to safeguard it. Thanks for the identification Thomas!

It’s a mystery photo of a mysterious photo! This sporting car in a familiar-looking neighborhood. Can anyone identify where this may be? The first person to correctly identify our mystery photo will have her or his name published in the next issue of The Bridge. Send entries to [email protected]

Chang and Eng Bunker.


e all see Canada geese around the fresh and salt water of Rhode Island and in the parks and on the lawns of Historic Pawtuxet Village in Warwick and Cranston. Some are impressed with their almost tuxedo’ed appearance. Others are annoyed by

the widespread droppings. A few feed them bread that they would and should never eat in the wild. They’re normally just foragers of plants and grass, as one might conclude by their green droppings.

This rather big goose is only one of 180 species in the taxonomic order of Anseriformers (or water birds) or in the family of Anatidae that include ducks, geese and swans. The Canada goose is properly known as Branta canadensis and is a rather handsome bird with its black head and neck set off with its white chin strap.

The Canada goose is quite large and fully capable of flight, walking and foraging on grass or underwater. It loves companions and prefers flocks. How big is it? Well, its wingspan ranges from 4.2 to even 6.1 feet. Males can weigh from 7 to 14 pounds while females are smaller at 5.5 to 12 pounds. Males will dispute with other males for the chance to fertilize a female. When fertilized, the female will lay four to ten eggs. With few urban predators, the goose population is growing (they are not endangered!) and some people would be glad to have fewer Branta!

In principle they should be flying north in the spring and south in the fall, but with climate change they often just stay put, and the famous V-shaped, high-altitude flocks of honkers might not be seen so often.

A well-known, quasi-ornithological tale of these birds is found in the “Seven Lessons of Geese” by Christopher Knight, who reflected or interpreted goose sociality and V-flight for-mation. He applied these observations to human work places. Paraphrased, these are:

1. Share a Common Goal: V-formation creates uplift so all can fly further. 2. Increase Visibility: V formation allows all to see where they are going. 3. Have Humility: Fly together, don’t fly alone. 4. Empower Others: Goose flight leadership rotates. 5. Recognize Great Work: Honk to encourage others. 6. Offer Support: Help the sick or injured geese. 7. Stay Committed: Geese use the same route and teach the young. v

Canada Geese — Where Did They Come From?

By Dr. Richard Lobban

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Photo by R. Lobban. 2175 Broad Street, Cranston, RI [email protected] State Inspection #25

Pawtuxet Auto Service

Pat Grogan 401-467-9210


Gregory Dexter: A Controversial Man in London and Pawtuxet

By Fred Fullerton

Part One

nless you’re familiar with 17th-century colonial Rhode Island history, you’ve probably never heard of Gregory Dexter. An arguably controversial figure who played diverse roles during his long life, he was a well-known printer in London

and later held numerous positions in Rhode Island’s colonial government. He was both an idealist and an activist who held strong views about government and religion and was not shy about voicing his views or acting on them.

Dexter began his career as a printer’s apprentice in 1632. During this time, he gained some notoriety by collaborating in printing “secret” publications critical of Charles I and the Church of England. This activity almost landed him in jail after he was indicted with two others in 1637 for printing pamphlets written by William Prynne, a controversial Puritan polemicist and pamphleteer already imprisoned at the time. Although threat-ened with prison, Dexter escaped sentencing with a censure.

After completing his apprenticeship in 1639, Dexter joined in a partnership with Richard Oulton, possibly in 1641, when their names appeared as joint printers of two tracts by John Milton: Of Prelatical Episcopy and Of Reformation Touching Church-Disci-pline in England: And the Causes that Hitherto Have Hindered It.

Dexter’s partnership with Oulton ended in 1643, but it’s unknown whether Oulton quit the business or died. By that time, Dexter’s name had already appeared in publica-tions without Oulton’s. He printed diverse texts by New England Puritans as well as by British religious and political authors. Among these was Roger Williams’ book A Key into the Language of America, printed in 1643.

Williams had traveled to London in 1643, not only to collaborate with Dexter in printing his books, A Key into the Language of America and The Bloudy Tenet, but also to secure a “Patent,” which would enable the citizens of Providence, Portsmouth, and New-port to form a civil government and establish a legal system.

