Historical Society to host walk

MASON – On Saturday, June 19, members of the Historical Society will lead a walk to Wolf Rock, site of one of the town’s most popular stories. There are several versions of the story from 1757, and all will be explored.

The rock, a large glacial erratic, served as a refuge for the Rev. Francis Worcester who was walking home after church services on a Sunday in November to a section of Hollis that is now Brookline.

He was abruptly accosted by a large wolf, then another wolf, until there were five or six of them.

Worcester was armed only with a cane and quickly left the road and scrambled onto one of the huge boulders in the area. The wolves were unable to reach him and he fended them off with his cane.

Whether neighbors heard his cries for help (although the nearest house was more than a mile away), or he sprinkled the wolves with tobacco causing them to sneeze and leave, or he prayed and sang hymns all night and was found in the morning by Capt. Thomas Tarbell, who took him home for a hot breakfast (and a toddy), is not known.

To join the walk, meet at the Mann House at 1 p.m. Everyone is welcome.