Westminster Historical Society to meet

The Westminster Historical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 110 Main St. The focus of the meeting will be to gather information about the businesses that sprang up in Westminster in response to the widespread use of automobiles in the 20th Century.

The businesses that catered to tourists were restaurants, camps and cabins, small convenience stores, gas stations and outdoor movie theaters. They were located on the old Route 2 starting on the Gardner line along Main Street and down what is today Route 2A. Some of the businesses the Society is looking for information about are the Pantry Shelf, the Picnic House, Silva's Dairy Bar, the Chat and Chew, the Cape Ann Diner and the Westminster Hotel.

The Historical Society is in the process of writing a history of Westminster covering the last 50 years, and the information gathered at this meeting will be a key part of the research for this book. If anyone is unable to come to the meeting, please contact the Society at (978) 874-5569. The Society is also looking for photos of businesses so that copies can be made for the collections. All information will then be preserved at the Historical Society. Everyone is invited to come and share their information. Refreshments will be served following a short business meeting and this program.