[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17970]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      TOWN OF MEDFIELD ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 12, 2000

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I wish to acknowledge the Three Hundred and 
Fiftieth Anniversary of the Town of Medfield, Massachusetts and in so 
doing reference the fine historical research of Richard DeSorgher in 
compiling a perspective of the Town's history.
  Mr. Speaker, in the month of June, in the year 1650, a small group of 
pioneers ventured outward from the already established Town of Dedham, 
Massachusetts, into the wilderness seeking to build a new life for 
their families.
  In 1651, those pioneers incorporated the Town of Medfield as the 
forty-third town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and quickly 
adopted the town meeting form of government that exists to this day in 
Medfield and in countless towns throughout the Commonwealth and the 
Nation.
  As an inducement to participate in town meetings, it was voted that 
any citizen of Medfield that arrived at the town meeting after nine 
o'clock would be fined twelve pence. Selectmen were compensated for 
their public service with a free dinner, while the custodian/drummer 
was paid twenty shillings for his labor.
  Mr. Speaker, the Town of Medfield has, since its founding and 
throughout its history, demonstrated the civic mindedness, sense of 
honor and duty, and compassion that have made this country the beacon 
of hope and freedom it has become to people from all over the world. 
The brave, and self-reliant men and women who founded America's first 
towns bore the hardships that were the cornerstone of the American 
character, and the citizens of Medfield have demonstrated that 
character since the year Medfield was first established.
  In that spirit, when the City of Boston was blockaded by the King's 
Navy under the Intolerable Acts, the citizens of Medfield did not 
hesitate in collecting and delivering one-hundred and thirty-two pounds 
of pork, four hundred and two pounds of cheese, and twenty-two 
cartloads of wood to aid their fellow colonists in time of need.
  Mr. Speaker, one hundred and fifty-four citizens of Medfield saw 
combat in the Revolutionary War, which at that time, reflected one out 
of five people of Medfield's entire population.
  Throughout American history and the history of the Commonwealth, 
Medfield has played a prominent and honorable role. Akin to the public 
mindedness of their ancestors, Medfield's citizens continue to 
demonstrate a commitment to working together in order to enhance the 
public good.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to report that the same strength, character, 
and perseverance that has sustained Medfield over the last three 
hundred and fifty years, continues unfettered to this day as is 
evidenced by the outstanding achievements of the town officials, and 
the citizens investing in their future by maintaining perhaps the 
finest school system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to pay tribute and to bring 
congratulations and thanks to the men, women, and children of Medfield, 
from the United States Congress.

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