The Portland daily press., 1893-11-02
WESTBROOK.

A new hose reel has been procured for
the Woodfords hose company. It is a
four-wheeled reel arranged" for horse
olssman power, carries 600 feet of hose and
is painted bright red.
Presumpscot Valley lodge, No.4, x. OF
p. of Cumberland Mills, will entertain
the grand lodge officers and visiting
breJhen at their castle hall this evening.
1t is understood Manager Newman Of the
electric car line will provide special
car for the use of the visiting Knights,
the car to leave Preble street at 7.15 p m.
A Prospect That the Westbrook Mills Will
Start Up.
A renewal Of hope has beeen occasioned
by the report that the mills of the West
brook Manufacturing company are soon
to be started up. 1t is now going on the
thirteenth week since these mills shut
down, throwing from 600 to 800 hands
out of employment. In such large
number Of employees, it is inevitable that
there should be some who found them
selves with little money to tide them
over the dull times. But the city started
work on streets and sewers which has
disbursed about five hundred dollars a
week. This has prevented the bills for
support of the poor from raising too
high, although the calls upon the city
authorities have been many. The local
branch of the Y's, the junior department.
OF the Wet. u, has been doing much
to relieve distress. They have an efficient
organization for ascertaining cases of dis
tress, and when such have been pre-
sented, have promptly raised funds for
alienation.
But in spite of all that has been done
the pinch has begun to be felt this week
more than ever The little boards of
money. upon which many, families have
been living, are now becoming ex-
hausted; and the business men of West
brook say that the volume of business
shows this.
Under such circumstances the report
thatsthe mills are likely to start up
wasseagerly welcomed. A representative
of the PRESS has found that such is
likely to be the case. A meeting of the
stockholders has been held in Portland
within a few days, and at that meeting
conditional arrangement was made for
the resumption Of operations. 1t seems
to be the opinion among those qualified
to know that this resumption is likely to
begin before long
Funny Fence
People passing along Main street be-
teen Cum berland Mills and Westbrook
village, have noticed recently a new
fence enclosing narrow, queerly shaped
lot The legend, rabbit Pasture, :"
scratched on the boards in boyish
hand, has not tended to diminish inter-
est. This queer lot lies on the northerly
side of the street, and is between the
lots on which stand the fine looking resi-
dences of Messrs. Adelbert W. Chute and
Lyman W.Guptill. The lot is only five
feet wide by about two hundrd feet long.
Most of it is gully, which adds still
more to its uselessness. How such a lot
came to exist in the heart of a city is
queer story. Several years ago the present
Guptill lot was owned by Messrs. David
N. Hooper of Portland and Harland N.
Raymond of Westbrook. These two sold
the lot to man named Stevens, but in
the deed the width was given, no one
knows how it happened, as seventy feet,
instead of seventy-five. Mr.. Stevens
bought seventy feet, but soon found that
that was not the whole lot There was
a strip five feet wide next to Mr.. Chute's
lot which belonged still to Messrs. Hooper
and Raymond. Mr.. Stevens sold his lot
to Mr.. Guptill, but neither the latter nor
Mr.. Chute have as yet been able to buy
the little rabbit pasture between them.
Now that it has been fenced in it is a
queerer little domain than ever before