Since 2005: More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.
Members of the Wellesley-based Amos Mills-Lucy chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and supporters participated in the Waltham Revolutionary Voices—Grove Hill Cemetery Tour last Saturday. The Chapter’s role was a presentation of Women during the Revolutionary War. Present from the Chapter were Wellesley residents Liz Becker, Regent; Bobbie Myles, Vice Regent; and Star Zabriskie.
From Wellesley Public Schools:
On July 24, the Wellesley School Committee honored the Mulcahy family, early settlers to the Town of Wellesley, by dedicating a plaque to honor the family’s historic impact on the Town.
The family’s sale of approximately 10 acres to the Town in 1947 allowed for both the construction of what was then the Wellesley Junior High School, as well as the establishment of recreation space for students an d the community. The original Mulcahy Farm was located on what is now the eastern side of the Sprague Fields complex. The plaque is located past the Calvin lot on the way down to the Sprague Fields.
Several members of the Mulcahy family attended the dedication ceremony, led by Bob Mulcahy, now a resident of Vermont, who worked with the Wellesley Public Schools to donate the plaque and have it installed. Bob Mulcahy was joined by brother Charlie Mulcahy, and cousins Kevin and MaryEllen Mulcahy as well as Marie Mulcahy, widow of cousin Paul Mulcahy.
The Mulcahy family came to the community circa 1855, when Jeremiah Mulcahy moved to what was then part of West Needham. Jeremiah and Ellen Mulcahy had eight children and established a family farm on their property. Multiple generations of Mulcahy children grew up on the farm or in the neighborhood and attended Sprague School. Several members of the family served in World War II.
The original farmhouse was located on what is now a baseball field. The Mulcahy property extended from what is now the Calvin Street parking lot, encompassing the baseball fields and tennis courts. The acquisition of the original Mulcahy farm was necessary in order for the junior high (now Wellesley Middle School) to be built.
“The Sprague Fields complex offers open space, a venue for educational and recreational activities enjoyed by residents of all ages and, above all, it is a site for community building,” said School Committee member Linda Chow in her dedication remarks. “Our town is so fortunate to have Sprague Fields at its heart—both literally and figuratively.”
Other town officials in attendance were School Committee member Christina Horner and Historical Commission member Odessa Sanchez.
The new plaque was a multi-departmental effort. It was funded by Bob Mulcahy, with language approved by the School Committee and Historical Commission, research on the family and property performed by the Planning Department, and design and placement by the School Department in collaboration with the Department of Public Works.
The Wellesley Historical Commission, in its review of the family’s request to install the plaque, found the Mulcahy story of significant historical value to the Town and noted that the field was one of the few spaces that is utilized on a daily basis.
The plaque reads:
The original Junior High School athletic field, now part of Sprague Fields, was acquired from the Mulcahy Family in February 1947.
Jeremiah Mulcahy, born in Ireland in 1822, moved to Wellesley (then West Needham) around 1855. Jeremiah and his wife, Ellen, had eight children. Mulcahy Farm was a centerpiece of the early community when most of the area was farmland. Other members of the family lived on Donizetti Street and Francis Road, and multiple generations of Mulcahy children attended Sprague School.
The construction of the Junior High School in 1952 was made possible by the acquisition of approximately 10 acres from the Mulcahy family. It also allowed a year-round program of physical education for Junior High students and recreational opportunities for the entire Wellesley community.
Dedicated July 2025
Local historian and author Anthony Sammarco recently shared the history of Howard Johnson restaurants with a Council on Aging audience at the Tolles Parsons Center in Wellesley. He only made a brief mention of the Wellesley edition of the restaurant, which was located at 92 Central St., now home to Alta Strada.
According to the Wellesley Historical Society, Howard Johns0n’s opened here in 1946 and closed in 1984, with the owner citing high rent. The last of this once large restaurant chain, known for its 28 flavors of ice cream and buildings with orange roofs, closed in 2022.
Have memories of Howard Johnson’s in Wellesley? Please share in the comments. Got any photos of you or others there that we could add to this post? If so, please send to: theswellesleyreport@gmail.com
Wellesley conducted its formal Flag Day ceremony at Woodlawn Cemetery on Saturday, June 14, in drizzly weather. Flag Day commemorates adoption of the U.S. flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777.
American Legion Post 72 Commander Pete Jones and Sgt. at Arms Lorelei King led the formal ceremony.
Reverend Jonathan Page from the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church served as chaplain and Jim Stickney from the Wellesley Town Band played Taps.
The Wellesley Fire Department, led by Lt Ben Hampton and Firefighter Chris Lindsey, managed the flag retirement process.
Several members of Wellesley Police Department along with community members attended.
