Scituate Historical Society

43 Cudworth Road, Scituate, MA 02066, 781-545-1083 On Facebook at www.facebook.com/ScituateHistoricalSociety or at scituatehistoricalsociety.org Making Progress on CPC Projects The Cushing Shay is returned to mint condition while the Lafayette Coach begins its journey back to full health A Trove of Stories Arrives

Two months ago a box was delivered by post to the Little Red Schoolhouse. On a Sunday afternoon, the box was opened and a cascade of history tumbled out. The box came from the Franzen family of Scituate and New Hampshire. The materials included ran a gamut from 1840 to 1945. Photographs, letters, portraits, lithographs, and a one of a kind medal were included. See the photos below for a hint at this amazing donation. We can not be more grateful.

The Coast Guard of a bygone day

An extremely rare medal given to each Scituate sol- dier or sailor who returned from World War 1.

This is believed to be William Franzen during the First World War. The North Jetty in ice—1913 Captain George Brown of the Sailors muster at the Dedication of Life Saving service the Monument at Lawson Common

The Dr. Harold Edgerton /Graves End Bell Comes to Rest at Scituate Light

Thanks are due to many hands for the installation of the Dr. Harold Edgerton /Graves End Bell at Scituate Light in early December.

We are in debt to Bob Chessia, Bob Steverman, Steve Litchfield, Scituate Concrete Pipe, and especially the generous team at MIT who coordinated this gift.

Pictured with the bell is Gary Tondorf- Dick , Project Manager for MIT Facilities, who had a bell on his hands and knew just where he wanted it to land. Without Gary’s team this would not have happened.

Signage will be added in the spring to tell the full story of this pioneering device in Maritime safety.

Our condolences go out to the family and many friends of Barbara Whitfield, wife of Trustee Emeritus, Peter Whitfield ,on her passing in December. Barbara was of immeasurable help to the keepers at Scituate Light during every open house and she will be sadly missed. Community Preservation Act Proposals for 2016 –2017

The Community Preservation Committee voted on February 8, 2016 to support the funding of two Scituate Historical Society projects for the fiscal year beginning in July.

The Committee approved a project to restore the copper canopy of Scituate Light and rebuild the lantern room and gallery. The anticipated cost of this project is $160,000.00

The Committee also approved a project to convert the western side of the Little Red Schoolhouse, long used as an apartment space, into an Archive for the Society’s holdings.

Now located in the basement of the Schoolhouse, the holdings will be moved above grade to better catalog and preserve them for researchers and students. The anticipated cost of this project is $135,000.00. The Scituate Historical Society will contributed $27,000.00 to the overall cost.

Also, approved is an evaluation of Lawson Tower to see if it can be engineered into a display space.

SAVE THE DATE: MARCH 12, 2016 PLACE: HARBOR METHODIST CHURCH TIME: 6:30 TO 8:30 COST: $20.00 TOPIC: 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GROUNDING OF ETRUSCO ON CEDAR POINT Officers Thanks to all of you who have renewed your President: David Ball memberships or have encouraged a new Vice President: Fred Freitas member to join. We are eager to see our ranks Treasurer: Denise Castro grow. If you know of someone who enjoys our Clerk: Alice Leblanc Archivist: Carol Miles programming and has a passion for local Assistant Archivist: Mary Porter history, reach out to them and mention a membership in the Scituate Historical Society. Trustees

Mat Brown A Reminder: You get the newsletter earlier Bob Chessia and in color if you send a request to Bob Gallagher [email protected]. Make the Tom Hall Steve Litchfield subject line: Newsletter Susan Lovering Gigi Mirachi Tucker Patterson Alison Short Peter Whitfield— Trustee Emeritus SCITUATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Spring 2016 43 Cudworth Road, Scituate MA 02066 781-545-1083 scituatehistoricalsociety.org or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ScituateHistoricalSociety

ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT OLD IRONSIDES

Please join the Scituate Historical Society in welcoming Margherita Desy to the Grand Army Hall on Country Way, Monday May 2nd at 6:30pm.

Margherita Desy is a curator and historian of New England maritime and early U.S. Navy histories. Employed by the Naval History & Heritage Command Detachment Boston, Margherita is historian for USS Constitution. She has also worked for Historic New England, the USS Constitution Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Hartford, and for 20 years at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Margherita taught for fourteen years as adjunct faculty at Tufts University in the Museum Studies Program in the Graduate and Professional Studies Department.

This is your chance to have every question you have ever had answered by the foremost authority on the USS Constitution. We hope to see you at GAR hall on May 2nd.

FIELD TRIP SEASON BEGINS

Thanks go out to all the volunteers who set time aside during the spring for the many, many field trips that visit the sites mantained and managed by the Scituate Historical Society. Groups from Marshfield have visited already and more are on the way from the Norwell and Scituate schools. In early April there was a group of international students who came directly to Scituate Light from a meeting with Senator Warren. Having these visits is both a daunting and rewarding task. We are grateful to all of those who help make it happen.

A FACELIFT FOR THE KEEPER’S COTTAGE

The interior of the Lightkeeper’s Cottage was visited by Denman Baker and his meticulous approach with a paint brush for three weeks in early March. Ceilings in need of repair were addressed as were several of the new windows installed last fall. The second floor was returned to a pristine condition as a pair of two-hundred-year- old bedrooms got new coats on ceilings, walls, and trim. Nate offered insightful suggestions about two sorry looking doors and improved their look with a touch of red for one and a touch of green for the other. We are always glad to have him on any of the Scituate historical sites. Nate is the grandson of Scituate icon Nat Tilden. THE SCITUATE HARBOR CULTURAL DISTRICT IS ESTABLISHED

Scituate Historical Society President David Ball and Trustee Stephen Litchfield have been appointed by the Board of Selectman to the newly established committee working to fufill the requirements of the Cultural District initiative. Stretching from Satuit Brook to Scituate Light, this initiative brings together town government, business groups, and civic groups like the Scituate Historical Society and the Arts Association, in the promotion of all the different aspects of life that flower here in Scituate. Part of the Society’s contribution will be the display of the restored Cushing Shay in Scituate Harbor in early May. Another contribution made by the Society is the creation of a set of posters that capture the Harbor of days gone by. A small sampler of choices that were set aside for another time is below. You will have to visit during the first Friday kick off to see the cream of the crop.

Several of these images are taken from the Jacobsen/Twomey Postcard Collection. It is truly a treasure trove that will be mined in more andmore depth as this year continues. The Scituate Historical Society looks forward to sharing more and more of the neighborhoods and the landmarks of the town with this remarkable tool. ONE MORE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE IN PLACE AT GAR HALL

Members and supporters of the Scituate Historical Society take pride in the care given to all of the historic buildings in town by volunteers, trustees, and by vendors who always seem to take a little more of their own time to be sure that each job is done right. The most recent example is at the Grand Army Hall where through the efforts of Bob Chessia, Pam Martell, Jeff Martell, David Ball, and Warren Cowings, new doors have been installed. Hours beyond counting went into this project, with measurements, adjustments, consultations, and finally installation, resulting in a better secured, better looking, more reliable, set of doors on Scituate’s oldest public building. Our thanks to all of those involved.

A WALK ON THE HARBOR SIDE As you read this the new boardwalk is likely being installed on the harbor side of Scituate Light. A perfect example of the virtues of Community Preservation Funds, the boardwalk brings access to the water to all the guests of Scituate Light who saw their view impacted by the building of the incredibly effective revetment two years ago The boardwalk is six feet wide and runs one hundred sixty-eight feet from the parking lot flagpole to the concrete walkway in front of the lighthouse. What was lost is now restored with the boardwalk. The walk will remain in place through the summer and early fall.

PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON WITH TOWN MEETING APPROVAL

The annual Town Meeting for the Town of Scituate was the occasion for three significant votes for the Scituate Historical Society. Community Preservation funds were approved for projects at Lawson Tower, at Scituate Light, and at the Little Red Schoolhouse. Lawson Tower will be evaluated for a possible exhibition space inside the former water tower. Scituate Light will have the lantern room and gallery revitalized with a facing of new copper. The current copper cover has been in place since 1930. At the Little Red Schoolhouse, space formerly used as an apartment with be repurposed as an above grade archive to replace the archive currently housed in the basement of the building. The funds approved for these projects will become available on July 1, 2016. The hope is that the work will commence in early fall. Thanks go out to all who supported these projects with their votes. A WONDERFUL CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETRUSCO CELEBRATION

Trustee Alison Short is a master of Facebook. During one of her visits to the social media hub, she made contact with the daughter of William Miller, one-time Chief Warrant Officer at the Coast Guard Station, Scituate. CWO Miller was presented with the flag that flew on Etrusco during its grounding at Cedar Point in the celebrated year of 1956. With the 60th Etrusco anniversary approaching Alison arranged for the flag to be returned to Scituate and it was with the assembled group at the Harbor Methodist Church on March 12. The flag remains on display for a limited time at the Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum on the Driftway. The Miller family has been extraordinarily generous to offer the people of Scituate a tangible reminder of this amazing event in Scituate’s history.

Dinner Photographs by Kevin Walsh

Be Sure to Visit the Maritime Museum while the CWO William Miller and his crew Etrusco Flag is on display

WE FIND OURSELVES IN VERY GOOD COMPANY

The Scituate Historical Society is one of 18 organizations representing 10 towns of the South Shore that make up the Back Roads of the South Shore. The BRSS puts on a yearly symposium that covers one historical theme of the area. This year it was Land & Sea: Historical Agriculture & Aquaculture of the South Shore. Dave Ball representing the Scituate Historical Society was one of six speakers at the symposium. Dave’s talk was titled “How Seaweed Changed the Demographics of Scituate.” Using photos from our archives and firsthand knowledge, being a mosser in his youth, Dave captivated the crowd of more than 100 with stories of the town’s Irish mossing industry and how the Irish mossers helped make Scituate the most Irish town in the country.

Besides the annual symposium the BRSS group has monthly meeting that deals with the issues historical groups must deal with as well as sharing the successes and failures each group has encountered. The monthly meetings are held at the BRSS sites giving the members an idea of how each group operates as well as a private tour of their specific site.

Since joining the BRSS Stephen Litchfield and Bob Chessia, as representatives of the SHSS, have visited: The Abigail Adams Birthplace, the Bare Cove Fire Museum, the Mayflower Society, the Alden House, Pilgrim Hall and the Duxbury Historical Society. They also visited the Massachusetts Historical Society and were given a private tour. It was also through this connection that the Scituate Historical Society came to have a shortwave radio that is a duplicate to that used by Jim Howard on Cedar Point the night that Etrusco came ashore. The radio is on display at the Maritime and Irish Mossing Museum. We thank former Hingham Fire Chief, Mark Duff and his wife Geri, for this contribution. It would not have happened without the ties created by the Back Roads of the South Shore.

FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Irish Mossers’ Reunion August 13: Save the Date!

An Irish Mossers’ reunion will be held on Saturday August 13th at our Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum. Former mossers from all time periods are invited. The public is also invited to participate so they can meet the mossers and learn about the Irish mossing industry here. Hawk Hickman who mossed from the early 1960’s to 1997 has written a second book on mossing. The tentative title of his new book is: Irish Sea Mossing in Scituate Massachusetts-The First Hundred Years-1860 to 1960. He will be at the reunion for a book signing.

Science Spectacular at Scituate High School

The annual Science Spectacular was held on April 13. Students from many grade levels presented their projects. This year Debbie Jackson, Hank Lynch, and Tom Mulloy, our diving contingent from the Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum, represented the Society. They had a fantastic exhibit of diving equipment and artifacts from shipwrecks that they have dived on. I was very impressed, as was the public. They have agreed to exhibit many artifacts that are not presently at the Museum. We will have information for you when that happens, but it will be soon!

Dave Ball Scituate Historical Society June 2016 Newsletter www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org 781-545-1083

The Scituate Historical Society and the Gates Open School Reach Their Centennial Year House A Shared Celebration of the People and the Places Dates for In the summer of 1916, a group organized to collect, to catalog, to share, and to educate their neighbors and their guests about the the summer history of Scituate, then in the Town’s 280th year. Using the of 2016 Cudworth House on First Parish Road and the Old Scituate Town Hall, The Scituate Historical Society offered talks, put on July 10 performances, published papers and books, and assisted August 6 & 7 researchers in their efforts. One hundred years later that work continues from The Kathleen Laidlaw Center, once the Scituate September 18 High School that sat next door to the Cudworth House, now Sites are open from moved to a spot behind the new Scituate High School that was 1:00 to 4:00 built in that same year.

