Dec 1, 2023 There used to be a sign at the shack at the old Medfield town dump listing a few rules and regulations. At the bottom it said, “Per Order of Honey Bear Babcock, Dump Commissioner.” Fifty years ago, Medfield’s town dump was located off Grove Street. The site of that dump is the […]
The Life and Times of Honey Bear Babcock Read More »
Dec 1, 2023 The Boyden Homestead at 120 High Street (Rt. 27), near Plain Street, heading towards Walpole, has a long and varied history. It has significant historical ties to both national and local events starting with the great migration to America, the King Philip War, the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War and
The Jonathan Boyden Jr. Homestead Read More »
Nov 1, 2023 For two thirds of the 20th century, the name Arthur Ritchey Stagg would have been on everyone’s short list of the most respected people in Medfield. Actually, the name would appear twice, because there were two Dr. Arthur Ritchey Staggs, senior and junior. Stagg Senior (1907-2006), the grandson of a doctor, was
Oct 1, 2023 While most Americans today can’t fathom the thought of hitchhiking, many people at an earlier time would routinely stick out their thumbs on the side of the road. There were many different reasons that led people to hitchhike and why hitchhiking became acceptable. Hitchhiking was once a common form of getting
Hitchhiking to Medfield and Beyond Read More »
Jul 30, 2023 It’s 5:00 pm on a Friday in June and you are in Medfield Center, standing at the corner of North and Main Streets. It’s eerily quiet. There are no cars, no trucks, no cement mixers clogging the intersection. One or two people saunter across the street without looking! You hear the wind
Medfield 1723 to 2023 Read More »
Jun 2, 2023 The Memorial Day parade in Medfield has always been a festive occasion. Historically speaking, the holiday celebration would start with Clifford Gerald Doucette. Gerry was Medfield’s veterans’ agent, past American Legion commander, key member of the Medfield Memorial Day Committee and Committee to Study Memorials, and a prime mover in getting the
Five Medfield Heroes Read More »
May 2, 2023 Who could ever forget the Horgan twins, Jimmy and Joey, who grew up in an antique Greek Revival house at the corner of North and Cottage Streets, now the site of Rockland Trust bank? Jimmy passed away from a long illness on August 22, 2015. Joey passed away December 21, 2019. Their
Midcentury Medfield Memories: Remembering the Horgan Twins Read More »
May 2, 2023 Sane, insane, or idiotic? Temperate or intemperate? Epileptic or paralytic? Able to labor? Startling, but these were four of the boxes town hall workers were asked to fill out in the early 20th century as they made entries in the Medfield Pauper Register. The volume at hand covered the years from 1917
When Medfield Registered Paupers Read More »
Mar 1, 2023 Medfield’s first honor square, at the intersection of North, Main, and Pleasant streets, was created by a town meeting vote in 1921 in memory of Clarence Meredith Cutler. Cutler was the valedictorian at Medfield High School in 1910, a mere seven years after the Wright brothers’ first flight. He became a pilot
Clarence Cutler’s Propeller Read More »
Jan 1, 2023 Longtime Medfield resident Tom Connors sat as a judge in three Norfolk Country district courts and then moved up to spend over 16 years in the Dedham Superior Court. At the November 7 meeting of the historical society, he spoke about little-known aspects of the evolution of our court system. Much of
The Curious, Convoluted Story of Norfolk County and Its Courts Read More »