WESTBOROUGH – Since 1849, local weekly newspapers have reported the news in Westborough. Before the newspapers and beyond gossip, tavern talk or infrequent journals from big cities, residents often found themselves in the dark as there were no radios, TVs or phones to keep them up to speed.
C.C. Moody was determined to change that.
He printed the first “Westborough Messenger” on September 22, 1849. Its purpose, according to Moody, was “the dissemination of useful and serted on moderate terms. The Westborough Messenger was printed once a fortnight at a cost of 25 cents for three months. interesting articles pertaining to the Morals, Health, SelfImprovement, Rural Economy, Mechanic Arts, Natural History and News, together with a notice of such passing local and general events as may be deemed worthy of record.”
Advertisements for businesses in the region were inAs editor, Moody hoped that the Westborough Messenger would report the news, “without, we trust, ever allowing us to dabble in party politics, sectarian zeal, or private pique.” However, under the Agriculture column, he printed an argument to continue to produce cotton in America rather than exporting the raw cotton to England.
“The moving cause to the increased production of cotton in this country is from the invention of a machine called the ‘Cotton Gin,’ by Eli Whitney, a native of this town. To understand the value of this invention, it will only be necessary to state that, in 1807, 13 years after the cotton gin was brought into use, fifty-five million pounds of cotton were exported — valued at eleven and one-half million dollars,” it read.
The next local newspaper, which ran from 1855-56, was the “Westborough Sheaf.” During the Civil War, “The Westborough Transcript,” was printed from 1860-1863 and edited by John M. Farwell.
The September 14, 1861, the Transcript carried articles about the movement of Union troops, especially Company K from Westborough. Highly awaited were the printed letters from hometown soldiers describing the actual battlefront conditions.
The September 14, 1861, the Transcript carried articles about the movement of Union troops, especially Company K from Westborough. Highly awaited were the printed letters from hometown soldiers describing the actual battlefront conditions.
One from H.A. Winslow described marching to the “seat of war;” “…our passage through Pennsylvania was a continued ovation…Men and women would rush out of their houses as we passed, to bid us Godspeed. I saw dozens of little children kissing their hands to us, waving handkerchiefs, and trying to croak a hurrah…”
This issue of the Westborough Transcript also ran the following ad: “Union Men Attention! Volunteers wanted immediately for Colonel Turner’s new Union regiment being raised in Boston. Pay will commence from the day of the enlistment letter.”
After the Civil War, from 1867-1870, Westborough residents relied on “The Saturday Evening Chronotype” for their news. The Westborough Chronotype then emerged as the dominant weekly paper from 1871-1965, when it combined with a Framingham issue until 1974.
The Chronotype was published every Friday; Rachel Dearing served as editor from her office on 7 Milk St. A single copy was 5 cents, and a yearly subscription was $2. The weekly claimed more than 500 subscribers in all parts of the USA plus foreign countries.
The Chronotype carried local events, announcements and meetings with occasional world news. In the 1950s the Chronotype’s columns included: “Woman’s World: Tips on Curing Those Washday Blues,” as well as news of the Bay State Abrasives Factory, the largest employer in town. Meeting announcements of the Grange, 4-H Club, VFW, plus church calendars complemented notices of the plays at the Red Barn Theatre.
Ads also enticed racing fans to witness a full card of 65-70 cars in “stock car races every Friday night” at “New England’s finest racing oval. Admission: $1.25.”
However, a somber headline bannered the June 12, 1953, issue: “Five Killed, Scores Injured, Damage in Millions as Tornado Strikes.”
Besides the human tragedy, the newspaper reported that along West Main Street, “few maples and elms escaped either complete or partial damage. Many have crushed in houses and cars. The belfry of the Congregational Church suffered roof damage, and boards were torn off while slates from the Church and Parsonage peppered the lawn… The rose window of St. Luke’s Church was blown in…”
Dearing wrote, “Westborough has cared for its own; each helping the other, whether relatives or friends, housing each other, seeming self-suff icient in its hour of greatest tragedy…If great emergency should arise, for which we pray this is not a dress rehearsal, we are confident that the same spirit would prevail.”
In the early 1970s, Barbara Smith was editor of the “Westborough News” weekly newspaper, with Phyllis Jones the publisher. Originally the newspaper’s cost was $1.50 per week. Her editorial column “Barb Wire” (later “Hotline”) was a favorite — since Smith didn’t hold her opinions back.
By 2012, the Westborough News could be found on Facebook and Twitter and today continues online, located at wickedlocal.com.
“The Community Advocate” began in 1974 as a printed advertising bulletin, then evolved to a weekly newspaper in 1979.
Owner/publisher David Bagdon began with a compelling goal for his paper: “I wanted to advocate for the positive points — the special highlights and attributes of our community. We hoped to print great people stories — to tell the stories that may never get told otherwise. Time marches on, and some stories would be lost to the wind.”
Over the last half-century, local reporting of memorable achievements by Westborough natives has made the entire community proud — not only their parents, but also their teachers, classmates, coaches, mentors, club leaders, and even those who know them by name only.
For example, the Community Advocate in February 7-22, 1998, celebrated Nikki Stone WHS ’89 as “The 1st American to Win a Gold Medal in Inverted Aerial Skiing.” Another headline followed about Ashley Hayden WHS ’99, a World Cup and 2002 Olympic luge champion.
More recently the March 12, 2023, the Community Advocate headline read: “Westborough’s Daniel Kwan Wins at the Oscars” by Managing Editor Laura Hayes. Kwan, a WHS ’96 graduate, cowrote and codirected with Daniel Scheinert the science fiction movie, “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Last year, the film won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Kwan did not forget his hometown in his acceptance speech for Best Director: he thanked all who had helped him, especially his immigrant parents and “the RCCC,” or the Richardson Court neighborhood, where he grew up. The local Community Advocate knew the significance of such a detail to its readers.
Since 2005 about 2,900 papers, mostly weeklies, have closed, according to a Northwestern University study. However, Bagdon believes, “People will believe in local journalism if it has a role to play. It depends to what level people are interested in local events, local personalities, and the local economy. Local news has a future if you value it.”
