Past Events 2014

DECEMBER

Beginning September 28, 2013 — “Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts”
Wright House, Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

This exhibition is part of the Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture Collaboration.

Historic Deerfield’s newest exhibition, “Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts”, will open to the public on Saturday, September 28, 2013. The semi-permanent exhibition will be featured in the Wright House.

“Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts” explores western Massachusetts’ first 150 years of furniture-making with 58 objects drawn from Historic Deerfield’s collections that exemplify the region’s signature contribution to American design history and the emergence of a national identity. The exhibition is a part of the Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture collaboration, celebrating the Bay State’s legacy of furniture-making.

The furniture-making traditions in western Massachusetts are the perfect laboratory for exploring the impact of family and landscape on the appearance of manmade goods. While numerous mercantile ties were built by ambitious Connecticut Valley families in Boston, Newport, New York City, and later the China Trade, their extensive cousinage created a kind of corporate whole that improved business and forged identity. At the same time, the north-south flow of the Connecticut River-New England’s “great river”-was a far more powerful current than any east-west political or cultural ties to Boston.

Historic Deerfield’s exhibition will explore the impact of family and landscape on craftsmanship and consumerism through the famous “Hadley” chests of the late 17th century and the other early regional shop traditions that they obscured; the emergence of the consumer revolution, through both local craftsmen and urban imports, on the shoulders of the Valley’s elite “river god” families who funded themselves through agricultural exports and munitions for the colonial wars; the post-American Revolution rise of classicism that largely eclipsed the “river gods” with new consumers and craftsmen who manifest different standards of taste, education, and trading partners enhanced by the Connecticut River’s new canal system; and the 19th-century rise in wealth from burgeoning industry and technology, largely through the metalworking trades, that created yet another wave of consumers and craftsmen anxious to express their newfound wealth in modern ways. These four chapters are deeply rooted in sense of place and together show the importance of reading cultural history through documented objects.

“Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts” is curated by Joshua Lane, Curator of Furniture for Historic Deerfield. The ongoing exhibition will be open daily starting September 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is included with general admission to the museum. Admission is $14 for adults (18+), $7 for children (6-17), free for children under 6, members and Deerfield residents. For more information, please call (413) 775-7214 or visit historic-deerfield.org.

Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture is a collaborative project of Historic Deerfield and ten other institutions that features exhibitions, lectures, demonstrations and publications to celebrate the Bay State’s legacy of furniture-making. Visit fourcenturies.org.

21 December 2014 thru January 2015 — “Giving Thanks: A Folk Art Thanksgiving Supper”
Hatfield Historical Museum
2nd Floor, Hatfield Public Library, 39 Main St., Hatfield

Carved by Hatfield Artist Thomas Yarrows

Opening Sunday, Dec. 21, 4:30-5:45 pm (for Luminarium)

Come see this exhibit and others while the children are regaled by storytellers in the Library downstairs (5 pm), before joining caroling at Town Hall (6 pm), refreshments at the Fire Station (6:30) and the bell and choral concert at the Congregational Church (7 pm).

After Luminarium, Thomas Yarrows’ whimsical carvings will be on display Saturday and Tuesday mornings just during January when the museum is open. It’s been many years since they’ve been seen – so don’t miss this carnivore’s feast! Sponsored by the Hatfield Historical Society.

18 December 2014 — “Victorian Christmas Traditions”
A la Carte Lecture Series
Davis Auditorium, D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Anne Barrett, A Brief History! Historical lectures
Dressed in her festive velvet attire, “Victoria Yule” will entertain and educate your group by sharing her Christmas 1895 celebration plans. She’ll show you the presents she and her family will be exchanging, discuss meal plans that include her favorite plum pudding, and talk about the history of Christmas trees and Christmas cards. She’ll take you caroling with her favorite wassailing song, and present dramatic readings she’ll be sharing with her family around the parlor fire. Learn how many of our contemporary Christmas traditions are rooted in the Victorian era in this fun and festive program. $2 members; $4 nonmembers

The audience is invited to bring a lunch to enjoy during the program; cookies and beverage are provided. Sponsored by Big Y.

December 13, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

“Old Santa Claus was very polite to me last Christmas,” wrote fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson to a friend. How did Emily Dickinson and her family celebrate Christmas? Find out during “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons,” a special family-friendly event on two Saturdays, December 6 and 13, that draws participants into the history of Christmas celebrations in the two Dickinson households.

Evocative decorations, seasonal music, and new objects on exhibit will immerse visitors in the holiday spirit on this unique exploration of the Homestead and the Evergreens, while the words of Emily Dickinson and her family will bring their Christmas experiences to life.

The works of Charles Dickens were a favorite of Emily Dickinson and her family, so what better way to conclude each visit than with an intimate reading in the Evergreens from Dickens’s A Christmas Carol by award-winning author and Dickens fan Tony Abbott? All visitors will also receive a holiday token.

“A Dickensian Christmas” replaces the Museum’s guided tours at 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm. Reservations are recommended. Complete the reservation form on-line at http://www.EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org/december, or call 413-542-2034.

December 12, 2014 — Closing Reception for “Splendor and Sorrow: Glimpses of WW1”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 5-8 p.m.

Historic Northampton cordially invites you to meet Therese Dwyer Moriarty on December 12, from 5-8 p.m. at the closing reception for her exhibition.

Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton presents “Splendor and Sorrow”, an exhibition of prints by Therese Dwyer Moriarty through which she strives to balance the awesome beauty of the Alps and surrounding countryside with the echoes of a war that changed the world.

“Splendor and Sorrow” incorporates stories from some of the Northampton families who served during WW1. Maps and trench stories from other sources echo the diary writings of Captain Thomas Joseph Hammond, Company I, 104th Infantry Regiment, Northampton. Especially poignant are the letters and death notices from Pvt. Irving Finn and Sgt. George Finn, brothers killed a mere 6 months apart. Gas mask instructions were included with the contents of the footlocker used by Wallace Howes during his service in the United States Army from 1917 to 1919. With just these three local families’ items from the archives, major issues from the war reveal themselves in a very personal way.

Moriarty, who works mostly in monotypes, paints with watercolors on treated Plexiglas, letting colors drip and flow into each other and emphasizing areas with drawings using bamboo calligraphy pens. Before running the plate through a printing press she transposes stories and letters onto various rice papers or uses a non-toxic lithography process to impose images from maps, photos, and death notices. These are added to the watercolor images at the time of printing. The writings are subtle and are not meant to be read. They are hints and echoes, like a nagging feeling of foreboding in our subconscious. Some of the writings are included separately in the exhibition so that they may be seen in their entirety.

Therese Dwyer Moriarty has been an artist and art educator for all of her adult life. She has taught art to all age levels, and currently teaches mid-elementary Art in East Longmeadow. Moriarty has studied painting and printmaking here and abroad. Her work is in many private and corporate collections. She is a member of Zea Mays Printmaking.

December 11, 2014 — “Something of the Character Within—19th and early 20th Century Portraits of Swift River Valley Children”
Stone House Lecture Series
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

Swift River Valley Historical Society Curator and historian, Elizabeth Peirce, and Executive Director, Sheila Damkoehler will present images of Swift River Valley children in the late 19th and early 20th century. What was it like to have a photograph taken in the 19th century? How did it change in the 20th century with the introduction of the “snapshot” by Eastman Kodak, and yet again in the 21st century with tiny cameras hidden inside cell phones and instant postings to facebook or Instagram? The slide presentation will look at the experience of visiting one of the studios scattered throughout the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What did children wear? How did they pose? What kind of backdrops and props might have been available in the photographer’s studio?

Occasionally photographers managed to transcend the conventions within which they worked and show “something of the character within.” The viewer will be the judge—did these photographers succeed in capturing something of the character within these children?

December 11, 2014 — “Democracy & the Military: A Panel Discussion”
Historic Northampton & Springfield Public Forum
at Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 7 p.m.

Since 2003 the United States has been constantly at war. This has profoundly affected the nation’s economy, psyche, national security apparatus, and much more.

“Democracy and the Military”, a panel discussion on wide-ranging topics such as:
– Should there be a draft?
– Is there such a thing as a just war?
– The view from the trenches (metaphorically)
– The use of private military contractors in combat
– Why is there no peace movement today?

PANELISTS:
Ben Brody: (Iraq veteran, photojournalist with Global Post)

Barry Goldstein: (Photojournalist, author of Gray Land: Soldiers on War)

Bill Newman: (Director of the Western Regional Law Office of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, author of When the War Came Home)

Tom Weiner: (Educator, author of Called to Serve)

FORMAT:
Each panelist will speak for 10 minutes, sharing their reflections, excerpts from their books, and recent photographs and videos taken in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then the audience will be invited to join the discussion.

Stan Sherer, Vice President of the Board of Trustees, will moderate the event.

This event is presented in partnership with the Springfield Public Forum, presenting author Fredrik Logevall and “Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam”. December 3rd at Springfield Symphony Hall, 7:30 pm.

December 10, 2014 — Valley Gives Day!

This year, for the first time, PVHN is participating in the Valley Gives Day campaign. On December 10th, people all over the Pioneer Valley will go online (http://valleygives.razoo.com) and donate to a wide variety of worthy causes. It’s easy and it’s fun and the Community Foundation of Western Mass. generously contributes additional funds to “incentivize” our giving. Please, if this is the “giving season” for you, first think of your local historical society or museum, and then, if there’s something left over, please consider supporting PVHN with a donation.

December 10, 2014 — Emily Dickinson Birthday Celebration
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

To mark the occasion of Emily Dickinson’s 184th birthday on Wednesday, December 10, the Museum will offer two special weekday presentations of “Dickinsons in Love” at 3 pm and 7 pm, and a free reading from Susan Snively’s new novel The Heart Has Many Doors at 5 pm.

“Dickinsons in Love” reveals the nature of courtship, marriage, unrequited passions, and extramarital romance in the Dickinsons’ world. The stories unfold through the words of the family members themselves. Guests are invited to read from family letters as part of the experience. At the program’s conclusion, guests will join their guides over wine and cheese to continue the discussion of nineteenth-century romance.

“Dickinsons in Love” costs $25 for adults, $20 for Museum members, and $15 students. Reservations are required. Call 413-542-2034 or e-mail edmprograms@EmilyDickinsonMuseum.org.

Susan Snively’s new novel, The Heart Has Many Doors, delves into the romantic relationship of Emily Dickinson and Judge Otis Phillips Lord, a family friend 18 years her senior and her father’s best friend. The reading will be held at 5 pm at the Amherst Woman’s Club at 35 Triangle Street in Amherst. A book signing and reception will follow.

Dickinson scholar, author, and literary critic Christopher Benfey notes that “Susan Snively’s dazzling novel is based on her own pioneering research as well as her own sensibility as a poet. What emerges is a fresh picture of a great poet – living, breathing, and passionately in love.”

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Tea
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 2 – 3:30 p.m.

Tea at Wistariahurst will put you in the spirit of the season. Sip tea in Belle’s beautiful Music Room accompanied by live music played on the grand piano with local pianist David Stukus. Come as a family, a group of friends, or come alone and make new friends this holiday season! Enjoy tea and sweet treats at Wistariahurst Museum, and see the historic mansion in
festive decor. A select variety of teas and luscious sweets will be served while you enjoy holiday cheer, join the chorus, and mingle with other guests. Tickets are $12 general /$10 members and can be purchased online at www.wistariahurst.org or by calling the Museum at (413)322-5660

December 7, 2014 — Architectural Walking Tour
Longmeadow Historical Society
First Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 p.m.

The Longmeadow Historical Society will be conducting an exterior Architectural Walking Tour of 18th and 19th century homes with a variety of architectural styles located around the Longmeadow Town Green on Sunday, December 7. Interested people should meet at the First Church of Christ (763 Longmeadow Street) at 1 PM where a brief history of the First Church buildings will be presented.

Following that there will be an exterior walking tour of The Old Parsonage (1857) at 777 Longmeadow Street and The Old Red House (1734) at 787 Longmeadow Street (the building that is on the Longmeadow town seal). The tour will then continue traveling south to the Jonathan Hale House at 873 Longmeadow Street (1756), the Stephen Hale House (1831) at 891/893 Longmeadow Street and the Bliss/Keep House (1713) at 909 Longmeadow Street. From there the tour will cross Longmeadow Street to the Downing House (1850’s) at 826 Longmeadow Street (1850’s) and the Daniel Colton House (1829) at 788 Longmeadow Street. The tour will then conclude in the Buxton Room at First Church for some light refreshments.

This event is FREE and open to the public, donations are welcome. There is no rain/snow date. For more information, visit the website of the Longmeadow Historical Society: http://www.LongmeadowHistoricalSociety.org

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Open House
Keep Homestead Museum
35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 – 3:30 p.m.

The annual event will feature the house decorated for the season, delicious refreshments and a holiday sing-a-long with Debra Kelley at the piano.

Tour the museum and marvel at the items collected by the Keep family who lived there for over 150 years. There is furniture, silver and cut glass, collections of rocks, minerals and shells, quilts and other needlework done by the women of the family, along with the extensive button collection (the pride of the museum). Visit the bedroom that Charles and Pearl Keep moved into on their wedding day in 1893 and that has the original wallpaper, carpet, furniture and the bill-of-sale for the furniture.

This event is free-of-charge, although donations are accepted. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or visit the web at http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

December 6, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 6, 2014 — Joint Open House
Dewey House, 87 South Maple St., Westfield
Edwin Smith Historical Museum, 6 Elm St., Westfield, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Everyone is invited to a JOINT OPEN HOUSE, Celebrating 11 years of Dickens Days!

Admission to both places is free. Refreshments will be served at the Dewey House.

December 6, 2014 — Heritage Baking Day
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Holidays are about memories, and the foods we prepare and share form a significant core of that memory bank. Recipes (or receipts as they were once called) whether written down or taught by demonstration are documents of these memories. On Heritage Baking Day, learn about baking recipes from the past with our Open Hearth Cooks and through demonstrations with Dede Wilson, the founder of Bakepedia: The Baker’s Resource, who will give a presentation on “The Original Toll House Cookie” at 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Also see the results of the Historic Deerfield King Arthur Flour Heritage Recipe Baking Contest sponsored by King Arthur Flour’s flagship store in Norwich, VT. Visitors can see contest entries displayed from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

December 5, 2014 — “When the Highway Came Through”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Stinchfield Lecture Hall, Greenfield Community College, 7 p.m.

The Pioneer Valley Institute is presenting “When the Highway Came Through” Friday evening, Dec 5, in Stinchfield Lecture Hall at Greenfield Community College at 7 o’clock. There will be a brief annual meeting of PVI starting at 6:30. The program, hosted by Bernardston resident Barry Deitz, is free and open to the public.

The completion of Interstate 91 in 1970 changed the physical and economic landscape of the Pioneer Valley. The building of a freeway to run from New Haven to the Canadian border had a profound effect on the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people, especially along what was known as ‘the Knowledge Corridor’ because of the large number of college towns between New Haven and Greenfield. As a result of the highway, farms were cut in half, lakes filled in, creeks re-routed and businesses that depended heavily on the daily traffic along US Routes 5 and 10 like gas stations, restaurants, motels, garages and pubs were hit hard by a commercial development that added an ominous new word to travel vocabulary—bypass.

Deitz’s program will look at this impact—then and now—on the Pioneer Valley by the building of this highway. Stories of local businesses that did and did not survive, of farmers and landowners whose lives were changed forever will be incorporated into an audio-visual presentation that traces the history of the I-91 and its enduring legacy on Western Massachusetts.

Deitz has been a community theater actor, a radio station movie reviewer, a newspaper editor, a documentary filmmaker and a morning news anchor on cable news. Since moving to Massachusetts in 2013 he has presented programs on art history for the Deerfield Valley Art Association, on the poetry of World War One for the Amherst Poetry Festival and on ‘Haunted New England’ for the Greenfield Public Library. He lives in Bernardston with his wife and son; three other children still live back in North Carolina. A freelance writer and movie reviewer, he hosted a TV movie review show called ‘Meet Me at the Movies’ on the NC cable and has been a featured poet at readings in Northfield and Greenfield.

December 5, 2014 — “A Comparison: Farming today at Amherst’s Sunset Farm to farming in the 1860 South”
History Bites Lunchtime Lectures
Amherst Historical Society, Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Bill Gillen will compare c.1855 plantation farming in Mississippi as described by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in The Cotton Kingdom: A Traveller’s Observations on Cotton and Slavery in the American Slave States and farming in New England then and now. Gillen will use his own impressions and knowledge gained from his experiences at Amherst’s Sunset Farm, a ten acre farm with a thirty year history. There, he and his wife grow vegetables, herbs, chestnuts, pansies, cut flowers and create unique wreaths.

In the aftermath of the compromise of 1850, Henry J. Raymond, editor of the New York Times, sent Olmsted south as a special correspondent. Olmsted was thirty-years-old when he left for his first three month sojourn in December 1852. His published observations ran until 1854. From November 1853 through May 1854, Olmsted went south again, this time with his brother, mainly to New Orleans and Texas, and again his reports, called “Letters from the Southwest,” appeared in the newspaper. Finally, from May to August 1854, Olmsted traveled alone through the heart of the deep south. Articles from this journey, titled “The Southerners at Home,” appeared in 1857 in the competing New York Tribune. Each trip resulted in a book and the three books were compiled and issued in 1861 as The Cotton Kingdom.

Join us with your lunch in hand. We will provide coffee, tea or cider for you as you listen to the presentations. The 30-minute program will begin promptly at 12:15 with seating and beverages ready just before noon. The lectures are free and everyone is welcome to attend. For updated information, check our website at http://www.amhersthistory.org

Thursday, December 4, 2014 — “Caroling and Yankee Swap”
Southwick Historical Society
Southwick Senior Center, Town Hall, 434 College Highway, Southwick, 6 p.m.

CATERED DINNER — CHRISTMAS PARTY
HOSTESSES: Connie Johnson, Pat Odiorne

December 3, 2014 — “Embers of War”
Springfield Public Forum
Symphony Hall, Springfield, 7:30 p.m.

As a specialist in U.S. foreign policy and a professor at Cornell University, Fredrik Logevall brings rich insight to the legacy of the Vietnam War. His most recent novel, Embers of War, recounts the war’s wasted opportunities and deadly miscalculations. Be prepared for Logevall to change your understanding of how and why America went to war in Vietnam. He will delve deep into the historical record to provide hard answers to the questions surrounding the demise of one Western power in Vietnam and the arrival of another. Detailing the rich and hidden history of the French and American experiences in Vietnam, Embers of War won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2013.

December 3, 2014 — Western Mass. Genealogical Society Meeting
Agawam Senior Center
954 Main Street, Agawam, 6-8 pm.

The Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society will hold their next meeting from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the at the Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam, Massachusetts.

Holiday Dinner: Join us for a pot luck dinner. Socialize with fellow genealogists while dining to holiday music. Participate in an “Open Mic” session to share your genealogy research tips, websites, and suggestions.

NOVEMBER

Wednesdays, October 22 thru November 2014 — Advanced Genealogy Classes
Old Bones Genealogy of New England
Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 6 – 8 p.m.

Join us for 5 sessions with Dave Robison, professional genealogist, to delve deeper into your family history research. Learn from an expert! As most researchers will tell you, less than 10% of the available genealogical data can be found on-line. And of what is on-line, what can you trust and what should you shy away from!