That new Scituate High School is now a Middle School named for Lester J. Gates, a long time public servant lost too soon. It is a school whose history speaks to the transitions that the Town of Scituate has undergone in the century past. It is a history soon to end with the construction of new building at a different site

This issue of the Scituate Historical Society newsletter will celebrate the story of both the Society and its people and the Gates School and its people.

Happy 100th to all!

Scituate Had Big Plans in 1916

As Scituate struggled with the impact of the First World War, there were efforts underway to continue the Progressive ideas that had bloomed in the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

Seeing the Town growing rapidly, the Selectmen and the School Board proposed a new Community center on the site adjacent to the Town Hall and the High School seated on First Parish Road. In the shadow of the beautiful Lawson Tower, this Community Center would have a new school, tennis courts, a field for sports and for skating, and a magnificent auditorium for plays, chorales, and orchestras. This vision was realized in 1916 with the building of a new Scituate High School, known today at the Lester J. Gates Middle School.

The new building would have additions in 1930, 1953, and 1958 as the Town of Scituate adjusted to the Baby Boom of the 1950’s and 1960’s. There would also be alterations that took away from the original vision of the building as Scituate’s Community Center.

These two articles authorized the building of the New Scituate High School. Henry Turner Bailey served as Moderator. The Advisory Board voted against the project, fearful of the funding mechanism

This image is labeled 8th and 9th grade Scituate High School 1916. These will be the first students to graduate from the new Scituate High School in 1920.

Jump ahead to 1976. Students from the Class of 1980 pose in front of the US Capital. Scituate had become connected to a wider world in the interim. Fashion had changed a great deal too.

Photograph provided by Tracy Harrington Kiddie A Hallowed Hall Remembered

The former auditorium at the former Scituate High School, now the Lester J. Gates Middle School, was a beautiful public space. The editor will never forget his knocking knees as he delivered a campaign speech there for a class officer election in the spring of 1974. The site for Town Meetings, for recitals, for lectures of all sorts, the room was also the gym for a women’s basketball team in the 1940’s that won 48 straight games. Several of the benches from the balcony have been preserved by Trustee Steve Litchfield with the hope that they will take a place in the balcony at the Grand Army Hall.

Life Photographer Hansel Mieth captured the brilliance of the former High School Auditorium in this photograph from the 1938 Town Meeting

One-part gymnasium, one-part theater, this was the focal point of town life until the 1974-75 renovation of the building (Hansel Mieth)

AN EXCERPT FROM THE DEED FOR THE PROPERTY THAT BECAME THE PRESENT DAY GATES SCHOOL

This deed describes the manner in which what was commonly called the Thorndike property came to be held by Paul and Marian Litchfield. Theophilus Thorndike was deeded this property by James Cudworth and in time was inherited by the Litchfields.

The Town’s price, $1.00.

An amazing aerial photograph of the Community Center created with the building of the new Scituate High School in 1916.

On the far left is the current Red School house , then white. On the far right, Lawson Tower. The Civil War Memorial is incomplete in this image. Hail to (Some of) the Early Chiefs

The Scituate Historical Society has had 11 Presidents over its 100-year history, foremost among them Kathleen Laidlaw of whom you can read elsewhere in this newsletter. (See the sidebar on the opposite page for a complete list with years.) In every case the President has been a person of extraordinary energy and commitment.

