Richard DeSorgher's This Old Town, Remembering Medfield (2013) has finally been delivered to the historical society, after some delivery glitches with the publisher.

It's a perfect book to have on hand when you have just a few minutes to spare. The 74 chapters average four pages each, with fascinating vignettes about Medfield people and events of the past 363 years.

The book is available at the Medfield Historical Society for $12.95 each or, by mail, for $15 including shipping and handling. For more information, contact us by email.  

But of all the authors I've read, there's no one I enjoy more than Bill Bryson. He has a very inquisitive mind, vivid imagination, and exuberant sense of humor, so the little boy within him sometimes breaks through the surface of his 60-year-old body.

Bryson has written about 30 books of which my two favorites are At Home: A Short History of Private Life (2010) and Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States (1994).

Bryson wrote At Home while he was living in England and serving as chancellor at the University of Durham. Bryson's house had evolved substantially since it was first built in the 17th century, and as he looked around the house, he often wondered, "Why did a builder decide to make a room or feature this particular way?" What were the residents' eating, playing, sleeping, bedroom, and bathroom habits and preferences through the ages? And what about other people in other houses in other countries? With his active imagination, lively sense of humor, and excellent researching skills, Bryson has put together a page-turner that will add immensely to your collection of tidbits to drop into conversations.

How did Napoleon's adventures, abetted by the contemporary French culture, make vital contributions to the development of modern medicine? What happened in the Civil War that makes it so much easier and cheaper for us to buy clothing today? For those and many other answers, you'll have to read the book.

In Memory of Allen Holt Blood (1944-2014) 

By Cheryl O'Malley

Photo courtesy of the Blood family.

Allen Holt Blood died on February 6, 2014. He was a former Medfield resident and a member of the Medfield Baptist Church. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 1944, he grew up in Pepperell, Massachusetts. For a brief time he was a researcher for the Jimmy Fund, but soon went on to a thirty-year career with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, retiring from the position of Area Director in 2003. Al took pride in serving people with disabilities.

 
I had the pleasure of working with Al for several years on the board of the Fairbanks Family in America Association, of which he was president. I dedicate this article on the Bloods of Medfield to the memory of my dear friend and colleague Allen Blood, a distant relative of the Medfield Bloods.

Established in 1889, the Blood Brothers Grain and Hay Company was located on Park Street where many businesses flourish today. Here they sold baled hay and grain along with flour, poultry feed, agricultural tools and coal. The coal bins still remain near the railroad tracks off Park Street. 

Credit: Medfield Historical Society.

Born in 1860 to Aretas Bailey Blood and Nancy Delight Oaks of Windsor, Vermont, Marvin Howard Blood was the oldest of three brothers and one of the owners of this business. Aretas was a farmer of 600 sugar trees and a breeder of Merino sheep. His farm in West Windsor, Vermont was known as "Blood Hill," and he served in the 12th Vermont Infantry Regiment, Company A, during the Civil War. He was discharged because he was the victim of incapacitating migraine headaches.

In 1884 Marvin married Anna Laura Peterson and they had five children: Howard A. (who died three days after he was born), Grace Frances, Raymond Bertram, Edith Viola and Addie Mae. Edith graduated from Framingham Normal School and went on to teach at the district school in Richmond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Her sister Addie graduated from Medfield High School in 1908 as valedictorian.

By 1894 Marvin was serving Medfield in the capacity of town constable with four others. He continued to serve the town as overseer of the poor in 1898, as Engineer of the Medfield Fire Department in 1899 and as Selectman from 1912-1915.

In a Dedham Transcript newspaper of 1895 it was reported that: 

"Medfield Constables M. Howard Blood and Samuel Mitchell broke up an illegal cock fight on Noon Hill. More than 100 People were present. A chase ensued and shots were fired. Constables arrested Buz Bower of Milford, Daniel Sullivan of Franklin and David Crowley and Daniel McNamara both of Spencer. Acting under orders of the District Attorney, the game cocks captured at the Noon Hill fight were killed." 

By the age of 32 Marvin's son Raymond became chauffeur for the Blood family business, affording an opportunity for father and son to work side by side. His three daughters became teachers in the public school system. 

The family residence was located on the north corner of Pleasant and Oak streets where the Davenports now live. This property descended through the Blood family to their granddaughter Nancy (Blood) Preston who was a long-time Medfield Town Clerk.

