ELIZABETH BROOKS
INCORPORATED IN 1753 AND NAMED AFTER THEN-ACTING GOV. SPENCER PHIPS, this Central Mass town of more than 11,000 residents is a study in contrasts. In and around the downtown, multi- and single-family homes dot the landscape. A clustered downtown core sees traffic both ways, crawling at a snail’s pace in the earlymorning and mid-afternoon drive-time hours. The area gives one a sense of the town’s old mill history, a remnant, not unlike many other Central Mass towns, of a once-thriving manufacturing industry that has long since faded. “[Spencer] started off agricultural and became industrial,” according to Mary Baker-Wood, a retired town librarian and historian who is helping to establish a museum highlighting Spencer’s history in the library. “It has been a quiet town with a lot of lakes and farms. It is what draws people and continues to appeal to them.”
TOWN TRIPPIN’
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SPENCER
WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
• AUGUST 24, 2017
{ TownTrippin’ } THIBAULT’S Rosanne Thibault closed the country store on her property six months before her father died in 2005. It has been closed to the public ever since. But that could be about to change. For years operated as Thibault’s Poultry Inc., the larger focus for Thibault’s father was, you guessed it, chickens. “I grew up here,” Thibault said. “We
bread and Vermont cheese. Thibault still has some chickens, but nowadays the only real operating business is the feed store several footsteps down from the old country store. There, you can buy feed for just about any animal. She said she still sells some hay and shavings as well. Upstairs in that same building, Thibault said she plans to clear out
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Store owner Rosanne Thibault Ingalls, right, and her son Jim Ingalls, at the register counter inside the store. Rosanne’s parents were the original store owners.
had a lot of work to do. I would pick up all the eggs. You had to count every single egg at night, grade every egg and box them up. Everything had to be done by Saturday morning because a truck would come and pick them up.” It all started, as Thibault recalled, when work was being done on North Spencer Road many years back. “When they fixed the road here in the front,” she said, “the men would stop to have coffee break. They would ask my mother to make coffee and donuts, so they wouldn’t have to go up town. That’s how it started. That’s how they started, with milk,
the antiques and old equipment to make way for a museum that would show off family heirlooms and other memorabilia. With help from her son, Jim, Thibault said they plan to reopen the country store just for the holidays this year. Before that, she said they might have a Labor Day weekend yard sale to dispense of so many of the odds and ends that currently occupy the space. Don’t bother asking about the large Native-American sculpture, though. She said she bought it years ago at the Big E in Springfield and it is not for sale.
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AUGUST 24, 2017 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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{ TownTrippin’ } BLESSED ARE THE BREWERS Off the beaten path — although not too far off — in Spencer, St. Joseph’s Abbey is home to the Trappist monks – and going on three years, site of the Spencer Brewery. It is not open to the public and you can’t buy beer here, but this community of 53 monks produces seven varieties of beer that are distrib-
uted to various retailers. It is quite the impressive operation. The brewery is also doing some production for Wormtown Brewery in Worcester. While jams and jellies long have been the product of note on this sprawling property, formerly a dairy farm, beer has given the monastery another source of income. It also helps provide handsELIZABETH BROOKS
Rev. Isaac Keeley, brewery director, stands on the mezzanine, next to the fermenter tank on the main floor of the brewery.