Silas Pierce was the first President of the Scituate Historical Society. During his time the Scituate Historical Society marked their anniversaries with tributes to the troops overseas with the American Expeditionary Force. The Cudworth House and the Grist Mill were the main destinations then though the article connected to this cartoon, from the Boston Globe of September 1917, tells of the assembled group bearing witness at the Men of Kent cemetery and at the gravesite of Chief Justice Cushing. Three years later, still under the leadership of Mr. Pierce, the Scituate Historical Society would commission renowned sculptor Cyrus Dallin to craft the Chief Justice Cushing plaque on display today at the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Thomas Farmer would take the Society through the 1920’s with events that included annual fish dinners at the Unitarian Church, the grinding of corn at the Grist Mill, and rides in the shay owned by Chief Justice William Cushing. That same shay has been restored this past year and there are hopes for it to be on display in a prominent place in the future. There were novel events in those years. In 1923, under Mr. Farmer, The Scituate Historical Society recreated the trial of Rhodolphus Ellms who in 1660 was charged with the crime of being a Quaker and convicted. His sentence was two hours in the stocks. PRESIDENTS OF The President of the Scituate Historical Society has from time to time THE SCITUATE offered a yearly report on the work of the Society through the Annual HISTORICAL Scituate Town Report. A survey of those reports reveals a wide ranging SOCIETY number of projects over the past 100 years. It is a history of a Town and a Society well aware of its historic assets, though both groups have not Silas Peirce always been on the same page. 1916 - 1922

As shown elsewhere in this newsletter, the number of public buildings Harvey Pratt supervised and administered by the Scituate Historical Society on behalf of 1922 - 1925 the town grew steadily over the century. Below is a small sample of some of the other ways that the work of the President has crossed over into the Thomas Hatch Farmer business and cultural life of the Town. 1925 -1935

Nathaniel Tilden 1935 - 1940

Mrs. Frank L. Nason 1940 - 1945

Wilmot Brown 1945 - 1963

Frank Merton Colman 1963 - 1966

Kathleen Laidlaw David Ball from the 2000 Town Report on Massachusetts Chief Justice 1966 - 1996 Marshall’s visit to the Cushing Grave site and to the Gates School. David Ball 1996 - 2000

Susan Phippen 2000 - 2001

David Ball 2001 - present

The Scituate Town Clerk’s office reports of Town Meeting voting to publish President Harvey Hunter Pratt’s history of Scituate up to the American Revolution.

President Wilmot Brown held a position once held by President Nathaniel Tilden on the local relief board. Mr. Tilden seemingly held every possible position in Scituate public affairs and was the State Representative for Scituate for many years. A Force Like No Other Celebrating the centennial year of the Scituate Historical Society would be hollow without remarks on the work done over a 30-year period by Kathleen Laidlaw. From the early 1960’s when she served as Secretary to the Society, to her many years as President, Mrs. Laidlaw made choice after choice that continue to profoundly impact the mission of the Society and the townspeople of Scituate.

Picture this: The Board of Selectmen have just voted 3 to 2 on the question of funding the preservation of the Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage. Yes, you read that correctly. There was a vote in 1967 on that very question. At the time the Light itself had been condemned. Into the breach to save the Lighthouse and to remind the Selectmen of the terms of the sale of the Light by the Federal Government came Kay Laidlaw. A warrant article was drawn up by the Scituate Historical Society and the custody and administration of the Scituate Light was granted by Town Meeting to the Society. The relationship continues to the present day with admirable success. The same model would be applied to the preservation of the Mann Farmhouse and more recently, to the Bates House.

Mrs. Laidlaw also secured the Lawson Tower, the Grist Mill, the Old Oaken Bucket House (through an ingenious donation plan by Society members and the wider public) and saw to it that the James House might be transformed into the Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum as her career was concluding. A review of the Society newsletters from the mid-sixties through the eighties is akin to hearing her voice laying out her goals for the preservation of the storied places and the education of the community in those stories. In a very short while it is hoped that those newsletters will be available to anyone with an interest on the Scituate Historical Society website: www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org.

Overseeing the renovations at Scituate Light in early 1968 and at the top of Scituate Light prior to the relighting in 1994

An excerpt from a 1967 Scituate Historical Society Newsletter on the restoration of Scituate Light

Mrs. Laidlaw played a key role in the return of the Army of Two Fife to Scituate Light and she was dogged in addressing the needs for funding as this Bill Sexton cartoon makes clear. She saw to it that Toyota contributed to the upkeep of Scituate Light when they filmed a commercial using the Tower.

