Natick High School: Heart of the Community

Selections from the Natick Historical Society Collections

Curated by Gail Coughlin

Natick High school building TimeLine, 1853-2012

1853 - All of the town schools located on School Street

1856 - Natick High School moved into the former Town Hall building on the corner of Morse Street and East Central Street

1914 - New Natick High School building was constructed on East Central Street

1954 - Original Natick High School building at 15 West Street opened

1965 - Original building at 15 West Street expanded

1985 - Renovations on the original building at 15 West Street

2010 - Successful vote to replace Natick High School building 

October 20, 2010 - Groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the start of the construction of the  new building

June 25, 2012 - Demolition of the old building began

August 29, 2012 - Current building at 15 West Street opened 

Introduction

By 1853, all of the town’s schools were located on School Street in Downtown Natick. Three years later, the high school moved into a renovated building that was previously used as the town hall. From 1856 until 1954, the high school sat on the corner of East Central Street and Grant Street.

This high school building would have many stories to tell if walls could talk. It witnessed the enlightenment of young minds, brilliant teaching, the solidifying of lifelong friendships and romances, athletic triumphs and defeats, enriching extracurriculars, and some of the most formative years of students' lives over many generations. It also witnessed challenging times, most notably two world wars in which some of its students left and returned as forever-changed men and women. Some never came home again. 

In 1953, the town of Natick constructed a new high school on the banks of Dug Pond at 15 West Street. This updated building opened its doors to students in the fall of 1954. In 1965, this building was expanded to accommodate a growing population and was renovated twenty years later in 1985. 

The town voted in 2010 to construct a new building at 15 West Street. The current Natick High School opened on August 29, 2012.

From the collections - Natick High School artifacts

Match the number of the artifact displayed in the Natick History Museum to the description below.

1. Large “O”

This “O” adorned the façade of the old high school building on West Street, helping to spell out “Natick High School.” The class of 1957 donated the letters to the school as their class gift. In 2012, after the opening of the new high school, the class of 1957 reunion committee received the letters. They were planning their 55th reunion. Committee members chose certain letters to keep and then set up a raffle for reunion goers to win the remaining letters. Those who received letters used them to collect their classmates’ signatures like a yearbook. Former Red Sox pitcher Pete Smith (‘57) signed this letter. 

2. Shovel 

This shovel was used at the groundbreaking for the current high school building at 15 West Street on October 20, 2010. The groundbreaking event was a celebration for students, faculty and staff, administrators, and local politicians. State Treasurer Timothy Cahill and State Representative/NHS alum David Linsky made speeches highlighting their optimism for the future of education in Natick. The wider community followed the construction of the new school with great interest. From May 2011 until the completion of the new building in August 2012, Vice Principal Zach Galvin maintained the Facebook group “New Natick High Construction in Photos,” uploading monthly photo albums showing the construction progress and the demolition of the old building. The group garnered over 700 followers. 

3. 1910 Football Trophy 

This silver-plated trophy was presented to the football team by the Lyric Theatre at their “Foot Ball Night” event on November 3, 1910. The trophy is on loan from Natick High School.

4. Midland League Outdoor Track Meet Plaque May 31, 1913

Natick High School was a member of the Midland League before joining the Bay State League later in the twentieth century. NHS faced fierce competitors in this league, and their 1913 sports teams experienced a range of success. The outdoor track team proved triumphant and won the meet on May 31, 1913, which earned them this plaque. It is on loan from Natick High School. 

5. Speech Team Trophy, 2001

The Varsity Speech Team won this 2nd place trophy at the Massachusetts Forensic League State Championship Tournament in 2001, the team’s 40th season. In addition to appearing at the MFL State Championship, the 2001 team also attended tournaments in New York and Nationals. This trophy is on loan from Nina Mallozzi Shepardson (‘01). After high school, she earned a B.S. in Biology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute before earning an M.S. in Biology from Tufts University. Shepardson works as a Senior Scientist II at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Cambridge. She credits her experience on the Speech Team for improving her self-confidence and public speaking skills. 

