Central Baptist Church Fire, 1888

On Memorial Day, as fire gutted a large portion of the historic Central Congregational Church on South Main Street, onlookers stood watching in shock and disbelief while flames licked at the base of the steeple, threatening to consume the church which for so many held a deeply-rooted connection to the Town of Middleborough and its history. Despite the disturbing novelty of the scene, it was one which had been witnessed previously in Middleborough, over 120 years earlier when fire utterly destroyed the Central Baptist Church.

The original Central Baptist Church had been constructed on the site of the present building on Nickerson Avenue in 1828, the culmination of a long effort by local church leaders to establish their own church in the then burgeoning Four Corners area. The church, which replaced an earlier chapel used by the parish, was a symbol of the aspirations of the local Baptist community which had been so influential in the growth of Middleborough center.

Until 1847 when the Central Congregational Society was formed, the Central Baptist Church remained the sole church at Middleborough Center. Accordingly in those nearly twenty years, it established for itself a primacy of place within the lives of local residents, many of whom were members of the parish and all of whom, in time, would have a connection with the building. That connection came in 1847 when the identity of Four Corners residents was wedded to the church with the installation of a town clock in the church steeple, an action undertaken at the behest of the town which sought to use the church’s steeple as the highest structure then at Middleborough Center. Little appreciation, however, was probably given the clock until the bitterly cold afternoon of January 22, 1888, when the church was destroyed by fire, and the town clock with it.

Conflicting reports remain regarding who first noticed the fire which was later attributed to an overheated chimney. Mrs. Elisha T. Jenks, then inside the building with the Sunday School class, is said to have reported the fire after she saw smoke blowing past the window. Another report states that it was a different member of the class who smelled smoke and upon investigating discovered the blaze.

About 12.10 o'clock p. m., a member of the Sunday school smeled what he thought was burning wood, and went into the ante-room, where he saw a hole burned through the wall. He told others and in going up stairs the flame could be ssen through the ventilators in the ceiling where the chandeliers hung.

Still other reports indicate that it was actually Mark Merrick, an engineer at the H. L. Thatcher print shop directly opposite the church on Thatcher’s Row who noticed smoke rising not out of the chimney on the northwest corner of the building but from beside it which prompted him to run to the engine house on School Street to seek the assistance of the local firemen.

While the Sunday School was being immediately evacuated from the church, Merrick was apparently having some difficulty in convincing the firemen of the gravity of the situation and they are reported as having been “at first rather incredulous”. Nonetheless, the engine responded (though drawing it even the short distance was difficult given the snow which covered the ground) and with five and a half minutes a chemical stream was applied to the building and within ten minutes a stream of water.

Water was played upon the roof around the chimney, but by that time, the fire had spread the entire length of the building between the ceiling and the roof. Dense smoke and intense heat beat back firefighters who, unable to quench the flames focused on saving adjoining buildings, including the former Peirce Academy building and Thatcher’s print shop. Embers drifted as far as South Main Street, momentarily setting the roof of Charles Drake’s House (on the site of the Mayflower Bank) ablaze. Ice and freezing temperatures made the task of firemen particularly difficult and especially dangerous. One firefighter, Alonzo Norris, was injured "by the falling of a hose nozzle, cutting a severe scalp wound, but no serious results are apprehended. A few days of confinement will probably bring him around all right. One or two others were somewhat bruised but not seriously."

Disregarding the temperature, crowds gathered along Center Street and in the rear of the Town Hall to observe the destruction of the church with the most dramatic moment being the crashing in of the 128 foot high steeple, weighted with both bell and town clock.

“The bell in falling lodged upon the gallery floor, immediately over a solid post and lies there, broken, and partially melted. The clock in its fall is almost wholly lost sight of in the mass of debris, but few traces of it having yet been found…. The hands of the clock stopped at 12.35.”

Later, the local fire department would come into some criticism for their conduct of operations at the scene of the fire. While the exact nature of the complaints lodged against the firefighters has not been left on record, a spirited rebuttal to the criticism has.

MR. EDITOR: - In your edition of Monday, 23d, it was quoted from good authority that it was full thirty minutes before a stream of water was put on to the fire. Now that is a base falsehood. From the time the alarm was sounded to getting a chemical stream on was 5 1-2 minutes and a water stream on in 10 minutes. These are the facts that can be proven if required. The church inside the walls was a mass of flames before the alarm was given and before the Sunday school was dismissed. The fire must have been burning for hours. The firemen worked with a will and tried every possible plan inside and out to stop the flames. With the thermometer at zero and men, hose and ladders covered with ice it was a dangerous and difficult task. People may stand and look at a building on fire and suggest some plan to put the fire out, but let them attempt the task and they will not do any better if as well as others have done. The firemen deserve great credit for the manner in which they handled this fire. We can justly say "thy will be done," not mine.

JUSTICE.

The loss of their church was devastating for the closely knit members of the society. More broadly, the 1888 loss of the Central Baptist Church and with it the town clock which it housed, was a psychological blow for the Four Corners community, so accustomed had the become to the presence of the town clock in their lives, its bell tolling the hours day in and day out. “The ‘town clock’ was a familiar feature, which shall be sadly missed. Many eyes have unconsciously sought its accustomed place for the time today, but alas, no intelligence could be gained.”

