Among the Flowers in Mid-Winter (Alexander Mead 1903)

Source: Greenwich Graphic. Saturday, January 3, 1903. Page 1, col. 6.

"Spake full well, in language quaint and olden,

One who dwelleth by the castle Rhine,

When he called the flowers so blue and golden,

Stars, that in Earth's filament do shine."

How beautifully true are the words of this greatest of all American poets. The beauty of flowers touches a cord in the hearts of everyone. No one can be so hardened that their beauty and scent does not bring a quickening of the heartstrings and a realization that there is a Divine Creator above all. 

Anyone who loves flowers would find it very interesting to make a visit to the greenhouses of Alexander Mead & Son. Even in his early youth the elder Mr. Mead had a great fondness for flowers. It was but natural that he early undertook the study of the growth and culture of flowers. Mr. Mead has been in the business for many years. His early tendencies have given him the secrets of his profession. Many years ago he built a few greenhouses in Greenwich and the success which he immediately achieved led him to make additions until now his nurseries constitute a large and well equipped plant. His houses now number eleven and two new sections are going up. All are of the most convenient size for growing plants. His son Henry whose inclinations were like his father's has taken upon himself a part of the responsibilities of the splendid business which his father has built up, their plant growing has been successful from the start. 

Few people realize what an enormous care the plants must have at all times, and especially in the cold winter months. The greenhouses must be kept at a certain temperature, the plants must be watered at certain intervals and great care must be taken of each and every plant. Each separate plant must have a different soil. The mixing of these soils involve a great deal of care, the soil must be neither too rich nor too sterile. At certain seasons the soil must be renewed. The plants are then taken from their beds with the greatest care and are again planted in the new. Tender and wise handling is necessary in their transplanting.

How many know that the beautiful lilies which we have at Easter time are now but little shrubs. The tall geraniums and the sweeping ferns which we see at that time are now but tiny shoots. As we go through the long lines of beautiful roses and carnations dripping with the silver drops of water which hang on their petals we are reminded of the glorious springtime when wild flowers are in abundance, the scent of flowers is everywhere. How beautiful all are in their winter homes. Yet the beds have just been robbed of their most beautiful blossoms for the holiday trade. The demands upon them have been great, yet in a short time all their wealth of beauty will be lavished on those which remain. 

Obituary: Dr. Sylvester Mead (1894)

Source: Greenwich Graphic. December, 1894.

Almost everybody in Greenwich knew Dr. Sylvester Mead, and his death, which occurred on Friday morning at 1 o'clock, will occasion many expressions of friendly feeling and deep regard, showing the estimation in which he was held in this community. He died "in the harness," and was in his eighty-eighth year.

He was born in Greenwich, February 16, 1807, and was the son of the Rev. Mark Mead, a Congregational minister. He fitted to enter Yale College, and he was graduated from the Yale Medical School in 1829, being at the time of his death the oldest living graduate of that department of Yale College.

He first located in Wilton, Conn., and for many years was the leading physician of that town and the surrounding country. He came to Greenwich in 1864, where he resided and practiced medicine until his death.

His patients in the town were many. He was ready at all times to respond to the call of suffering; the compensation was an afterthought with him, and many, many, are the visits he made to the sick bedside, of which he made no memorandum on his books, his only compensation being that feeling which comes from a duty performed and in the doing of an act of kindness.

He had been in active practice for sixty-five years, thirty in this town, a long life of useful service to his fellow men.

In connection with his profession he was the proprietor of a drug store, and bought out Dr. Aicken who established the first business of this kind in Greenwich, and for a long time Dr. Mead's drug store was the only one in town.

Dr. Mead was unmarried and had resided on Lafayette Place for many years. He was a man of very kind disposition, who attended strictly to his profession, whose word was as good as his bond, and he was respected and held in high esteem by his many patients and friends. 

Funeral services will be held at his late residence, on Monday morning at 11 o'clock. 

*Note: Interred in Union Cemetery, Second Congregational Church of Greenwich, Milbank Avenue. 

NEW YEARS AT TEN ACRES (1903)

Photo Courtesy: Greenwich Library

Source: Greenwich Graphic. Saturday, January 3, 1903. Page 1, Column 6.


