Five women who served their country across three major wars—from the Civil War to the Korean War—finally have their names etched into Rindge’s history.
Standing before the circular array of memorial bricks at Rindge Veterans Park on Thursday, Veterans Association Chaplain Joseph Majewski read out five new names added to the display:
Capt. Ella Gibson, who served in the Chaplain Corps of the U.S. Army during the Civil War.
1st Lt. Della Whippie Knight, a U.S. Army Nurse Corps member during World War II.
Seaman 2nd Class Lillian Anderson, who served in the U.S. Navy WAVES during World War II.
Seaman 2nd Class Alice Lamont Stearns, who also served in the WAVES during World War II.
Cpl. Barbara Gagnon, a member of the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War.
All five women were honored during a ceremony organized by Rindge Woman’s Club member and U.S. Air Force veteran Patricia Martin. The bricks were purchased with funds raised by the Woman’s Club and recently installed along the park’s walkway.
Martin said it was critical to recognize their contributions, which span more than a century of military history.
When the park was originally built, residents could purchase bricks to honor loved ones who served, which helped fund the site’s construction. Martin had already purchased bricks for herself and her husband—both veterans—when she began thinking about former Woman’s Club members who had served, some of whom had since died.
After successfully pitching the club to sponsor a few initial bricks, Martin recently discovered another story: Lillian Anderson, a former club member whose bequest still funds local scholarships, served as a Seaman 2nd Class in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II.
That discovery inspired Martin to launch a broader search for female veterans from Rindge. With approval from the Woman’s Club, she partnered with Rindge Historical Society President Karla MacLeod to research local women who served during wartime.
“It felt like the time to remind people of the service of their next-door neighbor,” said Martin, who is a veteran of the Air Force. “I’m very grateful to the Woman’s Club. Because I think women veterans are kind of invisible, and can be forgotten. You look at a woman, and you just don’t think ‘veteran.'”
While most of the honorees left no direct descendants, Arthur Knight and Rose Knight—the twin children of 1st Lt. Della Whippie Knight—attended Thursday’s dedication.
“It’s just nice to see her memorialized and get credit for the brave person that she was,” said Arthur Knight. “Mom was a very dedicated mother and very courageous. She was a really good person and loved her country.”
“It’s a great honor to have her recognized. It’s been years and years overdue, so I’m thrilled this occasion happened and so many people came to celebrate and recognize the wonderful things she did,” said Rose Knight. “She was an Army nurse, and she saw a lot, and she saved a lot of lives.”
Christina Jeffers of Templeton, Massachusetts, a U.S. Army and National Guard veteran who leads local veteran yoga classes, also attended.
“As a woman veteran, I’m honored to attend these ceremonies, especially where the research was done so meticulously in order to have such a nice remembrance for women who served who maybe would not have been recognized if all this work wasn’t done,” said Jeffers. “So, I’m proud to be at the ceremony and in the community, as a woman veteran.”
About the honored veterans
The following research was compiled and written by Rindge Historical Society President Karla Macleod.
Ella Gibson
Ella Gibson was born in Winchendon in 1821 but moved to Rindge with her family when she was 6. She attended schools in Rindge and later taught school there. She became a public speaker and lecturer on abolition and other moral issues of the time. This brought her west to Wisconsin, where she married John Hobart, who was appointed chaplain of the Wisconsin 8th regiment. Ella Gibson published “The Soldier’s Gift,” a pamphlet distributed to troops during the Civil War.
By 1864, she was an ordained minister and became the chaplain of the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery. President Abraham Lincoln endorsed her appointment, but Secretary of War Edwin Stanton refused to muster her because she was a woman; he said he “didn’t want to start a precedent.” She served at Fort Lyon in Alexandria, Virginia, until the end of the war. Gibson was eventually paid for her years of service, though she never received a pension. In 2001, Congress posthumously granted her the grade of Captain in the Chaplain Corps of the US Army.
Della (Whippie) Knight
Della (Whippie) Knight, born and raised in Rindge, was the daughter of Florence Gibson and Chester Whippie. She was a distant cousin of Ella Gibson. She entered the nursing cadet program during WWII while still pursuing her nursing degree at Burbank Hospital in Fitchburg. After she completed her education, she joined the Army Nurses Corps and served in Hawaii and Okinawa. After the war, she continued her nursing career in an orphanage in Korea. She eventually returned to Rindge and the family farm on what is now Perry Road, continued her nursing career, and married Ainsworth Knight Jr. Their twins, Rose and Arthur, were born on Memorial Day, after Knight had marched in the parade. Knight was involved in the local churches and the Grange.
Alice Lamont
Alice Lamont came to Rindge from California. She served in the Navy photography unit during WWII. She married Richard Stearns and lived on the farm on the corner of Route 119 and Middle Winchendon Road. Lamont was a professor of photography and taught art for 10 years. She was a past regent of the Mary Varnum Platts Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Alice was also involved in the local and regional levels of the Girl Scouts of America. She was a charter member of the Rindge Woman’s Club. The Stearns Lamont Forest is part of her legacy.
Lillian (Lafreniere) Anderson
Lillian (Lafreniere) Anderson was born in Jaffrey. After graduating from Conant High School in 1941, she worked briefly at the W.W. Cross Tack Shop in Jaffrey. She served as a Wave in the US Navy between 1944 and 1946. Lillian was one of the models for sculptor Vigo Brandt Erichsen’s World War II Gold Star Mothers statue on the Jaffrey Town Common. She married William Anderson, with whom she founded Atlas Fireworks. After her husband’s death in 1959, she continued to run the company until 1965. Anderson moved to College Road in Rindge in 1968 and split her residence between Rindge and Florida for many years. She was a member of the Rindge Woman’s Club and left funds for two scholarships.
Barbara (Lafreniere) Gagnon
Barbara (Lafreniere) Gagnon was born in Rindge, the daughter of Walter and Lillian (Burbee) Lafreniere. She graduated from Conant High School, where she played basketball all four years. She enjoyed sports and the outdoors. During the Korean War, she joined the Marine Corps, where she attained the rank of Corporal. She returned to town and married Mo Gagnon, and they founded Mobaria Kennel on Old Ashburnham Road in Rindge, where they raised and trained champion pointers, setters, and retrievers. She also worked at NH Ball Bearing.