Archive 2008 - 2019

Old Family Photo Albums – A Plea for Preservation

by Joanne Hulbert
3/17/2013

Do not throw out any old photo albums. Save them.

And this is why: when the Holliston Historical Society was founded in 1910, residents donated a multitude of artifacts, a practice that gradually ebbed over time, and thus formed a great collection of photos, books, newspapers and other historical ephemera. But eventually, less was added to the archives. Occasionally, the Society has received old photograph albums. Perhaps the former owners knew of their value and wanted them preserved, or perhaps they did not know what else to do with them. Lucky for the Society, because the albums frequently offered unique insights into daily life in Holliston and featured people we might not have recognized otherwise.



The interest in photos is not only human element, but pictures also illustrate the landscape and changes in Holliston over the decades when photography and technology advanced. Luckily there were many early shutterbugs around town, some of them very good at the new art. The 1924 photo shows a family newly arrived from Dorchester who took up country living with great enthusiasm over on Woodland Street. All hands pitched in for an intimate experience with country living. Among this photo collection, were pictures of the land and people near Mill Pond, the old woolen mill and the activity on the railroad that passed by. This winter, we’ve had enough views of snowplows passing by, but here’s one for all you vintage vehicle fans that was found in the same collection, and as the comment on the back stated: “K20 – Cletrac with wooden vee plow with wings down clearing 14 feet of road on Lowland Street at the RR crossing. 1939-40.”

A picture can be historically important, or help interpret a time or place, or it can be just interesting, curious, intriguing or great photography by an amateur. The good news is that those old Brownie camera photos like these shown, from back in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and into the 1950s, can be digitally preserved. They copy very well indeed, much better than photos taken with those old Instamatic cameras from the 1960s.

   

Who was this man, and what is this contraption? Luckily, the photographer who took the photo while the subject was on Lowland Street wrote the following on the back of the photo: “The old roller man from Medway, Mass., used to roll gravel roads for the towns around the area, in the 1920’s, and 30’s, this was perhaps his last year of operation: 1939-40.”

The photo was found in an album that could have been lost or destroyed, tossed out if its worth had not been recognized. Therefore, I am making a town-wide plea as Holliston’s ever-toiling, constantly history-seeking, Town Historian: please do not throw away your old family albums. Keep them. Or donate them to a local society who would benefit from the photo collections, be it Holliston or another worthy town.




 And now for a trivia question to test your Holliston history knowledge: Miss Phipps is sitting upon one of Holliston’s best-known landmarks. Where is it, and have you been there too?

I am offering a challenge to Holliston Reporter readers: If you have any questions about Holliston’s history that have been just gnawing away at you, keeping you awake at night, making you wonder every time you pass by a curious landmark in Holliston, post them here in the comments section. The best questions will be featured on a future HCAT-TV show.
 

Comments (4)

my maternal Grandfather Samuel Goldstein owned Breezy Meadows property in the early 1900's. He built it into a resort. Gypsy Rose Lee was known to stay there. He lost ownership after the 1929 stock market crash. I have a photocopy of a newspaper article where he & my great uncle were busted for a still they had on the property. I would like to find out more about Breezy Meadows before it was turned into a summer camp for underprivalged boys

Jim Weinberg | 2018-02-20 09:45:28

Anton Myrer's novel "THE LAST CONVERTIBLE" G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS,NEW Y0RK has several references to people and places in East Holliston before, during and after WWII see pages 46, 439, and 442

Rita Rossini Baker | 2015-02-17 07:16:50

Joanne, I am so glad to see your post. I hear about situations where boxes of photos (often unlabeled) have been discarded in haste to prepare for a property transfer and I cringe. I would also encourage families to gather together to discuss those unlabeled photos and help each other get them identified. Once they are gone, they are GONE.

Susan Heavner | 2013-03-19 06:27:13

Jasper rock on Mt Hollis

jon dillon | 2013-03-18 03:53:41