Remembering Mansfield, Massachusetts -1944-1953

About the Book

When I was a teenager I came across the “History of Myddle”, one of the great treasure troves of English social history. We remember Myddle because three centuries ago the local vicar carried out a sociological analysis of his parish: he sketched pen portraits of pew occupants, recording their occupations, social status, achievements, virtues and vices. Reading “Myddle” made me resolve to push ahead with a project I had in mind: to fix my hometown in time (1950) and place.

I couldn’t decide what form the work should take. I am neither a social scientist nor a historian. I have no talent for extended narrative or description. Then I discovered pillow-books, diaries written by Japanese noblewomen: polished vignettes that present the world these women inhabited.

Readers may ask themselves, “How could a boy see and remember so much” First off, I did most of my family’s shopping. I was forced to interact with storekeepers. Beyond that I was consumed with curiosity. I had few inhibitions. I could remember events and conversations.. Being an outsider had advantages. People confided in me, trusting that I would not pass on their secrets. My life has been uneventful, so childhood memories have not been pushed aside by later recollections

This history is primarily anecdotal, and sometime gossipy. I make no apology. It is not my purpose to laud the past nor decry the present, only present a verbal panorama of a small town fifty years ago.

About the Author

John H. Wilde grew up in Mansfield, Massachusetts. After a stint in the Army during the Korean Conflict, he attended the University of Michigan, from which he graduated with honors. For five years he represented the United States as a Foreign Service Office in Perth, Australia and Hong Kong. After leaving the Foreign Service he became a librarian, working first in Manitoba, then in South Carolina. Since retiring, he has become active in the South Carolina Democratic Party, serving as a State Executive Committeeman and State Party Secretary. His hobbies are reading and writing letters to editors.