The snow, cold and ice have been steady companions this winter. Yet, as each day departs and another one begins, spring inches closer. Actually, the birds begin singing, snow banks start to dwindle, and even the sky looks brighter.
So, as we march into March, which by the way is the first month in the Roman calendar and named after Mars (a.k.a., Martius, the Roman god of war), here are some local and state March tidbits to ponder.
- On March 1, 1692, the Salem Witch Trials begin.
- On March 2, 1816, Alexander Hamilton Bullock, 26th Governor of Massachusetts, was born in the great City of Worcester.
- On March 4, 1634, I’ll Drink to That became the first tavern in the American colonies, and it opened in Boston! (Um, I’ll drink to that).
- On March 4, 1830, Massachusetts native and sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, returned to Washington after his presidential term to serve as Congressional representative.
- On March 5, 1770, five men were killed and six were injured in the infamous Boston Massacre.
- On March 8, 1979, Andy Ross, famous guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist, was born in Worcester.
- On March 12, 1888, the Great White Blizzard began and wreaked havoc in Massachusetts and other areas in the Northeast.
- On March 16, 1850, Scarlet Letter, penned by famed Massachusetts writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published.
- On March 16, 1911, esteemed sculptor and metal smith Joseph Skinger, was born in Worcester.
- On March 18, 1953, the National Baseball League approved the Boston Braves move to Milwaukee.
- On March 25, 1774, Parliament passed The Boston Port Bill, which closed Boston ocean traffic. The bill was enacted in response to the 90,000+ pounds of tea tossed in Boston Harbor (a.k.a., Boston Tea Party).
- On March 30, 1849, the Ordinance to Establish the Seal of Worcester City passed.
- On March 31, 1776, Abigail Adams, a Massachusetts native, penned a letter to her husband, John Adams, and urged him and fellow members of the Second Continental Congress to “remember the nation’s women as they fight for independence from Great Britain.”
There are many idioms associated with the month of March: mad as a March hare; when March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb; March Madness. Interestingly, March 1 is the first day of meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
Still, whatever weather plans await during this transitional month, hopefully warmth will be mixed in there somewhere. And, because most of us are ready to feel the sun on our skin, that will undoubtedly be a good thing!
