MILTON — When we recently posted a photograph on Bill’s Facebook page asking for help in identifying people in a photograph, we got a great response. A few dozen comments and a dozen shares of the post with our notes, not only corrected some of our notes, but showed us a few things we hadn’t seen.
The original post: “Calling all history buffs and eagle-eyed news hounds. Bill Brett’s friend Bob McAuliffe has this photo that was taken by his father, Dr. Eugene McAuliffe, from his office at 486 Adams Street in East Milton Square. It is of General Douglas MacArthur as he drove through Milton in July 1961. Here is Bill’s question: Can anyone identify the man in the black car?”
Turns out, that the notes with the photo conflated two visits by the General. The visit depicted in the posted picture is from 1951. We know this because people were able to trace the make and model of the car, the type/style of the license plate, and even the trees and traffic pattern on Adams Street.
We also got several answers for who was seated with General MacArthur in the car, then US Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. On this visit to the Commonwealth, the General toured several locations, including the Arsenal in Watertown. For another look at that, click here.
Also, one commentor noticed a Cavalier King Charles dog in the back seat of the black car. Wow.
A note: MacArthur did visit Boston in 1961 and was driven through Milton on his way down the Cape for a lunch with President Kennedy. We think the two visits were mixed up in the notes.
Thank you, everyone, for a fun look at Boston’s history.
Photo by Dr. Eugene McAuliffe.
