Happy Saturday greetings! A gentle rain has been falling since last night, and the freshly cut lawn and trimmed hedges will get the full benefit of being well-watered in the next few days. That means, of course, that the mower and clippers will soon be put back to work!
A few weeks ago, I was able to meet with students from the Queset Brook Outdoor Cooperative, a homeschool program that meets at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Lincoln Street, where students learned some of the legends and lore of Easton. This past Monday and Tuesday morning, I took our show on the road to the second grade students at Moreau Hall, where they saw artifacts, photos, and heard stories from Easton's history. We met outdoors in a socially distanced and comfortable setting. It has been good to get back in touch with some of our young people after not being able to do so for a year. Arielle Nathanson assisted with both talks, and shared a few "interesting" food recipes from an 1875 cookbook. Note that this took place before lunch both days! During the week we were given two bottles from one of our local druggists, Ernie Spooner (1868-1951). Spooner, whose father Elijah ran a tin store at 10 Center Street, North Easton, worked as a young man for druggist George G. Withington, whose store was located across from the tin shop at what was once 11 Center Street. Studying under Withington, Spooner learned the trade (I assume he may have had some formal schooling, but I do not know where.) Upon Withington's retirement, Spooner took over the business and ran it for many years. The two bottles featured here date to the early 1900's, probably no later than 1920. One bottle contained a medicine known as "tincture of lobelia." Lobelia, a flowering herb, could be used to treat ADHD, depression, asthma, drug addiction, and different respiratory disorders. When used too much or at the wrong dosage, one could suffer severe side effects and even be poisoned by it. The second bottle contained something we all know about - citronella oil. The label on the bottle actually states its use for mosquitos. This product, so common today, was once a prescription remedy. Thanks to William Rose for donating these two bottles. I hope you all have a good weekend, and until next week, stay well! Frank
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Hello from a beautiful and sunny Easton! Today is Graduation Day for the Oliver Ames High School Class of 2021, the 125th graduating class in the school’s history. I wish all of our graduating seniors the very best and many blessings as they begin the next steps in their life journey. I was able to work closely with three seniors in particular who have been honored with a scholarship from the Society: Emma Varella (granddaughter of Hazel Varella), and Emma Lawson, both of whom worked on a book project last summer; and Samantha Streton, who is this year’s Valedictorian – way to go Sam! – who built our new website and developed a structured internship at the Museum for OAHS students. Please join me in congratulating these seniors, and the entire Class of 2021!
The past year has been an extraordinary one in many ways. The stimulus bills passed by Congress is one of the unusual steps taken to mitigate the economic stress caused by the upheaval of the recent pandemic. How does this compare to past economic downturns? I was searching some files this week, and I came across two articles on a 1930’s version of a stimulus bill for Easton businesses. The event was called “Easton Dollar Day” and it was held May 21, 1932. It appears to be the brainchild of the Easton Bulletin, and it got the attention of the Easton Chamber of Commerce. A few small editorials prior to that day make mention of the poor business climate in Easton at that time as small businesses really struggled for survival in the Great Depression. One writeup more or less takes issue with Eastoners who chose to have their prescriptions filled in Brockton, when the same could be filled in Easton for less money (not to count the additional cost of transportation to Brockton.) The idea is not to pick on Brockton or those who thought they can save money by buying in the city; rather, it was to show that one could spend their hard-earned and scarce dollars in town, and by doing that, give back to the businessmen and women who support the town they live in. Harris A. De Witt, a prominent Easton business man, was also President of the Easton Chamber of Commerce. With a close relationship to the Easton Bulletin, the two organizations began promoting the idea of an Easton Dollar Day where special offerings and discounts would be available to Easton residents from various Easton businesses. One article states “this decided action is to be taken to stimulate local business and plans are already underway to make this