Printing Plate
10” x 10 1/4” monotype printing plate (metal nailed to wood) of the 1937 Apple Blossom Festival that then involved multiple towns in the Nashoba Valley. Due to printing press technology, all plates, including text blocks, were made to be mirror images of the printed product.
The Westford Kiwanis organizes the festival today. From 1935 to the 1940s, the original 75 mile route included Groton, Ayer, Harvard, Bolton, Maynard, Littleton, and Westford. Its supporters included Westford apple growers, the Massachusets Departmnent of Agriculture, and County Extension Services. The Westford Kiwanis restarted the festival in 1968 as as smaller, townwide event.
Per tradition, the festival takes place on the second Saturday after the first Tuesday after the first Monday of May. This scheduling method is a throwback to when town meetings were held the Saturday after May elections, with the festival held the following week.
The printing plate was donated in 1983 by the J.V. Fletcher Library.
W.1983.13.6