Apparently undaunted by his earlier experience as an apprentice, Dexter continued to print controversial material by authors who were critical of the crown and the church. His printing of The Bloudy Tenet of Persecution, for Cause of Conscience, Discussed in a Con-ference between Truth and Peace in 1644 caused an uproar. The author was none other than Dexter’s friend and correspondent Roger Williams. The book, however, was printed anonymously, without the name of the author, printer, and location. These omissions and the content raised the ire of the Presbyterian Party, which led to Parliament ordering the book to be burned by the public hangman. Since all or most copies had been sold or burned, a second edition of the work appeared with the title changed to The Bloudy Tenent. Regardless who printed the second edition, Dexter was already in hot water with the authorities, which led to life-changing circumstances for him and his wife. As Brad-ford F. Swan, a former arts and drama critic for the Providence Journal and author of Gregory Dexter of London and New England: 1610-1700, wrote, in 1946:

“Dexter and his wife Abigail were both imprisoned for printing pamphlets deemed subversive by the House of Lords and the House of Commons. His presses and printing equipment were seized in a raid by the Crown’s Stationer’s Company on February 5, 1644 which left the Dexters without the means to continue their business in London. Dexter traveled to New England later that year, where he joined Roger Williams and was given a five-acre lot at Providence Plantations.”There is no record of whether Dexter and his wife accompanied Williams on his

voyage to Boston with two or three other families in September 1644 or whether they ar-rived later. One of the first things Dexter did when he arrived in Providence in 1644 was join Williams’ Baptist church. Since there wasn’t much promise of continuing his career as a printer in colonial Providence, he limited his work as a printer to helping Samuel Green of Cambridge Press, in neighboring Massachusetts, to print an annual almanac for several years. He refused payment for this service and requested instead that they send him a copy of the annual almanac each year.

After returning to Providence with his Patent, Williams set out to form the Provi-dence Plantations government. While Portsmouth and Newport were previously part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony government, the towns’ leaders had gained experience in governing. But Providence lacked a body of experienced citizens who could govern, so Gregory Dexter arrived in Providence at an opportune time. His knowledge of govern-ment and experience as an accomplished London printer made him a perfect fit for join-ing Roger Williams and his brother Robert, as well as other prominent Rhode Islanders, in forming a government.

By 1647, Dexter had become active in the colony’s civic affairs and went on to hold many offices and titles during his political career. His first role was commissioner of the committee to form a united government, combining Providence, Warwick, Portsmouth, and Newport. This new government emerged in 1648 and Dexter served on the General Court of Trial until William Coddington received a commission from England in 1651 and became governor of Portsmouth and Newport until 1654.

Many thanks to the following individuals who spon-sored a wreath in honor or in memory of others. We ap-preciate your support each year and hope this brings good memories for you and your families. The wreaths are hung by Troop 4 Gaspee who do an excellent job of putting them on our lanterns, fences, and posts. The proceeds of the purchase of our wreaths this year from the Scouts will help defray their costs to attend summer camp.

• JohnandMargaretAdams• JayandLynnAhearn...InmemoryofEileenandArthurAker,andNancyandJackMelvin

• FrancisAndrade• BeckyandLeeArnold...InmemoryoftheArnoldandSpearFamilies

• SuzanneAugustine...InmemoryofJulianneAugustine• ScottAvedisian...InmemoryofJacquelineandGeorgeAvedisian

• PollyBarey...InmemoryofMadaleineToy• ChristianneandAdrianBeaulieu...InhonorofRobertBelle-Isle,USAF

• PaulaCarey• BettyChallgren• MelissaConroy• DianeCosta...InhonorofGretaThunberg• JamesCrowshaw...InhonorofHenryBrown’sServicetotheVillageandinmemoryofSFCThomasMurrayCrowshaw

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DEXTER continued on next page


Dexter then served as town clerk of Providence in 1648 and concurrently as president of Provi-dence and Warwick from 1653-1654. It was as president that Dexter’s connection to Pawtuxet began when he dealt with ongoing land disputes among contesting parties in and around Pawtuxet, which also included litigation with the Massachusetts Bay Colony over who had jurisdiction in Pawtuxet.

