An 1898 map of Hopedale shows Delano Patrick's barn on what later became
    the section of Oak Street, shown above, that's between Freedom and Northrop
    streets. The church was never built and  there wasn't a Catholic church in town
    until 1935, when Sacred Heart Church opened in the old high school.

    Ruth didn't make it to the Olympics, but she did
    quite well in swimming competition around New
    England, winning meets and setting records.
    The Howarth family lived close to Hopedale
    Pond. They were in the Adin Ballou house at  64
    Dutcher Street. In addition to swimming at
    Hopedale Pond, the sisters swam and
    competed for the Whitinsville Gym. Here's more
    about the Howarth sisters..

Hopedale in August 2015


Hopedale history ezine for August 1 - Sprawling Complex, 1990   

Ezine for August 15 - Red Cross Home, 1918   

Hopedale in July 2015          More from 2015  

HOME

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    Tom Beder sent this picture of a piece of Rockwell trash he found last week. In the
    1960s and 1970s, Draper people saw Rockwell running the company into the ground,
    and decades later this,with the Rockwell name and logo, came out of the ground.

    Click here for some history of the Hopedale Housing
    Authority and the Griffin-Dennett Apartments.

    The road going across the map, above the Kearney property, is Freedom Street. Williams Street branches
    off to the lower right. When the map was drawn (1898) Jones Road didn't exist, and Northrop Street didn't
    extend up the hill that far. The barn referred to in the 1917 clipping must have been one of the two shown
    on the Delano Patrick property. Barns are shown with an X inside a square.

    I was at the Milford museum a couple of weeks ago, looking through
    their book of Milford people who had been in the service. I was
    surprised to see my father's name there. We had been living in
    Hopedale for two years when he went into the Army in 1944. Since he
    was in the book, it seemed there was a good chance that his name
    was at General Draper Park also. I took a look, and yes, there he is.

The cemetery tool house is getting a new roof. August 1

    Pears drying in the sun. The bottom two trays are in their second day and are about done.
    The top two had just been there a couple of hours. My pear trees haven't reached their full
    growth yet, but one (a semi-dwarf) has well over 100 pears. Probably close to 200.

    New air conditioning unit raised to the roof of Atria Draper Place last week.
    Or maybe it's the old unit going out. Thanks to John Gagnon for the photo.

    Our backyard bird house was a busy place on
    Saturday and Sunday, with parents back and forth
    feeding baby. I don't know birds, but from my
    Audubon book I'd say these are house sparrows.
    It says, "Takes bulk of seed at most feeders; kills
    nestlings and removes eggs of other birds at
    birdhouses." And they look so cute.

     While I was taking pictures of the birds, I looked
    over at the yard on the other side of the house,
    and there was a groundhog munching on the
    clover.

    Also on Sunday, more birds. Turkey vultures. Ten or a dozen
    of these guys were flying over a factory and another bunch
    was examining the ruins of a burned-out mill by the
    Blackstone River in Woonsocket.

    Christopher, the chef at Atria Draper
    Place giving a grilling demonstration.

    The new bowling alleys at the Community House will soon be finished.
    Expanded hours will be offered and a busy season is expected.

    Posters above and at right are for the Community
    House and the Draper Gym.

    Letter from O.H. Lane, secretary to General Draper.
    Click here for more on the history of the Statue of Hope.

    The Blackstone Valley Explorer will be leaving on Sundays
    from Cold Spring Park in Woonsocket from August 6 to
    August 30 for 45 minute trips along the Backstone River.
    When we put our kayak in there, we can go downstream
    as far as the Thundermist Dam, which is near Olde
    English Fish & Chips, and upstream as far as the St. Paul
    Street bridge in Blackstone. I presume the Explorer will be
    covering about the same part of the river. Click here to go
    to their site.

Plants donated and planted by Walter, and watered by Billi. Horse trough donated by Henry.

    The landfill. I suppose I should call it that, but it's hard to think of it in terms
    other than "the dump." Click here to see pictures of the 2013 capping job.

Hopedale Pond - August 12.

    Marge and Sten Hattersley. Click here
    to go to memories of Marge.

    Mid twentieth century Hopedale
    Pond weed wacker.

The North Purchase District School

Will be opened for a Lawn Gathering

Sunday, August 23 from 2 – 4 pm


Located at 261 Purchase Street

This schoolhouse dates back to 1832 and is an American icon.

Visitors will be welcomed by the Milford Historical Commissioners.

Take a peek into the school and share stories of days-gone-bye.

For info:  508-473-8571 or [email protected]

    The neighborhood groundhog is back visiting us
    again. It appears that there's enough good stuff to
    eat in the lawn so that he hasn't been bothering
    the garden. I took the picture above on the 12th.
    DJ got the one on the left on the 15th.

    Smile for the camera. This guy was just finishing a meal
    when we first saw him, but he had swallowed it before I
    got these pictures. We were walking in the Parklands, a
    bit west of the Rustic Bridge when DJ noticed him off a
    couple of feet from the side of the road.

    My yard is too small for a big garden, so I grow pole beans instead
    of bush beans. They produce loads of beans in a small space.

    This is turning into a big month for birds. As I
    was coming out ot the Community House on
    the 17th, I noticed a hawk on the ground. He
    wasn't about to fly off, so I was wondering if
    he was hurt. There were a couple of guys
    watching him from the other direction, so I
    asked them what was going on. They said he
    was after a baby squirrel. The mother had
    taken the baby up into the tree to get it away
    from the hawk. We could hear it (the baby)
    making a lot of noise.

Click here for more about the visit of President Taft.

    Each August, the coverage of the anniversary of Hurricane
    Katrina brings to mind the far less significant but much
    more local event from the same time - My Kind of Town.
    The night it was on tv, there were also satellite views of
    Katrina that looked like it was covering most of the Gulf.

    The Purchase Street School in Milford, during an open
    house on August 23. it was in use until 1949.

    Spindleville Pond - August 21 - It seems unusual to be able to see the water
    there in August. It's usually all green, totally covered with duckweed.

Hopedale Pond - August 24.