Short Stories by Mary A. Cook

Mary E. Cook arrived in West Boylston from New York City around1895. A keen observer of daily community life, from marriages, death notices, social functions, she collected every possible bit of news that could be found on her daily rounds between Oakdale and West Boylston.

Luckily for us she kept scrapbooks with hundreds of her newspaper clippings as submitted to the Worcester Telegram.

Especially interesting articles included in the scrapbooks is a years-long running commentary of events surrounding the often difficult interactions the Metropolitan Water Board and the townspeople and their leaders.

In this post (as presented to the West Boylston Historical Society, October 2, 2024):

Short Stories by Mary A. Cook   (c.1900)

-The two floods of 1900. One destructive of property and disruptive of commerce and communication. The other a near catastrophe for the entire valley.

-A local resident’s conflict with the authority of the MWB.

-A little political humor.

I hope you like them.

Thanks,

Paul