6. Prom Mug, 1969

This mug was distributed at the Natick High School Prom in 1969. Proms initially served as high schoolers' first “adult” event. By the 1950s, proms had become extravagant affairs for American high school juniors and seniors. Since the mid-twentieth century proms have been a highlight of the high school social experience. 

7. Report Card, 1912-13

In the early twentieth century, Natick High School students received monthly report cards. Mildred Emma Smith carried this report card back and forth between school and home during her senior year of high school, 1912-1913. In addition to Emma’s grades, the signatures of her parents Charles and Hattie can also be seen. Smith later married Adelbert Libby Kilmer and had two children: Howard Lewis Kilmer and Shirley Muriel Kilmer Brown. It is from the Shirley Brown Collection.

8. Postcard, pre-1914

This postcard depicts the old nineteenth-century high school on the corner of Grant Street and East Central Street from 1856 until 1914. The postcard is undated, and the back is blank. It is from the Shirley Brown Collection. 

9. 1920 Students and Faculty Photograph

Pictured here is the faculty and student body of Natick High School in 1920. The photograph was taken on the front steps of the high school building on East Central Street. 

10. 1918 Football Partial Team Photograph

The 1918 Natick High School football team defeated their Framingham rivals 19 to 0 at the annual Thanksgiving game on November 28 in Framingham. The team’s success was predicted in an article from the Natick Bulletin published on September 20, 1918, which stated: “The team this year seems to have the ‘pep’  that has been lacking in some of the former teams and we are sure that with the support of the school and the town that we will turn out another championship team.” Pictured here is the starting offensive line of that championship team. Taken on the Natick Common, the familiar image of the Morse Institute Library can be seen in the background. It is on loan from Natick High School. 

Scroll to the bottom to watch “Framingham vs. Natick: 100 Thanksgiving Games, 1,000,000 Memories”! The documentary was produced by the Framingham High School Foundation, Talon Communications, and sponsored by Avery Denison.

11. Bay State Interscholastic Basketball League Plaque, 1939

The boys’ basketball team won the Bay State League Championship after a ten-game undefeated season. The team also played in the postseason Tech Tournament but was ultimately eliminated after a first-round defeat to Needham. 

12. Eagle Steamer Co. No. 1 Megaphone, circa 1891

The Eagle Steamer Firefighter Company received this silver-plated megaphone from the people of Natick after their triumphant victory in the first annual World’s Hook and Ladder Competition. Firefighters, along with several townspeople, competed against other local fire companies. After this event, Natick became known as the “Home of the Champions.” Firefighters yelled “fire” into similar, but not silver-plated, megaphones to alert people to evacuate burning buildings. 

Why is this object in an exhibit about Natick High School? It is popularly understood that the moniker “Home of the Champions” originated from NHS sports triumphs. Although the name originated with the 1891 Hook and Ladder team, it has nonetheless instilled a sense of pride in NHS. Students continue to live up to the name as they succeed in academics, sports, and extracurriculars. “Home of the Champions” has become an important part of Natick High School history. 

13. 1921 Natick Girls Basketball Team Photograph

Pictured here is one of two girls' basketball teams in 1921. Under the guidance of coach Isabelle Brennan, these student-athletes came together to defend their championship title earned the previous season. The girls' basketball players maintained multiple years of success, closing out the 1921 season with a 67 to 11 victory over Mansfield High School and having an undefeated season in 1922.

Basketball was the only girls' sport offered at Natick High School in the first decades of the twentieth century. Not surprisingly, it was very popular. Many girls played basketball all four years of high school, and large groups tried out every season. By 1924, Natick High School had four girls' basketball teams, one for every grade level. Basketball remains a beloved sport for NHS students of all genders. Today, thanks to the passage of Title IX in 1972, female student-athletes can participate in all sports. 

14. Sassamon Newspaper, November 29, 1939 

The Sassamon Newspaper was the student-run newspaper in Natick High School during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It began as a quarterly newsletter. Traditionally, the spring edition commemorated the senior class. Eventually, that spring edition became the yearbook, and the school began publishing a monthly newspaper. At various points, the newspaper was written entirely by members of the sophomore class. By 1939, the Sassamon editorial board oversaw the publication of the yearbook and newspaper. 

