Was this part of a 1915 ‘Clean up Central Street’ campaign?
A photo found in Annie's effects tells of her enterprising relative
In the early 1900s, Catherine E. Devno was a business leader in Lowell’s Back Central neighborhood. In this undated photo she is standing in front of the Anders Thomasson drug store at 557 Central Street, a business she purchased in December 1914. When photographer Annie Powell died in 1952 in the Lowell Highlands, she left behind about 85 images including this one of Catherine and her store.
Why was this photo taken? To answer that, let’s start with what we know. During 1914–15, Catherine’s son, Harold, had been courting Annie’s niece, Annie Wood. They wed in December 1915. Therefore Catherine and Annie, eight years apart in age, became family through marriage. The two entrepreneurial women may have bonded which would explain why Annie kept her image in a scrapbook.
When Annie’s descendants first shared this photo with me four years ago, I incorrectly guessed it was a personal copy of her work documenting construction projects for the City Engineers—in this instance, the need for street or sidewalk repairs. However, there is no related print in the UMass Lowell Center for Lowell History City Engineers collection.
My next hypothesis was that the scene commemorated Catherine’s acquisition of the business. Yet in opposition to this idea is the presence of ample litter. This dominant element of the image surely would have been removed if the image were a record of a celebration.
The best explanation for this may be related to Catherine’s City Council petition for block paving Central Street presented five months after taking ownership of the business (see excerpt below). This image may have been planned specifically to dramatize the need for improvement. In other newsletters, we have suggested that Annie was a propagandist (see end notes) and in this context, this could have been one of a series of images distributed to the council members to make a point. Other photos exploiting the street conditions might have complemented this one with its littered sidewalk. What do you think? Use the comment button to weigh in.
Catherine was born in 1867 in Massachusetts to Irish immigrants Daniel and Mary Kelley. In 1886, she married Charles F. Devno in Lowell when she was a factory worker and he was a carpenter. Later he operated a grocery store on the corner of Central and Abbott Streets. Catherine and Charles bought real estate together, but in an unusual move for the time, her name was always listed first on the paperwork. She was the sole owner of drug store, and in 1923, she displayed extraordinary business ambition: she applied for a $10,000 building permit (equivalent to almost $200,000 today) to build a store at 718 Central Street. Using this example, we can see how she might lead neighboring businesses in joining her on a city petition.
Catherine never became a licensed pharmacist. Instead, the 70-year-old seller, Anders Thomasson, provided this service at the drug store until her two sons, Charles D. and Frederick, obtained licenses. Tragically, both sons died within six months of each other in 1924.
Catherine died in 1930, and Charles ran the Central Street grocery store until his death in 1938. Annie took this 1929 photo of his store for City Engineers. In this case, it’s plausible she was being paid to document road damage.
Notes:
For more about Annie as a propagandist: Brad MacGowan, February Made them Shiver
For more about Anders Thomasson and 245 Central Street: Gray Fitzsimons, Unheralded Building Linked to a “Swedish Pioneer” in Lowell
