Description:
The monument is located outside to the left in the Southwest Corridor when you walk out onto Ruggles Street. If entering from the Northeastern entrance, you would walk directly to the other end of the station, walk down the steps and go toward the right.
About the Author:
In 1964, Will Holton, the author of Four Letters Home, came to Boston as a graduate student in Sociology with a concentration in Community and Family. He grew extremely interested in the Roxbury and South End communities where, in 1965, he conducted interviewing for a South End Neighborhood Action Program study of Community Leadership. He became a professor at Northeastern University in 1973 and remains there today. In addition to the lectures he has presented, Holton has written several pieces about Boston including a book in the works called Creating Boston's Back Bay: America's Largest 19th Century Urban Development Project. To read Jocelyn Vara's interview with Will Holton, please visit the interviews section on the Community page.
Response:
My initial feelings toward the monument were frustration because even though I was given directions, I could not find it anywhere. When I actually finally came upon the monument, I was startled to see that it was enclosed in a large wooden box with the word "monuments" stamped on the side, among other graffiti. I had not been thrilled about having to wander around Ruggles on a rainy day searching for something unknown to me, but at that point, I found myself disappointedly circling it, attempting to catch a glimpse of the text engraved just beneath the wooden boards in order to ease my curiosity.
Because the text was unavailable to me on site, I had to read it on paper and imagine it in its monumental context. Holton's letters are from the perspective of four different men writing at separate times to their families who are "back home." They all left their homelands (Maine, Ireland, Poland, and Georgia) and settled in Roxbury, near Ruggles Station. Each letter details how life is in Roxbury and Boston and the ways in which things are changing for them. It seemed incredible to me that Holton mentions accurate descriptions of Boston streets and other towns forming, like Dorchester. The last letter, which takes place in 1960, reveals concern about the Inner Belt Highway which, in order to be built, would force people out of their Roxbury homes. I feel that the context of these letters provides reasoning for the monument's location because it stands outside Ruggles Station in the neighborhood from which Holton imagined these people were writing letters. It is just a shame they currently cannot be read in their original setting because it seems that it might be more effective than reading them on paper.
By Jocelyn Vara.
