Century-old Ti — Funeral of Fred Grimes

This is the latest in a series of posts about news reported a century ago in the Ticonderoga Sentinel.

Businesses in Ticonderoga closed the afternoon July 23, 1920 for the funeral and reburial of Fred Grimes, a local soldier who died of pneumonia at age 28 on Oct. 7, 1918, three days after he landed at Brest, France.

His body had recently been shipped back to the United States after being temporarily buried in France.

“Steady, reliable and industrious, he was a fine type of young manhood, the kind that made good citizens and good soldiers,” the Ticonderoga Sentinel reported on July 29, 1920.

Grimes, the son of Mrs. Ernest Whitcomb, learned the machinist trade at Ticonderoga Machine Works.

He worked at a machine shop in Sherbrooke, Quebec for 18 months and then for a machine shop at Chester, Pa. for two years.

He had recently moved back to Ticonderoga when he was drafted into the Army.

Observances on July 23 began with a short prayer service at 2:30 p.m. at the home of Grimes’ mother.

About 60 members of the local American Legion post then marched in a procession with the soldier’s flag-draped casket to First Baptist Church, where the Rev. Joseph C. Rawson preached the funeral.

American Legion members and the Ticonderoga Community Band then accompanied the casket to Mount Hope Cemetery, where Grimes was honored with a gun salute and taps before being re-buried.

“The military funeral, in charge of the Ticonderoga Post of the American Legion, was both imposing and impressive, and was reminiscent of the days when such funerals were a common occurrence on the bloody battle ground of the French and English.”

In other July 29, 1920 Ticonderoga Sentinel news:

The agricultural outlook in Ironville was favorable.

“Haying is in full swing. The crop is lighter than last year. Grain promises to be much better than last year. Corn looks good. Potatoes are blossomed fuller than before in years. Some fields of the white variety look like a snow bank.”

Ticonderoga area farmers were closely monitoring an insect infestation.

“Grasshoppers have put in an appearance and some of our farmers are having a tough struggle to save their crops from the pests. The hoppers, however, are not so large nor so numerous as when they visited us a few years ago, but they are capable of doing an immense amount of damage.”

Factoryville resident Frank Armstrong learned that there is no place like home.

“Frank Armstrong has returned from his western trip. One night he was relieved of $75 of his hard earned cash and he thought it best to get back home where people were more honest.”

John Sawyer of North Ticonderoga traveled to Detroit, bought a Dodge touring car, and drove it home.

Mary Arthur of North Ticonderoga and William Welch of Factoryville bought new Fords.

Click here to read the most recent previous post in the series.