Night of the Burning Hay, Halloween 1952
— A Southwick Time Machine Halloween Curiosity
Halloween night, 1952, brought an unusual series of fires to Westfield, Massachusetts.
Trouble returned around 10:20 p.m. with a report of burning hay on Cowles Bridge. The fire burned a hole in the bridge’s newly laid macadam surface.
By 10:40 p.m., four separate locations were burning, keeping firefighters racing around the city. All of the fires had one thing in common: a large pile of burning hay.
Besides Cowles Bridge, the additional fires were reported at the intersection of West Silver Street and Holland Avenue, at the intersection of Court Street and Pleasant Street, and on Franklin Street, at the intersections of Madison and Shepard Streets.
While firefighters responded to the scattered blazes, police were working to locate those responsible.
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| Cowles Bridge, 1928 |
On Lincoln Street, the acting Westfield police chief and a detective-patrolman spotted a pickup truck with its bed on fire. Burning hay had ignited the truck itself. The officers initiated a traffic stop.
They arrested two men at the scene and later apprehended a third who had fled. All three were from Granville, Massachusetts, and ranged in age from 24 to 31.
Authorities identified them as 24-year-old Frederick C. Hansen of Lake Street (modern-day Sodom Street), 27-year-old Edward A. Jensen, Jr., of Main Road, and 31-year-old Robert C. Tripp of Blandford Road.
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| Robert Tripp with his first wife, circa 1951 |
According to police, Hansen drove the pickup while Jensen and Tripp lit the hay on fire and pushed it from the bed of the truck. Investigators said the men had poured a type of fuel onto the hay before igniting it.
Shortly before midnight, Westfield police consulted with Clerk of Courts Richard C. Morrissey to determine which charges to file against the three men. Police then formally filed eighteen complaints against them in Westfield District Court.
Each man pleaded not guilty to four counts of setting a fire in the open without a permit, one count of disturbance, and one count of attempting to set fire to a bridge. Hansen received an additional charge of operating to endanger. Authorities later filed more charges against him.
On November 25, 1952, the judge continued their cases to December 8.
When the men returned to court, a judge imposed fines totaling $300, calculated at $25 for each man for each of the four street fires. For the bridge charge, the men changed their pleas to nolo contendere, and the complaints were filed. The judge ordered them to pay $285.95 in restitution for the damage.
The disturbance charges were handled separately. All three men changed their pleas from not guilty to guilty and were placed on probation until December 5, 1953.
Hansen was also charged with speeding and operating a vehicle without possessing a license. He pleaded not guilty but later changed his plea to nolo contendere. For the speeding charge, he paid a $15 fine, and the other charge was filed.
Eleven Fires
The Westfield Fire Department said it responded to eleven fires between 11:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Halloween 1952.
Around 7:30 p.m., long before the Cowles Bridge alarm came in, a passing motorist, Arthur W. Wheeler, and his wife saw burning hay on the porch of a two-family home at 110 Franklin Street.
Mr. Wheeler turned the car around and stopped in front of the house. He ran up the porch stairs and rang the doorbell. As he attempted to either stamp out or kick the burning hay off the porch, he suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed.
Police and firemen worked on him for about an hour. They even used two oxygen tanks in their efforts to revive him, but they were unsuccessful.
Mr. Wheeler was only 61.
Two patrolmen followed a trail of scattered pieces of hay. It led them to the rear of the next-door neighbor’s house. The occupant told them that a bale of hay fell off a passing truck last week. He removed it from the street and stuck it in his backyard. He said he planned on having it taken away the next time the trash collector comes.
Police later announced that two Franklin Street boys, ages 14 and 15, were summoned to appear in juvenile court in connection with the fire. (The boys admitted guilt in starting the fire that indirectly caused Mr. Wheeler’s death.)
Mr. Wheeler was born in Peru, Massachusetts. He resided in Westfield for more than 30 years. He was long active in the Central Baptist Church and served as a deacon for several years.
For the past two years, he was the popular and well-liked manager of the locker department at the Westfield Y.M.C.A. He previously worked for the Municipal Gas & Electric Light Department as a stationary fireman and later as a plant guard.
Arthur left behind his widow and two adult children, a son and a daughter. His wife had buried her father just that February.
