The Stanley Steamer was my dad's first car. The picture was taken in back of George Nichols' house. (35 Dutcher Street) It could do better than 60 mph. He used to race the B&A trains just east of Framingham where the road used to run along side the tracks. There also used to be a spring along side the Upton road where they would get water when driving to Worcester. The car was fast, but needed a lot of water. William Barney, July 17, 2002. (The picture above is of Barney's car behind his house on Dutcher Street. Barney - Barney, the father, that is - took this picture and quite a few others that are on this site and also in the book, Images of America: Hopedale.) The first church supper I attended here was of the ham and baked beans variety, with all accessories and in generous proportions, and priced at fifteen cents. My first winter's fuel cost $42.00; $25 for five tons of Milford Gas Company coke, $16 for two tons of coal for the kitchen stove, and one dollar for a big load of "shop wood," being remnants and waste from the plant. We bought eggs in the fall for 22 cents a dozen and preserved them in a solution of water-glass; two big stone jars full of them. When milk went up to ten cents a quart, we felt as if the hand of oppression were being laid heavily upon us and we squirmed uncomfortably. Charles F. Merrill, Hopedale As I Found It, p.1. Hopedale, Massachusetts, has excited so much interest among sociologists that it has seemed impossible to obtain a description of the place uncolored by theories and speculations, or, escaping this, to avoid the wiles of political partisans in whose hands all things must serve one purpose. Of its remarkable history the only indication which it bears upon its face is an unusual air of orderliness and beauty--this and a monument or two. Otherwise people live, work, and seek health, wealth and pleasure much as in other communities and the more thoroughly we grasp this simple truth the more readily we shall gather an accurate impression of the place. G. Sherman Johnson, "A Massachusetts Garden Spot," New England Magazine, July 1909, p. 607. As in the past two years, an exhibition of amateur photography was held [at the Bancroft Memorial Library] the first two weeks in December. The third exhibition was even more successful than either of the other two. The pictures were hung under the supervision of Miss Chute, our teacher of drawing. The exhibit consisted of 229 mounted photographs and 97 post cards. The library was visited during the two weeks of the exhibition by 779 people. The exhibitors were Mr. and Mrs. Fred Ball, Mr. Richard Britten, Mr. C. H. Chapman, Mr. J.S. Henry, Mr. A.C. Johnson, Mr. D. Simpson and Mr. L. K. Whiting. Town Report for 1906, Report of the Trustees, p. 118. Seven hundred seventy-nine people visited a photography exhibit at the library during two weeks in December!!! Life before tv. Dear Madam: As been stated to you in private conversation, Mrs. Draper is proposing to present a marble fountain to the Town of Hopedale, the work of the celebrated sculptor Story, which will be a great ornament to our already beautiful village. Mr. Story has planned placing the fountain between the Public Library and Hope St. Extension, on land that was formerly under the charge of the Park Commission, but is now controlled by the Library Trustees. I have had the permission of the Park Commission to place the fountain in this position, but owing to the delays I think it wise to receive permission from your Board. Please reply before Monday if possible, as I am informed that the fountain has arrived in Boston, and we wish to have it unloaded on the ground. Letter from William F. Draper to Anna Bancroft, Chairman, Board of Library Trustees, April 29, 1904. Short Stories Menu Next HOME . |