Colonial Pride

By Bill – ABRHS 1981 Colonial

Graduating from the Acton-Boxborough school systems back in the 1980s, I am proud to call myself a Colonial. As it should be, the achievements of the founders of our town were and still should be a part of our culture.

The pride I feel as a Colonial covers what my student class and the faculty achieved, while being rooted in our historic identity. The Colonials, I was a member of, achieved a Flag award for academic excellence. Capturing national attention spotlighted the quality of our school system and gave me further pride to stand beside my fellow Colonials. This bond still exists between us today. While achieving this honor was a good thing; it also came with an important responsibility – maintaining our traditions.

If one only looked at a dictionary definition, the term “Colonial” is broad. In America, our Colonial era ran for a long time from the 1400s well into the 1700s. During this time, many things happened both good and bad. So, the term “Colonial” means many things to different people.

The dictionary defines a Colonial simply as the “residents of a colony.” These residents were very different from one another. Shot in the Boston Massacre on March 5^th, 1770, Crispus Attucks, a multi-racial seaman, was the first colonist killed in the American Revolution. Boston buried him as a Patriot. Sam Adams organized his burial procession to Faneuil Hall, where he laid in state for three days.

Colonials were also widely varied in their beliefs. If one drives across the area and looks at the old houses with their black brick rims around their white chimneys, you can see these Colonial residents had sharp splits in their beliefs. These chimneys signify that the original residents were “Tories” and loyal to the crown (England). As such, they would warmly welcome British Regulars (soldiers) into their homes. After-all these residents still considered themselves to be English.

As the Colonial timeframe covers such a long period and there is no single Colonial identity, how can anyone be offended by the term and how can I clearly associate myself with them? Fortunately, both our school system and the town of Acton provide us with a tighter focus of how we are using the term. While we had no central mascot at that time, the teams I passionately rooted for (particularly around Thanksgiving when we took on the Maynard Tigers) were associated with tri-corner hats and flintlock muskets. Additionally, Acton puts a large stone monument right at the center of its logo for the same man. As such, the “Colonial” is a big part of our local identity.

From this focus, the Colonial I associate myself with exists in the mid to late 1700s when we were forging our identity as Americans and trying to escape from oppressive taxation that kept us a lower `class of people from those who resided on the British continent. in some ways the stories about the Colonial sound like the headlines about today’s peaceful protesters. Why then take offense?

In a conversation with a fellow AB alum, I asked him what it meant to him to be a Colonial. He responded to me, “The Colonials had the courage to take on the biggest, most powerful and oppressive country in the world at that time. They then helped create one of the best countries the world has ever seen.”

Yes, nothing is perfect. Today, we see peaceful protest even in our own town center calling for correction. However, from the right to peacefully assemble to the freedom of speech,  “Colonials”, our founding fathers, understood this and built opportunities for our people to continually improve our country and our leadership right into the structure of our government – the grand Democratic experiment.

If the efforts of these Colonials built this country and my town that I call home, they are certainly worthy of my pride. The “Colonial” who is so deeply embedded in our local culture is a great icon for a high school student setting off to create their own identity. The Colonial I associate myself with was an ordinary person willing to make extreme sacrifices to address extraordinary challenges.

Let us look at the examples set by two long-standing local heroes – Captain Isaac Davis (Acton) and Private Luther Blanchard (Boxborough). They both served in the same company in Concord Massachusetts on the defining moment of April 19^th, 1775.

The statue of the man holding both a rifle and a plow on the “Colonial” side of  “the rude bridge that arches the flood” (Concord Hymn, Ralph Waldo Emerson, April 19th 1838), the obelisk in the center of Acton, and the tri-corner hats adorned at Leary Field (for former AB football coach Ed Leary) all refer to the same person, Captain Isaac Davis.

Born in West Acton Massachusetts, Isaac was an ordinary man. He practiced the trade of being a gunsmith. He was the father of four children (two boys and two girls). If history hadn’t intervened, he would have lived a perfectly happy life.

