Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, Wakefield, Mass.

Title

Dr. Curtis Levi Sopher, WMGLD Commissioner

Description

"Dr. Curtis L. Sopher, a native of South Portland, Maine, served as a Commissioner for the Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (then the Wakefield Municipal Light Department) for 41 of the 44 years from 1902 to 1946. He succeeded Silas W. Flint, one of the original Commissioners when he was first elected in 1902. Dr. Sopher served as chairman and secretary of the department several times and was the temporary manager of the department during a vacancy. He made several attempts to retire from the Board however, he was always the unanimous selection when a death or retirement from the Board was brought before joint special elections held by the Selectmen and the Commissioners. In addition to his service to the Light Board, Dr. Sopher served on a special water committee of the Finance Committee in 1919, on the Planning Board from 1917 to 1922, and as the chairman and secretary of the Board of Health during the late 1890s. He was also the Town's fuel administrator during World War I, and was called into service again during the coal strike of 1922-23 when Massachusetts officials required the supervision of all coal purchasing and distribution in the cities and towns. A physician and surgeon for 56 years, he started his practice in 1892 in Wakefield after his internship at Lynn Hospital and two years as a Medical Examiner. He was the first to install an x-ray machine in his office, which was in his home, in 1897. As this new machine and major medical advancement was the source of considerable curiosity among the townspeople, he held frequent demonstrations for his patients and friends. Dr. Sopher was the assistant physical examiner for the draft in World War I and was the first president of the Wakefield Medical Associates in 1927. He was also a member of the Board of Management of Wakefield's first Ambulance Association in the early 1900s. Dr. Sopher died in October 1955 at his 6 Avon Street home." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.

Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 2006

Contributor

Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library

Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.)

D'Onofrio, Jayne M.

Coverage

Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield

Format

image/jpeg

Publisher

[Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department

Subject

Sopher, Curtis Levi, d.1955

Type

still image

Photographs

Original Format

1 picture : b&w

Extent

18 x 11 cm.