THIS PAST SUMMER TWO MEN, JOHN ROUSSEAU AND MICHAEL DRESLINSKI, both age 28, went on a cross-country burning spree in Massachusetts.

One of their targets on August 12 was the birthplace and childhood home of Mary Sawyer, the famed namesake of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” fame.  It was located in the town of Sterling.

The two men have been held without bail in another county since August after being charged with arsons and assorted felonies there.  They were to have been transported to Worcester today to answer charges on the fires there, but one of them was unable to be transported.  Their arraignment was re-set for February 19.

They were implicated in one of the fires, a vacant paper mill, by recordings of their movements made by a GPS receiver that had been implanted on their vehicle by court order relating to still another case.

The Worcester Telegram has the REPORT.

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Mary Elizabeth Sawyer was 14 yrs. when she reportedly allowed her pet lamb follow her to school one day.  The resultant conflict with the teacher and the antics of the lamb caused a lot of mirth with the other students and one of them later on, while in college, wrote the famous poem about Mary Had A Little Lamb.

The house was still owned by the descendants of Mary but it has been unused for decades and was in serious disrepair.  The house never had electricity nor plumbing, but was a nostalgic connection with one of America’s most famous nursery rhymes.

Wickipedia entry containing the history of the poem and the lyrics is HERE.

The Sterling Fire Dept. has a website and their apparatus page is HERE.

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As a side note, you may recall that when Thomas Edison invented his phonograph machine, the first recording he made was a recitation of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”

This movie newsreel was made 50 years later in 1927 and shows Edison reciting the poem once again.

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