The cover of this paper features a photograph of the newly elected Student Council. Shirley Kilmer Brown stands in the back row as secretary representing the sophomore class. This paper comes from the Shirley Brown Collection, which contains materials from multiple Brown family generations. In addition to three years on student council, Brown participated in athletics and was a member of the Glee Club and Honor Society. Student government, the yearbook, and the school newspaper (now called the Natick Nest) remain cherished activities at Natick High School. 

15. 1941 Hockey Patch 

1941 marked the fifth hockey season at Natick High School. The team did not have a winning record, but their yearbook write-up speaks highly of the players’ enthusiasm and team spirit. James F. Farrell earned this patch during his senior year, his only hockey season at Natick High School. Timothy J. Farrell donated the patch to the Natick Historical Society in 2013. 

16. 1941 Graduation Tassel 

The tradition of wearing a cap and gown for graduation started in 12th-century Europe. This tassel is much more recent and was worn by James F. Farrell at his graduation in 1941. Timothy J. Farrell donated the patch to the Natick Historical Society in 2013.

17. 1941 Varsity Letter

This blue and red “N” is a varsity letter earned by James F. Farrell in 1941 for his role on the hockey team. Outstanding members of varsity teams received letters for their athletic performance and accomplishments. Although he only played hockey at NHS for one season, Farrell’s letter hints that he had a real talent for the sport and was an asset to the team. Timothy J. Farrell donated the letter to the Natick Historical Society in 2013. 

18. Varsity Letterman Sweater

Similar to letterman jackets, sweaters were awarded to varsity athletes for their athletic accomplishments. As can be seen on this sweater and in pictures from the Sassamon, it was common for students to stitch their varsity letters onto these sweaters. Varsity sweaters date back to 19th-century college athletics. They were slowly replaced by varsity jackets during the twentieth century.

In 1942, it was still common for student-athletes to receive both a jacket and a sweater in high schools across America. Nicholas Arthur (‘42) likely earned this sweater for his involvement with the track and field team. Arthur’s daughter, Jean Kadlik, donated the sweater to the Natick Historical Society in 2017. 

19. High School Music Reader, 1878

This copy of The High School Music Reader for the Use of Mixed and Boys’ High Schools was written by German-born composer, educator, and author Julius Eichberg. It was published by Boston-based publishing company Ginn and Heath in 1878. New editions were printed yearly from 1877 until 1888 due to their popularity in Massachusetts high schools.  

Natick High School student Bertha Valentine owned this copy. Her signature appears three times on the front inside cover. She also wrote Natick High School twice and two years: 1878 and 1880. The reader is open to some of the advanced solfege vocal exercises found at the beginning of the book. Also contained in the volume are choral works that touch on various patriotic, religious, and secular themes. The preface of the book states that it was intended for high school students who already had a strong musical background. 

After graduating from Natick High School in 1881, Bertha continued to use her musical training. As a member of the Clear View Lodge of the International Organization of Good Templars (a temperance organization), she occasionally provided piano accompaniment during musical performances at their meetings. 

20. Chair

This chair belonged to U.S. Vice-President Henry Wilson. Although Wilson was celebrated as the “Natick Cobbler” during his campaign as Vice President to Ulysses S. Grant in 1873, Wilson did not attend school in Natick. He left his native New Hampshire and arrived in Natick in his early twenties in order to learn the shoe trade. Mr. Wilson’s chair is in this exhibit to display Natick High School artifacts.

21. Jazz Ensemble Photograph, 1990 

This photograph was taken of the jazz band at the Massachusetts “I.A.J.E” District Jazz Festival. Members auditioned to join the ensemble and rehearsed weekly on Thursday nights. They practiced modern jazz, old blues, and everything in between. Annually, the group competed and performed at multiple jazz festivals throughout New England, including the Norwood Jazz Competition, the Northeast District Jazz Competition, and the University of New Hampshire Jazz Festival. In 1990, the Jazz Ensemble placed second in the State Finals and placed fourth in the Districts.