(Photos courtesy of Beth Sullivan Woods.)
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Wellesley on Friday held its Memorial Day observances at Woodlawn Cemetery and at the War Memorial in front of Town Hall.
Thank you to Wellesley Media for sharing its recording of the ceremony at the War Memorial, which included a speech by Wellesley resident Todd Bowers, a decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. (Staff Sergeant, retired). We’ve republished his words below.
By Todd Bowers
Good evening, Wellesley. Thank you for gathering here today at our War Memorial, right here in the heart of our town. It means a great deal to see our community – friends, neighbors, families – come together on this beautiful Memorial Day.
My name is Todd Bowers. Like many of you, I call Wellesley home. It’s where my family lives, where we participate in the life of this special town. I’m also a United States Marine Corps Veteran, and I’ve had the privilege, and the burden, of serving multiple combat tours.
Standing here feels… different. You might think facing down insurgents would prepare you for anything, but I confess, addressing my neighbors, the people I see at Fells Market or splashing in Morses Pond, still brings a flutter in my stomach. Honestly, dodging actual bullets sometimes felt less intimidating than potentially boring you all. Perhaps it’s because this – sharing this solemn day with you, in this place – feels incredibly important. It’s a profound honor and I hope to do it justice.
We’re here today, not just to mark the unofficial start of summer or fire up the grill. We’re here to connect with the original, sacred purpose of Memorial Day – initially called Decoration Day – a day born from the immense loss of the Civil War and now dedicated to remembering and honoring all Americans who gave their last full measure of devotion in service to this nation. It’s easy for the deeper meaning to get diluted amidst barbecues and sales, but today, here in Wellesley, we consciously choose to remember why this day exists: to honor those who did not come home.
For a Marine, service is ingrained. It’s built on core values: Honor, Courage, Commitment. These aren’t just words on a poster; they become the foundation of your character, tested in ways you can’t imagine until you’re there. It’s not just a job; it’s a choice, a conscious decision to dedicate yourself to something larger than yourself, to protect the freedoms and values we, as Americans, hold dear – the very freedoms that allow us to gather openly like this today.
In the service, especially deployed in harm’s way, you forge bonds that are hard to explain to those who haven’t lived it. You learn to depend on the Marine to your left, the Marine to your right – your fellow Marines, men and women – with absolute trust. In those moments, under that pressure, none of the differences that might divide us in the civilian world matter – not the color of your skin, not who you love, not how you identify. All that matters is the Marine next to you and the mission. They become your family. You share everything – the fear, the boredom, the laughter, the grief. That intense camaraderie, that shared experience under extreme pressure, is one of the most profound parts of service.
And it’s precisely because those bonds are so strong that the loss cuts so deep. Sacrifice is a word we use often today, but what does it truly mean? It means understanding the very real possibility of not coming home to places like Wellesley, to the tree-lined streets and the familiar faces. It means accepting that you might miss first steps, anniversaries, Linden Store hoagies, holidays, the quiet, everyday moments that make up a life. And that sacrifice isn’t borne solely by the one in uniform. It’s carried by their spouses, their children, their parents – the families who serve and sacrifice right alongside them, often without recognition, facing their own unique struggles when a loved one is lost. They are the often-unrecognized heroes in our communities. While people like me enlist, our families are drafted.
So, on Memorial Day, for veterans like me, the remembering isn’t abstract. It’s specific. It’s personal. Standing here, looking at these names etched on our memorial, it brings back the faces, the names, the voices of friends who didn’t get to come home. We carry them with us. For me, remembrance isn’t just faces and names; sometimes it’s the sharp, visceral memory of specific moments… like during Phantom Fury in Fallujah. There was a moment… I saw a young Iraqi boy who had been shot, lying vulnerable in the open. As I moved to try and reach him, to shield him, a sniper’s bullet found me. By some miracle, I survived it, though others nearby did not. You carry that. The ‘why me?’ The heavy, persistent weight of survival when others, just as brave, just as committed, just as loved, didn’t get that second chance. It’s a question, a feeling, that never fully leaves you. That weight, that question, is part of the remembering too. It fuels the need to honor them, to truly live in a way that respects the chance you were given. I remember Marines I served alongside – men and women of incredible courage, humor, conviction and character – whose journey ended on foreign soil, far from the lives they dreamed of living back here. We pause today, and many of us pause every day, to ‘say their name,’ to tell a story about them, because as long as we speak their name, they are never truly forgotten. It’s how we fight the fear of forgetting; it’s how we keep their legacy alive.
These personal memories, these individual stories of loss, are echoed in countless homes across America. They form the heart of why we gather collectively today, as a town and as a nation.
