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PotpourrEMAIL
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Vol. 2, No. 8, 1 February 2001. Circulation: 100 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/
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; From the Editor; What's in a name?;
Tidbits; Book of the Month; BHS News; 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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From the Editor
So sorry this issue of the PotpourrEMAIL is SO LATE.
I had knee surgery and just got back to BHS last Thursday [Feb. 8.]
And Judy has had several family emergencies.
Next month's issue will be more timely!
Betty
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What's In a Name??
"Names of Places" by G.L. Wright
Volume I in the Historical Series
Runaway Island of Rocky Pond
In the printed Atlas of Worcester published in 1870....Rocky Pond is shown
as in figure #1, [ed. note - it's not possible to include the sketches here
- if
you are interested, vol. I is available at Boylston Library and BHS] with
the
large island on the western side of the pond about midway its length. Some
years afterwards the island changed its position, and floated to the
southeast
corner of the pond adjoining the land of Abel Faccett, which later came
into the
possession of Andrew J. Falby...
The island remained in its new position until the great hurricane of 1938
when
it again changed its location to the westerly shore, this time destroying the
waterfront of many of the cottages...The island contains at least five or six
acres, if not more.
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Tidbits
The Evening Gazette, Worcester, MA, Tuesday, May 8, 1945
Boylston, May 8--Roger Reil, 12, of 115 Summer street, today was reported
to the police as missing since 8:30 a.m. yesterday. He has brown hair
and a dark complexion, and was wearing a striped jersey shirt, brown
knickers, a blue coat, tan stockings and black shoes.
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from the BHS scrapbooks -
In keeping with the Runaway Island theme from above:
Worcester Evening Gazette, October 19, 1938
RUNAWAY ISLAND GIVES STATE A NEW PROBLEM
Storm Tossed Three Acre Freak on Rocky Pond Shore,
Northboro, and There She Lies
by Robert B. Sibley - staff reporter
State authorities today took up the question of what to do about the runaway
three-acre island which has moved in shore at Rocky Pond near the
Northboro-Boylston line, smashing some piers and boats, and cutting
off a Summer cottage colony from the water. Charles J. O'Donnell, civil
engineer from the Department of Public Works, arrived at the pond with
instructions to make a survey to determine what might be done to remove
the truant island and fix up the pond again.
The hurricane blew the island from its supposedly solid moorings near the
middle of the pond over to the north shore landllocking a group of camps
and cottages which formerly had water close to their front doorsteps.
O'Donnell, starting his inspection, looked over the runaway island and
remarked he had never seen anything like it for a nature freak. " I can't
say
what the state will do about it," Mr. O'Donnell explained. " all I can do
now
is report back to my department."
Residents in the district and the owners of Summer cottages, many of
them residents of Worcester, Clinton and Marlboro, had various ideas of
how to dispose of the bothersome runaway.
One suggested blowing it up with dynamite. Others suggested hitching a
cable or two to the island and towing it back into its old position with
winches placed on the far shore. A majority thought it would be a fine
idea for the state to cut it up, drag it out of the water, and truck it away.
One resident has already started to take matters into his own hands,
cutting away several sections near his property and towing the
pieces ' out to sea."
The trouble with this procedure, O'Donnell cautioned, is that it may develop
a flood condition if the "pieces" float along with the current to the dam at
the northwest end of the 30 acre pond and block the overflow. The water
is already at an unusually high level.
Incidentally, the state is owner of the island and there is therefore some
doubt as to the authority an individual might or might not have to carve it,
no matter what it's present nuisance rating.
State officials moved on the matter without waiting to receive a petition
from neighbors and Summer folk, which is being circulated by Everett
Schwab of Clinton, one camp owner. Schwab plans to turn the petition
over to Rep. Theodore Andrews of Clinton, for submission to the Department
of Public Works. Rep. Andrews already has been in touch with Francis L.
Sellew, official of the district waterways system in the public works
department.
The spectacle of an island more than 500 feet long and 200 feet wide in some
parts, drifting inshore in the teeth of the September hurricane, was
related by
Bernard Rosh, caretaker of the Acres Club at Rocky Pond.
" I thought I was seeing things," he confessed. "It didn't come fast, but it
was terrifying. One end swung around until one shore of the island was even
with the shore line, and then it closed in, leaving only a narrow channel
where
some of the boats and floats had stopped it."
"The island has always been a bother," William H. Falby, owner of most of
the land adjoining the pond, asserted.
" It's been anchored out there as long as I can remember, and never moved
before, but once in awhile a piece would break off and go floating around.
