Stories from the History of Nashua’s Police and Fire-Rescue Departments.
At some point during 1913, the police department still not owning any motorized vehicles, spent another $248.50 to rent a car from H.C. Lintott Company on Main Street and $65.50 with L.A. Holt & Co, for livery and $2 with Wheeler and Nutting livery to rent a wagon and horses. It looked more and more like the department needed to invest in more modern transportation. The city now stretched as far south as Robinson Road, (Hayward Farms Ice Cream stand is on the corner of Robinson Road and Main Street) as far east as the Merrimack River, as far west as the Woodlawn Cemetery along West Hollis Street and as far north as Greeley Park. It was no longer a “walking city” except for the downtown area from Library Hill to Kinsley Street and a few blocks on either side.
In 1914, the department continued to rent cars, paying $22 to Indian Head Garage (predecessor to Maffee’s Garage on the corner of Lowell and Clinton streets), and $266.50 to H.C. Lintott Company Chevrolet on Library Hill. They also rented cars from Pollard Auto Company. (Pollard Auto was located on the NE corner of E. Hollis and Main streeets. about where the famed Yankee Flyer restaurant would later be located and the present site of the Citizen’s Bank.) And… they still paid to rent carriages from Wheeler and Nutting Livery on Lock Street.
Finally, the department purchased its first motorized vehicle – an Indian motorcycle. That same year, the Police Commission instructed the City Marshal to train officers regarding duties at accident scenes and to have the city physician train the men on first aid. (A year prior, the Nashua Fire Dept. had purchased its first motorized vehicle, a Chemical/Hose truck built by Seagrave.)
Despite the Commissioner’s call for higher pay for the City Marshal, it would appear little change was made. The annual pay for the City Marshal only went from $1,200 per annum to $1,500 per annum – not the $2,000 the Commissioners were looking for. Since the purse strings for the Police Dept. was held by the Mayor and Aldermen, this may have been a battle of wills between the city government and the Police Commission for the overturn of so many officers and the demoralization of the department in 1913.
The Mills on Strike
October 5, 1915 (Tuesday) – On this date it appeared that unrest in Nashua’s mills over pay could turn ugly with a strike. Nashua police were on the alert. Police guards are set up around the doors and gates to the building.
October 6, 1915 (Wednesday) – The Jackson Mills are closed and police guards are ready for anything. Strikers clashed with police throwing debris and mud at the officers. In some cases, physical fights occurred but there were no arrests. Mayor Crowley and Police Commissioner James Hunt visited the mills trying to defuse the tense situation.
October 7, 1915 (Thursday) – At 9 a.m. this morning, Nashua Police clashed with strikers at the Nashua Manufacturing mill. Four police officers were hurt in the melee, two of them serious, one knocked unconscious being struck by a rock “the size of a man’s fist.” The fighting poured out onto Myrtle St. and two arrests were made as a result of the fighting. City Marshal Daniel Healy reportedly told Mayor James Crowley that the Nashua Police Department may not be able to handle the crowd if things get much worse – reinforcements may be needed. Members of the First Infantry of the NH National Guard were already in the city and stood ready to help if the need arose. The mayor spent the day seeking legal advice regarding what he could or should do within his legal means as the city’s chief executive. Two considerations on the mayor’s plate were closing the city’s saloons for a few days and the cessation of firearms sales. Over 250 hand guns had been sold in one day in Nashua.
October 8, 1915 (Friday) – Workers at the Asbestos Wood and Shingle Company on Bridge St. (future Johns Manville) go out on strike to support the Nashua Manufacturing workers. Police are watching the local saloons to see if any Nashua Manufacturing strikers, who were just paid, were going to “drink” their paycheck, and then turn the strike into another riot. Members of the NH National Guard remained in Nashua but stayed out of sight so as not to incite any more violence. Meanwhile, former mayor William Barry, tried to bring the two parties together to try to settle differences.
October 9, 1915 (Saturday) – Nashua Manufacturing management agrees to meet with strikers the following week. Strikers prepared to march around downtown Nashua to promote their cause. The Asbestos Company strike turned out to be purely sympathetic with no demands made for higher wages.