Efforts were undertaken immediately to secure new accommodations for the congregation, as well as to consider the next steps forward:

A meeting of the [Central Baptist] society will be called at once to consider what course to adopt. There is little doubt that the church will be rebuilt, and probably upon the same spot.

We understand that offers of accommodations for meeting have been given by both the [Central] Congregational and [Central] Methodist societies.

The offer of fellowship, however, was gratefully declined and, instead, a chapel was established in the former Peirce Academy building which stood adjoining the ruins of the church. "Work has already commenced in getting ready the lower story of the Academy building for holding church services. All the settees, the cushions and hymn books were saved, and this can be made quite comfortable for a temporary place of meeting." Nonetheless,

at the meeting Monday evening of the Baptist church committee and the prudential committee of the society, an appreciative vote of thanks was extended to the Congregational and Methodist churches for their kind invitations to worship with them while the baptists were deprived of a house of worship. Below is a copy of the circular which is sent out by these two committee to the members of the church and congregation and those who are interested in the question of rebuilding.

"Dear Friend: The ruins of our church home, with touching eloquence, now plead with us to remember the work and sacred influences for which it stood so long, and the silent tongue of the bell call us to speak...."
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Illustrations:

Central Baptist Church Fire, January 22, 1888, photograph

Perhaps the earliest photograph of a building fire at Middleborough, this view depicts the crowd that has assembled in the rear of Middleborough Town Hall to witness the destruction of the Central Baptist Church on Sunday, January 22, 1888, just after noon. The loss of the church and the town clock it housed was a devastating blow for the community. "...The photograph itself was taken by Fletcher L. Barrows, who made three or four good negatives of different stages of the fire. One of them shows the steeple as it fell and the set make a fair start toward a motion picture of the event. Amateur photography was then in its infancy and the results even today [1924] may be called good. Another unique result of the fire was the fact that sfter the flames were through with their work, the organ could be played to some extent. The progress of the fire was from the rear of the church or organ loft toward the steeple which acted as a chimney for draft" [Middleboro Gazette, "ye NB colyum", May 2, 1924, p. 1].

Central Baptist Church, detail stereocard, John Shaw, Middleborough, publisher, mid-1880s

The view depicts the Central Baptist Church a short time before the 1888 fire.

Middleboro News, undated newspaper clipping, January, 1888

Both the Middleboro News and its friendly rival, the Middleboro Gazette, would have devoted extensive coverage to the fire, though only this clipping from the News appears to have survived.

Central Baptist Church ruins, newspaper cut, unidentified Boston newspaper

This illustration from an unidentified Boston newspaper at the time of the fire depicts the remains of the Central Baptist Church which was entirely destroyed.

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Sources:

Middleboro Gazette

Middleboro News

Old Colony Memorial [Plymouth]

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Updated July 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM

Central Congregational Church

Since its construction in 1848, the Central Congregational Church on South Main Street in Middleborough has served as a local landmark, its noteworthy spire a prominent feature of the Middleborough skyline. Today, an early morning fire presumed to have originated in the rear of the church nearly threatened to consume the historic building. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured in the blaze, and several of the historic relics of the church were saved. Though it is yet too soon to say with any certainty, the early hope is that the church, including its iconic steeple, will be able to be saved.

The Central Congregational Church dates back 161 years when following the establishment of the Central Congregational Society in 1847, an organization was formed to investigate the construction of a church. On March 29, 1848, twenty-six individuals pledged $8,000 towards "the purpose of erecting a meeting house for the Central Congregational Society in Middleboro in the vicinity of the four corners, the precise place of location and time of erection to be decided by a majority...." [Witbeck: 15]. Foremost among the shareholders were Philander Washburn, James M. Pickens and Branch Harlow, each of whom contributed $1,000.

Many were the sacrifices on the part of these founders of the church. It is reported one subscriber gave the first $1,000 he ever earned, another drawing $200 out of a capital of only $500 and others with large families struggling to pay $75 per year for the support of their church. ...

The Committee whose duty it was to choose a lot found much difficulty in making a selection. Those offered included one belonging to Joseph Jackson "near the school house," another near the house of Ben Burgess and owned by Colonel Peter H. Peirce, and one and one-quarter acres belonging to Thatcher and Waterman, each of which could be purchased for $600. Jacob G. Sparrow offered one acre for $300 and Elisha Tucker an acre for $400. Zachariah Eddy would sell a lot near his grove for $500 provided he could procure a lot on which to move his law office. The problem was solved when Philander Washburn offered to give the land for the church.

The Building Committee of the Society and of the Meetinghouse Association reported their contract with Messrs. Peirce and Eaton required that 20% of the contract be paid when the church was raised, 20% when the outside was finished and 10% when plastered, the balance in thirty days after the Meetinghouse was completed. The contractor was given until the twenty-fifth of November, 1848 to complete the task. The contract was signed for $6250 and the final cost of the Meetinghouse was $8000. [Witbeck:16]

It is likely that the church was designed by Solomon K. Eaton, architect of Middleborough’s Town Hall. Certainly, the church shares with another church definitively attributed to Eaton – the First Parish Church of Bridgewater (1845) – some key common features. Both churches have a three by four bay plan, a recessed entry, two Ionic columns and columns in antis on the façade, a two tiered steeple consisting of a round eight Ionic-columned drum base, a second smaller belfry, and spire rising from a gabled base.

