100 years ago in The Saratogian
Saturday, Nov. 24, 1917
A Mechanicville man clings to life in a Troy hospital this evening after shooting himself three times in the head and neck, The Saratogian reports.
Suicide runs in Martin Bradshaw’s family. His brother Michael fatally shot himself eight years ago. Martin, an employee of the Boston & Maine Railroad, currently lives with his sister-in-law, Michael’s widow, at 135 N. Main Street.
Amazingly, Bradshaw remains conscious after firing three shots in his dining room. “One of the bullets entered one of his eyes, another entered the side of his head and a third struck his neck,” a reporter explains.
“After the shooting, Bradshaw walked to the back door of his house and with blood streaming down his face told a priest who happened to be nearby that the wound in his neck was the most painful, but gave no reason for his act.”
A Troy paper, the Sunday Budget, tells a different story. In this account, Bradshaw’s sister-in-law hears the shots and finds him unconscious on the dining room floor.
‘H’ eleven wins
Later in Mechanicville, a “record breaking” crowd watches a local football team take on a squad of Saratoga County soldiers from Company H of the 303rd U.S. Infantry, based at Camp Devens in Ayer MA.
“The game was one of the hardest fought in this city in recent years and was not won until the last minute of play was up,” The Saratogian reports.
After a scoreless first half, Company H gets a thirdquarter touchdown on a run by fullback Hollister, who also kicks the extra point. Late in the fourth quarter, Mechanicville fullback Gordon Woolsey scores on “a brilliant end run,” but the kicker misses the extra point that would have tied the game.
Two win ‘lead’ roles
After successful screenings of its Saratoga Springs newsreel, the Broadway Theatre plans to produce a “Romance of Saratoga” with an all-local cast.
The Broadway management is letting patrons cast the film by voting in male and female popularity contests. Going into today, Gladys Dunham led Frances Snyder for the female lead, 5,575 to 4,450, while Allen Wilson led F. G. Wilkins for the male lead, 3,655 to 3,155. After a late surge of voting today, Snyder overtakes Dunham, winning 25,600 to 21,095, while Wilson pulls away to win handily, 9,095 to 3,875.
Director George Hardy tells The Saratogian that the film “will furnish plenty of thrills as there will be a big fire scene, a chase for life, a kidnapping, a thrilling rescue with a sensational climax, or in all a romantic love story that will appeal.”