Oct 1, 2022 There was fear in the 1950s – of communist infiltrators, of the H-bomb, of mutations caused by radiation and of science. On the humanistic level of how people treated others, there was sometimes the loss of dignity and sensitivity. More precisely, there was a fair amount of bullying taking place either […]
Midcentury Medfield Memories – Fishing, etc. at Kingsbury’s Pond Read More »
Sept 1, 2022 In the last issue of The Portal, I wrote about the Palumbo family of Frairy Street. This month the focus is the Iafolla family on that street that was known as Little Italy. In the 40 years between 1880 and 1920, some 40 million Italians emigrated to the United States. Antonio Patrizio
Remembering and Celebrating the Iafollas Read More »
Sept 1, 2022 If you Google “railroad enthusiasts” you get 39 million hits! Organizations for railroad enthusiasts, 8.6 million! Marc Pizzuto is one such enthusiast. He has a room full of railroad memorabilia in his Norwood home. He recently came to visit the Medfield Historical Society to conduct some research and share stories and pictures
When Trains, Not Automobiles, Ruled Read More »
Sept, 2022 This trophy awarded 100 years ago begs the question – what else happened in Medfield 100 years ago? 200 years ago? 300 years ago? 1722 Three hundred years ago, Medfield was a very different place than we see around us today, with acres of undeveloped land, free-flowing streams and rivers, paths that led
Medfield Happenings in ’22 Read More »
July 11, 2022 Editor’s note: William Partridge (1622-92) came from Dedham to Medfield about 1650 and was granted six acres of land on North Street between Pine and School Streets. His son William (1669-1750) lived on Green Street, near a street laid out in the 20th century called Partridge Road. Most of the Partridge descendants
Hunting for Partridge and Hogg Ancestors Read More »
July 11, 2022 Welcome to Frairy Street, running from North Street, past Baker’s (Meetinghouse) Pond, underneath a small railroad bridge, through the first Italian-American neighborhood in the town of Medfield, and ending at Dale Street. Walking there a century ago you might well have seen men from the old country gathered on their front doorsteps
The Palumbo Family of Medfield Read More »
June 1, 2022 E.V. Mitchell and his wife Blanche had three sons – Granville, Edwin, and Emlyn, and a daughter Helena, who was my grandmother. Here are a few things you may not have known about E.V. and his family. E.V. was very proud of the fact that he could walk to work; he
What Was E.V. Mitchell Like? Insights from His Great Grandson Read More »
June 1, 2022 Edwin Vinald (E.V.) Mitchell (1850-1917) was the grandfather of my mother, Suzanne Mitchell Bryce, better known by everyone as “Sue.” No Mrs. anything, just “Sue.” In her youth, she was also known as “Sue the Swimmer” for her trophies; once she received a congratulatory note addressed simply to “Sue the Swimmer, Hyannis,
His Great Granddaughter Writes About E.V. Mitchell, Medfield’s Hatter Read More »
May 1, 2022 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places* in 1976, First Parish Church on North Street is of course a familiar Medfield landmark. It is the third building erected on the site by colonists who settled on what was the ancestral land of the Wampanoags. The first was put up
Common Practice in 1839; Seems Quaint in 2022 Read More »
Apr 1, 2022 It might be hard for some people to imagine, with all the attention on social media, that going fishing in the waters of Medfield is still a fun adventure for the young and the young at heart. So, for a while, forget about the pandemic and let your mind float downstream! Fishing
Gone Fishing, Like You, Like Me Read More »