Howard Johnson's Rotary Mill, 1935-44

One of the great challenges for travelers during the Depression era was locating a clean, family style restaurant, with ample parking, quality food and low prices. Into this void stepped Howard Deering Johnson of Quincy who ultimately operated a nation-wide chain of restaurants geared towards the family traveler, one of which was located between 1935 and 1944 on Route 28 near the Middleborough Rotary location of the present Dunkin’ Donuts.

Johnson received his start as the proprietor of an ice cream stand in Quincy, eventually expanding into the restaurant business. By the time that it had opened a restaurant in Middleborough, in September, 1935, the Howard Johnson chain operated over 25 restaurants in New England. Eventually, it would grow to be the world’s largest restaurant chain, built upon a standardized menu, reliable offerings, clean facilities, friendly service and generous servings of rich ice cream. Of the often volatile Johnson it would later be said, “There’s many a king on a gilded throne, but there’s only one king on an ice cream cone.”

In 1935, Howard Johnson’s acquired the Rotary Mill restaurant in Middleborough previously operated by George Manning of Mattapoisett. The Rotary Mill, which had been built shortly after the 1932 construction of the Middleborough Rotary and operated for just a few years, was noted for the distinctiveness of its Colonial Revival architecture, particularly the mock three-story windmill which served as the restaurant’s entrance and stood as a landmark on the route to the Cape for summer travelers.

Following its acquisition by Howard Johnson’s, little change was made to the exterior appearance of the Rotary Mill, whose architectural style was very much compatible with that of the other early Colonial Revival style Howard Johnson restaurants designed by Joseph G. Morgan. One notable change, however, was the addition of the distinctive orange baked-enamel roof, an easily recognized beacon for travelers in search of convenient dining. Howard Johnson’s early slogan was a “Landmark for Hungry Americans”, and the ubiquitous orange roof helped them in their search.

The opening of Howard Johnson’s new Middleborough location on September 22, 1935, was advertised with discounted ice cream and “our delicious frankforts roasted in pure creamery butter.” These two favorites, along with others such as clam strips and macaroni and cheese would become Howard Johnson staples, so much so that they were later marketed in supermarkets.

Like the other restaurants in the Howard Johnson chain, the Rotary Mill served Johnson’s exceedingly rich ice cream (19 per cent butter fat content), with generous servings from distinctively-shaped scoops. Ice cream was made in 28 flavors, and woe to those who opted for lowly vanilla. "We spend our lives developing 28 flavors, and they still come in and say 'Make mine vanilla!'” Johnson once fulminated.

Like ice cream, the simple hot dog was yet another roadside staple which Howard Johnson early elevated to a specialty. In Howard Johnson restaurants, hot dogs were called “frankforts” and were grilled in butter, diagonal scores being cut along the hot dog in order for them to soak in more of the butter in which they were grilled, and served in grilled rectangular buns. Clam strips became another recognizably Howard Johnson’s meal, and were harvested from beds owned by the company off Ipswich.

While undoubtedly many Middleborough residents dined at the Rotary Mill, Howard Johnson’s restaurants were geared to the traveler. Diners stopping at a Howard Johnson’s clearly knew what to expect in contrast to local restaurants and roadside stands, the quality and cleanliness of which could vary greatly.

Eventually, World War II with its gasoline, tire, rubber and food rationing crippled the roadside restaurant business. In 1944, Howard Johnson’s converted its Rotary Mill restaurant to a Red Coach Grill, then a new dining concept embraced by the company.

Illustrations:
Howard Johnson's Rotary Mill, Middleborough, MA, hand-colored photograph, c. 1935
The view depicts the Rotary Mill as seen from across Route 28 shortly after its acquisition by Howard Johnson's. The most noticeable alteration undertaken at the time was the application of the chain's distinctive orange enamel roof, an easily recognizable feature for travellers in search of clean, inexpensive and reliable family-friendly dining options.

