"A Memorial Observance of Bunker Hill Day"

business, leisure

A Memorial Observance of Bunker Hill Day is the name of the document from the Worcester Magazine in May of 1915. This article gives an account of many business men that took a cruise on Bunker Hill Day to Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Canal and were greeted with a celebration. Along with the description of that day there are many phenomenal images that really capture what went on that day. Words to describe the images are vivid and eye catching because the times were so different back then. The images also give a good look at what the city of Worcester was like back in 1915. Also there a several pictures of people on the cruise and those pictures gave me a feel as if I was on board with the people. The cruise itself seemed to have a party feel to it. A better way to describe the atmosphere on the boat would be happiness because the author of the article described the boat ride similar to that. Upon arriving to New Bedford everyone on the ship received an envelope containing everything that they need on that day. For example they received railroad tickets, dinner tickets and a map. Not only were business men aboard but at the time, a congressmen and a mayor were also a part of the party and cruise. All of the passengers on the cruise got the privilege of meeting the man who built the Cape Cod Canal. Finally, after reading the article and writing this metadata I am left with one question. Does the city of Worcester still take part on this trip on Bunker Hill Day?

Worcester Board of Trade

Worcester's Illustrated Magazine,

Worcester Board of Trade

May 1915

Nick Santangelo

Public domain

Printed magazine

The History of Our Lady of Angels Parish

Commemorative booklet, published by the Our Lady of Angels Parish.

Sarah Fulginiti

Christ the King Catholic Church

Churches, Worcester Worship

On November 29, 2009 I attended a Sunday Mass at Christ the King, a Catholic church located on Pleasant Street in Worcester. I arrived early and found a handful of people were involved in personal prayer. I could hear the church choir singing hymns in a distant room.

Christ the King Church was less ornate than other Catholic chuches that I have seen, due to being a fairly modern structure (built in 1958). It reflects the architecture that was common of that era. The outside of the church has a beautiful mosaic representing Christ's rising. Upon entering the large vestibule I noticed a circular space where there was cushioned seating and a statue of the blessed virgin with the Christ child. There was a door to the right where personal confessions were heard by the parish priest on Saturday afternoons. To the left side of the vestibule was a small soundproofed room where people with small children can participate in the Mass without the cries of the children disrupting the Mass. There were two holy water dishes in the vestibule. Before entering the church, the churchgoers blessed themselves with the water.

The center of the church was a large rectangular space. This space was filled with oak bench seating and cushioned kneelers. The church felt very spacious with its wood slat cathedral ceiling. At the front of the church was the altar which was elevated from the pews by a few marble steps. On the altar was a large marble table from which the priest prayed and changed the host and wine into the body and blood of Christ. On the altar were two candles and an open Bible. To the right of the altar was a small ornate gold box with a key which is where the hosts were kept until the consecration (the consecration being when the host is transformed by the prayers of the priest into the body of Christ, according to Catholic beliefs). To the left of the altar was a large baptismal pool where infants are baptized. To the left of the altar was seating for the church choir. Over the altar hung a large copper cross of the crucified Jesus. At the back of the altar were seats for the Priest and Deacons. Two young girls dressed in white robes participated in the Mass by bringing water and a towel to the priest for him to wash his hands before the consecration. They also held the Bible open so that the priest could recite the prayers of the Mass from his seat. To the right of the altar were a few seats for parishoners who read the readings from the Bible for that particular Mass. The priest was dressed in a long ornate robe. The choir also wore plain blue robes which fell to the ankle. The sides of the church were decorated with large stained glass windows depicting the stories of the Bible. Along the walls were the stations of the cross which tell the story of Christ's crucifixion.

At the start of the Mass the choir, altar servers, deacons and priest proceed up the side aisle singing a hymn. They walked down the central aisle and took their places on the altar. The people of the church sang along as well. The priest and parishoners stood and asked the Lord to forgive their sins. A reader then came to the lecturn and read the first and second reading of the Mass. The priest then gave the gospel reading. He gave a homily based on the gospel reading. He came down to the people and attempted to make sense of the gospel reading. By giving present-day examples he applied the gospel to the parishoner's lives. Then an offering was taken in order to pay the expenses of the parish. The choir and parishoners sang an offertory hymn. The priest then asked for peace to the congregation. The parishoners then offered peace to each other with a smile or a nod of the head. The priest then took the host from the gold box and consecrated the bread and wine through a series of prayers. He then asked the parishoners to come forward and receive the body and blood of Christ. They received the host either by the tongue or hand. People returned to their seats for a time of silence and prayer. The priest then gave a blessing to the congregation. A hymn was sung by the choir and parishoners. The priest, deacons and altar servers then proceeded down the center of the aisle and out to the street. The priest and deacons posted themselves outside the door in order to speak and greet the congregation as they left the church.

November 2009

Owen Hurlburt

Founded 1936. Building constructed 1958, refurbished 1966 and 1985.

Freedom Worship Center

churches, Worcester Worship

For my site visit, I attended a service at the Freedom Worship Center in West Boylston. I chose this house of worship because I want to explore a non-mainstream church for this project, one not affiliated with a major denomination. It is affiliated with the Living Rock Church in Killingworth, Connecticut.

