In the 1940’s I got my elementary education at the Bigelow School on West Fourth St. in Southie. I was taught by a cadre of dedicated teachers who were determined that I receive the best education the City of Boston could provide. In addition to the day to day classes we occasionally wandered off campus to other venues so as to broaden our education. My favorite then as now was the Museum of Fine Arts on Huntington Avenue. I was always disappointed when we were called to leave. The School did us a great favor by exposing us to what the City had to offer.
As a result I was always tuned to what might be available. In 1947 just such an event presented itself. It was announced that a train would be touring the entire country with exhibits on board such as the original notice of the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, letters signed by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, the original English Magna Carta etc.—over 120 documents in all. My family agreed to take me and off we went to South Station. The train was known as the “Freedom Train.” It was painted red, white and blue and guarded by a squadron of marines in Dress blue uniforms.
As a young boy of 12 I was quite impressed. We had studied about all the events of the Revolutionary War and of our Founding Fathers and here before me were some of the actual documents. It made our history classes come alive. When I went to the Bigelow I thought it was an interruption to my play time with my friends. It was only later that I realized how much the School meant to me.