Spencer’s Oldest Living Resident
on work for the monks, which is a big PHOTO SUBMITTED part of their lives. The brewery started selling beer in January 2014, kicking off with the original Spencer Trappist Ale. In 2015, they added Holiday Ale. Last year, production kicked into overdrive, resulting in a Stout Ale in January, an IPA last spring, a Summer Ale called Feierabendbier and a Festive Lager in the fall. This year, the brewery added a Quadrupel ale, which Fr. Isaac Keeley, who runs the brewery, describes as the biggest, boldest, highest-alcohol beer of the bunch. While you cannot show up and buy beer, keep your eyes open for the annual open house. This year’s included a BBQ served up by the Spencer Fire MARY MADDEN turns 103 Sept. 18, Department and drew around 5,000 and while much has changed, one thing people, according to Keeley. Or you has not, her nephew, Bill Madden, said. could become a monk. They drink the “You don’t want to cross her,” he said beer every Sunday with supper and on with a laugh. a dozen or so other special occasions. Bill Madden and his family recently Median age: 42.3 Ethnicity (%): 92 White, 6 Hispanic, 1 Black, 1 Asian Percent below poverty line: 11.4 Municipal Budget: $17.5 million
Median household income $62,901 Median house value $251,100 Municipal Property Tax Rate $13.98 per $1,000 assessed property value
The Issue
There’s a cloud of intrigue, a word which some may feel is too light, around the David Prouty High School athletic director. AD Charles Fahey is set to return for the upcoming school year after
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SPENCER STATE FOREST With 965 acres of state forest, Spencer is home to fishing, canoeing and other outdoor activities. The Midstate Trail, a popular long-distance hike in the area, runs through Spencer State Forest. Like most Department of Conservation and Recreation parks, dogs are welcome here. The area includes Howe Pond, the Cranberry River, hills, dams and more. an investigation found he may have mishandled money from vending machines and other accounts, according to a report in the Spencer New Leader. At the time, last spring, he was suspended and the principal, Patricia Jordan, called for a public apology and restitution payments.
• AIUGUST 24, 2017
School District: Spencer-E. Brookfield Number of students: 1,394 Dollar spent per student: $12,731 School Budget: $24.26M
Earlier this month, the investigation was closed, but a record of it has not been released. School officials say the record is a personnel document and therefore not subject to open record laws. According to the New Leader, they have yet to explain why he was reinstated.
journeyed from South Carolina to visit his aunt, and were expected to return home this week. “She’s a fugitive from the law of averages,” he said of his aunt. What has helped Mary Madden defy the odds? “She says it’s because she never married, never drank and never ate a tomato,” Bill Madden said. While a resident of Spencer, Mary Madden is currently in nursing care at The Overlook in Charlton. “She’s doing quite well,” Bill Madden said. “Her hearing is bad, her eyesight is bad, but there’s nothing wrong with her mind.” Mary Madden, her nephew said, worked all her life in the Spencer school system, stating a first-grade teacher and ending up as a principal. Outside of school, Bill Madden said, his aunt was “very involved” in Spencer, including the Garden Club and other pursuits. She also collected antiques. “She collected some things that probably wouldn’t qualify as antiques,” Bill Madden acknowledged. How was the visit with his aunt, Bill Madden was asked? “I’d spent maybe an hour with her before she sent me off on a mission,” he said lightheartedly.
ELIZABETH BROOKS
TOWN TRIPPIN’
BROOKFIELD
SETTLED WAY BACK IN 1660, BROOKFIELD WAS POPULATED BY FOLKS FROM THE LOCAL PLANTATION. The town was incorporated in 1718. It wouldn’t be long after the town was originally settled that overflow from King Philip’s War would affect the town, leaving it under siege and the town destroyed. Later, cannons from Fort Ticonderoga (which was taken from British troops by general Benedict Arnold and Vermont’s Ethan Allen) passed through the town during the first year of the American Revolution. The town is located along the Quaboag River. Portions of the town’s land would later be given to create North Brookfield, East Brookfield and West Brookfield.
AUGUST 24, 2017 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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{ TownTrippin’ } POPULATION: 3,404
Brookfield’s Oldest Living Resident PHOTO SUBMITTED
School District: Tantasqua Regional (7-12) Number of students: 1,839 Dollar spent per student (2015): $13,036 School Budget (2015): $23.71M
Median household income $63,920 Median house value $255,400
Median age: 42 Ethnicity (%): 94 White, 1 Black, 1 Other Percent below poverty line: 8.9
SPOONER WELL Joshua Spooner was murdered in 1778 by his wife, Bathsheba. According to local lore, the woman hired three soldiers to carry out the deed. Joshua was beaten to death and thrown down a well – his own well, in fact. All involved were hanged, including Bathsheba. Bathsheba would be the first woman executed in the United States. These days, the scene of the crime can be visited on East Main St., where a simple stone slab marks the spot. The town’s website ominously reads: “Is it just a coincidence that the Spooner Well Marker is surrounded by poison ivy so thick you dare not approach it, or has nature marked this spot for all time?”
