By Jim Devine
Staff Writer
 |
Observer/Jim Devine
Ellsworth Brown of the
Civil War Historians spoke to local residents about the mid-19th
century during Salemfest activities on Sept. 16. |
Whether Salem residents visited Salemfest to enjoy
the Boys & Girls Club open house or the craft fair at St.
David’s, they all got an opportunity to explore their history
to see what Salem once was and what it’s now become.
Beverly Glynn of the Salem
Historical Society offered
tours and information on the
historical items, records and
photographs residents could
look through during the day.
She found Salemfest was the
perfect opportunity for many
families to come in to learn
a bit about the town and its
town’s roots.
“I think it’s going to mushroom,”
Glynn said of Salemfest.
“I think it’s going to expand.”
Glynn said the society
needs volunteers to help go
through narratives written by
Salem residents that are on file
– a task she finds to be most
important to capture the daily
lives and happenings of a town
that has seen so much change.
“It’s the day-to-day life
— That’s where the value is,”
Glynn said.
Dorothy Goldman, who
has lived in town since 1964,
smiled while poring through
old photographs of the town’s
landscape. Landmarks like
the Tenney Farm Cow Bridge
over Route 28 – or Route 28
with very little traffic, for that
matter, are long gone.
“I hated to see (the cow
bridge) go,” she said. “I thought
it was the neatest thing.”
Paul Boucher, 76, of
Haverhill, Mass., was happy
to take part in the Salemfest
activities by showing off his
1925 Model T Ford.
“It’s a fun car to drive for
about an hour,” Boucher said
with a smile as he let visitors
peer into his Model T Ford.
He’s taken his Model T on
tour ever since he finished
restoring it in 1982.
If they were willing, visitors
received a lesson in how to
drive a car in the 1920s. If they
could remember the purpose
of each of the six pedals and levers,
Boucher might have even
let them take it for a spin.
The most common question,
Boucher said, is, “Can
you still get tires for it?”
Which, of course is yes. For
$100, he can order a new tire
to fit. Additives are needed
with the fuel to keep the engine
clean, however.
“For something this old,
it’s very dependable,” Boucher
said.