Because of my grandparent’s interest, when I was a child, my parents took me to visit the Workmen’s Circle Camp in Ashland, Massachusetts a few times. (I didn’t even remember it was in Ashland until some relatives just reminded me where it was.)
I have done a little web research and have come up with a few items. Does any reader have anything else to add?
Ashland Historical Society – Workmen’s Circle
I say the Workmen’s Circle’s past is complex because until 1979, there was not a lot of documentation available from a single source until Gordon E. Hopper who wrote “Hopper on History” from the Milford Daily News researched the area extensively and published a series of articles for the News in 1979. Working with people with first hand knowledge of the area, the Ashland Historical Society, and others, Hopper compiled a 41 page summary of the events of the area from 1720 to 1979. It is not my intention to go into every detail of Hopper’s research due to the vastness of space required, so I will attempt the Reader’s Digest version.
Guide to the Records of Boston Workmen’s Circle-Brookline, Mass., undated, 1927-1999
In 1927, the Boston District bought land in Ashland, Massachusetts, where it established the Golden Ring camp. In 1957, the Ashland camp was destroyed in a fire and moved to Pembroke, Massachusetts. This camp was modeled on New York’s summer camp and resort in Hopewell Junction, New York.
American Jewish Historical Society Center for Jewish History
“The Workmen’s Circle is my Jewish community because it allows me to express all the different aspects of my Jewish identity in one place. It’s where I act for change while being part of a larger, inter-generational community.”