The Issue
One man and his provocative signs on Rte. 9 has proven quite the stir for Brookfield, especially its town officials, who are often the target of crass, snide criticism by way of the sign. Most recently, John Holdcraft’s 8-by-4-foot sign has read “Lets teach Clairence Synder how to tell the truth” [sic]. Behind that statement is a long and complicated tale, but the upshot is that Snyder, selectman vice chairman, is taking ELIZABETH BROOKS Holdcraft to task. He filed an appeal with the Zoning Board of Appeals they held up 4-1 last week. The appeal essentially makes Holdcraft reapply if he wants a permit. A cease and desist order taken out six weeks ago is also going to Brookfield District Court, but a hearing has not yet been set. Things are heating up over the issue, and it appears the boiling point may be the court date, where Holdcraft could face threat of jail time if he doesn’t comply with the judge’s order.
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Here’s something you don’t hear every day: “She’s the best mother-in-law anyone could ask for.” Kristen Casucci feels she has, after 40 years, earned the right to say that of 95-year-old ELIZABETH CASUCCI, now recognized as the oldest living resident in Brookfield. She turned 95 May 3, and is slated, at some point, to be awarded the Boston Post Cane, often given to a town’s oldest resident. The mother of three sons, Elizabeth Casucci worked a while at Alpen’s, a dress shop in Framingham. She the worked 1015 years for Framingham Municipal Federal Credit Union, before she retired and moved to Brookfield. She lives there now in the house she built on the farm owned by Kristen and her husband. “She’s doing well,” Kristen Casucci said. “She’s pretty much housebound other than when she goes out with us.” To what does she attest her mother-inlaw’s longevity? “They always ate homemade food,” Kristen Casucci said. “She never did fast food.” That has changed a little, however. “She does like her hash browns from Cumberland Farms,” Kristen Casucci said. Oh, and there’s one other thing – or several other things – Elizabeth Casucci lives for: her great-grandchildren. She has 11 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, with another on the way. “She asks about them all the time,” Kristen Casucci said.
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ELIZABETH BROOKS
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ELIZABETH BROOKS
JUST A FEW YEARS AFTER BROOKFIELD, WEST BROOKFIELD WAS SETTLED IN 1665 and incorporated many years later in 1848. The town is the birthplace of George and Charles Merriam, who published Webster’s Dictionary. The town holds an odd claim to fame, thought to be the home of the vegetable asparagus in America.
TOWN TRIPPIN’
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WEST BROOKFIELD WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
• AUGUST 24, 2017
ELIZABETH BROOKS
OK, so maybe HOWARD’S, 121 East Main St., doesn’t scream agricultural. But framed by large trees and with a picnic area in the rear beckoning customers to spend some time and stay a while, it is hard not to think you are one with nature. And there’s no need to leave any of the family at home. Dogs, cats, birds – they’re all welcome at Howard’s, a seasonal, roadside restaurant that started business in 1947. You can even grab Fido’s Special, a dog biscuit on a saucer, at Howard’s. For the two-legged kind, if you’re feeling up to it, try The Captain, a Fisherman’s Platter served on a 10by-12 plate loaded to the gills with clams, scallops, fish, jumbo shrimp, clam strips and Coleslaw. Did we miss anything? When asked why the well-known
spot has gained such a loyal following, Earl Sparks said, “I’m not sure.” “Honestly,” he continued, “it’s always been a very busy place. Everybody recognizes the name. I think it helps that there’s not a lot of stuff in this town to do. People bring their families up, get some food, get some ice cream, hang out at one of the picnic tables.” Not much to do in West Brookfield? There is Lake Wickaboag, if you’re into recreational water sports. The historic downtown area has
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a common that is worth walking around, if for than to take in the fountains. Not far from the common is YE OLDE TAVERN, more than 200 years old and able to claim hosting presidents George Washington and John Adams. All these years later, the tavern is a popular meeting spot – even if a president hasn’t stopped by lately.
continued on page 20
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POPULATION: 3,752
The Issue
A campsite in West Brookfield may hold a key to breaking the Molly Bish murder case, a mystery that has gone unsolved for decades. Earlier this summer, a forensic investigator brought on by the family’s private investigator went to the abandoned Old Sawmill campsite in search of a car that may have been buried there. So far, there’s been no announcement on whether the search has panned out. But for the Bish family, who has grappled with this unresolved murder case since Molly went missing in 2000, any lead is a promising one. A few weeks after the search, the family released a heartfelt video directed at the killer, asking “Does June 27, 2000, mean anything to you?” Bish’s body turned up in Palmer three years later, and her death was ruled a homicide. Still, a suspect remains elusive.