The Jazz Ensemble also entertained audiences at Natick High School’s Christmas and spring concerts. The instrumentation of the group changed yearly, often featuring vocalists, electric bass, and guitar. A strong contingent of saxophones, cornets, trumpets, and percussion were staples of the group. This photograph is on loan from Janice Parsons, whose son, Tom Parsons, played in the ensemble during his four years at Natick High School. 

22. Large “H”

Just like the letter “O” (artifact #1), this letter “H” also adorned the façade of the old Natick High School building at 15 West Street. It, too, was also raffled off at the class of 1957’s 55th reunion in 2012. Diana Riley Roberts ‘57 donated this letter “H” to the Natick Historical Society. When her name was drawn to receive a letter at the reunion, Diana chose the “H” because her nickname in high school was “Honey.”

23. 1942 Track and Field Letterman Jacket

In 1942, track and field was a popular sport at Natick High School. But that spring, it was unclear whether the team would exist by the end of the season. 

World War II affected all aspects of life in Natick, including high school sports.  New rules regulated travel by bus, restricting the number of away games in which a team could participate. In 1942, shortly before the start of the season, track coach and English teacher William “Bill” Carey became one of multiple Natick High School coaches and teachers drafted into the armed forces. As a result, the first two meets of the season were canceled. 

Track and field is not featured in the 1942 yearbook. However, this letterman jacket suggests that the sport remained important to Natick High School students despite the impact of the war. Multiple 1942 graduates listed track and field as an activity in their yearbook profiles.

This jacket belonged to Nicholas Arthur who graduated in 1942. Born in Albania, he moved to Natick as a child and was the manager of the track team during his sophomore, junior, and senior years. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and rose to the rank of staff sergeant. After returning from the war, he married Mary Naum and raised his family in Natick while actively participating in local politics and in the Albanian Orthodox Church. Arthur earned a spot on the Natick High School Wall of Achievement in 2003 for his 30-year tenure in town politics. He died in Natick in 2007. Arthur’s daughter, Jean Kadlik, donated this jacket to the Natick Historical Society in 2017. 

24. Class Reunion Mugs

These commemorative mugs were distributed as gifts at the 45th and 50th-anniversary class reunions of the classes of 1935, 1939, 1947, and 1949. Reunions provide a fun way to catch up with old classmates and friends and reminisce about school days gone by. High school reunions have a long history in Natick. The Alumni Society held its first annual reunion in 1858, which featured toasts, speeches, and live music. In the nineteenth century, reunions were not for a particular class, but for any Natick High School graduate interested in participating in the Alumni Society. 

25. Champions of Eastern Massachusetts Interscholastic Hockey League 1944-1945 Trophy 

The 1945 hockey team was among the most successful in Natick High School history. It was school’s first hockey team to win a championship. Except for Captain Leo Grady, the entire roster was new that season. Previous years’ players had graduated or joined the military. Their victories continued after the regular season and they went on to win the Metropolitan Championship games. The Eastern Massachusetts all-star team also selected six NHS hockey players. The team earned this trophy for their league championship victory. The plated silver is engraved with the names of the coach and players. 

26. 1963 Varsity Football Letterman Jacket

Natick High School junior Douglas Brien earned this letterman jacket in 1963. Brien participated in many Natick sports and, in addition to football, was a member of the track and field and golf teams. He earned varsity letters for football during his junior and senior years. A member of the class of 1965, he gave the jacket to his classmate, Lainee Morris, at their 50th class reunion in 2015 as a gift for her work organizing the event. Morris donated the jacket to the Natick Historical Society in 2022. 

27. Metropolitan Hockey Tournament Championship Plaque, 1951 

The 1951 Sassamon Yearbook describes that year’s hockey team as “the greatest in our school’s history.” They won the Eastern Massachusetts League Title and the State Championship and represented Massachusetts in the New England Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island. Six NHS hockey players participated in the Eastern Massachusetts All-Star game. 

