THE NEXT TIME YOU ARE IN THE STEEPLE MARKET AND WALK UP TO THE MEAT COUNTER/DELI AND ASK FOR A POUND OF HAMBURG, A PIZZA, A GRINDER OR THE SPECIAL OF THE DAY
REMEMBER THAT
38 YEARS AGO - A DIFFERENT STORY

The area where the meat counter & deli are was then the Altar and Sacristry, which had been added to the original Church of St. Mary Magdalene around 1913, later to be called St. Luke Church. Local parishioners had just gotten together and rennovated the church, each one pitching in with their own special talent, each one with the intent that this place of worship would be theirs for many years to come.

When the church was built between 1870 and 1876, there were concerns about a possible flood, thus the decision was to tear down what they had built and rebuild it approximately three to four feet higher than it was originally. The flood of 1927 came along and did considerable structural damage. Father Couture from Milton covered St. Luke Parish in Fairfax along with Milton for 14 years, from 1929 to the fall of 1943 and made some much needed repairs, however, in the 1980s, the structure was found to be unsafe as a church. Suggestions were made to put long steel rods to hold the walls near the ceiling, but it was felt that this would not make for a great looking church. The building was sold to Frank & Betsy Berardinelli who solved the problem by installing a second floor which made the building structurally sound again and could be used for apartments upstairs and the store downstairs.

(Unfortunately I did not identify any place as to who I got the above photo from, but it most likely came from either the Lavallee Family in Westford or Steve & Pauline Ratte who have helped me so much with old photos that I would not otherwise have)

Henry A. Raymond
vtgrandpa@yahoo.com
July 18, 2003