Worcester resident Marshall Walter ‘Major’ Taylor was a world-champion bicycle racer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Bicycle racer Marshall Walter ‘Major’ Taylor was known as the ‘Worcester Whirlwind’

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer WORCESTER - Bicycle racer Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor championed strong attacks of racism all the way to the finish line. Born...
Wealthy car enthusiast Frederick Tudor of Brookline was issued Massachusetts license plate “1” in 1903, and his descendants still have it.

The first car license plate issued still exists in Massachusetts

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer BROOKLINE - In 1903, Massachusetts and Missouri were the very first states to require drivers obtain a driver's license. That same...
Nearly 30 years after the death of Anthony “Spag” Borgatti and over 20 years since his namesake store closed, the stories keep coming about this legendary Shrewsbury retail destination.

Shrewsbury author’s book produces a plethora of additional stories about ‘Spag’s’

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By Michael Perna Jr. Contributing Writer SHREWSBURY - After last year’s release of my book “Spag – His Life and Legacy,” many more stories about Anthony...
Gen. George S. Patton, both a renowned and very controversial leader of the U.S. Army in World War II, was also a long-time resident of Hamilton.

World War II Gen. George S. Patton lived in Hamilton

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By Nance Ebert Contributing Writer HAMILTON – Gen. George S. Patton, one of the most renowned if controversial leaders of the U.S. Army in World War...
Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill in 1812 that created a partisan district in the Boston area that was said to resemble a mythological salamander.

Massachusetts governor signed a redistricting bill two centuries ago that led to term gerrymandering

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer BOSTON - These days, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who has not heard of one state after another threatening...
The FBI took this surveillance photograph of Angelo Mercurio (right), with Raymond Patriarca, Jr. arriving at a Mafia induction ceremony in Medford in 1989 that it recorded.

First-ever recorded Mafia induction ceremony occurred in Medford

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer MEDFORD – While New York City is typical thought of as the stronghold of the Mafia in the United States, the...
Edward Rowe Snow, the Flying Santa of New England lighthouse keepers, is remembered with this memorial plaque on Georges Island in Boston Harbor. Photo/Wikimedia Commons

Edward Rowe Snow was the ‘Flying Santa’ for New England lighthouses for 40 years

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer REGION - In December of 1929, Maine floatplane pilot William Wincapaw started a time-honored tradition. He loaded his plane with candy,...
The visually stunning Worcester State Hospital main building, a masterpiece of gothic architecture, was torn down in 2008, but the clock tower was rebuilt using some of the original materials, and remains standing to this day.

Worcester State Hospital had a dark history despite good intentions

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By Michael Perna Jr. Contributing Writer WORCESTER - In 1829, after the Massachusetts state legislature initiated a study to determine what conditions existed in each city...
Boston author and magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale petitioned several U.S. presidents to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, and she finally succeeded with Abraham Lincoln in 1863.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday thanks to a Boston woman

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer BOSTON - Thanksgiving is celebrated every fourth Thursday in November thanks to magazine editor and author Sarah Josepha Hale. The New...
A government warning about possible herbicide contamination decimated the cranberry industry in 1959, right before Thanksgiving.

Cranberry scare tanked Thanksgiving sales in 1959

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By Sharon Oliver Contributing Writer REGION - No Thanksgiving, and for some, Christmas dinner is complete without a scoop of cranberry sauce. Of course, a tall...
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