Natick’s Johnson Elementary School Collecting Memories
The Natick Report
January 19, 2024, by Bob Brown
With Johnson Elementary School ending its 75-year run at the end of this school year, memories of the Natick institution are being collected for posterity and to help celebrate its legacy.
The deadline for submitting stories, memories, and photos and participating in interviews has been extended to Jan. 31. If you have information or questions, contact Charleen Belcher (cbelcher@natickps.org), the librarian at Johnson Elementary School.
Information might be shared with the public in various ways, such as an online timeline and a display at the Morse Institute Library.
A brief history of Johnson can be found on the Natick Public Schools website.
There’s hope of a community celebration, most likely in June.
Join the Natick Historical Society to Celebrate 150 Years of Local History
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Natick Historical Society, and the organization is ready to celebrate. The garden level of the Bacon Free Library in South Natick has been the historic home of the NHS since the building was completed in 1880 and has been renovated in exciting ways over the last five years.
“The light streaming in through our 12-foot windows brightens a refreshed museum space that is now ready for the community to connect over research, artifacts, and exhibits,” says NHS President Mike Pojman. “We look forward to welcoming the public back and gathering at the museum this spring.”
The NHS has evolved its mission since incorporation in 1873, but the core remains the same: to build community by inspiring connections to local history.
Executive Director Niki Lefebvre explains that “the founders of the NHS sought to bring remnants and relics of the world – past and present – to Natick. Today, our focus is right here in Natick. We believe that strong connections to local history build strong communities.” As she sees it, the early work of the NHS established a foundation for the organization’s mission today.
Lefebvre points out how vital the dedication of the NHS leadership and its many volunteers over time is to the work of the NHS today, especially regarding the collections. “Our collections include land documents, manuscripts, photographs, and artifacts that tell us about Natick across centuries. We have the vision of our founders and 150 years of committed volunteers to thank for that.” The museum reopens this April with items on exhibit ranging from Natick High School memorabilia to 18th-century land documents.
“We’re working hard today to make sure the NHS is well positioned to be a good steward of local history for another 150 years,” Lefebvre says. That work includes fundraising to ensure a solid financial footing, refining the collections, and, most importantly, developing relationships with Natick Nipmuc people and highlighting underrepresented voices from Natick’s past. “The time has long since come to tell stories about Natick that embrace this community in all its historical complexity. We owe that to all people who have called Natick home across the centuries, including those who lived here before the mission community was established in 1651.”
For more information on the Natick Historical Society and up-to-date plans for the April reopening events, follow them on Instagram (@natickhistoricalsociety) or sign up for the e-news at www.natickhistoricalsociety.org.
Rare Civil War-Era Artillery Shell Safely Defused in South Natick
Staff and volunteers uncovered a rare Civil War-era artillery shell of unknown provenance as part of a thorough collections inventory process at the Natick History Museum. On Monday, March 7, the artillery shell was x-rayed, safely detonated, and defused in nearby Hunnewell Field. The shell, tentatively identified as a Hotchkiss projectile, is now inert and has been returned to the museum. NHS President Mike Pojman told The Natick Report, “Now it’s perfectly safe… we’ll determine what to do with it. It would be wonderful to know if there’s some Natick connection.”
The Natick Historical Society would like to thank the Natick Police, Natick Fire Department, the State Fire Marshall, and the State Police Bomb Squad for the swift and safe management of the relic.
Read more from The Natick Report HERE.
Read more from The MetroWest Daily News HERE.
Kilroy Brothers Share their Treasures
South Natick’s Kilroy brothers are passionate about local history, and they go searching for it.
Kilroy Brothers: Jake (left), Max (center), and Jimmy (right)
Jake Kilroy and his triplet brothers, Max and Jimmy, have been passionate about Natick's history – and sleuthing for long-forgotten buried treasures in particular – since they were old enough to wield a metal detector and a couple of garden spades. Jake said, “Our collective interest in history started when we were very young. I once found a piece of broken sewer pipe, and although it wasn’t anything special, just knowing that it was really old kind of astounded me as a little kid.” Max added that when he or his brothers unearth some personal artifact, like a piece of jewelry or a plaque with somebody’s name on it (as they did recently), he feels a certain thrill. “It’s cool to think about who might have owned that item and its history. That gets me.”
All three boys say that imagining that the artifacts they find belong to real people inspires them to research and learn more about them. Jimmy especially appreciates the craftsmanship that went into making everyday objects in the days before mechanization and mass production. “People were just trying to scratch out a living, so they spent more time crafting things by hand.”
The Kilroy brothers live in South Natick near the Charles River and have recently graduated from Natick High School. “There’s some pretty cool history all around us,” says Jake. “We once found a 1752 British halfpenny in our backyard. We had searched our property probably twenty times before we came across it. We keep finding new spots to look.”
“When I was younger, I felt that history was behind us, that it was cleared and it went out with the trash,” says Max, but “you can find incredibly personal items if you look for those old dump sites. It really gives you a feel for what it was like back then.” Jimmy adds, “I believe that future generations will someday find what we’ve thrown out and wonder about us!”
The brothers have varying plans for the future, from attending college, taking a gap year, or pursuing a career in the trades, but all three say that local archaeology will always be a hobby. “Maybe someday I’ll even turn metal-detecting into a job,” muses Jimmy. “There’s a lot of history to be found everywhere,” adds Jake. “It just depends on where you look for it. You don’t even need a trained eye. It’s quite obvious sometimes. If you come across a sign of the past there is likely more to be discovered.” As Max puts it, “If you are interested in history, you’re never too old and you’re never too young to get into looking for historical artifacts and learning about them.” “I agree,” says Jake. “History is all around us just waiting to be found.”
The Kilroy brothers have an extensive collection of treasured artifacts which they have gathered over the years, but Jake has pulled out twenty or so favorites that he feels give a sense of the everyday life of our ancestors, who, he believes, were not all that different from us. He has lovingly photographed every item and written a description of each to accompany the photos.
The Natick Historical Society is grateful to Jake, Max, and Jimmy for the time and effort that they have put into creating this fascinating – and very personal – online exhibit. Click here to view their online exhibit hosted on our website.
By: Michael Pojman
Saving Natick's Historic Concert Hall
Nathaniel Clark rebuilt Clark’s Block after Natick’s Great Fire in 1874 and rebuilt “Concert Hall” on the top floor. At the time, newspaper reporters noted that no town of Natick’s size could boast a venue equal to Concert Hall. The same is still true today.
The Friends of Concert Hall have come together to restore this once-grand space and ensure that it can serve the community in the present and future, just as it has done since it opened in 1875.
To view a short film on Concert Hall, please click here.
To follow the work of the Friends of Concert Hall, please click here.
Please click here to sign a petition supporting saving Concert Hall.
A rendering of what the restored Concert Hall might look like.