Norwood Selectmen Curtail Christmas Light Display and Fuel Usage Amid 1973 Energy Crisis-November 14, 1973

Town Manager John P. Mogan Orders Reduced Holiday Lighting, Lower Thermostats, and Strict Speed Limits in Response to Mideast Oil Embargo

NORWOOD – Feeling the pinch of the unfolding national energy crisis brought on by the Mideast oil embargo, Norwood town officials acted swiftly to curtail municipal power consumption. During Monday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, members discovered that Town Manager John P. Mogan had already taken aggressive preemptive action. In direct response to federal appeals, Mogan issued directives to all town department heads ordering municipal vehicle speeds capped at 30 miles per hour on local roads and 50 miles per hour on state highways, lowering thermostats in public buildings to 68 degrees, and shutting off all unessential lighting and heating.

Furthermore, Mogan curtailed the town’s traditional Christmas light display. Rather than illuminating the holiday lights on December 5 as originally planned, the display was delayed until December 23, with daily operational hours restricted strictly from 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Selectmen Debate Extent of Conservation Measures and Express Skepticism Over Federal Leadership

While Selectman Joseph W. Wall pushed for aggressive local leadership in heeding President Richard Nixon’s conservation call—noting that he had brought up the holiday lighting issue three weeks prior—other members expressed sharp skepticism over federal directives.

Board Chairman William F. Butters made it clear he was unimpressed by the administration’s approach, criticizing the focus on municipal holiday displays. “It shouldn’t have been met with such temperate measures by the President, or response to the cutoff of fuel by Mideast countries,” Butters remarked, adding, “I don’t feel token measures on boards of selectmen do anything to inspire the people who have to make the sacrifices.” Consequently, Butters voted against curtailing the Christmas lights.

Additional conservation ideas were floated during the session:

• Streetlights: Selectman Walter J. Dempsey proposed investigating the feasibility of turning off residential streetlights after 1:00 a.m. to achieve further energy savings.
• Municipal Power Monitoring: Selectman John F. Lydon advocated for requesting weekly power consumption reports from the municipal light department. However, formal action on the reporting mechanism was left pending until Town Manager Mogan—who was absent from the meeting—could participate in the discussion.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger