Unionville Museum - Unionville in the 1920s to 1960s

This week we are working hard to prepare for an exciting event which will take place this coming Sunday, October 27th.  “Growing Up in Unionville, 1920s - 1960s” proved to be a popular subject last winter when we hosted the first round of discussion on the subject during the Farmington Library’s “Our Town” series and we got lots of feedback that people had more to say on the subject. 

So we are getting out pictures from our previous exhibits to display during what we hope will be another lively discussion on the topic.  During this period Unionville began a long and slow process of moving from the busy and prosperous factory town it had become during the 1880-1920s period to the modern suburb of today. 

The 1920s were the last decade of the trolley, which was finally replaced by motorized buses in 1933, even as the increasing presence of automobiles began to offer more and more people independence from public transportation.  The Rotary made its appearance as the trolley tracks faded (will anyone at our discussion on Sunday know when the tracks were finally removed?  when the Rotary first appeared?). 

We all know about the financial woes of the 1930s but what were the specific effects here in Unionville?  How many of its businesses closed during the decade?  What was life in Unionville like during this period?  Perhaps some at Sunday’s discussion will remember where they were living, who their neighbors were and how people were making a living during these hard times. 

And how did things change during World War II?  The economy improved overall but many of our young men went off to war – what was the net effect on our factories?  And what about school during wartime?  A quick look at the Farmington High yearbooks of the period reveal many missing members from the graduating classes after 1940.  And not all of them were males – everyone is familiar with the increased role of women in factory work during this period (was that also true in Unionville factories?) but there were also many women who served in the military (who served from Unionville?). 

Children born just before and during the war grew up in 1950s Unionville – walking to Union School and then to the high school (were there school buses back then?).  What was Unionville like then?  There were still several large factories in operation (which ones were they?  what did they make?) but many wage earners now worked elsewhere (where?).  But downtown Unionville was still pretty lively – there was a movie theater and bowling alley and the Lion’s Club had provided the ultimate summer experience for the younger crowd.  But what else did people do?  What part did the Town Hall play in the social life of the village?  How did the disaster of the Flood of 1955 change things? 

Then in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s the Baby Boom made its appearance, causing the largest expansion yet of the school system.  Union School overcrowding caused the shift of the junior high classes first to the high school and eventually to an entirely new school in the “East Farms” section along with a new Unionville elementary school in the West District.  For the first time busing became widespread and after school activities now required a “late bus”.  But other activities such as Scouts and Camp Happy Hill and, of course, the Lion’s Pool, enhanced by the advent of the transistor radio, continued to tie at least the early Boomers to the village.  What other changes will people remember?  How did they affect life in Unionville?

Our village has changed since then.  It is not necessary (or useful) to spend time wringing our hands over what was lost but it is our obligation (and pleasure) to preserve our memories of these times for future generations.  Who will come and remember?