Straight Outta Wayland: Famous Faces From Your Hometown

WAYLAND, MA—"Over the river and through the wood, to grandmother's house we go ..."

Yeah, you know the words, and the song.

But did you know that the title is really "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day," and it was originally a poem. It was also written by Lydia Maria Child, who was born in Medford, but lived most of her life in Wayland, until she died in 1880, according to American Alarm.

Child was also known as one of the first, if not the first, female writer to earn a living that way, and wrote the popular domestic advice book called "The Frugal Housewife" as well as a magazine for children called "Juvenile Miscellany."

You can read the Frugal Housewife online, and it contains a page that breaks down farm animals into cuts of meat sections.

From the "Frugal Housewife:"

Where turkeys and geese are kept, handsome feather fans may as well be made by the younger members of a family, as to be bought. The sooner children are taught to turn their faculties to some account, the better for them and for their parents.