one of the biggest days in the history of Easton.” To support the all-out effort, the Bulletin published 400 extra issues the week of the event, banners were hung around town advertising it, a telephone brigade was formed to call as many people in town as possible and tell them about it, and a parade of cars was specially decorated and driven through all sections of town to promote it. Leading the parade was the George S. Shepard American Legion Post Drum and Bugle Corp. The newspaper, who boldly says in its masthead “Easton, Massachusetts – Live Here – Buy Here and Be Happy”, published a front-page article on the day prior to the big sale. While any list of specials could not be found, there is a list of Easton businesses that were scheduled to take part. Those listed are Lynch’s Shoe Store, The North Easton Co-operative Bank, E. O. Nystrom, John O. Dean Co., North Easton Savings Bank, E. W. Ericson, Frank McMenamy, Ladd’s Service Station, George H. De Witt & Son, O’Connor’s News Store, Daly’s Lunch, William McFarland, Mitrano’s Market, The First National Bank of Easton, J. H. Leach & Son, and Wilbar’s Radio Store. I have not found an article or news clipping yet that writes about how well the day went, and whether or not its intended purpose was fulfilled. But it was a good idea to “buy local” and show support for Easton during a very difficult period. It may not be such a bad idea today – a town-wide once a year day to promote all the businesses in Easton and stretch our own dollars just a little further! Until next week, as the paper says, be happy! Frank Hello all! Some much needed rain arrived last night, and an unseasonable cold and dampness continues to dominate Memorial Day weekend. The back of my truck looks like a swimming pool with all the rain that has fallen!
As we look forward to celebrating Memorial Day with nearly all of the Covid restrictions lifted, and we gather for those cookouts and gatherings we have been missing, let’s pause to remember our fallen veteran’s and family members who are missing from our families this year. Memorial Day, which began in the years following the Civil War as a day of remembrance for those who died in the Civil War, took on more prominence as towns began to erect monuments and have parades of former Civil War soldiers and sailors in the decades following the war. That tradition now honors all of those who went off to serve our country and did not return. While we celebrate with festivities, let’s pause also to remember those who gave their all, and take a moment to thank those who served and are still with us. One of the more poignant items in our collection is a sword that once belonged to Lieutenant Albert Tilden of North Easton. Lt. Tilden, a member of the Easton militia company, enlisted as a corporal on April 22, 1861, in Company B, 4th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers (M.V.). He was discharged, and re-enlisted on September 25th with Company C, 26th Regiment, M.V. as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on July 22, 1862. The 26th Regiment saw service in the Shenandoah Campaign and fought at the battles at Winchester and Cedar Creek. It was at the battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia that he was wounded on October 19, 1864. Shot through the lungs, Tilden lay on the battlefield until fighting ceased. He had been nearly stripped of everything. Tilden was taken to a field hospital, but died two days later, October 21st. His body was sent home, and he was buried in Stoughton, Massachusetts alongside his brother George Tilden, who was killed at Port Hudson, Louisiana, July 30, 1863. Somehow, his sword survived, and remained with his family in Easton. The sword itself was made by the Roby Company of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The blade is decorated with the Union Shield, drums and flags, vines, an eagle, and other symbols. The hilt is engraved with his name and regiment. Did Tilden carry this during the war? Is it a ceremonial sword made to commemorate his promotion to 1st Lieutenant? Perhaps one of our Civil War experts can shed some light on this. At one time the sword was owned by the family of Dr. Frank Tilden, who had a caretaker in his old age. The caretaker's son, Tommy Hegg, was given the sword as a child following the passing of Dr. Tilden, and later made sure it was returned to Easton. We are honored to have this remembrance of one of our Civil War soldiers in our possession. Thanks to Arielle Nathanson who took the attached photos. With sincere thanks to all of our veterans, and with a deep gratitude for those who gave all, Frank Greetings my fellow history lovers! The cloudy skies this morning will give way to some very warm temperatures, as the Easton area is expected to get close to 90 degrees this weekend. Summer is drawing near!
