Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/491440
240 | MAY + JUNE 2015 nshoremag.com 4:30 A.M. fun facts 500 The Shoe Medallion at the Lynn Museum & Historical Society was made for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The medallion, a one-of-a-kind piece, is made up of 234 sample leather shoe lasts that represent the number of shoe manufacturers present in the city at that time; a great increase from the 135 ten-footer shoe shops that were ubiquitous throughout the city from 1750–1850. The medallion was not meant to survive the World's Fair, as is evident from the picket fence post that covers the entire back of the object. Factory bells once dominated life in Lowell. They woke mill workers at 4:30 a.m., called them into the mill at 4:50 a.m., rang for breakfast, rang for dinner, and rang again at 7 p.m. at the day's close. The whole city moved together to keep the mills running. The candy-making equipment at Prides Crossing Confections includes old-fashioned copper kettles, hand- forged funnels, metal blades, and manual saltwater taffy cutters—all of which are over 100 years old. Each batch of the Salem Beer Works' Watermelon Ale contains 500 pounds of watermelon. THE FIRST BUSINESS TELEPHONE CALL WAS PLACED IN HAVERHILL. IN THE 1870S, ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL VISITED LEATHER MERCHANT THOMAS SANDERS, WHOSE DEAF SON WAS ONE OF BELL'S STUDENTS. SANDERS SUPPLIED BELL WITH MOST OF THE MONEY HE NEEDED TO DEVELOP THE TELEPHONE.