Classical High School was completed in 1871 from a design by the firm of Gambrill and Richardson of New York. This grand, soaring structure reflected the vision of H. H. (Henry Hobson) Richardson, whose signature style came to be called "Richardson Romanesque."
The Worcester firm of Norcross Brothers Contractors and Builders was engaged to construct the new school and subsequently worked with Richardson on many other projects throughout New England and beyond. In addition to classrooms, meeting spaces, and offices, it included a gymnasium in the basement and a large hall on the third floor, measuring 76' x 62'.
The building faced east on what is now called Maple Terrace (between Maple and Walnut Streets) but in 1966 was demolished to make way for the new headquarters of Paul Revere Life Insurance Company.
Sent to: Mrs. O. O. Wright
Address: Spencer, West Virginia
Postmark: ??/??/1943 - Dodge, MA
Dear Friend - Nice hearing from you. At last we are having some nice weather. Boys are planting the gardens at last and about time. Am feeling better but can't do much work. Cheerio
From: Mrs. H, Beauregard, Box 48, Dodge, Mass. Collector of miniature dogs & hankies
THE MYSTERY
- In 1943, most able-bodied young men in their late teens would have been called up for service in a rapidly escalating war effort. And, at a time when the country was rationing every imaginable product, a source of locally grown food would have been very important. So what led these "boys" to put off their responsibilities? Perhaps, considering the circumstances, the discipline of a senior man in the house was absent. Whatever the reason, Mrs. Beauregard seems none too happy about the delay . . . and rightly so.
THE SENDER
Eudora Hazel Judson Button (Beebe) Beauregard was born on May 22, 1895 in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Barely a week after turning 17, on May 31, 1912, she married Reginald Ambrose Judson in Worcester, Massachusetts. However, they were divorced on October 19, 1916 and soon thereafter she married Edwin/Edward H. Button, with whom she had three children, Edward, Lillian and Phyllis. Edward Sr. died on July 18, 1925 and she then married Harry Joseph Beauregard in Boston on May 8, 1926. Eudora died on February 12, 1993 (at age 97) and is buried beside her second and third husbands in Hope Cemetery, Worcester, Massachusetts.
THE RECIPIENT
Onnie O. Wright married Edna McKown in 1916 and at the time of the 1920 census they were recorded as having one son, Herbert. However, the West Virginia Marriages Index shows that on October 29, 1923 he married Anna A. Hawkins and at the time of the 1940 Federal census the two were living in Spencer, West Virginia with their son, 15-year old Olsten. It seems very unlikely that there were two Onnie O. Wrights of the same age at the same time in that area, so one must assume that Anna was the second wife to whom this card was addressed.
REFERENCES
(1) Classical & Worcester High School - WorcesterThen.com
(2) Worcester Illustrated: 1875 - James A. Ambler [ Page 26 - 27 ]
(3) Federal Census & Social Security Records - Ancestry.com
(4) Local Birth, Marriage, Divorce & Death Records - Ancestry.com
THE CARD
Published by A. P. Lundborg, Worcester, Mass.
Valentine & Sons Publishing Company Ltd. New York
Printed in Great Britain
[02,282]