Below: A 1989 reenactment of the Army of Two event and at the Town Hall James Bond meets Indiana Jones At the recent talk given by Marguerite Desy on the history of the USS Constitution, many were surprised when Ms. Desy mentioned Legendary Local Colonel C. Wellington Furlong. Colonel Furlong, she shared, had a role in the discovery of the sunken remains of the USS lost to the Barbary Pirates in the early days of the US Navy. This quote is taken from his book, Gateway to the Sahara:

Much of my time in Tripoli during the summer of 1904 was spent in efforts to obtain data relating to the capture and destruction of the Philadelphia by Lieutenant Decatur in command of the ketch Intrepid – not only for its local significance, but also with a view to locating the wreck …

His search takes him all over the city of Tripoli where he hears the stories handed down as folk lore of a foreign corsair on fire. When he is finally able to dive his wishes are answered.

… In less than an hour my search was rewarded by seeing the broken ends of the great ribs of a vessel protruding through dull colored eel-grass As unique a figure as the town of Scituate has ever known, Colonel Furlong traveled the world as an explorer, a spy, a naturalist and as a writer. He was a confidant of President Woodrow Wilson and accompanied the President to Versailles for the peace conference that resolved the First World War. His expertise contributed to the Mandate system that was established in the Middle East. We live with the legacy of that system today in many of the rivalries there.

Settling in Scituate in the twenties, he became a voice for the development of the Harbor as a commercial center and the creation of the greenbelt along route 3A.

His contribution to the Scituate Historical Society is found in notes and articles. In 1930 he gave a keynote address at an anniversary on “Scituate, Past, Present and Future.” His photographs surface in the archives routinely: A survey of historic buildings in winter. A recreation of the Army of Two on an anniversary. He was seemingly in the middle of everything on every continent and all around town. A Place You Never Wanted to Go to in the Gates School

No, not the Principal’s office or the showers in the Boys locker room. Both were pretty bad places to go, but the place to which our headline refers is a place you would only go to in the worst, the worst, of emergencies.

The Lester J. Gates Middle School has a bomb shelter. Located under the B wing, the shelter was a part of the Cold War thinking that had Americans preparing for a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. Access was granted three summers past and these are a few of the pictures that were gleaned from that day. Thanks go out to Joe Bergman once again for this access.

A dirt floor stretches back from a short ladder that takes you under the B Wing.

Small bottles of iodine remain. These were meant help survivors of a bomb blast deal with radiation sickness.

17 ½ gallon containers for water and others with toilet paper (meant to be the toilets when empty) are in evidence.

If you can imagine 1000 people huddled in this space with these limited supplies, rationed necessities like water and toilet paper, you can imagine the motivation the townspeople had when making this design decision in the expansion of their high school. Such was life in the early 1950’s. Faces from the Gates School

More Faces from the Gates School Faces from the Scituate Historical Society More Faces from the Scituate Historical Society A Great Deal of Rewarding Work

Since its adoption, the Community Preservation Act has been an unqualified blessing as it has provided the means to secure many of the town owned properties as well as those owned by the Scituate Historical Society.

Renovations and preservation projects have been pursued and executed at the Cudworth house where floors, windows, and utilities were modernized without sacrifice to historical accuracy. Lawson Tower has been serviced to preserve its character well into the 21st century. At Scituate Light improvements to utilities made that building much safer and moved it into its second hundred years properly. The Humane Society building on First Cliff has been repurposed to house the Scituate Recreation Sailing program. The Lawson Gates were rebuilt. Most importantly, the purchase of the Bates House was only possible by combining the generosity of Yvonne Twomey and the funding provided by the CPC surtax. A stunning boardwalk, and an even more needed and beautiful revetment, sit alongside the Scituate Light. All of these are examples of Community preservation funds at work to hold and enhance The Town of Scituate’s most treasured assets.