On Thursday the Museum welcomed Arielle Nathanson as a summer intern. Arielle is working towards her Masters of Information at Rutgers University (expected in 2022). An aspiring archivist, she has a love of history, explores many of the local roads, landmarks, and cemeteries, and her dream is to work at the Smithsonian. Her internship at our Museum will provide her with the necessary hours to meet course requirements, as well as give her hands-on experience working with collections in a small museum. She will focus on digitizing papers including a collection of letters sent to William Chaffin in the early 1900’s. Chaffin, who wrote the History of Easton, Mass. in 1886, wanted to publish a genealogical history of Easton. He sent letters out to various families for information on ancestry, but the letters have never been published. With this project, we hope to expand our catalog of genealogical materials and have them available for researchers through our website. Please feel free to stop by the Museum and welcome Arielle! As we take one last look at the outstanding collection of postcards from the A. Frank Pratt collection, Arielle chose six cards to feature today. These cards are probably from the first series of postcards that featured Easton places. They are undivided back postcards, meaning they were produced prior to 1907. The images were printed in Germany using the rotograph process (a process using bromide to reproduce photographs on special paper; other companies printed by the gravure process which used copper etched plates to print) perfected by the Rotograph Company, N.Y., N.Y. These six cards are chosen from a broader selection of places around town, chosen by the publisher many years ago to represent the best of Easton. Were we to do this today, what might you choose to include? First up is the original 1895 Oliver Ames High School, not yet ten years old when the photo was taken. Looking at the front facade from Lincoln Street, a well-established lawn frames a gravel walkway to the front entrance of the school. The lack of any mature landscaping indicates that this photo may have been taken as early as 1900! Just to the right is the former 1869 Easton High School building. It once stood on the same spot at the 1895 school, and had to be moved to make room for the new schoolhouse. The old schoolhouse was used as a grammar school until being torn down around 1930, when an addition was made to the 1895 high school to provide classrooms and a gymnasium. Following that card is another great Easton landmark, the Oliver Ames Free Library on Main Street. Probably around 20 years old at this time, the site features mature landscaping and the beginnings of vines that would cover more of the exterior as the years went by. The crisp image, which can easily be blown up, retains remarkable clarity of the carvings and ornamentation on the building. A fine library is something to be proud of, and certainly deserves to be featured on an early postcard. The neighboring Oakes Ames Memorial Hall would also be prominently featured, given the monumental status of these Ames connected and Richardson designed buildings. Next, we look at two very different residences, both however well-known landmarks. The stately home of Oliver Ames, known today as “Sheep Pasture” is one of several Ames mansions featured on the early postcards. This particular home would become one of the more photographed homes in Easton, and has been featured on a number of old postcards over the years. Easily seen from Main Street, and featuring landscaping by Frederick Law Olmsted, the park-like setting of this 1893 home made for a very nice view for one to share with a pen pal. The old Sampson House, also on Main Street and across from the Ames Free Library, may not live up to the same status as the Ames homes, but it is one of the oldest homes in North Easton (and Easton in general) dating to about 1750 or so. The house may have been built by John Randall, a direct descendent of one of our first settlers Robert Randall, as early as 1730! This simple antique cape already 150 years old when the card was printed, has remained a true landmark over the years, and is a nice example of the homes the earliest settlers would have found quite comfortable. Note the large center chimney and 12 over 12 pane windows, a good indication of the homes age. A small window in the roof was probably added to provide some ventilation as there were small bedrooms on a very low ceilinged second floor. The next two cards feature familiar landscapes which were also important gathering places. A look at “The Square, North Easton,” takes us to the intersection of Main, Center, and Lincoln Streets. The Rockery is hiding in the center, completely covered by trees and other plantings. Only the stones on the street level and the flagpole in the center of the image give it away. Just in front of that are a group of boys, hanging out where the watering trough was located. It might look very out of pace in the middle of the intersection, but it harkens back to the time when watering places for horses and oxen was a much needed and welcomed site. You can see the old street lights that helped to illuminate Main Street for many years. The Sundell home, and just behind it the new bank and post-office building, can be seen at the extreme right. Our last image is the Civil War Soldier’s Monument located at the intersection of Center Street with Depot Street. Once known as Monument Square, this area also was the location of the Easton Town Hall, the Easton Centre School, two churches, and the almshouse. It was also a short distance from the Easton Centre railroad station. When the Soldier’s Monument was dedicated in 1882, the Town began celebrating Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day at this location. And finally, I have included a look at the reverse of the postcard. The back was only to be used for the name and address of the recipient, and no other writing was allowed. That meant that many of these cards had messages written across the front of the card wherever there might be space to get a few words in, making these pristine, unused postcards even more special. Stay well, and until next week, Frank Happy Saturday from beautiful Easton! The bright sun is glistening over the surface of Shovel Shop Pond this morning, it’s perfectly still mirror-like waters broken only by the ripples of a fish eating bugs that make the mistake of landing on the water’s surface.