28. 1981 Basketball Photographs

Do you recognize anyone in this 1981 basketball team photo? Fourth from left is Doug Flutie. Before graduating and having a successful football career at Boston College and in the USFL, NFL, and CFL, Flutie played a variety of sports at Natick High School. In addition to football and basketball, he played baseball. 

Who is sassamon?

The Sassamon newspaper and yearbook were named after John Sassamon (Massachusett), a seventeenth-century Natick resident. He taught in Natick’s school, attended Harvard Indian College, and read and wrote English and the Algonquian language(s) spoken in Natick. He was a translator and scribe for the Wampanoag sachem Metacom (King Philip) on official land records and transactions with the English colonial authorities. He trained as a missionary under Puritan minister John Eliot. Both the Wampanoag and English questioned Sassamon’s loyalties and motives, and historians remember him as a controversial figure.

Historians widely treat Sassamon’s death, and the events that followed, as the final spark that ignited King Philip’s War. In January 1675, his body was recovered from underneath the ice of Assawompset Pond (now in Lakeville). That June, Plymouth Colony tried and executed three Wampanoag men (all close associates of Metacom) for Sassamon’s alleged murder. A jury of twelve English men, joined by a committee of six Indigenous consultants (some of whom were from Natick), determined this punishment.  Metacom believed the English had overstepped their legal authority with the trial and executions, which exacerbated ongoing tensions surrounding English and Indigenous legal jurisdictions. By the end of that summer in 1675, a violent war embroiled nearly all of New England. 

From 1925 until 2005, Natick High School titled its yearbook and newspaper Sassamon after John Sassamon. Beginning in the 1940s, a caricatured “Indian” figure, wearing stereotypical 19th-century Plains clothing, appeared on yearbook covers. According to an article published in the Natick Bulletin on February 11, 1965, yearbook staff no longer knew who John Sassamon was or why the book was named for him. 

What about team names and mascots?

You may have noticed that none of the objects in this exhibit reference any of Natick High School’s mascots or team nicknames. There are, in fact, no artifacts in the NHS Collections that include mascot imagery or team names. Materials in this exhibit also span over a century, in which Natick High School’s team name and mascot changed several times. 

Before 1956, Natick High School sports teams were called “Red and Blue,” in reference to the school’s colors. This moniker was not included on uniforms, but often appeared in local papers and the yearbook. 

Conversations about changing the team name began in the 1950s when some Natick residents began to argue that “Red and Blue” wasn’t an adequate image for the football team. In 1956, a Framingham newspaper columnist and Natick High School alum Silvio Mandino informally referred to Natick High School sports teams as the “Redmen” in his columns. He liked the UMass Amherst sports moniker of the same name (UMass teams became known as the “Minutemen” in the 1970s). The nickname gained popularity and was the school’s team name from the late 1950s until 2008. Natick High School faculty, students, and Natick residents adopted a mascot of a caricatured Plains Indian adorned with a headdress in the 1960s.

As “Indian” mascots gained popularity in high schools across the United States during the mid-twentieth century, Indigenous rights groups immediately voiced their concerns about the negative consequences, however unintentional, the mascots would have on Indigenous youth. In the early 2000s, local Indigenous people and allies brought these concerns to high school administrators and elected officials in Natick. In 2008, the school committee voted to change the “Redmen” name and abandon the caricatured mascot. The decision wrought much controversy because Natick residents had decided in a non-binding vote not to make the change. For a brief period, “Red and Blue” returned to use. In 2012, Natick High School students adopted the current “Redhawks” name and mascot.

Framingham vs. Natick: 100 Thanksgiving Day Games, 1,000,000 Memories

The film posted below was produced by Mike Reiss, Framingham High School Class of 1993 with the support of the Framingham High School Foundation. Throughout the film, the Natick High School football team is referred to as the “Redman,” although the team did not use that name prior to 1956. Please read the above section to learn more about the history of team names and mascots in Natick. The film was donated to the Natick Historical Society in 2006.