Hopedale History April 1, 2013 No. 225 Strike at Draper Company, 1913 Hopedale in March Fighting Russians honor Hopedale says Boston Herald – Thanks to Meredith Kennedy for sending this addition to the story of the Hopedale Avenger. The iceout – photos and dates of when Hopedale Pond has been clear of ice over the years. Passenger service on the G&U Railroad, by Upton reporter, George Newton, sent by Paul Butcher.
Now and Then – The Charles River at Howard Street. New menu – Hopedale South of Route 16. There aren’t any new links here, but I thought it might be helpful to some to have links to all of these items on one page. Hopedale Schools PTO fundraiser Blue Raiders bracelet and necklace beads. March 31 marks the 80th anniversary of the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps. To learn about the work of the CCC in this area, you can take a look at the site of the Friends of Upton State Forest. I’ve recently made additions to pages on Henry Patrick’s Store Gov. Eben Draper Early Hopedale map Now and Then – The Post Office Now and Then – The Town Hall Now and Then - Dutcher Street School I’ve been asked about the origin of the eagle as a mascot for the Hopedale High sports teams. According to a web page on the Clark Tournament, it goes back at least as far as 1957, but I don’t remember it, nor do several classmates from the HHS Class of 1959. If you remember when the eagle first came into use at Hopedale High games, please let me know. <><><><><><><><><><> Twenty-five years ago – 1988 –Sonny Bono elected mayor of Palm Springs, California. (Hey, it was a slow news month. Sticker candidate Robert Metcalf pulls upset by getting highest vote in 4-person contest for two openings on the Hopedale School Committee. Incumbent Mary Grady was the other winner. Big D ad – Tuna, 28 cents for a 6 ½ ounce can. London broil steak, $1. 58 per pound. Fifty years ago – April 1963 - U.S. nuclear sub Thresher, with crew of 129, lost in Atlantic. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama during a desegregation drive. Charles Watson elected Commander of Hopedale VFW. <><><><><><><><><><> Strike at the Draper Company, 1913 It’s now been a century since the occurrence of one of the most significant events in the history of Hopedale; the strike at the Draper Company that began on April 1, 1913. The Drapers were determined to break it. They hired police from several cities, and made auxiliary police out of many of their non-striking workers. By the time it ended in July, one striker was dead and many lives had been turned upside down. Below are a few paragraphs on the strike from the Milford Gazette The labor troubles of the Draper Company have continued this week in much the same fashion as last week, both the strikers and the officials claiming that their positions are stronger today than at the opening of the difficulty. The prospects of the trouble dragging out for some time have been increased the past few days by the attitude of the local labor unions, notable the members of the cigar makers and granite cutters unions having voted their sympathy and moral support, and rumors are prevalent of an attempt to stir up a boycott among the operatives of the Northrop looms in other parts of the country. The Draper Company has met the situation with a statement that after Wednesday all operatives remaining out are no longer considered employees of the company and that their places will be filled at once by any desirable men who apply. They deny any effort to employ strike-breakers, as the strikers claim, but state that all new men hired will be given steady employment. The situation opened Friday with a force of over 100 men in the foundry, the department most affected, and most of them were new men. As a result the strikers appeared with red badges bearing the words, “Don’t scab in Hopedale.” About 200 men were in the strikers’ picket line, which was orderly and within the law, and the morning demonstration passed without incident. The statement of the Draper Company, referring to the strike as an I.W.W. (Industrial Workers of the World) movement, was criticized by Leader Coldwell, who claims that the I.W.W. as such has made no demands on the company. At the request of members of the Boston police force, a piano was installed at the Hopedale House to assist the officers on duty in filling in spare moments. Saturday the Draper Company announced that the Park House, at the corner of Dutcher and Freedom streets, would be renovated and fitted up for the occupancy of 300 employees. The furniture for the place was brought into Hopedale by auto trucks late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Police guards were sent into the Plains (Milford) to meet the trucks and escort them to Hopedale, which was accomplished without undue demonstration on the part of the strikers. It was reported that the Draper Company will push the construction of several new tenements in Hopedale and that several of the Italians occupying tenements of the company on Prospect Heights have surrendered their places. About 400 men appeared in line at the (Monday) morning demonstration outside the works. Only one incident broke the routine of the demonstration. Captain Proctor of the state police noticed a suspicious bulge under the coat of one of the marchers, and he was quickly pulled from the line, searched and relieved of a weapon about 18 inches long and two inches wide, fashioned from the sword of a swordfish. The man was permitted to return to the line. As the Hopkinton bound (trolley) car leaving Milford at 6:30 last night, reached the Ross turnout, four men standing close to the track fired 25 or more shots at the car, six of which took effect. The car carried 44 passengers, several of whom narrowly escaped the flying bullets, but only one was struck. George H. Davis of Hopedale, an employee of the Draper Company for the past 25 years, who was accompanying a friend to Hopkinton, was shot in the thigh by a bullet which had penetrated the side of the car. On arrival of the car at Hopkinton, Dr. Thompson dressed the wound and Davis was brought to the Milford hospital, where the wound was probed and the bullet extracted. Milford Gazette, April 11, 1913 More on the strike: Milford Gazette, April and May 1913 From the book, Milford 1880 – 1930 Draper Company response, Cotton Chats, April 1913 Hopedale History Ezine Menu HOME . |
