Above and below - Photos from the Bancroft
    Library of Inman Street houses taken in
    1921 by a Draper Corporation photographer.
    For several other recent additions of 1921
    pictures of houses on the street, see near
    the bottom of Now and Then - Inman Street.

    Yes, just 34 miles from General Draper Park in Milford to Bofton. Below
    you'll see explanations of the old-time custom of s looking similar to f.

    Hi,

    I first found you through a Google search. I knew I had to reach out when I saw this page http://hope1842.com/2016-03.html   

    Pet adoption is such an important topic, and I'm always glad when people promote adoption over purchasing pets. You even
    went as far to add a link: petfinder.com   

    Your efforts to help animals have not gone unnoticed, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ;)

    I'm reaching out because a few months ago, we interviewed 200 rescues and shelters. With these interviews under our belt,
    we have created the best possible content, precisely because it was written based on the experience of over 200
    professionals in this field. With the best possible content comes the best possible help for these animals that so desperately
    need the RIGHT person to take them home.

    Since learning which topics are in demand, we created a series of 12 blog posts that cover hot topics. Such topics include
    tips for taking care of a new pet, the most common adoption myths (and there are many), and things to consider before
    adopting.

    Every little bit helps, so I was hoping you could help us spread the word about our series by linking to this article. I believe it is
    relevant since you have already linked to petfinder.com

    Here is the link to the article:   https://www.homeoanimal.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-pet-adoption   

    The cost is nothing, but the benefit is immeasurable. You can help inform and educate people about the benefits of adopting.

    Best

    Suzie ;)

    For a few years we had seven cats,but now we're down to just
    one, Ching Ching shown above. She was a stray, born in 2010
    somewhere behind our house. Below is a message I received
    by email recently about cat adoption that I was asked to put on
    here for you cat lovers.

    West Main Street. That made sense for a name for the part of Milford's Main
    Street that extended through the village of Hopedale. After Hopedale
    separated from Milford in 1886, it didn't make quite as much sense, so 37
    years later, as you can see in the paragraph above from the 1923
    Hopedale Town Report, the name was changed to Mendon Street.

From the July issue of the monthly newspaper - Hopedale-Local Town Pages.

Hopedale in July

Ezine for July 1 - Col. Bristow and the Klan   

Ezine for July 15 - Fire, Flood, and False Alarms   

June 2017           July 2016   

Recent Pictures Menu                      HOME   

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Draper Street, Dorchester, from Google Earth street views.

Ads from "the good old days."

    The Milford police log is often good for a bit of entertainment. You can find
    it on Milford Patch. Occasionally something happens in Hopedale, too.

Gypsy moth caterpillar victim.

    I have Vol 1 and 2 "Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Geirgia"
    1779. Author:Alexander Hewat. Throughout the text the following occur: short is shown as
    fhort. sent is shown as fent. seised is shown as seifed. ship is shown as fhip. stand is
    shown as ftand these is shown as thefe. Justly is shown as juftly wherever a double s
    occurs within a word it is shown as ff as in oppreffion. It appears the the f is used at the
    beginning and end of a word and within the word except when the word ends in ss and
    then it is written a fs. Just to confuse things Spain is shown as Spain, Lords as Lords
    and society as society. forry I am more confufed than ever. Brian, Melbourne, Australia

    Many sites have thoughts on this matter. Here's the one where Brian from Melbourne
    pofted hif thoughtf.

Click here for the Milford News story with the above headline.

Heron by Hopedale Pond - July 2.

    Two pictures of the back side of the Draper shops taken 112 years apart. The one
    above was done by Edwin Darling. Click here to see more of his Draper photos.

    I don't have a date for the clipping above, but the Park
    Department history online notes that an 80 foot wooden
    flagpole was erected at the park in 1942. William Ferguson
    was chairman of the Board of Selectmen at that time. That
    must have been a replacement for the 1921 pole. Until a
    decade or so ago, the flag pole was near the Northrop Street
    entrance to the park across from the end of Park Street, as
    seen in the picture below from the 1929 Draper field day.

    Thanks to my son, DJ, who sent this after stopping at the Old State House
    to hear the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
Hopedale Town Report

    UPTON — Anyone traveling on Fiske Mill Road should expect to be detoured as the town repairs the
    Fiske Mill Bridge.

    Work on the bridge officially started June 22, said Department of Public Works Director Vincent Roy.

    “The bridge has been removed, and we are pouring concrete for abutments,” Roy said. “So far, so
    good. We’ve had no real issues or complaints.”

    Construction is expected to last through the summer and if all goes according to plan, will be
    completed before school starts. Milford Daily News - Click here for the complete article.

Honkin' in the rain.

Click here for the story of the Statue of Hope.

    July 9. It's been a few days since I've seen the last gypsy moth caterpillar.
    I've been surprised at how quickly most of the trees that had lost all of
    their leaves (including the one above) are starting to grow replacements.

    The town park comfort station additon/renovation project is
    now complete. Nice job matching the addition to the original
    building. I wonder if they had a first flush ceremony.

    No, not Hopedale Pond, fortunately. Yesterday (July 9) my son DJ and I paddled on the Quinsigamond
    River in South Grafton. We didn't get far in this section of it.  What you see in the picture is water chestnut.
    This stuff spreads very fast once it gets a start. We were there last year and it didn't look anything like this.

Hopedale Pond - Draper photo from the Bancroft Library.
2017

    Above - Inman Street, with Elm Street to the right and a bit of Tammie
    Road on the left. The house on the right was the one that was hit. Of
    course the one on the left hadn't been built then.

    As I recall from what was said about this accident at the time, blasting
    had been going on for some time on the building of Tammie Road and
    the extension of Jones Road to Route 140. The rock that they had been
    blasting was a type that could be done without being covered by mats.
    When they got down by Inman Street, they were dealing with a different
    kind of rock - as, to their surprise, they found out. It's quartzite.It breaks
    leaving flat surfaces and was used for foundations for many of the
    Draper houses - including the one that was hit.
2017

Click here to see Milford News article on Spindleville.

DJ pic - Tobin Bridge

Click here to see more aerials from 1947.

    Boston Celtics in the locker room at the Draper
    Gym. For identifications and the circumstances
    of their being there click here. These photos are
    at the bottom of the page.

Click here to read the article.

    59,501??? Gen. Lawrence in charge of the
    war on moths must have been very big on
    precision.

    "The men have found that the gypsy moth is by
    no means extinct..." Well, that's certainly true.

    Here's our neighbor, Manny, with a striper that
    he caught at the canal last night. 45 inches.

Old Ironsides is back. Thanks for the picture, DJ.