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Albert B. Southwick, the seventh of nine children, was born in 1920 and grew up in Leicester, Massachusetts, on the farm that had been in his family for generations. He attended Mannville School, a one-room wooden building where a single teacher taught all eight grades. He went on to Leicester High School, Clark University in Worcester, four years in the United States Navy during World War II, back to Clark for his M.A. degree, and on to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he did a year of graduate work in U.S. history. From 1950-1952, he was a historian (civilian) for the U.S. Seventh Army, based in Stuttgart, Germany. On his return from Germany, he worked briefly as a reporter for the Providence Journal before coming to the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette in 1952 as an editorial writer. He was chief editorial writer for the newspapers from 1968 to his retirement in 1986. He has written numerous books and two librettos, and currently writes a weekly column about local history for the Worcester Telegram.
Books by Albert B. Southwick are usually available for purchase at the Worcester Historical Museum,
Annie's Book Stop, and the Food For Thought Bookstore & Café.
They may also be purchased via Amazon.com (links below).
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Once-Told Tales of Worcester County This fascinating collection of articles from the Worcester Telegram and Gazette provides an entertaining and illuminating look at Worcester's rich history. From the first lawsuit, through the woman's rights convention, to Emma Goldman's fiery speech in support of anarchy, Southwick shares his love and knowledge of Worcester County.
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More Once Told Tales of Worcester County A second volume of lively articles by the retired chief editorial writer for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. From Andrew Hakell Green,the man who oversaw the creation of New York's Central Park, to Major Taylor " the Black Whirlwind", the fastest bicycle racer in the world, Worcester was the home to an extraordinary array of individuals and events. |
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150 Years of Worcester: 1848-1998 In 150 Years of Worcester: 1848-1998 , Albert B. Southwick commemorates Worcester's official incorporation as a city in 1848 by recounting history from then to the present. |
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The Molasses Act - Source of Precedents Albert Southwick examines the Molasses Act of 1733 in colonial America, and how it, and other acts of the British Parliament, set the stage for the American Revolution. |
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WWII
Correspondence between Albert B. Southwick and Maple Hill Farm: February
to June 1942
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WWII Letters from Albert B. Southwick to Maple Hill Farm: June 1942 - May 1943 (Volume II) Young sailor Albert (now 22 years old) details his experiences at US Naval Air Training Stations in Jacksonville FL, Norfolk VA, Moffett Field and Alameda CA, New Orleans and Natchitoches LA. |
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WWII
Letters from Albert B. Southwick to Maple Hill Farm: Volume III: May 1943
- August 1944 |
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WWII Letters from Albert B. Southwick to Maple Hill Farm: September 1944 to November 1945 This fourth volume of Albert Southwick's war letters takes us to the end of the war. Young naval aviation pilot Albert, now 24 years old, writes home from Florida (Jacksonville), Kansas (Hutchinson), Illinois (Chicago), Washington (Seattle and Whidbey Island), Oregon (Grants Pass) and Alaska (the Aleutian Islands: Shemya, Attu and Kodiak).
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Down on the Farm: Volume I (1956 - 1958) This collection of richly detailed essays, written between 1956 and 1958, recount the author's boyhood growing up on a New England farm in the 1920s and 30s. |
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Down on the Farm: Volume II (1959 - 1960) This collection of reminiscences, written originally in 1959 and 1960 for the "Feature Parade" in Worcester's Sunday Telegram, recount the author's boyhood growing up on a New England farm in the 1920s and 30s. |
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Down on the Farm: Volume III (1961 - 1962) This collection of reminiscences, written originally in 1961 and 1962 for the "Feature Parade" in Worcester's Sunday Telegram, recount the author's boyhood growing up on a New England farm in the 1920s and 30s. |
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Down on the Farm: Volume IV (1962 - 1964) A fourth and final volume of reminiscences, written originally between 1962 and 1964 for the "Feature Parade" in Worcester's Sunday Telegram, recount the author's boyhood growing up on a New England farm in the 1920s and 30s. Also included in this volume is "New England Around the Year", a small collection of Albert Southwick's articles from the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette from the late 1950s.. |
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Selected
Writings: Volume I Local historian, long-time journalist and (at the age of 94) weekly columnist for the Worcester (MA) Telegram & Gazette, Albert B. Southwick drapes a historical perspective over today's hot-button topics. This collection of Southwick's Greatest Hits, edited by daughter Martha Jean Southwick, includes speeches, essays and even a eulogy to Brother Tom. |
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Selected
Writings: Volume II This collection of Southwick's Greatest Hits Volume II, selected and compiled by daughter Martha J. Southwick, includes talks, articles and even a sermon on grief held at the First Unitarian Church in Worcester. |
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Selected
Writings: Volume III From a defense of Davy Crockett to the lessons learned from Worcester’s 1953 tornado; from Irish stereotypes to an outstanding native American; and from the first root canal to the birth control pill, Albert B. Southwick has, throughout his career, had something worthwhile to add to our understanding of history and current affairs. Selected Writings Volume III contains dozens of thoughtful examinations of fascinating issues, many as relevant today as when they were first written. |