This week I am taking a second look at some of the postcards from A. Frank Pratt, whom I wrote about two weeks ago. The four cards featured today are full color prints that date to the 1910's. To make these postcards, a photographer would take the photo of the desired building or landscape. Since these photos were taken with black and white film, the photographer would make notes about what colors to use for color printing, and send those notes along with the image to a printer for proofing. Black and white film was favored by photographers (think Ansel Adams) because the fine grain size of the film captured every detail in the subject matter, and allowed for excellent printing and enlargements without losing sharpness or other quality problems. If you look at the early color postcards, many of them were printed in Germany, which had perfected the color printing process. Since one could not be in Germany easily to see what the finished product was like, the notes provided by the photographers were vitally important to producing the correct image. I chose these cards today for two reasons: the subjects are familiar and interesting, and the colors have stayed vibrant after more than one hundred years. All four cards were published by O’Connor’s News Store and printed in Germany. The photographer and/or artist is unknown to us. First up is a postcard of our Museum, the former Old Colony Railroad Station. The photo was taken from across the street near the shore of Shovel Shop Pond. An old streetlight and several telegraph poles are seen in the photo, as well as a horse drawn wagon hiding behind the tree on the left. Just to the right of center is the magnificent sycamore tree that now is an Easton landmark. In this photo it is about one hundred years or so younger! I believe it is one of the original plantings on the site, which was landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted. Note the colorful hues in the sky, undoubtedly asked for by the photographer to make the photo more colorful, and more interesting. Another Easton landmark is featured in the Oliver Ames Gymnasium card. Located on Barrows Street, and today housing the Recreation Department and the Council on Aging, the building served as the original gymnasium for the 1895 Oliver Ames High School. Built with funding from Anna C. Ames, the widow of former Governor Oliver Ames, the building also provided rooms for music instruction in the early days of the Anna C. Ames Band. The green paint is faithfully shown here, as well as four neighborhood boys who probably frequented the building. Next up is “Queset Lea” as it was sometimes called, which stands behind the Ames Free Library. At the time of this photo, it was the home of Broadway producer Winthrop Ames. The photo shows the original landscaping. The drive, which now ends at a walled garden adjacent to the house, once continued to the stables at the rear of the property, and the home of Hobart Ames, which stood to the northwest of this house. It is a rare photo of an early Ames mansion (built for Oakes Angier Ames in 1854) featuring the original approach and plantings. Last, we come to one of the newer buildings at the time, the Immaculate Conception Church on Main Street. Completed in 1904, the stone structure was probably about ten years old in this photo. Excellent detail is present in the photo including the intricate woodwork around the entryways. I must draw your attention to the roof colors in these postcards. The church has had a red roof as far back as I can remember, but this card has the church with a blue roof. Here we see the photographer perhaps taking some “artistic liberty” with his creation. In other postcards of Easton buildings, the roofs and other details in a photo are sometimes given a different color, for no other reason that the artist thinks one color was a better look than another. It is also possible that if no color for the roof was noted, the printer may have assumed slate was used as a roofing material, thereby causing blue to be used in the printing. I do not know if the printer from Germany would have sent a proof back to the publisher; I tend to think not, so there might not have been any corrections made unless the cards were re-ordered for additional printings. Until next week, stay well, Frank Hello, and a very happy (early) Mother's Day! Let's take time this weekend to honor our moms and honor the memories of those moms we miss.
