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Rev. Elmer Colcord, 1974. (Canton Public Library) |
Elmer Colcord1
Elmer Danforth Colcord was born on November 4, 1895 in Canton. During his childhood, he attended the Gridley and Crane Schools. He graduated from Canton High School in 1912; five years later, he graduated from Tufts University, where he served as the vice president of the Young Persons’ Christian Union. During his time at Tufts, he worked as a conductor on Boston’s street cars and as a chemist for a tanning company. Colcord also studied at Springfield College (where he later taught psychology), Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, and Harvard Extension. He was ordained in 1919.
In 1927, Colcord served as pastor for the First Unitarian Church in Trenton, NJ; he was listed as still serving there in 1929. From 1948 until 1950, he was the pastor of the West Somerville Universalist Church, at which point he became pastor of the Somerville Universalist Church.
In 1974, Colcord published “The Progressive Vertical”, his first book of poetry; in it, Colcord includes a poem about the Upper Mill Pond, as well as a photograph. A first-edition copy is housed in the Canton Public Library. Colcord continued to write poetry referencing various Canton landmarks and events;
Colcord was active in Lions and Rotary Clubs; he also served as Chaplain in the Odd Fellows, Chancellor Commander in the Knights of Pythias, and President of the Somerville Council on Churches. For ten years, he served as Secretary-Director of the National Universalist Summer Meetings.
References1
Colcord, Elmer D. The Progressive Vertical. 1st ed. Jericho, NY: Exposition Press, 1974.
Elmer D. Colcord Correspondences and Pamphlets. Canton Public Library. Canton, Massachusetts.