Putnam patriot., 1911-05-12
THOMPSON

QunnitiSset grange is anticipating grand good time when they visit the
 Pomona grange at Sturbridge June 3. Thompson will have delegation in
 the Eastern Connecticut party that
 visits the "World in Bostonn this
 week Friday.
 Mrs. F. 5. Wieks has opened her
 house for the summer.
 Mrs. George o. Brott of Hartford is the guest of her father, Andrew Mills.
 The cottage of Forrest Rhodes is be- Ing prepared for summer occupation.
 James H. Sheldon, ,one of the old and
 well known residents of Thompson, died at his home in QuadIe on Satur-
 day, after a short illness. He is sur
 VIVed by his wife and one daughter,
 Mrs. Rowland Mills. For many years
 he had charge of the reservoir in Quad ic.
 l.. N Ross has moved to Putnam.
 Fire swept 200 acres of woodland in Thompson Saturday afternoon, des-
 troying the growth and damaging the young lots between 5000 and 5000 The principal owner was E. H. Cor i tiss. Edward H. Burrows is another
 land owner who sustained losses. The telephone poles belonging to the Amer | lcan Telephone X Telegraph Co.,, run ming from New York to Boston, were | charred to height of D feet, flames | licking the crossbars. The telephone | company clears it's right of way and 1 the flames leaped across a gap 30 feet
 wide. Watchers were on duty all
 night There was practically no wind
 and the land was naturally swampy.
 After having been 47 years almost | continuously in the service of one rail- road corporation and it's predecessors,
 Lewis T. Needham will spend his re-
 maining days at his comfortable little | home in Worcester. MT. Needham hfs been retired on pension by the New York, New Haven X Hartford | Railroad Co. MT. Needham quit his
 employment April 29. Though un- | usually active for man of his years,
 he intends, as he expressed it, to take | things easy. MT. Needham was born in Wilsonville, town of Thom pson, Ct. He was farmers boy. The family 1 moved to Woodstock when he was a boy, and it was there Lewis made the | acquaintance of the young woman,
 whom he, in later years, made his wife
 and helpmate. 1t was in November, 1863, that he entered the employment
 of the railroad that, through successive
 changes, finally became part of the New York, New Haven & Hartford system The Norwich & Worcester
 was leased to the Boston, Hartford X 1 Erie, later became the New York X New England, and then the New Eng land railroad. MT. Needham was 20 years old when he started as a sort of general utility man. At first he was employed in the freight-house. In those days there were no extra brake
 men. and when man was needed in the yard for the drilling crew, he was pressed into service. And it was while serving temporarily as brake
 man that MT. Needham met with his first injury. He slipped, fell and se- verely wrenched his back. When he
 was ready to return to work the night Watchman was about to take Vaca-
 ton and asked him to substitute for him. MT. Needham assented, and as the man did not return, he became the
 regular watchman. He served in this
 capacity till April, 1866, when ill
 health compelled him to give up work. He went back to farming near Wood stock A year and half on the farm served him so well that he fully re- gained his health. He then went back | to railroading as a car inspector, and up to April 29 had served continuously
 as such since August, lSb1.