Attendees should have at least the basics and have experience in genealogical research to participate. We’ll show you how to glean every bit of information from census records, vital records, wills, deeds, military pension records and many other valuable resources. We’ll talk about organizing your data, what to do next, how to “interview” relatives, fine tuning research strategies such as “crafting” a search, what sites are valuable and what sites are free, joining discussion groups, forums, webinars, Google+ Hangouts and many other tips and tricks to build your research skills.

You’ll learn how the “pro’s do it.” Terminology, standard practices, avoiding duplicating what you’ve already done and more. And you’ll have access to a file containing dozens of helpful documents and dorms including a list of dozens of useful websites, blogs, forums and specialized Facebook pages.

The sessions are held once a week on Wednesday afternoons from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm beginning October 22. Individuals can enroll for $95 with discounts for 2 or more. So bring a spouse or a friend or 2. Contact Dave Robison for details at dave@oldbones.info. Hurry! We want to have no more than 10 attendees so as to be able to provide as much personal assistance as possible so space is limited!

September 30 thru November 24, 2014 — “A Genius for Place”
A Panel Exhibition from the Library of American Landscape History
Mezzanine, Forbes Library, Northampton

From the 1890s to the waning years of the Great Depression, legions of American estates were constructed on the outskirts of cities, in resorts, and in scenic locales throughout the nation. Taken together, they comprise an important movement in the history of North American landscape design. Seven examples, are the subject of this photographic exhibition: Gwinn, Cleveland, Ohio; Stan Hywet, Akron, Ohio; Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.; Winterthur, Winterthur, Del.; Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich.; Val Verde, Santa Barbara, Calif.; and Naumkeag, Stockbridge, Mass.

About the Exhibition
A Genius for Place is based on an award-winning book by Robin Karson that traces the development of American landscape design by analyzing a group of landscapes that were chosen for their significance, state of preservation, and chronological and geographical distribution. Most are open to the public today.

October 2014 — “Historic Trades at Deerfield”
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

October Brings Historic Trades to Deerfield. Join us for our Historic Trades series, every weekend this October!

Immerse yourself in the crafts of early American tradespeople when you visit Historic Deerfield this October. Our Historic Trades demonstrations bring you up close to learn more about trades such as coopering, pottery, gravestone carving, and more. The following schedule can help you plan for a future visit to observe our demonstrators at work:

October 4: Coopering with Neil Muckenhoupt
October 5: Stoneware Pottery with Mark Shapiro and Silversmithing with Steve Smithers
October 11: 18th-Century Cabinetmaking with Craig Farrow
October 12: Gunsmithing with Leonard Day and Tailoring with Henry Cooke
October 18: Gravestone Carving with Karin Sprague and Redware Pottery with Rick Hamelin
October 19: Dressmaking with Linda Oakley and Shoemaking with Peter Oakley
October 25: Architectural Woodworking with Ted Ingraham
October 26: Birch Bark Basketmaking with Jennifer Lee

Included with general admission.

November 22, 2014 — “Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England”
Lecture & Tasting
Amherst Historical Society
Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, 2:30 p.m.

Before it was Safe to Drink the Water…
Tipples at breakfast, lunch, teatime and dinner were the norm in Colonial New England, and low-alcohol hard cider was sometimes a part of even children’s lives. Explore the origins and taste of the favorite potations of early Americans and learn some modern-day recipes to revive these beverages today with Corin Hirsch, author of Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England.

Colonial New England was awash in ales, beers, wines, cider and spirits. Everyone from teenage farm workers to our founding fathers imbibed heartily and often. This burgeoning cocktail culture reflected the New World’s abundance of raw materials: apples, sugar and molasses, wild berries and hops. This plentiful drinking sustained a slew of smoky taverns and inns-watering holes that became vital meeting places and the nexuses of unrest as the Revolution brewed.

This lecture, free and open to the public, is the annual meeting program of the Amherst Historical Society and will be held at the Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, on Saturday, November 22 beginning at 2:30.

For those who want to taste a selection of the drinks described by Ms. Hirsch during her lecture, we have a 21 and older ticketed event with two times planned from 4:00-6:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm at the Simeon Strong House. Ticket holders will sample Flip made with ale [warmed with a hot poker], rum, molasses, a beaten egg and nutmeg; Syllabub made with white wine, lemon juice, heavy cream sugar and nutmeg; a mulled wine, and hard cider. Light hors d’oeuvres will be served and Colonial music will provide a festive background. Tickets are $20.00 per person available from our website or at the Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst.

Corin Hirsch is an award-winning food and drinks writer who recently moved to the Hudson Valley of New York. She learned to pull a pint of Schlitz (for her grandfather) at the age of six, and she used to tend bar inside a sixteenth-century English pub. She has written about craft beer for Serious Eats and also ghost-blogs and writes in the wine world.

November 21, 2014 — “With Womanly Weapons Girt”: Women’s Voluntarism & Quilts in the Civil War
History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

The production and supply of textiles during the Civil War speak to the period’s newly discovered patriotism, to manufacturing and economic challenges, and especially to the herculean efforts of women on the homefront. Through their handmade socks, hospital shirts, flannel drawers, carpet slippers and quilts, women not only supplied their absent menfolk with necessary clothing and bedding, but with assurance that their sacrifice was honored and their presence missed. This lecture examines the quilts and other textiles that women (North and South) created to declare their patriotism and support their fighting menfolk, from the first call to defend their country to the post-war ceremonies that helped veterans-of both the battlefield and the homefront-to make sense of their experience.

Lynne Zacek Bassett is an independent scholar specializing in historic costume and textiles. From 1995-2000 she was the curator of textiles and fine arts at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Since going independent, Lynne has undertaken a number of large projects, including her most recent exhibition and publication, Homefront & Battlefield: Quilts & Context in the Civil War, co-authored with Madelyn Shaw and published in 2012 by the American Textile History Museum of Lowell. The book was awarded a bronze medal in history by the Independent Publishers Book Awards. Lynne was also primary author and editor of Massachusetts Quilts: Our Common Wealth, published by the University Press of New England in 2009. Lynne’s experience in the field of historic costume and textiles has been recognized by the American Antiquarian Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society, Historic New England, and the International Quilt Study Center, which have all elected her to membership in their honorary or advisory societies.

November 18, 2014 — “JFK 51 Years Later”
Palmer Historical & Cultural Center
2072 Main Street Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

Guest Lecturer ~ Rep. Todd Smola. Lecture about John F. Kennedy Assassination and display of Memorabilia and Articles at that time.
FREE ADMISSION ~ Freewill Donation encouraged and graciously accepted

November 18, 2014 — Talk by James Woolsey, Superintendent of Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Ramapogue Historical Society (Day House) West Springfield
at Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street (Route 20), West Springfield, 7 p.m.

Learn the role the Armory played in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Mr. Woolsey has worked for 20 years developing visitor and interpretive services at sites of natural and historical importance. Prior to assuming his duties at the Springfield Armory in March of 2012, Mr. Woolsey served as Director of Interpretation and Visitor Services for the American Battle Monuments Commission in Paris, France.

Free and open to the Public. Parking and entrance at rear of Church. Refreshments served. for more information call: 413-739-7453

November 17, 2014 — “Pulling the People Out of the Paperwork”
Genealogy Lecture
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Dave Robison of Old Bones Genealogy will present the basics of genealogy and family research. He will be giving guidance on how to start your research, types of sources and websites, how to interview relatives, how to organize data and using family tree software. Attendees will receive templates for family group sheets and pedigree charts, sample census records as well as the contents of various census records from 1790-1940. $7 general / $5 members.

November 17, 2014 — “Artful and Designing Men”
Pelham Historical Society
Ramsdell Room, Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m.
Canceled Due to Weather

Please join the Pelham Historical Society for ARTFUL AND DESIGNING MEN: The Trials of Job Shattuck and the Regulation of 1786-1787 on Monday November 17 2014 7:00 PM
Capt. Job Shattuck, one of the principal leaders in Shays Rebellion, was tried and sentenced to death for high treason. Join author Gary Shattuck as he discusses previously undiscovered evidence that sheds a surprising new light on Capt. Shattucks involvement, and forces a reassessment of this honorable mans actions.
Community Center Ramsdell Room following our Annual Business Meeting
Chairperson: Bruce Klotz, 253-1601 brucek@pelhamhs.org

All of our programs are free and open to the public. For more information about the Pelham Historical Society, please visit us on the WEB at pelhamhs.org or send us an email to: info@pelhamhs.org
Be sure to check out our full calendar of programs. Thank You! and hope to see you soon!

Sunday, November 16, 2014 — “Working for Peace and Justice in the Pioneer Valley the Past 60 Years”
a public talk by Frances Crowe
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 1 p.m.

Frances Crowe will speak at Historic Northampton on Sunday, November 16, at 1 pm, on her 60 years of work for peace and justice in the Pioneer Valley, where she is an icon of activism: against conscription, against nuclear power, against Apartheid, and, most of all, for world peace. As Crowe, now 95, recounts in her forthcoming memoir, Finding My Radical Soul, she turned her horror at the incendiary bombing of German cities and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki into a powerful source of activist energy. Since the 1940s, she has worked for peace through such organizations as the Society of Friends and the American Friends Service Committee, and has founded or co-founded the Traprock Peace Center, the Northampton chapter of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the Valley Peace Center, and other organizations. Whether counseling conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War or refusing to support the Iraq War (and subsequent wars) with her taxes, Frances Crowe has bravely taken stands and taken risks, living out her opposition to war and her commitment to peace. “Authorities dragged the short woman with white hair out of her congressman’s Springfield office while she protested the Iraq war,” PeaceNews.org recounts. “She spent a month in federal prison after painting `Thou shalt not kill’ on missile tubes of nuclear submarines in Connecticut. She has been arrested nine times for trespassing at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. When asked how often she has been hauled away for acts of civil disobedience, Frances Crowe responds with a smile: Not enough.” Just this year she was arrested for protesting at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant.

November 16, 2014 — “Our Northampton, Their Northampton: Six Feature Films Set in Northampton”
Fast Forward Film Series
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3 p.m.

The history of a place comingles the place its residents know and the place that outsiders see. We documented what we see last summer in the town-wide photography project Midnight to Midnight. But what do they see?

This program will explore how Northampton has been portrayed in six feature films. Following excerpts from the films, local historian and former Northwestern District Attorney W. Michael Ryan will lead a discussion and show contemporary still images of the filming locations.

We are also pleased to announce we have renovated our main gallery and all films, public talks and lectures will take place in our new enlarged space.

PROGRAM — EXCERPTS FROM THE FOLLOWING FILMS:

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, George Segal, Sandy Dennis

THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD (1975) Michael Sarrazin, Jennifer O’Neill, Margot Kidder

MALICE (1992) Alec Baldwin, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, Bebe Neuwirth, George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, Peter Gallagher, Josef Sommer, Tobin Bell, William Duff-Griffin, Debrah Farentino, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Bower

IN DREAMS (1997) Annette Bening, Robert Downey Jr., Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, Paul Guilfoyle, Katie Sagona, John Fiore, Dennis Boutsikaris, Michael Cavanaugh, Dossy Peabody

CIDER HOUSE RULES (1998) Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Paul Rudd, Michael Caine, Jane Alexander, Kathy Baker, Erykah Badu, Kieran Culkin, Kate Nelligan

EDGE OF DARKNESS (2010) Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, Bojana Novakovic, Shawn Roberts, David Aaron Baker, Jay O. Sanders, Denis O’Hare, Damian Young, Caterina Scorsone, Heavy D, K. Todd Freeman, Paz de la Huerta, J.K. Simmons, Evan Parke

Free and Open to the Public

November 16, 2014 — “Meet Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”
One-Person Show Performed by Katie Green
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., North New Salem, 2 p.m.

Master Storyteller and National Award Winner, Katie Green of Princeton, Massachusetts will present her program, Meet Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, on Sunday, November 16th in the Prescott Church at the Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm Street in North New Salem. This presentation, appropriate for adults and mature students, will begin at 2:00 PM. Admission is free.

Mary Rowlandson was a Puritan who was held in captivity by the Indians during King Philip’s War in 1676. Her husband was the first minister of Lancaster, Massachusetts. During her eleven week captivity Mary Rowlandson traveled through many towns in Massachusetts, and even into New Hampshire and Vermont before she was returned to the English in Princeton.

Discussion and a question-answer time may follow this little-studied period of Early American history. The program is made available by a grant from the New Salem Cultural Council which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. More information about Katie Green’s work is available on her website http://www.katiegreenstories.com. For more information about this performance, please contact the Swift River Valley Historical Society at 978-544-6882.

November 14-15, 2014 — “Borrowing from Antiquity to Design a New Republic: Neoclassicism in America”
Historic Deerfield Decorative Arts Forum
Historic Deerfield

Impressive Group of Scholars, including Pulitzer Prize winner, to Share Perspectives on the Influential Design Movement

Pulitzer Prize-winning Brown University Professor of History Gordon S. Wood is among the impressive list of scholars who will bring perspective to the subject of Neoclassicism in America to Historic Deerfield the weekend of November 14-16, 2014. “Borrowing from Antiquity to Design a New Republic: Neoclassicism in America” is sponsored by Skinner, Inc.

The three-day forum will explore the new design style developed in France and England in the mid-18th century and made popular in the newly-formed United States as the Federal style. Harkening back to the shapes and ornaments of classical Greece and Rome, antiquity became a source of inspiration for architecture, furniture, and household decoration, and can be seen in decorative arts ranging from porcelain vases to mahogany sideboards.

The frequent use of swags, urns, and elliptical motifs, along with the application of bright and varied color palettes and symmetry, are expressions of Neoclassical style. These design traits appeared in coastal urban centers by the early 1790s, and soon became fashionable in more rural areas, supported by those who wished to demonstrate their awareness of the latest fashion. Like their European counterparts, American builders, architects, and cabinetmakers were influenced by pattern books that emphasized the clean, geometric lines and more delicate Neoclassical detailing. The works of Robert Adam, William Pain, Thomas Sheraton, George Hepplewhite, and others were quickly adopted by American practitioners who added their own interpretations reflecting regional preferences and those of their customers.

In addition to Professor Wood, the forum brings a wealth of knowledge about the period from top scholars in their fields. The program will begin on Friday evening with a presentation by Wendy A. Cooper, Curator Emerita of Furniture, Winterthur Museum, who will set the stage for our understanding of the Neoclassical style and its origins, and will also discuss the adaptation of antique forms and motifs by New England craftsmen and consumers.

Professor Wood, the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1991) and Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (2009), will explain why Americans became so excited over Neclassicism.

The forum continues on Saturday and Sunday with presentations by:
Dr. Susan Schoelwer, Robert H. Smith Senior Curator of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, will reveal recent research on one of the most impressive Neoclassical interiors in Federal America, George Washington’s “New Room;”
David C. Bosse, Librarian and Curator of Maps at Historic Deerfield, will discuss a handful of important maps of the Federal period, with insight about their decorative elements and use as wall hangings;
Robert Mussey, retired conservator and furniture scholar, will speak on the topic of Neoclassical furniture produced in Boston;
Cabinetmaker and carver Alan Breed will demonstrate his skills carving a replica of a Federal style bed;
William Hosley, Principal of Terra Firma Northeast, will lecture on Asher Benjamin (1773-1845), who introduced Neoclassicism to domestic architecture in and published the first American builder’s guide, The Country Builder’s Assistant (1797);
Philip Zea, President of Historic Deerfield, will discuss the consumer revolution in rural New England with a focus on an Aaron Willard and Stephen Badlam tall case clock owned by Asa Stebbins (1767-1844) of Deerfield; and
Stephen Fletcher, Director of American Furniture & Decorative Arts at Skinner, Inc., will give an illustrated review of the trials and triumphs of restoring an 1830 Greek Revival granite captain’s house.

Participants who arrive early to the Forum are welcome to enjoy Deerfield’s excellent examples of Neoclassical architecture along the Street as well as to study furniture and related decorative arts on view in the Stebbins House, Sheldon House, Williams House, Silver Museum,and Wright House Gallery. The museum exhibits many examples of Neoclassical furnishings in the Museum’s Attic of the Flynt Center of New England Life and in the exhibition Into the Woods: Crafting Early American Furniture.

Before the Forum begins, four optional workshops (additional fee of $40 per workshop required) are offered on Friday afternoon, November 14:

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. “Neoclassical Architecture Along Deerfield’s Old Main Street.” William A. Flynt, Architectural Conservator, Historic Deerfield.

1:00 – 2:30 p.m. “Gouge-Cut Inlays.”Allan Breed, Master Cabinetmaker, The Breed School, Rollingsford, NH.

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. “‘The Difference and Quick Transition of Fashion’: Exploring Neoclassical Style in Historic Deerfield’s Fashion and Textile Collection.” David E. Lazaro, Associate Curator of Textiles and Collections Manager, Historic Deerfield.

3:00 – 4:30 p.m. “Inspired by Pompeii: Neoclassical Ceramics for the American Home.” Amanda Lange, Curatorial Department Director and Curator of Historic Interiors, Historic Deerfield.

Registration for the forum is $375 and includes all lectures and tours, admission to Historic Deerfield for the duration of the Forum, two receptions, one lunch, and refreshments. Friends of Historic Deerfield receive a $25 discount on their registration fee. An early registration discount of $35 is available for those registering prior to September 30, 2014.

Visit http://www.historic-deerfield.org to download a registration brochure or to register online. For more information or to register, contact Julie Orvis at (413) 775-7179 or e-mail jorvis@historic-deerfield.org.

November 14, 2014 — Tour of University Products
Pioneer Valley History Network
Meet in the UP Parking Lot, 517 Main Street, Holyoke, 12:45 p.m.

Canceled due to Medical Emergency

PVHN has arranged for a special guided tour of the University Products facility in Holyoke for Friday, November 14. Please RSVP to: camcca@charter.net if you are planning to join us. We will meet in the parking lot at 12:45 for a 1 p.m. tour.

University Products, the leading supplier of archival materials, provides the quality you expect and the information you can trust. Whether you need archival storage boxes, tools and equipment, library supplies, or preservation framing products, you’ll find all the archival conservation, preservation, restoration and exhibition materials you need at http://www.universityproducts.com.

Their facility is located at 517 Main Street, Holyoke.

November 14, 2014 — “100 Years Ago”
An Evening of Song, Music and Readings
The Village Church, 32 Main St., Cummington, 7-9 p.m.

The Looking Back Project presents, “100 Years Ago”, an evening of song, music and readings. WWI songs of Afro-American soldiers, songs that John McCormack sang, Sephardic and Yiddish music, accordion. Laurie Israel, accompaniments, vocals, accordion; David Perkins and Bill Sheppard, vocals; Alice Schertle and Susan Pearson, readers.

November 14, 2014 — “The New Asylum Seekers”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
UMass Amherst, Campus Center, Room 804, 1 p.m.,Public Reception to Follow

A Lecture by Professor María Cristina García (Cornell University). The policymakers who crafted the 1980 Refugee Act never imagined that, within a generation, petitions for asylum would increase dramatically. The asylum cases that make their way through immigration courts are fraught with moral and ethical uncertainty and raise a number of troubling questions. Cases are often highly politicized, especially when petitioners fall outside the traditional categories of persecution. In her talk, García examines U.S. asylum policy since the end of the Cold War, highlighting particular humanitarian challenges that have tested American principles and values.

