Events

The city of Medford and Medford High School have produced many great athletes over the years including track stars, hockey players, Olympians, and more. Bill “Monbo” Monbouquette, MHS (1955), and former Red Sox All-Star pitcher, is near to the top of that list. Monbo was inducted into the Mustang Hall of Fame, played soccer, hockey, and baseball in high school, the sport where he rose to the highest of professional achievements.
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OCTOBER
Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 p.m.
Emotional Turmoil Erupts on High Street!
Speaker: Dee Morris, Historian
Location: Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
Co-Sponsored by Friends of the Medford Public Library

Thatcher Magoun, Jr. (1808-1883) and his family enjoyed living in a splendid mansion overlooking the Mystic River. Although he inherited his father’s shipbuilding empire which brought him wealth as well as prestige, in 1876, his comfortable world was shattered. Learn about this intriguing Medford scandal that made the New York Times newspapers.
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NOVEMBER
Boston Massacre Trials: Blood in the Snow
Speaker: Hon. Dennis J. Curran, Justice, Mass. Superior Court (Ret.)
Thursday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m.,
Location: Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
Program Sponsored by Tisha Shaughnessy Sullivan and Shamrock Sign & Lettering Co.

Denounced as an act of unprovoked violence and villainy, this event is one of the most familiar incidents in American history, yet one of the least understood. The speaker will revisit this dramatic episode and the resulting trials, the competing narratives that molded public perceptions, and the unheralded courage of one lawyer and a future President – John Adams – tasked with the defense of the captain of British troops charged with murder.

November marks the 255^th year commemoration of this historic event – and event that launched the American Revolution.
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DECEMBER
Holiday Party, Presentation & Toy Drive for MHSM Members
Holiday Traditions in Boston
Speaker: Anthony Sammarco, Historian & Author
Thursday, December 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Location: 10 Governors Avenue

In 1659, the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony banned by law the celebration of Christmas as it was deemed to be a time of seasonal excess with no Biblical authority. Though repealed in 1681, it would not be until 1856 that Christmas Day became a state holiday in Massachusetts.

In his book on Christmas Traditions in Boston, Anthony Sammarco outlines the celebration (or lack thereof) of Christmas in the first two centuries after the city was settled in 1630. By the mid-19th century a German immigrant named Charles Follen introduced the Christmas tree to Boston, and shortly thereafter Louis Prang introduced his colorful Christmas cards, the first in Boston. Learn more about new and emerging Christmas traditions over the years.