Group to host 'chat' with politician from the past
By Julia Cho Contributing Writer

Northborough - It's hard to escape the political race this year, from TV ads to endless newspaper and magazine articles and online blogs about the candidates. Voters today have their work cut out for them to dig through the rhetoric to find the candidate they can trust with their vote.

But long before the information age took over the political process, a Northborough native won the admiration of the people of Massachusetts and served as a U.S. congressman, as governor of Massachusetts and as a U.S. senator in a long and distinguished political career.

On Friday Jan. 25, the Northborough Historical Society will present the program "A Chat with Governor 'Honest John' Davis," which will highlight the life and political thoughts of this influential historical figure. Tom Lowe, owner of Lowe's Variety and Meat Shop, along with Kevin Carroll, are the presenters of the program, with Lowe playing the part of "Honest John" and Carroll acting as a modernday interviewer, asking Davis questions about his past and his opinions of current Northborough politics.

"What we're shaping it around is a '60 Minutes'-type format," Lowe said. "We're planning an easy exchange with him [Carroll] feeding me questions … in an eff ort to explain his [Davis's] frame of mind, his thoughts and how politics of the day were very local and very constitutional."

Lowe has a passionate interest in history and has presented before at the Historical Society on a variety of topics, from such diverse subjects as the history of Christmas to a presentation on musician John Kellette. He is looking forward to bringing the character of Davis to life, because the politician was involved in many decisions that shaped not only the political landscape of today, but also the physical landscape of the country.

Lowe first became interested in Davis from looking into the origins of Davis Street in Northborough. Davis was born in Northborough Jan. 13, 1787, was elected to U.S. Congress in 1824, served as governor of Massachusetts twice, and as a U.S. senator twice.

Lowe pointed out that at the time Davis was a senator, the United States was still a growing country, acquiring new territories and getting involved in land disputes with its neighbors. It was a time when many of the laws and services that we take for granted today simply did not exist.

The Northborough Historical Society presents a program the last Friday of each month. Anyone is welcome to join the society, and there is always a greeter at the events to make sure newcomers feel at home.

"A Chat with Governor 'Honest John' Davis" is a free program, and refreshments will be served. The program will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Northborough Historical Society building at 50 Main St., Northborough.