Dublin Core
Title
In Memoriam: Paul V. Boothroyd
Description
The Maynard Historical Society is mourning the loss of our fellow keeper of Maynard's history, Paul Boothroyd, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 88.
Born and raised on Great Road in Maynard (Class of '57), Paul was just 4 years old when, as America's involvement in World War II was ramping up, the United States government acquired over 3000 acres of land for an ammunition dump. forcing many families and farms to abandon their homes and leaving an indelible mark on the town he would spend the rest of his life in.
With his wife Kathy, Paul established a home along the banks of the Assabet River where they raised their family and established a real estate business. Somewhere along the way Paul developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the town's history, which came in handy in his line of work as the history of nearly every home, building, and tract of land in town was was on the tip of his tongue. This unique knowledge of the Town was immensely valued for the many years Paul served the Town as a member (and chair) of the Maynard Historical Commission.
A long-time member of the Maynard Historical Society, Paul was frequently at the head of the meeting room giving presentations. (Paul was soft-spoken, so thank goodness for our PA system.) While he spoke on a wide variety of topics, a common thread could be seen over the years: he had built relationships with, and gathered stories from the people who were affected by the forced relocation of the Ammo Dump. Paul remained a voice for the farmers and families who were disconnected from their day-to-day lives so many years ago, as those very people either moved away or passed on -- and he told their stories.
When the Ammo Dump became the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Paul championed the acknowledgement of its WW2 history, including building a diorama that was on display in the Visitor Center. He also led multiple (and very popular) history-related bus tours of the Refuge -- including the bunkers.
This multi-decade thread manifested itself in 2023 when Paul, with his sons Paul Jr. and Todd, published his book titled "The Ammo Dump: A Taking of Heritage". (Go buy a copy!)
Along the way Paul co-authored three other Images of America books with Lewis Halprin:

Assabet Mills (1999)
Maynard, Massachusetts (1999)
Maynard (Postcard History Series, 2006)
When Ralph Sheridan, the primary founder of the Maynard Historical Society, passed away in 1996, Paul took on the mantle of Maynard's Town Historian. For those of us on the research team that have been curating the Society's collection over the past 17 years, Paul was an invaluable resource and cherished colleague and friend. We know he had so many more stories to tell and we mourn that loss to our organization and to the history of Maynard.
On behalf of the Maynard Historical Society
Dave Griffin
President
Born and raised on Great Road in Maynard (Class of '57), Paul was just 4 years old when, as America's involvement in World War II was ramping up, the United States government acquired over 3000 acres of land for an ammunition dump. forcing many families and farms to abandon their homes and leaving an indelible mark on the town he would spend the rest of his life in.
With his wife Kathy, Paul established a home along the banks of the Assabet River where they raised their family and established a real estate business. Somewhere along the way Paul developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the town's history, which came in handy in his line of work as the history of nearly every home, building, and tract of land in town was was on the tip of his tongue. This unique knowledge of the Town was immensely valued for the many years Paul served the Town as a member (and chair) of the Maynard Historical Commission.
A long-time member of the Maynard Historical Society, Paul was frequently at the head of the meeting room giving presentations. (Paul was soft-spoken, so thank goodness for our PA system.) While he spoke on a wide variety of topics, a common thread could be seen over the years: he had built relationships with, and gathered stories from the people who were affected by the forced relocation of the Ammo Dump. Paul remained a voice for the farmers and families who were disconnected from their day-to-day lives so many years ago, as those very people either moved away or passed on -- and he told their stories.
When the Ammo Dump became the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, Paul championed the acknowledgement of its WW2 history, including building a diorama that was on display in the Visitor Center. He also led multiple (and very popular) history-related bus tours of the Refuge -- including the bunkers.
This multi-decade thread manifested itself in 2023 when Paul, with his sons Paul Jr. and Todd, published his book titled "The Ammo Dump: A Taking of Heritage". (Go buy a copy!)
Along the way Paul co-authored three other Images of America books with Lewis Halprin:

Assabet Mills (1999)
Maynard, Massachusetts (1999)
Maynard (Postcard History Series, 2006)
When Ralph Sheridan, the primary founder of the Maynard Historical Society, passed away in 1996, Paul took on the mantle of Maynard's Town Historian. For those of us on the research team that have been curating the Society's collection over the past 17 years, Paul was an invaluable resource and cherished colleague and friend. We know he had so many more stories to tell and we mourn that loss to our organization and to the history of Maynard.
On behalf of the Maynard Historical Society
Dave Griffin
President
Source
Photo of Paul at a 2003 MHS Meeting held in Town Hall