Historian Anthony M. Sammarco will share an illustrated lecture and autograph his new book, The History of Howard Johnson’s: How A Soda Fountain Became a Roadside Icon. His talk is set for Monday, November 25, 2013, at 7:00 PM at the Milton Public Library, 476 Canton Avenue in Milton. Enjoy an inspiring look into local history. Howard Johnson is popularly known as the father of the franchise industry and lived in Milton from 1939 until his death in 1972. Following World War II, his orange roofed empire of ice cream stands stretched from Maine to Florida and from coast to coast. Johnson revolutionized the restaurant industry in the United States with delicious foods and quality prices that brought appreciative customers back for more.

Noted historian Anthony Mitchell Sammarco is the author of over sixty books on the history and development of Boston. Dorchester as well as The Baker Chocolate Company: A Sweet History have made the bestsellers list. Boston’s Back Bay in the Victorian Era, Dorchester: Volume II, Dorchester Then & Now, Boston’s North End (and Il North End di Boston in Italian) and the Great Boston Fire of 1872, are among his perennially popular books.

Since 1997, Mr. Sammarco has taught history at the Urban College of Boston, and his course “Boston’s Immigrants” is based on his book of the same name, to highlight the city’s diversity. He was named Educator of the Year in 2003 and he serves on the UCB’s Leadership Council. Mr. Sammarco received the Bulfinch Award from the Doric Dames of the Massachusetts State House, and the Washington Medal from the Freedom Foundation and was named Dorchester town historian by Raymond L. Flynn, mayor of Boston. He was elected a fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, is a member of the Boston Author’s Club, and is a proprietor of the Boston Athenaeum. In his volunteer work, he is treasurer of the Victorian Society, New England Chapter, and a trustee of the Forest Hills Cemetery Educational Trust. He is past president of the Bay State Historical League and the Dorchester Historical Society.
He lives in Boston and in Osterville on Cape Cod.

This event, sponsored by the Friends of the Milton Library, is free and open to the public and is appropriate for all ages. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Jean Hlady, Adult Services Librarian, at (617) 698-5757 or visit the library’s website, www.miltonlibrary.org