Various methods were suggested for raising money to defray the expense of the new edifice. The one to receive most favor was that of appraising the pews, apportioning the cost of the building equally among the seventy-seven pews remaining after two pews were reserved as free seats and Pew Number 80 set aside for the minister and his family. Members were to bid for the pews, this "choice" money to be used to "warm the house and to finish the underpart of the Meetinghouse."

Joshua Eddy and Oliver Eaton were appointed a committee to appraise the pews. The price as set by them ranged from $15 to $203. The auction was held at four o'clock on the day of the dedication of the church, and as a result the church was dedicated free from debt. [Witbeck: 16, 17]

In 1871, the church acquired an organ which was installed in the gallery at the rear of the church and dedicated on May 8, 1871. Four years later, a bell weighing 2,160 pounds was put into the spire of the church. The Old Colony Memorial which reported the news calculated that based upon the price and the weight of the bell, the bell had cost the church fifty cents a pound. (This bell shortly thereafter cracked and was replaced by another bell in 1891).

As early as 1873, consideration was given to constructing a vestry "under the church with the privilege of raising the church if necessary." Though this option was not exercised at the time, the following decade witnessed the church grapple with the issue of lack of space. In 1887, the Church Parlor Society, which had been organized in 1884 by the ladies of the church, offered $500 towards the purchase of additional land for the expansion of the church or construction of a new building. In 1888, a Church Improvement Committee of George E. Doane, George L. Soule and George W. Copeland was named to consider the expansion of the church, either by means of an addition to the rear or through raising the church and constructing a vestry below - the proposal originally mooted in 1873.

Ultimately, the society selected a plan drafted by T. W. Silloway, architect of Boston, which called for using "the basement of the church, by raising the building six feet, the floor two feet and building an addition to the rear of the church to accommodate the organ and church parlors. The estimated cost was $12,000." [Witbeck:22] The plan also called for changes in the facade of the building with the enclosure of the former portico in order to permit the construction of an interior stairwell which accessed the auditorium above.

On February 23, 1892, the new church was dedicated. Henry W. Sears, chairman of the Building Committee and clerk of the society spoke at the time of the significance of the society's new home: "As we return to our church we find hardly anything in the interior to remind us of what it was when we left. Surely the Lord has blessed us in permitting us to have so pleasant a place to work."

Below are a series of photographs of the Central Congregational Church taken May 27, 2006.









































































For dramatic photographs of the Memorial Day fire, visit Hal Brown's informative blog.
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Illustrations:
Central Congregational Church, cabinet card, c. 1885
Central Congregational Church, detail, stereocard, John Shaw, Middleborough, publisher, c. 1890
Central Congregational Church, postcard, Harrison Photos, Monument Beach, MA, 1940s
Interior Central Congregational Church, photograph, 1940s
Contemporary views of the Central Congregational Church, Michael J. Maddigan photographer, May 27, 2006

Sources:
Middleboro Gazette
Old Colony Memorial
Weston, Thomas. History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts. Middleborough, MA: Town of Middleborough, 1906.
Witbeck, Mertie E. History of the Central Congregational Church, Middleborough, Massaachusetts, 1847-1947. Middleborough, MA: Central Congregational Society, 1947.

Memorial Day

Dickran Diran

Eighty years ago, on Memorial Day, May 30, 1929, Dickran Diran Square at Lakeville was dedicated to the memory of the town's sole World War I casualty in a simple, though moving, ceremony. Featured was the joint dedication of Dickran Diran Square and Lakeville's World War I Honor Roll which stands in the square in front of the Lakeville Town House. At the time, the following eulogy to Diran was delivered by Clarence M. Gurney of Simeon Nickerson Post No. 64 of the American Legion:

At this point in today’s activities, we assemble here to honor the memory of, and dedicate this square to Dickran Diran, the only citizen from the Town of Lakeville who was killed in action during the World War.

Notwithstanding the late entry of the United States into the World war, there is scarcely a town in the country that did not sacrifice, at least the life of one citizen, in that great conflict.

Cities and towns are rapidly adopting the idea of dedicating public places to the memory of such citizens, and it is a most commendable idea.

A marker of bronze is erected, years may come and years may go, but as the elements of time fail to destroy, or lessen, the admiration and respect now held for those heroes.

Early in the month of October, 1917, within a stone’s throw of where we now stand, Dickran Diran called to receive his outfit provided by the Soldiers’ Aid of this town. As far as can be learned, this was his last act before leaving this town in answer to his adopted country’s call, and his last words will never be forgotten by those who heard them, I trust, that by you too they will be forever remembered, he said, “Whatever I do, Lakeville will never be ashamed of me.”

“Whatever I do, Lakeville will never be ashamed of me,” let us remember those words of Dickran Diran.

He was a stranger to many in this town, his residence in the town of Lakeville, prior to his service in the army, was less than one year, but that is of little importance, he is the man who said, “Whatever I do, Lakeville will never be ashamed of me.”

What did he do? He gave his life for his country. What more could he do? No, Lakeville will never be ashamed of Dickran Diran, and attests to that fact by placing here this bronze marker, and dedicating this spot to his memory.

