This week we were spared the worst of Hurricane Florence’s destruction, but 80 years ago on September 21, the 1938 hurricane known as the Long Island Express walloped New England with 100+ mph winds, killing more than 700 and leaving more than $300 million in damage (in 1938 dollars). Here in Somerville, the damage was…
We love storytime at the West Branch. We love the books, the friends, moving and dancing and singing, and we really love the song “Roly Poly”!!! Some of our friends have recently moved and are missing Storytime at West, others want to share this song with grownups who can’t make it to storytime, and some…
Central Hill Park was the first public parkland in Somerville. Created in 1870 with the purchase of 38 acres by the City (price tag: about $38,000), the lot spanned Highland Avenue between Walnut and School streets, and bordered by Medford Street on the north. Public buildings included City Hall, the high school, the Central Library,…
…to cook. In New England many of us spend half the year longing for summer, but once it’s actually here we realize that hot weather makes certain basic life-maintenance tasks (such as cooking) unappealling. However, we still have to eat, even when the thermometer goes way up and the weather is sizzlin’ hot. Some of…
The West Branch of SPL opened to the public on May 27, 1909. It was one of 2,509 libraries built in the U.S. with funds from Andrew Carnegie – the Central Library and East Branch were also built with Carnegie funds. The image here shows the adult reading room in the early 20th century, now…
Dilboy is a familiar name our city: Dilboy Field in West Somerville, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 529 – Dilboy Post – on Summer Street; the statue of Dilboy by City Hall. He was killed in action on July 18, 1918, near Chateau Thierry, France, and awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery posthumously….
Today we know the Somerville High School Radiator as the annual yearbook, but in the 19th and for part of the 20th century it was a monthly student literary and news magazine, often with striking cover art and design. The group of covers we’re featuring for today’s Throwback Thursday were created by Bill Hanley, who…
Can’t find a book in the Minuteman system? Well, maybe you should try searching the Commonwealth Catalog, a.k.a. Comcat. Using Comcat you can look for books, CDs, DVD’s and audiobooks in other library systems throughout all of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. This expands your search to library systems in Western Massachusetts, The North Shore,…
We at the library recently created a Flickr page for sharing photos and images from our local history collection. So far, we’ve scanned and uploaded photos of Somerville kids dating back to the 1920s; the city’s centennial celebration in 1972; Davis Square landmarks from the 1960s, before the Red Line; Somerville High School, and advertising…
The Muslim holiday of Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, introspection, and prayer, begins this year on May 15 at sundown. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam; the other four are profession of faith, daily prayers, charity, and pilgrimage to Mecca. …
