Weekly Update

​Hello all, and a happy Saturday to you!  What a glorious day we have today in Easton, with the sun shining, warm but not hot, and cool nights for good sleeping.  It seems unusually cool for the end of July.  When I worked at Brockton Tool Company, Central Street, South Easton in the 1970's and 1980's, the company practiced the time honored tradition of shutting the factory down for two weeks each summer, a standard practice among factories for many years.  Those two weeks were usually the last two weeks in July, which typically were the hottest of the summer.  It was a good two weeks to be out of the old factory which was not air conditioned!


We had a great visit this week with Nancy Spindler and her brother Tom Costello, formerly of North Easton.  They brought in a number of items from their late mother, Evelyn (Lawson) Costello who once lived on Pond Street, and whose father Charles Lawson came from Sweden and for many years was the gardener for Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop Ames at Queset, the stately home behind the Ames Free Library.  Among the many family papers and photos is a photo album, and from this, I will be sharing a few snapshots as we are able to identify the people and places in the photos.  Most of these date between the late 1920's and the early 1930's, and chronicle an early Swedish family in North Easton.

The first photo is one of a fire engine and fireman from the former North Easton Village Fire Station on Sullivan Avenue.  The engine is parked on Main Street at Langwater Pond, and is demonstrating the power of its new pumper with an impressive stream of water issued from a hose connected to the truck.  A small group of firemen and onlookers gather to watch.  The photo is taken from the west side of the pond looking south towards Sheep Pasture.  The Main Street dam is readily visible in the photo.

The second photo is taken along Main Street around 1929-30.  Two cars are parked near O'Connor's News Store which is the building at the right in the photo and currently houses the Farmer's Daughter restaurant.  Next to that on the left is a sign for drugs, perhaps Harlow's Pharmacy, and to the left of that is the building that formerly was Galvin's Barber Shop.  Note the trolley tracks in the right foreground, still in use at this time, just before the trolley was replaced by busses.

I'll share more photos in the coming weeks as we learn more about the Lawson family.

Stay well,
Frank