I have tried to get an outline of the life of Dickran Diran, and briefly this is what I found.

Dickran Diran was born in Armenia, May 4, 1889, he came to the United States in the year 1902, was educated in the public schools of this country, graduating from Dorchester High School, after which he went to work for Weber Brothers, in Wrentham, was with them a number of years, when he decided to start in business for himself.

He came to Lakeville and located on the farm now owned by William Wright, about one-half mile north of Lakeville station on Bedford street, here he laid his plans for the future, and here, in less than one year, he laid down the ambition of his life, for the service of his country.

The call to the colors came October 4, 1917. With several other residents of this town he went to Camp Devens, Mass., and was located there about one month, his life there I could not follow closely, but I will only give to you the exact words of one who served there with him and who later came in contact with him several times. After we had talked for some few minutes about Dickran Diran, this man said, “No matter what you say, you cannot say anything good enough about Dick.” It would be futile for me to try to improve on such a statement.

His service in Camp Gordan, Georgia and overseas, was hard to follow owing to the fact that he was separated from local men, but his official record on file with the War Department shows that promotion came fast, which indicates ambition, perseverance, the things we would expect from the man who said, “Whatever I do, Lakeville will never be ashamed of me.”

He was wounded in action, August 8, 1918, and killed in action October 16, 1918, his body was returned to the United States and buried in the “Field of Beulah Section” of Forest Hills cemetery, February 5, 1922. Funeral services were conducted in the Stanton avenue church at Dorchester, the Rev. Wilbar Choffee officiating.

I will now read you the official military record of Dickran Diran as furnished by the office of the adjutant general of the army, through the courtesy of Hon. Joseph W. Martin, Jr., representative in Congress, for this Congressional District:

Dickran Diran, Sergeant, Company “G”, 327th Infantry.
Resident of Lakeville, Massachusetts.
Army Serial Number 1907022
Inducted into military service October 4, 1917.
Forwarded to Camp Devens, Mass., assigned as private to the 3rd Additional Company, Depot Brigade.
Transferred November 10, 1917 to Camp Gordan, Georgia.
Appointed Corporal, December 12, 1917.
Left the United States April 25, 1918, for service overseas, with Co. “G” 327th Infantry.
Appointed Sergeant, July 7, 1918.
Wounded in action August 8, 1918.
Killed in action October 16, 1918, on Hill 180, near Cornay, France.

It is with reluctance that I speak of his death. His body, twisted and torn, fell to the blood stained soil of France where it was buried, later to be moved to the United States, and now rests quietly in the shade of Forest Hills – his soul has gone to his God – there is no death, there.

Dickran Diran, my departed comrade, Lakeville will never be ashamed of you.

.Illustrations from top to bottom:

Red, White and Blue Club, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Red, White and Blue Club members Jeannette Bassett, Cynthia Caswell, Helen Hoard and Bertha Stiles flank the Lakeville Honor Roll, behind which flies the town's World War I service flag.

Dickran Diran Square dedication ceremony, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Members of Simeon Nickerson Post No. 64, American Legion stand at attention at the start of the dedications services.

Flag raising, Dickran Diran Square and Lakeville Honor Roll dedication ceremony, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Ceremonies open with a flag raising on the Lakeville Library Lawn by the Girl and Boy Scouts, while Francis Goodridge sounds "Colors".

Red, White and Blue Club, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Members of the Red, White and Blue Club, which had been formed during World War I and which following that time had been responsible for overseeing Memorial Day exercises, sing "The Vacant Chair." The signpost dedicating the square to Diran is draped with an American flag.

Rev. Chellis V. Smith and Red, White and Blue Club, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Following the eulogy to Dickran Diran and the dedication of Dickran Diran Square, the Lakeville Honor Roll was unveiled. The service included a keynote address by Reverend Chellis V. Smith of the First Baptist Church of Hyde Park, Boston. Here, he stands next to the memorial along with Jeanette Bassett, Cynthia Caswell, Helen Hoard and Bertha Stiles.

Mr. and Mrs. Suren Diran, photograph, May 30, 1929.
Diran's brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Suren Diran, in attendance at the dedication ceremony.

Aragon Hotel

The Aragon Hotel operated on the corner of Center and Pearl Streets in Middleborough in the early 1900s, and was a successor to the Hotel Linwood and the earlier Tremont House. Despite the reputable look of its assembled staff in the photograph above, the Aragon (like many small hotels of the period) was a source for illicit alcohol and, as such, was subject to several liquor raids which hampered business. The illegal sale of alcohol led to the demise of the hotel which closed in 1908. The building still stands, however, in its original location.

Illustrations:
Aragon Hotel, photograph, c. 1904
Aragon Hotel advertisement, Resident and Business Directory of Middleboro and Lakeville, Mass. (Boston, MA: Edward A. Jones, 1904).

Roller Polo

Nearly 150 years ago, the sport of roller polo was the most actively played and watched winter sport. Professional, semi-professional and amateur teams were numerous and each had their devoted following. Particularly in the mid-1880s, Middleborough fielded a top-notch team, and three of its players would later play roller polo professionally, one of whom would achieve near celebrity status.

