WICKED LOCAL CARVER – Former selectman, Board of Health chairman, Old Home Day Association president and Shurtleff Park Trustee Clark Griffith gave much of his time and significant tracts of land to the town of Carver.
Clark Griffith, a 3rd generation cranberry grower, farming in the town of Carver was featured in Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association’s video series ‘Crimson Tales: Stories from Massachusetts Cranberry Growers’. Growing up in the business of farming cranberries, and later serving as a president of the Association, Clark had a wealth of knowledge and stories to share. Besides growing cranberries, Clark was active in numerous boards and committees within the industry, helping to shape its place as Massachusetts’ number one agricultural food crop.
Tuesday night, Griffith was honored with the Robert H. Merritt Public Service Award, the second recipient of the award named after the Rev. Robert Merritt.
Griffith was nominated for the honor in March but died peacefully at his home April 8 surrounded by family. He was 87.
An active life member of the Carver Firefighter’s Association up until his death, he gave so much to the department over the years, according to Dave Robertson, who serves on the committee that selected Griffith for the award.
“Clark provided a wide range of service and dedication to the community,” Robertson said.
Griffith personally donated property to the town on the condition that the new South Carver fire station be built on site. He also donated money to the Fire Department for the purchase of a high performance motor for the fire rescue boat and forestry equipment, among numerous other donations.
He also donated land to the town for the creation of the Julian M. Southworth Park in South Carver. He sold a piece of land from his large family farm and donated the proceeds to his alma mater, Bates College.
Griffith was a third generation cranberry grower in South Carver and a past president of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association and has received many awards for his commitment to the cranberry industry.
He was also instrumental in the creation of the Young Peoples’ Alliance of Carver and helped purchased the former Ben Ellis School that was renovated and was home to YPAC in its early years.
His named will be engraved on a plaque at Town Hall joining other award recipients.
Select Board member Ron Clarke asked Robertson to extend the board’s congratulations to the Griffith family.
“I think Mr. Griffith was a wonderful choice, a great guy,” Select Board Chairman Mark Townsend said.
By Kathryn Gallerani
Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association’s video series “Crimson Tales: Stories from Massachusetts Cranberry Growers was created by Michelle McGrath PR and GreenCastle Video Productions, to capture the experiences of multi-generation octogenerean cranberry growers through their stories. The project was supported by a Specialty Crop Block Grant Program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To view the full video library series, visit https://www.cranberries.org/crimson-tales.
