Dwight Strong, 98; Led Group Against Gambling and Porn

Dwight Spaulding Strong, 98, the former director of the New England Watch and Ward Society, which battled what it perceived as the societal evils of pornography and gambling, died Tuesday in Boston of natural causes.

The puritanical organization was formed in Boston in 1878 to “watch and ward off evildoers.” In its heyday, the society forced the Boston Public Library to keep books the group considered objectionable in a locked room, and the Museum of Fine Arts to keep parts of its Asian collection behind closed doors.

Strong headed the society from 1948 to 1967. The group’s name was changed in 1950 to the New England Citizens Crime Commission. He focused the organization’s activities primarily on gambling.

In 1962, Strong earned national publicity when his research helped CBS News make the documentary “Biography of a Bookie Joint,” which showed uniformed Boston police entering and leaving a key shop where bets were being placed. The documentary led to a grand jury investigation and a shake-up of the Boston Police Department.