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Nor were the women of Waltham less loyal than the men, as the Reports of the Soldiers' Aid Society abundantly show.
A reviewer of the First Annual Report says:—‘The women of Waltham make little parade of their devotion to the cause; but, nevertheless, they are steady and persevering in their efforts, working day and night, encroaching on hours usually occupied in home duties, study or pleasure, and even rest, that they may do what they can for the comfort of the soldier, whether fighting in the trenches, or lying sick and wounded in the hospital...Even the school-girls, stimulated by the example set them, raised $200, the fruits of their busy fingers...Another society of ladies in our town, which meets weekly, is energetically at work in behalf of the contrabands.
As no report of their doings has been published, it is less known, but it is equally active and industrious.’1
February 22, 1864, the ladies held a Sanitary Fair for the Waltham Soldiers' Aid Society, the net proceeds of which exceeded $2,000.
At a town-meeting held August 24, 1809, Rev. Samuel Ripley, a Unitarian clergyman, was chosen to succeed the Rev. Dr. Cushing2 as ‘their gospel minister,’ receiving all the votes cast (fifty-nine in number), and he was ordained3
1 From the first number of the Waltham Free Press, November 25, 1863.
2 After the death of Dr. Cushing all of his papers, many of which must have contained valuable information concerning the history of the town, were sold to the late Peter Force, of Washington, D. C.
3 The following bill of fare at his ordination shows what was considered in those days suitable entertainment for guests at public gatherings:—
Thomas Lewis, Landscape Photographs, 1879.
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