The Freedom Worship Center describes itself as "a Christ-centered charismatic church full of people who are in love with God." Its services are very music-oriented. Their services are designed to encourage much interaction with the congregation. At the service that I observed, there was an interesting combination of styles in the sermon: there was what I would describe as a “call to arms” mentality yet it was presented with much humor and received with attentive laughter.

As a Christian house of worship, the scripture in use was the Holy Bible (I was not able to determine which translation, however as a non-denominational church, I will infer that it would not be considered crucial). While it was frequently read from, predominantly the Old Testament, the passages were usually brief. The focus of the sermon was interpretation and application to the modern world.

Contrary to my previous experiences with church services, mostly Roman Catholic, the service was intended to be kept very informal and interactive. The crowd would talk back to the pastor sometimes and laugh and testify throughout the service. Architecturally, it is a very simple two-story building. The interior is of simple design adorned with multiple crosses.

The doctrine of the Freedom Worship Center is similar to that of many other forms of Christianity. They believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They believe in the inerrant nature of the Holy Bible. They believe that the fall of man has made us so flawed that we cannot redeem ourselves on our own. It is only Christ who can save us. This implies that persons who do not accept Him as their Lord and Savior cannot save themselves through other means. There is also strong emphasis on baptism as an absolute necessity.Their beliefs regarding the nature of God appear to be a combination of Unitarian and Trinitarian in that He is one single being. They describe Him as the “Eternal Godhead.” They also describe God as “existing in three persons.” These three persons being of course, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Overall, I found my visit to the Freedom Worship Center very enlightening. It showed me a side of Christianity I had never seen before.

November 2009

Darren McQuoid

Worcester "Voke"

schools

One of the two buildings of the Worcester "Voke" Vocational High School for Boys, located in Lincoln Square.

Katelyn Friend

Worcester Boy's Trade School

schools, boy's school, the Voke

The Worcester Boy's Trade School was founded in 1909 by Milton Higgins of the Norton Company. The building itself opened in the year 1910. This trade school was the first of its kind in the state of Massachusetts. The school was run by an independent Board of Trustees that reported to the City Council and by 1949 they eventually reported to the City Manager. The building stilll remains located in Armory Square on Grove Street and until the year 2006 that same building was used as the campus for the Worcester Vocational High School (aka "Voke"). The building now remains vacant, as the new Worcester Vocational High School is located on 1 Skyline Drive.

Information from: http://www.wrrb.org/worces_voc_school_1.php and http://www.worcestermass.com/places/tradeschool.shtml

Katelyn Friend

Worcester Insane Asylum (Kirkbride Building)

hospitals, asylums, buildings

The old Worcester asylum building which had opened in 1833 was the first of its kind in the state of Massachusetts. But by the 1870’s it was no longer adequate to fulfill the states needs. There was overcrowding which led to the construction of a new asylum complex. The building was designed by a Worcester architect by the name of Ward P. Delano, and cost well over a million dollars to build. The Worcester State Hospital also known as the Worcester Lunatic Asylum was then opened in 1877. This building was home to hundreds of patients with mental illnesses. In 1991 the asylum was severely damaged by a fire. Sections of the building were torn down and now only part of the building remains. The clock tower is still standing and can be seen from route 9. The remains of the abandoned hospital are now boarded up and the building is fenced off. *Interesting side note: Sigmund Freud visited the Worcester State Hospital in 1909 during his only trip to America.

Information from: http://www.opacity.us/site56_worcester_state_hospital.htm and http://www.kirkbridebuildings.com/buildings/worcester/

Opened in 1877. Photographed in October 2009

Ryan Foley

Royal Worcester Corset Company

factories, businesses

The photo is of the employees and officers gathered on the front grasses in front of the Royal Worcester Corset Company factory. David Hale Fanning, founder of the Royal Worcester Corset Company, opened the doors in 1861, located at 45 Grand Street. He claimed his to be one of the largest single mills, selling internationally, along with being the largest employer of female workers in the entire United States. The factory closed in 1949. The building is now an apartment building called the Royal Worcester Apartments.

Worcester Board of Trade

Worcester Illustrated Magazine, October 1910

Worcester Board of Trade

October 1910

Alexandra Doherty

Kirkbride Building

Other names: Bloomingdale Asylum, Worcester Lunatic Asylum

Buildings, hospitals

In 1833, the Worcester Lunatic Asylum became the first psychiatric facility of its kind in Massachusetts. It was originally used as a shelter for the insane but quickly became overcrowded. Forced to expand its size, the asylum called in Ward P. Delano in 1870 to build what was known as the four leveled Kirkbride building, shown in the picture, famous for its high clock tower. By 1877, at the completion of the new buildings, the facility found its new name as the Worcester State Hospital. The Hospital remained in use until 1991, when a large fire destroyed much of the Kirkbride building. Today the facility is not in use as a mental institution but either left abandoned or used by the Worcester Fire Department for training.

Ward P. Delano

Jon-Michael Condon

Kirkbridge Building by Jon-Michael Condon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License

The "New Normal School"

Buildings, Worcester State College

Worcester's new Normal School opened on January 5, 1932. It was located on May and Chandler Street (present location of Worcester State College). The school cost $365,000 to build. On May 7, 1930, the Governor approved the bill which authorized Worcester to purchase the site. Two years later the new Normal School was built. Its name has since changed to Worcester State College.

Worcester T&G

WSC Scrapbook, 1932

1932

Steven Bracero