The Press., 1897-12-16

II the holidays with friends In Worcester; Mass. .4
 Mrs. H. 0. Eddy and daughter. Mes Lillian Eddy have gone to New London for the winter. au
 Josiah Converse is i'll at his home on west main street, having been threatened with pneumonia.
 A special meeting of Ionic lodge, F, & A. M., will be held this evening. Work in the second degree.
 | Charles. H. Stevenson, who is now living in Willimantic, spent acouple of days with friends in town this week.
 Mrs. M. A. Washburn and Miss Georgi- anna washburn expect soon to close their home on highland terrace and spend the remainder of the winter at Atlantic City, Ma. ...-. .....-. ...
 The usual Christmas exercises at the Methodist church will occur on Christmas eve. The features will be 8 Christmas tree and a concert beginning promptly at o'clock. -.,' Representative J. M. Leach expects to attend the business meeting and banquet which has been arranged for the members of the legislature of 1897, to be held at Hartford January 5. E5 Regular meeting Winter, w. R. O., Friday evening. A full attendance is re- quested to prepare for installation of onicers. Mrs. l 0. PuItz of Plantsville, the department president, will be present.
 The body of Mrs. Richard O'Rourke, formerly a resident of Stafford, was brought to this place from Holyoke for interment, Monday. The same day the body of Daniel Brennan of Hampden also a former resident of Stafford, was brought | here for burial.
 Proprietor Collins of the Springs House Is having built an entrance to the billiard room from the outside, at the rear Of the hotel, which will obviate the necessity of passing through the ofice to reach the lower floor.
 The annual fair at the Congregational church was ushered in with down pour of rain Tuesday evening, and very few were brave enough to attend. Last evening however there was a large attendance and it was a self evident fact the occasion was enjoyed by all. The "snip table" |" presided over by Mrs. W. W. Burwell, Mrs. c. M. Lawton and Mrs. A. w.. Kingsbury, was laden with numerous useful and fancy articles. Choice con- fections were dispersed from a pretty booth in one corner by the Misses Baker, | n NaI ~ T Butterfield, Mrs. Christopher Allen and Mrs. J. c. Converse and Miss Mary I. Newton, presided the fancy article table. | The one act farce, "Who Is Who" or "All | In a Fog" was rendered in a highly pleas | ing manner a train of unfortunate predi- caments serving to give the actors great trouble and the audience an equal amount of pleasure. w. H. Heald essayed the part of Bloomfield Brambleton, country | gentleman, in an easy and .dignified manner and Charles Chandler as Simon | ides Swanhopper an aspirant for the hand of the old mans daughter was ex- tremely funny. Charles R. Newton ae Lawrence Lavender a valet mistaken for a gentleman proved himself equal to the | occasion maintained his mistaken posi- tion with the grace of a chesterfield until he made known his appreciation for the maid servant. Miss Josephine L. Hewitt the demure Cicely, daughter of Branble- ton, played her part exceedingly we'll and Miss Meyers as Matilda Jane evinced @ fondness for MT. Lavender and his "hand- some whiskers" which was in accord with the other himourans qualities of the play. | Owing to the inclemency of the weather of the opening night, the fair and play will be held again this evening. The us- ual Thursday evening prayer meeting will be held tomorrow evening and the adjourned meeting of the Haymarket club will be postponed until next Tuesday evening.
 The annual borough meeting was held at borough hall Monday. As there was only one ticket nominated, very light vote was cast. Ninety-eight ballots were counted. The ticket voted for and elect. ed was the one nominated at the citlzens caucus last week Wednesday evening. Anthony Adams, warden, and Burgessee l Alvarado Howard, elected for two years, and A. E. Converse and J. M. Leach, elected for one year, were on last years board; Lyman Cushman and G. c. Park. ess, elected burgesses for two years, and | W. J. Williams, elected for one year, | have all served on the board before.
  and Otis Chapman, bailiff, have both filled the same offices for a number of years. James Warren was elected col. lector for the first time. The assessors, James F. Chamberlin and Hannibal Al. den, held the same office last year, and the third assessor, John Brosnan, has served the borough in the same capacity a number of times before. The board ol relief, E. c. Dennis, w. E. Hanley and Fl. s. Abel, Is the same as last year. Al the business meeting 1t was voted to lay a tax of 74 mills, the same as last year and poll tax of $1, which has not been laid before for a number of years. The annual report shows an increase of the borough debt SIS. $50 to $17.3O0, an in crease of nearly $4,O00. The large in. crease Is due, partly, to the great i'm provement of Willington and Westfort avenues, and also to the unfortunate ex plosion of dynamite in the shop of W. A Comins, which building was badly dam aged, as were many others in the same vicinity. A number of permanent i'm provements have been made to roads ir different parts of the borough. It vii take a number of years to pay off the in crease In the borough debt, made thii year, at the same rate of taxation as has usually been laid, but the Improvement will be very much appreciated for year to come. In the borough report atten ton Is called to the expense of $42 to tn,
 borough in answering the call for aid a the fire at Staffordville last spring, and i Is suggested that if the borough fire de partment is to respond to calls outsid, the borough, that the town should pro vide for the attendant expense. The ex penditures this year, compared with las year, are as follows:
 1897 ~ 1896
 Streets, $3,S76.62 $2, ,3O3. 6, Macadamizing Will
 nngton and West
 ) ford avenues, 4,O12 S5 S95. 1; Water, 930,00 93O. .Ot q Fire Department, 737.21 467. .9s Tpfaraaf QQQ AR O,