Haverhill is celebrating Harriet! The city’s Citizens Hall of Fame is marking the induction of Harriet Atwood Newell, a local who became a martyr for missionaries, Saturday at an afternoon reception in Bradford.
The 2 p.m. induction ceremony, held at the First Church of Christ on the Bradford Common, is free and open to all, organizer Peter Carbone tells WHAV.
Ahead of Saturday’s ceremony, Hall of Fame Committee member Jack Lynch appeared on WHAV’s “New Open Mic Show” and told host Bill Macek Newell’s honor is a long time coming.
In the ‘80s, the Hall of Fame inducted Ann Haseltine Judson for her contribution as the first American female missionary. Lynch told WHAV he actually considers Newell, who attended Bradford Academy with pal Judson, the more influential of the two.
In fact, he hoped Newell’s induction honor would have come many years earlier.
“I personally considered that an oversight,” Lynch told WHAV. “To me, Harriet Atwood Newell became the more famous of the two.”
Hall of Fame inductees are voted on by committee and nominees are evaluated for their “significant contribution beyond Haverhill’s boarders,” Lynch said.
While local celebrities Tom Bergeron and Rob Zombie aren’t yet members of the Hall of Fame, Lynch explains that no one is actively campaigning for a spot: Membership is only eligible deceased former residents.
“People always ask why Tom Bergeron or even Rob Zombie aren’t in the Hall of Fame, but no one’s in any rush to get in,” he joked.
Others already inducted into the Hall of Fame include John Greenleaf Whittier, William Smith Shaw and Hannah Dustin.