Howard Johnson's, Middleborough Rotary, Middleborough, MA, photograph, 1940s
This view was utilized to advertise the local Howard Johnson's which was replaced in 1944 by the Red Coach Grill, a new dining concept promoted by Howard Johnson's in an effort to attract a more local clientele.

"Germans" Bomb South Middleborough, 1942

Or so the headlines would have read had the civil defense air raid drills of 1942 which targeted South Middleborough had been an actual event. Fortunately they weren’t, but they did help prepare local residents for a feared enemy attack on American shores during World War II.

Even prior to America's declaration of war in December, 1941, South Middleborough had been exposed to wartime preparedness procedures. In June, soldiers from Camp Edwards on Cape Cod had engaged in maneuvers in the vicinity. The following month, Lucy Braley was appointed captain to solicit funds for the U. S. O. at South Middleborough. A number of South Middleborough residents enlisted in the armed forces prior to the declaration of war including Russell Tripp and Everett W. Collins.

The community, itself, began preparations by naming Everett Buckman as air raid warden for South Middleborough with Harold Williams as his assistant in late summer, 1941. The Junior Red Cross at the South Middleborough School engaged in war relief efforts, establishing a contribution box to raise money for the purchase of books for U. S. O. camps in January, 1941.

Route 28, as one of the principal highways to Cape Cod where Camp Edwards was located, saw convoys pass through, as well as consequent accidents. On February 1, 1942, a cab operated by the Checker Taxicab Company of Boston carrying seven or eight soldiers back to Camp Edwards skidded, struck a tree and flipped over before burning a mile north of the Middleborough-Rochester town line. Both Engine 1 from Middleborough and the Wareham engine responded to the call shortly before midnight.

The community was included in the distribution of so-called “bomb sand” on March 14, 1942. Middleborough Highway Department trucks distributed sand to congested areas where homes were clustered closely together. Sand was to be kept easily available in metal buckets “for use in extinguishing and disposing of incendiary bombs.” It is not clear how readily South Middleborough residents participated. The Gazette reported that only thirty percent of householders outside the center had put out pails to be filled while the percentage for the center (fifty percent) was not much better. Some residents may have recognized the futility of effectively dousing an incendiary with a single bucket of sand and so felt disinclined to participate.

The relative lack of willingness to participate in the sand distribution fueled concerns about Middleborough’s overall preparedness in the event of an air raid, particularly since the town had held only one blackout drill in May, 1941 prior to the start of the war. Accordingly, both air raid defense tests and test blackouts began being scheduled with regularity throughout Middleborough. Initially, the bell of the South Middleborough church was to be used to supplement the town’s two existing fire alarm sirens located at Middleborough center to signal an air raid. Additionally, air raid wardens were provided with police whistles to be used to signal for a final blackout. In June, 1942, an electric air raid whistle manufactured by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company was installed in Sisson’s Garage at the intersection of Wareham and Locust Streets, operated by the same compressed air system which Sisson used to inflate tires.

The first civilian air raid defense test on Sunday, March 29, 1942, played havoc with Cape traffic on Route 28. Over 225 northbound cars were halted at the Middleborough line in Rochester while “some 56 additional that had passed the town line before the start of the blackout were stopped in lower South Middleboro.” Despite the inconvenience, “the drivers cooperated without protest.” Additional town blackouts were conducted April 7, 1942; August, 1942; and June 23-24, 1943; along with two state-wide blackouts held on December 15, 1942, and February 28, 1943.

On Monday, May 11, 1942, the evening before registration for gasoline rationing was to commence, Middleborough’s defense organizations participated in a rehearsal mobilization, though without a blackout, in which South Middleborough was actively engaged. The first warning was given at 7 p. m., the second at 7: 15, and the final warning at 7:29 at which point a blackout would have been complete. “The first call for help came a minute before the final warning, at 7:29 p.m. from the Esso station in South Middleboro reporting an accident on the old road [Spruce Street] at the first house on the left. Serious injuries required the services of doctors and an ambulance.” Richmond Matthews’ auxiliary ambulance was dispatched to the scene along with the Egger ambulance accompanied by a first aid assistant. The “injured” were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital at Middleborough where Doctor James M. Bonnar, Jr., judged the bandaging done by first aid corps members.

