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PotpourrEMAIL
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Vol. 1, No. 7, 1 January 2000. Circulation: 80 and growing!
(C) 1999 Boylston Historical Society and Museum
7 Central St., PO Box 459, Boylston, MA 01505
boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
508-869-2720
Editors: Betty L. Thomas and Judith Haynes
Boylston Historical Society and Museum Web Page:
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/index.shtml
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the PotpourrEmail, or
to submit information to be included in the PotpourrEmail,
e-mail info to: boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
CONTENTS. Welcome; What's in a name?; From Our Readers;
Time Capsule; Story Time with Norm; Oral History;
Book of the Month; BHS NEWS; Boylston Queries;
On The Web; Humor
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Welcome to our email newsletter! For those of you who are not
members of BHS and don't receive the snailmail newsletter, it is called
The Potpourri. Sooooo, we thought the appropriate name for this version
would be PotpourrEMAIL. This email version is not meant to repeat or
copy the snailmail version, but to complement it, with the addition of
topics of interest to those with computer and web capabilities. If you
have a story to tell, information to impart, a good genealogy joke, computer
or web genealogy info, a Boylston genealogy Query, or anything that would
be of interest to our readers--please email us at:
boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
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What's in a name ?
>From "Names of Places" by G.L. Wright -
Boylston Historical Series Vol. I
Boylston in 1786
The Village of Boylston Center at the time of the incorporation of the town
in 1786 presented a far different appearance than the village of today. At
that time, the church and village center was around the Old Cemetery, at
the northeasterly corner of which stood the Meeting House. David Taylor's
Tavern was in the house now occupied by John G. Warner. The house now
owned by William Garfield was a store which was attached to the ell of the
Warner house. the "Stocks", for the punishment of petty crimes, was near
the gate of the cemetery. Then, at the northeast corner, the Town Pound
was in front of the present school building, and later the " Hearse-house"
was built beside it. The "Noon-house" was at the end of the cemetery, back
of the Meeting House. The schoolhouse stood at the corner of the roads
beyond the present house of Mr. Woodhead. When the second Meeting House
was built, it was placed where the Sawyer Memorial Library now stands.
When this church was taken down, after the present church was built, the
porch was purchased by Colonel Jonathan Bush, who removed it to what was
then called his plain field, now the front of the new, or Pine Grove
Cemetery, and converted into a tenement house, which was called the
"lighthouse" on account of height and proportions. This building was
afterward sold, and removed to West Boylston where it stood until the
demolition of buildings there where the Wachusett Reservoir was
constructed. The Noon-house, erected after the second Meeting House was
built, was placed on the ledge at the easterly side of the north-commons,
in front of where George A. Vickery now
lives. This building was removed after stoves came into use in the Meeting
houses, and now forms the greater part of the dwelling house owned by
Elliot A. Hubbard. A store, long occupied by Aaron White, Esq., stood
midway between the house of Mr. Woodhead and the present church. the
building was afterward removed , and turned into a dwelling house, and is
now occupied by Mr. John H. Keough. The north and west commons were
purchased at the time of the erection of the second Meeting House in 1794.
The present church was built in 1835, and the Town Hall in 1830.
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>From Our Readers
We had no feedback from any of our readers this month--maybe after the
holidays you will all write in and tell us what you are working on!!
from Betty Thomas- editor
We at the society are also busy this holiday season so this newsletter will
be a small one. Beacuse it's so small, I'm adding another piece from
"Names of Places" by GL Wright--here it is---
Slate Hill
I presume that many of the citizens of the Town of Boylston are not
familiar with some of the old names applied to different localities of the
town, and probably would not be able to designate them, and so I have
written this brief article with the idea of preserving the ancient names.
For instance, I had occasion a short time ago to look up the location of
one of our old country roads, long since discontinued, in
connection with some land boundaries. These boundaries, according to the
ancient deeds, were described as "butting upon the county road over Slate
Hill," and I doubt very much if there are many of the younger generation of
the people of the town who can tell where this hill is. Of course, nearly
all of the Boylston people can tell where Diamond Hill is situated, and why
it is so called. But, we have a road near this hill, called Diamond Hill
Avenue, which really should be known as Slate Hill Avenue.
Leaving the present Worcester Road just below the dwelling house of Asa A
Bennett, and swinging to the left, and running nearly parallel with the
present Worcester Road just back of the house now occupied by John N.
Flagg, and so on through the woods, and down a very steep hill, and joining
the present Worcester Road near the William Blackwell place, is now to be
traced the old road to Worcester over Slate Hill. This hill abounds with
flat slate stones, hence its name, and tradition has it that many of the
earlier tomb stones in the Old Cemetery were procured form this hill. It
was also a place of resort for large flat covering stones for road culverts
and sluices.