María Cristina García is the Howard A. Newman Professor of American Studies in the Department of History at Cornell University, where she teaches courses in 20th century U.S. history. She is the author of Seeking Refuge: Central American Migration to Mexico, the United States, and Canada and Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida both published by the University of California Press. She has two forthcoming manuscripts: Keeping Faith: Refuge in Post-Cold War America and Origin Stories: Myth and History in the American Immigration Experience. Garcia is Vice-President and President-elect of the Immigration and Ethnic History Society. She just completed a year as a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington D.C.

Contact: communications@history.umass.edu

November 13, 2014 — “Belchertown Yanks “Over There”, While on the Home Front…”
Stone House Lecture Series
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

Randi Shenkman will be presenting a multimedia show about Belchertown and World War I at the Stone House Museum on Thursday, Nov. 13, 7 pm.

The museum has recently preserved it’s wonderful collection of World War I posters, so using these posters, Randi will explain both the reasons for World War I and the impact the war had on Belchertown’s home front during the 19 months of the US involvement.

Randi Shenkman, BA, MA, CAGS, was an educator for 36 years, starting out as a history teacher at Belchertown High School. She has been a trustee and/or docent at the Stone House Museum for the better part of the past 30 years. She is now retired from education, and dedicates her time to the museum and her photography business, Belchertown Photos.

November 12, 2014 — “Against Wind and Tide: The African American Struggle Against the Colonization Movement”
Odyssey Bookstore
9 College St., South Hadley, 7 p.m.

The Odyssey welcomes Ousmane Power-Greene for his new book, Against Wind and Tide. As Ousmane K. Power-Greene’s story shows, African American anticolonizationists did not believe Liberia would ever be a true “black American homeland.” In this study of anticolonization agitation, Power-Greene draws on newspapers, meeting minutes, and letters to explore the concerted effort on the part of nineteenth century black activists, community leaders, and spokespersons to challenge the American Colonization Society’s attempt to make colonization of free blacks federal policy. The United States, they argued, would never accept free blacks as citizens, and the only solution to the status of free blacks was to create an autonomous nation that would fundamentally reject racism at its core. But the activists and reformers on the opposite side believed that the colonization movement was itself deeply racist and in fact one of the greatest obstacles for African Americans to gain citizenship in the United States. Power-Greene synthesizes debates about colonization and emigration, situating this complex and enduring issue into an ever broader conversation about nation building and identity formation in the Atlantic world.

Ousmane Power-Greene is Assistant Professor of History at Clark University and a resident of Northampton.

November 12, 2014 — “Charity & Sylvia”
Lecture & Book Signing
Neilson Library Browsing Rm., Smith College, Northampton, 7:30 p.m.

Historic Northampton & Smith College present Rachel Hope Cleves. A slice-of-life look at the relationship, life challenges, social, familial & occupational milieu of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake — a same-sex marriage in early America (1790 – 1850s).

November 12, 2014 — “B. V. Brooks’ Pre-Quabbin Art, Photos & Postcards”
With Quabbin Historian, J.R. Greene
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 7 p.m.

Would you like to see what the Swift River Valley looked like before it was flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir? Quabbin historian J.R. Greene presents 90 stunning paintings, photographs and postcards by longtime Greenwich, MA resident Burt V.Brooks in his new book, B.V. Brooks’ Pre-Quabbin Art, Photos and Postcards.

Brooks works depict the early 20th century rural lifestyle and the people and places around him with sensitivity. Join Greene in the Coolidge Museum at the Forbes Library on Wednesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. for an illustrated from his new book. This program is free of charge and open to all. Copies of the book will be available for sale.

November 10, 2014 — “Quilt History- Why Does it Matter?
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Come explore quilt history with Jane Crutchfield, Western MA Coordinator of the Mass Quilt Documentation Project which has documented over 7,000 pre-1950 quilts. MassQuilts encourages the study and preservation of quilts and demonstrates that these textiles convey important insights about the lives of MA women from the colonial period to the present. Jane will bring along a few antique quilts that presented mysteries for discussion and encourages attendees to bring their own mystery quilts to share. Jane will also give guidance on how to be a detective in one’s own quilt research.

Our historical Lecture series are held Monday evenings at 6 p.m. and will focus on the history of textiles in the Connecticut River Valley. Admission is $7 general and $5 for members

November 8, 2014 — “Caring for Collections in Small Museums”
Historic Deerfield & PVHN
Deerfield Community Center, 16 Memorial Street, in Old Deerfield, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Historic Deerfield, Inc., and the Pioneer Valley History Network (PVHN) will present a free workshop, “Caring for Your Treasures: Preservation of Collections in Small Museums,” on Saturday, November 8, from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the Deerfield Community Center, 16 Memorial Street, in Old Deerfield.

The workshop, funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will focus on the topic of preserving and storing collections in small museums and historical societies with limited budgets. The first session will discuss the agents of damage and deterioration such as light, pollutants, insects, and temperature/humidity as well as actions that can be taken to prevent damage. The second portion of the program will provide guidance on housekeeping in historic houses, proper object handling methods, and storage solutions. There will also be information presented on funding sources available for collections care and conservation. Participants are encouraged to stay after the workshop to network and chat with the speakers and other attendees.

Featured presenters for the workshop include Barbara P. Moore, an objects conservator from New Castle, New Hampshire, Mary Jo (MJ) Davis, a conservator from West Burke, Vermont, and Amanda Lange, Director of the Curatorial Department and Curator of Historic Interiors, Historic Deerfield, Inc.

The workshop is free and open to the public. Registration is required, and can be done by mail, fax, telephone, or online at http://www.historic-deerfield.org. A pre-ordered, optional bag lunch after the workshop is available for $10. For more information and to register, contact Julie Orvis at (413) 775-7179 or e-mail jorvis@historic-deerfield.org.

Historic Deerfield, Inc., and the Pioneer Valley History Network support the efforts of museum and historical society staff in the long-term preservation of collections and historic structures in western Massachusetts.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit http://www.imls.gov and follow IMLS on Facebook and Twitter.

November 8, 2014 — “Traditional Felting Techniques 101: Water + Wool = Artful Fabric!”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 10 a.m.

Are you feeling creative? Want to learn something new about textiles? Local fiber artisan, Sue McFarland will conduct a felt making workshop. Participants will learn basic traditional felt making techniques to make a piece of colorful flat felt, beads and rope–all out of wool fibers using water and soap. Materials provided. Appropriate for ages 12 though adult. Reservations necessary as space is limited. Fee $20 per participant.

November 7, 2014 — “A Deerfield Story: The Mysterious Death of Infant Smith”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Tradition says that Sarah Smith gave birth to an infant daughter in the northeast upstairs chamber of her house in Deerfield on Sunday, January 11, 1697/8. She claimed to have placed the baby on the bed beside her, before tying it up in her apron and hiding its body on the sill behind the bed. She said the baby girl never cried. While historians debate whether or not the child was stillborn, the minister, Reverend John Williams, the goodwives of Deerfield and the hastily called coroner’s jury charged Sarah Smith with infanticide. The charge of infanticide was laid, not because the baby was dead, but because Sarah Smith had concealed the infant’s birth.

Her trial was held the following August in Springfield. It took two days. Legally there was no question of her guilt but it was a capital crime and the Puritans were punctilious. They also knew a good object lesson when they say one. She was hanged the following week following an execution sermon preached by Rev. John Williams which, when printed, ran 64 pages.

This talk will consider Sarah Smith’s story in light of the Puritan sexual and legal mores, the importance of the women’s community in childbirth and the pressures of living on the frontier during Queen Anne’s War.

Else Hambleton is a long-time trustee of the Amherst Historical Society. She holds a PhD in History from the University of Massachusetts. Her dissertation became the book Daughters of Eve: Pregnant Brides and Unwed Mothers in Seventeenth Century, Massachusetts. She is currently working on a social history of Amherst between 1730-1830.

November 5, 2014 — “Paradise Found”
Local History/Local Novelists Series
Coolidge Museum, Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

This is a gorgeous book published by Levellers Press, full of resonant poems about Northampton, the place so many of of us live in or know.There are paintings and drawings by Greg Stone, Randy Diehl, Scott Prior and others, as well as work by historical figures including Sylvia Plath, Grace Coolidge, Sylvester Graham, and Robert Lowell on Jonathn Edwards.

The reading list has not been set, but poets in the book include Kathleen Trestka, Chivas Sandage, Matthew Zapruder, Gary Metras, Ellen Dore Watson, Henry Lyman, Lesléa Newman, Mary E. Delabruere, Richard Michelson, Sally Bellerose, Michael Arraj, Karen G. Johnston, Ellen LaFleche, Diana M Gordon, Susan Stinson, Kat Good-Schiff, Floyd Cheung, Howard Faerstein, Gail Thomas, Carl Russo, Janet Aalfs, along with the editors, and many others.

Copies of the book will be available for sale.

November 3, 2014 — “Twilly, Willy, Jenny and Jack and the Northeast’s Earliest Water Powered Textile Machine”
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Dennis Piccard’s discussion is geared to the layman who is interested in learning more about the textile machines most of our ancestors operated when they immigrated to this area. It will also be interesting to those who come across these machines in manuscripts and historical novels and would like to better understand them.

Our historical Lecture series are held Monday evenings at 6 p.m. and will focus on the history of textiles in the Connecticut River Valley. Admission is $7 general and $5 for members

November 2, 2014 — Button Appraisal Day
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 p.m.

BUTTON APPRAISAL DAY with Gretchen and George Gauthier at 1:00pm on Sunday, November 2 at the Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, MA

Do you have your grandmother’s button box? Would you like to learn some of the stories of these? Or do you have a favorite button that you would like to know about? Does it have some monetary value? The Gauthiers are long time button collectors. George began collecting buttons because of his late wife Joy, who had inherited a large jar of buttons, began sorting them. George is president of the Owaneco & Nutmeg clubs of CT, a member of the CT, MA, NH, NY, OH & FL state button societies as well as the Northeast Regional Button Association. As a member of the National Button Society, George serves as the expert on vintage and modern buttons, especially plastic buttons. George is an avid collector of 18th century and china calico buttons as well as polymer (plastic) buttons. Gretchen is the secretary of the Owaneco & Nutmeg clubs of CT, a member of the CT, MA, NH, NY, OH & FL state button societies and the Competition Awards Chairman for both the Northeast Regional and the National Button Societies. She specializes in glass buttons as well as modern buttons made by button artists.

The Gauthier’s have been judging buttons at state, regional and local competitions for many years. They have published works in state, regional and national button bulletins. They have helped clean and recard collections at the Keep Museum, helped identify buttons at the Mattatuck Museum and have given talks on various facets of button collecting to many groups of all levels of button collecting interest. Between them, they have significant collections in all types of buttons. They are both well versed in the identification and current pricing of buttons. They will discuss the factors that control retail buying and selling prices at 1:00pm. They will begin the appraisals at 1:30pm. There is no cost for the appraisals; however, donations to the Friends of the KHM will be accepted.

While people are waiting to have their buttons appraised, they will be free to roam the museum that has one of the largest button collections in the US. In addition, there is the furniture, collections, photos of the Keep Family that lived in the house for over 150 years. All are welcome, whether or not they have buttons to be appraised. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or check the web at http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

Sunday, November 2, 2014 — “Remembering World War I”
Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., Worthington, 2 p.m.

This special event, just recently added to our calendar, is a reprise of the amazing program that took place in Huntington’s North Hall on August 3. This commemoration, marking the 100th anniversary of the Great War’s inception, will include readings of World War I-era poetry (Wilfred Owen, Edith Wharton, etc.), soldiers’ journals, and memoirs from the home front; classical and popular musical performances; and an exhibit of wartime art, photographs, advertisements and magazine covers. This presentation is a North Hall production in collaboration with the Worthington Historical Society. For more information go to: http://www.worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org Admission $10 at the door.

Saturday, November 1, 2014 — “Spooky Stories Near & Far”
Historic Northampton, 7 p.m.

Traditional Ghost Stories told by storytellers Motoko & Rona Leventhal. On Saturday, November 1st at 7 pm, come to Historic Northampton for an evening of traditional ghost stories. Rona Leventhal will tell spooky multicultural folktales from her rich cornucopia of voices and characters. Motoko, from Japan, will take listeners into the dark side of Japanese folklore, where demons, ogres and spirits abound. This program is suitable for ages 12+. Traditional folktales — stories passed down from oral traditions, myth, legend, or literature and embellished along the way — have often been used to prompt insight into how others lived, “once upon a time.”

In honor of Halloween, ghost stories. Ghost stories share what’s great about all storytelling: they’re instructive, cautionary or just scare you for the fun of it. And they’re great entertainment. Says storyteller Motoko, “when you give more power to the past than to the present or the future, ghost stories are born. They’re part of our humanity, our attempt to give voice to the voiceless, and make right what can’t be made right.” Storytelling is an ancient art form, having taken many forms through history — visual (cave painting), mime, scripted, spoken. As for the latter, it’s as old as language itself — where a teller uses words to engage the senses, the emotions, and the imagination of one or many. Scroll forward some many millennia and arrive at the doorstep of Historic Northampton for an evening of traditional ghost stories.

Seating limited to 50. Tickets are available at Historic Northampton. Admission: Advance Tickets: $12; At the Door: $15; Members: $10; Student/Senior 62+: $8

OCTOBER

October 31, 2014 — Candlelight Tour of the Skinner Mansion
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 & 8:30 p.m.

Tour Wistariahurst by candlelight if you dare! Creep through the darkened hallways and rooms of the spooky Skinner Mansion on a rare guided tour at night. Reservations necessary. Tickets $15 general/$10 members

October 29, 2014 — “Gravestone CSI: Causes of Death Found on Gravestones”
Noble Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
NCCHP Museum, 42 Water St., Granville, 6:30 p.m.

The final NCCHP museum Living History presentation of the season will be on Wednesday, October 29th at 6:30 p.m. at 42 Water St. in Granville. Join Betsy and Al McKee of the Longmeadow Historical Society and Longmeadow Cemetery Association as they discuss causes of death recorded on gravestones in the CT River Valley in the 18th and 19th centuries. While recording causes of death on gravestones was fairly rare, the McKees have found and photographed hundreds of examples, ranging from dramatic accidents to heartbreaking tragedies. Each stone tells a story. Join us for an interesting evening stepping back in time and exploring gravestone carving as forensic research.

The free Living History programs at the NCCHP museum are made possible thanks to grants from the Granville Cultural Council and by donations from members and friends of the museum. Thank you for your support in 2014. Light refreshments will be served following the program. For more information visit the NCCHP website http://www.ncchp.org or call 413-357-6321.

October 27, 2014 — “Japanese Silk Trade and William Skinner & Sons Manufacturing”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Ever wonder about William Skinner & Sons Manufacturing’s connections to the Japanese silk trade at the turn of the last century? Resident scholar, Matt Coletti, public history student, will share his findings about the nature of the Japanese silk industry as embodied by artifacts from the museum collections. Matt will introduce integral people, places and factories using photographs, business ledgers, transaction documents, and factory samples. Coletti’s research will enhance your understanding of the international silk trade, and the relationships established and developed by the Skinners.

Our historical Lecture series are held Monday evenings at 6 p.m. and will focus on the history of textiles in the Connecticut River Valley. Admission is $7 general and $5 for members

October 27, 2014 — “Public Humanities: Looking Back and Looking Ahead”
Gamble Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College Art Building, South Hadley, 5:30 p.m.

A public lecture by Professor Steven Lubar.

Calling all public humanists—past, present, and future! Are you a professor or local professional trying to kick-start humanities courses, programs or programming at your college or organization? Are you a student looking to apply your skills as a humanities major into a career—like programming, outreach, and education; community cultural work; historic preservation; arts and nonprofit administration; museum education, interpretation and curatorial work; or cultural planning—and seeking more information about the public humanities? Have you experience in the public humanities and want to join in the conversation?

All are invited to join Steven Lubar, professor of American Studies and History at Brown University, former curator at the Smithsonian Museum, and until this past June, director of the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage, as he discusses his decade-long tenure at the helm of Brown’s public humanities program.

“I learned a little about how teachers teach and students learn, how universities work, and don’t, why I like doing projects, and just how confusing the job market is.” -Lubar, 2014

Sponsored by: Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, UMass Amherst Public History Program and the Five Colleges, Inc., Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Bridging Initiative in the Public and Applied Humanities

October 26, 2014 — Second Annual Publishing Fair
Amherst Area Publications
Munson Memorial Library, 1046 South East Street, Amherst, 1 – 4 p.m.

Learn about copyrights and other intellectual property laws relating to authors. Learn about having and managing your own author’s website. Network with experts in all areas of publishing! $25 Admission includes admission to workshops and a copy of our new Amherst Area Publishing Directory. Pre-registration for workshops via e-mail strongly suggested.

1:30 Copyright Basics:
Hun Ohm, an attorney at Fierst, Kane & Bloomberg LLP in Northampton, will speak on russelnod.com trademark and copyright law basics and other intellectual property law
considerations as they may relate to authors.

3:00 Authors and Websites:
Don Lesser, President of Pioneer Training in Northampton, will present an overview of how to create and manage your own author’s website. Don is a published author, maintains a
personal website at russelnod.com, and is highly experienced in training people to use digital tools.

Contact amherstareapublications@gmail.com or Amherst Area Publications, PO Box 3389, Amherst, MA 01004.

October 24, 2014 — “Ghosts in the Graveyard”
Longmeadow Historical Society
Longmeadow Cemetery, Williams St., Longmeadow, 6:30 p.m.

The Longmeadow Historical Society presents its annual “Ghosts in the Graveyard” event. This event which takes place in the Olde Burying Yard located in the Longmeadow Cemetery is an educational and fun experience for both children and adults. At this event a group of individuals long since deceased arise once again to speak about their life and experiences as early Longmeadow citizens.

We are in need of a few people interested in portraying the ghost of a person buried in the Longmeadow Cemetery. Assistance with the role specifics and obtaining period wardrobe is available. We also could use some volunteers to act as guides who will escort small groups of kids/ adults through the various gravestone stations. Your assistance in making this a safe event would be greatly appreciated. Interested people should contain Laurie Hatch at 567-7420 for details. Consider joining the fun….this event is a favorite with both kids and adults.

For more information, visit the website of the Longmeadow Historical Society: http://www.LongmeadowHistoricalSociety.org and its Facebook page: http://www.Facebook.com/LongmeadowHistoricalSociety

October 24, 2014 — “Cranberry Culture: A Short History of a Tart Fruit”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

One of our all-time favorite speakers, Rob Cox, returns to present a talk about the history of cranberries in New England, from taming the wild fruit through the growth of an industry to the labor and environmental struggles of the 20th century.

Cox has a bachelor’s degree in geology; master’s degrees in paleontology, history, poetry, and library science; and a PhD in history. He has held positions as curator of manuscripts and photographs at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan and as keeper of manuscripts and director of scholarship and technology at the American Philosophical Society. Cox teaches at Simmons Graduate School of Library Information Sciences and in the Department of History at UMass Amherst. His books include Massachusetts Cranberry Culture: A History from Bog to Table (2012); A History of Chowder: Four Centuries of a New England Meal (2011); The Shortest and Most Convenient Route: Lewis and Clark in Context (2004) and Body and Soul: A Sympathetic History of American Spiritualism (2003).