A second surprise test was conducted late Sunday afternoon, June 21, during which an enemy bomber was shot down by an interceptor plane at 5:10 p.m., crashing some 500 yards north of the South Middleborough railroad station east of the tracks to Cape Cod. Three men were “seen” parachuting from the plane and “have landed near Wareham street nearly opposite the burning plane.” The State Guard was dispatched to capture the men. During this raid the recently-installed electric air raid siren installed at Sisson’s gas station was employed for the first time.

South Middleborough’s situation was regarded as particularly perilous at the time, isolated as it was by thick woods and swamps which provided extensive concealment for any possible invaders as manhunts for lost and fugitive individuals during the 1950s would so well demonstrate. Because of this, the area became the scene of an extensive search following the actual loss of an Army fighter plane which disappeared following take off from its base at Hillsgrove, Rhode Island on December 22, 1942, the wreckage of which was thought to be hidden beneath the tree cover near South Middleborough. Members of Middleborough’s Company 4 of the Massachusetts State Guard as well as troops from several Massachusetts and Connecticut camps searched the thickly-forested area southwest of South Middleborough during the last week of December, while a blimp searched from the air. The area immediately west of South Middleborough bounded by Spruce, Benson and Highland Streets and the railroad tracks were searched as well. “The local men came out of the woods well scratched up.” It was not until late March, 1943, that the plane and the body of its pilot were located in a heavily wooded portion of Cape Cod ironically near Camp Edwards.

A second plane from the Hillsboro base, a P-47, caught fire and crashed just over the South Middleborough line in Rochester in early March, 1943, with the pilot parachuting to safety.

Civilian air raid preparedness drills became increasingly infrequent as the likelihood of invasion diminished throughout late 1943 and 1944. In fact, South Middleborough experienced its only true bomb scare in November, 1944, when blasting associated with the construction of a cranberry bog west of the railroad tracks by Harrison Peppin shook windows at Sisson’s Garage, Sisson’s Diner, Lucy Braley’s Candy Kitchen and homes in the neighborhood, prompting residents to fear a “robot bomb”. Following an investigation by Chief of Police Alden C. Sisson, local fears were allayed.

Then & Now: North Congregational Church

The present North Congregational Church at North Middleborough is the third church structure to stand on the site. On March 15, 1893, the previous church building was struck by lightning and burned. The congregation made an immediate decision to rebuild, and it was reported the following month:

“Active measures are being taken toward rebuilding the North Middleboro Congregational church lately burned by lightning. A building committee is trying to raise funds. There was an insurance of $6000 on the building and $1000 on the organ, this amount being largely available for use in the new building.”

Work commenced on the foundation in July, 1893, and the church was dedicated April 19, 1894. A noted feature of the 1893-94 church is the clock located in the tower which was manufactured and installed by the E. Howard Clock Company of Boston. Numerous public buildings throughout the country featured Howard clocks. The North Middleborough church was only the second building in Middleborough to incorporate a public clock. The first was the Central Baptist Church at Middleborough center which also featured a clock manufactured by the Howard Company.

Illustrations:
North Congregational Church, 38 Plymouth Street, Middleborough, MA, photograph by T. A. Richmond, c. 1901-02.

North Congregational Church, 38 Plymouth Street, Middleborough, MA, photograph by Michael J. Maddigan, October 3, 2006.

Sources:
Old Colony Memorial, April 8, 1893, page 4.

Elks' Ball, 1912

The Middleborough Lodge Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in the spring of 1912. Among its very first social occasions was a ball held Wednesday, May 29. The event, which became an annual Elks' tradition, was a marked success as indicated by the following article carried by the Middleboro Gazette two days after the dance.

A brilliant social event was carried through Wednesday evening when Middleboro Lodge of Elks held their first concert and ball.

