Hopedale in October 2015

The boathouse? The boathouse??? Who started calling that the boathouse? From the

time that it was

built in 1904 up through the time swimming ended at the pond, it was

always the bath

house. Why bath

house? It's because what we'd now refer to as going

for a swim

used to be

called taking a bath. For many

years the annual Park Department

report included the number of "baths taken" at the pond.

Over the past

few years I've heard it called the boathouse more often than the bath house.

There were boathouses

a

long

the

shore of the pond

also, but the last one fell apart and floated away decades ago.

Boathouses along the Hopedale Street side of the pond.

Click here for more on the grand opening.

A sign of a busy beaver on

Island, Hopedale Pond

.

Hopedale in October 2015

Hopedale history ezine for October 1 - The Milford Water Company

October 15 - Letter to the Editor, 1873

Hopedale in September          Recent Pictures Menu

HOME

.

Thanks to Carl Glatky for reminding me about Historic New England's collection of

material from the office of architect Robert Allen Cook. The blueprint of the Draper

duplex above is just one of 3,500 architectural drawings in their Cook collection.

Cook drew plans for many buildings in Hopedale, including duplexes, boarding

houses, Draper mansions, and Draper shops and offices. I have a framed Cook

blueprint of my house a few feet from where I'm sitting now.

to go to the

Cook collection on the Historic New England site. It's mainly a list of what they have.

There aren't many blueprints like the one above.

There will be celebration of the life of

on October 24 from 11 to 2

at the Hopedale Community House.

I noticed that someone from the blog, Dry Goods Diary,

had

looked at one of the

Margaret Draper (Princess

. I went to their site to see why

they were interested in her.

It turns out that her plus-

sized clothing is for sale by

Amalgamated Classic

Clothing and Dry Goods.

if

you'd like to see

where this goes after "the freshman 15

,

"

and

"Then I got a desk job..."

In the first clipping, Margaret was referred to as an only child.

She was her mother's only child, but her father, General Draper,

have five other children from his first marriage.

There are at least a few dozen clumps of New England asters like this

one in the

. It's the most I've ever seen in one location.

to go to a Milford News article on

the accident at the Hopedale Package Store.

The postcard message on the left, was sent from Hopedale

to a lady in Antrim, New Hampshire in 1912. The view of the

Unitarian Church shown below, was on the other side. The

postcard picture of Antrim, above, was taken in the same era.

Thanks to Ann Halsing for sending the one from "Box 475"

and another that shows Eben Draper's residence.

Geese over Hopedale Pond - October 6.

Heron in the weeds - October 6.

Hopedale Pond - October 6. Click here for more.

The Milford Journal - 1873

The Gravestone Girls

(one of them, anyway) put on an excellent program about the

history of gravestones, including many pictures from the two Hopedale cemeteries

at the Bancroft Library in October 2013. Their program at the Milford Library will be

90 minutes long, and will include pictures from each of the Milford cemeteries.

Here's a Hopedale item for sale on ebay. It's a billy club made for police in

the 1913 strike at the Draper Company

. No bids right now. (October 16.)

Looks like it could be yours for $265.

Here's a link to th

.

I have a Brother printer/scanner/copier/fax I'd like to give

away. It's just two or three years old and seems to be

working fine. If interested,

. I don't want to get

involved in packing it and mailing it. I'm looking for

someone who can come here and pick it up. Dan M.

Here's what Valley Tech looked like fifty years ago.

Hopedale Pond - October 23

Spindleville Pond - October 24

The ice rink - open again - October 24.

Squirrel in Central Burying Ground, Boston Common. Photo by DJ.

Near the east side entrance to the Parklands.

to see the wording on the plaque on the rock.

Six geese a floating.

Seven swans a swimming

Freedom Street - October 27.

Road race, October 31 - Click here for more.

Dual Valley Conference Cross Country Championships - October 31.
Click here for more.

A few Halloween visitors on Inman Street.