... that in 1920, the shops of Lincoln were filled with new Americans, speaking more than a dozen languages?
Imagine your errands on a Saturday in 1920, at the bustling center of business in South Lincoln, near the railroad station. Perhaps you brought a tire for repair at the garage “opposite the Depot” run by Matthias Doherty (parents born in Ireland). Maybe you had a tool to be mended at the blacksmith shop of Daniel MacAskill (immigrant from Canada). Ahead of you in line, picking up a harrow blade, is Manuel Silva (from Portugal). Then off to get your groceries at Henry Grimwood’s (immigrant from England). Fresh milk from his farm has just been delivered by Martin Sharkan (immigrant from Russia). You chat a bit with Grace Danner (from England), whose husband John (from Estonia) is a U.S. Navy officer and away at sea. Outside, two horsemen from Henry Higginson’s estate are having a good-humored argument—except that Peter Nelsen (from Denmark) can barely understand Joseph Ragski (from Poland).
Nearby, three servant women—Bertha Dahlstrom (from Sweden), Anna Poulson (from Norway), and Felisata Margenelli (from Italy)—are swapping gossip about their wealthy employers. You used to hear Philip Harris’s wonderful Jamaican accent, as he waited for the train to Boston, but he and his wife Ida Tyler moved away after that terrible house fire.
Your last errand is at Marian L. Snelling’s Coal and Wood to get fuel delivered for your stove. Marian (from England) doesn’t have the best prices, which is why the town buys from Waltham Coal Company instead, but her shop is convenient.
No need to get lamp oil from Marian, however, now that Lincoln has finally allowed Edison Electric to string electricity wires to homes.
On your shopping trip, you might have heard the languages and accents of Lincoln residents from eighteen different countries. In 1920, foreign-born residents made up 23% of Lincoln’s adult population. The largest number were from Canada and the British Isles, but among them were also immigrants from places as remote as Chile, Croatia, and Lithuania. Add in the children of these immigrants, and the number of bi-lingual residents of Lincoln was impressive—all mingling and working together.
The Lincoln Historical Society