Thursday, October 23, 2014 — “Augustus George Hazard and the Hazard Powder Co. from 1835-1913 and the Laflin Powder Mill in Southwick”
Southwick Historical Society
Christ Church United Methodist, 222 College Highway, Southwick, 7 p.m.

PRESENTER: Elliot M. Levy
HOSTESSES: Mary Hadley, Linda Hadley and Barbara Machietto

October 23, 2014 — “Nations of Immigrants: The United States in Global Perspective”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
Student Union Ballroom, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

Address by Professor Donna Gabaccia (University of Toronto). World historians tell us that many—if not most—modern countries are the product of centuries of migration and interactions between shifting groups of natives and newcomers. As a provocative new museum exhibit in one of Europe’s most important national museums proclaimed recently, “No One Has Been Here Forever.” In today’s highly mobile world, the resident population of the United States has actually been impacted by migration far less significantly than countries as diverse as the Kuwait, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland and Australia. Why then is the United States still almost alone in celebrating itself a nation of immigrants? And why does it, unlike most other countries, view immigration as a key element in its national histories of nation-building?

This lecture looks at the United States from a global comparative perspective, focusing on three key elements of nation-building—the demography of population movements, immigration and citizenship policies and law, and the highly varied “terminologies of mobility” that have developed in dozens of languages around the world to label and to categorize people on the move. Comparison to the rest of the world reveals more precisely what it is that the United States shares with several clusters of otherwise diverse countries (from Canada and France to Argentina) while also drawing an equally sharp contrast between the U.S. and countries as different, in other respects, as Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.

For more information about the series and to view the schedule of upcoming events, visit http://www.umass.edu/history/about/feinbergseries.html. To view videos of the events, visit the History Department YouTube Channel. Follow the series on twitter at #MigrationMatters. K-12 Teachers can earn 10 PDPs and a $50 gift card for attending four events as part of the UMass-CES History Institute. For details, visit bit.ly/1mOhBUL.

October 22, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

Join Historic Deerfield’s Claire Carlson for a guided tour of the Old Burying Ground on Albany Road in Old Deerfield each Wednesday at noon. Included with general admission.

October 21, 2014 — “Strong-Howard House Restoration in Windsor, CT”
Ramapogue Historical Society
Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street, West Springfield, 7 p.m.

On October 21, 2014, Christina Keyser Vida, Curator of Collections and Interpretation at Windsor Historical Society, will present a lecture on the “Strong-Howard House Restoration in Windsor, CT”. Ms. Vida will “show images, discuss the project, and start a conversation about how we can keep local history fresh and exciting!” The lecture will begin after a brief meeting of the Ramapogue Historical Society.

Ms. Vida’s background: Since 2010, Christina Vida has been the Curator of Collections and Interpretation at the Windsor Historical Society in Windsor, CT. She is in charge of the restoration and reinterpretation of the Strong-Howard House and school programs at the Society. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a Master of Arts in Early American Culture from the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. Prior to moving to Connecticut, she was an assistant curator at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Having attended multiple lectures by Ms. Vida, we can say without reservation that she is a very knowledgeable, dynamic and entertaining speaker.

October 20, 2014 — “Weaving Stories”
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Betsy McKee will illustrate, with tools and other objects, what our ancestors did to create their everyday textiles. Using examples of textile tools, she will illustrate the complexity and scarcity of textile objects during our country’s youth.

Our historical Lecture series are held Monday evenings at 6 p.m. and will focus on the history of textiles in the Connecticut River Valley. Admission is $7 general and $5 for members.

October 20, 2014 — “Ghostology 101: A General Study of the Paranormal”
Pelham Historical Society
Ramsdell Rm., Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m.

What is the difference between a ghost and a spirit? What is the history of paranormal investigation? How do you do an investigation? Are you a believer or a skeptic? Join Agawam Paranormal as they introduce us to the world of the paranormal.

The program is in the Pelham Library`s Ramsdell Room, following our business meeting. All of our programs are free and open to the public. For more information about the Pelham Historical Society, please visit us on the WEB at pelhamhs.org or send us an email to: info@pelhamhs.org

Be sure to check out our full calendar of programs. Thank You! and hope to see you soon!

October 20, 2014 — “Mexican Immigration in Historical Perspective”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Hall, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

Please join the UMass Amherst History Department for short lectures by two of the nation’s leading scholars of Mexican immigration history. Professor Neil Foley (Southern Methodist University) will deliver a lecture titled “Mexican Immigration and the Politics of Immigration Reform.” Professor A.K. Sandval-Strausz (University of New Mexico) will deliver a lecture titled “Latino Landscapes: The Transnational Origins of a New Urban America.”

Neil Foley holds the Robert and Nancy Dedman Chair in History at Southern Methodist University. He the author of Quest for Equality: The Failed Promise of Black-Brown Solidarity (Harvard University Press, 2010) and Mexicans and the Making of America (Harvard University Press, 2014). His first book, The White Scourge: Mexicans, Blacks, and Poor Whites in Texas (Berkeley, 1997) won multiple major prizes.

A. K. Sandoval-Strausz is Associate Professor of History at the University of New Mexico. He teaches courses in urban landscapes, spatial theory, sociability, and immigration. He is an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer, has served on the Urban History Association’s board and the editorial board of the Journal of Urban History. He is also the book review editor of Buildings & Landscapes. He is the author of the award-winning Hotel: An American History (Yale University Press, 2007).

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Walk Around Ringville
Worthington Historical Society
Meeting place 190 Witt Hill Road (near the southern intersection of Witt Hill Road & Rte 112), Worthington, 2 p.m.

David Whitcomb will lead us on an historic walk of industry, hydropower and old foundations along Witt Hill Road at the confluence of Wards Brook and Watts Brook. Hear the stories of the Ring brothers, their sledge factory, and the famous “Ringer” wagons, forerunners to the Conestoga wagons. Expect a light path hike with the option of a more challenging hike across the brook.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Society Annual Meeting
Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., 6 p.m.

This year’s meeting will feature reminiscences about Florence Berry Bates and the early days of the Worthington Health Center, which turns fifty this year. John Modestow will speak about his experiences as head of the dental department. Everyone is welcome to share stories, and the event will be recorded for posterity. Anyone with photographs to contribute should contact Diane Brenner as soon as possible at dbrenner@dianebrenner.com; the photos can be scanned and returned to you.

World War I Commemoration. We are also planning to add a special event for 2014: a reprise of the amazing “Remembering World War I” program that took place in Huntington’s North Hall on August 3. This commemoration, marking the 100th anniversary of the Great War’s inception, will include readings of World War I-era poetry (Wilfred Owen, Edith Wharton, etc.), soldiers’ journals, and memoirs from the home front; classical and popular musical performances; and an exhibit of wartime art, photographs, advertisements and magazine covers. The venue will be the WHS building, with $10 admission; stay tuned for more information.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Westhampton Fall Festival
Friends of the Westhampton Public Library

10:15 Interfaith Service
11:30 Sylvester Judd House Plaque Dedication
12:30 p.m. 5 K Run/Walk for the Westhampton Hills
12:00 – 7 p.m. Fun for Everyone…Steeple Tours with Valley Views ● Civil War Camp Activities; Classic & Antique Cars ● Axe Throwing & Woodman’s Demo; Cider Making ● Corn Shucking ● Largest Pumpkin Contest; Blacksmith Shop Museum ●Haybale Maze ● Cow Pie Bingo; Scarecrow Building ● Farm Animals ● Children’s Games & Crafts; Live Music … and much more! Fresh Donuts, Homemade Pies, Soups & Sandwiches, Yummy Desserts
4:15 The Great Pumpkin Roll followed by Community Supper, Bonfire & Sing-along
Free Admission and Parking. Rain or Shine.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Open House & Family Day
Museum of Our Industrial Heritage, 2 Mead St., Greenfield, 1-4 p.m.

Visit the museum in the historic Newell Snow factory building on the banks of the Green River in Greenfield (next to Berkshire Gas and across from the Textile Co.) Take a walk on museum grounds and see the hidden Mill Street dam. In the exhibit hall, see tools and products manufactured in Franklin County from the 1800s through the 20th century, with a special exhibit on the history of Franklin County paper mills. Join in activities to identify hand tools manufactured in the area, and use them, too (with supervision). Your donations to this free event will support museum programming. For more information, call 413-336-8275 or email info@industrialhistory.org

October 18, 2014 — Fall Meeting
Association for Gravestone Studies/New England Chapter
Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT, 9:30 a.m.

The Fall meeting is scheduled for Saturday, October 18 – we will meet at 9:30 a.m. at Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut. Suffield is located on the west side of the Connecticut River, just south of the MA/CT border.

The morning program will include presentations by: Bob Drinkwater, Simon Braune, Al and Betsy McKee and Bill Sullivan. Bob will give a brief report on an on-going project in Greenfield, MA. Simon, who recently joined AGS, will talk about the Buddhist section of a cemetery in New Jersey. Al and Betsy will report on their recent visits to cemeteries in eastern and central Massachusetts. Bill, a teacher at Suffield Academy, will talk about the old burying ground located next to the academy. Lunch will be provided (we request a modest donation to help cover costs.) After lunch, we will visit one or more local cemeteries.

DIRECTIONS: from I-91, take CT Rte. 190, westward, to CT Rte. 75; go south on Rte. 75 about 1 mi. – Suffield Academy will be on the right.

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS — Do you have news, stories, and/or photos you’d like to share with local AGS members and friends? Contact Bob Drinkwater, soulestones@gmail.com, to reserve a place on the program.

If you plan to attend the meeting, or for more information, please RSVP to Andrea Carlin, anduruna@hotmail.com.

October 18, 2014 — “Sanford Tavern Archaeology Dig”
Sons & Daughters of Hawley
Mohawk Trail Regional High School, Route 112, Buckland, 2 -4 p.m.

Talk and Slide Show on the 2014 Sanford Tavern Archaeology Dig. Mohawk Trail Regional High School and the Sons & Daughters of Hawley are hosting a free public presentation on the results of the 2014 archaeology field training program at the site of the Sanford Tavern in Hawley. The event takes place on Saturday, October 18, 2014, 2-4 p.m. at Mohawk, Route 112 in Buckland. The presentation will include: a Talk by teacher Ivan Grail on “Excavation, Learning, Goals”; a Powerpoint talk by archaeologist Laura Masur on “Tavern and Community: Archaeology in Hawley”; and a Display of artifacts unearthed during the dig in August.

October 18, 2014 — “A Walk with Southwick Spirits”
Southwick Historical Society
Old Southwick Cemetery, College Highway, Southwick, 2 p.m.

Meet some of the luminaries of the past! Old Southwick Cemetery, College Highway, Southwick, 2 p.m., (entrance at new cemetery). Wear comfortable walking shoes. Suggested donation = $5, Children free. All proceeds benefit the Southwick Historical Museum. For information: 413-569-3232.

Join us as we create history in Southwick!

October 18, 2014 — Archaeology Day in Deerfield
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Take an archaeological tour of Deerfield with Dr. Robert Paynter, University of Massachusetts and a guided tour of the Old Burying Ground with Claire Carlson, Education Program Coordinator at Historic Deerfield. Part of Massachusetts Archaeology Month. Free and Open to the Public.

Saturday, October 18, 2014 — Historic Holyoke Cemetery Tours
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 3 p.m. & 6 p.m.

Join City Historian Penni Martorell for an insightful afternoon, daylight, or evening walking tour through Forestdale Cemetery, established in 1862. The history of some of Holyoke’s founding families will be revealed. Reservations necessary. Admission is $10 general/$7 members

October 18, 2014 — Home Movie Day
Community Room, Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke, 1 p.m.

Your home movies are likely a lot more interesting than you remember! Why? Because home movies record how people lived, played and celebrated milestones in the past. They offer vivid glimpses of lost neighborhoods and landscapes.

This year, the Holyoke Public Library joins this world-wide, annual celebration of amateur films and filmmaking. At Holyoke Home Movie Day, all are welcome to have their home movies evaluated and included in a public screening in our state-of-the-art community screening room. Participants will also learn about how best to care for and preserve film and tape.

To submit films:
* Movies must be in one of the following formats: VHS, 16mm, 8mm, or Super 8mm.
* Drop off the movies you wish to share and show between 11:00 AM and 12:45PM on October 18th.

A screening of portions of all the films will follow at 1:00 PM in the Library Community Room. Free and open to the public.

For more information or to arrange early film drop-off, contact Eileen Crosby, Holyoke Public Library Archivist (ecrosby@holyokelibrary.org) or Jeremy Smith, Library Board member (jlsmith@library.umass.edu).

October 16, 2014 — “Belchertown’s Boys in Blue”
Belchertown Historical Association
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

As the nation wraps up the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, we will remember that Belchertown sent more than 250 soldiers to that conflict. Stone House Archivist Cliff McCarthy will tell the histories of some of these young men, including some stories that have recently come to light in the newly-discovered manuscripts of the 31st Mass. Volunteer Infantry. At the Stone House Museum, 7 p.m.

October 16, 2014 — “The Unredeemed Captive” by John Demos
Longmeadow Historical Society
Auditorium, Williams Middle School, 410 Williams St., Longmeadow, 7 p.m.

John Demos is the Samuel Knight Professor Emeritus of History at Yale University. His book, The Unredeemed Captive won the Francis Parkman Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award. Prof. Demos will be speaking about early Longmeadow history and the famous Deerfield Raid of 1704, the captivity of the Williams family in Canada, and the “redemption” of young Stephen Williams (Longmeadow’s first minister) and his “unredeemed” sister Eunice.

Annual Meeting begins at 7 p.m.; Prof. Demos’ Talk begins at 7:30 p.m. Open to the public at no charge.

October 15, 2014 — PVHN Rap Session: “Basics of Publicity”
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 6:30 p.m.

Our next PVHN Rap Session will be on Wednesday, October 15th at Forbes Library. The subject will be the “Basics of Publicity” and we will have several special guests: Pleun Bouricius from Mass Humanities, Matt Longhi from the Springfield Museums, and Lisa Downing of Forbes Library will attend to keep us up-to-date with modern communications and publicity. How to write a Press Release that hits its mark! Who is important to reach to publicize your event?

These are informal discussions and all are invited. They are sure to benefit anyone involved in historical organizations. Hope to see you there!

October 15, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

Join Historic Deerfield’s Claire Carlson for a guided tour of the Old Burying Ground on Albany Road in Old Deerfield each Wednesday at noon. Included with general admission.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 — “Apples of New England: The History of Apple Growing”
Williamsburg Historical Society
Congregational Church, 4 North Main St., Williamsburg, 7:30 p.m.

6:30 pm Potluck Supper Social (Bring a favorite dish to share)

7:30 pm Program– Hatfield author Russell Steven Powell reads from his new book, Apples of New England. Offering Heirloom Apples for Tasting.

Free and Open to the Public (Donations would be greatly appreciated). Bring your Friends.

October 12, 2014 — Gallery of Quilts Opening Reception
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, noon to 4 p.m.

Gallery of Quilts is an exhibition celebrating the textile tradition and craft of quilting. This exhibition of quilts will explore vintage, modern, appliqué and pieced works, and will be a unique display of quilts in the elegant and historic surroundings of Wistariahurst Museum. Quilters from Western Massachusetts and beyond will be showcasing both their own beautiful handiwork and their heirloom treasures in this exhibition. Quilts of all ages and styles will be displayed: old, new, handmade or otherwise. This will be a showcase of skilled craftsmanship, elegant design and pleasing colors, and will tie together Holyoke’s textile history past and present. Admission $5

October 12, 2014 — “Colonial Day”
Buckland Historical Society
Wilder Homestead, Rte. 112, Buckland, 2 – 5 p.m.

Step into the past at the 1775 Wilder Homestead and sample activities from the Colonial era. Open Hearth Cooking, Oxen, Basket Making, Weaving, Spinning, Quilting, Folk Painting, Music of the 1700’s, Cider Pressing, Morris Dancers. Admission: Adult – $3.00 Child – $1.00.

Presented by the Buckland Historical Society, Polly Anderson, 413-625-9763

October 11 & 12, 2014 — 2014 ADA/Historic Deerfield Art & Antiques Show
Historic Deerfield

On Columbus Day Weekend, Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, 2014, the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America, Inc., will once again bring together some of the nation’s finest dealers for their annual art and antiques show featuring the best of 18th and 19th century American art, antiques and design. Surrounded by the historic houses and quintessential New England village setting of Historic Deerfield, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the ADA/Historic Deerfield Show provides customers with a fun and informative immersion experience in antiquing and early design. The show is considered by both serious and casual collectors to be one of the year’s most important. On view and for sale will be remarkable objects from the 17th through the 19th centuries that will improve the quality of any collection and the look of any home. Surrounded by the colors of the Deerfield hills in autumn, the setting is widely acknowledged to be the most beautiful.

The comfortable show venue–with a redesigned layout featuring the fresh and exciting merchandise of our expert dealers–allows customers to relax and spend their time with the objects. At the heart of every antique and piece of art in the show is a story and we invite our customers to discover their own attachment to a piece of American history by asking questions, handling the items, and learning more. The ADA will feature some of these objects and their hidden pasts in a countdown to the show at adadealers.com and on Facebook.

A highlight of the visitor experience for 2014 is the new exhibition titled Deerfield: A Community of Craftwork in the Early 20th Century in the lobby of the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Featuring more than 25 objects from Historic Deerfield’s collections made by Deerfield artisans during the Arts & Crafts movement, the exhibition includes objects made by Madeline Yale Wynne, Cornelius Kelley, the Deerfield Society of Blue and White Needlework, and the Pocumtuck Basket Makers. Visitors should also visit Historic Deerfield’s other special exhibitions on furniture, textiles, and powder horns in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life and in the Wright House. The fall is a great time to tour Historic Deerfield’s famous museum houses. Private, customized VIP Tours (2-6 people) are available. Call (413) 775-7132 to make an appointment.

Also new this year is a new caterer, Smithsonian Chowder House, who will have delicious food available for the entire duration of the show, as well as tea, coffee and treats. Dining is also available in the heart of the village at Champney’s Restaurant & Tavern at the Deerfield Inn. For reservations at Champney’s Restaurant & Tavern at the Deerfield Inn, please call (413) 774-5587, or visit http://www.champneysrestaurant.com.

Antiques show hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, October 12. Show admission is $15 (free for members of Historic Deerfield), and includes entrance to the Flynt Center of Early New England Life as well as the Apprentice’s Workshop at Dwight House. New this year: show attendees ages 35 and under will receive free admission to the show on Sunday, October 12 from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. ID is required to receive free admission. Show information is available online at http://www.historic-deerfield.org and at http://www.adadealers.com.

October 11 & 12, 2014 — Tag Sale at the Pitt House
Colrain Historical Society
Pitt House, Colrain, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale will support the preservation of artifacts from the town’s history and improve the Pitt House exhibition space to display them. We need your gently used furniture, musical instruments, tableware, tools, vintage clothing, jewelry, collectibles, art and whatnot treasures. Please, no electronics or plastic toys. Contributions will be accepted at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road. Call 413-624-8818. Pick-up can be arranged on request.

