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Attendance Survey ... update & reminder

As of May 4th, 41 classmates (33% of Website registered) have responded to our Reunion Attendance Survey.  Great news, 76% indicate they would plan to attend.  As suspected, some are still concerned about Covid and gathering restrictions.  The Reunion Committee continues to monitor CDC and Massachusetts guidelines and will keep you posted as updates become available.  

If you have not completed the 5 question survey, please take a few minutes and fill out the survey on the Website (Reunion Attendance Survey). We would like your replies by 5/11/21 so we can discuss during our monthly meeting that evening.   A link to the Website is provided below;

https://www.lhs-1970-50th.com/

If you have not registered on the Website, please use the link above to do so.  Follow the instructions for First Time Visitors.

Thank you,

The 50+1 Reunion Committee

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Did you know there once was a Wine Cellar & Speakeasy in Lynnfield?  ...  by Alan Foulds

The Bowman Viles House at 281 Chestnut Street was built about 1789. The story gets interesting when Robert Burton Hawley purchased the house in the early 1900s. He was a wool merchant, traveling around Europe, where he learned a lot about wines. He decided to build an underground wine cellar on the property, apart from the house. It was built and designed by the man who was, at that time, designing new tunnels for Boston's subway system. Its dimensions were 100 ft by 30 ft. with an arched ceiling. It was lined on the side by 40 wine barrels.

He began producing wine from grapes grown on the property.

Robert Hawley often invited friends to the room for tastings. 

When Prohibition went into effect Hawley had the only permit to sell alcoholic beverages north of Boston. When Robert died, his son Trog Hawley took over. Apparently he was less discriminate than his father had been. He didn't exactly follow the rules, and he often had people in the room for more than tastings. One Saturday night one of his "guests" was a so-called "spotter" for the government. The following week the room was swarming with federal agents. All the wine was confiscated and dumped into Boston Harbor. That was the end of Trog Hawley's business.

I got a glimpse of the room once when I was in junior high school and attended a party at what was then the Boynton home.

In the early 1970's the Boynton property was subdivided. The home still exists today, and the speakeasy/wine cellar still existed at least up to a few years ago (and may still be down there). Because of the subdivision it is now on the property of 4 Charing Cross. 

I've attached an overhead shot of the area. 4 Charing Cross is marked. I put an oval around the Boynton/Hawey/Viles home, and I put a blue line there to depict the driveway to the house. The star is my best guess as to where the wine cellar/speakeasy was or is.

By the way, today, Off Charing Cross, is a road called Trog Hawley Street.

Alan