Lost in the Woods
A few months back, Society President Matthew T. Page set off on a long walk to explore some of the town conservation land west of Arline Drive and east of Haverhill Street. Here is what he found.
Criss-crossed by trails, the area south of Marblehead Street shows us what North Reading might have looked like before colonial settlement. The forest preserve even contained a massive boulder cliff (pictured) with an overhang that no doubt sheltered indigenous people in the centuries before Europeans seized their lands.
Not many people realize that this area is known as the Ives Memorial Forest. An eight-acre tract of town land (see maps below), it is named after Richard “Dick” Ives. A much loved local Scout Leader, Ives died suddenly aged 47 in March 1968, leaving behind his wife Barbara, daughter Marilyn, and sons Kenneth and Donald.
Known for his scouting prowess (he received Massachusetts’ outstanding scout leader award in 1962), Ives also served on the Town Conservation Commission for several years and was an active member of the Union Congregational Church. Born in Wakefield, Ives served in the Air Force during WWII. In 1950, he moved to 158 Central Street in North Reading, commuting to Lawson Manufacturing in Peabody where he worked as an engineer.
As one of his former scouts recently recalled:
“When I was a young Boy Scout in North Reading in 1968, my troop had a wonderful young Scout Leader named Richard B. Ives. One night after one of our troop meetings, he went home and died suddenly of a massive heart attack. The community was shocked and saddened by his sudden passing. My dad, a banker, set up a collection fund to buy and maintain some town-owned land where Mr. Ives’ Scout troop often camped, hiked and earned their outdoor skills.”
To this day, Ives’ life and legacy is commemorated by a bronze plaque set into a massive boulder that was dedicated on June 1, 1969. An article on the front page of the North Reading Transcript that week described the gathering:
The Richard B. Ives Memorial Forest was dedicated Sunday with over a hundred present to witness the dedication. Gordon Mills, Chairman of the Memorial Committee and Conservation Commission Chairman, acted as Master of Ceremonies…The formation of a Memorial Committee led by Gordon Mills and Whit Caldwell resulted in the establishment of the Memorial Forest in just about a year’s time. The aims of the committee (now a corporation) is best said in the first paragraph of [its official purpose]:
“To perpetuate the memory of Richard B. Ives. And in so doing, further increase, foster and promote the general welfare of adult supervised organized youth groups who emphasize outdoor activity and training through practical experience. To create, perpetuate, support, cause an awareness and excitement of interest in nature, our woodlands and natural resources.”
A view of a cellar pit in the Ives Memorial Forest.
While exploring the Ives Forest, I also stumbled across an old cellar pit (pictured above). Nearby there was a monument to Joan Ellen Backman—a plaque with a rusting flag pole—surrounded by painted rocks left by caring neighbors too young to have known Joan.
Some of you reading this may remember Joan (pictured below). She graduated NRHS in 1964 and went on to work at MIT while she was taking night classes at BU. She also died suddenly in November 1968, just 22 years old. A devoted member of the North Reading Girl Scouts, Ellen was also an incredibly talented singer. It was touching to run across her memorial, even though it is now—quite literally—lost in the woods.
This simple wander through North Reading’s conservation land revealed the stories of two remarkable people who left their mark on our town and whose memories linger on away from our everyday view.
Joan Ellen Backman
It is our privilege to share Dick and Joan’s stories with you. They are a good reminder of how important local historical societies can be as a way of bearing witness to our neighbors’ everyday lives. Even as one generation replaces another and notionally “permanent” markers rust away, groups like the North Reading Historical and Antiquarian Society help keep our townpeoples’ stories alive.
