Jones Gymnasium

Archibald L. Jones

“Archibald L. Jones, 1899-1948, was one of Middleton’s most unselfish and best-loved citizens. During a seventeen-year period, he held a series of elective offices totaling forty-three years of capable service to his community and his district. From 1935-1938, he served as Representative to the General Court for the towns of Boxford, Middleton, Topsfield, and Danvers. In establishing the Archibald L. Jones Gymnasium, it is appropriate to recall that it was Mr. Jones, who during the days of the Depression was in great measure responsible for having a town park developed principally for the benefit of Middleton’s young people” (Clark).

Cover of the dedication bulletin, dated October 18, 1959, shows the new regional school and surrounding athletic fields (Clark).

Entitled "Some Enchanted Evening," Barbar Blaisdell was crowed Queen of the Junior-Senior Prom with Bonnie Andrew on June 5, 1964. The Prom was held in the gymnasium and it was decorated like a "Southern Garden" (Masconomet Regional High School Yearbook 1965).

One of the three main public spaces at Masconomet that is dedicated to a well-known leader of each town (Clark).

(“Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Middleton for the Year Ending December 31, 1933.”)

Archibald L. Jones married his wife Eleanor Allen Seaver on June 2, 1933 (“Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Middleton for the Year Ending December 31, 1933.”).

Archibald L. Jones was also a Flint Public Library Trustee from 1943-1949 in Middleton, Massachusetts (Town of Middleton Massachusetts 1992 Annual Report). He made a great contribution to the library, and helped make the town of Middleton a better place.

"It is impossible in a report of this character to enumerate in detail the improvements that have been made during the year. One of the improvements, worthy of note, is the installation of stop and warning signs at dangerous intersections... Respectfully submitted, Archibald L. Jones, Chairman, Board of Selectmen" (“Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Middleton for the Year Ending December 31, 1933.”).

(Town of Middleton Massachusetts 1992 Annual Report)

Masconomet 1000 Point Scorers:

1998 Brianne Stepherson 2137 points

1988 Kendall Daly 1585 points

2012 Brooke Stewart 1397 points

1996 Catey Peters 1359 points

2008 Caroline Stewart 1329 points

2012 Adam Bramanti 1298 points

2015 Jake Rudolph 1047 points

(Masco One Thousand Point Scorers)

(Boyd)

"In 1980, the Masconomet Chieftains made history, qualifying for the state tournament for the first time, reversing a 5-15 record from 1978-79 into a 13-8 record the next year with Coach Dave Canan running the program" (Boyd).

"Along with back-to-back trips to the Boston Garden for the Eastern Massachusetts championships, the girls also won the CAL title in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 for six in a row under Murphy, Canan and then Bob Cleary" (Boyd).

"However, in 2001-02, the Chieftains and their leading scorer Danielle Romeo put Masconomet back on top in the CAL. The Chieftains remained there for another year in 2003. That 2002-03 season was the first for current head coach Bob Romeo" (Boyd).

"'When I was hired as the head coach eight years ago, I was fortunate to inherit an established and successful basketball program,' said Romeo. 'I take pride in having been able to continue the success that [Murphy, Canan and Cleary] built a foundation for. Our team has qualified for the state tournament each year, captured three CAL titles (2003, 2006, 2008), and has twice been the No. 1 seed in the state tournament'" (Boyd).

Cape Ann League Championships:

Girls Basketball:
- 1989, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 (State Champions), 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2014
Boys Basketball:
- 1964, 1978, 1997
Girls Volleyball
- 1989, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2015, 2018

(Lorenz)

Brianne Stepherson

The photo on the left shows Brianne Stepherson on March, 11 1996. Stepherson is Masconomet's All-Time leading scorer with 2,137 career points as well as over 1000 career assists. Stepherson began playing on the Varisty team in 1993 as a 7th grader when the team lost in the state final. As a sophomore, she helped the team win the 1996 Division 2 State Championship and later played at Boston College (Lorenz).

(Lorenz)

1996: State Champions

The picture on the left shows Casey Peters holding the trophy after winning the Division 2 State Championship in 1996. The team finished with a 24-2 record. They were undefeated in the Cape Ann League and won the third North title in four years. The team featured Casey Peters at 6-foot-1 with1,359 Career points, and over 1000 rebounds, 5-foot-10 Heather Hover, 5-foot-10 Stephanie McArdle, 6-foot Nikki Davis, and sophomore point gaurd Brianne Stepherson. They beat Burlington, Fontbonne, and Monument Mountain, who had a combined record of 63-7 to win the title (Lorenz).

David Soper, the Saugus High School basketball coach from 1981-1984, Assistant football coach, JV baseball coach, and Philadelphia Phillies Scout from 1999-2019 discussed important members of Masconomet Athletics History (Soper).

Ben Crockett, current Vice President / Player Development of Boston Red Sox: "Ben was a basketball and baseball player at Masco. His baseball coach was Peter Delani who is now the principal of Masconomet. Ben was a scholastic baseball player and he was drafted by Colorado, and went on to have a minor league career. He then became a member of the Boston Red Sox organization. He is the director of Player Development for the Boston Red Sox. According to Peter Delani, he was an outstanding basketball player, and was drafted out of Harvard University" (Soper).

Bob Romeo, former Masconomet Girls Basketball Coach: "He was an outstanding member of the basketball hall of fame at Saugus High School, and was a basketball coach at Masconomet" (Soper). "He coached Masconomet girls basketball for 17 seasons from 2002-2019 with a record of 294-89 with 4 Cape Ann League titles and 2 trips to the north sectional finals" (Giannino).

Works Cited

Boyd, Joshua. “Over the Hoop: Girls Build Powerhouse from Ground Up.” Wicked Local, Wicked Local, 5 Feb. 2010, www.wickedlocal.com/article/20100205/NEWS/302058953.

Clark, Martha, and Archivist Boxford Historic Document Center. “History Column: Masconomet Opening Created Dramatic Change for Three Towns.” Tri-Town Transcript, Tri-Town Transcript, 17 Aug. 2016, boxford.wickedlocal.com/news/20160820/history-column-masconomet-opening-created-dramatic-change-for-three-towns.

Giannino, Nick. “Romeo Steps down from Masco Hoops after Nearly Two Decades.” Salem News, 16 Apr. 2019, www.salemnews.com/sports/romeo-steps-down-from-masco-hoops-after-nearly-two-decades/article_cb2a3048-8a43-5546-9c9d-4acba26bb137.html.

Lorenz, Mark. “CREAM OF THE CROP: Masconomet Regional's All-Time Top Teams since 1972.” Salem News, 29 Aug. 2017, www.salemnews.com/sports/cream-of-the-crop-masconomet-regional-s-all-time-top/article_02b792ce-f3e2-5feb-b3e0-d5e1184423bc.html.

"Masco One Thousand Point Scorers." Masconomet Regional High School.

“Masconomet Regional High School Yearbook : Masconomet Regional High School : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, 1 Jan. 1965, archive.org/details/masconometregion1965masc/page/52.

“Report of the Receipts and Expenditures of the Town of Middleton for the Year Ending December 31, 1933.” The Newhall Printers, 1934.

Soper, David. Interview. May 30, 2019.

"Town of Middleton Massachusetts 1992 Annual Report" Flint Public Library, 1992.

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