The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • P3

The Boston Globe Globe North 3 THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2010 News briefs Lincoln's boots made journey to Lynn High school learns local lore of artifacts if III artifacts be given to a "suitable government repository" if Clark did not claim them. Lincoln's boots remain today in the museum in Ford's Theatre, which along with the Petersen House is a national historic site run by the National Park Service. The Lincoln statue was donated to Lynn English by the class of 1934, apparently for reasons unrelated to the story of the boots. Ring came up with the idea of the restoration project last fall after noticing that the foyer looked run-down and that the statue was suffering from vandalism and neglect. "It's a beautiful room.

To see them both damaged and dirty and vandalized" was disheartening, he said. Bishop said he was thrilled with the project, which was made possible through donations by alumni, businesses, and others. In addition to restoring the appearance of the room, "hopefully, this will ensure that Lincoln's memory and what he stood for and what the war stood for will be remembered," he said. By JohnLaidler GLOBE CORRESPONDENT In 1865, following Abraham Lincoln's assassination, a federal employee from Lynn returned to his home city carrying the boots Lincoln had worn the night of his death. The Lynn resident, Justin Hatch, died in 1875.

But the boots remained in Lynn in the care of his family until 1947 when his granddaughter, Lynn English High School teacher Ruth Hatch, donated them to the museum at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. How Lincoln's boots and several other artifacts from his deathbed ended up in Lynn and what happened to them is a subject of rich historical lore in the city. But until recently, it was a story that seemed to be fading from the city's memory. That changed as a result of a Lynn English High School project to restore the Lincoln foyer located at the building's south entrance and a life-size statue of Lincoln that adorns it. At a May 10 ceremony to re-dedicate the statue and foyer, local historian Bob Marcotte re- Ruth Hatch of Lynn donated Lincoln's boots to the nation, handing them over to Irving C.

Root, head of the National Park Service Washington region, at Ford's Theatre on April 30, 1947. Bratwurst Knockwurst 1 42 Broadway, Saugus (Route i North) Hot Sweet Italian 781 233 3099 Smoked and Fresh Rielbasa www.karlssausage.com HF9-7TS9966 Smoked Pork Chops Aouille Stop in to sample our authentic German Bratwurst Friday 11-4 pm Saturday 11-4 pm coin's elderly former valet stopped by the house one day asking to see the boots, and is said to have wept when he was shown them. As a child, Ruth Hatch would bring the boots to school to let her classmates "tromp around in them," Marcotte said. As a teacher at Lynn English, she would bring the boots to school around Lincoln's birthday each year to show her history students. In 1947, when Ruth Hatch was moving from the family's home on Summer Street to a new apartment on Franklin Street, frames containing the clipping of Lincoln's hair and the bloodied piece of towel were inadvertently mixed in with the trash and were discarded.

The mishap apparently convinced Hatch it was time to donate the boots to a museum. Marcotte said she would also have been mindful of her grandfather's desire that any surviving As a teacher at Lynn English, Ruth Hatch would bring the boots to school around Lincoln's birthday each year to show her history students. RUG CLEANING CALL FOR PICK-UP 781-665-8885 Specializing in Oriental rug cleaning and restoration. Hand washed only to ensure perfection. Every type of area rug cleaned.

Drop off or call now for pick-up. him in 1976 to track down and interview Ruth Hatch, who then summered in Hamilton. Marcotte said he learned that Justin Hatch was a federal treasury employee in Washington during the war who also worked in his spare time for a Massachusetts agency that assisted wounded soldiers from the state who were recuperating in Washington hospitals. During that time, Justin Hatch befriended William Tilton Clark, a Massachusetts soldier detailed to Army headquarters in Washington, who was also a coworker with him at the Massachusetts agency. It was to Clark's room in the Petersen boarding house across the street from the theater that Lincoln was taken after he was shot.

Clark moved out of his room shortly after the assassination, taking Lincoln's boots and other artifacts apparently left behind by a messenger who had stopped by to retrieve Lincoln's belongings. Clark gave those artifacts which also included Lincoln's socks, a clipping of his hair, and a bloodied piece of towel to Hatch as collateral for a loan. Hatch returned to his Summer Street home in Lynn that year intending to return the items to Clark if he ever repaid the loan. But Clark never returned and the Hatch family retained custody of the artifacts. Marcotte said there are many colorful tales relating to the artifacts during their years in Lynn.

One of them relates to the unfortunate fate of Lincoln's socks. At some point early on, Justin Hatch's wife, Caroline, fearful the socks would attract moths into the house, burned them in the fireplace. The Grand Army of the Republic, the organization of Union Civil War veterans, borrowed the boots to display at a national encampment in Chicago. P.T. Bar-num tried unsuccessfully to buy the boots from the family.