Sadly, both the game and its players are largely forgotten today. Writing in 1957, Sampson McFarlin of Lakeville lamented that he found “few people under fifty years of age [who] know anything about [roller polo]. Some have never heard of it” [McFarlin, 1957]. Today, it is even less likely that people are aware of the former roller polo craze and the popularity of the sport, despite its similarity to modern rink hockey or hardball hockey.

“It is as if the game,” wrote Keith Hogdon in Sports Illustrated in 1972, “had sunk without a trace. Gone now are the small wooden arenas heavy with smoke and the deafening noise of roller skates, the crunch of bone on hardwood and the rabid, rollicking crowds …. All that remain of those glory days are some fading memories, a few mementos and newspaper clippings” [Hogdon, 1972].

Roller Skating and the Middleboro Rink

Without roller skating, roller polo would not have come about. The increasing popularity of roller skating in the 1870s prompted the local Middleboro Cornet Band to open a roller skating rink on Thanksgiving afternoon, 1879, in the Town Hall auditorium, proposing to operate it for a short time only in an effort to raise funds. As the band played selections, skaters would move across the wooden floor on their wooden-wheeled skates. The Middleboro Rink was an immediate hit, understandably so, as roller skating was then becoming a popular fad. Shortly after its opening, it was reported: "The skating rink started by the Middleboro Band is proving quite a success, being well patronized. This is a new way of getting a financial lift and shows the enterprise of the band." The following month, the rink was still thriving. "The skating rink still prospers, and promises well for quite a while yet. It has been successful beyond the expectations of any."

Indoor skating was a recreation greatly in vogue among the Victorians. Not long after the establishment of the Middleborough rink, a similar indoor rink was opened in the Odd Fellows' Hall at Plymouth, in February, 1880, and the description of skaters there applied equally well to the scene in Middleborough Town Hall: The galleries were nearly full, and a good number of skaters upon the floor. The orchestra gave very fine music for all, and the graceful movements of two professionals with the awkward movements and tumbles of the novices, kept up the interest for the spectators. Some of our old skaters, who used to be artists on ice, found this kind of gliding a very different affair, and that it was as easy to make a spread eagle on the floor as it used to be for them to cut a pigeon wing on the ice.

Roller Polo

While many enjoyed the new pastime of roller skating, some found it too sedate and from this desire for a more active sport came the game of roller polo. Roller polo is best described as hockey on roller skates, though there were some key differences. Skaters would glide about the floor, "clubs" in hand, attempting to score goals on the other side.

Later chroniclers described roller polo as “a red hot game, with thrills galore”. Sampson McFarlin marveled “as a little boy, at the terrific velocity with which the players could drive the ball.”

The game was fast and tough. It opened when a bright-red hard-rubber ball was dropped into a neutral zone, called "the spot," in the middle of the floor. On that signal, the opposing first rushes (forwards) skated from their own cages to the center of the floor, where there was a fierce battle for the ball with four-foot-long sticks resembling those used in field hockey. After one player gained control, play then proceeded about as it does in ice hockey for four 12-minute periods. Another race to the spot followed each goal, and ties were played off promptly by sudden death [Hogdon, 1972].

The game was played on a regulation 80 by 40 foot rink, and rules eventually were standardized, largely through the instrument of the professional leagues and Spalding’s Official Guide to Roller Polo. Players wore quad (four-wheeled) skates and dressed in knit jerseys and leggings. Shin pads were the little bit of padding worn for protection against sticking. The sticks or canes as they were sometimes called were according to the standards of the National Association of Professional Roller Polo Clubs “four feet in length, one inch and one-eighth in diameter, and weigh fifteen ounces.” Sticks were themselves secured to the players’ wrists with leather straps to prevent them from slipping or being lost in the fray. In 1901, the management of Middleborough’s amateur roller polo league enforced the use of “short straps on the polo sticks so that they will not injure each other with the sticks.”

Initially, the game was played locally in the 1880s with six men (two rushers or wingmen, a coverpoint, a center, a halfback and a goalie) but by 1900 the coverpoint position had been eliminated. Fouls resulted from playing the ball with either the hands or arms or from deliberately hitting an opponent’s stick, and penalty shots were awarded for various infractions. Goal tenders were required to remain upright and could not stop a ball by falling upon it.

When the goalie had to go one-on-one against a man with a hard shot in a noisy, smoky, poorly lighted building, he really strained for something extra. The ball was fired so hard and fast that arenas had nets above the boards to protect the spectators [Hogdon, 1972].

Roller polo shared with the later game of ice hockey a reputation for toughness. Grace Clark, who wrote pseudonymously as “Eve Lynn” for the Middleboro Gazette in the 1950s and early 1960s recalled an earlier episode with her husband, a shopkeeper in the Cobb, Bates & Yerxa grocery store and the goal tender for the Clerks team, whom she could not dissuade from playing polo at Christmas, 1901.

…I didn’t want “Himself” to play that night. He was goal tender and that’s an awful position to play if it gets rough. Well he promised me faithfully he wouldn’t go ….

Well, when I saw him again it was in the morning, “Christmas Day” and was he a sight. He had a black eye and his face was all swollen up, and when I asked him how he did it, he told me, “ran into the kitchen door that somebody left open”, and I, yes I believed him, for awhile, and then I began to think. He never got that black eye running into a door. And finally … “Himself” told me he played polo the night before and got hit in the eye with a hockey stick.