The pond has always been a beauty spot, but unless the state does
something to remove this mess of floating marsh, the pond won't be the
same again."
One part of the island has completely closed up what has been a favorite
swimming hole for years in the Boylston and Northboro district.
If the island is condemned and removed by the state, it will be the end
of freak fishing which the cottagers have enjoyed for years. Emile
Bonnin of Clinton, one of the Acres Club members, explained about it.
"We used to be able to go out on the island, cut a hole through, and fish
for pout during the daylight hours. It was sort of like fishing through
the ice, except it was an island and not ice.
"You know, pout fishing is supposed to be possible only at night. But
it's so dark under the island, which is only a couple of feet thick, that
the pout would be fooled and pout fishing was good out there any time."
Most of the camps and cottages are on rented land owned by Mr. Falby.
Only a few owners have title to both cottages and land.
some of the Summer residents are Bruno Leucht, George Suess,
John Kluntz, Oscar Sippach, Hugh Ruane and John Gebhardt, all
of Clinton; Joseph Crosby of Boston, Miss Gertrude Falby of Northboro,
Palmer Bigelow of Northboro, John Wenmark of Lancaster, George
Williams, Robert Johnson, Walter Murphy and Leland French, all
of Worcester.
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Book of the Month
"Lives Thus Spent- Boylston Biographies" by William O. Dupuis
Biographies of men and women who have or are contributing to the
growth of Boylston.
1981. 98 pages with illustrations and photos
$3.25 plus shipping
Visit the gift shop
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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BHS News
Event - Photo Exhibit - Grand Opening Reception
Sunday, Feb. 18 2pm to 3:30 pm
"Who Are They - Boylston's Unidentified Citizens
Are they part of your family or an old neighbor or maybe someone
you went to school with ??
This is an interactive exhibit. Each photo will have a place for
viewers to leave their comments, ideas, and clues to the identity
of the people in that photo.
The exhibit will run through September 2001.
Admission: Free
Program - Thursday, March 15, 2001 7:30 pm
" Land Distribution and the Origins of Shrewsbury"
By Bob Cormier of the Shrewsbury Historical Society
A slide lecture on the proprietors' Records, historical anecdotes, glimpses
at the Prior Grants, and a look at the Land that the Proprietors gave out.
Admission: FREE
Program - Thursday, April 19, 2000 at 7:30 pm
The Works of George Wright, Boylston's Foremost Historian"
by BHS Staff and Board member, Jim Lavallee
This multi-media presentation will showcase the writings and artwork
of George Wright, 1856-1943. Admission: FREE
Event - "John B. Gough Day" - Day and Time - TBA
Event - Monday, May 28, 2001, 10am to 2pm
"Memorial Day Open House" Come and visit!!!
Free Museum admission
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Visit the gift shop
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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On The Web
AUSTRALIAN GenWeb
http://www.rootsweb.com/~auswgw/
AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN GENEALOGY
http://www.austro-hungarian-genealogy-translations.com
JEWISH RECORDS INDEXING -- POLAND. Indices to more than
900,000 records for more than 150 towns.
http://www.jewishgen.org/jri-pl
FRENCH CANADIAN RESEARCH. The Bibliotheque Nationale du Quebec
has Tanguay's Dictionnaire genealogique des familles canadiennes
online.
http://www.genealogie.org/tanguay/
LATIN DICTIONARY. Understand Latin words and phrases you find in
old documents. Just fill in the blank with the Latin word.
http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe
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Humor
A lady about eight months pregnant got on a bus. She noticed the
man opposite her was smiling at her. She immediately moved to
another seat.
When she looked at the man again the smile had turned into a
grin, so again she moved. The man seemed more amused. After
moving for a fourth time the man burst out laughing, she
complained to the driver and he had the man arrested.
The case came up in court. The judge asked the man (about 20
years old) what he had to say for himself. The man replied, "Well
your Honor, it was like this. When the lady got on the bus, I
couldn't help but notice her condition. She sat under a sign that
said, "The Double Mint Twins are coming" and I couldn't help but
grin. Then she moved and sat under a sign that said, "Sloan's
Liniment will reduce the swelling" and I had to smile.
She then placed herself under a sign that said, "William's Big
Stick Did the Trick" and I could hardly contain myself. BUT your
Honor, when she moved the fourth time and sat under a sign that
said, "Goodyear Rubber could have prevented this accident...I just
lost it."
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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. 2, No. 8 1 February 2001. Please visit
Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main Web page at
.
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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boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
508-869-2720
Boylston Historical Society
PO Box 459
Boylston, MA 01505
Web Page: http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/index.shtml
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