LeBlanc to receive Lucy Stone Achievement Award

WEST BROOKFIELD - The Quaboag Historical Society, in recognition of the Commonwealth’s designated “Lucy Stone Day” on March 8, has announced the recipient of the annual Lucy Stone Achievement Award honoring one of West Brookfield’s most renowned citizens. This year the award will be presented to Richard “Tabby” LeBlanc of North Brookfield. He has been actively involved in providing and overseeing a variety  of sports programs for the youth of North Brookfield for over 30 years; successfully providing a positive and inspiring environment for the participants to develop healthy social, mature traits. He received several nominating letters for the North Brookfield residents; aware and very appreciative of his work in providing a means for young people to learn the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, and providing motivation for each player to strive to reach their highest potential. Leblanc will be honored at the Historical Society’s Annual Meeting Luncheon on Sunday, May 1, 2011. The Luncheon is to be held at the Salem Cross Inn, Route 9, West Brookfield from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The  price per person is $25 payable before April 22, due when the reservation is made. The event is open to the public. Other nominees considered for this year’s award were: Mrs. Lucy Beeman, Brookfield; Mrs. Lee Lyons, West Brookfield; Mr. Bill J. Simpson, Brookfield; and  Mr. and Mrs. Howard Ziff, New Braintree.

Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield on Aug. 13, 1818. She was one of the first women in Massachusetts to receive a four-year college degree. After graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio, she returned to the Commonwealth to work as a lecturer for the abolitionist movement in the years prior to  the Civil War. She expanded her activist efforts to include work in the 19^th century crusade to obtain equal rights for all persons. She established “The Woman’s Journal”, which became the foremost woman’s suffrage newspaper of the time. When she died in October 1893, her last words to her

daughter Alice were “Make the world better.” The Quaboag Historical Society has used those words as a guideline for recognizing and honoring a resident of the Quaboag Plantation area who has given outstanding volunteer services within the community. Previous winners of the Lucy Stone Achievement Award are: Mrs. Connie Small (1999, New Braintree), Mr. Paul Walker (2000, New Braintree), Mrs. Gertrude Hill (2001, West Brookfield), Mrs. Jane Dolan (2002,  Warren), Mr. Richard Fiske (2003, North Brookfield), Mr. Philip Peirce (2004, Brookfield), Mr. Ron Couture  (2005, Brookfield), Mr. Joseph Craig, Jr. (2006, New Braintree) and Mr. John J. Murphy (2006, West Brookfield), Mr. Robert Wilder (2007, Brookfield), Mrs. Suzanne Lewandowski (2008, North Brookfield), Mrs. Barbara Clancy (2009, Brookfield), and Linda Jean Carpenter (2010, West Brookfield).

The program speaker for the luncheon will be Ms. Christie J. Higginbottom, Research Historian and Garden History Consultant at Sturbridge Village. Her illustrated talk is titled “Native Plants in the Early Nineteenth Century Garden”. Early settlers to the New England incorporated Native American flowering plants and shrubs with the cuttings and seeds they brought with them when the immigrated to the new, unexplored land where they were to live. The combination of plantings resulted in charming and productive gardens, attracting the eye and satisfying the soul. The Quaboag Historical Society Annual Meeting Luncheon is open to the public. Anyone interested in attending the luncheon may send a reservation request with a check for $25 to the Quaboag Historical Society, P.O. Box 635, West Brookfield, MA 01585-0635. Menu choices are: Yankee Pot Roast of Beef, Baked Scrod, or

Vegetarian Plate. Pre-paid reservations must be received before Friday, April 22. Please send your name, address, phone number and menu choice with your check. Information concerning luncheon reservations may be obtained by calling the Historical Society luncheon chairman, Marguerite M. Geis, at 413-436-9212.