FITCHBURG — What can decades-old police records reveal about life in Fitchburg during the Great Depression? Quite a bit, according to local researchers Sally Cragin and Dr. Joseph Cronin, who have spent months examining thousands of pages of Fitchburg Police Department ledgers dating from 1930 to 1935.
The researchers will share their findings during “Police History During the Great Depression” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the Fitchburg Historical Society, 781 Main St. The program is free and open to the public.
Cragin, who is also a Fitchburg City Councilor-At-Large and Sentinel & Enteprise columnist, and Dr. Cronin focused on crimes large and small recorded in the newly acquired police ledgers. During the period they studied, petty crime increased, youth mischief escalated, while serious theft involving $50 or more declined.
“We were curious as to why there was such a stark difference in results during the Great Depression,” says Cragin. “The only way to get an answer was for me and Dr. Joe to slowly and painstakingly read every entry and take notes on patterns. We also researched the photographs of police officers of the era, so we will have a comprehensive look back for anyone interested in local history.”
Since January, the pair has worked their way through thousands of typed pages documenting crimes and incidents in Fitchburg.
“Some of these incidents will make you chuckle, such as the boy who misbehaved at the Cumings Theatre by sitting in the balcony and blowing pepper onto patrons seated below – pepper he admitted bringing from home,” Cragin said. “Other crimes are more serious and show the desperate straits people were in as well as the correlation between drunkenness and crime.”
The Fitchburg Historical Society received the police ledgers earlier this year. Fitchburg Police Chief Steven Giannini said the department was pleased to donate the records to the Historical Society for preservation.
“The Fitchburg Police Department is thrilled to be able to donate these records to the Fitchburg Historical Society, where we know they will be categorized and preserved in the manner that they deserve,” Giannini said. “This collection truly belongs to the community and I hope that they enjoy reading these passages and traveling back to a different period of time as much as I have.”
Cragin is a Fitchburg resident with deep roots in the community. A prize-winning journalist who wrote for the Boston Globe, she is currently a Fitchburg city councilor-at-large and is working on her third book.
Cronin is a retired dentist who leads the monthly “Poetry Readaloud” event at his residence, The Gables. He began researching at the Fitchburg Historical Society in 2021 and was honored for his work with a Local Star Award from the Massachusetts History Alliance. He is the author of The Last Narrowback, a memoir about growing up with his Irish family in Boston.
The presentation venue is fully handicapped accessible, with ample street parking.
For more information, visit fitchburghistoricalsociety.com, email welcome@ fitchburghistoricalsociety.com, or call 978-345-1157.
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