The decorations of the hall were a feature, the effect being white and purple, streamers being draped from the centre to the sides. The stage represented a large garden, the front decorated with American flags and an elk's head, surmounted by an illuminated clock, the hands set at the hour of eleven. Around the receiving station were small trees, representing a forest glen in which stood a life sized elk.

During the first of the evening an orchestra rendered a concert while the patronesses, Mrs. Bourne Wood, Mrs. Ivan Rogers, Mrs. James P. Leahy and Mrs. William F. Stone received. The ushers were John V. Sullivan, Harold S. Wood, Louis T. Perkins, Reginald Drake, Ernest M. O'Toole, William B. Crossley, Hugh Rogers, Abraham Levy, Edmund Pratt, [and] Frank Moriarty.

Dancing was enjoyed until after midnight. The gowns worn by the ladies were the most brilliant and attractive of any seen recently on a local dance floor. William F. Stone was in charge of the dancing and Bourne Wood, Dr. J. P. Leahy, H. E. Lunt, E. A. Perry, A. Martenson, Ivan Rogers and W. F. Stone, the committee in charge.

Promptly at eleven o'clock the hall was darkened and with the Elks in a circle in the centre of the hall in front of the illuminated clock, Hon. Ambrose Kennedy of Woonsocket, speaker of the Rhode Island house of representatives, gave the eleven o'clock toast to the absent members, after which "Auld Lang Syne" was sung by the members.

Illustrations:
Middleborough B. P. O. E. first annual ball, dance card, May 29, 1912
The cover of the dance card depicts an elk head with the animal's zoological name, Cervus alces, featured on the purple banner. The large clock with its hands set to eleven, and the purple and white color scheme were also reflected in the decorations for the local Elks' first ball. Dance cards such as this were noted features of formal dances of the period, and were completed by ladies who would pencil in their partners for each dance. The long purple cord on this card permitted the lady to wear it from her wrist.

Herring Market, 1870

The following item appeared in the Middleboro Gazette in late April, 1870:

Herring Market - Caught at Star Mills privilege this week about 20,000. Condition good, being both healthy and fat; price $1.25 to $2 per hundred. It is said that the natives of old Middleborough already begin to look more cheerful and better everyday.

Illustration:
"Alewife or Branch Herring (Pomolobus psuedoharengus)", chromolithograph, S. F. Denton, Annual Reports of the New York State Fisheries, Game and Forest Commission, 1896-99.

The present taxonomy for the alewife is Alosa pseudoharengus.

Source:
Middleboro Gazette, "What the Gazette Was Saying Fifty Years Ago", April 30, 1920.

Storms, 1867

One of the most destructive spring storms prior to 2010 occurred in 1867 when a spring freshet caused by a combination of heavy rain and melting snow caused the Nemasket River to flood. One of the most dramatic consequences was the washing away of the herring weir at Muttock by the impounded waters of the mill pond above Nemasket Street.

A severe storm of rain and wind prevailed here, on Saturday night last [February 9, 1867]. This, at once thawed and set in motion the previous heavy fall of snow, so that our streams experienced the effects of the combination of two heavy storms.... At the Muttock works, the herring weir dam was swept away."

Illustration:
Nemasket River at Muttock, photograph, 1880s.
This photographic view depicts the Nemasket River some twenty years after the disastrous 1867 storm which washed away the herring weir dam. The dam was not rebuilt and the site was left to nature which has begun to encroach upon the river in this view. Note the young boy fishing on the left bank.

Source:
Middleboro Gazette, February 16, 1867

Best Easter Wishes, 1909

Illustration:
"Best Easter Wishes", greeting card, Louise Bradford Pratt, pencil and ink, 1909.
Louise B. Pratt (1887-1987), sister of Ernest S. Pratt, was a longtime librarian at the Middleborough Public Library who had an interest in drawing in pen and ink. She sent this hand-made greeting card depicting the Easter bunny toting a brightly-colored floral hat box and a border of pussy willow, to Mrs. Warren Lovell of Rock Street, Middleborough in April, 1909. Miss Pratt was the last family member to live on the Pratt Farm.