ARTICLE 33 : DO YOU KNOW THAT…………..? NORTHBRIDGE TRIVIA ?

1 In 1899 the Whitins who ran The Shop built the very first Company owned, Industrial, Freight in-line Electric Train with its own Railway system…___yes___no

2 The Shop Clock, on the West Façade near the former Freight House has been accurate, running, and maintained since 1847.………yes___no

3 There were Doll Parades and ‘Peanut Carnivals’ in the 1940’s and 1950’s held annually in Whitin Park, behind the “Gym” on the Hillside………___yes___no

4 Meadow Pond, formerly called Whitin’s Pond in 1850 was the site of the Prentice Farm, and one of the Whitins married a Prentice, hence Prentice Road near the pond in Whitinsville was named……………………………….............___yes___no

5 The very first ‘popcorn man’ was Bill Bazsner, who lived at the top of Maple Street, and he sold his popcorn for $.05 a bag…………………………___yes___no

6 The owner of the Star Theatre was Bob Wiener and he gave out souvenirs to the first 25 patrons at times and charged only $.25 admission to his theater..___yes___no

7 There were 4 theaters during the 1940’s in Northbridge: Star, Prospect, Walker’s above Labonte’s Supermarket, Rockdale near Village Hall…___yes___no

 8 If you were a volunteer full-time for the Northbridge Fire Department at one time, you got your Shop Tenement rent-free…………………………..___yes___no

9 In the 1950’s Downtown Whitinsville (Church Street and 2 neighboring streets) had 5 markets, 3 Drug Stores, 3 Shoe Cobblers, and 3 Candlepin Lane places …___yes___no

10 There is a foundation at the corner of D Street and North Main Street in the New Village section of Town where a WMW bus stop was located….___yes___no

11 There is an Armenian owned market still in business today since the “turn of the Century” located on East Street……………………………….......___yes___no

12 Northbridge had 8 working Dairy Farms since 1870.……___yes___no

13 Northbridge could have built a water bottling plant of its own__yes__no

14 There were 7 taxi drivers who operated on Church Street in Whitinsville during the 1940’s and 1950’s………………………………...................___yes___no

15 Doctor Williams was the Shop Physician and Northbridge had 2 doctors named “ Dr. Bouvier” who delivered babies at Whitinsville Hospital…___yes___no

16 Doctor Edward W. Balmer had a sister who was a Teacher, but he had a Town Building named in his honor……………………………….........___yes___no

17 The present Middle School Gymnasium in Northbridge was named after a Northbridge High School Coach and History Teacher named Leo Smith, who never had a losing season in either Football, Baseball, or Basketball in his tenure…___yes___no

18 There are several members and residents in the Northbridge Hall of Fame and one standout individual, born in England, who played in the former Blackstone Valley Baseball League………………………………........................................___yes___no

19 There are 5 Villages in the Town of Northbridge: Centre, Linwood, Riverdale, Rockdale and Whitinsville………………………………....___yes___no

20 There are more than 7 Cemeteries in the Town of Northbridge___yes___no

21 At one time, Northbridge had more than 3 Post Offices ………___yes___no

22 The Blackstone Canal, which goes through 11 Valley Towns, was hand-dug for a length of 48 miles at a depth of about 3 feet………………………….___yes___no 23

The Providence and Worcester Railroad is still operating at a profit___………………………....................................................................___yes___no

24 The Whitin Machine Works had 7 Vice Presidents in addition to a President, but not during the reign of John Crane Whitin………………………………___yes___no

25 For a dime, one would get a white bar of soap, a clean white towel, and a smiley greeting, upon entering the facility, if a member of the Whitin Gym (Community Center in memory of George Marston Whitin, one of more than 6 CEO‘S…___yes___no

 26 The Carr Funeral Home, formerly the Gothic Victorian Home of Gustavus Taft, “right-hand’ man of John Crane Whitin, is the oldest established business in Northbridge and is going on for 5 generations now since 1848.…………….___yes___no

27 Chester Laselle, one of the past CEO’s of the WMW, raised and trained championship horses at Oakhurst Farm, which was actually located in Sutton, MA___yes___no

