Articles from the Portal -

Articles from the Portal

The Medfield Historical Society publishes a monthly newsletter, The Portal, containing articles about our events, our collections, and people and places of the distant and not-so-distant past. Below are selected articles from past newsletters. Looking for a specific topic? Use the search function below to search by subject, author or date. Click to sign up for our free monthly newsletter, The Portal.

The Ups and Down of Medfield Football – And Memories of a Magical Year

December 29, 2024 Over the last 20 years, Medfield High School’s football record stands at 113-119-1. This season ended with a 35-0 shutout win over their traditional Thanksgiving rival, Dover-Sherborn. Football was established in Medfield in 1897, with high school principal Walter Van Kleek serving as coach. Town historian Richard DeSorgher is continuing

Rocky Woods, the Garden of Eden

Dec 28, 2024 In 1861, a gentleman writing under the nom de plume “Peak House” submitted an “exciting discovery” to the care of the Medfield Historical Society, and I am here to reveal this 164-year-old discovery to our community as we take our first shaky steps into the year 2025. First,

Veterans’ Day (2009)

Nov 1, 2024 Reprinted from “This Old Town, Remembering Medfield” by Richard DeSorgher with his permission.On this Veterans’ Day we stop to honor and give thanks to all veterans, including a former Medfield veteran from the (current) War on Terror. He answered his country’s call and was sent to Iraq. His

The Wise Fools: How the Football Players of 1962 Sophomore Class at Medfield High School Remember Their First Winning Season

Nov 1, 2024 In 1962, there was a lot of optimism in Medfield over the high school football team’s prospects. Practically the whole team from the 1961 squad was back and ready to play. The freshmen of last season were now about to enter our sophomore year, but before classes began

Mrs. Jack – Art Collector, Muse, Mentor, and Mascot: Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Boston Red Sox

Nov 1, 2024 On a Saturday evening in December of 1912, Dr. Karl Muck, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, awaited the arrival of a most important patron. He had learned during his tenure that he could not commence the evening’s program until Mrs. Isabella Stewart Gardner occupied her customary

Jobs for Medfield’s Youth: 1840s Version

Oct 1, 2024 As autumn settles in and children have returned to school, our volunteers have been busy preparing for Medfield Day, planning history-themed activities for children to learn about old and obsolete technology, specifically about tasks that can now be performed by apps in one’s cell phone.Children starting school in

Beyond Lowell Mason: Celebrating Another Medfield Music Luminary

Oct 1, 2024 This article was inspired by former Medfield resident Agnes Hungerford, who was also a Medfield music supporter and friend of the Allan family. Hungerford recently visited the Dwight-Derby House to unveil a new DDH display panel donated by her family, and spent some time talking about the Allan

In Memory of Sandra Munsey, First Medfield Selectwoman

Oct 1, 2024 It was the 1970s, at the height of the women’s liberation movement, with Gloria Steinem at the forefront fighting for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.With two children in high school, and having recently earned her master’s in public administration, 39-year-old Medfield resident Sandra “Sandy” Munsey ran for

One Shining Day for Unsung Heros

Oct 1, 2024 It was the summer of 1961, and I was sitting comfortably at the top of the huge apple tree that was in the back yard of my family’s home on Pleasant Street. I even put a small cushion at the top where several branches converged.It was summertime, and

After 373 Years, the Clark Family is Still Here. What’s Your Story?

Sep 1, 2024 Upwards of one million Americans have the surname “Clark,” making it the 20-somethingth most common name in this country, and it’s almost as common in England. Clark or Clarke is an occupational name, like Baker, Cook, Cooper, or Smith, and it’s derived from the Middle Ages, when a

Tilden Ancedotes – Working Out the Highway Tax

Sep 1, 2020 William S. Tilden was one of Medfield’s two most important and prolific historians.(The other is, of course, Richard DeSorgher, who grew up here, taught history and social studies here for over thirty years, published four books on Medfield history, and is still Medfield’s official town historian, though he

The Fullers of Medfield

Sep 1, 2024 Doctor Jabez Fuller was the son of Isaac Fuller of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Born in 1723, he came to Medfield at the age of 24 in 1747. That same year he married Elizabeth Hilliard. In 1756 the couple bought the homestead of Timothy Metcalf, located in Dingle Dell. Dingle

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