How did that thing end up there? Click here to find out.

50 Freedom Street - Charles Roper

    Prize speaking, for decades one of the main events of the Hopedale
    High school year, was held at the town hall. The hall on the second
    floor was also used for town meetings concerts, dances, plays,
    scout meetings, minstrel shows, and basketball games.

    The picture above is from a Yankee magazine article on Hopedale
    published in April 1982. As to the mention of Ballou's horse being
    buried with him, I'd say that's highly unlikely.

Hopedale in April 2018

More pictures will be added during the month.

Hopedale in March 2018           Hopedale in April 2017   

Ezine for April 1 - The Police Station   

Ezine for mid-April - The Time Capsule   

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    Clippings above are from localtownpages -
    Hopedale, and Hopedale Senior News.

    Thanks for sending the picture, DJ. Playground in
    a Tenement Alley, 1909, by Lewis Hine. That was
    the year my parents were born.

    Below - A picture taken on Inman Street  just five
    years after the one above.

    Here's another picture of Inman Street. This one is looking toward
    Lower Jones Road. You people looking at this from Florida will enjoy
    seeing it. It was taken on April 6. It was all gone by the next morning.

    Hopedale Pond and Parklands, April 7. Click here
    for more pictures of the Parklands that day.

    When I get a package in the mail from my daughter, CeCe, it usually contains
    at least one unusual item. This time it was a book of French World War I era
    post cards. Cartes Postales D'un Soldat De 14-18.  A good opportunity to see
    how much I remember from high school French. "Le chien sanitaire..." Hmmm.

    Also in the box was The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. It's an incredible
    account of one of the worst disasters ever in the U.S. - the Dust Bowl years.

    Recognize this? It's part of a boarded-up
    Draper window on the Hopedale Street side.

    The Council on Aging now has a van. See further
    up on this page for more information on it.

    This site gets hits from foreign countries daily. The most common
    page viewed is the one on Sylvester Roper. When it comes with a
    referrer URL as long as the one above, it's always from Russia.
    That one was for the page on the Harrison Block.

    Friday, the 13th was Community Reading Day. I went to Memorial School and read
    President Taft is Stuck in the Bath to Mrs. Castiglione's very attentive third grade. When I
    picked up the book on Thursday, I was happy to see that they gave me a story where I
    could make a bit of a Hopedale connection to tell the kids about. Out of 45 presidents,
    there was only one who stayed overnight in Hopedale - William Howard Taft. Here's the
    story about that.

    I thought some of you would find this info interesting. It's from the May issue of Consumer Reports.

    Thanks to Andrea and Skip MacDonald for this picture from 1967-68, and to my
    neighbor Manny for bringing it here. Click on the picture for a larger version of it.

    This picture I ran across online is a reminder of the days when the soles or heels of our
    shoes were getting worn we'd have them replaced by a cobbler. There was one on
    Jefferson Street in Milford, but the one on Water Street was closer, so I often went to him.
    There was also Mr. Garrett on Washington Street in Mendon. When I was teaching at the
    Clough School, I'd bring my shoes into Mrs. Garrett, who was the cafeteria manager.
    She'd bring them back to me a few days later.

    Eventually Mr. Garrett could no longer repair them. The way they were manufactured
    changed and he'd need to buy a new piece of equipment to work on them. The amount of
    work he did as a part-time job couldn't justify the expense of the machine.

    One cobbler I've heard of in Hopedale was Harlan Hart. That was before my time. I only
    know of him because he was mentioned in Marshall Clark's memories of Hopedale. Hart
    had a shop on the corner of Dutcher and Social streets, and also by his house at the
    corner of Dutcher and Dennett streets.

Town Park, April 21

    The cardboard container that had been located on Depot Street has
    been moved to the recycling center. Access to the center is now
    through the entrance to the wastewater treatment plant on Route 16.

The Parklands, April 21

    Boston fire boat, see from the Cambridge
    side of the river. Photo by DJ.

Hopedale Town Report, 1915

    An interesting and historical vote was passed September 27, 1845, when it was "Voted that the lot of
    land situated on the Cook farm between the wood lot of Henry Chapin on the west and the widow
    Amasa Parkhurst's meadow on the east, as the same is now fenced, be set apart, or so much thereof
    as may be deemed necessary, as a Cemetery for this Community."

     In 1847 it was voted "that Mr. Ballou be a committee to make a plan of the cemetery and number the
    lots." A marker placed at the entrance of the cemetery, citing that it was founded by the Hopedale
    Community,should be considered and noted for historical value. Paper by Mrs. Margaret Woodhead
    for the Hopedale Community Historical Society