Fiddlerman

 My hometown, Woodville, was started by Captain John Wood, who in the late 1600’s with his brother, Jeremiah, came over from England. In 1704 Captain Wood married Elizabeth Buckminster of Brookline, Massachusetts. He then acquired several hundred acres of land surrounding a large lake, now known as Lake Whitehall. The property was situated about thirty miles west of Boston, part of the town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts. His purchase also included a sawmill, the only industry other than farming in the community. In the course of their marriage, Captain John and Elizabeth had eight children, providing the basis for the establishment of the church and the village at the lower end of the lake. The main street through town became known as Wood Street, and the name of the village, Woodville, became official sometime in the late 1700’s.

            There is some confusion as to who decided upon the name of the town. Members of the Wood family during this period were always active in community affairs, holding various positions of authority in the town and leading roles in the church. Dr. Joseph Wood in the late 1700’s was a representative in the Massachusetts legislature.

            Major William Wood built a cotton carding machine which resulted in the establishment of a large cotton manufacturing plant in Woodville. This together with a boot factory provided a sound industrial foundation for a booming economy in the little village and contributed to the growth of the Wood family fortune. At the time, the Whitehall House was a popular hotel for both businessmen and vacationers enjoying the pleasures of beautiful Lake Whitehall. In the late 1800’s, the hotel was nearly completely destroyed by fire. The wing that was saved was moved a short distance across the street and converted to a single family residence which eventually became the home in which I grew up. The factories failed about the same time and the little village seemed to regress back into just farming and a couple of small industries that consisted of my dad’s sawmill and a truck body manufacturing plant. By the early 1900’s, the leading source of personal income was generated by the local farms. The overall character was that of a sleepy little village where everyone knew everyone. The local gathering place was the general store. Civic activities consisted of visiting the tiny library on Saturday nights and attending the Woodville Baptist Church on Sunday mornings regardless of the villager’s denomination.

            Woodville was built along Wood Street, state route 135, the main road through the area. This central part of town located at the lower end of Lake Whitehall was comprised of many lovely old Colonial houses, most of which were built back in the late 1700’s. The two stores, the firehouse, the Woodville Baptist Church and the library made up the business section of town at the foot of the lake. Short distances up Winter Street were the only two remaining industries in town, the Stewart Truck Body Manufacturing Company and my dad’s sawmill. The sawmill went out of business in the late 1920’s and the truck body company was sold and became a fire truck manufacturing business known as Farrar Firetruck Company. In the center of town was a second, much smaller lake which had no name but was known simply as “the pond.”  Lake Whitehall flowed into the pond which was about forty or fifty acres in size and was a favorite place for ice skating in the winter. The outflow from the pond becomes the famous Charles River which flows between Boston and Cambridge and into Boston Harbor.

            I was born in Woodville on May 5, 1920, to Milton Wood Caswell and Eva Wheeler Caswell and given the name Brandon Wood Caswell. My middle name, Wood, was given to me as a permanent reminder of my heritage in the Wood family. At that time, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and a few other cities were considered the main metropolises in the country. However, the vast majority of Americans back in those days would be considered “country folks” and the American life style revolved around small towns and villages such as Woodville and the neighboring towns of Hopkinton, Westboro, and Framingham, the latter being considered as a “big” town. Malls and shopping centers were unheard of at that time, and the family’s needs were met by purchases from individual stores along the main streets in the center of town, augmented by local farm stands.

            Milk was delivered daily directly from local farms by horse-drawn wagons in summer and sleighs in winter. The milk was not pasteurized, so it would freeze in winter and rise up into the neck of the bottle, with the little cardboard cap jauntily perched on the pillar of frozen milk. In most communities a local farmer would have a butchering facility and would operate a weekly door-to-door meat service. Some communities near the coast would enjoy a weekly visit from a fish man who would deliver fresh catch directly from the docks. Baked goods were frequently delivered door-to-door on a weekly basis also.

            On Thursdays, Jerry Creeden’s meat wagon would come to Woodville, and he always parked across the street from our house in my Aunt Polly’s driveway. My mother, my grandmother next door, and Aunt Polly would gather around Jerry’s wagon to make their choices from his wonderful selections of fresh meat. Our big dog, Jack, a St. Bernard, always knew when it was Thursday morning and would be over in Aunt Polly’s driveway waiting for Jerry’s truck to arrive so he could get any “handouts” that might come his way.

            My parents had a second son born on August 3, 1925, whom they named Baynard Wheeler Caswell. My mother always insisted that the first time my father saw the newly born tiny infant, he exclaimed, “His little face is like a rose bud.” Thus the nickname “Bud” or “Buddy” stuck with my brother the rest of his life.