Henry Ottoson

A. Henry Ottoson

Principal of Junior High West

1939-1972

“My father was proud of us, but he was even more proud of the many students he had known and helped over his forty-five year career…I wanted to leave with you this story of the wonderful man for whom this building is named: my father.”

(“A. Henry Ottoson,” by his son John Ottoson)

Aarron Henry Ottoson was born in Gardner, MA in 1904 and graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1922. He earned his Teacher’s Certificate in Manual Training from Fitchburg State College, and then graduated from Boston University in 1927 with his Master’s Degree in Education.

Mr. Ottoson began his education career as a teacher. He then became assistant principal at the Levi Warren Junior High School in Newton, followed by positions as principal for Framingham’s Saxonville School and then Memorial Junior High School. Mr. Ottoson was hired as the principal for Arlington’s Junior High West in 1939. He and his wife, fellow teacher Helen McDonough, moved to Gray Street in Arlington along with their children John, Ann and Alina. Mr. Ottoson became not only a noted Arlington educator but also a very influential Arlington community member. He was involved in many volunteer groups, including the Arlington Boys Club, the Minuteman Council of Boy Scouts, the Arlington Auxiliary Fire Department, the Arlington Kiwanis, and the Mystic Valley Mental Health Association. Mr. Ottoson remained Principal of Junior High West for thirty-three years, until his unexpected death on January 8, 1972

Mr. Ottoson was beloved for his strong interest in each of the 7^th and 8^th grade Junior High West students. He greeted each student by name, and in the evening personally visited the homes of those who had challenges engaging in the school community. Students enjoyed talking with him, and years later they would come to him for advice (Legendary Locals of Arlington, by B. Goodman and M. Howard). At the memorial service held after Mr. Ottoson’s death, he was described as “a gentleman and a gentle man,” as well as one who had “guided some 12,000 young persons.”

Following Mr. Ottoson’s death, a Henry Ottoson Scholarship was established to help graduates of the Junior High West seek vocational training beyond high school; contributions were so generous that the fund has continued to provide annual scholarships to Arlington High School graduates for over forty-five years. Junior High West’s Student Cabinet also proposed honoring the memory of Mr. Ottoson’s decades of caring leadership by changing the name of the school. The proposal was immediately accepted by the Arlington School Committee, and Junior High West officially became the Ottoson Junior High School in September 1972.