Tree Lighting (1914)

Many people attend the annual lighting of a Christmas tree on the common. Over 100 years ago, West Boylston residents were doing the same thing. On December 23rd, 1914, the town erected a grand Christmas tree on the common. The celebration involved cheery festivities, music and singing, and, of course, the decoration of the tree with tinsel and electric lights.

The clipping in the photograph below comes from a blurb written by Mary Cook which was featured in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. Mary Cook was a West Boylston resident for many years and, every day, wrote a few paragraphs of “town happenings” which were then published in the T&G alongside stories from other towns in Worcester County. Cook compiled years of the columns she wrote into scrapbooks which we at the Beaman Memorial Public Library hold in our historical records.

We hope you enjoy the annual festive lights on West Boylston’s common and join us in thanking Mary Cook for her scrapbooks, which tell us so much about how past town residents celebrated the season.