Tag Archive for "This Old Town"

This Old Town: The Fight Over the Temperance Movement

In 1856, 200 women, some of them wielding hatchets, rampaged through the town of Rockport, Massachusetts destroying every container of alcohol they could find. When the “four-hour raid” was over the women had spilled hundreds of gallons of liquor. The Temperance Movement was in full swing. New York had established the first temperance organization...

Peter Kristof, killed in Vietnam (left); Stephen Hinkley, killed in Vietnam.

By Richard DeSorgher
Hometown Weekly Correspondent

The coronavirus may have cancelled the Memorial Day parade, but nothing can cancel the bravery of those who gave their lives for our nation. Medfield certainly has a long...

This Old Town: These are the Times that Try Men’s Souls

It is during periods of darkness and times of crisis that we see common, everyday people step forward to show courage and work to get us out of that crisis. They rise to the challenge. They clearly are heroes. So it is during the current coronavirus crisis; doctors, nurses, medical personnel of every...

This Old Town: Happy New Year, Medfield!

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As Medfield enters the new year, 2020, a look back at Medfield 100 years ago in 1920. Selectmen were Frank McCarthy, Frank Day and George Sauer. Elected to the school committee were Timothy Kennedy, Susan M. Clark and Allan A. Kingsbury. The moderator was George L.L. Allen. Police officers included Cornelius McKeown, B....

This Old Town: Medfield and the Boston Police Strike

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It was 100 years ago this month that riots broke out in the city of Boston. The Boston police had gone out on strike. A recent Boston Globe article recorded that “Roaming mobs looted stores. Eight people were shot dead over four violent days. All this followed an overwhelming vote by Boston police...

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This Memorial Day, Medfield will again assemble to honor those from this little town who went off to war and gave the ultimate sacrifice to their country. The parade will start behind Town Hall and march to Baxter Park with honor ceremonies, including an address by Navy veteran and Medfield High School class...

This Old Town: When Jonathan Met Sally, A Medfield Love Story

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Oftentimes, history focuses on the famous, the well-known, and those whose contribution stands out as a major accomplishment. But the vast majority of people never become famous, do the best they can in life, often struggle to overcome adversity, and frequently are little-known outside their own small sphere where they live. As reported...

This Old Town He Will Indeed be Missed In 1651, the first Board of Selectmen in the newly-founded town of Medfield consisted of five of the town’s most respected men: Mr. Ralph Wheelock, Timothy Dwight, Robert Hinsdale, John Frairy and Benjamin Alby. In those early years, the Board of Selectmen consisted of five members elected annually. It...

This Old Town: The “Other” Medfield Post Office: 02042

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The last This Old Town article gave a history of the post offices in Medfield. But for 75 years, Medfield also had a second post office in the north end of town. Most people in Medfield today have no idea what you are talking about when you mention the Harding section of Medfield....

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This Old Town by Richard DeSorgher Medfield has always had a strong patriotic tie to Independence Day. It stems from the overwhelmingly patriotic spirit that was clearly evident here and seen from the first signs of troubles with Great Britain in the early 1770s. As early as 1773, when Bostonians were feeling their rights were...

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By Richard DeSorgher At first, it was referred to as the “pocket park,” a sliver of town–owned land wedged between Starbucks and Zebras along North Street. But thanks to Jean Mineo and a hard working committee, a positive vote at town meeting, and support from town residents, town officials and town departments, it is...

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This Old Town

By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent This past week US News and World Report came out with their listing of the best high schools in American, in which they named Medfield High School as the 4th best school in Massachusetts and the 152nd best in the nation. For many years now, through test...

This Old Town: Master Planning 60 Years Ago

[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent Town Meeting this past week was filled with much discussion concerning master planning. There was a call for a town-wide master plan, a master plan for the former state hospital land and each of the departments are looking at five year master plans for their areas. The following is a...

This Old Town: On the 19th of April in 1775

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent School is on vacation next week; many families will take off to warmer points, those with eyes towards college are off touring the institutions of higher learning, student athletes will be getting into shape for upcoming spring sports and many others will use the vacation week to work on...

This Old Town: When slavery existed in Medfield

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondentt On the issue of slavery in America, one usually thinks right away about the Southern States, but as William Tilden reminds us in his “History of Medfield 1650-1886,” that in Medfield’s early history, “slavery was common with most wealthy citizens.” The earliest slaves in the then Massachusetts Bay Colony were...

This Old Town: Irish Pioneers of Medfield

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent

They were the pioneers; the first of the Irish to enter into Medfield, break the prejudice and live the “American Dream.”

James Griffin, born in Ireland, came to Medfield in 1840 at the age of 20 with his brother Michael. He found employment in...

This Old Town: Medfield residents invited to Spring Fling

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent

Calling all Medfield residents and anyone else for that matter. Open to everyone!

On Saturday, April 9 at the American Legion on Peter Kristof Way, the Medfield High (MHS) Alumni Association will host its fifth annual Trivia Night, a fundraiser for the scholarships given...

This Old Town: Downtown Medfield in 1950

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent Earlier this month at the urging of the Medfield Board of Selectmen, the Medfield Economic and Development Commission (EDC), in conjunction with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), held our first Downtown Summit. The intent was to hold an open house-type-setting where town residents could give their opinions and views...

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent

This week, 340 years ago, Medfield was trying to recover from the worst disaster ever to hit the town. While Hawaii will note Pearl Harbor and New York City will always remember 9/11, Medfield will never forget the events of February 21, 1676.

Some...

This Old Town: Medfield’s Philanthropist

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By Richard DeSorgher Hometown Weekly Correspondent

His large domineering portrait watches over those working in the reference room of Medfield’s Memorial Public Library and yet only a handful of people in town know who he is, as there is no identification to go with the portrait. His donations and gifts to the...

Tag Archives: This Old Town

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This Old Town

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