October 11, 2014 — Open House
Longmeadow Historical Society
Storrs House, 697 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 – 4 p.m.

If you missed stopping in during Long Meddowe Days, this event is an additional opportunity to visit the house and learn some interesting facts about Longmeadow history and some of its early residents. For more information, visit the website of the Longmeadow Historical Society: www.LongmeadowHistoricalSociety.org

October 11, 2014 — “In Search of Heirloom Apples”
Booksigning & Talk by Russell Powell
Hall Tavern, Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 2 p.m.

Russell Powell, author of the new book, Apples of New England: A User’s Guide, will give a talk on heirloom apples and sign copies of his new book on Saturday, October 11, 2014, at 2 p.m. in the Visitor Center at Hall Tavern on Old Main Street in Deerfield. Books will be available to purchase. The talk is free and open to the public.

Historic Deerfield’s open hearth cooks will be using heirloom apples in their demonstrations during the month of October. Historic Deerfield’s Open Hearth Cooking program uses Roxbury Russet apples grown on site next to the Stebbins House and also heirloom apples from Clarkdale Fruit Farms in Deerfield. Mr. Powell will be at the hearth cooking demonstration in the early afternoon prior to his talk.

Apples of New England: A User’s Guide, features color photographs and descriptions of more than 200 apple varieties grown, sold, or discovered in New England, plus a history of apple growing in the region spanning nearly four centuries, including a chapter about the contemporary orchard. In addition to extensive research, Powell interviewed senior and retired growers and leading industry figures from all six New England states, and obtained samples of many rare varieties at the preservation orchard maintained by the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts.

A chapter on John Chapman (“Johnny Appleseed”), for the first time links him with another Massachusetts native, Henry David Thoreau, as the fathers of American wild apples, Chapman for planting them, Thoreau with his pen.

Apples of New England is intended for use by all apple lovers, whether they are visiting the orchard, farm stand, grocery store, an abandoned field or a backyard – or in the kitchen. The descriptions include detailed information on each apple’s flavor and texture, ripening season, and best uses, as well as age, parentage, place of origin, and unusual histories.

Powell has written about apples since joining the New England Apple Association in 1996, and in 2012 published America’s Apple, a comprehensive book about apple growing in the United States, soon to be available in paperback. For more information, please contact Claire C. Carlson, Education Program Coordinator at Historic Deerfield, at 413-775-7217 or ccarlson@historic-deerfield.org.

October 11, 2014 — Cushman Village Old Home Day
Cushman Common, Amherst, 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

A fun-filled family festival to support the work of Save Historic Cushman! Bring your own picnic. Stay for pie, fun and games! Live music, jugglers, games, hula-hooping, children’s activities, crafts, antique vehicles, historical scavenger hunt, 100 pies!!! Rain date, October 12. Neighbors Celebrating Together!

Friday, October 10, 2014 — “Looking Backward: A Visual History of Immigration to the United States”
History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series
Amherst Historical Society & Museum, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

With Jennifer Fronc. “Picturing Immigration” will explore U.S. immigration history from the late 19th century to the present through analyses of visual sources. Topics will include political cartoons that depict anti-immigration sentiment from the Chinese Exclusion Era and late 20th century anti-Muslim sentiment; photographs of immigrants and the urban conditions in which they lived and worked, as documented by Jacob Riis and Lewis Hine; and the rise of “ethnic” Americans, as depicted in contemporary television programs.

Jennifer Fronc is Associate Professor of History at UMass/Amherst, focusing on U.S. immigration and urban history. Her book, New York Undercover: Private Surveillance in the Progressive Era, was published in 2009. She received her PhD in U.S. History from Columbia University.

October 8, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

Join Historic Deerfield’s Claire Carlson for a guided tour of the Old Burying Ground on Albany Road in Old Deerfield each Wednesday at noon. Included with general admission.

October 7, 2014 — “A Nation of Immigrants: Brazil and the Meanings of Permanent Foreignness”
UMass History Department 2014-2015 Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
UMass Amherst, Goodell Hall, Bernie Dallas Room, 4:30 p.m.

What does it mean that citizens are defined as “immigrants” or “foreign” even when they are born in Brazil? Why is the word “Japanese” used both for Brazilians whose great-grandparents immigrated from Japan and who speak only Portuguese AND for tourists from Tokyo? By examining immigration as an ancestral or inherited category, this lecture explores why migration matters to Brazilian national identity.

Jeffrey Lesser is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Brazilian Studies at Emory University. His newest book is Immigration, Ethnicity and National Identity in Brazil. He is also the author of three prize winning studies: A Discontented Diaspora: Japanese-Brazilians and the Meanings of Ethnic Militancy, Negotiating National Identity, and Welcoming the Undesirables: Brazil and the Jewish Question.

Poster: http://bit.ly/1pDW3uc

Contact: communications@history.umass.edu

The Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series is a biennial lectures series on pressing social issues in interdisciplinary perspective made possible thanks to the generosity of UMass History Department alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg (B. A., 1967) and associates. The theme of the 2014-2015 series is Migration Matters: Rethinking Immigration in the Modern Americas. For more information about the series and to view the schedule of upcoming events, visit http://www.umass.edu/history/about/feinbergseries.html. To view videos of the events, visit the History Department YouTube Channel. Follow the series on twitter at #MigrationMatters. K-12 Teachers can earn 10 PDPs and a $50 gift card for attending four events as part of the UMass-CES History Institute. For details, visit bit.ly/1mOhBUL.

Directions: Goodell hall is a short walk from the UMass Amherst Campus Center parking garage. For directions to Goodell, click here. For directions to the UMass Amherst Campus Center parking garage, click here.

October 6, 2014 — “From Stuttgart to Springfield – A Visit with a 1911 German Immigrant”
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

History comes alive as Elizabeth Wood portrays Gertrude Failing Groff, a German immigrant who arrives alone at Ellis Island and settles in Springfield, Massachusetts. Explore the experiences of early 20th Century immigrants as Gertrude begins her quest to start a new life in this country.

Our historical Lecture series are held Monday evenings at 6 p.m. and will focus on the history of textiles in the Connecticut River Valley. Admission is $7 general and $5 for members.

October 5, 2014 — “The Creation of the Palmer & Monson Street Railway”
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1:30 p.m.

The Creation of the Palmer & Monson Street Railway with George Kingston on Sunday, October 5 at 1:30 pm at the Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, MA.

The Palmer and Monson Street Railway was organized in 1897. Fred T. Ley of Springfield was one of its chief backers as well as being the general contractor for its construction. Although it was originally promoted as being a way to connect the various villages that made up the towns of Palmer and Monson, it was actually part of a larger scheme to construct a network of street railways that would connect to Springfield and, eventually, Worcester. This talk will explore the origins of the Palmer and Monson, its financing, and its place in the overall regional street railway network.

Dr. George Kingston is a retired engineering manager and the author of the book James Madison Hood: Lincoln’s Consul to the Court of Siam, which was published by McFarland in 2013. He is a member of the East Longmeadow Planning Board and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. His interest in local history led him to learn about the life of Fred T. Ley, the Springfield-born contractor who built the Chrysler Building in New York. Kingston’s latest book is Fred T. Ley, the Man Who Built the Chrysler Building.

The Keep Homestead Museum will be open on that day from 1:00 to 3:30 and visitors are welcome. It has on display one of the largest button collections in the US, as well as furniture and belongings of the Keep family that lived here for more than 150 years. There is no admission charge to either the program or the museum. Refreshments will be served. For more information call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or check the web at http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

October 5, 2014 — Connecticut Valley Antique Auto Club
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Hadley, 10 a.m. to noon

The Connecticut Valley Antique Automobile Club of America will be visiting the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum on October 5th from 10 a.m. to noon. Up to 20 antique cars will be on view, including a pristine 1941 Packard coupe. The public is invited to view the showcased automobiles, which represent different eras of American automotive history. The Museum will be open for guide tours from noon to 4 pm. This will mark the final event before the museum closes for the season on October 15th.

The Antique Automobile Club of America, founded in 1935, hosts events nationwide through National Meets, where car enthusiasts can convene and share their appreciation for antique cars. The Connecticut Valley regional chapter was recently featured at the Big E as a part of the Big E festival events. The club also maintains an award-winning magazine called “Antique Automobile” which discusses the AACA’s mission.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is an 18th-century farmstead on the banks of the Connecticut River; it has been preserved to encourage historical interpretation of life in rural New England over three centuries. The house is open for tours from Saturday to Wednesday from 1pm to 4:30pm, and will be open during the car display. The museum’s Corn Barn exhbit, “Fieldnotes 4: Transect” which features artwork from local architects that emphasizes cross sections of the local environment from the river—through floodplains, cultivated fields, and meadows—to the mountains will be on view through October 15.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive, Hadley MA on Route 47 just two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47 North in Hadley. For information concerning tours or special events, phone (413) 584-4699 or check the museum web site: http://www.pphmuseum.org .

October 5, 2014 — “Hike in Hardwick”
Swift River Valley Historical Society
meet at Hardwick Common, 11 a.m.

Sponsored by the Swift River Valley Historical Society. Come hike in Hardwick with Marty Howe this Sunday, October 5th. No reservations needed, just meet at Hardwick Common at 11:00 am to carpool to gate 45 (Lyman Rd.) This is the last hike of the season, join us if you can! Bring lunch, bug spray and sunscreen. All DCR rules apply.

October 5, 2014 — Hatfield Fall Festival
Billings Way, just off Main St., Hatfield, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Hatfield Fall Festival, Sunday, Oct. 5, 11 am to 3 pm, rain or shine (and we have a tent).

Lots of living history going on at the Hatfield Fall Festival. Inside and outside our Farm Museum, housed in a tobacco barn, we’ll have demonstrations of weaving, quilting and other fabric arts, plus sauerkraut and cabbage soup making, cider pressing, and corn shelling. Also lots activities for children, music and food. New and revamped exhibits and artifacts in the Farm Museum, including a doctor’s sleigh used to visit patients in the early 1900s.

At the other end of the drive, the Historical Museum is hosting a new exhibit, “Simple Tools, Elegant Script: The Lost Art of Cursive,” plus an accompanying all-ages activity, “Calling All Scribes!” Come see how the tools have changed over time and what handwriting looked like when writing was an art. Then try your hand at writing using old-fashioned tools (a quill pen, a dip pen and/or a fountain pen). The activity will take place in the Children’s Room on the 1st floor of the Hatfield Public Library — with the exhibit on the 2nd floor.)

Discussion question: Can your teenager still read and write cursive?

Outside the library will be the Friends of the Library Book Sale, and next door the 1849 Congregational Church will be open from 11 am to 2 pm, offering self-guided tours.

Festival Location: Billings Way, just off Main St., between the museum/library and Farm Museum. Parking: on street and around school. More info: http://hatfieldhistory.weebly.com/events.html

October 5, 2014 — “Pioneer Regional Stewardship Plan”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Pioneer Regional High School, 10 a.m.

The Pioneer Valley Institute hosts a free program this Sunday, October 5, at Pioneer Regional High School with John Lepore beginning at 10 o’clock. The program will begin in the kiva on the site with an introductory slide presentation followed by a hike through the 90-acre school campus. Participants should dress for a hike and bring water and other appropriate gear.

John Lepore, who has a master’s degree from the Conway School of Landscape Design, created this stewardship plan after many discussions with land-use experts, school officials and Pioneer Regional students. His talk will describe the in-depth analysis of the site and all the many possibilities for its future use including outdoor learning and recreation.

October 4, 2014 — “A Literary Conversation with Washington Irving”
Rowe Historical Society
Carriage House, 282 Zoar Road, Rowe, 6:30 p.m

Interpretative performer John Anderson returns to the Kemp-McCarthy Museum for “A Literary Conversation with Washington Irving.” During the program you can listen to and talk with Washington Irving about his roots in New York, his Sketchbook stories (including “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”), his tours of the American West, and his diplomatic career in Europe.

The Carriage House will be transformed into an autumn wonderland, complete with decorations, lights and many other surprises. Refreshments served. Donations appreciated.
http://www.rowehistoricalsociety.org (413) 339-4238

October 4, 2014 — “Living History Day: Bringing the Stone House to Life”
Belchertown Historical Association
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Harvest and Fall Activities in 19th Century New England
The Belchertown Historical Association is proud to again offer Living History Days on Saturday, October 4th. For this year’s Living History event we are pleased to promote interest in Belchertown’s History by combining our Living History Day with a special focus on archaeology in town, in honor of October, which is archaeology month.

Live re-enactors, many dressed in period costumes, will demonstrate and discuss many of the Fall and Harvest activities that might have occupied residents of a house such as the Stone House in 19th century New England. We plan to present demonstrations and lecture topics that will include Herb Gardening; Historic Farm Implements; Preserving Herbs, Vegetables and Fruits; Soap Making; Candle Making; Outdoor Cooking; Spinning; Weaving; Corn Cob Dolls; Knitting; Broom Making; Quilting; Quilling; and other seasonal activities.

The Stone House will be open with a display of our nineteenth century farm equipment, our re-creation 19th century garden and house tours from 10 to 3. In addition, we will also present displays of the results of in-town archaeological excavations and provide age-appropriate archaeological activities for children. The Living History event will be a lot of fun, as well as a much-needed fundraiser. Please join us to celebrate this continuing link with our past.

October 4, 2014 — “Ware’s Fall Fest: Flora, Fauna, Faces of Fall”
Downtown Ware, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Downtown Ware is the place to be for day-long, family-oriented fun, food, and entertainment.

Start your day by bringing your appetite to Ware’s Historic Mill Yard District on East Main St. for a delicious Pancake Breakfast sponsored by the United Church and the Ware Lions Club. Serve time is from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM. Call #413-967-6341 for ticket prices and a detailed food menu.

A healthy walk down Main Street after a full meal will please the eye as you take in the decorated store fronts and historic buildings. Some thirty (30) vendors with offerings of all kinds will be housed in Veteran’s Park beginning at 10:00 AM. The WBCA Silent Auction Booth will be up and running as will the Fitness Factory’s ‘Shop Til You Drop’ offering a chance for a local gift certificate from participating merchants. All the while DJ Chris St. Germain will be spinning discs to provide a little background music.

Directly across the street in the Great Hall of the Ware Town Hall our Ware Historical Society will be hosting their 2nd annual Art and Photography Show. More than fifteen (15) area presenters are expected to showcase and sell their works—-all to the tune of guitarist Steve Pavao. This event will run until 3:00 PM. It is handicap accessible.

Local dance studios will present live exhibitions starting at 10:30 AM in Veteran’s Park and Alexander Sopoliac will follow-up with magic tricks. Guess it out!

The first of Tom Knight’s Puppet Shows will run in the Mill Yard a short time after the conclusion of the Pancake Breakfast—–and—-our first ever Chili Contest will begin in Veteran’s Park just before noon.

Local and national singer Noah Lis is scheduled for vocal interpretation of song at 12:30 PM in Veteran’ Park. Don’t miss this special showing. Also, if you missed the first one, a second performance of Tom Knight’s puppets will show in the Mill Yard.

We’ll all want to know the winner of the Chili Contest and the wait will end at 2:00 PM when the judges relieve us of suspense by announcing the winner. The Silent Auction will end at 2:30 PM.

You’ll be hungry again by the end of the day and Ware’s Knights of Columbus will tickle your taste buds by offering a sumptuous meal of barbecued chicken and other fixins at their clubhouse on East Main St. Music and dancing are included as part of the early evening entertainment. For tickets and times please call #413-530-9486.

Additional daily offerings to add to the day’s enjoyment will include an Open House at Workshop 13 Cultural Center located at 13 Church St.; Ghost Stories and the Paranormal at the Ware River News at 80 Main St.; and Friends of the Library Storytime Readings at the Young Men’s Library Association at the corner of Main and Church Streets.

Updates to the day’s events can be viewed via the internet at http://www.warebca.com by clicking on the Fall Fest 2014 link. Take home a good memory—-join the crowd!

October 1, 2014 — “Strange Stories of Science! Bugs! Scandal! Fiction!“
Coolidge Museum, Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

A tiny insect secretes a resin that makes things shine. A brilliant scientist, convicted at the peak of his career of making illegal drugs in his campus laboratory, attempts to poison the judge who sentenced him. A romantic comedy about global warming promises to keep people laughing and thinking. The strangest stories are true and the most serious stories are comic in this evening of fiction and nonfiction strange stories of science.

Faith Deering is a museum educator in Historic Deerfield’s Department of Museum Education. Before coming to Deerfield, she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as an entomologist.

Peter Kobel is the author of The Strange Case of the Mad Professor: a True Tale of End Endangered Species, Illegal Drugs, and Attempted Murder, about the brilliant career and spectacular disgrace of primatologist John Buettner-Janusch. Peter is a longtime journalist who has worked as an editor at such magazines as ARTnews, Entertainment Weekly, Saveur and Premiere and has contributed articles to The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Brian Adams is author of the novel Love in the Time of Climate Change, which will be released this month. He is a Professor of Environmental Science at Greenfield Community College.

SEPTEMBER

September 29, 2014 — “The Cheney Brothers of Manchester, CT “
Historical Lecture Series: Threads That Bind
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Dennis Gleeson will tell the story of the Cheney Brothers, founders of world renowned silk mills in 1838, famous for premium quality silk thread and fabrics and the inventors of innovative silk processing techniques. The Cheney Brothers were renowned as well for their generosity- building over the course of 50 years: workers’ housing, schools, Cheney Hall, a public library, the Hall of Records, public utilities, and land for churches and parks. Learn about the growth of the company to 1923 when it had almost 5,000 employees to its decline due to wars, tariffs and depression. $7 general / $5 members, pay at door.

Sunday, September 28, 2014 — “Sills, Dikes & Dinosaurs: A Little Mount Tom Hike”
Pioneer Valley Institute & Trustees of Reservations
the yellow gate, Mount Tom Road, off Route 5 in Holyoke, 1 p.m.

Professor emeritus Richard Little will lead a Pioneer Valley Institute hike on Sunday, September 28. Hikers will meet at 1 o’clock at the yellow gate, Mount Tom Road, off Route 5 in Holyoke. The cost for current PVI members is just $5, general public $10; payment by check only! Pre-register today at rdlittle2000@aol.com. This program is co-sponsored with The Trustees of Reservations and is not handicapped accessible.

The hike to the summit of Little Tom is up a moderately steep trail lasting about one hour. Along the way Richard Little will discuss volcanic events of the Holyoke Range area including lava flows and intrusive phenomena such as dikes and sills. All these features will be seen!

From Little Mount Tom participants will then examine dinosaur prints at the nearby Trustees of Reservations Dinosaur Footprints site and continue the exploration of Jurassic events in our own river valley. This hike always proves popular so sign up soon!

September 28, 2013 — “Pudding Hollow Pudding Festival”
Sons & Daughters of Hawley
Hawley Meeting House in East Hawley, 11 a.m.

Pudding Day is almost here! Judges are debating attire, contestants are honing recipes, and members of the Sons & Daughters of Hawley are collating scripts and programs.

