January 6, 2022 Thanks to Claire Shaw for her recent snippet about our family’s long-standing livery service. The snippet prompted the Historical Society’s David Temple to contact me about writing a deeper dive into the story of Newell’s Livery. How many small-town taxi companies, do you suppose, have ever been featured on national television? […]
From Hooves to Wheels: The Odyssey of a Family Business Read More »
Jan 6, 2022 Here’s some nostalgia for some of the great fads from the 1950s and 60s. Clothes, hairstyles, toys, and television shows all have their fifteen minutes of fame. One of the most memorable fads in Medfield had to be the hula hoop, first sold at Lord’s Department Store in the late 50s.
Celebrating and Remembering Some of the Fads From the 1950s and 60s Read More »
May 1, 2021 Farmers from Dedham first settled Medfield in 1949, only 29 years after the Mayflower landed. The colony had grown rapidly through immigration and reproduction after 1630, and in William S. Tilden’s History of Medfield, the population was reported as 18,000 in 1643. The influx forced settlers to look west for grazing land
Coyotes in Medfield: If You Can’t Beat Them… Then Feed Them? Read More »
Oct 1, 2020 When I was growing up in the 1950s and 60s, there was a young kid named Harry who was pretty good at finding ways to make money in Medfield. Grace Roberts was an elderly neighbor of his who lived on the left side of the two-family house at 13 Pleasant St.
Midcentury Medfield Memories: A Young Midcentury Entrepreneur Read More »
July 1, 2020 A copy of the 50-page 1964 Medfield Civil Defense Operations Plan recently turned up at the historical society. It was prepared by the CD director, Austin Chilson “Buck” Buchanan, Medfield’s CD director from 1958 to 1975 and a Medfield Renaissance man. Much more on the remarkable Buck Buchanan later. The concept of
Feb 24, 2020 Fast Times at Medfield High School – Part II In 1963 at Medfield High School two distinctive groups of teens showed their separate ideas of our culture as related to education, music, fashion, and legacy – the college-bound Collegiates versus the blue-collar trade-bound Greasers. Some of the culture was shaped by rebellious
Midcentury Medfield Memories: The Collegiates vs. The Greasers II Read More »
Jan 20, 2020 Fast Times at Medfield High School – Part I In 1963 at Medfield High School two distinctive groups of teens showed their separate ideas of our culture as related to education, music, fashion, and legacy – the college-bound Collegiates versus the blue-collar trade-bound Greasers. A somewhat similar split between the Mods and
Midcentury Medfield Memories: The Collegiates vs. The Greasers I Read More »
Jan 19, 2020 With 20-20 hindsight, these plans from the 1960s seem bizarre… “Urban Renewal” for Medfield? In 1964, when Medfield’s population was around 5,000, a new master plan was developed to prepare for future growth. At that time, urban renewal* in blighted areas was controversial but still considered practical and viable by American city
Revisiting Medfield’s 1960s Master Plans Read More »
Oct 28, 2019 In the season of Veterans Day, in addition to Ray Lambert, it’s appropriate to pay respect to Medfield men who went to war and paid the ultimate price. There are 12 such men killed in the 20th century who are honored with white on blue plaques in the neighborhoods where they lived.
Remembering Medfield’s Veterans Read More »
Mar 27, 2019 How the Vietnam War Changed America We are now nearly 50 years beyond the end of the Vietnam War and continue to celebrate the lives of young soldiers who gave their lives and to those who returned to Medfield. This story calls attention to those brave patriots who served honorably in the
Midcentury Medfield Memories: Faraway Places with Strange-Sounding Names Read More »