ROCK HOUSE RESERVATION West Brookfield’s 135-acre Rock House Reservation is strewn with cliffs and boulders. More than three miles of trails crisscross the land; they are well-maintained and an easy walk. The inner loop trail wraps around Carter Pond and its rocks jutting forth. Surrounding the Rock House are cliffs, boulders and ledges. The Rock House itself is a massive rock enclosure, some 30 feet tall. Local Native Americans utilized the space as a winter camp and today it is a tourist favorite. The reservation is located directly off of Rt. 9.
ELIZABETH BROOKS
COW COUNT! Cows Per Capita 340 91 cows per 1,000 residents
Median household income $64,375 Median house value $229,900 Municipal Property Tax Rate $16.06 per $1,000 assessed property value School District: Quaboag Regional Number of Students (2015): 1,400 Dollar spent per student (2015): $12,013 School Budget (2015): $17.79M
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Median age: 46.8 Ethnicity (%): 95 White, 3 Black, 1 Asian, 1 Hispanic Percent below poverty line: 5.4 Municipal Budget: $6.7 million Highest Paid Employee: $97,588.30 James Early
continued from page 20
Quiet? Absolutely. Perhaps nowhere is that quiet more appreciated – and more beautifully presented – than at SALEM CROSS INN, 260 West Main St. “We put West Brookfield on the map back in the ’60s,” one of the owners, Bo Salem, said of the restaurant and tavern situated on acres of old farmland. Salem’s father, Henry, bought the sprawling property in the early ’50s, after being convinced by noted historian George Watson to buy it and open it up the public. Before that, the farm was owned and run by the eight generations of the White family, including John White, who built the original house in the early 1700s. Pretty much every component of the restaurant, which Salem’s sister, Nancy, helps run, is from the original period. In addition, one of Salem’s brothers owns a herd of about 250 Black Angus Cows. “We make all our own burgers,” Salem said. On one recent night, the menu featured a beef entree from the cows, along with vegetables grown on the property. Salem Cross Inn is a popular place for large gatherings and weddings, with the picture-perfect scenery forming a near-magical backdrop. It isn’t easy to run, but Salem said the family does its best. “We try to keep up,” he said, “but we still have a lot of the older kinds of food, some of which is coming back.” If you dine at Salem Cross, leave some time to walk around and take in the building and property. Keep that cell phone camera at the ready.
ELIZABETH BROOKS
TOWN TRIPPIN’
NORTH BROOKFIELD
NORTH BROOKFIELD WAS SETTLED IN 1664 AND INCORPORATED IN 1812. The town has a population of 4,626 as of the 2012 census and the town’s library has stood since 1879. The town is also home to Long View Farm Studios, a recording studio that has recorded musicians such as the Bad Brains, Aerosmith, Death Cab for Cutie, the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder.