Our nation formally recognized the need for this collective remembrance after the staggering losses of the Civil War. What began as Decoration Day, a day to tend the graves of fallen soldiers with the choicest flowers of springtime, evolved after the immense sacrifices of World War I. It became a day to honor all Americans who have died in uniform, in every conflict, defending the ideals of this nation. It is a day for solemn pride in their heroism and gratitude for the peace and justice they sought to secure. The holiday changed as our history unfolded, but the fundamental need to remember, to honor the cost of freedom, remains constant.
And here in Wellesley, we embrace this duty with reverence. Our tradition of gathering first at Woodlawn Cemetery and then here at the War Memorial, the reading of the names of Wellesley’s own sons and daughters who perished in service – from the Revolutionary War to the present day – these acts make the national remembrance deeply personal to our community. It shows we understand the distinction. We know how to celebrate our town and honor all veterans, as we do so wonderfully during Wellesley’s Wonderful Weekend festivities and parade. But we also know that today, Memorial Day itself, is different. It is reserved for the solemn act of mourning our fallen, of remembering the cost.
Remembering is essential. But reflection alone is not enough. And here comes the part where I transition from solemn reflection to asking you all to do stuff. Bear with me. President Lincoln, standing on the battlefield at Gettysburg, called not just for remembrance, but for the living to rededicate themselves to the cause for which the soldiers gave their last full measure of devotion. He urged those left behind to ensure that the dead shall not have died in vain. How do we, the living, ensure their sacrifice continues to have meaning today, in our lives, right here in Wellesley?
Many veterans will tell you, while “thank you for your service” is appreciated, genuine, thoughtful actions resonate more deeply. True honor isn’t just spoken; it’s lived. It’s demonstrated in how we treat each other and how we contribute to the community they served to protect. It’s about showing gratitude through deeds, not just words.
So, how can we actively honor their memory right here in our town?
First, embrace service – something Wellesley does so well. They embodied service to the nation. Let’s honor that by serving our community. Volunteer your time – perhaps helping out at the Wellesley Food Pantry, coaching a youth sports team, assisting at the Council on Aging, serving on a town board, or finding another way to give back. When we serve our neighbors here in Wellesley, we are serving in their honor.
Second, practice intentional kindness. Let’s build the kind of community worth defending, the kind of place they dreamed of returning to. Check in on a neighbor who might be lonely or struggling. Offer a hand without being asked. Practice patience in traffic on Route 9 or in the Roche Bros. line. Easier said than done some days, I know, but worth the effort. Small, everyday acts of kindness, consideration, and respect strengthen the fabric of our town and make it a better place to live – a living tribute.
Third, support veterans and their families right here. Remember that sacrifice echoes through generations. Support the families of the fallen – our Gold Star families – who live with the weight of that sacrifice every single day. And support the veterans still among us who carry wounds, both seen and unseen. A listening ear, practical help like shoveling snow for an elderly or disabled veteran neighbor, or supporting organizations dedicated to their care makes a real difference. Honoring the fallen absolutely includes caring for those they fought alongside and those they left behind in our community.
Fourth, engage civically. They defended our way of life, our democracy. Honor them by participating in it. Attend Town Meeting, vote in local and national elections, stay informed about issues facing Wellesley, engage in respectful dialogue even when we disagree. Upholding the democratic values and processes they protected is a vital form of remembrance. But let us be clear: this day, this sacrifice, transcends politics. It must never be used as a political weapon or a tool for division. The men and women we honor today came from all backgrounds, all beliefs. Their shared sacrifice should be a unifying force, reminding us of the common ground we share as Americans. To twist their memory for political gain dishonors the very ideals they fought and died for.
These actions – service, kindness, support, engagement – they are not separate from remembrance. They are remembrance in action. They are how we build a community, a nation, worthy of the immense price paid by those we honor today. They become living memorials, ensuring the legacy of sacrifice inspires goodness and strengthens our shared bonds right here in Wellesley.
Memorial Day grounds us. It reminds us of the true cost of the freedoms we enjoy every single day. It calls us to carry the memory of the fallen not as a burden, but as a guiding light, inspiring us to be better citizens and better neighbors.
Let’s leave this place today not just with solemn thoughts, but with renewed commitment. A commitment to honor sacrifice through service, to strengthen our bonds as neighbors, and to build an even better Wellesley, together. This is how their legacy truly lives on, woven into the fabric of the community they loved and served.
May their sacrifice fuel our dedication to peace, understanding, and the enduring values of this great nation.
Let us never forget the price they paid. Let us cherish the liberty they secured.
May we always honor our fallen heroes and comfort their families. May the community of Wellesley and the United States of America continue to thrive in peace and unity. I can promise you, it’s what they all would have wanted.