Another dispute ensued in 1656, when Dexter became involved in the case of Richard Chas-more of Pawtuxet, who allegedly committed a crime involving a cow. This event caused a rift in the long-standing friendship between Williams and Dexter. For Williams, the issue was not so much about the crime as it was about who had jurisdiction in the case—Massachusetts Bay or Rhode Is-land? Pawtuxet was still technically subject to jurisdiction under Massachusetts Bay, which already was a sore point with the government in Providence. Perhaps the seed to the disputes had already been sown when Williams sold land to William Harris and William Arnold in 1638.

Although two Narragansetts witnessed the crime, Chasmore’s neighbors denied knowledge of it. Williams consequently wrote to the authorities in Massachusetts to query how they would proceed with this case, as well as with other offenses committed by Pawtuxet residents. During the negotiations, Chasmore fled to a Dutch settlement but soon thereafter appeared at Williams’s house in Providence and surrendered to authorities.

This situation put Williams in a delicate position, but he devised a plan to delay bringing Chasmore to trial in Providence. Because Pawtuxet still fell under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, Williams didn’t want to jeopardize his efforts to return Pawtuxet to the jurisdiction of Providence Plantations. Consequently, Williams then decided to put Chasmore at the mercy of a general court in Newport the following spring, when the question of jurisdiction could be settled by Massachu-setts’ officials.

Chasmore then denied he was a Pawtuxet resident and therefore was entitled to a trial under the jurisdiction of Providence Plantations. Yet Massachusetts sent two officers to Providence to ar-rest and return him to the Bay Colony. In protest, the men of Providence held an unofficial town meeting the same night to prevent handing Chasmore over to Massachusetts authorities.

Much to Williams’ surprise, his old friend Gregory Dexter stood and passionately argued that Pawtuxet was indeed part of Providence Plantations and demanded that the Providence constable bring Chasmore to Newport for imprisonment.

Williams responded by filing charges against Dexter and five others, including his own son-in-law, John Sayles, for being “ringleaders of factions, or new divisions,” which violated colonial law. In the end, Williams failed to appear in court and the charges were dropped.

To be continued in the next issue....

ll of a sudden the trolley tracks came to Pawtuxet Bridge and that opened the door for street cars. I don’t mean the horse cars but the electric cars. And after that, they started to develop house lots through a vacant farmland called Edgewood.

One thing most people don’t realize is where the classy part of Edgewood began was not Narragansett Boulevard but Norwood Avenue at the park end where it came to Roger Williams Park. The people who came from Providence who were rich and had horses moved to Norwood Avenue. Bartlett Avenue was the street where their carriage houses were. But the O’Connors and the Bannigans built their houses with their carriage house right on Norwood Avenue.

It was totally Irish Catholic and that’s why St. Paul’s all of a sudden got going, and it was a rich little parish!

My sister lived in one of those big houses on Norwood Avenue. It was the house that Mrs. Louttit grew up in. My father said, “That’s wonderful! Now you can have a dinner party for all eight of us on the stair landing!”

The dining room had all hand-tooled leather for wallpaper. It was real ostentatious—stinking rich for about 1890.

Editor’s Note: Maxwell Mays was a prominent artist in Rhode Island for many years. He occupied the Fleur de Lys art studio as the revered senior artist of Providence Art Club for years. His primitive, whimsi-cal style of art can be seen in hundreds of homes and offices throughout the state. When he introduced a new work at auction, he would talk about the scene and his memories of various events and places depicted in the painting; and his talks were enthusiastically received because of his zany sense of humor.

Max grew up on Windsor Road at the edge of Pawtuxet and his family owned property all around Edgewood. v

Developing Edgewood

A401-461-7001

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Cork and Brew and Spirits too has provided its patrons with the finest beer, wine, and spirits for over a decade. We provide excellent customer service helping patrons select the best products on our shelves for any occasions. Visit our website for our events and tastings.


