to the Blue Bunny and pick up a copy of my Dedham book; also available are Framingham Legends and Lore, Murder and Mayhem in Metrowest Boston and 2 books of fun family poetry- perfect for National Poetry Month!
Archive for the ‘…all the old familiar places’ category
Hop on in…
April 1, 2023Where in Dedham? The Dedham Police Station
March 11, 2023
The Dedham Police Department moved into their new headquarters on April 29, 1963, almost 60 years ago. The department had been in temporary headquarters at the new town hall on Bryant Street after vacating their original home in Memorial Hall which was torn down the year before.
This was the first and only building built exclusively as a police station in Dedham. Tomorrow, the new public safety building on Bryant Street will be dedicated at a ribbon cutting ceremony at 1:00. Guests are invited to attend the ceremony and tour the new police/fire facility.
The new building at 26 Bryant Street. The combined fire/police facility will also replace the 1930 Central Fire Sation on Washington Street. The Dedham Square Planning Committe recommended in December 2021 that the former police station be demolished, and the site be developed as green space.
I’ve been inside the police station exactly two times. The first time was as an eighth grader doing a report on police work. Some officers showed me around and gave me a blank fingerprint card as a souvenir. About 20 years ago my car was rammed by another one in the Dedham Plaza parking lot and I went to the police station to file an accident report. Feel free to share stories of any time you’ve spent in the Dedham Police Station!
Congratulations to Mary Fontaine who was the first to correctly identify the location!
Snow Day!
February 28, 2023What kid, or teacher for that matter doesn’t love a snow day? As kids we would get up early and listen to the No School announcements on WHDH or WBZ radio praying to hear “No school, all schools in Dedham.” Then as quick as we could, we’d stuff our feet into Wonder Bread bags and rubber boots and head out the door to go sledding! In the days before the streets were intensely chemically treated and plowed to bare pavement before the last flake has even fallen, the little hill on Tower Street by my house made for great coasting. I’m sure this was the case all around Dedham on quiet streets with even the slightest elevation.
If we were feeling really adventurous, we’d take our Flexible Flyers (or Speedaway knockoffs) to the hill at the Capen School. Now THAT was a hill! If you weren’t careful, you could speed-away right onto the basketball court or the woods at the edge of the baseball field, especially if you were flying down the hill on one of those plastic or metal coasters.
Other popular sledding locations were the Community House and Federal Hill (Highland Ave) where sledders in the 1890s covered the hill with water taken from a nearby brook to create an ice covered surface for even more thrills. Even the dangers of car traffic didn’t stop some enthusiastic kids in December 1933.
Back at Tower Street, the Parr kids and our neighbors had a safe sledding option right in our own backyard. Even the installation of a rail fence by my father didn’t keep us off that hill.
Those childhood days of sledding are best captured in this poem I wrote recently. Feel free to share your coasting memories in the comments!
Our Hill
Our hill was not so big a hill,
But still, it was the only hill
In any backyard up and down the street.
And days when wind and winter chill
Dropped snow upon our little hill
It was the place where neighbor kids would meet
For coasting down that snowy hill,
A simple childhood winter thrill
That kept us in the cold outdoors all day.
And down and up we crossed that hill
And didn’t stop the fun until
The cold and darkness drove us all away.
The next time that it snows you will
Find new kids sledding down that hill
The way we did so many years ago.
Their happy shouts of joy will fill
The skies above that ancient hill
And echo over freshly fallen snow.
New Feature: Where in Dedham?
January 18, 2023This is a fun new feature of the blog that I will post from time to time. The first person to correctly identify the location of a posted photo will win a copy of my most recent book “Murder and Mayhem in Metrowest Boston.” Because I share my blog posts on several Facebook groups, the correct answer must be posted in the comments directly on the blog (found at the bottom of the post where it says “Leave a Reply”). Now, it is true that subscribers to the blog may have a slight advantage as they receive the post directly in their email as soon as it is published, so there’s that. To subscribe, scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your e-mail in the box. Then confirm your subscription by responding to an email you will receive from Word Press.
Sorry, no Parr family members may participate!
The first mystery photo will be posted on Friday, January 20th at 6:00 pm. Good luck!
The more things change…
November 18, 2022While I continue working on Part 3 of the Paul family story, enjoy this little diversion about Oakdale Square.
Oakdale Square doesn’t look all that different after 80 years, does it? The top photo is from a real estate postcard dated April 9, 1940. The bottom photo was taken November 11, 2022 after the 7-11 removed all traces of their presence here. When I was a kid, it was Danny’s Supermarket.
When the building was being constructed in 1925 (as 6 separate stores), the Dedham building inspector tried to halt construction due to neighbors’ complaints that the structure would create a “blind corner” for motorists. The builder, John Picone, of Newton, took his case to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts where it was heard by Associate Justice Harry K. Braley, who ruled in his favor.
Here’s an aerial view which was included on the Dedham Planning Board’s 1947 Master Plan for improvements in town. As you can see, Stop & Shop now occupies the vacant store. The original Oakdale School is seen at the lower right. It stood where the Veterans’ Park is today.
Paul Park Bonus Material!
