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Memorial Day observances in Natick, 2023

May 26, 2023 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Natick has a number of observances and activities on Memorial Day, which falls on Monday, May 29. Memorial Day is a national holiday and honors those who lost their lives while defending their country.

natick high symphonic band memorial day 22

Monday, May 29
8:15am—Flag raising at Moran Park (near the downtown MBTA station)
8:30am—Parade forms at Moran Park
8:40am—Parade marches to Town Common
9am—Ceremonies at the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Monument
10am—Parade resumes and marches from East Central to West Central and onto Pond Street for memorial services at Old Dell and St. Patrick’s cemeteries.
11am—Parade resumes, marches to Indian Burial Ground on Pond Street for ceremonies at 11:15 a.m.
11:30am—Parade disbands.

Other important info

Parking meters in Natick will be free on Monday, May 29.

Natick’s Recycling Center, located on West Street at the corner of Route 27, is closed on Mon., May 29 (as well as every other Monday).

Natick Town offices will be closed Monday, May 29.

Memorial Day is an official holiday for the US Postal Service, so Post Offices will be closed on Monday, May 29 and there will be no home delivery of mail. It is also an official holiday for UPS, but scheduled UPS Critical Express and UPS Holiday packages should still arrive.

Massachusetts law states that liquor stores may not open until noon.

Morse Institute Library will be closed Saturday, May 27; Sunday, May 28; and Monday, May 29, in observance of the holiday.

The Bacon Free Library will be closed Saturday, May 27 (and all Saturdays Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend; and Sunday, May 28 (and all Sundays).


More: Natick military veterans and war memorial tour

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Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Government, Holidays

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Author & journalist Dick Lehr to visit Natick’s Bacon Free Library

May 9, 2023 by Admin Leave a Comment

Author, journalist, and professor Dick Lehr will be speaking at Bacon Free Library (58 Eliot St.) on May 30 at 5:30pm about his latest book, White Hot Hate. This book details the true story of an averted domestic terrorist attack against a Kansas farming town’s immigrant Somali community.

Lehr also narrated the podcast adaptation of this story, ABC News Truth and Lies: The Informant. Dick Lehr, a professor of journalism at Boston University, is the author of seven award-winning works of nonfiction and fiction, and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist during his time writing for the Boston Globe.

White Hot Hate book cover


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Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Books



Sneak peek: We tour the Natick Historical Society museum before its grand reopening

April 27, 2023 by Admin Leave a Comment

By contributing reporter Christine Schell.

The Natick Historical Society (NHS) makes history this weekend with its much-anticipated museum reopening on Sunday, April 30, from 1-4pm, on the ground-floor of the Bacon Free Library. Featured artisan Ron Michael will demonstrate the arts of caning and basket weaving, and visitors can experiment with quill pen writing.

Bacon Free Library, South Natick

What’s there to get excited about? Well, plenty! A 2017 renovation resulted in the museum’s collection being housed in two different locations. When the pandemic hit and NHS closed its doors for almost three years, Director Niki Lefebvre was challenged to think “inside” the box—that is, how to reunite the NHS collection back into that jewel box of a room in the historic library. With deliberate consideration of the NHS mission (“Building community by inspiring connections to local history.”), along with the curator’s code that values professional preservation methods, and a historian’s canny sense for telling a rich story, Lefebvre and research manager Gail Coughlin ushered Natick’s history firmly into the 21st century. And they got everything under one roof.

Natick Historical Society

Yesteryear’s display of stuffed exotic birds has flown the coop. Lefebvre notes that NHS’s special niche is, well, Natick history. “If you want to do local history in this space, all the tools and resources are here in one space,” she said. Lefebvre encourages folks to research their houses and families, explore artifacts from Natick’s past, and engage with her and Coughlin, who are both well-versed in the town’s past.

Due to the small space they’re working with, the NHS team is unable to display all the town’s artifacts at once. However,  thoughtful integration of multi-media technology has allowed Lefebvre and Coughlin to make parts of the large NHS collection available visually. For example, next to the Natick High School display case is a video monitor that shows vintage high school football games.

Natick Historical Society

Judicious use of QR codes makes some of the large collection accessible online, enhancing museum artifacts with virtual content. Also, the NHS website and its You Tube channel are chock-full of information on the archived collections, online catalog, and more. Lefebvre notes that “you don’t need to stop learning when you leave the museum. If you find something interesting, then when you get home, you can continue the conversation.”

Displayed artifacts of note include the Algonquin Bible translated into Algonquin languages by indigenous linguists and Rev. John Eliot in the late 1600s. (A digitized edition of another Algonquin Bible is available via a link on the NHS website.) Also, four land documents from the 18th century link by QR code to several more land documents, and in total trace the story of the gradual dispossession of indigenous land by recent arrivals.

Natick Historical Society

Coughlin said that a few of her favorite artifacts are part of the Natick High School display case. A 1920s photo of the high school girls’ basketball team after an undefeated season “shows the legacy of athletic women who have accomplished things.” An 1878 copy of Bertha Valentine’s high school music reader sheds light on Natick’s educational interests and priorities from almost 150 years ago.

Natick Historical Society

NHS staff invite the public to visit and explore the museum’s story of Natick. There’s seating for research, and plenty of natural light streams through six massive windows that offer scenic views of the Charles River basin, Eliot Church, and some of South Natick’s other historic buildings.

Natick Historical Society

LOCATION: 58 Eliot St., Natick MA (ground floor of the Bacon Free Library)
GRAND REOPENING: Sunday, April 30, 1pm-4pm
REGULAR VISITING HOURS: Tuesday, 4pm-6:30; Thursday,10am-1pm; 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month, 1pm-4pm
VISIT BY APPOINTMENT: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 9am-5pm
PARKING: On-street parking on Eliot Street or Mill Lane. Additional parking in the lot behind 207 Union Street.
ACCESSIBILITY: The Museum is wheelchair-accessible through the garden door. There is no accessible restroom and no wheelchair access to the library on the upper level. Accessibility can be limited during the winter months. Please call ahead.


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Filed Under: Bacon Free Library, Education, Embracing diversity, History, Natick Historical Society, Natick History Museum

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Art opening reception at Bacon Free Library

March 3, 2023 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

From Bacon Free Library (58 Eliot St., Natick):

Lisa Hayden, a contemporary artist from Northborough, will be exhibiting a collection of paintings from March 3 to May 2 at the Bacon Free Library. With an abstracted take on the natural world and a strong love of the ocean, she brings the outdoors inside through art. Join us on March 7 from 5-6:30pm for an opening reception, which is free and open to the public. Learn more about Lisa Hayden at her website.


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Filed Under: Art, Bacon Free Library

Bacon Free Library in Natick, hours for winter 2023

Updates for winter 2023:

The Bacon Free Library in Natick will be closed on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Mon., Feb. 20, 2023 in observance of Presidents’ Day. Regular hours will be in effect for the rest of Jan., Feb., and Mar. 2023.

Bacon Free Library, Natick

Bacon Free Library location:

ADDRESS: 58 Eliot Street, Natick, MA 01760
PHONE: 508-653-6730

Bacon Free Library hours, winter 2023

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 9:30—5:30
Tuesday: 9:30—7:00
Saturday: 9:30—1:30
Sunday: closed

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