Katherine Chapin Higgins Portrait

“Full steam ahead for me” was Higgins’s (1847-1924) response to her friends who suggested she curtail some of her community activities in her later years. More than two dozen bequests to educational, religious, and charitable organizations in Worcester and elsewhere reflected her lifelong interest and activity in improving the lives of others. Married to Milton Prince Higgins, a founder and for years the president of Norton Company, she played a major role in developing the Parent-Teacher Associations, serving as president of the state chapter from 1912 to 1920 and subsequently as a president of the national association.