Spring 2020 In This Issue: The Boys of Summer, Needham-Style Plus-Needham History Center & Museum
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Spring 2020
In This Issue:
The Boys of Summer, Needham-Style
Plus—
News and Updates
New Family Activities
Board of Directors
OFFICERS
Colleen Schaller, President
Steve Mock, Vice-President
David Drake, Treasurer
NHC&M Updates
In keeping with the Town and State COVID-19 guidelines, the Needham History
Kathryn D’Addesio, Secretary
Alison Borrelli, Imm. Past Pres.
Center will be closed , and all events and meetings cancelled, until further
Polly Attridge, Archivist notice. Fur ther updates and notices will be posted as necessar y, so please
check in on our website, www.needhamhistory.org.
BOARD of DIRECTORS
Ellen Barnes Sam Hart Even so, we have not completely ground to a halt. Through the miracle of my lap-
Carol Boulris Joe Hunter top at home, I can still take care of some of the work of the History Center. The
Jon Davis Jim Mahoney weekly Thursday News is my chance to stay in touch with you all, and I really do
Rick Davis Bill Mahoney
Ed de Lemos Marc Mandel enjoy planning the story to tell each week. I am also enjoying having some long
Doug Gerth Steve Sauter blocks of time to work on some bigger projects that have been on my desk—
Mark Gluesing Sally Toran longer illustrated articles for the website, family history activities, and even some
Moe Handel Susan Welby behind-the-scenes planning for when we are open again. Check our website—so
far we have rolled out the ONLINE Edition of the History Walk, some vintage
TRUSTEES Needham postcard images for you to send to friends and family, and the
Paul Tillotson Mark Whalen links for video-streaming our documentaries (thanks, Needham Channel!)
All of these activities are free for you to use. And more to come!
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gloria Polizzotti Greis
And you are always welcome to send an email if you have questions. I will be
checking regularly, though there might be a brief delay in responding. Please do
COLLECTIONS MGR. not leave a phone message r ight now. Email: gr eis@needhamhistor y.or g
Susan Jarvis
Our most important job right now is to keep our family, friends, and community
Lead Sponsor safe. Please follow the Needham Board of Health’s and Gov. Baker’s guidelines
for staying healthy and reducing the spread of this virus!
We will be back, my friends, events and all, when this emergency has subsid-
Program Sponsor ed. Until then, keep yourselves and our community safe and well!
- Gloria
Exhibits Sponsor
Corporate Sponsors Do I have your email?
The Dedham Inst. for Savings
The Middlesex Bank
Louise Condon Realty Email is the best way for us to stay in touch—I
Petrini Corporation send out a weekly update with news, stories, and
The Vita Needle Company any updates for the week. If you don’t get my
The Needham Women’s Club Thursday email, then I don’t have your address!
Briarwood Rehab & Healthcare Sign up on our website, or email me at
JC Timmerman Inc. greis@needhamhistory.org and I will add you to
the list.
Museum & Shop Hours:
Tues. – Thurs., 10 am – 3 pm,
or by appointment. Research
by appointment only.
Cover image: A Needham cricket game in progress, circa 1900.
The Albion Cricket Club was the East Coast Champion team in the 1890s, when Needham was called the " Cr icket Capitol of
Massachusetts." The photo was taken about 1885. The players are (left to right): William Gorse, Levi Searcy, James Dring, George
Wragg, Fergus Gorse, William Crisp, John Allen, William H. Carter, Abimelech Burroughs, John Beach, -- Gorse, John Jessup, and
Harry Patrick.
The Boys of Summer, Needham-Style
It’s a ritual of Spring – the crack of the bat, the slap of the 1500s. The rules of cricket are bewilderingly complicated –
ball into the glove... After a long winter it is once again not surprising for a game whose rules have been tweaked and
time for – Cricket! revised for more than seven centuries. Take for example,
Rule 36 (out of the 42 Official Rules):
While most of Needham played baseball, the National Pas-
time in Needham Heights from the 1860s until the 1920s Rule 36 (Leg Before Wicket) - Out LBW
was cricket. Starting in the 1850s, knitters from the English The striker is out LBW in the circumstances set out below.
Midlands, displaced by the industrialization of the British
textile industry, started arriving in Needham. Most settled a) The bowler delivers a ball, not being a No ball, AND
in Needham Heights (then Highlandville), and in the years b) the ball, if it is not intercepted full pitch, pitches in
that followed, the Heights took on a distinctly English char- line between wicket and wicket or on the off side of
acter when compared to the old Yankee ways of the Center. the striker's wicket, AND
c) the ball not having previously touched his bat, the
So, while the Center played baseball, the newly-arrived striker intercepts the ball, either full pitch or after
Englishmen in the Heights stuck with their own national pitching, with any part of his person, AND
game. The knitting mills had house teams; the lodges, fra- d) the point of impact, even if above the level of the
ternal organizations, and neighborhoods all had teams. bails EITHER
Needham even had several competitive state League teams. a. is between wicket and wicket, OR
Cricket Field, on Hillside Avenue, was a pitch maintained b. is either between wicket and wicket or outside
by mill owners William Carter and Frank Gorse as a place the line of the off stump, if the striker has made
for their workers and neighbors to play. There were also no genuine attempt to play the ball with his bat,
pitches near the corner of Webster Street and Homestead AND
Park, and on what is now Avery Field. c. but for the interception, the ball would have hit
the wicket.
Cricket has been played in England since at least the 1300s,
and there are records of organized team play from the Continued on Page 5NHC&M Updates
It’s Membership Renewal Time
Not too long ago, I was looking forward to Pansy Day and the
upcoming Schoolhouse Days. We were planning an annual re-
ception on the lawn, and the openings for two new exhibits.
