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Millbury: Gateway to the Blackstone Valley

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THIS MONTH IN MILLBURY HISTORY

Elliot Hairyes: Only Millbury Policeman Injured in the Line of Duty

Elliott Hairyes, Sr. (1896-1969)

Millbury’s First Patrolman- served from 1925-1950

Worked under the first and second Police Chiefs of Millbury:

Thomas Dolan, First Millbury Police Chief from 1898-1938

Frederick (Joe) Vulter, Second Millbury Police Chief from 1938-1961

Barbara Hairyes Butler, a liflong resident of Millbury, was a lovely, kind and unselfish lady who had links to TWO of Millbury's historical noteables: Charles F. Minney and Elliot Hairyes. She passed away in 2023.

This article highlights Barbara and her father, Millbury Patrolman Elliot Hairyes. Below this is another article spotlighting her connection to her uncle Charles Minney,

The Incident: Wednesday, June 9, 1937

At this time, Chief Dolan and Patrolman Hairyes were Millbury’s entire police force. There were no cruisers: they patrolled entirely on foot. The Chief’s beat was downtown Millbury while Elliott handled Bramanville.

Elliott was forty-one years old and a twelve-year veteran with four children when the call came in from the State Police that a deranged Sutton man, Homer Robbins, had escaped from Worcester State Hospital. The man refused to surrender even though his mother went into the woods to coax him out.

Two Millbury men, Charles Stockdale and John Caplette, were deputized as constables to help with the situation. Stockdale had a car.

The constables picked up Patrolman Hairyes and, in the vicinity of South Main Street and Sycamore, by an abandoned building by the railroad, gunfire erupted. Bullets whizzed by with five shots hitting the car and one lodging in Hairyes’ thigh. Elliott Hairyes returned fire, and the constables rushed him to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester.

Later, the State Police found Homer Robbins’ body with a gun and two boxes of bullets. Patrolman Hairyes condition was determined to be not serious, and he survived. An autopsy concluded that Robbins’ death was not suicide and that he was hit near the heart with a 38-caliber bullet such as police use.

In October of 2012, the Millbury Historical Society held a Cemetery Walk in Central Cemetery. Dennis Hill portrayed Patrolman Elliot Hairyes. In this Edd Cote photo, Dennis (Elliot) was visited by Elliot's real children: his daughter Barbara Hairyes Butler and his son Elliot Hairyes, Jr.

A 1949 photo of Patrolman Elliot Hairyes and Millbury's second Police Chief Fred Vulter. This was one year before Elliot retired and one year before Millbury got its first cruiser. Until then, they WALKED their beats!

August 1949 Patrolman Elliot Hairyes and Chief Frederick Vulter.png

And here is the story of Barbara Hairyes Butler's Uncle Charles Minney

Charles F. Minney was born in 1895 in Millbury, the son of Arthur and Mary (Army) Minney. He grew up on Cherry Street, attended the Burbank School in Bramanville and Millbury High School. Later he was employed as a weaver in the Mayo Woolen Mills in Bramanville.

He enlisted in May of 1917, and joined Battery E., 2nd Field Artillery, The Yankee Division, training at Paxton and then Boxford. He arrived at St. Nazaire, France on October 4.

Minney’s lungs suffered from the effects of mustard gas during an engagement at the front. He followed orders and saw to the gas masks of his eight horses first before tending to his own needs. Yet he recovered, came through the fighting at Chateau Thierry without serious injury, and lived to see the Armistice signed on November 11, 1918.

In Charles’ last letter home, dated Christmas Day 1918, he told his family he was well and looked forward to being with them again.

Five days later, a fellow Millbury soldier, Priv. Albert N. Fortier, wrote to the family to say that Minney was ill with the flu but that he was expected to recover and rejoin his unit. Sadly, his compromised lungs could not withstand the disease, and he died on January 21st 1919- the very day he was supposed to ship home to Millbury! He was twenty-three years old.

He was first buried in Brest, France. A French nurse took a photo of his grave and sent it to his family.

Later, the French government asked the family if they’d like their son’s remains to be returned to them, and like 60% of all such families, the Minney’s agreed.

In June of 1921, Charles lay in state in the Millbury Town Hall. It was estimated that a crowd of three-thousand persons and two-hundred former Millbury servicemen were at St. Brigid’s Cemetery to witness his last honors.

In 1935, The Charles F. Minney Post V.F.W. was dedicated to his memory.

Charles Minney on leave in 1918 by West Main Street.

Horses wearing gas masks during World War I.

Charles Minney's French grave in 1919.

Fred Vulter, future Millbury Police Chief and WWI veteran himself, holding vigil over Minney's remains in the Town Hall in 1921.

Charles Minney's American grave at St. Brigid's Cemetery.

A newspaper clipping describing Charles Minney's 1921 funeral at St. Brigid's Church.

A Millbury Bombing: Sunday January 21, 1973

This photo (Courtesy of Jerilyn Stockwell Stead) are from 1880 when her family owned the farmhouse and it was known as the Pierce-Jones-Stockwell House.

The two-hundred year-old farmhouse, known as the Pierce-Jones-Stockwell House on South Oxford Road, exploded in the middle of the night. It was destroyed.

It was called the Weagle Farmhouse in 1973 as it was owned by Harold Weagle of Shrewsbury.

The house was occupied by renters that night: Mrs. George Lauzon and her four childen. Amazingly no one was hurt.

To complicate things, just two days later, Tuesday, January 23, 1973, Special Justice Joseph Goldberg's house in Shrewsbury, was destroyed in the same manner.

The police departments of both towns coordinated to see if there were any connection to the two bombings. Millbury Police Chief Howard White and Millbury Sgt. George Brady speculated that perhaps a motorcycle gang that once occupied the Weagle residence had something against the Weagles and Justice Goldberg- both of Shrewsbury. Perhaps some retribution for cases that came before the judge?

Unfortunately, we don't have a resolution to this mystery, but.... stay tuned.

This photo (Courtesy of Jerilyn Stockwell Stead) is from 1880 when her family owned the farmhouse and it was known as the Pierce-Jones-Stockwell House.

This is how the cleared property looks today on the S-curve of South Oxford Road.

These two newspaper pages (Courtesy of Jerilyn Stockwell Stead) are from that time. They're in pretty tough shape, but the bombing articles (and the accompanying photos) are very interesting!

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