Please join us this Sunday, September 28, in Hawley, Massachusetts. (Past participants will recall that the last few Pudding Festivals took place in Charlemont, but PudCon is coming Home to Hawley this year. Visit this page for directions.)

A quick reminder of times:
11 a.m. — Puddings, recipes, and entry fees are due at the Hawley Grove, across the street from the Meeting House.

11:15 — Farm Tour at Sidehill Farm

12:30 p.m. — Lunch back at the Grove

1:30-ish — Pudding Parade, Entertainment, and Judging at the Meeting House.

Feel free to contact organizer Tinky Weisblat if you have any questions. And if you’d like to hear her talk about the festival, listen to Tuesday’s Bill Newman Show. The pudding segment begins at about 34:03. (You can also hear Tinky talk about her book Pulling Taffy at about 17:34.) We’ll see you in Hawley!

September 27, 2014 — Harvest Supper & Howard D. Barnes Memorial Pie Auction
Pelham Historical Society
Pelham’s Historic Town Hall (Amherst Rd. and Daniel Shays Hwy), Pelham, 6:30 p.m.

Please join the Pelham Historical Society for our annual Harvest Supper & Howard D. Barnes Memorial Pie Auction in Pelham’s Historic Town Hall (intersection of Amherst Rd and Rt 202-Daniel Shays Hwy)on Saturday, September 27th at 6:30 p.m. Senator Stan Rosenberg will once again auctions pies, as guests enjoy a New England boiled dinner.
Tickets are $12.00 for Adults, and $8.00 for Children under 10 years old. For more information: Bruce Klotz 413-695-1797 brucek@pelhamhs.org
Tickets are on sale at the Pelham Library.

September 27, 2014 — Free Teacher Day
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Historic Deerfield invites all pre-K through grade 12 teachers with current ID to visit the museum for free on Saturday, September 27. Explore the museum and from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m., learn about classroom resources from our Director of Museum Education. Save at the Museum Gift Shop & Bookstore too!

September 27, 2014 — Smithsonian Magazine Museum Day Live!
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, noon to 4 p.m.

Wistariahurst will grant free admission for one person plus a guest for an historic house tour with a Free Admission Card. Click here to visit our website for tour schedule. Participates are encouraged to schedule tours in advance as group sizes are limited. For more information and to obtain free admission card go to http://www.smithsonianmag.com/museumday

September 27, 2014 — “Hookers at Hadley”
Hadley Historical Society, 12 Middle St., Hadley, 1 – 5 p.m.

The Hadley Historical Society cordially invites you to its Fall Open House on Saturday, 27 September, from 1-5. You will see memorials of Joseph Hooker, the famous Civil War general, who was born on West Street two hundred years ago. Also, there will be old photo albums of seldom seen Valley buildings, events and people, the Clarence Hawkes collection (once one of America’s most widely read authors) plus other selections from the Society’s holdings. Located at 12 Middle Street (Route 47), ½ mile north of the Town Hall, Russell School and Goodell Library on Route 9. Parking and a warm welcome await you.

September 2014 — “Look for the Name: A Series of Skinner Advertisements”
September Gallery Exhibition
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke

For the month of September, Wistariahurst will be hosting an in-house exhibit of advertisements made by Skinner & Sons from the turn of the century to the mid 1900s. For over 150 years, the Skinner name was synonymous with silk of the finest quality. William Skinner & Sons produced products ranging from threads, silks, satins, dress goods and sewing notions used to create lingerie and bridal gowns. William Skinner & Sons was a brand associated with excellence, quality and reputation. A variety of advertisements from the 1880s to the 1950s for silk, satin, rayon and taffeta products will be on view in the gallery demonstrating the William Skinner & Sons marketing style and confidence in a superior product.

Admission to Gallery $3 / Free for members. The gallery is open during museum hours on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. or by appointment.

September 26, 2014 — “Preserving Paper and Photograph Collections”
Northeast Document Conservation Center
Forbes Library, Northampton, 9:30 to 4 p.m.

$100 / $85 early-bird registration (September 12, 2014) Registration deadline: September 26, 2014
Maximum class size: 30, Class level: Beginner
Instructor: Eva Grizzard, Preservation Specialist, Northeast Document Conservation Center and Frances Harrell, Preservation Specialist, Northeast Document Conservation Center
Location: Forbes Library

Whether you’re in an archives, working with museum collections, or caring for family papers, you are entrusted with the long-term care of materials with differing needs and frailties. Ensuring that your materials are properly cared for means future generations will be able to use and enjoy a rich record of culture and history, but how do we get started?

This workshop provides an overview to the preservation and care of paper-based and photographic collections, and introduces simple preservation steps for bound volumes, documents, photographs, and negatives. The instructor will begin with a brief examination of paper production and photographic processes as a foundation for understanding how these create inherent risks to longevity. Participants will learn about the ways that paper artifacts can be damaged, including mechanical, biological and environmental causes, along with methods for mitigating these risks. Simple steps for identifying and correcting improper handling and storage will be addressed, and time will be set aside for small groups work and discussion of documents from participant’s collections.

Who should attend?
This workshop is designed for staff and volunteers at small historical institutions, museums, libraries, and local civic organizations, as well as individuals who are the custodians of important personal or family collections.

Logistics
Coffee and refreshments will be served and there will be a one hour break for lunch. Participants may bring a lunch or plan to eat at a local restaurant. Please note that this workshop has a minimum attendance. If a minimum attendance of 15 is not met by September 26, the workshop may be postponed.

September 26, 2014 — “Stone Arch Bridges”
Amherst Historical Society & Museum
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Join us on a scenic tour of stone arch bridge construction from ancient to modern times. Learn why they work, how they work, and the terminology of their construction. Bob Tuthill will include images of stone arch bridges from around the world along with a selection of the masonry tools needed to shape the stone.

Bridges in the region include the Keystone Bridge near the Quabbin Reservoir, built under the supervision of Adolphus Porter in 1866 over the Middle Branch of the Swift River and the five stone bridges of Hillsborough, New Hampshire, the largest extant cluster of dry-laid stone arch bridges within the United States.

Bob Tuthill served on the University of Massachusetts faculty for 28 years teaching epidemiology to graduate students in the School of Public Health. Since his 1998 retirement, Bob, along with his wife Jackie, has visited all 17 towns of “Amherst” in the United States. His interest in this topic developed during a Five College Learning In Retirement course, “Bridges of the World.”

September 23, 2014 — Genealogy Class
Community Room, Forbes Library, Northampton, 2 p.m.

“Using American Ancestors database and online resources from New England Historic Genealogical Society”. Can’t get to New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston? Join Forbes Library Archivist Julie Bartlett Nelson for a hands on tour of NEHGS’s American Ancestors database and new online resources such as e-books and webinars available to you at Forbes Library. To register call 413-587-1014 or online at: http://forbeslibrary.libcal.com/event.php?id=803244

If you are unable to attend and would like assistance with American Ancestors, Ancestry or Heritage Quest databases or help getting started with your genealogy, contact localhistory@forbeslibrary.org or call 413-587-1014 to schedule a one-on-one appointment.

March 23 thru September 22, 2014 – Steampunk Exhibit
Springfield Armory NHS and the Springfield Museums, Springfield

Blend history, technology and art and you end up with the wildly interesting exhibits of Steampunk. Exhibits feature re-imagined weapons, drawings, and humachines paired with authentic weapons from the Armory’s historic weapons collection. Organized by Steampunk visionary, Bruce Rosenbaum.

September 22, 2014 — “Fashion and Frugality: English Patterned Silks & Connecticut River Valley Women’s Fashion in the 18th Century”
Historical Lecture Series: Threads That Bind
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Ned Lazaro, of Historic Deerfield, will explore the ownership and survival of three elaborate 18th-century brocaded silk gowns worn in the Connecticut River Valley. Woven on a draw loom, patterned silks like brocades took weeks or months to make, and were extremely costly. A significant investment, these garments continued to be worn and altered as fashions changed, enriching their stories even further for 21st Century fashion scholars and enthusiasts. $7 general / $5 members, pay at door.

September 22, 2014 — Drug Policy Archive Symposium
UMass Amherst Libraries
Marriott Center, 11th Floor, Campus Center, UMass Amherst, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UMass Amherst Libraries invites you to a Drug Policy Archive Symposium.
Free and Open to the Public
RSVP by 9/15: 413-545-6156, friends@library.umass.edu

PROGRAM
10 a.m. Press Conference to Launch the Archive, Jay Schafer, Director of Libraries
10:30 a.m. Opening Remarks, Rob Cox, Head of Special Collections
10:45 a.m. Massachusetts on Fire Roundtable, A panel discussion about cannabis prohibition in the Commonwealth.
Noon–1 p.m. Networking Lunch and Video about the Archive
1:15 – 2:30 p.m. Public Policy Roundtable, A panel discussion about cannabis legalization, public policy, and research.
3- 5 p.m. Keynote Speaker Dr. Melanie Dreher, Student Union Ballroom
“How Drug Policy Can Affect Drug Research”
Dreher discusses through the lens of her own experiences how drug policy can limit the ability of researchers to ask important questions.
Q&A and Discussion to follow

September 19-21, 2014 — Amherst Poetry Festival/Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon
Emily Dickinson Museum, Amherst

On the weekend of September 19-21, the Amherst Poetry Festival and the Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon will make downtown Amherst a must-visit destination for poetry lovers.

The Amherst Poetry Festival, sponsored by the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Amherst Business Improvement District, takes poetry off the shelf and puts it into the streets, parks, shops, and intersections of a town where literary history and contemporary creativity live side by side. Anchored by the annual Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon, the Festival connects the region’s rich poetic tradition with some of today’s most creative poets who share own work at a variety of accessible downtown locations. Discover what emerging poets are writing about, where poetry has come from and is going next, and how poetry makes for richer, more meaningful lives.

The main stage will be at the Emily Dickinson Museum, on the grounds of Dickinson’s house, the Homestead, and will run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, September 20 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 21. Among the poets scheduled to read are Martín Espada, Dara Wier, James Tate, John Hennessy, Ellen Doré Watson, Rich Michelson, Dan Chelotti, Lenelle Moise, Mark Hart, Karen Skolfield, Emily Pettit, Doug Anderson, and many more. Saturday’s evening events will include a performance by Mr. Hip Presents and a special poetry-themed edition of Nerd Nite Noho.

Our Sweetser Park stage runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will feature a variety of the region’s small presses, literary magazines, and academic programs. An author’s row will also be set up at Sweetser Park, providing these different organizations a chance to share their latest publications and offer an assortment of poetry-related activities. The activities will include Emily Dickinson-inspired tarot readings by Dara Wier and Emily Pettit and an ekphrastic poetry booth run by poet Karen Skolfield.

A third stage, in front of the Evergreens, the home of Emily Dickinson’s brother Austin and sister-in-law Susan, will host discussions on a wide range of poetic topics on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The stage is inspired by the 19th century gatherings that took place in the Evergreens, when authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Harriet Beecher Stowe would visit Amherst and stay at the Evergreens where informal after dinner talks would last long into the evening.

On Sunday, a “Poetry Picnic” will be held on the Dickinson Homestead lawn. A variety of poets will read from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., followed by poet Tom Daley’s play “Every Broom and Bridget.” The play was inspired by Emily Dickinson and her relationship with the family servants.

At 2 p.m., the festival moves to nearby West Cemetery for “Doughnuts and Death: A Baker’s Dozen of Emily Dickinson’s Most Depressing Poems.” The walking tour pairs some of Dickinson’s darkest works with free gingerbread doughnuts inspired by Dickinson’s recipe.

Closing the festival, the first session of this year’s jubilat/Jones Poetry Reading series will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Goodwin Room of the Jones Library.

EMILY DICKINSON POETRY MARATHON

The Emily Dickinson Poetry Marathon celebrates the historic legacy of one of the world’s great poets. All 1,789 of Dickinson’s poems will be read over the course of three days. Most of the weekend’s readings will take place in the parlor of Dickinson’s house, the Homestead, with some sections read on the poetry festival stages. The rare opportunity to become immersed in the poetry in the place where they were written, and which was a direct inspiration for so many of them, has drawn participants from around the world for years. Readers can stay for one poem or for the entire session, with everyone given a chance to join in. Sign up here to participate.

September 20-21, 2014 — Deerfield Fall Crafts Fair
Historic Deerfield

Coming soon is the Deerfield Fall Craft Fair on September 20 & 21 in this beautiful village of Old Deerfield, MA.

The colors of autumn, bright reds, orange, & yellows, are so inviting. Nearby fields and farm stands offer pumpkins, cornstalks, and local produce to get you ready for Halloween or harvest time. Our Fall Fair offers 150 exhibitors from 14 states with delightful booths.

Sunday, September 21, 2014 — “Reflections on Roaring Brook: East Leverett’s Industrial Past”
Leverett Library, 2 p.m.

This historical presentation of the industries and mills along Roaring Brook in East Leverett will feature a documentary video titled Reflections on Roaring Brook, based on an interview with John and Georgana Foster, longtime residents of East Leverett. The Fosters will be guests at the presentation and available for questions. There will be some artifacts from the East Leverett mills on display, yet we encourage those who have additional artifacts from that area to bring them to the presentation. This program is co-sponsored by the Leverett Historical Society, The Rattlesnake Gutter Trust, and Leverett Conservation Commission. All are welcome to this free program. Light refreshments will be available.
Contact Dawn for more info at 367-9562

Friday, September 19, 2014 — “The Packard Papers”
Goshen Historical Society
Goshen Town Hall, 42 Main Street, Goshen, 7 p.m.

The Packard Papers: Glimpses into Late 19th Century Goshen, by Kristen Estelle.

Numerous diaries and letters from the Edward Packard family have painted a picture of what life was like in Goshen circa 1895. Please join us! Free and open to the public.

Brought to you by:
The Goshen Historical Society
goshenhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
(413) 268-7005

September 17, 2014 — “The Wall Family of Holyoke: Using Genealogical Research to Tell the Story of Civil War-Era Irish Immigrants”
Holyoke Community Room
Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke, 6:30 p.m.

Every document tells a story, and every document leads to new questions. Join us as guest speaker Sara Campbell follows a family through a series of local records, adding new detail to the story of the Wall brothers and their service in the Civil War. She will explore techniques that can be applied in historical and genealogical research. Sara has been researching her own family since 1990 and has presented on a variety of topics in family history. More recently, she became fascinated by the story of the Wall family. She is a genealogy blogger, an experienced municipal records researcher, and loves a good historic puzzle.

Free and open to the public. Holyoke Public Library Community Room, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke. For more information, see the History Room website at: http://www.holyokelibrary.org/holyokenew/historynews/or call (413) 420-8107.

September 15, 2014 — “Textiles in the Connecticut River Valley: A Trip Through Time and Space at WEBs”
Historical Lecture Series: Threads That Bind
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, WEBs began as a home-based venture developed by Barbara Elkins and a friend. The project could have failed, but instead, WEBs has become the largest independent yarn retailer in the country. Through visuals and a presentation by both Barbara and Art Elkins, the history of the company will be illustrated. $7 general / $5 members, pay at door.

September 14, 2014 — “Tour the Wistariahurst Mansion with a Skinner Descendant”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 3 p.m.

Allerton Kilborne will return to Holyoke to offer a very special tour of his grandmother’s home and share his memories of living at Wistariahurst. When Allerton enters the home on Cabot Street, it is like entering a time machine. Allerton lived at Wistariahurst with his grandmother, Katherine Skinner Kilborne, and a full staff, whom he remembers in detail and with great affection. Join Allerton Kilborne in a journey back in time as Wistariahurst comes alive with his memories. Click here to reserve your space! Admission $10

September 14, 2014 — 10th Annual Beef Roast
Worthington Historical Society
6 Williamsburg Rd., Worthington, 3 p.m.

Come join us under the tent at Worthington Historical Society’s 10th Annual Beef Roast, Sunday, September 14th, 6 Williamsburg Road, Worthington, MA. Social hour begins at 3PM, followed by the dining feast at 4PM. While you’re here, drop in to the exhibit space for Eliza Lake’s farm-life photographs taken at Kinne Brook Farm. Tickets ($20/person; children under 12 are free) are available by contacting Pat Kennedy (413-238-5560), Diane Brenner (413-238-5593), or by email at contact@worthingtonhistoricalsociety.org.

Saturday, September 13, 2014 — “Visit to Daniel Shays’ Cellar Hole”
Pelham Historical Society
Historic Town Hall Complex (intersection of Amherst Rd and Rt 202), Pelham, 10 a.m.

This is a special opportunity to visit the Quabbin`s restricted Prescott peninsula where we will drive and then walk to various sites including the site of Daniel Shays` cellar hole. Bring a bag lunch. Rain or shine. Meet at the Historic Complex.
Call or email to sign up: Bruce Klotz, 253-1601 brucek@pelhamhs.org

Saturday, September 13, 2014 — “Walking tour of slave sites in Old Deerfield”
Robert Romer
Meet at Civil War statue on “Old Main Street”, Deerfield, 10 a.m.

This walk is dedicated to my friend Crystal Roberson!

I’ve led walking tours before of the sites in Old Deerfield where enslaved black people lived in the 1700s. This one is in honor of my friend Crystal Roberson. (Though I’m doing this especially for Hope Church, others are welcome. So bring a friend (or two).) I would like to begin talking and walking promptly at 10:00. Normally a walk like this takes about an hour, but anyone can drop out at any time. We’ll meet at the Civil War statue on the small common on “Old Main Street” in Deerfield. (Right in the middle of Deerfield Academy.) It’s about a 30-minute drive from downtown Amherst.

Parking right at that spot is usually not possible, but there are normally parking spaces available in front of the Deerfield Inn (just to the North), and if not there, at the parking areas across the street from the Deerfield Inn. So allow another 10 minutes for parking and getting to the common.

Go up Route 116 through Sunderland, across the bridge, and when you bump into Routes 5 & 10, follow 5 & 10 about five miles north until you see signs for a left turn toward Historic Deerfield. Turn left and then follow the old main street about half a mile north to Deerfield Academy and the common. The common and statue are on your left. The Deerfield Inn is a bit farther, also on your left. For more details, you can use Google Maps to find directions either to Deerfield Academy or the Deerfield Inn. Or go to the Deerfield Inn website, http://www.deerfieldinn.com . (Go to “About” and then “Directions”.)

Bring your own sunscreen and/or umbrella. Look for me in my red Red Sox hat. More information? Call me or email me – 253-7748 or rhromer@amherst.edu
Bob Romer

September 13, 2014 — Walking tour of African-American heritage in 19th century Florence
Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee
Meet at Sojourner Truth statue, corner Park & Pine Sts., Florence, 9:30 a.m.

Walking tour of African-American heritage in 19th century Florence sponsored by Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee. Hear about Sojourner Truth’s time in Florence, Frederick Douglass, David Ruggles and other abolitionists who lived and passed through Florence. Meet at Sojourner Truth statue corner of Park & Pine St, Florence at 9:30a.m. 1 1/2 hr. walk led by Wendy Sinton. Rain cancels.

September 11, 2014 — “Mr. Griswold & His Mills”
Colrain Historical Society
Stacy Barn, Behind the G. Wm. Pitt House, Colrain, 7:30 p.m.

“Mr. Griswold and His Mills” will be the topic of a program at the Colrain Historical Society meeting Thursday, September 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Barn behind the G. William Pitt House. A business meeting will precede the program at 7 p.m.