— Uncovered and preserved by the Southwick Time Machine
Arthur Warren Wheeler
August 16, 1891 — October 31, 1952
This article is based on original primary-source research, including official records and documents, census data, military history websites, books (including: the early History of Westfield and the History of Granville), and period newspapers and directories.
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Robert Cyrus Tripp - Granville's War Hero
Robert Tripp was born in Winchester, Connecticut. His family settled in Granville, Massachusetts.
He entered the military in 1942. He received his basic training at Camp Croft, South Carolina. From there, he went to parachute school at Fort Benning, Georgia. There, he received his wings. He then went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to attend machine gun school.
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| War Hero Robert C. Tripp circa 1943 |
In September 1943, Robert started serving in England. He was a paratrooper and machine gunner.
In Africa in 1944, Tripp bumped into Lieutenant Trygve Petersen after a movie. Both men, from Granville, had no idea that the other was serving in the same area.
While serving in Normandy on June 10, 1944, Tripp was slightly wounded. He was wounded a second time in 1945, this time severely, and hospitalized in France. He completed 72 days of continuous action in the European war theatre. He was awarded the Bronze Star for outstanding bravery in Holland and the Purple Heart for a wound received in France. He took part in four major campaigns, including the Battle of Bastogne and the Invasions of Holland and Belgium. He also received the Silver Star, a second Bronze Star, and other medals and citations. He was reportedly the most decorated veteran in Granville history at the time.
Robert Cyrus “Jake” Tripp
March 24, 1921 — January 20, 2006
Trygye Petersen
September 6, 1918 — September 1, 2014
Edited Out/Author's Additional Research Notes
Frederick Christian Hansen: June 12, 1928 - June 21, 1995
Edward A. Jensen: August 7, 1925 - June 1, 2017
There are multiple inconsistencies with Robert.
Working title: Boys will be Boys.
Robert’s middle initial is sometimes listed as C., E., and H. His father was Robert H.
One copy of Robert’s obituary lists his age as 81 and says he was born on March 21, 1924. This is incorrect.
Some sources say Frederick was born in 1929.
Frederick C. Hansen owned the Spruce and Berry Farm in Granville. He founded the farm at age 19. He worked for 20 years as a production supervisor at Kaman Aircraft Corporation in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Before retiring in 1990, he was a salesman for American Lumber in Southwick, Massachusetts. Fred served in the US Navy from 1945 to 1947.
Frederick C. Hansen married Miss Lucille Jeannine Belleau of New York City. They wed in the Big Apple on July 18, 1953.
One of the tenants at 110 Franklin was Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Tillema. They moved there around late 1948. They lived on the first floor. Mrs. Howard J. Larson lived on the second floor.
Mrs. Tillema served as PTA president. This may or may not be the reason the boys targeted her residence.
Some sources say Robert entered the military in June, and others say July 1942.
Some sources say Robert lived “north of” South Lane Road; others say Blandford Road.
Robert Cyrus Tripp wed Miss Lorraine Rose Patterson in Hartford, Connecticut, on January 1, 1951. Edward Jensen, Jr. was Robert’s best man.
Before marrying Robert, Lorraine lived at 111 Maple Street in Hartford, Connecticut. She was an inspector.
Before their marriage, Lorraine and Robert were in separate car accidents. His was in Westfield, Massachusetts, on March 27, 1949. His car plunged down a 10-foot embankment into some blackberry bushes. Hers was on Bloomfield Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 20, 1950. She received head and jaw injuries. (There were multiple accidents in the Hartford area on November 20 due to a storm)
About a decade after their marriage, Lorraine filed for divorce, citing cruel and abusive treatment. A judge granted her divorce in 1962 and permitted her to resume her maiden name.
Robert remarried. His second wife, Alicia, died on January 6, 2018. Her obituary incorrectly states that they got married in 1954. (They got married in 1964)
Alicia may have had a first husband, also named Robert.
Robert H. Tripp and his wife, Mabel (Hansen) Tripp, operated Tripp’s Blueberry and Nursery Farm in Granville. The younger Robert opened his own blueberry farm in Heath.
Mabel’s brother was Albert S. Hansen. He died on February 6, 1971.
Around 1940, Frederick’s father was a road worker/laborer.
Cowles Bridge was re-decked in 1951. It cost about $60,000. At the time, many Westfield residents said it was a waste of money. The project was completed in early 1952. This version of the bridge was built about 1916.
The original Cowles Bridge was built in the 1800s.
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