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ELIZABETH BROOKS
Median household income $68,232 Median house value $231,600 Municipal Property Tax Rate $16.53 per $1,000 assessed property value
Hanson Farm
WELCOME TO NORTH BROOKFIELD Perhaps the most vibrant part of North Brookfield is smack in the downtown, where VIBRAM pumps out shoe soles for various shoe companies. Many locals still refer to it as the QUABOAG CORPORATION, which at one time manufactured its own shoes. Vibram bought the company and now concentrates solely on the soles. North Brookfield’s downtown isn’t a mecca by any means, but quaint it is. If you arrive via North Brookfield Road off Route 9, you can drive right through in a matter of a minute or two. But if you are interested in seeing more of this rural town, don’t be in such a hurry. You may want to Google Map your way to HANSON FARM, the last remaining working dairy farm in the Brookfields. Sprawled out over 220 acres, the farm boasts 65 dairy cows, and while a truck picks up milk every week to bring to retailers near and far, perhaps the coolest thing at Hanson Farm happens once a year. That’s when farmer David Hanson lets out the cows for the first time each year. They call it Spring Fling. “Around here, it’s happened all the time,” Hanson said one day as he loaded some items onto his old tractor. “Most of the time, the cows have been inside most of the winter. When I got married, my wife thought it was the funniest things she’d ever seen because they’d run around and jump for five minutes, and go out and that’s it. She turned it into an event.” Now, Hanson said, some 150-200 people turn out each year to watch the cows reintroduce themselves to Mother Nature each spring. The farm, conveniently enough, is located on Smith and Hanson Road, so named for the two families who lived at either end. “Every road that went to West Brookfield was West Brookfield Road or Old West Brookfield Road,” Hanson said outside an old barn at the farm that has been in his family since 1912. “When they were naming this road, Smith lived on one end, Hanson lived on the other end and there wasn’t much in between, so they went with that.”
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A fourth-generation farmer, Hanson sells his milk through a co-op, AgriMark, that also owns Cabot Cheese. He is fond of telling folks he owns 1/12th of a percent of the cheese company. He does receive compensation based on how well Cabot Cheese performs as a company, but his bread and butter come from the farm. “It started out as an everything farm like everyone was in the early 1900s,” Hanson said. “They had a little orchard and sold butter and eggs. They grew their own meat, poultry and eggs. Gradually, it just became an all-dairy.” Hanson largely works the farm himself, 24/7, 365 days a year. The cows are milked twice a day. “When I was a kid,” Hanson said, “there was a great big post and beam barn here. We milked what might have been 20 cows. When you grew up on a farm, you worked on a farm. You always had some kind of chore.” Hanson’s cows, he said, are raised on rotational grazing. They eat grass twice a day. Each time, it is in a different spot, to allow the pastures to remain even. Hanson has three children – two sons and a daughter. His wife works in the North Brookfield school system. While none are fully-involved in the farm, you never know, he said. Meanwhile, Hanson does his thing in one of the more bucolic and quiet towns you’ll come across. Just don’t tell him there’s not much going on in North Brookfield. “Depends on what you want to go on,” he laughed. “It’s a relatively quiet town.”
• AUGUST 24, 2017
School District: North Brookfield Number of students (2015): 559 Dollar spent per student (2015): $13,353 School Budget (2015): $9.4M ELIZABETH BROOKS
Brookfield Orchards
The Issue
North Brookfield is an especially quiet town, that’s why, when something eerie starts to happen, it can be even more disturbing. Earlier this month, a baby goat was found with its neck snapped, on the same day as two other dead goats were found in similar fashion in neighboring West Brookfield. The animal, according to a statement issued by police, was a baby Nigerian dwarf goat, and it was discovered inside a fenced area. Police believe the goats are being killed by a human and the killings are completely intentional. So far, police have not made any announcement about a suspect, but they are looking for information. If you have something that may help solve the case, call the North Brookfield Police Department at 508-867-0206. It’s hard to imagine someone with a propensity for killing small goats, but it’s also hard to imagine them getting away with it for much longer.
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POPULATION: 4,735/21.3 SQ. MILES LAKE LASHAWAY East and North Brookfield’s town markers bisect the 293-acre pond. The pond features fishing, hiking and boating and comes from the Native American name meaning “good fishing,” according to Massachusetts Paddler. The pond is part of the Chicopee River Watershed, and Camp Atwater finds its home here.
COW COUNT! Cows Per Capita 120 27 cows per 1,000 residents
Median age: 43.4 Ethnicity (%): 98 White, 1 Black, 1 Hispanic Percent below poverty line: 5.8 Municipal Budget: $18.6 million Highest Paid Employee: $129,113 Marilyn Tencza, superintendent
North Brookfield’s Oldest Living Resident ELIZABETH BROOKS
WILLIAM MINNS turned 103 Aug. 13 and still lives independently, with assistance from his daughter, Dorothy Revene. “He just was a hard worker,” is how Revene described her father, an only child who started working at the old H.H. Brown Shoe Company in North Brookfield. Minns worked there about 30 years, she said, before working for Quaboag Corporation, the old rubber shop in North Brookfield. “He’s seen a lot of days,” Revene said of her father, who she said has two grandchildren — her kids — and two great-grandchildren.
