Foxborough historical society presentation - “Foxborough: The Way We Were”

Many called them the best of times, with the milkman, baker, egg man and ice man coming to our door each week when people lived closer to the land and stayed much closer to home. Their tools and household implements were something they held in their hand to make them work, as there was no motor and nothing to plug them into.

Town Historian Jack Authelet will take us back to those days in an illustrated presentation for the Foxborough Historical Society on Tuesday, May 28.

He will relive the darkest year of 1900, the arrival of the electric trolley cars and first automobiles and show how families were able to manage during the Great Depression. 

“They were resourceful people,” said Authelet, “and they stepped boldly into the future upon the building blocks left by their predecessors as the community prospered in the industrial age.”  

The children survived practicing the Palmer method of handwriting in school and parents had a direct influence on education through the local Parent Teacher Association. Every section of town was self-sufficient to a degree with district schools, chapels and places for community gatherings. Children enjoyed endless hours of fun at Booth Playground all summer long, and any body of water attracted children an afternoon of swimming or pick-up ball games as long as they made it home before the 5 p.m. whistle blew at The Foxboro Company.

All this and more will come to life when the Historical Society meets at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday May 28 at the Foxborough Senior Center, 75 Central St. (Route 140) in Foxboro center. Please enter through the rear door. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome.  There will be ample time for questions and comments following the presentation.