All Roads Lead to Needham

School may be out for summer in Needham, but the administrative staff will be working hard to prepare for September. Fortunately, they have a modern, cool space in which to perform those duties. But that was not always so. The home for Needham Public Schools is the Emery Grover Building, the oldest public building still in existence in the Town. It was always a bit of a grand, odd duck, out of cha...

You could say that Nature is what happens when humans stop imposing their will on their surroundings. Judging by the fact that we've been around only for a relatively short period of time, our environment has a pretty strong mind of its own....and that is a good thing. As our New England spring continues to bring renewal to the natural world, our minds are cast to a couple of companions that we ha...

In just over a week, representatives from every neighborhood will descend on the Town Hall, and Needham will tend to the business of being Needham. Budgets will be finalized, rules will be set and changed, and the big issues that face the community will have their moment to be raised, contemplated, and resolved as best they can. Welcome to Town Meeting, one of the hallmarks of Needham life for 315...

For those who regularly to our monthly podcast stream, we wanted to share a quick update. Due to a scheduling conflict, we will be delaying our new episode by a week or so. We will also be changing the intended topic from our intended discussion of Nehoiden. Gloria Greis shares the latest details on what is to come in this brief announcement. If you have not yet, please check out our last episode,...

For this episode, our "All Roads" title can be taken fairly literally! This year, the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It's a big deal in Massachusetts, and for the town of Needham especially. However, the events of 1776 didn't spring up out of nowhere, and it certainly didn't happen overnight. There was a long road leading up to it, and one particular da...

No question, as a nation we are living in tumultuous times. Big questions about who we are as a country, and what we stand for are being posed. As a government simultaneously breaking down old systems and building new ones, roles are being challenged, and the efficacy of the different branches are...in doubt, shall we say? Even though it may feel like it to us, this isn't the first time. As we enj...

If a quick scan of the internet is to be believed (and when has the internet ever been wrong?), 19th century writer Charles Dudley Warner once remarked “Everybody seems to complain about the weather, but nobody seems to do anything about it.” Through the years, people laugh at its absurd nature, and agree with its sentiment, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Facts are, we all have a hand...

The winter holidays are upon us and it is hard not to get caught up in the rush of family gatherings, festive parties and the joy of children opening their gifts. But there is a reason these things occur during the darkest of days, and in this episode our own Ghost of Christmas Past explores some of those less-than-savory shadows. Not so long ago, there were enough harsh punishments to be doled ou...

Every town has its own troubled past. If history has revealed anything, it is that humans can be pretty horrible to one another, both on a personal and on an institutional level. And when we evolve past it, most would pretty much like to forget that the transgressions ever happened in the first place. Such is the case with enslavement in the Northern United States. We are, rightly, proud of the ab...

This month, we urge you to take a stroll in the local cemetery. For the younger set, it is the source of chills and that creepy-crawly feeling at the back of your neck, best pushed to the periphery of their minds. However, for a long time graveyards have played a much more central role to a town's life. It is a place of remembrance, of duty, and, indeed, history. While the expression may be 'dead...

A student's essay reminds us that the walls may have ears, but even a simple pin can make a point... A new school year has just begun, and the procession of bright, excited faces on their way to the schools and bus stops has us nostalgic for our days in the classroom. But education has changed quite a bit over the years. Take this example of an elementary lesson that we have in our collection, for...