Schools Face Heating Oil Shortage for Upcoming Winter, While Band Camp and Library Art Programs Make Headlines-August 6, 1970

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The Norwood School Committee learned during a critical meeting last night that there is currently no heating oil available to warm the town’s public schools this coming winter. School Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley informed the board that not a single oil company submitted bids to supply the required No. 5 crude oil for the school furnaces. Dr. Coakley revealed he received a formal letter from Quincy Oil Co.—which provided the fuel in previous years—explaining that due to severe supply shortages and government quotas, the firm would be entirely unable to deliver the 110,000 gallons of oil needed. Town Manager Walter A. Blasenak had already consulted several other major suppliers, including Shell Oil, but each reported being unable to fulfill the request.

Discussing the mounting crisis, Superintendent Coakley noted that official responses had flooded in from all levels of government, stating, “There are letters on Mr. Blasenak’s desk from everybody from Sen. Edward W. Brooke on down expressing concern, and Mr. Blasenak is going to Washington to try to work something out.” Committee member Charles C. Saraca bluntly summarized the predicament, interjecting, “But as it stands now, there is no oil for Norwood.” Mr. Saraca suggested that oil companies should parcel out available supplies among all their customers rather than cutting off entire institutions, while committee member Eugene F. Thayer suggested the shortage stemmed from federal crackdowns on air pollutants, explaining that heavy No. 5 crude oil emits high levels of pollutants when burned for commercial purposes. Though the board briefly weighed alternatives such as converting furnaces to expensive lighter fuel grades or switching entirely to electric heat, members ultimately agreed to table further discussion until receiving a direct report from the town manager following his trip to Washington.

Amid the heating crisis, brighter news emerged regarding local education and cultural enrichment. The Morrill Memorial Library announced the addition of several new masterpieces to its circulating framed art print collection, donated through the Peter A. Brown Cultural Foundation. The impressive new acquisitions include modern abstracts, Pablo Picasso’s “Children”, Marc Chagall’s “The Circus”, Bernard Buffet’s “The Clown”, Honore Daumier’s “Don Quixote”, George Grosz’s “Manhattan Harbor”, and George Catlin’s “A Portrait of a Young Indian Lad”. Since the library launched its two-month loan circulating art service in December, the most popular piece has been Renoir’s “Moulin de la Galette”, which has checked out five times.

Additionally, preparations were finalized for the seventh annual Norwood Public Schools Band Camp, scheduled from August 22 to August 28 at Camp Kehonka in Wolfeboro, N.H. Sponsored by the Norwood Parents Music Association—whose members handle logistics and chaperone the week-long event—the camp drew more than 100 junior and high school student musicians, making it the largest participating group in the program’s seven-year history, with the deadline for camping fee payments extended to August 12. Finally, the committee reviewed a $1,500 dues request from Wellesley Superintendent Dr. Richard H. Goodman for The Educational Cooperative (TEC), a 12-community shared educational program, directing Dr. Coakley to clarify whether the payment would cover Norwood’s participation through January or June of the following year. (Reporting by local archives).

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