My son, DJ, took this picture of Gov. Eben S. Draper during a recent visit to the State House. He said that nearby was a portrait of Gov. Elbridge Gerry, whose name became part of the vocabulary because of the unfortunate practice of gerrymandering.
namesake of gerrymandering, a process by which electoral districts are drawn with the aim of aiding the party in power, although its initial "g" has recently softened to /dʒ/ from the hard /ɡ/ of his name. |
The photo above, taken on December 17, 1924, shows a class in what appears to be the Dutcher Street School.I was thinking that the one below, taken on the same date, might be from the Chapel Street School but evidently not. According to Sanborn insurance maps from that period, Chapel Street didn't have lights. Evidently they figured big windows provided all the light that was needed. In 1924, kindergarten was at Chapel Street, which also had first, fifth and sixth. Park Street School had two seconds, a fourth, and a combined fourth/fifth. Dutcher Street had first, third and seventh and eighth. |
Hopedale in December December 1 ezine - Lt. Draper, 1861 Mid-December ezine - Lt. Draper, November 1861 Hopedale in November 2017 Hopedale in December 2016 Recent Pictures Menu HOME . |
It seems to be a mystery as to what happened to the mortar that sat on the lawn in front of the Legion Home for many years. |
The portrait of Gov. Draper at the State House is the same as the one inside the main entrance to Milford Hospital. To the left is a photo of the plaque next to the portrait at the hospital. |
Ballou house - 64 Dutcher Street |
7-9 Social Street |
155 Hopedale Street |
That's my neighbor Wade doing some work on neighbor Manny's chimney. Better him than me. |
Need a bobber? Here are a few just waiting for you. They're at that popular fishing spot on Hopedale Pond, just a short distance downstream from the beach and bathhouse. |
114 Mendon Street
High tide in Boston, December 6. |
Community House Christmas tree. |
G&U train in North Grafton - December 8. |
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. My back yard on December 9. |
Thanks very much for the beautiful centerpiece you made, Lisa. |
Above - The Draper home in Washington, D.C.Click here to read about the Drapers and the mansion on the goodreads site. You'll have to scroll almost halfway down the page to get to it. |
When I got home yesterday, the picture above was on my front porch. This morning I got a phone call that solved the mystery of who had left it there. It was David Atkinson. Dave and I were classmates in the lower grades, more than 60 years ago, until he moved to Mendon. The picture is in excellent shape, but because it's under glass I couldn't get a good photo of it. It shows Company I, Milford National Guard at Camp Devens in 1929. Dave's grandfather is sixth from the left in the back row. If you recognize anyone, please let me know.
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Napoleon's is gone. Now it's Christiano in the Harrison Block. |
In July, Dave Boccasile sent two pictures taken when the Boston Celtics played at the Draper Gym. He just sent six more, including the two you see here. Click here to see the rest. They're at the bottom of a page about the two times when the Celtics played here. |
Card sent to Mrs. Jesse Byers in Hoosick Falls, New York on December 6, 1904. It was mailed from Hopedale and arrived in Hoosick Falls the next day. Its for sale on ebay, along with loads of other old Hopedale cards. |
Here's another item on ebay this month. No bids so far, so it could be yours for $9.99. You didn't throw out the old turntable, did you? Maybe it's still in the attic. |
Familiar with the story of Sylvester Roper? If not, here it is. |
Hopedale Pond on December 22. The ice was getting just about thick enough to be safe. By the time I took the lower picture, a few hours after the upper one, a couple of people were on the ice, but a bit of snow was falling. |
The ice that formed on trees last night (Saturday, the 23rd) brought down a big section of a willow tree into a flowering crab in my backyard. DJ and I went to work on it this morning (the 24th) and cleaned up most of it. You can see below what's leftt. We'll get back to that later . |
Inman Street - White Christmas. These pictures were taken at mid-morning. By 11, the snow had stopped and the sun was out. |
Click here for more on the Little Red Schoolhouse. |
