Monday, May 20, 2013
With Memorial Day right around the corner, we find a 151-year-old document for a Lynnfield soldier who apparently came home from the Civil War in 1862.
I'm glad I came across this item with Memorial Day just around the corner. Over time, this weekly column is beginning to resemble an online museum of Lynnfield History. For our latest exhibit we have discharge papers from Private S.R. Moorland of the 22nd Mass. Volunteers from the Civil War on March 3, 1862. He was apparently a Lynnfield resident. From what I can make out on this document, Private Moorland was actually a Lynnfield resident, not somebody who trained at the former camp - and that the Army paid him $38.52 to cover the cost of a 22-day, 440-mile journey home from what is very likely Hall's Hill near Alexandria, Virginia. In an article back in the late summer of 2011, I talked a little bit about the history of Lynnfield in the …
Monday, May 13, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch highlights an item for sale and eBay and uses it to talk about the town's past.
For a small town, Lynnfield has had its fair share of legendary restaurants over the years. One such destination was the Colonial, which in a few short months will begin its new incarnation as the MarketStreet Lynnfield development. You don't have to be a historian with a hearty appetite to appreciate how an old menu offers an intriguing look back to long-ago times. But it helps. That said, here's a look currently for sale on eBay at what George Page had on the menu back in those semi-mythical days when a lot of the patrons may or may not have been wearing Nehru jackets and when Lynnfielders casually rubbed (smoky smelling and suede-patched?) elbows with some of the greatest Boston sports legends ever. Here’s one observation about this …
Monday, May 6, 2013
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch finds an item for sale on eBay and talks about its connection to the town's past.
For the second consecutive week, we can find an interesting detail about the town's past with help from a random item from Lynnfield being sold on eBay. This is a 1961 press photo showing the former location of Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Route 1 North in Lynnfied - and even back then it was a former church. As most readers know, the current location of OLA Parish is less than a mile away on Grove Street. The old OLA building is now the Century 21 North Shore office. Not much seems to have changed with the building since this picture was taken. But here's an interesting detail - the reason this particular press photo exists is that back then, a Salem couple intended to renovate the place as a restaurant and were seeking a liquor …
Monday, April 29, 2013
From time to time, Lynnfield Patch highlights items spotted on eBay.com and how they relate to the town's past.
Submitted, for your consideration (with apologies to Rod Serling) – a menu that's been around for almost as long as there's been motorists on Route 1. It's from the former Ship’s Haven restaurant, predecessor of “The Ship” on Route 1, that appears to date back to the 1930s. And it's also got some very useful local history information casually tucked away on the back page. Word is that if you buy the menu and open it at midnight, an apparition will appear and utter the phrase, "Say, what'll ya have, Mac?" as something vaguely resembling the Lindy Hop plays tinnily off in the background. But I digress. This 1930s menu, with an asking price of $9.99, features some old stand-by dishes, some of which would be at home on any menu today, and …
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thanks to former Lynnfield resident Ernie Hutchins for providing this local historical information.
Editor's Note: Ernie Hutchins lived in Lynnfield decades ago before moving up to Gilford, New Hampshire and more recently, to Washington State. He still keeps in touch with the folks in his old town however, and most recently, provided this website with a comprehensive look at the history of one of Lynnfield's well-known properties - 505 Main Street, which is now the home of the Lynnfield Middle School. Below is the full text of Ernie's research: INTRODUCTION This research was prompted by a conversation about an old home that once graced the landscape of Lynnfield Center. It was located at 505 Main Street. Now the address of the Lynnfield Middle School. I lived across the street from this home for almost 10 years. It was a beautiful old …
Monday, April 15, 2013
Four quarters and seven hours ago, this website presented the story of Lynnfield's role that first Patriot's Day in 1775. Also, check out the quiz to test your local Revolutionary War knowledge plus a list of all Lynnfielders who fought for independence.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch runs an old photo from town and talks about its history and what's there today.
Of all of the great long-ago landmarks of Lynnfield, photos of Kimball's Starlight Ballroom for some reason seem to be fairly uncommon - considering how the place would typically draw hundreds of people on any given night, as well as some of the nation's most well-known musical acts of the era, such as Duke Ellington. This photo provides some perspective on what the place looked like - it was literally a giant open-air dance floor with a stage over on one end that was covered by what may or may not be an art deco aircraft carrier superstructure. Elsewhere on eBay, this photo remains, and was written about at some previous point in this website. The image, no longer up for sale, is a press photo taken in 1932 showing the place filled with …
Monday, March 25, 2013
Each week, Lynnfield Patch takes a photo from the town's past and talks about its history and what's there today.
I keep on thinking I've come across the last of these long-ago press photos from Lynnfield, but they keep on coming. And this is another one of those images from the town's past that people should know about - especially with preparations underway for Lynnfield's 200th anniversary celebration next year. Back in 1964, Lynnfield was celebrating its 150th anniversary - and one way it marked the occasion was apparently to have a couple of town residents run a copy of the Governor's proclamation marking the occasion from the State House in Boston down Route 1 to the Lynnfield Town Common. The whole thing reportedly took about 90 minutes and apparently took place on June 13th, 1964. This is also the first time I've come across any reference to …
Monday, March 18, 2013
This week, we look at Centre Congregational Church during the Eisenhower years.
A handful of these recent "Then and Now" photos for Lynnfield have been coming from eBay, where somebody has been selling long-ago press photos that are of local historical interest. Another such example comes to us this week, where we find an image for sale taken in the early spring of 1959 showing the Centre Congregational Church apparently getting a new steeple. A note on the back of the photo says that a 120-foot boom lifted the 5,000 pound spire to the top of the church. About three or four workers were waiting up top to help get the spire into place. Finally - here's a related press photo up for sale right now on eBay, also showing the Centre Congregational Church. But this one is from 1957 and shows the structure without a steeple …
Monday, March 4, 2013
The second of two articles looking at some of the vintage and potentially offbeat items in the Lynnfield by-laws. Today - no booze in the police station, and behave yourself out on Pillings Pond.
Last Friday, this website ran a look at some of Lynnfield's older town by-laws, starting off with a focus on some health and sanitation type things. The idea for the article came from a recent announcement that Lynnfield town officials will have a consultant go through the town legal code in search of archaic and outdated items that need changing. The first of these two articles focused on topics such as communicable diseases and the keeping of pigs. Today, we go down a slightly different path with a look at some of the standards for behavior that can be found in the town by-laws. First of all, here’s why Lynnfield must be such a polite town – you can be fined up to $200 for breaking a by-law which states, “No person shall behave in a …
William Laforme
1:04 pm on Monday, May 13, 2013
That is so cool - Meeting "Apollo" from Battlestar Galactica and Jimmy Carter while working at the same restaurant! That's one of those ways you know you're at a legendary business...I didn't even know Carter was ever in town. more ›