Ten Acres is flocked with skaters. Merrily the skates clink as someone goes whizzing past. The bright steel glimmers in the afternoon sunlight. 

It is New Year's Day, and five hundred souls are merry as they softly fly over the icy surface. Hardly a safe on the pond which is not dotted with skaters.  The old winter sport is on. Everyone is enjoying it to the utmost. 

Here and there will be seen a trio coming along in a row. Swiftly a single flyer dashes past. There a couple with hands clasped come gracefully up, pausing for a moment to make a turn, then gliding away to some other part of the pond. In and out among these go the skaters in another direction. 

Not a moment is lost. It is a grand panorama. 

The eye first feasts itself upon one happy group and then another as each goes by. The bright coats of the ladies catch the eye. Now it is red, now blue. Sweaters are much in evidence. 

Here comes a hite one, and the graceful outline of the girl's figure is seen for a moment. Next comes a red, and from another direction one of brown. The variation bring rest to the eye. 

Bright hats are everywhere to be seen. Jauntily they sit upon the heads of the fair wearers. How well the colors harmonize. What a picture for an artist to paint! The rosy color of the fair one's cheek is heightened by the exhilarating exercise. 

Here comes a couple! It is worth while to watch them a moment. See how their blades move together; the same ray of light strikes one and the other. The flash comes together. The man's strength tells in that stride, but his fair partner is no hindrance. Away they go with a short glide and then to a catch-step which sends them away out to the side. Off they go again on the other tack. 

Now a single skater goes sailing by with hands clasped behind his back. 

Off at a distance some of the more inexperienced skaters are hovering about the shore, skating back and forth in the hope that no one will notice their poorer efforts. 

In the enclosure at the lower part of the pond two teams are playing the king of ice games-hockey. They are very much in earnest, as their shouts of "Here it is!" "Pass it here!" and other terms familiar to the sport would prove. 

Here and there on other parts of the pond a match game is on and the same earnest spirit is shown. Now and then someone gets a fall, but quickly rising is away again.

Occasionally a skate comes off, and the disgusted skater wanders to some secluded spot to put it on again.

A fancy skater is doing his "stunts," and an interested group looks on. Then the group breaks up. 

Everyone goes where fancy leads him. The bank of earth which crosses the northern side of the pond is covered with weary ones in groups or alone. No one stays there longer than is necessary for rest. 

Carriages come to the edge of the pond to bring fresh skaters or to carry others home. 

A car goes by and another crowd is dumped at the lower end. The car going the other way carries back those weary with the sport. Coming or going, skating or resting, all are happy, all are beginning a happy new year. 

Obituary: Theodore F. Mead (1938)

Source: Greenwich Press. Thursday, March 3, 1938.

Funeral service for the late Theodore F. Mead, World War veteran with a distinguished service record, who died Monday at United Hospital, Port Chester, after a brief illness, were held this morning at 9:15 o'clock at the home of a brother, William L. Mead of 95 Putnam Avenue, Port Chester, followed by a requiem mass at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy. Burial was at the family plot, St. Mary's Cemetery, Greenwich. Mr. Mead, 51, who was born in Greenwich and spent most of his life here, had been residing with his brother in Port Chester.

Son of the late Peter and Catherine L. Mead, he enlisted in Greenwich in September, 1917, and was assigned to Company A of the Third Machine Gun Battalion. He was wounded in action several times and was decorated with the Order of the Purple Heart. For 20 years he had been employed as a shipping clerk at the Russell, Burdsall & Ward Bolt & Nut Company. He was a member of the Port Chester Post, No. 93, American legion.

Surviving, besides his brother, are two other brothers, Charles F. Mead of Greenwich and Walter B. Mead of Port Chester; and two sisters, Mrs. Mildred Brennan of Port Chester, and Mrs. John J. Neafsey of Greenwich. 

Engaged: Miss Lydia S. Ferris (1938)

Source: Greenwich Press. Thursday, February 17, 1938.

Miss Lydia S. Ferris and Granville K. Lester to Wed.

Mrs. William J. Ferris of Field Point Part announced the engagement of her daughter, Miss Lydia S. Ferris, to Granville K. Lester of Stamford at a Valentine party given at her home Monday night for a few friends.

