November 1, 2013 No. 239 School Report, 1914 Hopedale in October Aerial views of the Draper plant and surroundings, 1947 and 1951. Now and Then - The Draper Gym and Site Fall colors along the shore of Hopedale Pond The end of an era - the Draper field day of 1929
Historical markers and monuments in Milford. Historical plaques and signs in Mendon As mentioned in 238, I've recently put up some pictures from the Bancroft Library collection of pre-1910 photos tsken by Edwin Darling. Now I've added a page of photos of Mr. and Mrs. Darling and their house on Freedom Street. During the past two weeks I've made additions to pages on: Now and Then, Bancroft Park (a 1945 plan for a large number of Draper houses, mainly in the area that later became Pinecrest. Also a 1955 Bancroft Park plan, evidently drawn up at the time the Draper houses were being sold.) John Raymond (Pvt. Raymond, 17, in the National Guard during World War I, was killed in an accident while guarding a railroad bridge in Warwick, Rhode Island..) Recent deaths <><><><><><><><><><> Twenty-five years ago - November 1988 - George H. W. Bush defeats Michael Dukakis in presidential election. Computers hit by worst ever "virus" assault. It was created by a Cornell graduate student. Carrie Dederian and Cathy Christie lead Hopedale field hockey team to win over St. Bernard's in the Division 2 Central tournament. Hopedale town counsel, Robert Phillips resigns. Fifty years ago - November 1963 - Ngo Dinh Diem, president of South Vietnam, and his brother Ngo Dinh Nhu assassinated in CIA led coup. The Hopedale Community Historical Society recommended that the old stone watering trough that stood in front of Patrick's Store for many years be removed from the dump and placed on Park property. (The trough was eventually moved to the corner of Adin and Hopedale streets.) Richard T. Moore, secretary of the society, reported that work had begun on the restoration of the portrait of Gov. Eben S. Draper that will be displayed at the State House. The society is sponsoring the work. U.S. Senate confirms John F. Bresicani, 17 Pierce Street, as Hopedale postmaster. Draper Corporation has increased the use of tape-controlled machinery for the production of looms and loom parts. Sales, income steady, earnings drop. No additional transfers south anticipated. <><><><><><><><><><> Since Veterans' Day is just a little over a week away, it seems a good time for a little on the war that resulted in November 11 as the date for it- World War I. Of the seven men from that war whose names are on the memorial at Hopedale Village Cemetery, just one, Walter Tillotson, died in combat. Two died of disease; very likely the flu. They were Davis Gabry and Paul Harris. Four died in accidents. Both Darrell Lindsey and John Raymond died while guarding railroad bridges. Lindsey in Chester, MA, and Raymond in Warwick, RI. Edward Burnham died in a rifle range accident in Georgia. Raymond Piper died in a plane crash, well after the end of the war, but since he was still in France, he was considered a war casualty. <><><><><><><><><><> This is going on longer than usual, but here's an interesting Hopedale history related email I received this week: I got your email from a website about the Drapers and Hopedale. I am trying to locate any relatives of The Princess Boncompagni of Italy. nee Margaret Draper, 1891- 1973, My mother-in-law was the daughter of Hulda Frankenbusch and friend of the princess who the princess tried to help to escape Nazis and supported financially during the second World War. A book of Hulda's story has now been published and the princess is mentioned in it a lot. I thought any relatives may be interested in how supportive Margaret was. (Hulda died in Auschwitz) If you know any relatives would you pass on my contact details? Thanks Duncan Elson I sent that on to five Draper descendants. <><><><><><><><><><>
The following "Kids today folks, what are ya gonna do?" paragraph from the Hopedale school superintendent's report for 1914 was a response to a published study saying that well over half of the freshman in a New England college had failed one or more exams. What is the real cause of such widespread delinquency in matters scholastic? Is it true that the rising generation is really lacking in purposefulness? Must it be admitted that young people in their teens are too well satisfied with themselves as they are? Or is the true explanation to be found in too great interest in athletics -- too much attention given to the development of brawn and too little to the cultivation of brain? It is to be expected that opinions will differ, but as for me, I cannot believe that all of the weakness is to be found in the high schools or in the colleges. I am convinced that the bulk of the difficulty lies in the mistake of mistaken or uncultivated ideals of the adolescent period. Well, that problem has been cured by grade inflation. After a few pages of various items in the report, it's on to the Washington trip. During the first few years of these trips, the majority of parents and school officials regarded them favorably and many continue to do so. There is an educational value in them which cannot be denied, and it is not my purpose to discourage the continuance of these Washington trips. It is but fair, however, that parents should realize that there are some undesirable features. These excursions have become an important source of revenue to the railroads and tourist agencies, and therefore have been highly commercialized. Thousands of high school students flock to Washington during the spring vacation, overcrowding the cheaper hotels. Many of these young people have never been away from home before for more than a day at a time, and the sudden removal of the usual restraints and the exuberance of animal spirits natural to their age, carry some of them beyond the bounds of propriety. There is little or no occasion for anxiety as to the conduct of any party or individual likely to go from Hopedale, but there is a phase of the subject to which school committees are beginning to give some serious consideration. The issue which they raise is whether the responsibility for these excursions should be taken by the parents of by the school officials. The Waltham committee took the position squarely last year that parents should be responsible for their own children. Without doubt public opinion is drifting in this direction, and it is hoped that parents will look into the matter carefully before the class of 1916 begins its preparations. I don't know if things changed for a while, but by the time my class went to Washington in 1959, our chaperones were teachers: Mr. Miner, Mr. Berquist and Mrs. Perry. Two quick memories from that trip When we were touring the Capitol, down in the basement as I recall, a group of men approached us and passed on by very quickly. As they were going by, I heard classmate Ron Taylor call out, "Hey, Mr. Nixon!" Yes, it was the vice-president and we had a one or two second view of him. Fidel Castro was in Washington the same week we were. He was still pretty popular in this country then, but that wore off rather quickly over the next few months. In accordance with the vote of the town, the new school building was contracted for and is in process of construction in charge of a special committee appointed by the town for that purpose. The building is located upon Park Street, a situation which will be very convenient for the additional children to be accommodated, but which unfortunately is an extremely expensive piece of land to build upon in view of the large amount of ledge running under the entire tract. F. G. Atwell, Superintendent of Schools
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Chapel Street School and neighborhood, c. 1895 |