Westborough's Loss is Grafton's Gain

Paula Skog, who made history as the first female selectman in Westborough, and who has spent decades preserving the history of Westborough with both the and , is now looking in a new direction: the future.

Skog is moving out of Westborough for the first time since 1953. While she will not be too far from home, in a condo in North Grafton, she is leaving her work at the Westborough Historical Commission.

Lifetime in Westborough

Having moved to Westborough in 1953 just after the tornado that devastated Worcester, her roots in town run deep. "We came to Westborough (from Worcester) because it was in between my two sets of grandparents who lived in Worcester and Natick," Skog said. She attended what was then called the New Elementary School.

After studying to be a dental hygienist at the University of Rhode Island, she first worked in Worcester and then spent 21 years working for Dr. Cutone in Westborough. For the past seven years, she has worked for Dr. Ghaly in Westborough.

She married a Westborough High School graduate and settled into town to raise a family. Her daughter, Kelli Silva, also lives in Westborough and is a practicing attorney in town.

Making History

An interest in her own genealogy led her to join the Westborough Historical Society in the 1970s. Once she joined, she was the group's secretary for many years, as well as its president.

In the mid 1980s, she was appointed to the Westborough Historical Commission, a group that focuses on preserving and protecting historical aspects and artifacts from the town, restoring gravestones, delaying demolition of any properties built before 1950 and approving signage for historical areas of the town.

Her interest in the history of Westborough grew in 1984 when former selectman Kris Allen's published her book, On the Beaten Path: Westborough MA. Skog, who had an interest in photography, contributed photos to the book.

In the late 1980s, she became interested in an effort to revise the town's charter. This led to her running for selectman.

"Who is this Paula Skog?" asked her opponent when she ran for selectman in March 1990. Skog responded by saying that as a child she had played on Westborough's Walker Farm, she had gone to the local high school and had many more local connections.

Her campaign was a success. She was the first woman elected selectmen in Westborough, serving from 1990 to 1993. She earned 1,794 votes out of 3,065 in a heated election that hinged on a split tax rate for Westborough. Skog was against the split; her opponent was for it.

When her term was up, the commission had grown from three to five members. She did not run for reelection because "I thought that there was too much repetitive conversation with five members. I felt (the board) wasn't as productive as with three members."

At this point, she took a year off and resumed her status as a voting member of the Historical Commission. She then forged ahead as a member of Westborough's Advisory Finance Committee where she remained for 9 years. Because the FinCom deals with board budgets, she had to switch to a non-voting associate member of the town's Historical Commission.

"The FinCom could be rather dry, but it was just fascinating dealing with all the different boards,” she said. "We were always dealing with buildings that needed a new roof... It was tough keeping the budget in line."

In 2003, Skog returned to full membership of the Historical Commission. She said that her mentor, Jacqueline Tidman, retired as chairperson four years ago at age 80. "She pushed for archeological digs in Westborough. She wanted artifacts to stay where they belong."

She said that her long-time interest in the Historical Commission stems from her interest in history, not in all things colonial. "When I was president of the Historical Society, people would be surprised to learn that I lived in a ranch house with modern furniture."

Looking to the Future

Today, her thoughts are not with her history, but rather with her future. She recently sold her house and is moving to a condo in North Grafton.

"I tried to move to a place in Westborough, but the initial cost of anything that I wanted was higher, the condo fees were higher, and the taxes were almost double’’ those in North Grafton. And, so, the first female selectmen and longtime historian in Westborough is preparing to close a chapter on her service to the town.