Nan Convery once used one for the head of a Halloween character after she cut out the eyes. Laurie Evans-Daly uses one whenever she drains bacon. Her husband, Dick, fills one with powdered sugar and newly made donuts, shakes it, pulls out a donut, and takes a delicious, powdery bite. Some even use one to cook a turkey. My husband - a loyal Red Sox fan - relates that during a losing streak at the end of the year, an occasional fan will punch two holes in one and wear it to the game. During festivals in some areas of the country, each one is filled with sand and a candle and then line a walkway on either side - the candles glowing from within. As for me - I could never wrap fish in a newspaper - especially the TAB - so I use one for this purpose. By now you've guessed. I'm referring to the square-bottomed paper bag. These bags, used throughout the world since their invention in 1870, had their beginnings in the state of Massachusetts.

Margaret E. Knight, born in 1838, spent much of her childhood in the shadow of Manchester, New Hampshire's cotton mills. Describing herself as "fascinated with jackknives, wood, and tools," young Margaret "could not see the sense of coddling bits of porcelain with senseless faces" like most girls her age. Possessing little formal education, Margaret brought her brothers their lunches every noon, experimented with anything mechanical, and by the age of twelve, had her own job in the cotton mill.

One day at work, she witnessed a mill worker injured by a steel-tipped shuttle which broke loose from a loom. This upsetting event, described in the June 1994 issue of Cobblestone magazine, motivated Margaret to invent a safety device to hold the shuttle in place - an invention later used by all cotton mills.

By the late 1860's, Margaret worked at the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, where the widely used envelope-type bags were made. She studied the machines as she worked by day, and by night in her boarding house, she made wooden machine models to make and fold square-bottomed paper bags. After making thousands of trial bags in her room, she applied for her first patent in 1870 for a machine that, according to Anne L. Macdonald's book, Feminine Ingenuity, "could do the work of thirty people" and "attracted extraordinary attention in Europe and America."

Margaret Knight lived in Framingham from approximately 1885 to her death at 76 in 1914 and leased machinist John Curry's cottage at 287 Hollis Street, a house which still stands at the corner of Hollis and Charles Street. Her work here in shoe manufacturing yielded six more patents for machinery. Described by Cobblestone as "one of the most prolific inventors," by Woman's Journal as "the lady in a machine shop," and by the Framingham News as "a woman Edison," Margaret Knight continued inventing during her years in Framingham and at her workshop on High Street in Boston. Her life work yielded at least 27 patents in industrial and heavy machinery - some involving automobile engine design for the emerging auto industry. The woman who proudly said, "I have worked at almost everything where machinery is employed," died here in 1914, leaving a long line of patents, her formal portrait in the United States patent office in Washington, D.C., and an estate worth $275.05.

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington is sharing their model of Margaret Knight's paper bag machine with the people of Framingham from May 5 through July 31, 1999 at the Old Academy Museum at the corner of Grove and Vernon Streets. An opening reception, "It's In The Bag" honoring Margaret Knight, will be held Sunday, May 2, 1999 from 2-4 PM at the Old Edgell Library at the corner of Edgell Road and Oak Street. The event is FREE - donations accepted. Refreshments will be served.

Framingham's Clean-Up Day is Saturday, April 24^th

Meet at the Hollis Street Community Center at 8:30 am to register. Bring rakes and shovels! A cook-out will begin at 12:30 pm. Call Dot at 875-8948 for information - sponsored by Downtown Solutions.

Framingham's GreenUp Day is Saturday, May 1, 1999

CleanUp from 9:00 am to 1 pm • Celebration from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm For information, call Tom Greely at 872-4766 • Matt Zettek at 877-7827

Do You Have Memories of Cushing Hospital?

Come to the Elks Lodge, 450 Union Avenue

Wednesday, May 5^th 9:30 am to 2:30 pm

Bring photos and your stories! For information, call Bill Dyan at 877-0289

Wanted!

The Society’s Education Committee, headed up by Board Member Carol Getchell, needs new members to enrich the Framingham school history programs. If you are interested in education or history, do call Carol at 877-1170. She would love your help!

The Framingham Historical Society’s "We Are History" oral history project is still looking for people who remember the !940’s and 1950’s in Framingham. We would love to interview you! Call me if you are interested at 620-6440.

Framingham Historical Society Museum is in the Old Academy at the corner of Vernon and Grove Streets. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm. Admission $2, under 12 FREE.

For questions or information about becoming a member, call 872-3780.

"Margaret E. Knight's home in Framingham at 287 Hollis Street at the corner of Hollis and Charles - a house that still stands today."

"Courtesy of the Framingham Historical Society, Framingham, Massachusetts."