The Milford News article to the left shows that although the name Dana
    Park was in use in 1947, the street that was put in on the property was
    named McVitty Road. It was named for the developer, Louis McVitty. The
    people at that time who had an interest in Hopedale history thought it
    should have been named for the previous owner, Dana Osgood.
    Osgood's mother was the daughter of George and Hannah Draper. As
    you can see from the town report warrant for 1956, the name of most of
    what had been McVitty Road was changed to Dana Park.

Above - Dana Park

Below
- McVitty Road

Hopedale - November 2019


Hopedale history ezine for October - Winning Pitch   

Ezine for November -
Letters to Her Son   

Hopedale in October 2019   

Hopedale in November 2018    


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.

    These are pumpkins that accidentally grew on the Community
    House lawn this year. A bit smaller than Mr. Trask's of 100 years
    ago this month,but nice to see them anyway.

    Massachusettite? Massachusettensian?

    Believe it or not, Massachusettsan lawmakers (sorry) somehow found time to take up this pressing
    issue. According to state General Laws Part I, Title I, Chapter 2, Section 35, “Bay Staters shall be the
    official designation of citizens of the commonwealth.”

    The name was approved by the state Legislature in December of 1990. But Massachusetts has largely
    always been “Bay.”

    “Before it’s Bay Staters it’s Bay colonists,” said Drummey.

    The use of “Bay State” to refer to Massachusetts dates back to the late 1700s, Peter Sokolowski, editor-
    at-large at Springfield-based dictionary company Merriam-Webster, said in an e-mail.

    The relative simplicity of Bay Stater, he said, “is doubtless the reason that it has stuck,” since other
    failed demonyms over the years, like the above mentioned Massachusettite, Massachusettsan,
    Massachusettsian, and John Adams’ unwieldy and quite frankly offensive Massachusettensian, don’t
    exactly “roll off the tongue.”

    “Some names of states simply do not lend themselves to predictable, idiomatic, or easily
    pronounceable demonyms,” Sokolowski added, “and Massachusetts is one such name.”

    But if Bay Stater doesn’t do it for you, then the more brash terminology used to refer to a Massachusetts
    native is also on the table: Masshole.

    Sure, it was intended as an insult, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which added the word to
    its lexicon in 2015. But it’s become more of a badge of honor. MSN.com   

Click here for Kids React to Rotary Phones.

Above - the Draper Main Office when business was booming.

Below - when it wasn't

    Here's the last of Merriam-Webster's
    list of new words in use in 1969.

    Above - West foundry - early '60s, I think. You people
    who know cars can probably narrow it down.

    Below - Former West Foundry - 2019

    The Inman Street houses between Elm and Beech were the
    ones built in 1920. Click here to see much more about them.

    Click here to see the rest of this article, and more
    on Rockwell's sale of property in Hopedale.

    Edgar Allen Poe strolling along at the corner of Charles and Boyleston streets, across from
    the Common, dropping some of his papers out of his briefcase. Thanks for sending, DJ.

    Here are a few lines from the Globe article written when the statue was unveiled in 2014.

    The statue itself reflects Poe’s feelings toward the city. The sculptor, Stephanie Rocknak, said
    he faces away from the Frog Pond to represent his disdain for Bostonians, as he walks
    toward his birthplace on Carver Street.

    Former US poet laureate Robert Pinsky said the statue was a fitting tribute.

    “It’s got a good cuckoo quality that speaks of Poe,” Pinsky said.

    The crisp air and warm sun “was the only thing that was inappropriate,” Pinsky said, referring
    to Poe’s gloomy nature.

    Nikki Siclare, 23, of Brighton, and Caroline Sipio, 22, of Brookline, agreed that the jovial
    ceremony was a little contradictory, considering Poe’s stormy style.

    “The rain yesterday would have been worse for the crowd, but it might have been better in
    terms of ambiance,” Siclare said.

    “Also, everyone’s taking pictures with the statue and smiling. Serious faces! It’s Poe,” Sipio
    added. Both are working toward master’s degrees in English.

    My maternal grandmother left Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia in the
    1890s. She was a teenager when she got on a train and came down
    this way, settling in Millis for a few years, and working as a maid for
    the family the town was named for. Life in Nova Scotia was very tough.
    You can see one aspect of that above. It's part of one page on a
    website sent to me by my son a few days ago. There are 50 coal mine
    deaths listed on each page of the site, and it goes on for 51 pages!

    Shorty's ad is from 1930. I wonder what make of car he
    had, and where his "stand" was. The house that used to
    be the Little White Market maybe. In the railroad depot?  
    Not many possibilites on little Depot Street.

    In the 1920s, and for some years after, Gretchen
    Bell's family lived here at 10 Prospect Street.

    "KEEP DOOR CLOSED" it says. No wonder the
    place is falling apart. Somebody left it open.

    This is one of the hopper cars parked on the track
    near Route 16. As you can see, it's loaded with
    ballast waiting to be spread along the tracks.

G&U yard - Hopedale - November 2.

    A few of the evergreens along the Fitzgerald Drive side of Hopedale
    Village Cemetery have come down in recent years, so they're being
    replaced by 11 Norway spruce trees, the same species as the
    existing ones there. They may not look the same, but come back in
    50 years and they should look like the big ones there now.

    Robert Reed - interim town administrator. Click here
    for article on Wicked Local - Hopedale.

    I answered the phone this morning and was greeted with, "Happy
    October Revolution Day." Oh, yes, Red October.  Since it occurred
    under the Old Style calender I had forgotten that the date is now Nov. 7.

    G&U yard, November 7 - dropping off loaded
    cars, and returning empties to Grafton.

    Friends of the Hopedale Library's annual book sale, bake sale,
    and raffle - November 16 at (of course) the Bancroft Library.

    Thanks to Judy Liete for this photo of Narducci's Orchestra. Judy's
    grandfather, Joseph Marsh is in the front row, center. Nick Narducci
    was identified by both Leigh Allen and Charlie DiAntonio as "the one
    with the sticks." Here's a page about Nick's house on Northrop Street.

G&U Railroad - Hopedale - November 14

    The annual veterans' breakfast at the Community
    House,held on November 14, was put on by the
    Council on Aging. The meal was provided by Atria-
    Draper Place. Entertainment was furnished by the
    high school chorus.

Ice on the pond - November 14.

Highway Dept vacuuming the leaves - November 15

    Pictures from Upton State Forest - November 17

    Above and right - beaver dam. I wonder how that works. It
    seems that there must be a head beaver in charge who says,
    "Okay, guys, this is where it's going, Yes, I know; the longest
    one we've done, but we can do it. We're number one. We're
    all in this together. This is what we're about. We're a team.
    Like I always tell ya, there's no I in team. Let's have teamwork
    to make the dream work. We're livin' the dream here in this
    swamp. Roman dams weren't built in a day.  Tree trunks,
    water. What else would anybody need?"

    Well, it must work something like that, anyway.

    Below - Whistling Cave. A nice place to visit, but I wouldn't
    want to live there.

    47 Hopedale Street, where Joseph and Sylvia Bancroft's daughter Lilla
    lived with her first husband Howard Bracken and her second husband,
    Rev. Frank Pratt. Lilla was also next door (yellow house on right) to her
    sister Lura, and her brother-in-law, Charles Day. Joseph and Sylvia's
    house was across the street from Lilla's. As long as I can remember,
    Lilla's house was red, but not anymore.

    Click here for the story of this trophy, won by Richard Kearsley
    in Hopedale in 1926. The trophy is now in Indiana.

Evening rush-hour traffic - Route 16, Mendon, November 26