Joseph Griswold, born 1806 in Buckland, was an amazing man: a budding industrialist at the age of 25, at one time the employer of almost half the working population of Colrain and the source of nearly 25% of the town’s tax income. Ambitious and energetic, he harnessed the power of the North River, and then the Connecticut and established a Griswold dynasty that lasted 100 years in Colrain. His were the most successful of the water-driven mills in Colrain’s history, and his legacy lasted into the Kendall mills.

Refreshments will be served, The program is free and open to the public. An exhibit on the history of water-powered mills in Colrain will be open in the Historical Society barn Sunday, September 14 from 1 to 4 p.m. and again Sunday, October 12, from 1 to 4.

September 9, 2014 — “The State of Your House”
PVHN Rap Session
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6:30 p.m.

The next PVHN Informal Discussion, or Rap Session, will be held on Tuesday, September 9th, at Wistariahurst Museum, in Holyoke at 6:30 p.m.

This meeting will be hosted by Al and Betsy McKee and we will discuss “The State of Your House”. The discussion will focus in two areas: Building and Board. Building will include maintenance, security, records keeping, tax filings, access, insurance, necessary contacts, policies, etc. The Board portion will include terms, term limits, board roles, internal controls, budgets, internal communications, structure (members vote or board member vote), etc. These discussions have been valuable for PVHN members and are free and open to all. We hope you can join us on September 9 at Wistariahurst.

September 9, 2014 — “Conway Goes to War”
Conway Historical Society, 7:30 p.m.

Robert Llamas will be giving a one hour talk on “Conway in the Civil War” on Sep 9th at 7:30 pm. The emphasis, of course, will be on Conway’s men and events that had an impact on the town, though many broader events of the war will be discussed. This is a great opportunity to see the exhibit of the same name. All would be welcome.

September 9, 2014 — “The Photo Detective”
Chicopee Public Library
449 Front Street, Chicopee, 6:30 p.m.

Maureen Taylor: The Photo Detective. Learn how to identify important details and people in your old family photographs. Maureen Taylor is a professional genealogist who has been featured in many major magazines and on television. She is a contributing editor of Family Tree Magazine and is the author of several books on photo identification. Please join us in the Community Room at the Chicopee Main Library for this fun and educational program.

This program is presented as part of the “Find Yourself at the Chicopee Public Library” local history and genealogy series, which is supported by a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library services and administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Chicopee Main Library
449 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013
413-594-1800 x3

Sunday, September 7, 2014 — “Apples of New England”
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1:30 p.m.

APPLES OF NEW ENGLAND with Russell Steven Powell in Sunday, September 7, at 1:30 p.m at Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, MA. Powell has worked for the apple industry for more than 16 years, most of that time as executive director of the New England Apple Association. He is the founding editor and publisher of New England Watershed Magazine, named Best New Publication of 2006 by the Utne Reader, and in 2001 produced and directed the award-winning video documentary program Shack Time, about the artist shacks in the dunes of the Cape Cod National Seashore. A native of Brookfield, Massachusetts, he now lives in western Massachusetts.

His new book Apples of New England is an indispensable resource for anyone searching for apples in New England orchards, farm stands, or grocery stores — or trying to identify an apple tree in their own backyard. The book contains color photographs of more than 200 apples discovered, grown, or sold in New England, accompanied by notes about flavor and texture, history, ripening time, storage quality, and best use. Apples of New England offers practical advice about rare heirlooms and newly discovered apples.

Apples of New England includes chapters on the rich tradition of apple growing in New England, and on the “fathers” of American apples, Massachusetts natives John Chapman (“Johnny Appleseed”) and Henry David Thoreau. Apples of New England presents the apple in its entire splendor: as a biological wonder, as a super food, as a work of art, and as a cultural icon.

The Keep Homestead Museum will be open to visitors 1:00-3:30 p.m. There is no admission charge, either to the museum or to the program. All are welcome. Refreshments will be served. For more information call 413-267-4137, khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or check out the web http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

August 8 thru September 6, 2014 — “A River of Dreams: Photographs by Anthony W. Lee”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton

Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton presents A River of Dreams, an exhibit by photographer Anthony W. Lee inspired by remaining traces of the early nineteenth century Hampshire and Hampshire Canal.

Begun in the 1820s, the Hampshire and Hampden Canal was an attempt to connect Northampton by waterway to New Haven and facilitate the easy movement of goods and peoples. In Northampton, it ran along what is today State Street. The canal was a disaster from the start and by 1846, was defunct. Over time, its route was mostly covered over, and other kinds of construction, including many other hair-brained schemes, were built on its remains. There are only slivers of evidence on the landscape that it once existed, an astonishing invisibility considering the size and scope of the original project.

A River of Dreams displays seven large contemporary photographs by Anthony Lee, who finds traces of the canal in Easthampton and Northampton and muses on a landscape marked by ambition and ruin and time’s way with entrepreneurial desire. The exhibit will also feature artifacts from the collection of Historic Northampton related to the canal, including early daguerreotypes, stockholder shares, advertisements and later photographs.

Opening Reception
Friday, August 8th from 5 to 8 pm at Historic Northampton during Northampton’s Arts Night Out.

Gallery Talk by Carl Walter –The Hampshire and Hampden Canal
On August 16th at 2 pm, canal historian Carl Walter will explain why the canal was built, where it was located, how it was constructed and its importance to the canal towns with emphasis on the line of the canal in Northampton.

Anthony W. Lee is an historian of photography and a documentary photographer. He is the Idella Plimpton Kendall Professor of Art History at Mount Holyoke College.

September 6, 2014 — Open House
Longmeadow Historical Society
Storrs House, 697 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 – 4 p.m.

September 3, 2014 — “How Do I Frame My Life Story, And What Should I Do With All My Pictures?”
Western Mass. Genealogical Society
Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 6 to 8 pm.

The first meeting of the Western Mass Genealogical Society’s 2014-2015 season featuring Mark Wilmot (see below) will take place Wednesday, September 3, 2014 at the Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Meetings are free and open to the public. Membership is only $20 per year. Visit http://www.WestMassGen.com for our newsletter which describes the benefits of membership in WMGS.

Mark Wilmot grew up in West Boylston Massachusetts where he developed into a champion distance runner, winning events in cross country and track. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. While serving in the Marines, Mark raised a family or four children, was a foster parent, and gathered experience in leadership and technical areas. He developed an interest in innovation and the “Total Quality” philosophy because of Dr. W. Edward Deming (see “Out of The Crisis,” 1982). Before retiring from active duty as a Master Sergeant, Mark served as the Communications Security, and Avionics Chief for a Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Saipan. Mark maintains a keen interest in innovation, which began with the creation of the Readers’ Visual Display Unit [ebook device, 1986], and the Memories of Life legacy book publishing concept. His conceptualization of future products continues today with the Emergescan [High-Definition walk-thru scanning for emergency rooms], and development of Lifetime Fitness Testing technology based on weight-lifting and common exercises, but most importantly, his vision of a new world sport called Super Scoreball. That project is described on the web site; http://www.superscoreball.org. Mark has written several books, including a guide to writing life stories, which is titled Sharing Your Life Story In The Digital Age, and From Vision To Reality. He has helped many people with their poetry and life story books, and currently provides writing, editing, and publishing services to individuals with specialized knowledge through his web site which is http://www.prandpictures.com.

AUGUST

Saturdays, July 5 thru August 30, 2014 — “A Perfect Spot of Tea”
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum130 River Drive, Hadley, 2:30 & 3:30 p.m.

Afternoon tea with good company, interesting conversation, and lively music has been a tradition at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House for over two hundred and fifty years. Elizabeth Porter Phelps, a resident of the house from its construction in 1752 until her death in 1817, noted the teas often attracted ten to fifteen couples weekly. Visitors would “tarry” a while over a beverage that “cheers but not inebriates.” Elizabeth’s daughter met her future husband, Dan Huntington, at one of these events.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum invites guests to partake in this colonial tradition once again at A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA. The summer series will run every Saturday from July 5th through August 30th, 2014. Visitors are invited to drink Earl Grey tea, sample delicious pastries, and enjoy live music on the Museum’s back veranda. A Perfect Spot of Tea series is made possible through the generous donations of local restaurants, businesses, musicians and volunteers who provide the tea, pastries, flowers, music and service for this program. Come to A Perfect Spot of Tea and engage with the community of past and present!

Admission is $10 per person. There are seatings at 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. For an additional fee, guests may also tour the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum. Tours are hourly beginning at 1:30 pm. The house, which remains unchanged since the family’s occupancy, tells the story of six generations of prominent Hadley natives. The family, prosperous traders turned farmers, fought in both the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness. Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, ranging in focus from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early-American theology, economics, and social movements.

“A PERFECT SPOT OF TEA” 2014 Performers

July 5 Pete McLean and Mike Ingram – A duo performing on guitar, bass, Dobro, and lap steel, drawing influence from western swing, traditional country, and Americana.

July 12 Show of Cards – A hybrid of traditional folk-rock and jazz accessible to multiple generations.

July 19 High Definition – Women’s a cappella ensemble from the Northampton Community Music Center, singing everything from Montverdi Canzonettas to the Beatles.

July 26 West and Jackson – Guitar duo performing instrumental jazz, pop, and original songs.

August 2 Bella Voce – Soprano and Mezzo-Soprano vocalist duo with repertoire from Opera, Broadway, the American Songbook, and beyond.

August 9 JMPT Quartet – An acoustic quartet with Old World flavor.

August 16 22 Strutis – A cello and sitar duo using modal improvisation to explore the convergence of world music traditions.

August 23 Same Old Blues – Classic ragtime country blues performed in the Piedmont style.

August 30 The Pikeys – A mixture of traditional Irish and Scottish music from both sides of the Atlantic on a variety of instruments.

August 27, 2014 — Dale Monette’s “Visions of the Past”
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., New Salem, 7 p.m.

Join us on Wednesday, August 27, at 7 pm at the Swift River Valley Historical Society (40 Elm Street, New Salem). Dale Monette presents historic construction and real estate photographs taken by the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission before the valley was cleared for the reservoir and its watershed—contrasted with photographs taken from the same vantage point today. Recently retired from his work at the Quabbin Visitor Center, Dale was in a unique position to learn about and return to the same locations where homes and businesses once stood. This is a fascinating look at the Quabbin story! The presentation will be held in the air-conditioned Prescott Church. FREE, donations appreciated.

August 24, 2014 — Open House
Buckland Historical Society, 2 – 4 p.m.

The Buckland Historical Society Museum – a former school house which now houses three floors of artifacts and town records, 20 Upper St., Buckland Center, MA

The Wilder Homestead – a furnished 1775 saltbox with five fireplaces, a 1779 English barn with antique barn loom, and a shoemaker shop, 129, Rt. 112, Buckland, MA

For more information contact: Polly Anderson 413-625-9763

August 24, 2014 — “Highways & Byways of the Hilltowns: The First Century of Transportation & the Stagecoach”
An Illustrated Talk by Ralmon Jon Black
Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., 2 p.m.

The 18th-Century English settlements in Western Massachusetts were to realize the great need for travel ways where there were none‑‑scarcely even a path. The labor-intensive burden of building highways, for public convenience, was the main focus in the district, as records only vaguely reveal. Faded from public memory are the doings of those times, which brought all the first inhabitants together to build the community, now taken so much for granted. Free and Open to the Public ~ donations encouraged.

August 19, 2014 — “A Stone Mason’s Tool Chest”
Noble Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
42 Water St., Granville, 7 p.m.

Dressed in full period costume and using authentic tools, Dennis Picard from the Storrowton Village Museum will give a talk on the tools and techniques used in the stone mason’s trade at the NCCHP museum at 7:00 PM on Tuesday evening (note the change of date). Thanks!

May 18 thru August 18, 2014 — “A Genius for Place: American Landscapes of the Country Place Era”
Summer Gallery Exhibit
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke

On view from Sunday, May 18 through August 18, Wistariahurst hosts an exhibition from the Library of American Landscape History. A Genius for Place is an exhibition of historical landscapes representing the chronological development of an important movement in American landscape design. The exhibition is a collaboration between author and curator Robin Karson, and landscape photographer Carol Betsch. The resulting seven views reveal the designer’s intentions and the spirit of each place. All photographs were created with a 4 x 5 wood field camera. Admission to the gallery $3
Saturday, Sunday, May 18 at 1:00 p.m. – Opening Reception of “A Genius for Place: American Landscapes of the Country Place Era”
Join us for A Genius for Place, the traveling exhibition featuring seven American estate landscapes designed by significant landscape architects during the first four decades of the twentieth century. Signed copies of A Genius for Place, the book that is a companion piece to the exhibition will be available for purchase. Admission $3

August 16, 2014 — Gallery Talk by Carl Walter: The Hampshire & Hampden Canal”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 2 p.m.

Canal historian Carl Walter will speak on the history of the Hampshire & Hampden Canal at Historic Northampton. Mr. Walter is a retired pathologist who has been studying the canal since 1991. He has entered his research on the canal into a computer database accessed by referencing a map of the canal. Currently the database contains several thousand pictures and documents. He has walked the line of the canal twice and has visited all the libraries and historical societies in the canal towns of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Mr. Walter will explain why the canal was built, where it was located, how it was constructed as well as its importance to the canal towns with emphasis on the line of the canal in Northampton.

August 16, 2014 — Open House
Longmeadow Historical Society
Storrs House, 697 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 – 4 p.m.

August 4 — 15, 2014 — Archaeology Field Training Program for High School Students
Sons & Daughters of Hawley
Sanford Tavern, Hawley

The Sons and Daughters of Hawley, the town’s historical society, and the Mohawk Trail Regional High School are offering an archaeology field training program for middle and high school students (age 13 and up) at the site of the Sanford Tavern on Hawley’s Old Town Common. The two-week program will begin August 4 and end August 15. Up to 16 students will work under the direction of Laura Masur, a doctoral candidate in archaeology at Boston University. Details of the program and an application form can be found at:

https://sites.google.com/site/mohawkarcheology/

The Sons & Daughters of Hawley (SDH) is also seeking to raise $2000 to cover some of the costs of the program so that it can offer financial aid to students who otherwise could not afford to participate. To learn more about this unusual program, visit SDH’s Kickstarter Project website, watch the video, read the details, and, if you like what you see, make a pledge (no payment if we do not reach our goal!). The students who will benefit from this program will be most grateful for your support!

August 15, 2014 — “Video of Goshen’s Highland Lake”
Goshen Historical Society
Goshen Town Hall, 7 p.m.

CANCELED

Video of Goshen’s Highland Lake, by Marion Judd.

August 15, 2014 — Free Fun Friday
Historic Deerfield, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Historic Deerfield is participating in the Highland Street Foundation’s Free Fun Friday program, which opens 66 museums and cultural organizations in Massachusetts to all visitors for free admission on Fridays during the summer. Visit Historic Deerfield on August 15, when guests can tour our museum houses, participate in great activities for young and old alike, and interact with the Society of the 17th Century. Learn more about the day and download your own map on our website.

Thursday, August 14, 2014 — “31st Mass. Inf.” Website Launch Reception
Genealogy & Local History Library
Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History, Springfield, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m.

“December 12, 1861. Left home in the morning early for the depot. It came hard to leave home I can tell you. I left Belchertown at 2 o’clock to go to Camp Seward at Pittsfield… It was my first riding on a rail… I was homesick enough on my first night in Camp. I had to sleep on a board and only one blanket for three of us. I caught a cold that night that never went off till I was far down in Dixie.”

This excerpt from the diary of twenty-year old R.F. Underwood of Belchertown is just one of scores of Civil War diaries, letters, and personal recollections of members of the 31st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment recently discovered in the archives of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. On August 14th, the documents are slated to be made available online to the general public through funding from the Massachusetts Sesquicentennial Commission of the American Civil War, which was formed to plan events and activities across the commonwealth to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

Known as the “Western Bay State Regiment,” the 31st Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was the first unit to enter New Orleans in 1862 and remained stationed in and around Louisiana until the end of the war. The regiment was primarily comprised of men from Western Massachusetts towns, particularly Ware, Belchertown, and Pittsfield.

The documents came to light after a request made to the Museum by Louisiana-based historian Frank McGlothlin for documents related to the 31st Massachusetts. In searching the archives, Margaret Humberston, Head of Library and Archives, and Cliff McCarthy, Archivist, discovered a trove of more than seventy manuscripts painstakingly compiled by Lewis Frederick Rice, the unit’s historian, for the purpose of publishing a regimental history. After years of transcribing diaries and collecting remembrances, Rice was unable to complete the project, and in 1929, the documents were donated by the dwindling regimental association to the Connecticut Valley Historical Society. Later the documents were absorbed into the Springfield History Library and Archives in the current Wood Museum, where they have remained unpublished for decades.

Thanks to the grant from the Sesquicentennial Commission, the Museum was able to enlist the help of Larry Lowenthal, a former historian for the national parks, and intern Stan Prager. The two worked closely with Humberston and McCarthy to prepare the documents for online distribution.

Some of the more than seventy manuscripts are simply transcripts of the day-by-day diaries kept by the soldiers at the time. Most, like the Underwood transcript, appear to be edited reminiscences based on actual diary entries or personal recollections written retrospectively. All combined, they draw a vivid and insightful picture of Civil War camp life in and around Louisiana from 1862 through 1865. These manuscripts will finally be made available to the public through a new website that is sure to generate interest from Civil War buffs, local historians, descendents of regiment members, teachers, and others. The website will feature maps, an image gallery, and an easily searchable database of the writings in the collection.

The site will be officially launched at a ceremony at Thursday, August 14 at 3:30 P.M. in the Wood Museum’s Springfield History Library. Invitees include descendants of some of the soldiers featured in the manuscripts. Admission to the event is free – visitors should use the main entrance to the Wood Museum. For more information about the project, please call 413-263-6800 ext. 308.

Thursday, August 14, 2014 — Mills of Colrain
Colrain Historical Society
Stacy Carriage Barn (behind the Pitt House), Main St., Colrain, 7:30 p.m.

Continuing the series of summer programs dealing with the history of water-powered mills in Colrain, the Colrain Historical Society will offer a program on other hill town mills in the county and how they related to later mills in the valley Thursday, August 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Carriage Barn behind the Pitt House on Main Street. The program will be preceded by a business meeting at 7.

Two board members of the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage in Greenfield, Jim Terapane and Chris Clawson, will use maps and photos to illustrate their presentation. The program is free, and refreshments will be served.

An informative exhibit about the history of water-powered mills in Colrain will be open to the public in the Pitt House barn Sundays, August 17, September 14, and October 12, from 1 to 4 p.m. For the past year the Historical Society has been engaged in repairs to the buildings, inventorying and moving items in the collection throughout the outbuildings. This is an ongoing process, which has prevented the buildings from being open to the public for more than a year. The current exhibit is the first to open in several years. As the work is completed it will be possible to open all the buildings again, with a newly displayed collection. Meeting space in the Stacy Barn has been the first of these changes, with more to come.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 — “Native Raptors, Native Artifacts”
co-sponsored by the Community Network for Children
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., New Salem, 6 p.m.

See live birds of prey up close! Discover the connections between raptors and Native American culture from Wingmasters’ Julie Anne Collier. Free! Donations appreciated.