Unfortunately, to address the imposition of punitive taxes and martial law, in 1775, Isaac now found himself at the head of Acton’s newly formed militia of “Minutemen.” Davis took this responsibility very seriously. He set unusually high standards for his men in terms of equipment, training, and preparedness. 

Due to his men’s skill level, on the morning of April 19^th, 1775, Isaac found himself leading the advance. Isaac accepted this responsibility while having to push beyond the fear of having a premonition of his own death. Earlier that morning, Isaac found an owl perched on his musket. He went on to be the first American officer to die in the Revolution.

Acton commemorates his life by burying his body beneath Acton’s monument in the center of town (1851).

Also, in his company on the historic moment, was Private Luther Blanchard. Blanchard was an ordinary young man. He was 18 at the time (about my age when I graduated from high school). Born in what is now Boxborough (formerly Littleton), Luther was then learning the trade of masonry and living with Deacon Jonathan Hosmer in West Acton. Again, without history intervening, Luther would have led a productive life in this trade.

Used for morale and communication, Blanchard helped lead the Minutemen to battle as a fifer. Despite being shot twice (head and neck) at the bridge, Blanchard had the perseverance to continue in his role with the company all the way to Boston. Reportedly, he went on to die from these wounds much later during the revolution.

Boxborough now commemorates Blanchard in the center of their town seal and in their annual Fifer’s Day.

So, from Davis and Blanchard, we personify the Colonial. We can now see a little clearer why I am proud to be a Colonial. Their examples give me the character and courage to take on challenges. These ordinary men allow me to see how people like me, can rise to face “unsurmountable” odds. I gain an understanding of the importance of accepting responsibility and getting involved even when the costs are high. I have stories of courage and discipline. And, both my school and my town allowed me to feel connected to do this.

Unfortunately, time passes. Sometimes, change occurs so gradually that you may be unprepared for it. Based on the quality of our school systems, the demographics of our population have changed. Families, who are not native to the area move in while they have school aged children. The long-term residents of Acton and Boxborough failed to realize that these families were unfamiliar with what we value in our heritage.

As a result of our failure, the School Committee recently voted to abolish the use of the term “Colonials”, voting to override a decision of our Board of Selectmen. They did this at the students’ request as the largely transient student population felt this symbol did not represent their identity. Making this type of decision calls for high town representation, extensive review and debate (not possible during the pandemic). Going forward with this decision was a mistake. Our revolutionary history is a treasure that makes our towns unique. It is embedded in our local culture by more than two centuries. Breaking our association with the Colonial erases our history and causes an unwanted divide between our current student body and the Acton Boxborough alumni.

I believe the students’ decision reflects our failure (not theirs). We have not fully shared our culture with the families who have moved into our area. We just assumed the importance of those who created our towns would simply be readily apparent. Instead of changing our name, we should take this as our wake-up call to educate and promote the Colonial to everyone who calls Acton and Boxborough home for any time.

In closing, let me again say, “I am proud to be a Colonial!” Despite being lucky enough to have travelled the world, there is only one place I have ever called home. I was born in this small section of New England (Acton, Boxborough, Concord, and Lexington) and I plan to stay. This is the place where embattled farmers began America.

As a child, I can remember walking in their footsteps, trekking the 7.1 miles from Acton to Concord. When approaching the bridge from the road above, I found myself imagining what the Colonial must have felt. At the same time, my thoughts spanned across a wide range of feelings. First, I had fear as I realized I was about to take on the most highly trained army in the world. Yet, I had the excitement that if I was somehow successful, I was free to start a whole new world with the potential and promise of America. To honor the efforts and sacrifices of these ordinary people, the Colonials, I will defend and take pride in them. For as upon that defining moment in history, they summoned the courage to fire the “shot heard ‘round the world!” Won’t you stand with me and do the same?

NOTE: Image at top of story courtesy of D. Crocker

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