I almost said it was good enough for him, but changed my mind and asked him who won? “We did”, was all he said. But right here I have the clipping saying his team did excellent work [Clark, 1960]. (Clark that night, in fact, broke the local record for most stops in one game -67).
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Nemasket Skating Rink

Naturally, all this rough play and rumbling across the Town Hall auditorium did the wooden floor little good, and the committee charged with the care of the building probably viewed the outcome of each evening's skating with dismay. Plymouth’s roller rink failed to last even a month before damage to the floor caused a suspension of skating activity until a new venue could be found, and the Middleboro Band apparently was faced with a similar dilemma.

Ultimately, both roller skating and roller polo were relocated from the Town Hall auditorium to a $3,000 rink built to the southwest of the Town Hall on Union Street and known as the Nemasket Skating Rink. The rink stood upon the site of the present Town Hall parking lot to the rear of the Veterans' Memorial Park. Though no description of the rink is known to survive, when it was disassembled in 1886, a Boston gentleman paid $80 for the 80,000 shingles which covered the building - a number which hints at the building's large size. [Old Colony Memorial, "County and Elsewhere", September 16, 1886, p.4]

At the time that the rink functioned, Middleborough participated in the Southern Massachusetts Roller Polo League along with teams from Taunton, Providence, Pawtucket, Newport, Plymouth and Fall River. The fact that the town was able to match the teams of these much larger cities competitively was a testament to the talent Middleborough fielded in those days. New England, in fact (and Middleborough with it), was the center of the roller polo craze. So popular was the game that many believed that it would become the American indoor sport, the winter counterpart to baseball.

Mike Curley,
"Muldoon" Smith and Eddie Menard

In the early days of polo Middleboro had a crack-a-jack team and defeated all comers. It was in the days when six players constituted the team and the line up was [Eddie] Menard and "Mul" Smith rushers, Alfred Ellis coverpoint, Judge [Dennis D.] Sullivan centre, William R. Jones half back, and "Mike" Curley goal ["Meeting of Former Polo Players", Middleboro Gazette, January 31, 1913, p. 9].

Unfortunately, few if any records remain to detail the exploits of this team which was long remembered as Middleborough’s best. Perhaps because it also appears to have been among Middleborough’s shortest lived. After a few short years, the local passion for both roller polo and roller skating seem to have fizzled. The Nemasket Rink fell into disuse and was sold for $375 in 1886. That winter, the rink was dismantled and its lumber, valued at over $2,000, was utilized to construct a factory building elsewhere in town.

Following the disbandment of the local team, three of its stars - Curley, Smith and Menard - played professionally elsewhere. In 1895, Smith was playing for the Providence, Rhode Island, team where he "more than satisfied admirers of the lively game", and four years later he was with the Clinton, Massachusetts, team of the New England League. However, “Smith, who was known among the players as ‘Muldoon,’ whether or not that was his name, always had a liking for Middleboro and, when the polo season was over, returned to Middleboro to make ice cream” for B. F. Tripp on Center Street. Menard had what today would be considered a remarkably long career (he continued playing in the position as first rush for 30 years until his retirement in 1910) but which at the time was the norm for roller polo players.

Curley's story, however, was perhaps the most tragic. A son of Owen Curley of Middleborough and a member of an athletically talented family, Curley had first played roller polo in the Middleborough rink. Apparently, it was his fist time on skates, for it was said that "at his first game he could not stand on the rollers and had to be assisted from one goal to the other by his team mates." Despite this, Curley adapted quickly to roller skates and he became the most noted goalie in the region. Following the dissolution of the Middleborough team, Curley continued to play the game professionally, being a member of, among others, the teams in Malden, Massachusetts (New England League) and Chicago. In 1898, Curley joined the Wallingford, Connecticut, team in the Southern New England League.

At Wallingford "where he is doing excellent work", Curley served as captain – a recognition of his popularity, leadership, experience and prowess. “Curley was acknowledged as tops by the country over” and he was regionally recognized as one of the game’s greats. "He put up a fast game at the cage, however, and had played on teams in all the big cities, being recognized as the king of goal tenders. He had a record of 82 stops in one game."

Sadly, in mid-January, 1899, Curley was found dead in his Wallingford room, "his death being due to a hemorrhage, the result of a blow from a polo ball." It’s not clear whether it was a single blow which killed Curley or whether his death was “brought on by stopping so many hard driven balls over his heart. That may have been so. Curley … wasn’t afraid of anything. He wouldn’t have dodged a cannon ball. The players did not wear so much protection as the goalie in modern ice hockey wears” [McFarlin, 1957]. He was just 40 years old.

Regional Leagues

Following the demise of both the Nemasket Rink and the Middleborough roller polo team, the sport, not surprisingly, appears to have slumped locally. The town seems to have sporadically fielded teams, and equally intermittently associated itself with semi-professional leagues. In 1899, Middleborough was unceremoniously dropped from the Southeastern League, a consequence of a number of unspecified difficulties. At the time, the Middleboro Gazette reported that the team's association with the league "was all too brief to satisfy the lovers of sport in town, but there were handicaps from the start that could not be overcome."

