Little did I know when I signed the visitor guestbook of the Dedham Historical Society over 50 years ago, that I would come back to work there after my retirement from teaching.
It’s been the opportunity of a lifetime researching and sharing some of Shiretown’s greatest tales with interested folks of all ages in my role as Museum Educator. Thanks for supporting Dedham history and this blog, and be on the lookout for new stories both here and on the Museum’s social media.
This is the back of the spiral bound sign-in notebook for student visitors. The graffiti certainly reflects the times. I know I did not commit this minor act of political protest- I was a rule follower and not particularly political. And I would have capitalized the president’s name- it’s a proper noun.
Well, that’s not exactly true. You see, Peggy Lawton is not a real person. But those delicious, fudgy brownies that are ubiquitous in supermarkets and convenience stores across New England were first introduced right here in Dedham Square.
In September 1945, husband and wife Peggy and Lawton Wolf opened a restaurant called The Sampler on Washington Street near the corner of School Street. Within a short time, demand for Peggy’s homemade fudge brownies became so great that the couple decided to leave the restaurant business and open their own baked goods company. They combined their first names to create Peggy Lawton Kitchens, and added several varieties of cookies to the lineup alongside the popular brownies. The company operated in East Dedham and Hyde Park before locating to Walpole in 1961, where the beloved treats are still produced under the supervision of Peggy and Lawton’s son William Wolf.
If this story leaves you with a craving for more sweet history, be sure to check out the Dedham Museum’s first offering in our Spring Speaker series. This Wednesday, February 18, author Susan Bregman will share tales of iconic local goodies featured in her book “New England Sweets: Doughnuts, Bonbons and Whoopie Pies.”
Free to members; $10 for non-members (pay at the door).
The Speaker Series is held at the Museum, 612 High Street, Dedham, MA, and begins at 7:00 p.m.
Sampler ad from Dedham Transcript/September 21, 1945
These cards were made by Rust Craft in the late 1950s. The colorful graphics and clever novelty additions (the cat in the above card made a meowing sound when you pressed it, the britches in the card below were on a spring) were characteristic of the company’s output during their early years in Dedham.
The Dedham Museum and Archive will be celebrating the card company’s creativity with its new exhibit : Rust Craft: A Quarter-century of Artistry in Dedham, coming in November. On display will be dozens of cards from Rust Craft’s Dedham years (1955-1980) as well as photographs, artifacts and original artwork from one of the company’s artists. A reception, which is free to the public, will open the exhibit on November 12 from 6:30-8:30. Light refreshments will be served after welcoming remarks by Museum staff and Christine West, daughter of Vincent Battaglia, long-time Rust Craft artist, whose original artwork is featured in the exhibit. If you worked for this company, or just enjoyed sending or receiving one of their clever and colorful greeting cards, you don’t want to miss this exhibit.
Don’t miss this fun event coming on Friday! This year’s theme is The Striped Pig, a unique event in Dedham history that I wrote about in my Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown book. Read a short summary below. Hope to see you there!
Sheet music from the 1838 ballad
The Annual Military Muster in September 1838 on Dedham’s Lower Plain (present day Hyde Park) was looking like it would be a gloomy affair. Earlier in the year, temperance advocates had succeeded in getting the Massachusetts legislature to pass the “15-gallon law,” which prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages in quantities less than 15 gallons. And what’s a military muster without access to abundant quantities of rum and whiskey?
Enter an inventive local who saved the day and unwittingly created a nationwide phenomenon that is still talked about to this day. The crafty vendor erected a tent on the field, with a sign inviting one and all to see the “Great Curiosity” of a Striped Pig. After paying their 6 and ¼ cents, patrons were indeed treated to the spectacle of a large and apparently contented pig, adorned with dark stripes looking suspiciously like fresh black paint. As a bonus, each paying customer was given a FREE glass of rum, thus quenching their thirst without breaking the law!
Within days the story of Dedham’s Wonder had spread across the country, and the Striped Pig was being celebrated in music halls and taverns far and wide. The phrase entered the nation’s vocabulary meaning both a ruse to skirt an unfair law (“We’ll have to try a Striped Pig device”) and a way to describe a drunken person (“Looks like he’s been riding the Striped Pig”). Striped Pig political parties were formed, some of which helped to bring an end to the 15-gallon law (and the re-election hopes of Governor Edward Everett who had signed it into law).
The Dedham Museum celebrates the creativity of that enterprising entrepreneur and his determined efforts to raise the “spirits” of Dedham’s citizens on that late summer night almost 200 years ago.
I am James L. Parr. I grew up on Tower St. and went to St. Mary's and Dedham High (Class of 1977). I teach school in Framingham and co-wrote a book of Framingham history, which led me to write a book of weird Dedham history called Dedham: Historic and Heroic Tales from Shiretown. That book led to this blog. To order your own copy of the book, e-mail me at jameslparr@yahoo.com
Jim Parr
Dedham Tales 