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ELIZABETH BROOKS
TOWN TRIPPIN’
EAST BROOKFIELD LIKE NORTH BROOKFIELD, EAST BROOKFIELD WAS SETTLED IN 1664. A few years later, it would become part of Brookfield and in 1920, became its own town. The town’s nickname, “The Baby Town” comes from its status as the state’s youngest city. The town (at the time still a part of Brookfield) was an industrial center during the 1700s, though it is now known as a largely residential community.
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• AUGUST 24, 2017
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Cheer-worthy Get Well Wishes
The Issue
Like many of the small towns west of Worcester, East Brookfield is part of a regional school district. As part of the Spencer-East Brookfield regional school district, it shares many resources and school buildings with the neighboring town. Recently, officials have launched a feasibility study of the town’s place in the school district, looking at the economic benefits of staying in the district, creating its own school district, or partnering with another town to create a new regional district. “We’re not necessarily looking to leave, we’re looking at the viability of all our options,” said Ted Boulay, selectman chairman. The launch of the evaluation has prompted some to feel the town is set on leaving the district, but Boulay said that’s not necessarily the case. “We may very well end up staying here, and that may be the best solution,” he said. He expects the feasibility study to conclude sometime next year.
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Spencer fair LABOR DAY WEEKEND • September 1 - 4
Spencer Fair Grounds • Located off Route 31 at 48 Smithville Road All 4 Days - ON THE GROUNDS • Buddy the Clown: 1pm-5p, Walkaround • Demolition Derby: Friday 7pm, Saturday 5pm • Horses, Horses, Horses: Friday 4-8pm, Saturday & Sunday 12:30, 3 & 7pm, Monday 12, 2 & 5pm • Jolley Clown Family: Walkaround/Kiddie Tent • Nergers Tiger Show: In-between Exhibit Hall and Agricultural Building
• Boots & Britches: The Singing Cowboys (Dream Camper Show & Exhibit) • Josh Landry: Master Chainsaw Carver Between Cattle Barn and Buyers Place • Two-by-Two Zoo • Dinosaur Experience: Walking T-rex
Monday, September 4, 3:00 pm JO DEE MESSINA GOLD SPONSORS
For information 508.885.5814 | www.spencerfair.org AUGUST 24, 2017 • WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
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POPULATION: 2,198/9.9 SQ. MILES East Brookfield’s Oldest Living Resident At 100, FLORENCE MCCRILLIS is the reigning oldest resident of East Brookfield, having reached the century mark in April. Given what she used to tell her son, Paul, it certainly seems remarkable. Never mind that she is older than the town in which she lives. McCrillis was born in 1917. East Brookfield was incorporated in 1920. “She always told me she was only going to live to be 60,” Paul said. “That was quite a few years ago.” Florence McCrillis has seen many changes, her son said. “When she went to grade school, she
308 Lakeside’s full patio on the shore of Lake Lashaway in East Brookfield.
Median age: 43.7 Ethnicity (%): 98 White, 1 Hispanic, 1 Other Percent below poverty line: 5.9
School District: Spencer-E. Brookfield Number of students: 1,394 Dollar spent per student: $12,731 School Budget: $24.26M
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• AUGUST 24, 2017
went to Podunk School, and she told me about riding to school on bad days in a horse and buggy over a dirt road. Just think about the changes she has seen.” Interestingly, McCrillis never obtained her license – and never drove. According to her son, McCrillis, the oldest of four siblings, always enjoyed tending her gardens as well as feeding birds in the winter. Although his mother has fallen ill with Alzheimer’s disease, Paul said it is still exciting to know four generations of his family – including McCrillis’s four greatgrandchildren, are living at the same time.
Median household income $72,375 Median house value $239,700
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