Plot Synopsis (as of April 1925)
Nina Louise Winn is a 48-year old single woman, born April 8, 1877 in Arlington. Her family date going back to the Colonial era in the town. Her eldest brother, George Albert Winn, is her only surviving sibling. He operates the Winn farm, which is located on approximately 20 acres extending from the northwest corner of Mystic and Summer streets, where George took a corner of the property to build a “gasoline” filling station (the site of today’s Gulf service station). George and his family reside at Nina’s childhood home at 146 Mystic St. (no longer extant). The Winn farm grew produce for the Boston market (thus would be termed a “market garden” or “truck farm”), and is one of just a handful of such farms, which formerly predominated the Arlington landscape. Celery was still one of Arlington’s agricultural claims to fame and generally is a profitable crop for the Winns.
Nina set up housekeeping on her own in YEAR. She resides in half of a duplex house (one of several dwellings owned by the Winn family) at 37 Summer St. (still standing). Her aunt-by-marriage, Sarah Daniels Winn resides in the other half, which she owns independently (making the structure essentially a condominium). At 57 Summer St. is the home of Nina’s aunt Susanna Adams Winn (b. ), which is the Winn ancestral homestead (still standing). Nina shorthand for these homes is 37, 57, and 146.
In 1917, Nina began to work as a part-time library assistant at Robbins Library. Denied promotion there (note: she did not posses even a high school diploma), at age YEAR she took her first full-time job in 1920 at the Somerville Public Library, where the assistant head librarian was Edith Hayes. A quick learner who could handle a large volume of work and be effective in a variety of settings (school library work, reference desk, branch library assignments), she left Somerville without having another job lined up.
Nina’s next role was at Waltham Public Library in 1922, which led her to rent a room there to stay overnight most days of the week, as a daily commute via public transportation was impractical. She met Hilda Olsen, then a YEAR teacher of natural history and gardening in the Waltham public school system, who contributed material for library displays on flora and fauna. Nina, an inveterate lover of the outdoor life, quickly formed a friendship with the younger and phenomenally energetic Hilda. Through Hilda, Nina met Martha Drake, the unmarried daughter in the home where Hilda is a boarder. At first Martha viewed Nina as a rival for Hilda’s friendship, but later developed a friendship with Nina that beyond the triangle with Hilda. Eventually, YEAR Marjorie Warren of Waltham creates a steady foursome of female friends. It is significant to note that the appearance of Hilda Olsen in the life of Nina came at a time not long after the deaths of Nina’s two closest and lifelong friends: Vida Damon (who drowned following a heart attack ____________, and Eleanor “La” Prentiss, who was a third-degree cousin of Nina’s from Belmont and who died at age ___ in ______ after a brief illness with
In the summer of 1924 Nina was hired by Edith Hayes, who by then was head librarian of Framingham Public Library, to be the assistant librarian (versus a “library assistant”). Nina is essentially a number-two at Framingham, although her job focus is in cataloguing and communications (bulletins, displays, etc.). She rents a room in Framingham a couple of miles from the library.
Nina attended grammar school at the Russell School in Arlington, and then kept house for her widowed father (Nina’s mother died when she was three years old) and her unmarried brother, at 146 Mystic St. (no longer extant). After her father died she was part of the household of her brother and his bride, Mabel, from 1908 until 1912. Their housing needs of George and Mabel’s growing family led Nina to move to the Winn family homestead at 57 Summer St. (still standing), with her two maiden aunts, Susanna Adams Winn and Sarah Georgianna Winn (died YEAR). At age XX, Nina moved into a home of her own when she took over half of the duplex dwelling at 37 Summer St. that was collectively owned by the Winn family. In the other half of the duplex resides her aunt, Sarah Daniels Winn, the widow of Nina’s uncle Albert Winn. Sarah D. Winn owns her unit in the duplex outright, thus as a condominium.