Spring 2020

Editor: Susan HartmanWriters: Becky Arnold, David Aspray, Ron Barnes, Adrian Beaulieu, Henry Brown, John Concannon, Andy De Long, Roy Evans, Carolyn Fleuhr-Lobban, Fred Fullerton, Deb Halliday, Janet Hartman, Carol Hills, Vickie Holman, Mark Howard, John Howell, Ginny Leslie, Richard Lobban, Kevin O’Connor, Sue OzbekCopy Editors: Andy De Long, Fred Fullerton, Alexis Hazard, Elizabeth King, Ginny Leslie, Steve StargerAdvertising: Marjorie O’Hara (chief), Polly T. Barey, Francine Connolly, Bonnie HoisingtonDistribution: Todd Hargraves Photographers: Andy De Long, Jim TurnerLayout: Donna DeForbes, www.donnadeforbescreates.com

Pawtuxet Village Association Board of Directors 2019

Chairpersons: Adrian Beaulieu, Roy EvansTreasurer: Felicia Gardella Secretary: Katie FlynnBoard Members: Linda Deming, Todd Hargraves, Janet Hartman, Susan Hartman, Alexis Hazard, Mark Howard, Ginny Leslie, Barbara Rubine, Paula Sullivan

Contact Us

pawtuxetvillageassociation@gmail.comwww.pawtuxetvillageassociation.org

Editorial Statement

The Bridge is the official publication of the Pawtuxet Village Association and serves to communicate local news and information, and to record new and old history of Pawtuxet Village and its residents.

Advertise in The Bridge

*NEXT AD DEADLINE: OCTOBER 1, 2020• Small Ad (3.5” wide x 2” high): $50• Large Ad (3.5” wide x 4” high): $75

Email completed black and white or grayscale ads to [email protected]. Ads must be high resolution (JPG file at 300 dpi or an Illustrator EPS file with fonts con-verted to outlines.) Visit our website for more details on ad guidelines: pawtuxetvillageassociation.org

Market days are every Saturday, May 2 through Oct 31, 2020 from 9 a.m. until noon

• May 23: Seedling Sale — Everything you need for your garden! Herb, flower and veggie starts.• June 20: Let’s celebrate everything green! Arugula, lettuce, mustard greens, spinach, and more.• July 18: Let’s celebrate everything squash! Summer squash, zucchini, all sizes and shapes!• August 15: Let’s celebrate everything tomato! Join our Tomato Festival for recipes, tastings and

voting contest; win a raffle basket.• August 22: RI Wild Plant Society Native Plant Sale.• September 19: Let’s celebrate Herbs! With our Annual Children’s Tea Party...Herbal tea and

herbal treats.• October 24: Let’s celebrate apples! So many varieties and goodness. Gift baskets of fall’s harvest

and bounty.• October 31: Let’s celebrate Halloween and the end of the season! Dress up and join the parade!

SPRING IS COMING, AND SO IS THE PAWTUXET VILLAGE FARMERS MARKET!

show entitled “Painted Rooms of Rhode Island” will be presented at the Warwick Public Library in

June by artist/author Ann Eckert Brown. The show includes beautiful 30x40-inch facsimiles of wall stenciling examples that were documented during the research done in her three books on architectural interior decorative painting found in homes and tav-erns built before 1840, during the Colonial and Federal periods. Also included will be examples of floor decoration and decorated woodwork that were painted before 1840.

An opening reception is Saturday, June 6 from 1-3 p.m. if the library has reopened. There will also be a presentation by the artist on Wednesday, June 17 from 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, June 27 from 1-3 p.m.

For questions or more information, please contact: [email protected]

Painted Rooms Exhibit

left: from the Cutler Stand, which once stood in Glocester. Above: from the Arnold house once in Apponaug.

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Cranston Historical SocietyJoin us for this event!

Cranston Historical Society’s Annual Meeting and BuffetSeptember 15, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.Sprague Mansion, 1351 Cranston St.All are invited to the Cranston Historical Society’s Annual Meeting and Buffet. Tickets are $18 per person. To reserve your place, call 944-9226.

We’re looking forward to the open-air market at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet and seeing our favorite farmers and vendors again this season. To get your calendar ready, we’re sharing these dates so that you don’t miss some of the interesting events we have planned throughout the season. If you have questions or need more information, contact [email protected] or 781-603-4894. See you soon!

Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Association

Save the date for our Annual MeetingThursday, October 8, 6:30 p.m.Featuring a special presentation on the local impact of climate change on rising sea levels and our coastlines. Join Janet Freedman, Coastal Geologist, CRMC as she guides us through a discussion of Storm Tools and remediation efforts to plan for the future.

If in-person meetings are permitted we’ll be located at RIYC. Alternative option will be a Zoom presentation. Follow our Facebook page for updates and

A Different Spring€¦ · There were tales of Henry who, as a charter member of the Gaspee Days...

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