One of the handicaps that undoubtedly hampered the growth of the sport locally was the limited space in which Middleborough teams had to play. The venue used by Middleborough’s roller polo squads following the demolition of the Nemasket Rink was the American rink, located upon the third floor of the American Building on South Main Street. “When polo came along the stage [of the American hall] provided the high-priced grandstand seats. Along the sides were other seats. A chicken wire net around the playing floor was built to keep the spectators from being beheaded by the hockey sticks, or to lose an eye from a soaring puck. And inside the wire the American League players held forth. The game was exceedingly fast and attracted as many as the hall would accommodate” [Creedon, 1952].

In 1911, yet another regional league was proposed, this time to include Middleborough, Brockton, New Bedford and Taunton. "There has been a scheme of shop leagues, but it is thought to be better if the pick of the players is selected and one fast team put forth to represent the town". Apparently spearheading the movement for establishment of the league locally was Ben Chapman, manager of the American Rink. And although the initial proposal had been to form a local team comprised of the local shop teams' "all stars", it eventually was conceeded that such a "team of local players [would be] reinforced by others from local cities."

Though the Middleboro Gazette reported on February 24, 1911, that "a roller polo league ... is about to become a reality", little else was subsequently recorded. A team to include Dalton and Wildes rushers, Higgins center, Hennessy half-back, Clifford goalie and Leighton and Owens subs, was announced though whether it ever was formed is unknown as there appears to be no later record of it.

Shop Leagues

In the absence of formal regional leagues, Middleborough sportsmen established their own roller polo leagues to engage in the sport. These so-called "shop leagues" - leagues consisting of teams formed by various businesses throughout town – became the principal vehicle for promoting and participating in the sport locally.

In 1900, a four-team league was established with G. H. Keedwell as president and John J. Sullivan as secretary and treasurer. The four teams were to include “the best amateur players in town and games will be played Tuesday and Saturday nights of each week.”

The following year, a shop league of four teams – Leonard & Barrows; Leonard, Shaw & Dean; Clark & Cole and the Clerks (consisting of shop clerks from Middleborough stores) was formed. This league sought to correct the deficiencies of the previous years which had undoubtedly hindered the progress of the sport locally. “In previous years the teams have not been very evenly matched, but this year that has been considered and they will be matched so as to present good polo.” The opening game of the season was held Thanksgiving night at the American Rink between the Clerks and Clark & Cole. The game “was hailed with considerable satisfaction by the local sports, who have not had any exhibition of the game since early in this spring.”

The 1901 league featured “a number of new men … in which considerable confidence is placed, and it is thought that they will prove good poloists.” And, indeed, they seem to have fulfilled their promise. “There were teams representing several firms: Clark & Cole, Leonard and barrows, etc. With ‘Ceph’ Thomas, the most scientific rushing in the league, and Danny McCarthy nearly as good, and ‘Bursie’ Fuller goal tender, the Leonard and Barrows team was well nigh invincible” [McFarlin, 1957].

.Others engaged in the sport, as well. In February, 1901, “a red hot game of polo between two juvenile teams took place in the local rink…. The Everett Streets defeated the Fall Brooks by a score of 9 to 7.” Middleborough High School, at least for a short time, fielded a team [Brockton Times, March 4, 1901], and most unusual of all was competition between ladies' teams, though this appears to have been more of a novelty than an actual pursuit. "The 'Ladies' polo game' in the [American] rink last night between the 'Hartfords' and 'New Havens' was won by the former, 3 to 1. This was the largest crowd present that have attended any polo game this year" [Brockton Times, March 1, 1901].

The Demise of Roller Polo

Despite the fact that roller polo was once the professional winter sport, its local popularity rapidly diminished following the brief revival between 1900 and 1902 for a number of reasons.

Ice hockey eventually succeeded roller polo and became the new favorite of the public. The popularity of ice hockey was promoted first, like many sports, through the enthusiasm of Middleborough High School students. In February, 1902, Middleborough High School had a “Tiger ice polo” team and in December of the same year, the class of 1906 formed its own “ice polo” team.

Additionally, advances in skate design proved controversial, leading to differences in opinion as to which skates were permissible for play and further encouraging disorganization within the sport. The 1901 Middleborough shop league banned the use of ankle skates – “skates equipped with hinges so that a goal tender could flip them to the side and drop down onto their ‘ankles’. In that way they could boost another player, on regulation skates, all over the place”. [McFarlin, 1957] “The managers of the game in this town do not allow the use of ankle skates, they deeming that it is promotive of anything but good polo” firmly pronounced the league’s managers in 1901. Spectators, at least locally, concurred with the decision, though it seems not to have been one observed elsewhere. The introduction of ankle skates “took all the really beautiful skating and nice work out of the game. It spoiled the game” [McFarlin, 1957].

A final reason for the decline in roller polo was the fact that Middleborough had long lacked a suitable place to play the sport ever since the destruction of the Nemasket Rink on Union Street in the mid-1880s. The American Rink, though centrally located, was too small to suit most tastes and in December, 1899, Middleborough was dropped from the league which included Taunton, Plymouth, Brockton and other towns "because their rink is too small for the game." [Old Colony Memorial, December 9, 1899, p. 4] In late 1901, at the start of the season, work was undertaken to eliminate this source of complaint and the removal of the hall’s stage was begun in order to lengthen the rink by fifteen feet. “This will be a great improvement, and it will make the game more interesting for both the players and the spectators.” The project however moved slower than expected when carpenters engaged on the project encountered difficulties they had not anticipated. Nonetheless, the project appears to have been completed by December 11 when the Clerks defeated Leonard & Barrows by a score of 11 to 10 in what was described as “the fastest game of amateur polo that was ever seen on the American rink floor.”