October 11, 1915 (Monday) – NH Governor Spaulding visits Nashua to confer with Mayor Crowley about the strike situation. Neither Roscoe Milliken, the Nashua Manufacturing Agent, or former mayor William Barry, attorney for the strikers are in town. It is alleged that they went to a ball game at Fenway Park in Boston. However, others believe they have gone someplace, maybe Boston, to work out an agreement to end the strike. In all of this commotion, in addition to the National Guard, the Nashua Police Department reportedly hired an additional 200 police officers to handle any rioting.
October 18, 1915 (Monday) – Early on the morning of October 18, 1915, while representatives of the Nashua Manufacturing Company and legal counsel for the strikers were trying to work out a compromise, a mob of strikers stood on the railroad tracks at the Pine St. crossing of a railroad siding leading into the yard of the Nashua Manufacturing Company. Nashua Police were ordered to clear the crowd and every available officer were brought to bear on the throng. Using night-sticks, police tried to disperse the mob. National Guardsmen were brought up to assist using loaded rifles and bayonets. One Guardsman fired into the crowd and hit a man. Adam Rasavitch was rushed to St. Joseph’s hospital with a stomach wound and given Last Rites. Three women were hospitalized with unknown injuries, being struck by night-sticks. Both Guardsman and police were “showered with stones” from a number of strikers. The Nashua Telegraph reported there was no apparent motive for the melee as both sides are working to resolve the situation.
October 19, 1915 (Tuesday) – More National Guard troops from Manchester arrive in Nashua. Also, it was discovered that the cause of the previous day’s trouble was strikers trying to prevent finished product from being shipped out of the factory via rail.
October 20, 1915 (Wednesday) – Two men, Stivie and Costas Dinele, who apparently continued working at the Jackson Mill despite the strike were accosted on Tuesday evening around 5 p.m. as they stood at the corner of Tolles and Canal St. Stivie Dinele worked in the yard at Jackson Mill and apparently had been threatened by strikers because he was continuing to work. It was thought that both men would soon be released from the hospital in short order. However, Stivie Dinele unexpectedly died from his wounds including an “ugly gash to the head.” Later that evening, police arrested Adam Sharpie charging him with murder. Police were looking for two other suspects.
October 23, 1915 (Saturday) – Rumors abound that scores of private detectives have arrived in Nashua seeking employment as personal security for those involved in the strike – on either side. There are also rumors that a large amount of hand guns are being purchased in the city as well as a growing stockpile of dynamite. Meanwhile, things were not going well for the National Guard. Two Guardsmen were court-martialed, one being reduced in rank from Corporal to Private and a second soldier being fined for leaving their quarters without permission, being in a saloon in uniform, and being publicly intoxicated.
October 29, 1915 (Friday) – A large contingent of the NH National Guard vacate the city. Meanwhile, union organizers from the American Federation of Labor continue to enroll strikers in the union.
November 1, 1915 (Monday) – On Saturday, mill management refused to meet the pay demands of the strikers stating that the pay they receive is equal to pay for similar work at other New England mills. On Monday morning, “militia” (National Guard soldiers) were evident at the gates to the mills while strikers loitered on the sidewalk across the street. There was no mention of Nashua Police and what role, if any, they were still playing.
By about the 5th or 6th of November, newspaper reports said that the two sides were in negotiation and the situation may go to arbitration. However, there were no further uprisings where Nashua Police or the “militia” had to be called out. By this time the war in Europe was heating up so the newspapers were filled with war stories… and the strike was all but forgotten.
Excerpted from “Nashua’s Finest: The History of Law Enforcement in Nashua NH”
Yester-Heroes author Gary Ledoux grew up in Nashua’s Crown Hill area, attending Nashua schools and graduating from Nashua High in 1970. He attended NH Vo-Tech for a time, then moved to Amherst, then Manchester, and Weare. He served as a volunteer on the Amherst Fire Dept from 1974 to 1977. A career in the automotive business took him to Florida and then to southern California. After 48 years, he retired in 2017, moving back to Florida with his wife, Rachel, and two dogs. He has published seven books, including two about Nashua history, and has been a contributing editor or contributor to 10 different magazines. Gary can be reached at mayorclum@yahoo.com
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