March 29, 2024

East Providence history found in scrapbooks

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Scrapbooks can serve as history books. Articles of places and events we can relate to may make local history come alive and be more relevant.

Before television, newspapers and magazines brought the news and entertainment. "A two headed cow was born on the Kent Farm. It was stuffed and on display at Crescent Park." People would cut out interesting stories they read and might mail them to friends. Eventually a notable article and/or photo would be saved and pasted into a scrapbook. Usually rectangular pieces of heavy black or manila construction paper were sandwiched between two pieces of heavy or shiny laminated cardboard. The stack was bound on the left spine with a string tied between two sets of holes. An entire scrapbook may be devoted to a single theme or the topics found inside may vary. (If you make one, be sure to include a date and the source where each article was clipped from!)

A scrapbook from the 1920s contained many stories of East Providence, RI (EP) railroad veterans. Many railroad tracks once occupied the land along the Seekonk River we now know as Bold Point and Fort Hill and the East Bay bicycle path. These older experienced men worked on freight and passenger trains for many years. Stories included the closing of the commuter train station in Watchemoket Square and the retirement of many men who were train engineers and conductors.

As autos became popular, the old Washington toll bridge was replaced in 1930 with the concrete arched bridge (south span) we use today. The square on the east side of Washington Bridge was dedicated to Lt. Donald Carlton from the Great War. Does your scrapbook have photos of events held at the Carlton VFW Post that met in the Potter St. School? His memorial square and the VFW Post no longer exist. But his memory remains. Recall this WWI veteran when you travel Carlton Ave. or pass by the (temporary in the 1970s) former Carlton Ave. School.

It was fitting to locate the opening day dedication program for Pierce Memorial Stadium in a 1930s scrapbook filled with stories of the East Providence Senior High School's (EPHS) athletes. (In 1931, the Senior High and Central Junior High Schools were located on Taunton Ave., Broadway, and Whelden Ave.) Charles Bentley was an all-star football player. Ever drive down Bentley St.?

The scrapbook traded stories of teenage boys in sports uniforms to military uniforms as many men left high school before they graduated to join World War II. There were several stories of mothers in East Providence and Riverside who sent three or four sons to war. The left-hand plaque by the gates at Pierce Memorial football field states 2125 graduates and students of EPHS served their country. What are their names? How many were females? Do an honor roll and list of the war dead exist for the students of East Providence who attended private and parochial high schools? How many of the residents who served in WWII are alive today? Who are they? Not all returned home alive and many obituaries and death notices were pasted on several scrapbook pages.

At the Pierce Memorial football field gate dedication ceremony in June 1947, Miss Alice Waddington read the names of the 76 EPHS former students who gave their lives for their country. These names are on the right-hand plaque by the gates. She knew these men, not only as students in her German and Latin classes, but as correspondents during and after the war. Miss Waddington was a veteran, a person of long experience with data collection, organization, and writing. She wrote by hand and mailed personal letters to each student in the service. When the enlistees became numerous, she mimeographed basic news and added personalized salutations. The EP veterans group also wrote and sent 3 matchbook cover sized booklets to the troops. Two with crimson covers and one with a light blue cover, these letters contained words of encouragement with news of the EP high school sports teams and town events. Did any of these letters return to EP?
Side note: After the war, WWII veterans and their families found temporary residence in Quonset huts located between the Pierce Memorial stadium and Lyon Ave. Like the letters and booklets, no photos of Veterans' Court were found in the scrapbooks reviewed.

During the 1950s, East Providence was transformed.
A new senior high school building opened on Pawtucket Ave. in 1952. At the dedication ceremony, Miss Alice Waddington read her research report of "The history of East Providence High School". Students entered the Korean War but it is not known if Miss Waddington continued her war time correspondence to them. How many men and women from EP served? What are their names? How many are alive today?

In the mid-1950s, land parallel to Warren Ave., which included Division St., was condemned by the state to build a freeway. Some 800 house owners scrambled to purchase open lots and moved their buildings. What remained in Sept. (62 years ago) was leveled with bulldozers. This included many houses, businesses, family run stores, 3 schools, and the EP roller rink. Mr. Joseph Andrews Jr. reported where some, but not all of the houses moved. Did you or your neighbors relocate a house or was it left behind and razed? Where are the moved houses now located?

Houses along Broadway moved to create a business district. Simultaneously, houses at Six Corners were moved to build the Broadway underpass.
In Nov. 1958, the town of East Providence became the city of East Providence to be governed with a city manager.

When the freeway was finished in late 1959, Governor Del Sesto requested the bridges be named for EP veterans of WWII and the Korean War. It has previously been reported that 5 bridges were named for 10 men. Thanks to GH 's mother's scrapbook, it is now known that there were originally 14 memorials. A newspaper article described the Nov. 11, 1961 dedication ceremony guest speakers and listed the names of the 28 men. Did a ceremony program contain their biographies? The 9 memorial signs have been missing for at least 20 years and forgotten. (Discussions are underway to repost copies of the original signs.) Also found is an invitation to the dedication ceremony from Assistant Mayor Herbert Silva. His letter informed the families that the bridge over Warren Ave., leading to the East Shore Expressway, would become a memorial for PFC. Gordan S. Reid and M/ M2C Clifford Jackson.

In addition to naming the spans over Route 195 on that Veterans Day, Governor Notte named the new freeway the East Providence Veterans Memorial Expressway (EPVME). Stretching from the Seekonk River to the Seekonk, MA state-line, it is the longest memorial in East Providence. It is a tribute to all citizens of East Providence who serve in the armed forces (i.e. military, army, coast guard, navy, air force, marines, etc.,) WAVES, WACS, etc., for all US sponsored events. Since 1961, the United States has participated in 13-38 military operations, according to which virtual scrapbook or website is referenced. Such events have been described as war, conflict, rebellion, insurgency, civil war, invasion, encounter, intervention, and operation. Who are these numerous men and women veterans of E. Providence? They are our former and present school teachers, firemen, policemen, postal workers, medical personnel, government officials, airplane pilots, engineers, businessmen, etc., members of our families and neighbors.

Many of the bridges on the EP Veterans Memorial Expressway recently have been fortified, replaced, or are nearing completion of reconstruction. Do not wait until the 60th anniversary of the naming of the EPVME (in 2021) to celebrate the new road improvements and to remember our fallen service members and to honor and to thank those who served and are presently serving. Do something special so your act of kindness or tribute becomes a memory worth posting in a veteran's scrapbook.

Share your memories, photos, and scrapbooks with Susan digsEPhistory@hotmail.com or other members of the EP Historical Society ephist.org (401) 438-1750

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