Though the revamped rink bolstered hopes for the future of the sport locally, the local shop league became moribund following the departure of the Clark & Cole team which withdrew from it at the start of January, 1902. The profits from the season were distributed among the remaining players, and Leonard & Barrows and the Clerks played a best of five series for a purse of $25 in late February and early March, 1902.

It’s not clear when roller polo was last played in Middleborough, though it would seem that it was sometime before World War I. The concurrent rise of new winter sports, including basketball and ice hockey, permanently undermined the community’s previous obsession with roller polo and helped consign the game to oblivion.

Illustrations:
Middleboro Rink, advertising trade card, carstock, c. 1880
The rink, located in the auditorium of Middleborough Town Hall was managed by the Middleboro Commercial Band, or M. C. B. as listed upon the card.
"Hockey - 1878", National Museum of Roller Skating (90.42.40)
The illustration depicts a typically aggressive game of roller polo in the late 1870s, just as the game was gaining popularity both locally and nationally.

Nemasket Rink and Neighborhood, 1885, map, Michael J. Maddigan, 2009
The map is based upon the Sanborn fire insurance map of August, 1885, and shows the location of the Nemasket Rink on Union Street in the rear of Middleborough Town Hall, the site now occupied by a portion of the Town Hall parking lot.

Middleborough Roller Polo team, halftone newspaper clipping
Seen in the photograph is Middleborough's most famous roller polo team. Sitting (left to right): Alfred Ellis, point; O. F. ("Muldoon") Smith, second rusher; Edward Menard, first rusher; William R. Jones, half back. Standing (left to right): Michael ("Mike") Curley, goal tender; Dennis D. Sullivan, center.

The New York Times, "A Good Roller Polo Game", clipping, December, 1898.
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The New York Times, "Well-Known Polo Player Dead", January 14, 1899

American Hall, photograph, c. 1900
The American Building was constructed during the first half of the 19th century and was later known as the American Hall, taking this name from the large auditorium which occupied its third floor and which served as the main meeting venue in Middleborough prior to construction of the present Town Hall. In 1901, the stage which had hosted numerous lectures and events over the previous sixty years was removed in order to expand the roller polo rink, then known as the American Rink. Still later, the space was used as a movie house.
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James L. Plimpton skate, National Museum of Roller Skating
The Plimpton skate with its four wheels and ability to turn was invented in 1863, revolutionizing roller skating and making possible the sport of roller polo. The continual evolution in skate design, however, would promote confusion within the sport and contribute to its decline.

Sources:

Boston Daily Globe, February 23, 1901; February 28, 1901; November 26, 1901; "Opening of Polo Season Hailed with Delight", December 1, 1901; December 5, 1901; December 10, 1901; December 12, 1901; December 19, 1901; January 9, 1902; January 12, 1902; January 16, 1902; January 22, 1902; Janaury 27, 1902; February 13, 1902; February 20, 1902.
Brockton Times, "May Have a New Rink", August 2, 1900; "Middleboro", January 1, 1901; ibid., March 1, 1901; ibid., March 4, 1901.
Grace Clark ["Eve Lynn"], "Battered in Roller Polo Game", Middleboro Gazette, December 1, 1960, p. 9.

James H. Creedon, "Roller Polo Era Recalled", Brockton Enterprise, January 5, 1952.

James H. Creedon, "Roller Polo Days Recalled", Brockton Enterprise, May 28, 1953.

James H. Creedon, "Roller Polo Days", Brockton Enterprise, June 25, 1954
Keith Hodgdon, "Wild Bill Who? The Country's Best What?", Sports Illustrated, December 4, 1972.
Sampson McFarlin, "Letters to the Editor: Rollo Polo", Middleboro Gazette, October 3, 1957, p. 2.
Middleboro Gazette, "Middleboro", January 20, 1911:4; ibid., January 27, 1911:4; ibid., February 24, 1911:4; "Meeting of Former Polo Players", January 31, 1913:9; "What the Gazette Was Saying Twenty Five Years Ago", November 5, 1920:7; ibid., January 7, 1921:6; ibid., November 23, 1923:6; ibid., December 14, 1923:8; ibid., January 18, 1924:7; "Old Middleborough", September 12, 1924:1; "What the Gazette Was Saying Twenty Five Years Ago", November 14, 1924:7; ibid., November 28, 1924:6; ibid., November 6, 1925:6; ibid., December 2, 1927:6.
The New York Times, "A Good Roller Polo Game", December, 1898; "Well-Known Polo Player Dead", January 14, 1899.
Old Colony Memorial, Plymouth, MA
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Updated, July 8, 2009, at 10:43 PM; updated June 2, 2009, at 8:00 PM

Lorinda's Cupboard

Illustration:
Lorinda's Cupboard, advertising card, cardstock, c. 1928
Lorinda's Cupboard operated for a short period of time in the late 1920s in Middleborough. At the time, such combined tea rooms and gift shops were popular and sought to draw customers from the increasing number of motorists then taking to the roads.