Maurice A. Buck

Dr. Maurice Allan Buck was born in Wilmington, Massachusetts, on June 6, 1874. He took his M.D. at Harvard Medical School in 1898 and came to Billerica the next year to practice as a physician, remaining the town's doctor until his death.

He was drawn into town service almost at once. He was elected to the Board of Health in 1900 and to the School Committee in 1901, and he sat on the committee for 35 years, often as its chairman; as chairman he still conferred the diplomas at the Howe High School graduation of 1935. From 1906 to 1926 he was also the town's school physician, or medical examiner of the schools, and his yearly reports counted the enlarged tonsils, adenoids, unvaccinated children and weak eyesight he found among Billerica's pupils. For many years the town also paid him for attending the poor and for reporting births.

In November 1918 Billerica's district sent him to the Massachusetts House, where he served as representative in 1919 and 1920. In 1921 he was elected a selectman, and he served until his death, chairing the board in 1935. He was also active in the Shawsheen Lodge of Odd Fellows, which had him as its Noble Grand in 1912.

Dr. Buck died on November 19, 1935, aged 61. His fellow selectmen wrote that his long service had given him "a store of information always valuable," while his "graciousness and gentleness" had spared the board many unpleasant moments and created "an atmosphere of good will and friendliness." The 1936 town meeting was asked to rename the Pollard School the Maurice A. Buck School, but the article was referred to the Board of Survey and nothing came of it. Instead, in December 1938 the School Committee named the hall of the Howe High School the Maurice A. Buck Auditorium, and it was dedicated to him on February 16, 1939, with his name in raised gilt letters over the proscenium arch. The building later became the Town Hall at 365 Boston Road, and the Maurice A. Buck Memorial Auditorium is still where Billerica's Town Meeting convenes.

References

1. In Memoriam, 1935
2. Selectmen's Report, 1935
3. Election of Representative to the General Court, November 1918
4. Superintendent Report, 1926
5. Superintendent Report, 1938 (Maurice A. Buck Auditorium)
6. School Committee Report, 1939 (auditorium dedication)
7. 'Billerica' magazine, July 1912 (Shawsheen Lodge, I.O.O.F.)
8. Dr Maurice Allan Buck (1874-1935), Find a Grave