Well, none of that is going to happen this spring, and some of
these events might not happen at all.
Our lives have changed greatly in the last two months, and at
the Needham History Center we have had to change as well.
But one thing that has not changed is our need for
your support. So, even in these difficult times, I am asking you to renew your member-
ship in the Needham History Center. We do not receive support from the Town or state. It is the Mem-
berships and support that we receive from you and others like you that keep us strong.
As I mentioned in my opening letter, our work hasn’t stopped because the Mills House is closed. Planning and
collections work still goes on, and we have shifted our attention from in-person events to online activities for now.
But we can’t do any of this without YOU! Membership support from members and friends
like you provides the funding that we need to operate. We need YOU to help keep us growing and active.
Membership renewal letters have been mailed. Or
Renew ONLINE at needhamhistory.org/memberships
Can we count on you again? We are in an historic moment, but History has shown us over and over
that hard times do pass. There will be other Springs, other Pansy Days, and more chances to get together with our
friends at a future time. We truly appreciate your generous support, and look forward to seeing you again when
that time comes. Thank you!
facebook.com/NeedhamHistory
@NeedhamHistory
It's never been more important to
#ShopLocalNN
Small businesses are the lifeblood of our town and village
Stay Safe and Stay Informed!
centers. They make up 44% of the U.S. economy. They've
The Town posts daily updates on its new
been there for you during school fundraisers, silent auc-
tions, sponsoring youth sports teams, and so much more. COVID Information website, needhamma.gov/
But, over 51% of retailers have less than six months be- coronavirus.
fore a shutdown would become permanent. Do what you
can to help support the businesses that support all of You can also get these alerts in your email or by
us! #ShopLocalNN text, by signing up at http://needhamma.gov/
For a list of businesses, restaurants, and services, see list.aspx (scroll down to “Alerts”).
ww.nnchamber.com/shop-localCricket, continued from page 3
Got that? Good – there will be a quiz. And yes – my Eng- ous popular community games, most recently as a location
lish friends do think that the rules of baseball are needlessly for youth soccer. The game of Cricket has since receded so far
complicated. (I tried to teach them once; they thought I was from the town’s collective awareness that there are a significant
making it up as I went along). number of people who think that Cricket Field is named after a
bug. Jiminy Cricket, perhaps?
The Albion Cricket Club, one of the more successful of the
town’s state-league teams, played (on and off) from 1867 to In 2011, as a part of the Tercentennial celebrations, Needham
1897. They even had two undefeated seasons. Several invited the Boston Gymkhana Cricket Club to return to Cricket
members had played team cricket in England before emi- Field to play an exhibition game. The game took place on a
grating to the US. The mill-owning families were well- warm September afternoon, enjoyed by a cheerful, if somewhat
represented: the three Gorse brothers were all players, and puzzled, audience. Bill Littlefield, Needham resident and host
Frank Gorse was a respected bowler. William Henry Carter of NPR’s Only A Game, reported on the game for his listeners.
(son of William Carter) was an avid batsman, and appears in (You can read and/or hear his story on the WBUR website at
cricket team pictures for more than 30 years. All four https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2011/10/01/cricket)
Thorpe brothers were notable players, the more remarkable
because one of them (Charles) was born with only one hand Boston Gymkhana is only one of numerous cricket teams in
but was an impressive scorer nonetheless. MA. There is a passionate local cricket following, and an ac-
tive league, the Massachusetts State Cricket League (mscl.org).
By the late 1930s, the neighborhood was no longer playing Like all sports, the cricket season is suspended for now. But in
cricket, and Carter and Gorse gave the field to the town for a better time, take in a game for a (very) relaxing afternoon and
recreation. Over the years, the field has been the site of vari a little glimpse of Needham history.
The Needham Cricket Club in the 1904-1905 season. The player s all lived in the neighbor hood, and most wor ked in the
knitting mills. The members are: Ike Chambers, Sam Wallace, J.J. Gibbs, Harold Warren, Tom Walton, Jim Ackroyd, H.L.
Holder, Charles Stanwood, Tom Farrand, Frank Gorse (arms crossed, Captain), J. B. Thorpe (boater hat, Umpire), and William
H. Carter (bat). Gorse, Thorpe, and Carter were all mill owners and team sponsors. Carter was an avid cricket player, and wield-
ed his bat in both local and state-league play for more than 30 years; he can be seen in the 1885 picture as well.Family Activities! More ways to stay busy and active at home
Exercise for the body and the mind—See your town from a new (old?) perspective.
Take a History Walk! Go out and take a walk - get some exercise, work off the cabin fever, spend some
quality time with the kids. Enjoy the spring weather! Needham's Walk through History, the ONLINE Edition is
posted at www.needhamhistory.org/spring-history-walk. (You can it browse from your couch, too, but I don't en-
courage that).
Keep in Touch with a Digital Postcard! Geographically distant or just socially distant - we can't
get together right now, but we can stay in touch! Email a vintage Needham postcard to your friends and family. It's
easy! Just go to needhamhistory.org/needham-postcards to get started. Send them far and wide - and let me know
where you sent them!
Watch and Learn! Thanks to our friends at The Needham Channel, our videos are available for streaming
(free!). Go to their online streaming window (needhamchannel.org/watch-programs-on-needhamchannel-org/)
to check out what they have to offer. The 'Needham Channel Documentaries' tab under 'Playlists' has our films, as
well as all nine (so far) segments of “Needham School Houses.”
Beautiful and Bizarre: William Baker's Ridge Hill Farms
Big Little Town: the Story of Needham
The Millen-Faber Gang
Needham School Houses
Non-Profit Org.
US Postage Paid
Boston, MA
1147 Central Avenue PERMIT No.
Needham, MA 02492 54095
781-455-8860 / www.needhamhistory.org
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