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Nominations for the Quarter Century Award
Each year, we ask for nominations for our Quarter Century Award. This annual award is presented by the Westwood Historical Society to a person or couple who have made an outstanding contribution to the community for more than 25 years, making Westwood a better place to live. The contribution can be in any field such as education, religion, arts, civic, or social service.
If you would like to nominate a person or couple, please write a brief letter outlining how the nominee has contributed to the Westwood community and mail it to the Westwood Historical Society, 830 High Street, P.O. Box 2575, Westwood MA 02090 by May 31, 2019.
Previous recipients of the honorary tribute are (chronologically beginning in 1990): Yetta and Alexander Fisher, Barbara and Allan Beale, Donald MacLellan, Allen Baker, Richard Youlden, Ellie and Roy London, Lillian Perkins, Robert Wood, Gordon Youlden, Tom Dunn, Joseph Weider, Emlen and Jim Wheeler, Duncan and Ellen McFarland, Shirley Howard, Joe & Joy Clancy and Irene and Ralph Buonopane, Barbara Friedman, Mike Beaumont, Joan Swann, Lura Provost, Russ and Marilyn Downs, Ann and Jerry Cronin, Joan Murphy, Sam and Barbara Hayes, Tony Antonellis, and Nancy and Charles Donahue.
1800s School Days Program: Every May
Each May, Charles Donahue oversees our “third-grader” school program. In preparation, the Fisher School is transformed into a historic classroom with antique school desks and chairs plus a dunce cap and stool. We welcome every Westwood third grade class to an 1800s School Day. Students dress in period clothing and bring an old-fashioned lunch (no plastic wrap allowed!). During the day, they step back in time to read from McGuffey’s Third Reader, use individual slates to complete problems from Warren Colburn’s 1847 arithmetic book, write with quill pens and ink, participate in a spelling bee and play old-fashioned games.
In 2018, 24 volunteers assisted Charles, including past and current school principals, school and town administrators.
For a great clip from a past 1800s School Day, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPIgupyGRZ4 , courtesy of the Westwood Media Center.
For more about the 1800s School Days program, click here.
