07/29/2026
On July 22, 2026, the Late Charlie Bolack would have turned 100 years old. I found it appropriate to share the YouTube video of Charlie singing "God Bless America" right after America's 250th Birthday!
Below, I am re sharing the "Local Color" written by Jayne Wilson and Joe Kuras about Charlie Bolack. Please feel free to share your memories of the "Mayor of Grafton" below in the comments.
Charlie Bolack 1926-2013
Although Charlie Bolack spent his early years in Worcester and didn’t move to town until high school, he soon fell in love with Grafton and became one of its most admired and loved citizens. Whether he was granting loans with just a handshake, foiling would-be robbers, publishing the local newspaper, or working to preserve Grafton’s natural resources – his focus was always on the good of the community.
Two of our best-known institutions -- the Grafton News and the Grafton Credit Union – were founded by Charlie. He also was instrumental in founding the Grafton Forest Association (est.1955) which evolved into the Grafton Land Trust in 1958. The Trust was responsible for preserving and protecting much of Grafton’s natural beauty.
The first issue of the Grafton News rolled off the presses in March 1958 as a privately-owned, weekly hometown paper. It was a hands-on operation where most of the ads came from local businesses and were sold by Charlie himself. In addition to serving as editor, publisher, and ad salesman, he also wrote the paper’s “Up and Down the Highways” column under the pseudonym Jay Walker.
While “Mr. Walker” always gave credit where it was due – he wasn’t shy about letting transgressors have it. One case in point was a prank perpetrated by the 1964 high school graduating class. Charlie was duped into publishing what he thought was an innocent ad from the students. It contained the acronym SOL in large letters which the students said stood for School’s Out Late and was meant to poke fun at underclassmen. The true meaning was something quite different (not be disclosed here to protect the guilty). When Charlie found out the truth, he unleashed the riot act on the hooligans in the next issue!
In 1966, Charlie opened the Grafton Suburban Credit Union (located in the Grafton Shopper’s Mart Plaza). He was famous for granting loans to anyone regardless of their credit history, with only a handshake as a promise to repay. His handshake was his word – and the community benefited because of his kindness and honesty.
And now (at last!) we come to the subject of foiling would-be robbers (which was tantalizingly mentioned at the beginning of this profile). It seems the credit union had been targeted by armed robbers on more than one occasion. That is certainly not a good thing – however – it did result in an amusing anecdote told by Stephen Wrenn, a college student working for Charlie at the time. He remembered that Charlie decided to foil future robbers by installing dye packets in each cash drawer (which were set to explode 10 minutes after being taken from the building).
He was so excited about this new deterrent, he walked across the plaza to Jonelle’s Apparel Shop to show one of the packs to owner Bill Kelly. When Charlie left the shop and was halfway across the parking lot, the packet exploded in his pocket. Needless to say, Bill and Stephen had a good laugh – and I bet Charlie did too!
For Charlie, Grafton was always “The Greatest Town in the World” and there’s no doubt that his dedication contributed to its greatness. Generations on Graftonites will remember him for his good deeds and his presence – especially at town events where he always ended the proceedings by leading the singing of “God Bless America.” In recognition of his dedication to the town, the Lions Club named him “Humanitarian of the Year” in 1997. And, in 1998, the town of Grafton gave him its Lifetime Community Service Award.
Charlie remained at the helm of the Grafton News until March of 2012, when he sold his interest to Donald Clark, Wendy Watkins, and Cynthia Bissell. He continued to write his weekly column until two weeks before his death on Wednesday, August 21, 2013. He was 87.
https://youtu.be/DGrTWbaEfq8?si=EXD_CXQPcFtOWvPB
YouTube Video link of Charlie singing "God Bless America".
Charlie Bolack, the unofficial "Mayor of Grafton," sings "God Bless...
