This Week In History: Outdoor Construction a Sign of Spring

This is a regular column with items drawn from past editions of the Winchester Star.

1912

(Relatively) Modern Streets:

At the selectmen’s meeting held on March 26, 1912, a petition was presented to the board asking that the streets be macadamized, that three-foot granolithic sidewalks with stone edges be constructed and granolithic gutters be constructed once the new water pipelines were completed.

Outdoor Construction a Sign of Spring: 

Despite recent snow and sleet, residents of Winchester sought refuge in the sound and sight of gas and electric light companies working outside, providing a source of cheer to those who found this to be “the winter of our discontent.”

1962

Operatic Stars Visit Winchester:

Winchester Opera Group Guild members were privileged to meet internationally famous opera stars Thomas Hayward and Enzo Sordello, two headliners of the Metropolitan Opera Company. 

Parkhurst School Hit by Vandals:

Unknown vandals, presumably young, broke into the Parkhurst School on Friday afternoon and “went on a free-wheeling spree hurling chalk around the classrooms, spilling ink on the floor and wrote obscene words on the chalkboard.” Police said the vandals hit every room, “raising havoc on their mindless way.”

1987

Budget Crunch Causes Loss of Teachers

Fifteen non-tenured teachers and an assistant principal had to be cut in the wake of an ongoing budget crunch.

Music Fest ‘87

High School students at Winchester High put on a free music concert including individual performances and bands. Each had to audition and all proceeds would benefit scholarships.

All the information for this story came from the Winchester Star.