​A couple of interesting firsts for Easton. Did you know the paper towel originated in Easton? Maybe. Wikipedia will tell you they were invented in 1907 by Arthur Scott, who was looking for a more hygienic way to dry hands. They were made of crepe paper and first used in restrooms and medical facilities.

When F.S. Pope was Superintendent of Schools in Easton he despised the roller towel and personally protested against its use. About the turn of the century A.A. Gilmore, native of Easton who dealt in paper articles, solved Mr. Pope’s problem. Wood fixtures were created in the carpentry shop at the school and tissue paper was attached to them, creating a ‘paper towel’. The first mass production of paper towels was in 1931 by the Scott Company, but perhaps they were already in use in Easton? Initially the buying public was skeptical of the new product, but it didn’t take long for the more sanitary towels to catch on, especially in the kitchen. Whichever happened first, A.A. Gilmore and Mr. Pope must be awarded some credit.

​Another first. The first airmail flight from North Easton took off from Ames Flying Field on May 19, 1938. A large crowd of more than 500 people had gathered to watch this ‘first’. The mail was picked up from the Post Office and driven in a special car decorated with American flags to the airfield. Town officials followed in more flag-bedecked cars. Greeting them was a squad from the George S. Shepard Post, American Legion. Postmaster Clement J. Coughlin carried the mail to the plane. The mail included 1800 letters, two parcels and three miniature shovels. The plane traveled to the airport in East Boston where letters were dispatched to Sweden, France, Italy, Chile, and Korea, among other countries.

​The plane took off at 2:35. By 5:17 one of the miniature shovels- addressed to the Postmaster’s wife, Mrs. Clement J. Coughlin-, arrived back in Easton. It had arrived so quickly the Postmaster was afraid he had failed to send it! Kudos to Ames Airfield!

Anne Wooster Drury

Ethel “Ettie” Anderson was the daughter of Swedish immigrants. One of three sisters, she graduated from OAHS in 1933 and went on to study nursing at Goddard Hospital School of Nursing from which she graduated in 1938. In 1942 she was working at Massachusetts General Hospital from where she was recruited into the Army Nursing Corps. Her unit served in North Africa and Italy. In 1944 Ethel was promoted to First Lieutenant before returning home in 1946.

Anne Wooster Drury