This morning, as I look out the window of the Museum towards the Governor Ames Estate, I can see a sure sign of pandemic recovery - the Easton Lions Club Fishing Derby is taking place! Excited children, all well-spaced out, are trying their best to get hold of a prize-winning catch along the shores of Shovel Shop Pond. After a long year that saw so many events cancelled, it is a wonderful sight to see things slowly coming back to normal. Today's photo was included in our recent newsletter, but in honor of the anglers across the street this morning, I thought it might be nice to send it out in my update. Wearing their “Sunday best” clothes, a well-dressed couple fishes at “Pout Rock, North Easton.” A handwritten caption on the back of this photo says “Oct. 5, 1902” and “Book Keeper, O. A. Ames Office.” While the names of the couple are not recorded, the name of the location is written on the front. There are two “Pout Rock” locations in North Easton: at the site of the former Flyaway Pond on Lincoln Street, and a second location on a high ledge off Pond Street that overlooks Langwater Pond. This photo was taken at the Flyaway Pond location, which is much closer to the water. Our well-dressed couple share what appears to be a bamboo fishing rod. Bamboo is a strong and resilient wood, and it was a popular choice for sporting equipment (does anyone remember the old bamboo shaft golf clubs that were once so popular? I had a few as a child, given to me by a neighbor who wanted me to learn golf.) Flyaway Pond's “Pout Rock” was also a popular spot for another activity, swimming, and on any hot summer day many years ago local boys would indulge in the coolness of the water, with or without swimsuits! Stay well, and until next week, Frank Happy May Day! May 1st dates to early Celtic tradition as one of the four days that falls midway, more or less, between the Solstice days. At one time May Day was a day to celebrate workers and a push for an 8-hour workday, but that holiday was replaced by Labor Day. Today we think of May Day as a day to dance around Maypoles and give May Baskets of fresh flowers and perhaps a home-baked sweet treat to someone special. I wonder if anyone still does those things?
Have you ever purchased something at a store with the intention of putting that thing away, keeping it in true “new” condition for later generations? What if you did that for a collection of items? A few months back I received a call at the Museum from Carol Odell. She had a collection of Easton postcards once owned by her ancestor A. Frank Pratt. The postcards were Easton places, so of course, I was very pleased to accept them for our collection. People collect postcards for either the subject matter featured, or a sentimental note on the back, or even for specific postmarks such as an RPO (rail post office, mailed via a railroad post office) or a hard-to-find postmark such as Eastondale. I have been collecting postcards of Easton since I was about 18 years old. As you might guess, many of these cards have been mailed, read and re-read, and show a lot of wear and tear. Even their age (most of them date to between 1900 and 1930) cause them to deteriorate. A. Frank Pratt (1847-1931) married Hypathia (1848-1927), the daughter of widowed Mary Franklin, and the couple lived in one half of a duplex at 9 Oakland Avenue from the 1880’s until his death. Mrs. Franklin owned one half of the duplex, and the Pratt’s owned the other half. A. Frank was a grocery clerk in Easton although it is not known which grocery he may have worked at. Some of his family worked at the Ames Shovel Company, so it is possible he may have worked at the Ames Company Store. There were several other stores on Main Street as well that may have provided employment. One of them was O’Connor’s News Store. From the beginning of the 20th Century, O’Connor’s published several series of Easton postcards, which during those years, was quite the fad for those who had pen pals. Demand for images to send of your hometown drove the postcard market. A. Frank began purchasing postcards as they came out (the earliest in the collection date to before 1907) until he died, and set these cards in a very safe place. Thanks to the care provided by him, and subsequent generations, the 59 cards he purchased came to us in pristine condition! They look just as nice as the day they were purchased, crisp images, no bent corners, creases, or smudges. These are the best preserved postcards I have seen. I chose six of those postcards for you to view today. They are all from the same series, probably done in the late 1920’s, and feature real photos of Easton on each card. Real photo postcards are exactly that – faithful prints from the original photographs, not touched up or altered. They were printed in Taunton by the H. A. Dickerman & Son Company. All of them are titled on the front so you can easily see what is being featured. Enjoy these wonderful images, the nice May weather, and of course, Happy May Day! Stay well, Frank Hello, and happy Election Day in Easton! As I write, the town is holding elections at the Oliver Ames High School. There are few, if any, contested races, though with two openings on the Select Board, and two incumbents not seeking re-election, we will see some new faces.