The late Leonard Brewer used to tell that when he was a boy the farmers,
when drawing wood or logs down this hill in icy weather, were accustomed to
use two yokes of oxen, chaining one pair behind the load to hold it back,
while the other pair drew the load.
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Story Time with Norm -
My name is Norman Houghton French, Boylston native, 71 years old.
Norm is taking a vaction this month--he'll be back next month!
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Oral History by Judy Haynes
Interview Tips to Remember: Conduct your interview in a quiet room alone
with the interviewee to avoid distractions. Use the what, where, when,
how, and why questions to elicit more than a yes and no answer. Use cues
such as photographs, news clips, family albums to provoke interesting
responses. Ask questions such as "How did you feel when President Kennedy
was assassinated?" or "How did you hear about Pearl Harbor?" Be patient
--a long pause is okay when the person is trying to recollect an incident.
Interview sessions shouldn't be planned for more than one or two hours at a
time with the elderly. It could exhaust them. If the talk wanders, avoid
turning off the tape recorder and return to the question when there is a
pause. Interviewees do better and speak more naturally if they talk and
forget the recorder is running. Refer to your outline as a general guide
for your questions. Make notes, particularly of names and spellings that
may not be on the taped record.
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Book of the Month -
Boylston - A pictorial history
by William O. Dupuis
The book is crammed full of never before seen photos of Boylston people
and places from the 19th and early 20th centuries. $18.99 + $3 shipping.
Pick it up at the Society and save the shipping cost!!
For more info go here:
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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BHS NEWS -
Event - Friday, Jan 21, 2000 at 7:30 pm.
Opening and Reception -- Photo Exhibit
"Old-Time Boylston"
Boylston photos from the 19th and early 20th centuries
Hope to see YOU there.
All Programs are open to the public and held at the Society (unless
otherwise noted). Donations at the door are gratefully accepted!
--------------------------------------------
We need a few volunteers who can come in on Tuesday and/or Thursday
morning to put the new computer to good use. WE always have transcribing
to do, genealogies to enter into the genealogy software, and tons of
archive info that needs to be entered into the database. If you would like
to help us out, call or just drop by and we'll work out a schedule.
--------------------------------------------
Available at the gift shop
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
1.Boylston - A pictorial history
The book is crammed full of never before seen photos of Boylston people
and places from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Available NOW!!! $18.99
+ $3 shipping.
2.Yankee Magazine subscription - $20 subscription. Look for subscription
cards at various places around town-- library, town hall, center store,
Baystate Auto, and the Historical Society!
Or visit the Yankee Partners Page:
http://www.newengland.com/cgi-bin/ymcp/print_partner.pl?number=183
or the subscription page
(under Benefit: don't forget to SELECT Boylston Historical Society):
http://www.newengland.com/YMCP/subscribe.html
3. Historical Society Calendar for 2000 - Photos of Boylston Entertainment
- 19th and 20th century style! ONLY $5 (at the gift shop and the
Boylston Library) ONLY A FEW LEFT!!!!!
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On The Web--
Universal Calendar Calculator
http://www.cf-software.com/ucc.htm
FREETRANSLATION.COM will automatically translate the English
content of your Web site, e-mail, documents, etc. into French,
Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese for free.
http://www.freetranslation.com
GenWEb Worcester County, MA
http://www.rootsweb.com/~maworces
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Humor -
The patient's family gathered to hear what the specialists had
to say.
"Things don't look good." The only chance is a brain
transplant. This is an experimental procedure. It might work,
but the bad news is that brains are very expensive, and you
will have to pay the costs yourselves."
"Well, how much does a brain cost?" asked the relatives.
"For a male brain, $500,000. For a female brain, $200,000."
Some of the younger male relatives tried to look shocked, but
all the men nodded because they thought they understood. A few
actually smirked. But the patient's daughter was unsatisfied
and asked, "Why the difference in price between male brains
and female brains?"
"A standard pricing practice," said the head of the team.
"Women's brains have to be marked down because they have
actually been used."
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PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from PotpourrEMAIL is granted
unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint
is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the
following notice appears at the end of the article:
Written by
Previously published by PotpourrEMAIL,
PotpourrEmail, Vol. 1, No. 7, 1 January 2000. Please visit
Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main Web page at
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/index.shtml
This newsletter is distributed monthly, on the first day of the month,
to all Boylston Historical Society members (who have email!), genealogists
and friends who have a special interest in the history of the town of
Boylston.
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