Born Rena Marion Songster in Boston in 1892, she moved to Wakefield when she married in 1925. With her husband George Colson she lived on Crescent Hill.

When she had lived in Boston she was a cashier in a delicatessen, upon her move to Wakefield, her occupation was listed as ‘none.’ Instead, she became involved in regional politics. She served as president of the Al Smith Club and worked hard to get out the vote for his 1928 presidential run, and subsequently became the Chairman of the Wakefield Democratic Town Committee, where she was a dynamic force in bringing out votes, particularly by women.

In 1929, she made an unsuccessful bid to be elected to the board of selectmen in Wakefield, the first woman in history ever to have done so. Subsequently, she made a try to be elected to the state senate.

Undaunted by the losses, she was back again in 1932 for another try for Selectman, this time succeeding to become the first woman in Wakefield’s history to achieve that office. Her political skill is evinced in the fact that she had an unprecedented number of ‘bullet’ votes, particularly by women, and particularly in Greenwood. She was easily reelected in 1936.

While in office she prided herself on making sure to root out patronage among the town’s merchants and tradesmen in seeking the town’s business. In her campaign advertisements, she said “I promise you clean, open, courageous, impartial and efficient administration,” and applied that to every. issue and official act throughout her term.

By 1940, she and George had divorced, she had taken a job as a clerk and had moved to Greenwood Street; by 1950, she had left Wakefield to move to Museum Street in Cambridge, where she was employed as a supervisor in the County Courthouse.

Rena Colson died in 1968, having left a brief but meaningful mark upon her adopted town of Wakefield.

“Wakefield’s Women” is a feature of the Wakefield Historical Society, focusing on the life of one historic woman per day in honor of Women’s History Month. All posts are also saved in our blog on wakefieldhistory.org and our social media pages. Many are also featured courtesy of the Wakefield Daily Item.