Semper Fidelis.
The Wellesley Historical Society celebrated 250 years since the American Revolution—and 100 years of the Wellesley Historical Society—at this year’s Spring Gala in early May at the Wellesley Country Club. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson shared insights from his latest book, The Fate of the Day, the latest in his acclaimed Revolution Trilogy. All enjoyed a night of conversation, community, and celebration at the annual fundraising—and fun—event.
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Volunteers are being sought to put American flags on veterans’ graves in Wellesley ahead of Memorial Day.
No registration is required. Meet at the flagpole at Woodlawn Cemetery (148 Brook St.) at 10am on May 10. Rain or shine.
All ages welcome.
A new natural stone bench and plaque overlooking the former gravel pit near Morses Pond in Wellesley pays tribute to two 12-year-old boys who died in a sand slide at the site on Nov. 15, 1959.
This tragedy claimed the lives of Chuckie Adams and Mark Ketchum, who were buried alive while playing with friends on the town Water Department property. This was a time when kids were freer to roam and fewer areas were formally fenced off.
The boys had been working on a small tunnel at the base of the pit when “30 tons of sand rumbled down with horrifying suddenness on the pair,” according to a front page Boston Globe article headlined “2 Wellesley Boys Die As Sand Pit Caves In.”
The reports didn’t hold back, with one subhead in the Globe reading: “6 Chums Watch in Horror As Youngsters Are Buried.” The Townsman ran a front page photo of the site later in November with a headline over it that read: “Where Boys Met Death.”
One of their friends moments before the sand slide had left the tunnel, where the face of the pit was much more vertical than it is today. His near-miss story was shared at the time as well.
Wellesley resident Suzy Littlefield last fall reached out to the Board of Public Works (the land owner of this property) about possibly honoring the boys after learning about the accident from another longtime resident. She had considered whether it could make sense to have a memorial of some kind at Hardy Elementary School, which the boys attended, but found that schools were no longer doing such remembrances.
At the scene back on Nov. 15, 1959, some of the boys’ friends ran for help, including to the police chief, who lived nearby. He called the accident in to the police department, then scrambled to the site with another man, both armed with shovels. Some of the boys’ other friends stayed on the scene and frantically tried to dig out their pals.
Despite the heroic efforts by police and fire personnel, and the friends, the Wellesley Junior High 7th graders could not be saved. The boys were uncovered after about 35 minutes of digging by the police and fire teams.
“There were three kids crying and clawing at the sand when we got there,” the police chief said, per the Globe article.
A double funeral was held for the boys, formally Harold Charles (Chuckie) Adams, Jr., and Mark Richard Ketchum, per a Wellesley Townsman article. The pair of Boy Scouts were described as kids who enjoyed activities such as camping, fishing, and sports.
“This story was front page news in the Townsman and the Boston Globe, yet it seems to have been erased from the memory of the Town almost completely,” Littlefield wrote to the Board of Public Works in raising the possibility of a memorial.
The BPW was immediately open to the idea, though discussion ensued about rules for installing memorials in natural areas in town. The natural stone bench in the boys’ honor was agreed upon as a fitting tribute that will allow those enjoying the area today to rest and take in the views, including the pine forest at the top of the hill.
Littlefield raised more than $1,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to pay for the bench placement, the plaque, and mounting the plaque.
“It took me less than 40 hours to fundraise the amount; folks in Town are very generous and supportive,” Littlefield said.
As if this tribute couldn’t be any more poignant, it turns out that there is a connection between the 1959 incident and Mike Balboni, one of the DPW employees who installed the stone bench. There was a boy at the accident scene named Ricky Balboni… who became Mike’s uncle.
“I’m very familiar with the story because my dad use to tell me about it when I was younger,” says Mike an 8-year DPW veteran. “When [Wellesley Park & Tree Superintendent Cricket Vlass] told us about the job I thought it was very rewarding to be part of it seeing how it affected my uncle when he was younger. I’m glad the town has not forgotten about this sad day in Wellesley history.”
When I stopped by on Thursday afternoon (April 10) to photograph the bench and plaque installed earlier in the day, I asked a man walking the trail whether he’d like to hear about this new memorial. After I shared a brief version of the story, he said, “amazing, amazing,” as we both looked at the marker and then at the pit below.
The plaque simply reads:
In Memory of
CHUCKIE ADAMS
MARK KETCHUM
November 15, 1959
(To access the memorial, from Turner Road heading toward Morses Pond, go past the yellow gate and the Crosstown Trail map house. Turn right to follow a purple woodland trail marker, walk five or so minutes in the woods through the pine forest, and you’ll reach the trail along the top of the old gravel pit. Proceed to the right until you reach the bench.)
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