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The Wailing Wall: An American journalist's reports from the Middle East in 1967 In June of 1967, Israel waged a pre-emptive six-day war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan. When the dust settled, Israel had seized the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. In September of that year, Albert B. Southwick of the Worcester Telegram and Evening Gazette in central Massachusetts visited many key sites in the Middle East and sent reports home about the changing political and military situation. |
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Leicester Recollections Local historian and life-long Leicester resident Albert B. Southwick, born in 1920, has gathered in this volume his reminiscences about Leicester, its people, its villages and buildings. Illustrated with over 50 images, Leicester Recollections is a delightful tale that is sure to stir the memories of those who have shared many of Mr. Southwick's decades in that town, and will be a rich source of interest and detail for those who have not. |
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Leicester Notables Albert B. Southwick, local historian and life-long Leicester resident, has brought together in this volume the stories of many of the noteworthy people who helped shape Leicester over the centuries since its founding as a community. Their tales are as unique as the town they helped shape. |
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Maple Hill: History & Memories Maple Hill Farm is nestled in the northeast corner of the town of Leicester in Massachusetts. More than two centuries of Earles and Southwicks have lived on or near this property, and if the walls could talk, there would be no end to the tales they could tell. Albert B. Southwick spent his formative years at Maple Hill Farm, and has known many of those people and their stories. In this volume, he brings together history and his own memories to capture the story of a family and their home. |
The following books by Albert B. Southwick are long out of print and only available from second-hand book shops/sellers.
Click the cover image to search on Amazon.com, or click the book title to search on ABEbooks.com.
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The Journals of Stephen C. Earle, 1853-1858
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The Worcester Club at One Hundred Years : In Celebration of Its Founding on April 10, 1888
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The Johnson Family of Hyde Park and Sag Harbor
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Albert Southwick's newest book, Maple Hill: History & Memories,
is now available on Amazon!
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Albert Southwick has a Wikipedia entry!
" For more than half a century Worcester area residents have been the beneficiaries of Al Southwick's engaging words
as an editorial writer, historian, storyteller and community observer."
-- William D. Wallace
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" Al, I read your column regularly and I just love the way you tell the story.
It is almost like we are sitting around a fire, talking and having a great time.
Your style is unique and I enjoy it very much. Thank you for not letting history die.
Fade it will, but it should never die."
-- "Looking at The Sunrise", January 2015
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"I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoyed reading your letters from WWII ...
Part of that was reading of the trials and tribulations of life in the service and the connection to life back on the farm
while you were serving ... far from home. More important were the inner feelings you expressed
about the meaning of freedom, that people of color should enjoy the same rights and privileges as everyone else.
That was not a popular or easy stand to take when so many, including some of your siblings,
felt segregation was justified and right. That took courage."
-- Denny LaForce
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"Thank you, Mr. Southwick, for your always-interesting columns, for continuing to inform the public about our history,
for being an inspiration to young people, and for knowing the difference between “jerry-built” and “jury-rigged.”
-- Nicole Apostola
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"To read this first volume of "Down on the Farm" columns is to take a journey back to the first half of the twentieth century.
Southwick's columns remind us that in many ways life may be easier now, though in our mad dash toward tomorrow
we risk forgetting the simple things that matter most."
"Readers of this new volume ('Selected Writings, Volume I'), like those who enjoy his newspaper columns, will come away enriched and edified
from their time spent following the interesting byways of Mr. Southwick's writing … the inclusion of 'Volume I' in the title leaves one hopeful
that we may look forward to a further volume by and by."
-- Kenneth Peterson
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"For decades I have looked forward to reading Mr. Southwick's great articles.
I count them as one of the most important parts of the paper. Thanks, a million, Albert."
-- Rev. Thomas McKeown
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"Happy Birthday Uncle Albert. Your columns and books have brought back so many memories for me
of my trips to Maple Hill. The swinging on the barn rope and the hay loft, playing tennis on the clay court
with Eggy and Ralph, catching frogs in the small water hole behind the barn, and rowing the boats on the big pond.
Then there was Grandpa Southwick at the head of the supper table slicing the bread and lofting each slice like a Frisbee
to whomever requested it, then retiring to the t.v. room at the end of the hallway. I can still recall the smell of hot maple syrup in the air
and the fresh sawdust from the lumber mill. I think my mom and
dad spent days cleaning my clothes and the car from all the sawdust
I accumulated rolling in the piles. I was happy to see the article about Aunt Ann, what a wonderful person she is.
Again, Happy Birthday and as Bob Hope always said, 'Thanks for the Memories'."
-- Stephen Southwick
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"I just want to say how much I always enjoy Albert Southwick's columns. As someone who is not native to the area,
I find them very informative about the area and its history. They are always a joy to read, whether it's about
teaching a calf to suckle or Worcester's 'path to the sea' about the Blackstone Canal. May he be a part of
our Thursday Telegram & Gazette for many years to come."
-- Felicia McLaughlin