Lin- BILLERICA LOMBARDO GETS ENDORSEMENT Marc Lombardo, vice chairman of the Board of Selectmen and a candidate for state representative, has received the endorsement of Citizens for Limited Taxation. Lombardo has signed the taxpayer protection pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes" and instead try to better manage the state's limited revenues. CLT is urging Billerica voters to cast their ballots for Lombardo in the Republican primary on Sept. 14 and, if he wins, in the general election in November. BrendaJ.Buote LYNN I SENIOR HOUSING PLANNED The town last week completed a real estate transaction several years in the making, selling a 14-acre parcel behind the town-owned senior center and preschool building on Salem Street.

A purchase-and-sale agreement with Windsor Court, owned by the Lynnfield-based Monastiero family, was signed in 2005, but changes to state septic system regulations and other issues including a weaker real estate market delayed the process. The developer plans to turn the parcel into a senior housing development, and the town will receive $3.8 million once it is completed. David Rattigan NORTH READING JIMMY FUND GOLF TOURNAMENT The Horseshoe Grille is sponsoring the 25 th annual Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament, with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. on June 21 at the HilMew Country Club, 149 North St. Cost to golf is $150, with all proceeds going to the Jimmy Fund and North Reading Youth Services Support Association.

For more information on becoming a sponsor or playing in the tournament, contact Pat Lee at 978-664-3591 or register online at www.horseshoegrille.com. Bella Travaglini SOME RVI ACCESS VIOLATIONS AT ARMORY The state Architectural Access Board has found 18 code violations for accessibility to people with disabilities, said Terrel Harris, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The problems include signs, electronics, and entry. The armory has been "using paper signs and that's not allowed under the law," Harris said. The intercom system and assisted listening devices don't meet requirements, neither does a handrail.

The building's front entry is also out of compliance; a Somerville disability activist had filed a complaint about the slope of the ramp. "We have had people use the facility in wheelchairs," said Debra McLaughlin, part of the armory's programming team. "To my knowledge no one has been denied access to the armory due to their disability." Armory co-owner Joseph Sater called the problems minor and said that many had already been fixed. "On the door, you had this paper signage, they wanted us to paste numbers we've done that already." He's also fixed non-compliant bathroom signs. Activists are urging the Somerville Arts Council to move a Saturday fund-raiser to a fully accessible location.

Danielle DreUinger WINTHROP TOWNWIDE YARD SALE SET The Winthrop Chamber of Commerce is organizing its second annual townwide yard sale on June 19. The event, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine, is designed to give residents maximum exposure for their yard sales. For a $20 fee, residents can have their location included on printed and online maps for the event. In addition, the registration fee will provide participants with the delivery of balloons to their homes in the morning.

The town has agreed to waive the usual $5 yard sale permit fee. Last year's event featured more than 80 yard sales. For more information, go to www.winthrop-chamber.com or call 617-846-9898. JohnLaidler AROUND THE REGION TOPSFIELD STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL The town's annual Strawberry Festival and Craft Fair will be held June 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

on the town common, featuring homemade strawberry shortcake and various local farming exhibits on the Parson Capen House lawn. David Cogger Rainbow Mums Perennials 305 East Street, Carlisle, MA 1.800.677.MUMS counted the Lincoln boot story, drawing from his extensive research on the subject. A newly installed plaque in the foyer also tells about the boots. Tim Ring, a Lynn English High School teacher who spearheaded the privately-funded restoration, said he was thrilled that the effort could help rekindle interest in the city's unique connection to Lincoln. "History is a collection of little links like that, and when we find a link it's fun to chase it down and follow it where it leads," said Ring, who is also vice president of the Lynn Museum Historical Society.

Ring said he first learned of the boot story about 15 years ago when he attended a talk Marcotte gave about it. Hoping to revive the story as part of the restoration project, Ring contacted Marcotte through Dexter Bishop, president of the North Shore chapter of the Civil War Round Tables of Massachusetts. A 1966 Lynn English graduate who now lives in Peabody, Marcotte began looking into the Lincoln boot story after hearing about it in 1975. His efforts led Open for the Season! LANDSCAPE SIZE PERENNIALS Buy 10 get one free through 814 For 2010: Many selected choice perennials along with 10 varieties each ofHeuchera Perennial Qeraniums are at a special price in our unique HAPPY POTS 250 varieties of Perennials including: Echinacea Qaillardia, Leucanthemum, Helenium, Achillea, Sedum, Rudbeckia, Stokesia many more 85 varieties Ornamental Qrasses, 15 varieties exotic Ferns 12 varieties lush Astilbe many varieties Hydrangeas Spending more of this summer in your yard? Shouldn't it have more beautiful flowering Perennials, Shade I 1 1 HI 111' llL I you. You'll be amazed at how easily you'll be able to create a beautiful landscape, all on your own with our larger Our beautiful collection of Hosta for 2010 includes most sought after varieties without the big price tags! We have every Hosta of the Year since 1996 and about 100 other varieties.

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