Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, April 12, 2024 (Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a series of articles about the upcoming “Open House” event set for the first weekend in May at the old Cliftondale School, which is now known as The MEG, at 54-48 Essex St. in Saugus.) Welcome to Cliftondale T looking back at the old Ballard School By Janice K. Jarosz he fifth-grade class photograph was given to me approximately twenty years ago from Muriel (Kennedy) Little. There is no date, but perhaps in the late thirties. 50 Gerry BALLARD SCHOOL FIFTH-GRADERS: This photo dates back to the late 1930s. (Courtesy photo of Janice K. Jarosz) D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657 I am sure you will recognize many of those precious faces. Arthur Pike became an accomplished athlete and was connected to the Cedar Glen Golf Course on Water Street. Paul Collette was a well-known police officer; Joseph Nicolo comes from a family of veterans from World War II, to name a few. The Ballard School was named after William Ballard, who was born around August 12, 1603, in Warwickshire, England. He and his wife came to America on the “James” in July 1635, landing in Boston, Mass. He was listed as a farmer, but he must have been a man above the ordinary in education, for the General Court of Massachusetts Bay appointed him a magistrate in Newtowne, now known as Cambridge. One of his duties was to establish the line between Salem and Saugus. There must have been troubles in those early days, as he was arrested for hiring laborers illegally, but the case was discharged December 4, 1638, as he was proven innocent. His son Nathaniel was the first ancestor to be born in Saugus/Lynn about 1636. In William’s will he left all his property to him; it reads “the many parcels of land bound upon the highway.” The Ballard School was built in 1911 and at the opening ceremony President Taft sent a letter congratulating the town. Local politicians at the time named it the Ballard School. Teachers in 1918 were Marjorie Wiggin, Josephine Chadbourne, Janet Tarbox, Josephine Ready, Mary Wood, Ella Bailey, Florence Evans and Sigrid Carlson. The school closed in 2003 and in 2010 reopened as the town’s Early Childhood Center. In 2017, the school was closed again and in 2020 it was transferred from the School Department to the town. GREAT SUMMER ADVERTISING RATES! REACH OVER 30,000 READERS EVERY WEEK! CALL US AT 718-233-4446 FOR MORE INFO!
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