Graduation season, Mother's Day, and Father's Day will soon be upon us! I offer a gentle reminder that the Museum is open for shopping, and we have a terrific selection of items that would make a great gift for someone special. Check out our Museum store online or plan a visit! Memberships make an excellent gift as well. I came across an interesting artifact the other day and I thought I might share it with you. Back in the early 1880's, there was much excitement in Easton over word that a trolley line would soon connect North Easton to downtown Brockton. The former Brockton Street Railway Company began service using horse drawn trolleys on tracks in 1881, and by the mid-1880's a horse drawn trolley car would be running along Main Street in Easton to bring workers, and shoppers, back and forth a few times each day. By about 1892 to 1893 the company introduced electric trolley cars, and a number of other lines joined the growing system. Before 1900, a traveler from Easton could take any of several trolley lines to either Brockton, Taunton, Stoughton, or Mansfield. High school students could take the trolley to school in North Easton and return home at the end of the day. Once these local lines connected with larger companies, one could travel around most of the east coast of Massachusetts, making day trips to beaches, parks, and fairs easy and affordable. Eventually, the old company was absorbed into the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company beginning in 1919, and that company continued trolley service until the 1930's when busses replaced the aging trolley cars. Service was provided by bus to Easton until around 1968. Today, the successor to the old public transportation system is the Brockton Area Transit, or BAT, system of busses. Today, no bus companies (excepting school busses) offer direct service to Easton. When I was a kid, Russ Erving (1889-1977), who lived on Foundry Street, told me about the trolley tracks from the old Easton and Mansfield Street Railway Company that were still hiding under the blacktopped street. In his younger days, he was one of the trolley car drivers for the Brockton system before busses arrived on the scene. Our item today is a fare token for the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company. Made from copper, and about 7/8" in diameter, it was good for "one fare" in whatever zone you used it in. The fancy token, produced by the Scovill Company, probably dates to about 1930, just around the time that bus service began replacing trolleys. It is difficult to date it any better than that, so I cannot say this is a trolley token. Still, it is something we were all familiar with whether it was used for a trolley ride or a bus ride. Until next week, stay well, Frank Hello! A few weeks back I remarked about the nice warm spring weather we were having, but I also said I was not quite ready to put away the snow shovels and scrapers. Well, I put the snow scraper to use yesterday as temps fell during a rainstorm, bringing snow to most of Massachusetts. Coming out of an appointment around 11 a.m. yesterday, I found the car windows covered with ½ an inch of very heavy, wet snow. So much for spring in New England!
With the expected arrival of real spring weather, restaurants are gearing up for outdoor dining. Today I want to share a menu we recently acquired thanks to help from Bob Vogel. Brooks Farrar was well known in the area for his duck farm which stood in the vicinity of 300 Turnpike Street in South Easton. Known as State Road 138 in the days before the highway system was implemented, Route 138 was populated with a number of roadside stops for travelers, and Farrar’s was one of them. Besides raising ducks for the commercial market, he also had a gas station and a restaurant. In the days before World War II duck was a very popular food choice. Farrar goes into great detail on the superiority of fresh duck on the back of this menu, pointing out the high caloric count and how it exceeded both nutritionally and economically other meats and seafoods. Given that this menu probably dates from the late 1930’s it was important to point out that your money went further by purchasing duck rather than seafood or other meat items! What might you find on the menu at Brooks Farrar’s Restaurant? Many familiar things as well as food items that were once popular, but now forgotten by most. Upon opening the menu, you are immediately looking at three dinner menus, priced at $2.00, $1.50, and $1.00. The offerings for a nice dinner range from a full hot duckling with an appetizer and all the trimmings, to a more basic dinner of a ¼ duckling, potato, peas, stuffing, dessert and a drink. Fresh bread is also provided. If you were looking for a lighter meal, there were plenty of menu items available to choose from. You could