Maynard Sesquicentennial History Talks

Trains, Trolleys, Buses, and Cars

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Presented by David Mark

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Tuesday, November 23rd

7pm via Zoom

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Click here to register.

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Railroad engine.jpg

Maynard author and historian David Mark will speak about means of transportation used spanning Maynard’s 150-year history.

 

That starts with horses, plus ‘shank’s mare’ (walking). Until the Congregational Church was built, church services were several miles away. The railroad arrived in 1850. Passenger service ended in 1958, freight not many years later. The Golden Age of bicycles spanned the 1890s. Electric-powered trolleys arrived in 1901; service connected Concord to Hudson, with a spur to the South Acton train station. The trolley era ended in 1923. Lovell Bus Lines, founded by John Lovell in 1923, operated until 1972. And then, cars!! The first, 1899, was a Stanley Steamer, owned by Dr. Frank Rich. By 1910 there were two car dealers in town, repair shops, gas stations, car rental businesses, attempts to control speeding, and the first reported accident. Lastly, from 1948 to 2016, Sidney Mason and then his son Jack operated “Sid’s Airport” out of their backyard, on Summer Street. 


IMAGE: A train crew stands in front of their 4-4-0 steam locomotive. The buildings behind the engine still exist on Railroad Street.

Food Cooperatives

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Presented by David Mark

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Tuesday, December 14th

7pm via Zoom

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Click here to register.

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Kaleva_Storefront1914.jpg

Maynard author and historian David Mark will speak about the long and storied history of food cooperatives that existed in Maynard, from oldest, to most recent, to possible future.

 

With the grandiose name “Order of the Sovereigns of Industry,” the first co-operative society opened in 1875. Renamed “Riverside Co-operative Association,” it lasted to 1936. Newly arrived Finnish immigrants asked that Riverside hire Finnish-speaking staff. Rebuffed, they started the Kaleva Co-operative Association, later to become the United Co-operative Society of Maynard. In time, United added a bakery, diary delivery, ice delivery, a fuel oil company, gas station and credit union. At one point in time United was one of the ten largest co-ops in the country. Kaleva/United was in business 1907-1973, closing after the immigrant descendants assimilated and moved away. Home to a food co-op again? As of fall 2021, the Assabet Co-op Market has raised more than $1.5 million dollars and is actively searching for a site.    


IMAGE: The KALEVA CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION (founded 1907), became the United Cooperative Society of Maynard in 1921 and remained active to 1973.