The Scituate Historical Society has used Community Preservation funds as well. A priceless atlas of South Shore towns has been preserved. Improvements were made to the gravesite of Rebecca and Abigail Bates. A Bible owned by Simeon Bates was spared from deterioration. A Society initiated project guaranteed that log books passed down from turn of the century light keepers will make to the next century. The Grand Army Hall was brought back to life as a vibrant busy building with help from grants, Society provided funds, and Community Preservation Act monies. A Civil War era cannon placed in front of the GAR Hall was restored with CPA funding. The Cyrus Dallin masterpiece of William Cushing looks brand new again with a replica on the familiar stone in Greenbush, and the original secured in the Little Red Schoolhouse. That same Schoolhouse was recast as a library, meeting place, archive, and museum with CPA funds. The oldest Grist Mill in the country runs today as it did nearly 400 years ago with the application of Society energies and CPA dollars and a handicap accessible pocket park rests beside it created with the same forces. The shay in which Scituate’s premier citizen, Chief Justice William Cushing did his traveling along the circuit was almost magically transformed from a damaged wreck to a beautifully noble buggy befitting an eminence. Perhaps the last remaining shed from the Irish Mossing Industry was renovated and later moved to be integrated into the Martime & Irish Mossing Museum on the Driftway with a Scituate Historical Society application, approval by Town of Scituate Boards and Town Meeting, and the coordination provided by Society volunteers.

The Scituate Historical Society would like to thank its members and the townspeople of Scituate for the support offered at Town Meeting across all these years and all these projects. We feel certain that each has enhanced the quality of life in Scituate for the short term and the long term.

The Grand Army Hall above and the Humane Society Building below – Photographs by Dana Green

May 22 saw the Scituate Historical Society host its first Open House of the year. Guests visiting the Lighthouse enjoyed the boardwalk installed during April. It has been a sensation from the first hour. Another noticeable change is in the condition of the Edgerton Bell donated by MIT to the Lighthouse last spring. Skylight Studios of Woburn Ma cleaned and waxed the bell, revealing the text beautifully. The Cedar Point Association added in its yearly plantings the following weekend. Don’t miss a chance to visit the Lighthouse soon.

From West to East Again In early May, The Scituate Historical Society received an amazing donation from Charles Chamberlain of San Diego California. Mr. Chamberlain is a branch on a truly grand family tree. Thomas Lawson was his great grandfather; Congressman and Governor of Massachusetts Samuel McCall was another great grandfather; and Senator George Earle Chamberlain of was a third great grandfather. His uncle was Thomas Lawson McCall, Congressman and from 1969 to 1975 where he signed the first “Bottle Bill” in the nation

The centerpiece of this exciting collection is the wedding dress worn by both Dorothy Lawson McCall in 1914 and by Dorothy McCall Chamberlain in the late 1930’s. This is a beautiful hand embroidered gown that is surely one of a kind.

Our Lawson expert, Bob Chessia believes that many of the pieces belonged at one time to the favorite aunt of the Lawson children, Tom’s sister Mary. There is a vanity set Dorothy Lawson McCall with her son of silver comb, mirror, brush and other accessories that is Governor Thomas McCall. Her grandson has made a fantastic especially wonderful. There are also many, many family donation to the Society photographs and other mementos of this vibrant clan who began here in Massachusetts and made their mark here and in Oregon.

Check out the unpacking of this treasure trove at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtAGr-4cncU

Westernwold was the 640 acre Oregon ranch given to Dorothy Lawson McCall and her husband Hal by Thomas Lawson. Governor McCall and his sister Dorothy McCall Chamberlain were raised there.

The book by Mrs. McCall, “Ranch Under the Rimrock” describes their lives there. It was Once the Heartbeat of the Town

A reunion for anyone who was ever part of the Irish Mossing industry in Scituate or surrounding towns will be held on Saturday August 13th at the Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum on the Driftway from Noon to 4:00. In the past these events have been wildly well received with many old friends gathering and sharing stories deep into the afternoon. As parking is limited at the Museum, The Scituate Historical Society has arranged for the use of the east lot of the MBTA parking lots across the street. A caterer has been hired to prepare all the favorites of a New England barbecue. You don’t want to miss this party! The cost is $15.00. See the events page at www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org for more details as they develop.

The Scituate Historical Society is entering its second century and wants you to be a part of it. Return the enclosed form and return it with your check to support the continued mission as Mrs. Laidlaw once described it in this excerpt from the Town Report of 1978. You can also join at the web site: www.scituatehistoricalsociety.org

Notice of Special Meeting in lieu of Annual Meeting:

The Special Meeting will take place at 6:15pm on Thursday September 8, 2016 at the Little Red Schoolhouse, 43 Cudworth Road. The meeting will consist of an annual report from the President as well as action on the following report of the Nominating Committee. Please make every attempt to attend the meeting. If you are unable to attend please complete the proxy below and return it to the Society before Monday September 5, 2016.

