by Laurel | April 5th, 2010
April 5, 1907, page 12
Runaway Children Cared for and Parents Notified
That the family of George H. Allyn, who live on the outskirts of civilization of River terrace, should receive Carnegie medals for valorous rescues is a fact that is getting more self-evident each day, and yesterday the sum total of rescues children for the year reached the number of six. Late yesterday afternoon two four years old children, a boy and a girl, with a white bulldog, were noticed plodding along Northampton street on the road to Smiths Ferry by the family, and thinking that the children were too small to be taking a walk alone, the 12 years-old son of Mr. Allyn was sent to bring the fugitives in. On stopping the children, the girl at once began to scream, and the boy struck the rescuer on the face with his fist, and the bulldog began to look for a good place to get hold, which stopped the rescue then and there, and the boy walked on with the runaways striving to persuade them to turn. He was soon reinforced by two of Mr. Allyn’s daughters and later by others along the way, but the procession had nearly gone a mile from the house before the children were willing to go back. The full list of rescuers, when the return was started, was five girls, three boys, a bulldog, a black and tan dog owned by the Allyn homestead, and G. H. Allyn himself. The police station was notified, and the parents came at once to get the runaways. The children had disappeared in the morning and a search had been made for them all over Holyoke, Fairview and South Hadley Falls. The were the children of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Blanchard of 328 Bridge street.
From the Springfield Republican.
See G. H. Allyn’s Sketch of Holyoke in the History archives.
