Fifes, drums and history: Medford marks fifth Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day

By Sangmin Song

Fifes and drums echoed through the Salem Street Burying Ground as dozens of residents, re-enactors and city officials gathered for Medford’s fifth annual Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day.

The celebration filled the historic cemetery with colonial music, costumed performances and the arrival of “George Washington” on horseback.

Sarah Bradlee Fulton wasn’t just a Medford resident — she was a Revolutionary War patriot known as the “Mother of the Boston Tea Party.” In 1773 she helped disguise the Sons of Liberty before they boarded British ships to dump tea into the harbor, and later risked her life carrying secret messages for General Washington.

The centerpiece of the commemoration was “Ghostly Appearances,” a play written by Laura Duggan, president of Looking Back at Medford History Inc., and Day Farenga, the group’s secretary.

The performance re-created Medford’s Revolutionary past as the Colonial Navy of Massachusetts Fife and Drum Corps played, actors in colonial dress stepped through drifting fog and George Washington, portrayed by John Koopman III, rode in on horseback to the crowd’s cheers.

“When I [first] found out about Sarah, I said, ‘How come nobody knows about her?’” Duggan said. “I started finding [out] about her and said, ‘I have got to change this, [and] I got to help people get to know somebody this important.’”

Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn served as mistress of ceremonies, opening the play before joining the audience for the graveside procession that followed. Duggan, portraying Fulton, led re-enactors, musicians and families toward Fulton’s burial site.

“We are honored to be able to support this day, which is [Medford’s] first female heroine that we honor,” Lungo-Koehn said.

Lisa Colaianni, Medford’s director of community affairs, said the partnership behind the event reflects Medford’s effort to keep its Revolutionary history visible.

Colaianni and Lungo-Koehn both said the city and organizers have worked on the planned installation of a Sarah Bradlee Fulton statue outside City Hall.

“We found a perfect spot that doesn’t have anything much but a beautiful tree and grass,” Lungo-Koehn said. “It’s a great spot to put the statue. It faces the main road, so everybody will get to view it every day as they drive by.”

Farenga said the group’s events aim to make local history accessible to everyone.

“It’s been a very interactive way for people to learn more about Medford,” Farenga said. “We’ve got the Medford Historical Society, which is based in its house and houses, maps and all kinds of important things, but they're not a get-out-into-the-society thing, so we're kind of bridging that gap.”

That bridge drew residents like Melanie Tringali, candidate for City Council who attended for the second year after first seeing a Facebook post about the event.

“I wish we did more stuff around Medford history, [as] there’s so much about the history that I don’t think we do enough about,” Tringali said. “We were shipbuilders, rum runners [and] there’s a lot of history that we don’t [recognize much, yet] we were a huge part of the Revolutionary War.”

Alex Lessis, a Medford resident and first-time attendee, said the celebration offers a reminder of how much the city contributed to American independence.

“I had recently read some books about the Revolutionary time period, and it interests me a lot of the characters here today appeared in the book I read,” Lessis said. “I love it and I think there should be more, [since] we have rich history here.”

Duggan said the celebration was designed not just to reenact history but to make it resonate with people today and connect residents with one another.

“More and more citizens are finding out about that and finding out who she was, and I think we should be proud [of Sarah],” she said. “I also see it as a way to unite the community, [where] all come together and be proud of this woman who is like your average kind of person, not an elite who fought to help us get a country together and independence.”

Farenga agreed, saying the community’s interest is what keeps the event alive. She said the group may eventually shift its focus to highlight other figures from Medford’s past, such as Lydia Maria Child or Amelia Earhart.

“If they didn’t make it this time, really plan to come down next year, [because] it might be the last one,” Farenga said. “If you just think about it, we have other characters, other Revolutionary heroes, that we need to bring to the fore.”

To learn more about Sarah Bradlee Fulton Day or the work of Looking Back at Medford History, visit here.

Sangmin Song is a senior journalism student. This story is part of a partnership between Gotta Know Medford and the Boston University Department of Journalism.