Amazing people, from all walks of life, have long called Andover home. Some have literally changed. Our town’s appearance, too, is a composite of iconic architecture and historic villages, Ballardvale and Shawsheen. These people and places are part of Andover’s whole.
So, without further ado, here are a few questions for you to ponder in this edition of Andover Stories. So put on those thinking caps and have at it!!
Here are this week’s questions:
1. The Free Church on Elm Street has nine pillars at its façade.
2. The water from Haggetts Pond comes from the Merrimack River through Fish Brook.
3. Bartlett Street extends from Park Street to Chapel Avenue. True or false?
4. St. Augustine’s Church is the only Catholic church in Andover.
5. William M. Wood, President of the American Woolen Company and architect of Shawsheen Village, was a prominent voice for a new school in Shawsheen. Did he live to see it open for students?
6. There are three large four-faced clocks on towers or steeples in Andover. Name their locations.
7. One of the following songs was written in Andover: Isle of Capri; the Star Spangled Banner; The Internationale; America; Waltz Me Around Again, Willie.
8. The Latin phrase on the Phillips Academy seal “Finis Origine Pendet” means – money is the root of all evil; a chicken in every pot; the end depends on the beginning; share the wealth; or science conquers all.
9. One of the following professional baseball players once played at the Andover playstead lot for the B. L. McDonald team. Was he Dizzy Dean, Mickey Cochrane, Johnny Broaca, Chili Davis or Rabbit Maranville?
10. Harold Parker is known in Andover for one of the following: He ran a canoe rental agency in Ballardvale? He lived here before he started making fountain pens? A forest is named after him ? He lived here while inventing the Parker House roll?
This week’s answers :
1. Eight pillars grace the front of the Free Church.
2. The water from Haggetts Pond flows into the Merrimack River through fish Brook, not vice versa.
3. Bartlet (spelled ending with only one “t”) Street extends to Wheeler Street (although at one point it did extend to Chapel Avenue and ran behind the main Seminary buildings).
4. There are three Catholic churches in Andover – St. Augustine’s, Saint Robert Bellarmine on Haggetts Pond Road and Saint Joseph’s in Ballardvale, founded in 1866, – is now a mission of St. Augustine Parish, the church is available for weddings, baptisms, and funeral services.
5. The Shawsheen School opened in October, 1924. Mr. Wood died in February, 1926.
6. The large four-faced clocks are located at South Church, the Post Office Building in Shawsheen Village and two on the Phillips Academy campus – the Memorial Bell Tower and Samuel Phillips Hall.
7. “America” was written by Reverend Samuel Francis Smith while he was a student at the Andover Theological Seminary. It was first performed on July 4, 1831.
8. Translated, the phrase on the seal means “The End Depends on the Beginning”.
9. Johnny Broaca, a pitcher, played in the Major Leagues for five seasons, four with the New York Yankees and one with the Cleveland Indians, retiring in 1939.
10. Established in 1916, the Harold Parker State Forrest is named in his honor. Parker was the first Massachusetts State Forest Commission Chairman.
How did you fare with our hodgepodge of people and places? Did you ace the quiz? If not, we hope you discovered a nugget or two and, perhaps, found something worth learning more about.
Thank you, constant readers. Stay tuned, Andover Stories has many more stories to share.