On the evening of July 11, 1989, Norwood Selectman Gary Lee and his colleagues formally refused to reconsider the application of Ramtha Nicholas Miller, a 29-year-old housewife seeking to become the town’s first licensed fortuneteller.
Miller, who had hoped to operate out of her apartment on Washington Street, stated immediately after the board’s vote that she intended to file a lawsuit against the town. Her attorney, Stephen Bauman of Canton, had previously sent a letter to the board on July 7, 1989, branding the selectmen’s initial 4-1 denial as “completely unreasonable” and “capricious,” further alleging that the board was violating Miller’s civil rights. According to Miller, local law mandated only that an applicant be a resident of the community for one year, a requirement she met. “There is one requirement—that I live here,” Miller said. “They have no reason not to issue the permit.”
The rejection, which occurred two weeks prior during a public hearing, was driven in large part by Selectman Gary Lee, who expressed deep reservations about the nature of the proposed business. Lee openly stated that he feared Miller’s activities would bring “black magic and the occult” to Norwood. During the July 11 session, Lee remained steadfast, dismissing the media coverage the story had generated as “fun and humorous” while asserting that the board’s licensing authority was not something to be taken lightly. “I am confident in our broad discretionary powers as the licensing board for this town,” Lee stated, rejecting a suggestion from Selectman Joseph Curran to seek a legal opinion from Town Counsel Justin Barton regarding potential civil rights violations.
The board was not entirely unified in its stance. Selectman Thomas Riolo, who cast the sole dissenting vote in favor of granting the license, defended the practice as harmless. “In my heart, I don’t have any problems with it,” Riolo remarked, adding, “It’s not occult and I don’t think people really believe in it… We should give her the permit. This isn’t the Dark Ages.” Despite this support, the majority of the board refused to yield. As Miller prepared to take her case to court, Selectman Lee stood firm on the board’s decision, challenging the threat of litigation by stating that the attorney had every right to fight the denial and let the “cards fall as they may.”
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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