28 There was a “Bullet Pit” off Prentice Road, where members of the Northbridge Police Department would go to train and fire their revolvers…..___yes___no

29 You could watch 2 feature length movies, news reels, cartoons and coming attractions in the Prospect Theatre, run by the Walker Family, at one time for $.75 admission, and it would last almost 3 hours on a week-end Matinee………___yes___no

30 Flagg’s Drug Store on Church Street, in the early 1950’s, would be “packed on Friday nights” with customers who bought Sealtest ice cream cones for $.10__yes__no

31 Aubuchon Hardware is one of the last stores still in business on Church Street, but Baker’s Dept. Store was run by 3 generations for over 40 years…..___yes__no

32 We had Parking Meters along both sides of Church Street, but you never had to pay on Sundays……………………………….............................................___yes___no

33 Don Connors had the best “penny candy” and all sorts of newspapers, magazines, and tobacco products in Sherlock’s News Agency in the Valley…__yes___no

#34 There are 80 miles of paved roads in Northbridge; 60 miles consist of "country or back " roads....................................................................................................___yes___no

35 I bought “BB’s” when I owned a Daisy Rifle pump gun from Western Auto, and I had to sign for them to take them out of the store……………………___yes___no

36 There was a street vendor who sold flowers out of a cart, behind The Shop, on Douglas Road, and he did quite well during the 1930’s and 1940’s……___yes___no

37 Mr. Yinkot was the “rag man” of Northbridge in Rockdale and he lived in the “woods” off Sutton Street………………………………..........................___yes___no

38 There were 3 “School Streets” named in the Town of Northbridge__yes___no

39 Plummer’sLanding was a separate Village in Northbridge at one time_yes_no

40 We now have 6 banks in Town, but at one time, there was only Whitinsville Savings Bank………………………………...................................................___yes___no

41 Northbridge had more clubs, organizations, meeting places and company-sponsored groups than any of the 11 other Towns in the Blackstone Valley..___yes__no

42 Charles E. Thompson was the past Executive Director of the Whitin Community Center, which has over 3,000 members, and the present Exec. Dir. is named Gary Wood...............___yes___no

43 Cornelius Madigan was the past Fire Chief and now Gary Nestor is the present Fire Chief of the Town of Northbridge..........................................................................................___

44 We have the best drinking water of any Town around…………___yes___no

45 The signs placed in area Villages, by the Blackstone Valley Heritage Corridor Commission cost an average of $3,000 each (there are over 300 of them)…___yes___no

46 In the Winter, Castle Hill Farm was a great place for sleds and toboggans, and in the Summer, ‘Bum’s Beach” off New Pond (Carpenter Reservoir) was a great place to go swimming……………………………….................................................___yes___no

47 12,000 people attended the exhibition baseball game in 1946 between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees (Yankees won) at Soldier’s Field in Douglas (where the Blackstone Valley Mill Leagues once played)…………………..___yes___no

48 Walt Dropo, who once played at Vail Field in the late 1940’s, hit a home run over the left field fence that landed in Arcade Pond…………………………___yes___no

49 More people have attended Northbridge High Football Games than in any other High School Field of any other High School in the Blackstone Valley..___yes___no

50 The Public School System of Northbridge has a tradition of both Academic and Athletic Excellence in the entire State of Massachusetts, not to forget the Northbridge Fire Department and Northbridge Police Department also…………………___yes___no

***PLEASE PRINT THIS FIRST ***

HOW DID YOU DO ? Score 2 points for each correct answer (be honest) Multiply 2 by the number of Yes responses. This is your Raw Score. If you are a Resident of Northbridge now, subtract 10 points. If you have lived in Northbridge, have moved away, and have returned--subtract 5 points. If you are a non-resident, add 10 points to your score. Voila ! (Passing is a total score of 70) Now, wouldn’t you agree, there is a lot of HISTORY to learn about NORTHBRIDGE ?

Got questions or comments, email Don Gosselin - donyogoss@verizon.net