Trustees (for three year terms) Term Expires Officers (two year terms) Term Expires

Mary Porter 2019 David Ball—President 2018

Sue Lovering 2019 Fred Freitas—Vice President 2018

Other Trustees Now Serving Other Officers Now Serving Term Expires

Bob Gallagher 2018 Alice LeBlanc—Clerk 2017

Alison Short 2018 Carol Miles—Archivist 2017

Bob Chessia 2018 Denise Castro—Treasurer 2017

Tucker Patterson 2018

Tom Hall 2017

Steve Litchfield 2017

Gigi Mirarchi 2017

Peter Whitfield—Trustee Emeritus

Mat Brown – Trustee Emeritus

Proxy for September 8, 2016 Special Meeting in lieu of Annual Meeting

I am a member in Good standing of the Scituate Historical Society and hereby vote

For Against

The election of the Trustees shown in the report of the Nominating Committee.

______

Name of member, Scituate Historical Society The Scituate Historical Society would like to take this opportunity to thank the local businesses, institutions, craftsmen, and historians that have been among our most fervent and consistent supporters. Please consider joining this list as the Scituate Historical Society enters its second hundred years.

Frank R. Snow Inc./Frank Snow Conver Press/Pam McCallum Pam and Jeff Martell

Scituate Mariner PF Spencer Contracting/Peter Spencer The River Club

DJ Richard Electric/Dana Richard Steverman Machine Service/Bob Steverman Bruce Bent

Totman Enterprises/Russ Totman WMC Construction/Warren Cowing Scituate Pharmacy

Hassan Signs/David Hassan Harbour Insurance/Bob and Steve Drew Carolyn Bearce

Richard Wainwright The Sand Hills General Store/Dan McAdam Dolly Bicknell

Mark and Darlene Steverman Jackie Collari Bill Leonard

GBH Electric/Gerry Houghton R & C Farms/Ronny and Cindy Simons Joe Lebherz

NOAA Stellwagen Bank Northern Oak Landscaping/Steve Leitch Gary Tondorf-Dick

Larry Ward Minuteman Press/Deb Rust The Carter Family

Tom Mulloy Hank Lynch Debbie Jackson

Galligan Plumbing and Heating/Tom Galligan The Harbor United Methodist Church

Glancy Crane/David Glancy Scituate Concrete Pipe/Hoffman Family MJ Hallin Inc./John Hallin

Maurine Upton

It Only Takes a Minute but the Results Can Last a Century Cut out this form and return along with your ballot on the flip side of this sheet if you are a renewing member. If you are a new member, complete this form and return it to the address listed below or log on to the Society website and join there. You won’t regret it.

The Mission of the Scituate Historical Society Continues Today

The Scituate Historical Society has responsibility for the oversight of the Lawson Tower, the Lawson Gates, the Mann Farmhouse, The Bates House, The Cudworth House, The Humane Society Building, and the Scituate Lighthouse. The Society also owns and preserves the Old Oaken Bucket House, the Stockbridge Grist Mill, the Maritime & Irish Mossing Museum, The Grand Army Hall, the Cudworth Barn, and the Kathleen Laidlaw Center (The Little Red Schoolhouse.) Volunteers and Trustees, along with Officers put in thousands of hours each year to advance the twin mission of education and preservation of the history of the Town of Scituate. The historical buildings are routinely opened for school trips and out of town guests.

The Trustees of the Scituate Historical Society would like to thank all of the residents of Scituate, past and present, for their trust and support over the past 100 years.

Officers: Trustees: President: David Ball Mat Brown Gretchen Mirarchi Vice President: Fred Freitas Bob Chessia Tucker Patterson Clerk: Alison LeBlanc Bob Gallagher Alison Short Treasurer: Denise Castro Tom Hall Archivist: Carol Miles Stephen Litchfield Peter Whitfield Trustee Emeritus Assistant Archivist: Mary Porter Susan Lovering Special Projects: Pam Martell Gretchen Mararchi Librarian: Nancy Robertson