Profile in Civic Dedication: Jim Drummey’s Lifelong Service to Norwood-October 1, 1970

To look at the official statistics is to see only a fraction of James J. “Bud” Drummey. At 55 years old and residing at 41 Nichols St., Drummey’s resume reads like a masterclass in municipal stewardship: newly appointed chairman of the Board of Assessors, airport commissioner, former chairman of the Board of Appeals, former selectman, town planner, and member of both the industrial and conservation commissions.

Yet numbers and titles fail to capture the essence of a self-taught, deeply devoted public servant who has never missed a single town meeting—annual or special—since becoming a registered voter.

A Deep Heritage Rooted in Norwood

Born January 12, 1915, Drummey represents the third of five generations of his family in Norwood. His civic dedication was forged early. “Because of my father and grandfather,” he explained, “who never held an office in the community but always worked behind the scenes for it… I have a 1912 Norwood Messenger hanging up in the dining room of my home about the men who helped build Norwood. There’s a photograph of both my father and grandfather.”

The family enterprise originally centered on construction and heavy industry. Matthew J. Drummey & Sons, followed by James J. Drummey & Sons, built foundations for homes and the town recreation building. After the 1929 stock market crash forced his father to close the construction business, the family operated a gravel plant and a coal business started in 1919, which Jim later managed before transitioning into heavy construction. As a proud member of Local 4 Hoisting and Portable Engineers, Drummey worked as a crane operator on major infrastructure projects up and down Route 128 from Weymouth to Wakefield, as well as the South Shore Plaza and Weymouth Air Base.

This extensive background in construction proved invaluable in municipal affairs, where Drummey noted that the most complex problems facing town officials invariably revolved around building and zoning.

Sunday Walks and River Adventures

Behind Drummey’s cautious and self-effacing public demeanor lies a man with a profound affection for Norwood’s history and natural geography. Every Sunday following 7:00 a.m. mass, Drummey conducted personal inspection tours of municipal problems connected to his various committee posts.

These were followed by afternoon walks initiated in 1949 with his close friend, Selectman Charles L. Rich. “We pick various sections of town to perambulate around,” Drummey recalled. “Start around 1 and be out for three or four hours.” In earlier years, the two friends would take a small boat out of the fire station, attach a motor, and cruise up and down the winding Neponset River all the way to Hyde Park, cataloging local wildlife and river features.

Decades of Municipal Leadership

Drummey’s official entry into town government began in April 1950 when he was appointed to a temporary steering committee for a town industrial commission—a critical juncture when major employers like the Winslow Bros. & Smith Tannery and the Norwood Press were beginning to phase out operations after World War II.

Elected to the Planning Board in 1951 and later to the Board of Selectmen in 1956, Drummey served until his defeat in 1962. Reflecting on his electoral exit, he attributed it to contentious votes of the era, including police and fire wage increases, a town revaluation article, and a controversial 1959 liquor license transfer request involving Star Market. Rather than withdrawing from civic life, however, Drummey continued offering his expertise across numerous boards and commissions.

Viewing Norwood’s historical evolution with a protective eye, Drummey remains fiercely proud of the town’s independent municipal facilities—its water, light, and sewer departments—and its historic form of government. Summing up his philosophy, he asks for no pedestal, content simply to be “just a little part of a spoke” in the wheel of a town he has spent a lifetime serving.

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