Around Natick

There are only a few things that have remained the same in downtown Natick over the past hundred years, and the hot dogs they sell at Casey’s are one of them. Boiled, with a steamed roll and plenty of relish, onion, and mustard is the way they’ve always been served. They used to be located at the corner of Washington St and East Central, in between a victorian home and a gas station, and right across from the library. They moved to a bleak area a few years ago, but the building remains the same.

When John Kennedy was campaigning for State Senator, he stopped at Casey’s for some hot dogs. The late Judge Louis W. Farley was seen there every Wednesday for lunch 2 dogs with mustard and onion with a Root Beer. Walter Brown who owned the Boston Garden was a regular.

Fred Casey died in 1958 and his son Joe took over, running the place the way his Dad trained him.

This photo was taken in 1965. At the time, 5000 dogs a week were sold. The copper steamer had been replaced at least 30 times over the years, always made by the Natick Sheet Metal Co., so as to be authentic.

Joe Casey in 1958 related the details on pricing, in an interview in the Framingham News. “Back in the 1930’s when my father had to raise the price of the hot dog from a nickel to 2 for 15 cents, he was afraid the increase would drive him out of business. When they went to 10 cents in 1938, he was just as scared. In 1946 the price went up to 15 cents and in 1955 they went to 20 cents, where they remained to this day” he said.

Downtown merchants, in towns all over our country, organize “merchants associations” in order to promote their storefronts, and make money. There used to be a merchant’s association in Natick, with a goal toward attracting customers who might patronize their stores, and buy things. Times have changed, and today, downtown Natick is more like an office park, than it is, a destination for consumers. When was the last time you went to downtown Natick to “go shopping?”

For those who may not be familiar with downtown politics and it’s relationships with the business community, there’s a non profit (one of over 200 registered in Natick) called Natick Center Associates. Over the past several years, they’ve obtained hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money from the Commonwealth for improvements, including $250,000 in “Sign and Facade” funds, as well as some unpublicized money for studies to look at parking issues, and such. I don’t see evidence of improvements from those funds, so how it was spent would be worth a look-see, I think.

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I was just thinking about chemical contamination of our environment, and I wondered about the poison around the Paperboard Factory, and how that might relate to the piece of land the town purchased on Mechanic Street in order to build a parking lot for a potential rail trail.

Did the conservation commission do an inspection of the Mechanic St. lot before the town spent $325,000 on it?

I’m still not sure I understand why the conservation commission wanted to use a chemical in our lakes that would kill houseplants, and they don’t do anything about ground contamination in the neighborhood around the Paperboard. Could it be relationships and politics?

Natick’s Administration is constantly working at ways to fund pay raises, and do other things that suit their fancy. Click on this link to read about the proposed increase in water rates:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1056106109/Natick-water-rate-proposal-would-help-condos

Thank you to two Selectmen who are working on the side of the taxpayers.

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I received the following, which probably should be read by those who think the golf course is a wonderful amenity to the town. Read more »

Natick has an Office For Community Development, a Planning Board, a Zoning Board, and Selectmen, as well as a myriad of committees and groups who plan and discuss the direction and future of our town. Read more »

I was made aware of a few defensive comments written online as a response to a letter about the sorry condition of the Kennedy Middle School auditorium seats. It is interesting that it’s always anonymous voices that defend neglectful, misguided spending practices on the part of the town.  After all, you can’t expect a member of the School Committee to put out an honest response using his own name, can you?  (I’m surprised he doesn’t continue to use the nickname “dcalfine” like he did for years in that dirty little chat room called the information station.)

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Click on this link to a letter in the Metrowest Daily News, to get one opinion on the conditions of Natick’s Kennedy Middle School. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/letters/x1878563418/Pierce-Town-Meeting-venue-showed-need

Those who are new to town probably don’t remember the sales job hoisted on the voters to pass an override to build the new Wilson School. They promised to spend a million dollars on Kennedy.  (That way, the folks who lived in that neighborhood would vote yes.  I’d call that “buying votes”, wouldn’t you?) Read more »

Check out this link to the top 1300 High Schools in the USA. Where’s Natick?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?s=ma

I have to wonder if the School Committee is more concerned with the legality of a nickname, than they are with academics.  How are the Schools judged?

The formula is simple: They divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests a school gave by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June. Tests taken by all students, not just seniors, are counted.

I see there are quite a few people who put out yard waste the past few weeks. Read more »