May 15, 2012 No. 204 Hopedale Center Facelift Hopedale in May
snacks and sundries. Click here for more information. Hopedale war veterans At the Mendon Town Meeting of 1773, a set of nineteen resolutions was written by Joseph Dorr and approved by vote of the town meeting members. Beginning with, “That all men have naturally an Equal Right to Life, Liberty and Property,” and continuing with, “That all just and lawful Government must necessarily originate in the free Consent of the People,” they sound amazingly similar to the Declaration of Independence, written three years later. Here’s an article about Dorr and the resolves, written by Dick Grady. During the 1960s and 1970s, Dave Meade was a member of several rock bands of this area. Recently he’s been writing his memories of those days. Here’s what he’s done so far. Franklin Historical Museum Recent deaths Twenty-five years ago – May 1987 – Hopedale Memorial Day Parade Will Begin with Dedication of New Street to Honor John Steel Gasoline Inches Past $1 Mark, Oil Going for $18 per Barrel 28 Killed in Iraq Attack on USS Stark Fifty years ago – May 1962 – Architectural Firms Meet with Hopedale Housing Authority to Plan Housing Units Jake Grady’s Hitting Leads Hopedale Nine to 12 – 1 Win over Nipmuc 4-Hour Sale at Atlas Shoppers’ World, L.P. Records $1.01, Columbia Bicycles $17.61, Seamless Nylons 18 cents Waldo Banks of Hopedale Gets Patent for Fishing Lure Scott Carpenter, America’s Second Astronaut to Orbit Earth Lands Safely <><><><><><><><><><> Another Facelift Due For Hopedale Center By Virginia Cyr A new “For Sale” sign has appeared in the center of town and it is posted on the side of the building which houses Hopedale Pharmacy. George Mongiat of Dutcher Street owns the business and building which contains apartments on the upper levels. The newest offering to the real estate market is the latest evidence that another impending change may be in the offing for the town’s center. The structure has withstood numerous changes which have gone on around it in the past quarter of a century. At one time, it was adjoined by a wooden building which housed Henry Patrick’s grocery business, which was later operated by Americo Calarese. This building “bit the dust” when the Calarese family built a new and modern grocery on property next to it. And now this newer building has changed from Rico’s Super Market to Rico’s Discount Liquors and now to a professional office condominium complex. Extensive renovations to the market building have given it a totally new look; a look so total that it is difficult to picture in one’s mind what the former building looked like. Another change which the “drug store” building has withstood is the removal of the Walter H. Tillotson Post, American Legion Home which stood on the other side. The home was moved in late summer to the Mallard property on Depot Street to give way to the construction of more professional office condominiums. The property where he Legion home was located is now owned by Arthur C. Young of Park Street. Young, who is an accountant, now utilizes office space in Town Hall in an area which was formerly used by the Police Department. (It’s now the Friends of Elders Shop.) A large sign has been posted at the front of Young’s property which indicates that it is the site of office condominiums which will be constructed in the near future. (It’s now the Police Station.) A little further up Hopedale Street, but still considered part of the center, the building which houses a barber shop also displays a “For Sale” sign. The building was formerly owned by Nell and Chick DiCicco who operated a beauty parlor and barber shop there. The DiCiccos sold it and moved to the Cape. It was then owned by Frederick Loeper who sold it to Dr. Edward M. Ruscitti who has most recently become an occupant of the Calarese condominium complex. The changes appeared to begin with the sale of Draper Corporation property to Rockwell International. The town which was noted for its beauty and stability throughout the area underwent significant changes from that time on. The most difficult of all changes for long-time residents to get used to was the loss of the loom manufacturing business and the resulting “sound of silence” which is experienced as the pass by the once busy and noisy structure which covers a large area of the Hopedale-Freedom street section of town. Milford Daily News, February 23, 1983. Now and Then, Hopedale Center Now and Then, Depot Street Now and then, Patrick's, Rico's, Medical Building The Harrison Block HOME |
