Revived race honors neighborhood hero
Eddie Spieler’s club aimed to inspire Arlington boys

By Steve Whipple
MethuenLife Writer

Eddie Spieler was his name and good deeds were his game.
In fact, he even formed an organization based on charity for the neighborhood boys who hung out by his Spieler’s Market in the 1930s. The Spieler Club, as it was called, aimed at finding more worthwhile activities for the boys of Methuen’s Arlington Neighborhood.
Now 76 years after the club’s first fund-raising road race, relatives of Eddie Spieler, Methuen Arlington Neighborhood President Linda Soucy and attorney Linda Harvey have joined forces to create the First Revival of the Spieler Road Race.
But rather than wind through city streets, the race will take place on Methuen High’s track at 45 Pleasant Street from 1 to 3 pm on Patriots Day, April 20. Participant ribbons, music, pizza and refreshments are all part of the event.
“It is great to honor the memory of Mr. Spieler who helped the kids in the Arlington District, who today need more help than ever,” said Soucy, community activist and director of the Methuen Arlington Neighborhood (MAN).
One hundred percent of the proceeds go to MAN’s Lena Lahey Community Center youth programs. MAN recently lost $100,000 in funding, according to Harvey.
There will be a 440-yard race (one lap of the track) for kids 12 and under and an 880-yard run (two laps) for adults. Entrance fees are $25 for racers over 12; $18 for racers under the age of 12. For more information, call Soucy at (978) 691-5645 or Harvey at (978) 686-9800 or visit www.methuenarlington.com.
Eddie Spieler operated Spieler’s Market, a neighborhood grocery story on the corner of Broadway and Kirk Street. Spieler was described as a natural leader and an inspiration to the young people of the neighborhood. He formed a sports club for the neighborhood boys, with basketball being the preferred activity.
The Spieler Club’s first of many road race fund-raisers was on Patriots Day, 1933. The course began at the market and continued to Forest and Haverhill streets, to Elm Street, down Lowell Street to Oakland Avenue, then back to the intersection of Kirk and Broadway.
Spieler died at the age of 42, but his wife Sophie continued to manage the store and help sponsor the Ed Spieler Memorial Handicap in 1947. A well-preserved program from that event features sponsor ads from Methuen businesses such as Solak’s Diner, Hoyle’s Market, Crystal Spa, Nassar Ford, Community Drug Store, John Condon’s Stonehaven Market and Hal’s Babrber Shop.
Spieler’s children — Charlotte Spieler Cohen and Dr. Alfred Spieler — have helped sponsor this race to honor their father’s memory and his dedication to the children of Methuen. They hope to make it an annual event.