Norwich bulletin., 1912-09-19
MATTERS INTERESTING WESTERLY
Result of Contest for Trophy Rumford of Old Town Hall a ProbIem-Balanced Stone Wall to Be Built on Shore RoadHBowling Alleys in Memorial Building Given Up to Library Stack Room.

opment of the cottage idea, as at New port.
 Some day excursionists still make Watch Hill their objective point, but much of this business has been divert ed to Pleasant View. Atlantic Beach and other attractive resorts in the neighborhood.
 Watch Hill has grown to be highly important part of the town of West erly. It Is incorporated as fire dis trict, has undertaken extensive com munity improvements, such as the de velopment of an esplanade along tn, bay front, and has advanced aesthetic ally through private enterprise until it is now one of the most charming of New England summer places.
 But 1t is more than this. The ten dency of property holders at the Hill Is to stay there longer in the fall. AL though the crowd vanishes early in September, an increasing number of the faithful keep their houses open through the beautiful autumn months.
 Moreover the village of Westerly is steadily stretching southward along the Pawcatuck and few years hence there will be no long reaches of open country On the banks of that stream. Already there is enough traffic in win ter as well as in summer to justify the maintenance of trolley service to the Hill, and no doubt the time will come when the place will take on the char acter of an all-the-year- round resort like Atlantic City Something of this sort may be seen at Narragansett Pier, where there is a large winter settle 'ment.
 Now that the new town building is nearing completion the fact is realized that the old town hall is long dis 'tance from dilapidation and some are wondering when the old brick struc- ture is vacated and the new granite building occupied what will become of the building on the summit of Cookey Hill. It is too valuable a structure to rage and the ground 1t occupies is not of value of itself sufficient to warrant demolition and 1t is the policy of the town to retain all public property.
 AS the new town hall is supposed to be adequate for the accommodation of all town officers and for the conduct of the towns business, the old build ing will not be required for town pur- poses. It has been suggested that the old town hall building be transferred to the school committee and be utilized as manual training school. This proposition would add materially to the public expense, and some say that Westerly is not quite large enough to maintain separate training school. Already the school facilities are of high standard of excellence and amply adequate for the accommodation of the present school population. The greater part of the money realized a ic 4A 6n schools, and there is considerable op- position to any increase in appropria- tion for schools. A considerable sum would be required to fit and equip the town hall building for manual train Ing school and the cost of maintenance would add materially to the expense of the public school system.
 The building of what farmers styled years ago balanced stone walls has gradually become 8 lost art, so to speak. for the stone walls built today without cement are short lived, stand ing but few years In original form unless they receive constant attention and repairs. Back in the country in this section there are balanced stone walls in good condition that were built by farmers a century or more ago, the material being obtained from lands in preparation for tillage These walls stand just as they were original ly constructed, with the rocks moss covered by age. but as substantial as when built.
 It Is evident that the farmers of today consider it a waste of time to build stone walls and instead use the wire and post fence which answers the purpose, and land that is too rocky for cultivation is abandoned. These facts have been demonstrated by the stone wall work done In con- nection with the Watch Hill road inn provement a few years ago and the state work on the Shore road, where there is considerable stone wall build ing.
 All this grade of work is being done by Italian workmen who are expert in wall building with the aid of cement, but who seem to be unable to build the old-style, liveforever, balanced stone walls so common in the long ago when cement work was a rarity
 Down on the Shore road along tt T Coy Welch property an agreement has been reached whereby the engineer O: the state board of public roads is to build about 1.500 feet of balanced stone wall which he expects to construct at
 
 pected that this will be the best of the kind that can be constructed, but. as an aged farmer put 1t: Say, it's a be! of carrots to turnips that the new walls can't be built for any such cash and it's a bet of onions to cabbage that within two years the walls will not be in as good shape as those built by my granddad over 125 years ago. Because the wall builders of today are not on to the knack of building the genuine balanced stone wall.'
 The once popular bowling alleys in the basement of the Memorial buiIdina, which for the past three years have been but little used. are being re- moved and hereafter that large space In the basement will be used as a stack room for the growing library. In connection with the bowling alley there Is a\well equipped but very little patronized gymnasium, and it is probable that in few years this will be abandoned and that the basement and first floor of the building will be devoted entirely to library purposes. Local Laconies.
 Many from Westerly attended the l North Stonington grange fair wednes- 1 day.
 1 Miss Elizabeth Frankenstein has gone to Norton. Mass, to enter | Wheaton seminary.