Miss Ferris is the daughter of the late Judge William J. Ferris; and granddaughter of Oliver D. Mead, a lifelong resident of Greenwich. On her paternal side she is the granddaughter of the late J. Wesley Ferris and Sarah Murgatroyd. She is the niece of Mrs. Newell L. Mead of Greenwich and Mrs. Adam R. Guy of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Miss Ferris graduated from the Greenwich Academy, class of 1926. She also attended Howe Marot Junior College and was a graduate of the Pratt Business School of New York. She is owner and director of The Social Mart at 34 East Putnam Avenue.

Mr. Lester is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Edward O. Lester of Post Road, Stamford. 

Miss Louisa Mead To be 96 Monday (1938)

Source: Greenwich Press: Thursday, February 3, 1938.

Lifelong Resident of Greenwich Will Pass Day Quietly

Miss Louisa Mead will be 96 years old next Tuesday, passing another landmark in a life which has seen more changes in Greenwich than any other living native. Miss Mead was born before the Mexican war, was a young woman when the Civil War broke out, and has seen two other wars since then. More concerned with the history of Greenwich, where she was born in 1842, Miss Mead lives with her three younger sister in a house on West Putnam Avenue which stands on the same tract on which her ancestors settled in Greenwich.

No party is being planned, according to one of Miss Mead's sisters. Miss Mead will pass "a very quiet day," surrounded by her immediate family. Not as well as she was a year ago, she may receive a few friends if the family sees fit.

Miss Mead was born in the predecessor of the white house where she now lives, the daughter of the late Mary and Joseph Mead. A descendant of the earliest Mead's in Greenwich, she is the great-granddaughter of Capt. Matthew Mead, Indian fighter of Revolutionary times, after whom the local Sons of the American Revolution is named.

Miss Mead's home stands quietly among the industrial and commercial buildings which have grown up on all sides. Across the street is Pickwick Theatre, and yet Miss Mead has never been to a motion picture theatre. She is the last survivor of the women of Greenwich who sewed the flags displayed in greenwich during the Civil War, and who knitted socks and clothing for the boys at the front.

She resides with three sisters, the Misses Emma, Lillian and Eva Mead, four survivors of a family of eight. 

Caroline Mead, With Bolt Co. 40 Years, Notes Her 80th Birthday (1938)

Source: Greenwich Press. Thursday, January 13, 1938.

A lifelong resident of East Port Chester, kindly neighbor, and an employee of the Russell, Burdsall & Ward Bolt & Nut Company for about 40 years, quietly celebrated her 80th birthday at her home on Gold Street last Sunday. 

Miss Caroline Mead was born in 1858, daughter of the late Nathaniel Tyler and Abigail Merritt Mead. She was brought up in the family homestead on Byram Road. She attended the old Byram School, which then stood on the rocky summit near the intersection of the Post Road and Weaver Street. Not long after leaving school, she started work for the belt concern, which then stood near the bridge over he Byram River at Comley Avenue, Pemberwick.

Miss Mead did not have a birthday party but she received 123 greeting cards, besides flowers and other gifts from her many friends. The day before her birthday, the postman brought 70 cards at one time. One neighbor sent her a handsome cake.

Miss Mead lives at the house she owns on Gold Street. She takes her meals, however, at the home of her niece, Mrs. Sadie H. Smith, and her grandnephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. George A. Smith, who reside next door. Mr. Smith is head of the Mathematics Department of the High School. Another next door neighbor is her brother, N. Tyler Mead. Still quite active and interested in the world around her, Miss Mead walks to town frequently. She does not go to the movies very often, although she voted in the last election.

Miss Mead's family has long been connected with the history of Greenwich. Her father, Nathaniel Tyler Mead, was captain of the sloop New York, which made the run to New York City from Port Chester harbor, laden with farm produce. He died almost 50 years ago.

When Miss Mead went with Russell, Burdsall & Ward, the bolts and nuts were threaded by hand. When she retired about 20 years ago, she had risen to the rank of forewoman of all the girl workers at the factory.

Miss Mead told a Press reporter shortly before her birthday that she had led a rather quiet life. She was too modest to tell of the many times she had visited friends in distress or poor health and brought cheer and happiness to brighten their days. Since she left the bolt and nut concern, there have been many instances where she visited friends and helped them through trying times. She is an active member of the North Baptist Church, Port Chester.