RR Storytelling at the Meeting House David Hewes & Golden Spike, LCC hosts

Lynnfield Cultural Council hosts 'Men of Metal' series as we celebrate our 200th anniversary of the town and 300th anniversary of the 1714 Meeting House. May 15's talk is on native David Hewes and how Lynnfield experienced the era of the GOLD RUSH i1850s. Bob MacKendrick featured speaker will present an entertaining version of the Story of the Golden Spike. David Hewes a local iron merchant left Lynnfield for California in 1850 by ship to make his fortunes, and ended up one of several coast to coast entrepreneurs who engineered the Intercontinental Rail Road in the 1860s and changed how the world did business.

The Story of the Golden Spike focuses on the Rail Road final connection ceremony on May 10, 1869 at Promontory Point Utah in a great historic moment for the U.S. broadcast for the first time coast to coast via telegraph even back to the President in Washington D.C.

MacKendrick, a former selectman, local leader and rail road enthusiast himself, will give the audience a rail road 'show n tell' about David Hewes and the Golden Spike and what it must have been like to build the rail road tracks in a six year project from St. Louis to Sacramento. Originally travelling by ship to the West Coast, Hewes and local merchants such as neighbor Sea Captain Henry Bancroft,  Danforth and others realized how a cross country rail would improve trade and travel. Much danger was endured, with immense challenges, along with working with many cultures. Native Americans attacked workers in the west, while Chinese, Mormons and Irish were employed to lay the rail. Hewes sold fold down iron houses  for 'mobile forges' for rails.

Engineering and entrepreneurial feats of Hewes are celebrated in Orange CA where he made a fortune growing citrus crops. 

Hewes invented the steam shovel and 'steam paddy' an earth moving shovel on rail, he went on to build the coast of San Francisco and this technology was used for canal digging as well as in all construction today.

Come join us, all ages are welcome!  A reenactment of rail connection will be held at 7:45pm with a gold spike and mallet. Refreshments. Call Kendall Inglese, host for more info 781-334-5131.

The Story of David Hewes & the Golden Spike will be on display on Saturday too May 17 during the Lynnfield Day activities.  Even if it rains Geraniums will be on sale at the Meeting House where the Lynnfield Cultural Council will leave up display on Lynnfield Men of Metal stories for family viewing.

Later in June in time for the Tricentennial town parade, the LCC will feature another Men of Metal display on George Pierce and the aluminum entrepreneurs of 1900s bicycles bird cages and Pierce Arrow luxury cars. This series is a grant from massculturalcouncil.org. Call Amber Vaccaro, Chair about grants 781-342-5251. Grants are available each year for Lynnfield residents to share arts, music, interpretive science, history and culture.