November 14, 2022Just when you thought you knew everything there was to know about the Paul Park neighborhood, check this out!
The wife of Ebenezer
was Marietta
His mother was Susan
and his grandmother was Martha
Who put the Paul in Paul Park? /Part 2
November 12, 2022So, who DID put the Paul in Paul Park? The quick answer to that question is this man:
Ebenezer Paul bought the house on Cedar Street and surrounding acreage from the Fales estate and moved here with his wife Susan and children in 1867. He farmed the land, and over the years added to his substantial holdings by purchasing adjacent lots. At the time of his death in 1898, Paul’s land holdings extended from Oakdale to Endicott, the Manor and Greenlodge. Upon his death, son Ebenezer Talbot Paul took ownership and management of the property and began subdividing it for housing lots in the 1920s. Here is the 1925 plan for a development which includes the site of my childhood home on Tower Street:
Interestingly, the development was named Ashcroft Wood, but nobody I know ever called it that. Hemlock Street was never built, and Sycamore does not connect with Alden. Neither does Beech connect with Turner, probably due to the huge rock located in what was known as “Ogden’s Woods” back in the 60s.
Here is a plan for another development named “Farview.”.
Mt. Vernon Street was later named Kimball Road, although it is essentially the same street intersected by the railroad tracks. The Cedar Street house can be seen on the left, and although it looks as if old Ebenezer was surrounding himself with a multitude of neighbors on his once quiet farmland, most of the houses on these streets were built in the 50s, long after his death in 1930. As a result of these real estate deals, Paul died a wealthy man, with an estate valued at about $1.3 million in today’s dollars. His wife Marietta passed away in 1949 at age 92. They had no children.
In December, 1951, the Town of Dedham purchased just under 3 acres from the Paul estate for $2,625 (about $30,000 in today’s dollars) for recreational purposes.
Paul Park was dedicated on June 8, 1952 in a ceremony attended by several hundred people. Music was provided by the elementary school orchestra under the direction of Miss Rhona Swarz and the elementary school band under the direction of Robert Shreve. Musical selections included When Johnny Comes Marching Home, And the Band Played On, and The Star-Spangled Banner. Director of Recreation William Ryan described plans for further development of the park including a baseball diamond, bubbler, merry-go-round, swings, slides, fire places, sand-boxes, and picnic tables. Fifteen years later I would sit at one of those picnic tables and make a loop potholder for my mother. Thank you, Ebenezer.
STILL TO COME:
- More Paul Family history
- Shenanigans at 390 Cedar Street
- The Mystery of the Missing Plaque
Who put the Paul in Paul Park? /Part 1
November 11, 2022The impending demolition of this house on Cedar Street has inspired me to make a post to this blog after a very long time. Having grown up on Tower Street not too far from this residence at 390 Cedar, I remember it well from passing it by on countless trips to church, school, work, or Endicott Pharmacy. While it clearly is being readied for the wrecking ball with its windows gone and construction fence surrounding the property, the house never really looked much better than this in all the years I lived in the neighborhood. It was obviously much older than the surrounding mid-century ranches and colonials, and its Greek revival styling hints at a more respectable past. In a series of posts over the next few weeks, I will offer a glimpse into that past and reveal the stories of the families associated with the house.
390 Cedar St. on November 10, 2022
A little farther east from this spot, on the corner of Cedar and Tower Streets, lies Paul Park. During the summer in the 1960s, Paul Park was practically my second home. My brothers and sisters and I would make the short walk there with neighborhood friends to spend the day making pot holders and plaster of Paris animals, playing red rover, checkers, and mancala (which we called simply KAY-la for some reason), and holding Jimmy Fund White Elephant Sales under the supervision of the young park instructors of the Dedham Rec Department. I’m sure none of us knew that the park where we spent so much time and loved so well owed its name, in fact its very existence, to the family who once lived in that spooky, rundown old house at 390 Cedar Street.
Dedham Tales- An Anniversary
February 16, 2013Who is this man? Where in Dedham is he sitting? Why did he come here? Answers coming soon…
Aerial views of old Dedham accompanied by quotes from Steely Dan songs
June 16, 2012Some screen shots from Bing maps. Looks like their photos need to be updated!
“And I’m never going back to my old school…”
St. Mary’s was closed for nearly as long as it was open. I graduated from there in 1973, the year it was announced that the school would close in 2 years. It was torn down in the fall of 2010.
“Everyone’s gone to the movies…”
The Showcase Cinemas stood at the corner of Elm St. and Route 1 for 35 years, yet the Frosty’s ice cream stand that occupied this spot for 10 years seems to be more fondly remembered, at least with Dedhamites of my generation.
“Bad sneakers and a Piña Colada my friend…”
The bad sneakers were issued to me during my unexceptional stint on the Dedham High track team. They were black canvas with white stripes, a big white rubber toe and crepe-like soles. We called them bobos.
The Piña Colada (my friend) is a reference to the drinking that went on at the Practice Field (upper right in photo) back in my high school days, although it’s more likely they were drinking Schlitz. Today a renovated Stone Park and new Avery School can be seen in this view. 35 years ago this month, I received my DHS diploma here.
Jim Parr
Dedham Tales 