get such standard fare as bacon and eggs (presumably duck eggs) for 40 cents, baked beans for 20 cents, a toasted egg salad sandwich for 25 cents, a hamburger for 10 cents, or a roasted skinless hot dog for 10 cents. Among items you will not find on a menu today are creamed duck (or chicken, an up-and-coming alternative) for 75 cents, duckling pies with potato, gravy and bread for 50 cents, a capon sandwich for 40 cents, a sardine sandwich for 10 cents, or cream cheese and jelly for 15 cents. You could also choose from duckling soup, tomato bisque, or fish chowder for 15 cents. Salads ranged in price from capon salad at 60 cents, to shrimp salad at 40 cents, and sardine or egg salad at 25 cents. Sides included mashed potatoes for 5 cents, french fries for 10 cents, and potato chips for 10 cents. On the back cover you could choose from any of a number of lunch specials. You might order bacon and asparagus tips on toast for 45 cents, sauteed duck livers with french fries for 60 cents, or perhaps a broiler sandwich with cranberry sauce, lettuce and mayonnaise for 60 cents. Prices for lunch specials included pie or ice cream, and coffee, tea or milk. A selection of beer or ale might finish off your lunch or dinner. A note implores the customer to take the menu home with them so they could call in a telephone order. Wherever and whenever you choose to dine out this spring, take a good look at the menu. I wonder what future diners will think when they see the food offerings we have to choose from? Until next week, stay well! Frank Happy Saturday morning to all! The weather here in Easton has been excellent all week. Lots of sun and warmth means the real beginning of yard work. I have been enjoying the bright yellow daffodils that are in full bloom around town. April showers are soon to follow though, so it looks like indoor spring cleaning will be the order of business this week.
Many of our students are returning back to school full time. Graduation is in the near future, and with that thought in mind, let’s take a look at a rare example of an early Easton graduation. We have in our collection a small booklet from 1882 titled Easton High School – Program of Graduating Exercises. You have noticed by now that this does not have “Oliver Ames High School” as the school name. In 1869 the Ames family built a multi-story wood high school building for the Town of Easton. The building was Italianate in design and included a clock tower (it was from that tower that many of the photos in our new book Easton In Stereo were taken.) This dominant structure stood on the site now occupied by the 1895 Oliver Ames High School on Lincoln Street opposite the Rockery. When Governor Oliver Ames offered to build the 1895 school, the old Easton High School building was moved to the southwest corner of the schoolhouse lot, and continued to be used as a primary school until it was torn down around 1930 to make room for the classroom wing and gym added on to the high school. Inside the booklet is the order of exercises for graduation, which took place on Friday, June 30, 1882, at 7:30 p.m. The event probably took place inside the school building which must have included a small auditorium. The class motto was “Onward and Upward.” The program features ten orations, essays, or recitations by graduating seniors, interspersed with five musical performances. The topics of the talks given by students include “As is Life, so is its End”; “Finding our Place in Life”; “Make Life Worth Living”; “Labor and its Reward”; “The Right Use if Things”; and “Short views we take nor see the lengths behind.” The Class Prophecies were read by Jennie E. Shepardson, and the Valedictory titled “True Manhood” was presented by Thomas H. McCarthy. Both male and female students are featured speakers. The evening wrapped up with the presentation of diplomas by Rev. William L. Chaffin representing the School Committee. Although it is nearly impossible to find a complete list of graduates (whose ages ranged from 17-20), this booklet at least contains the names of those who took part in the graduating ceremony. Of particular interest to us at the Museum is graduate Heman Howard, who some fifty years later would research and write about old houses in Easton. We have a copy of his research on these early houses, some of which are no longer extant. Other familiar names include members of the Buck, Selee, Rankin, Finley, Berry, Toothaker, Wade, Young, and Dickerman families. Unfortunately, the names of those who provided the music are not noted. I am off to get my first Covid vaccine on Monday, one jab closer to some sense of normalcy. I hope you all stay well, and until next week, Frank |
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Anne Wooster Drury Archives
June 2024
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