The Old Hopkinton...

Brown and Smith's

Hopkinton Icon Remembered

by Robert Falcione

August 15, 2013 — Brown and Smith's sure was a great place to be introduced to the colorful characters of Hopkinton, from the town drunk, who asked if you would be afraid if he was currently packing a .45, to some Town Hall employees who enjoyed extended coffee breaks and robust conversations with the regulars who might be at the counter through two mealtimes.

The place, which was open for breakfast and lunch, was located next to where the bank is, and in the original Bill's Pizza building. As you walked in, the cash register was to the left, next to the door,  and three U-shaped counters with stools were past that. They sold papers and tobacco products; and even in 1970, the two telephone booths on the opposite wall looked old — and they were soundproof, much like people imagined a game show booth would be, or a recording studio's vocal isolation booth.

About half of the floor space was dedicated to greeting cards that no one ever seemed to purchase. And speaking of floors, the boards that showed through the linoleum were worn to the point of having become concave.

The parking was diagonal, given that Main Street was wide and once carried trolleys. It seemed that everyone in town passed through there each morning.

One of my first Baptisms of Fire was when a grumpy old man (Of course, he wasn't really that old.) in work clothes sat down, pounded his fist and immediately demanded his coffee from the young girl attending the counter.

I was overwhelmed with a sense of chivalry and hit with a shot of adrenaline as a result of his combative demeanor, and was ready to challenge this tough guy who I had just seen for the first time. "Who are you to speak to anyone that way?" I thought to myself, preparing to turn the thoughts into real words with a facial expression that apparently gave it away.

Before I could act, he turned ever so slightly in my direction, and might have given me the smallest smile detectable on a human face, and then a very fast wink to let me know that he and the waitress were familiar with one another. I came to learn it was the beloved Cookie Kumlin, and that was his way of  being friendly. He worked for the Highway Department, who drove his truck full of flowers to his gravesite when he died.

There was a couple who were regulars at the head of one of the three U-shaped counters. I will describe them, but because of the subject matter, will withhold their identification. She was ten years his junior, something she often reminded everyone of, and I can't remember if she had her cigarette in a holder, but I recall her holding it as if she did. And she used scatological descriptions for people on a regular basis ("That little sh--.").

One day her other half was having a conversation with a waitress, and he asked the waitress to repeat herself.

"The hearing's the first thing to go," the waitress said jokingly to the white-haired man.

"Oh no it isn't!" said his wife in a crescendo that ended in a sing-song manner, rising with the last word. She rolled her eyes at the sky, making clear her displeasure with her lack of pleasure. "Believe me!" she added for emphasis, looking in the direction of no one.

There was another man, and people smoked at these types of places back then, who was offended to the point of belligerence when I asked if he minded moving the ashtray that held his lit and billowing cigar away from my side of his commandeered area, and to the side of his personal counter space where no one was seated.

One man who ran the cash register for a time, not an original owner, gave me 25 cents short in my change, and I pointed that out to him.

"But you read the paper," he said with contempt.

"So, you saw me put it back?" I asked, declaratively.

"Yes, but I am charging you for reading it," he replied with even more contempt. I never did ask for how long he had been doing it; I just never went back there until his connection with the place was over and done with.

The Librarian, Mrs. Ellsworth, walked across the street to enjoy her coffee and lunch breaks at the counter. The Town Treasurer/Collector Harold Killam also spent his free time at the counter. What great conversations with professionals who treated other people with admiration and respect.

In sum, Hopkinton was an unbelievably warm and welcoming place at that time, and the blue collar workers and their entrepreneurial counterparts, the majority of the residents, were the friendliest people a stranger could ever meet anywhere forty years ago. I hope people who move into Hopkinton these days find it equally welcoming in their own circles.

P.S. The pasta was terrible.

Editor's note: Please email your memory of Hopkinton to Editor@HopNews.com

Greyhound Officials From Around the World Gather in Hopkinton

Leading members of the international greyhound welfare community came together on Saturday, August 10th for the 7th Annual International Greyhound Update. The event was hosted and organized by Greyhound Friends along with the American-European Greyhound Alliance.

Speakers included Norma Fogarty (see photo), a veterinary nurse for Limerick Animal Welfare, who reported on greyhound issues and concerns in Ireland. Other issues discussed included issues relating to greyhounds, lurchers, Spanish galgos, and hounds around the world and how the continuing decline of greyhound racing in the U.S. and U.K. is having a big impact.

Greyhound Friends Inc.is a small non-profit organization dedicated to saving racetrack greyhounds and placing them in responsible loving homes. Since its inception in 1983, Greyhound Friends has found homes for thousands of dogs and has recently expanded their services to include caring for other dog breeds including beagles and hound crosses. Please call 508-435-5969 or visit www.greyhound.org for more information.

Jury Finds Bulger Guilty

BOSTON—Following a two-month long trial in U.S. District Court, a federal jury today convicted James J. Bulger, holding him responsible for the murder of 11 people, as well as numerous counts of extortion, money laundering, drug dealing, and firearms possession.

After deliberating for over 32 hours, over five days, the jury found the former fugitive guilty of racketeering conspiracy and numerous racketeering acts of murder, extortion, narcotics distribution, money laundering, and possession of firearms, including machine guns. With this verdict, the jury has found that Bulger played a role in the murders of Deborah Hussey, Paul McGonagle, Edward Connors, Thomas King, Richard Castucci, Roger Wheeler, Brian Halloran, Michael Donahue, John Callahan, Arthur Barrett, and John McIntyre.

Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, ran a vast criminal network that emanated from South Boston and controlled much of the city and the surrounding areas during the 1970s and 1980s. In order to generate money and maintain dominance among other criminal enterprises, Bulger and his associates engaged in numerous illegal activities such as loansharking, extortion of local business owners and bookmakers, trafficking of narcotics and firearms, and murder. Bulger, and associates under his direction, used violence, threats, and intimidation to carry out these illegal activities.

In late 1994, upon learning of his impending indictment, Bulger fled Massachusetts. On June 22, 2011, Bulger and his companion, Catherine Greig, were arrested in Santa Monica, California, after 16 years on the run. Greig was later convicted of conspiracy to harbor a fugitive and is currently serving eight years in federal prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for November 13. He faces a maximum of up to life, plus 30 years in prison.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Colonel Timothy P. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; John J. Arvanitis, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; William P. Offord, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; Michael E. Horowitz, Inspector General for the Department of Justice; Vincent Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division; and U.S. Marshal John Gibbons made the announcement today.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak, Jr., Brian T. Kelly, and Zachary Hafer of Ortiz’s Public Corruption and Special Prosecutions Unit.

Press Release

Driver Found Dead Following Car Crash

At approximately 10:27 PM, Saturday August 10, 2013, Hopkinton Police received a call of a single-vehicle motor vehicle accident in the area of 161 Hayden Rowe Street. Upon arrival officers observed a vehicle on the lawn at this location. The operator was found to be unresponsive and transported to Milford Regional Medical Center by Hopkinton Fire Paramedics,  where he was later pronounced deceased.

The accident investigation determined the vehicle was travelling north on Hayden Rowe Street when it left the roadway striking a business sign post, causing minimal damage to the vehicle.  It is believed the operator suffered from a medical condition as he was operating. *

*The Hopkinton Police, following this press release, refused to identify the operator, or confirm published reports with his name.

Last Hurrah

Armed Operator Shot by Trooper in Chicopee, Dies after Fleeing, Crashing

August 11, 2013 — At approximately 12:22 a.m., a Massachusetts State Trooper assigned to the Springfield Barracks, while operating his marked cruiser on Route 91 southbound in Springfield, was passed by a 2002 BMW 320i with a Massachusetts registration that was traveling at an excessive rate of speed. The trooper activated his emergency lights to signal the operator to pull over.

The operator, a 23-year-old, now identified as WAYNE R. EDWARDS 2d, 23, of Springfield man, pulled over in the vicinity of the intersection of Routes 91 and 291. At the time of the stop, a 22-year-old female was a passenger in the BMW. At the intersection with Route 91 Southbound, Route 291 Eastbound is accessed by a two lane elevated flyover ramp with a breakdown lane extending up to the area of first exit, Exit 2. The trooper directed the operator to pull his car off into the breakdown lane and away from the two active eastbound lanes.  The operator pulled into the breakdown lane and stopped his vehicle.

The trooper exited his cruiser, approached the suspect vehicle, and asked the operator for his license and registration. At that point, the operator became combative and a physical altercation between him and the trooper occurred. During the altercation, the trooper discharged his service weapon, striking the operator. At this time, the female passenger exited the vehicle.

After the weapons discharge, the trooper reported his situation using his portable radio and returned to his cruiser. Meanwhile, the suspect in the BMW drove away eastbound. The trooper began to follow the BMW; about two-tenths of a mile from the scene of the altercation and shooting, the BMW crashed into the protection barrier at the base of Exit 2. The trooper called for assistance and began to administer first aid along with other responding officers.

The suspect was transported to Baystate Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased. The female passenger received an upper arm laceration while she was exiting the BMW (evidence indicates she was not shot). She was transported to Baystate Medical Center where she was treated and released.

Inside the BMW, troopers located a loaded 25-caliber handgun on the driver's seat and a loaded 40-caliber handgun under the front driver's seat. Both guns had obliterated serial numbers.

The investigation into the incident by State Police and the Office of Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni. The names of the trooper, the deceased suspect, and the passenger are not being released at this time.

YMCA Day Camp 50^th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday, August 10, 2013

45 East Street, Hopkinton

508-435-9345

11:00am                               Registration begins in Hayes Lodge

11am – 3:00pm                  Camp Activities:  Camp tours, 
                                                Arts and Crafts, Archery, Ropes Course, 
                                                Camp Games, Pool is open for swimming, please  feel free to walk around the camp at your leisure.
                                               

12:00 – 2:00pm                  BBQ lunch picnic grove

2:15pm                                 Story of DumDum Dadda with the Bear, 
                                                Soccer Fields

3:00pm                                 Campfire at Camp Fire Ring

3:45 pm                                50th Birthday Cake at Soccer Pavilion

Main Street Water Service Affected by Break

8/9/2013 12:29:56 PM EST - Good Afternoon, This Is Interim Police Chief Chuck Wallace calling to advise of a water main break on Main St. Due to this break, water service in the Main St. area will be interrupted for several hours. We appreciate your patience while the break is repaired and service is restored. Facebook an Twitter followers got alerted.