Norwood Selectmen Set Public Hearing for Westwood Xaverian Brothers High School Beano License Dispute-August 8, 1973

Local Civic Organizations Protest Armory Beano Games Amid Questions of Legality and Competition

A high-stakes licensing dispute involving Xaverian Brothers High School of Westwood came before town selectmen last night as local veterans and civic groups pressed the board to revoke a beano license previously granted to the out-of-town school for Friday night games at the Norwood Armory.

Representatives from the Norwood Elks, Knights of Columbus, American Legion, and Temple Shaare Tefilah—all holding local beano licenses—argued that large-scale armory crowds would threaten their own charitable fundraising operations. Town Manager John P. Mogan reported that a preliminary meeting among the parties had “accomplished very little.”

Furthermore, Mogan revealed that while general state laws do not explicitly ban beano in armories, he unearthed an old court precedent suggesting that conducting beano games inside a military armory may be illegal. While selectmen made no immediate decision to revoke the license, they directed Xaverian officials to review the concerns with local parent organizations and civic leaders, leaving open the possibility of future revocation if the school does not voluntarily surrender the permit.

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