Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Town Meeting
Precerpt (excerpt prior to publication from the forthcoming memoir, In with the East: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver Town Meeting No description of Acton would be complete without a regalement of the annual town meeting. In Acton, governance wasn’t just a matter of policy—it’s a living tradition. While many towns across America have adopted city councils, charters, and professional administrators. Acton has held fast to a form of government that dates back to colonial New England: the Town Meeting–Selectmen model. This isn’t just a quaint relic. It’s a deliberate choice rooted in scale, history, and civic philosophy. Acton was incorporated in 1830, carved from the western portion of Shapleigh. From the beginning, it embraced the town meeting format—a syste...