 
Marvin's youngest brother, Melvin Ray Blood, was born in 1875, and was another of the proprietors of the Blood Brothers Company. In 1900, at the age of 25, he was living with Marvin and Anna at their Oak Street home. In 1904 he married Lillias Marie False, a Medfield woman, and over the next eight years they had two children: Ormond and Dorothy. Melvin was a carpenter at the time. In 1910 he purchased the estate at 10 Pound Street from Alonzo Faye and it became his family home. By 1912 he was president of the Medfield Grange and in 1913 he was an assessor for the town of Medfield. He sold his Pound Street property to Willard Pear of Milton in 1920.

Born in 1863 Lester Ward Blood, Marvin's middle brother, was also one of the Blood brothers proprietors. He married a Medfield girl, Carrie Lucinda Wight, in 1891. They had two children: Aretas Bailey and Willard H. Lester's wife Carrie was an avid worker for the Second Congregational Church in Medfield, which was supported by her husband. She was also a direct descendant of Thomas Wight, one of Medfield's original thirteen settlers.

     

Mary was hired by the town of Medfield to teach Grades 1, 2 and 3 at the Center School in 1876. By 1895 she was teaching Grade 1 exclusively. Due to illness, Mary resigned in 1899 after twenty-four years of teaching. Four years later, at the age of 46, she died of intestinal cancer.

In 1900, at the age of 6�, Willard died from paralysis of the head. But his brother, Aretas, went on to marry Tessie L. Munson in 1916. They are listed in the 1920 census as living and working on a farm in West Windsor, Vermont. By the time 1930 rolled around, they were living on South Street in Medfield, and his occupation was listed as carpenter in building construction. They had six children: three born in Vermont and the remaining in Medfield. In 1940 Tessie was working for the hat factory as a full-time sewer and the entire family was living on Pleasant Street.

In 1906 there was a massive fire at the Blood Brothers Company and the entire structure burned to the ground. This did not stop the Blood brothers as they commenced rebuilding soon after its destruction. This Blood Brother's business was instrumental in building the retail trade in Medfield and other area towns. They were known for the quality of their merchandise and their expedient shipping, which was unmatched in this area. 

Blood Brothers Rebuild, 1906 Photo courtesy of the Medfield Historical Society.

In 1924 Marvin sold the company to his son Raymond Bertram Blood, who passed away at the age of 39, only three years after his father death. In later years the Blood Brothers Company became Gilmore's.

The three Blood brothers, who were the owners of the Blood Brothers Grain and Hay Company in Medfield, were Allen Blood's fourth cousins once removed, and their children his fifth cousins. Several years ago, when I first met Al, he informed me he was related to the Bloods of Medfield and that he had lived in Medfield for a time. It is quite remarkable that he knew these Bloods were indeed his relatives since they were fairly distant cousins. But, then again, Al never ceased to amaze.  

To kick off the second half our season on Feb. 3, 2014, some 75 intrepid souls braved the snow to hear Marge Vasaturo and others share their memories of life and work at Medfield State Hospital from the 1940s to the 1980s.

The program began with a showing of "A World Apart," an excellent video produced in the late 1990s by Dr. Carl Edwards, whose association with the hospital began in 1960. This half-hour video showed the development, history and daily life at the hospital - and also gave insight into the changes in how mental illness was treated in the 20th century. This video is well worth watching (or re-watching) on YouTube.

Marge and three people from the Nowers family then shared their experiences growing up and working at the hospital. Marge's mother was a nurse, and her father an electrician; they lived and worked at the hospital most of their adult lives. Marge worked at the hospital during the summers when she was in college, was later appointed to the board of trustees by Massachusetts Governors Endicott "Chub" Peabody and Frank Sargent, and served for nearly 20 years.  

Rod Nowers took over the farm operation in 1929 and lived and raised his family on the campus. The farm produced enough to food -- vegetables, meat, and dairy products - to feed the patients and employees.

 David and Darel, twin sons, and Hilary Nowers Fleming, RN, all pursued mental health careers after growing up on the hospital grounds. All seemed to wax nostalgic for the sense of family and dedication that employees and patients alike felt for the hospital community.

David Nowers said, "At first, as kids, we didn't have many friends in town as the townspeople thought it was dangerous to be near the hospital. As time went along, we did get friends to come to our home, and they found out it was not as bad as they thought or were told."

Also present were Medfield residents Tony and Mary Calo. Tony spent most of his career at the state hospital, retiring as superintendent, and Mary was nurse there for 30 years.

~ David F. Temple