Tuesday, August 12, 2014 — “Overlooked Municipal Records”
Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front St., Chicopee, 6:30 p.m.

Sara Campbell will be holding a workshop on “Overlooked Municipal Records” at the Chicopee Library, 449 Front Street, Chicopee, MA. Sara Campbell has been researching her own family for almost 25 years. She can’t let go of a good puzzle, and is interested in following stories, whether or not they involve her ancestors. She has given workshops in genealogy for a variety of local groups, including non-credit courses at Holyoke and Greenfield Community Colleges. She has been an officer of the Polish Genealogical Society of Mass. for many years. Since joining the Engineering Department in the Town of Greenfield, she realizes that there are many records tucked away in the municipal offices that are not often explored. She is very happy among the dusty books!

August 10, 2014 — Open House
Buckland Historical Society, 2 – 4 p.m.

The Buckland Historical Society Museum – a former school house which now houses three floors of artifacts and town records, 20 Upper St., Buckland Center, MA

The Wilder Homestead – a furnished 1775 saltbox with five fireplaces, a 1779 English barn with antique barn loom, and a shoemaker shop, 129, Rt. 112, Buckland, MA

For more information contact: Polly Anderson 413-625-9763

August 10, 2014 — Swift River Valley Day
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm Street, New Salem, 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

History comes alive at Swift River Valley Day, a celebration of 19th century industry and craftsmanship at the Swift River Valley Historical Society in New Salem. “Made in the Valley: 19th Century Industry and Craftsmanship”— an afternoon of living history and demonstrations, along with lively music and free ice cream, at the Swift River Valley Historical Society at 40 Elm Street in New Salem. The FREE family-friendly event is on Sunday, August 10th, from 1:30 to 4:30 pm.

Swift River Valley Day recognizes 19th century industry and craftsmanship with the theme, “Made in the Valley.” The FREE event is from 1:30 to 4:30 pm, with ongoing demonstrations, music by the all-star local band, Bright Lines, from 2:30 to 3:30 pm, and free Maple Valley ice cream served up by Seren-dip-ities Dairy Bar of Orange.

The Swift River Valley Historical Society joins the Pioneer Valley History Network in its “Made in the Valley” 2014 theme, celebrating the artisans, craftspeople, and manufacturers that produced goods in our area. The Swift River Valley towns produced handcrafted and manufactured goods similar to those made throughout New England. There were blacksmiths, tinsmiths, hatmakers, and saddlemakers—and many other craftsmen/women—creating products for local use. But some products were also created for markets far beyond the valley, such as palm leaf and braided straw hats. Executive Director, Sheila Damkoehler, notes, “We’re fortunate to have contemporary craftspeople to demonstrate these traditional 19th century economic activities, including a tinsmith, felt hatmaker, a blacksmith, strawbraider and saddlemaker.” Visitors can try their hand at threading a screw with an adjustable die, an extremely important 19th century innovation—first patented in nearby Greenfield—that allowed agricultural and industrial machinery to be properly maintained and repaired. They’ll see examples of handcrafted products in the Swift River Valley Historical Society collection.

Bright Lines, performing from 2:30 to 3:30, mixes up a spicy brew of danceable roots and rockabilly music. Singer/songwriter Abe Loomis fronts an all-star band of local artists, blending country, indie, roots, rockabilly and blues. The band plays traditional tunes and original songs that sound timeless, powered by tight arrangements, Appalachian-style vocal harmonies and scorching instrumental solos. For a taste of the sound, visit brightlines.bandcamp.com.

The program is supported in part by grants from the Athol, New Salem, Orange, Petersham, Warwick, and Wendell Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For information about the Swift River Valley Historical Society and other upcoming programs, visit http://www.swiftrivermuseum.org or its Facebook page.

Friday, August 8, 2014 — Opening Reception for “A River of Dreams”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 5 to 8 p.m.

For description, see “On-Going Events”

August 4 – 8, 2012 — “A Sense of Place – Local History for Children”
24th Annual Children’s Literature Festival, sponsored by the Mary Lyon Foundation
Buckland Shelburne Elementary School, Shelburne Falls, 8:30 am to 12 noon

The 24th annual Children’s Literature Festival sponsored by the Mary Lyon Foundation will be held this summer at the Buckland Shelburne Elementary School in Shelburne Falls mornings from 8:30 am to 12 noon August 4-8. This unique program combines children’s literature with arts and crafts, music, field trips and special guests. Children will have an opportunity to visit the Mary Lyon House in Upper Buckland where Mary Lyon, founder of Mount Holyoke, first taught school in 1823. The theme this year is A Sense of Place and introduces children grades K-6 to local history. The cost for this program is $50 per child and includes all materials and snacks. There are scholarships available. For details call Program Director Toni Wilcox at 413-863-9418. Applications will be available at local post offices and libraries or call the Mary Lyon Foundation office at 413-625-2555 to have an application mailed. The Children’s Literature Festival is again generously sponsored by the Recorder.

Saturday, August 2, 2014 — NEHGS Family History Day
UMass, Amherst, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Explore your ancestry at NEHGS Family History Day at UMass Amherst!

During this exclusive one-day workshop, our experts will introduce you to best practices in genealogy and show you how to get the most from our website, AmericanAncestors.org.

Discover new and essential resources, chat with professional genealogists, shop discounted titles at the NEHGS bookstore, and connect with other family historians. A limited number of one-on-one consultations with NEHGS experts will be available throughout the day.

Whether you are new to genealogy or have been researching for years, take this opportunity to discover your family story with the family history experts!

Early Registration: $40 Register by July 18 (after July 18, registration is $80) Discounted hotel rates are available at the Hotel UMass for reservations made by July 1. Group code HGS14C.

Family History Day is Sponsored by MyHeritage.

Friday, August 1, 2014 — Graduation of the 2014 Summer Fellowship Program Class
Bartels Seminar Room, Flynt Center, Historic Deerfield, 1:30 p.m.

Please join us for the Fellows’ presentation of papers, reflections by Marla Miller, Professor and Director, Public History Program, UMass, and the awarding of certificates, followed by cake and champagne.

JULY

Wednesdays, June 11 thru July 30, 2014 — “Folk Traditions”
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive (Rte. 47), Hadley, 6:30 p.m.

THE 2014 WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS SEASON

June 11 – Youssoupha Sidibe is a Grammy nominated Senegalese Master Kora player who breaks with tradition to create a new genre blending aspects of western music with Reggae and ancient African Harp styles.

June 18 – Evelyn Harris is a powerhouse vocalist, former member of Sweet Honey In The Rock, and Grammy nominated composer whose remarkable instrument creates stirring interpretations of the traditional African-American song cannon including spirituals, freedom songs, jazz, pop, rock ‘n’ roll, gospel and blues.

June 25 – The Achéray ensembleis apolychromatic mirror of Latin American music that ignites the energy of Afro-Latin rhythms with the spellbinding spirit of South American indigenous music, forming a contemporary ethnic hybrid with strokes of jazz and classical references.

July 9 – Zydeco Connection performs the irresistible sounds and infectious driving rhythms of rural Louisiana Zydeco. Dominated by the button accordion and the rub board they play a spicy mix of waltzes, two-steps, blues, and boogie woogie guaranteed to get you dancing.

July 16 – 5^th Annual Horace Clarence Boyer Memorial Gospel Performance featuring Springfield’s The Women of Faith Ensemble who minister in song, supporting worthy causes and giving God the Glory.Our 33^rdannual Gospel performance.

July 23 – The Sky Blue Boys revive the tradition of “brothers duets,” popular during the 1930s and ’40s, including a repertoire of old ballads, parlor songs, heart songs and sacred numbers with their clean, evocative sound and flying fingers.

July 30 – Vishnu Wood and Safari East explore the roots of blues in a journey from Africa to Africa in America through Caribbean rhythms and field hollersto rag time, military music, Creole music andjazz performed in the Black Social Clubs of New Orleans including the blues and rhythm and blues of the present day.

WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS 2014 – 33^rdseason. Performances are held Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm. in the Sunken Garden at the Porter‑Phelps‑Huntington Museum, 130 River Drive, Route 47, Hadley MA 01035. Admission is $10, $2 children 16 and under. Picnickers are welcome on the museum grounds starting at 5:00 pm. The Museum and its grounds are smoke-free sites. For further information please call (413) 584‑4699 or visit www.pphmuseum.org.

Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from: the Marion I. And Otto C. Kohler Memorial Fund at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts; and the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency, supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; and with generous support from many local businesses, including the Walmart Foundation and Easthampton Savings Bank.

July 30, 2014 — Lewis Hine’s Photographs
Swift River Valley Historical Society, New Salem, 7 p.m.

We hope you’ve marked your calendar for tomorrow evening’s presentation by Joe Manning–Wednesday, 7 pm in the air-conditioned Prescott Church at the Swift River Valley Historical Society. It promises to be very compelling, with the story of a young boy buried in Quabbin Park Cemetery, and Joe’s research and discovery of the families of children photographed by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee in the early 1900s. The Carriage Shed and Whitaker-Clary house will be open before the talk, from 6:30 to 7 pm, to see two different views of children in the valley–photographs (many by Burt Brooks) of children doing farm chores and at play; and the late 19th and early 20th century studio portraits of children dressed for the camera that were previously exhibited at the Great Falls Discovery Center. Please join us!

July 29, 2014 — Author Rachel Hope Cleves
Plainfield Historical Society
Plainfield Town Hall, 7 p.m.

The officers and trustees of the Plainfield Historical Society invite you to attend our annual meeting which will be held on Tuesday, July 29, 2014 at the Plainfield Town Hall at 7:00 p.m. A talk by historian, Rachel Hope Cleves will be followed by a short business meeting. Rachel’s recently published book entitled Charity and Sylvia describes the relationship between Charity Bryant, William Cullen Bryant’s aunt, and Sylvia Drake. There is a chapter in the book entitled Charity and Lydia that describes the relationship between Plainfield’s Lydia Richards and Charity Bryant.

From the age of 16 to 43 and from the years 1798-1825, Lydia wrote to Charity who was living in Vermont near Middlebury College. The Plainfield Historical Society has copies of all of those letters that were archived in the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury. William Hosley, historical consultant, who created an excellent powerpoint program on Plainfield’s Shaw Hudson House, studied those letters while he was a student at Middlebury College. He has had an abiding interest in Plainfield’s history since that time. Copies of some of those letters, William Hosley’s power point presentation on the Shaw Hudson House, and numerous other documents of historic interest to Plainfield can be viewed at the Plainfield Historical Society’s website: http://plainfieldmahistory.com

Ms. Hope Cleves will be bringing copies of her book. This event is free, but donations are gladly accepted. Refreshments will be served.

July 19-27, 2014 — “Legacy of Vintage Music Workshop”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke

From July 19 – 27, Wistariahurst Museum hosts a week- long immersion workshop as an engaging venue where musicians have fun while furthering their skills. Musicians learn about cultural history that is a legacy through their music, which embraces a “passing it on” tradition. A collaborative environment is created in which seasoned musicians mentor
skilled amateur and less seasoned musicians.

Under the leadership of Music Director, Deena Chappell, with the support of facilitating seasoned musicians, participants will form a band, learn a play-list of music, and present performances at Wistariahurst on Saturday, July 26 and at the Holyoke Senior Center on Sunday, July 27.

The play list is a collection of music from 1800 through 1950 that was enjoyed by folks living and working in Holyoke, once known as Ireland Parish. There are songs and tunes that were played, sung, danced to, and listened to on back porches, around kitchen tables, at gatherings, schoolyards, work-breaks and dance halls. This music not only represents local culture, but also reflects what the hard-working people at the heart of community thrived on.

Some of the music comes from a time before music was categorized, when it was passed down through generations primarily by oral tradition. Immigration and the invention of radio brought in influences from other parts of the country – blues, gospel, and western – which expanded local repertoire.

Instruments that are used, including voice, are acoustic and portable — such as guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, accordion, bass, tambourine, whistle, bones, etc. Songs include solos and harmonies. At the performance, each piece of music is accompanied by a narrative, which ties it into the timeline, history, and local culture.

To sign up or for more information contact Legacy Workshop Director, Jacqueline Cooper at 413-628-0262 or email jackiecooper@crocker.com
For additional information go to http://www.wistariahurst.org

The workshop is part of “A Legacy of Holyoke’s Music, People, and Place: 1800-1950”, a music & storytelling performance created & directed by Jacqueline Cooper, sponsored by Wistariahurst Museum, and funded in part by Country Dance & Song Society and Holyoke Cultural Council.

July 27, 2014 — Open House
Buckland Historical Society, 2 – 4 p.m.

The Buckland Historical Society Museum – a former school house which now houses three floors of artifacts and town records, 20 Upper St., Buckland Center, MA

The Wilder Homestead – a furnished 1775 saltbox with five fireplaces, a 1779 English barn with antique barn loom, and a shoemaker shop, 129, Rt. 112, Buckland, MA

For more information contact: Polly Anderson 413-625-9763

July 27, 2014 — “A Legacy of Holyoke’s Music” Concert
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 2 p.m.

On Saturday, July 26 at 7 p.m., Wistariahurst will host “A Legacy of Holyoke’s Music, People and Place.” The concert is the culmination of months of research by historian and project director Jacqueline Cooper, who has collected stories and music anecdotes from residents of Holyoke and nearby towns. The result will be heard in two song and story-telling performances by a story teller, amateur and seasoned musicians.

The musicians and storytellers will be taking the audience on a journey back in time – Holyoke 1800 – 1950. The tunes at the concert have trickled down from songs that were played, sung, danced to, and listened to on back porches, around kitchen tables, at gatherings, schoolyards, work-breaks and dance halls.

We hope you’ll join us for a great evening at Wistariahurst filled with song, history, fun and culture! Legacy of Music is at Wistariahurst on Saturday, July 26th at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $12 general and $10 members and can be purchased online here, by calling the museum at 413-322-5660, or at the door.

On Sunday July 27th at 2 p.m. the second performance of Legacy of Music will take place at the Holyoke Senior Center. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

A Legacy of Holyoke’s Music, People, and Place: 1800-1950, is a music & storytelling performance created & directed by Jacqueline cooper, sponsored by Wistariahurst Museum, and funded in part by Country Dance & Song Society and Holyoke Cultural Council.

July 26, 2014 — Open House
Longmeadow Historical Society
Storrs House, 697 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 – 4 p.m.

July 26, 2014 — “A Legacy of Holyoke’s Music” Concert
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 p.m.

On Sunday July 27th at 2 p.m. the second performance of Legacy of Music will take place at the Holyoke Senior Center. Admission is free, donations are welcome.

July 10, 17, 24, 2014 — “Summer Lecture Series: The Arts & Crafts Movement”
Historic Deerfield
Garonzik Auditorium, Koch Science Center, Deerfield Academy, 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays in July, make sure your evenings are open to join us for our FREE summer lecture series! This year’s topic will be on the early 20th century Arts & Crafts movement. See historic-deerfield.org for a current list of speakers.

July 19, 2014 — “Creatures of Bliss and Mystery: A 19th-Century Children’s Circus”
Emily Dickinson Museum
280 Main St., Amherst, 1 – 4 p.m.

On Saturday, July 19, the Emily Dickinson Museum will present its annual “Creatures of Bliss and Mystery: A 19th-Century Children’s Circus,” from 1 to 4 pm, on the Emily Dickinson Museum lawn. Especially appropriate for children ages 3 to 10, this event is free (except where noted) and open to the public. The museum is located at 280 Main Street in Amherst, MA.

The afternoon includes a wide range of circus-related fun. Henry the Juggler will perform amazing tricks of hand and eye at 1:15 pm. Folksinger and storyteller Tim Van Egmond will share his tales and music at 3 pm. All afternoon, circus goers are invited to walk the “tightrope,” balance on stilts, work on crafts, and perfect their aim at ring toss. Everyone will gather on the Homestead lawn for the Parade Around the Grounds later in the afternoon.

A highlight of the 2014 Circus will be a reading from Miss Emily, a new children’s book by author Burleigh Mutén that tells an imaginative tale of Emily Dickinson, four young friends, and a traveling circus.. When an invitation to join Miss Emily in the garden appears, Mattie, Ned, Sally, and Mac know they’re in for some fun because Miss Emily always has a surprise in store for her young friends. The story is illustrated by celebrated artist Matt Phelan. Mutén will read from her book at 2:15 pm.

Fifteen-minute tours of Emily Dickinson’s bedroom, especially appropriate for young children, will introduce visitors to Emily Dickinson and her poetry in the space most associated with her and her work. Tours will be offered throughout the afternoon. Tickets are $1, and children must be accompanied by an adult. In addition, the Museum will offer its regular schedule of guided tours from 10 am to 5 pm. A sale of items from the museum shop will also take place during festival hours.

For a complete schedule of events and for directions and parking information, please visit http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/circus. With questions, contact Lucy Abbott, program coordinator, at edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org or 413-542-2034.

Saturday, July 19, 2014 — 7th Annual Bryant Day Celebration
William Cullen Bryant Reservation
Cummington, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The Trustees of Reservations will host its seventh annual Bryant Day celebration at the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington, MA, on July 19th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Bryant Day was first celebrated in 1894, some 100 years after the famous poet, journalist and editor was born, when hundreds flocked to Bryant’s boyhood and summer home in Cummington to spend the day listening to poetry, music, and speeches. The Trustees are proud to continue this tradition, honoring a local hero who took inspiration from his surroundings in Western Massachusetts and became an influential figure in American arts and politics.

July 19, 2014 — Open House
Longmeadow Historical Society
Storrs House, 697 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 – 4 p.m.

July 19, 2014 — “Northampton, Florence & the Split in the Anti-Slavery Movement”
Chautauqua Festival of Ideas
Historic Building #20, Laurel Park, Northampton, 11 a.m.

Steve Strimer will present a talk on anti-slavery in Northampton and Florence as part of the Chautauqua Festival of Ideas at Historic Building #20 at Laurel Park on Saturday, July 19, 2014 at 11 am. Since the publication of Christopher Clark’s The Communitarian Moment: The Radical Challenge of the Northampton Association, the focus of local versions of the story of abolition has been on the village of Florence. The wing of abolition led by William Lloyd Garrison included local activity by famous figures such as Lydia Maria Child, Sojourner Truth, David Ruggles, and Charles C. Burleigh, Sr. Recent research conducted by MassHumanities scholar-in-residence Bruce Laurie, with help from Historic Northampton staff, has revealed that more socially conservative, but equally committed abolitionists–leaders of the Liberty and Free Soil parties–made downtown Northampton a hotbed of resistance to the slave power and an active center of Underground Railroad activity. Equally prominent evangelicals had significant ties to the “old town” including Arthur and Lewis Tappan, Joshua Leavitt and Abel Brown.

July 19, 2014 — “Trolleyfest”
Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum
Shelburne Falls, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Trolleyfest is Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum’s annual celebration of the restoration of Trolley No 10. The public is invited for July 19 from 11 am to 5 pm at the regular $4.00 All-Day Pass rate. Besides the usual trolley car rides and pump car rides, activities include:
Caboose rides powered by a Trackmobile.
Music by Burris Jenkin in the afternoon.
Blacksmithing Demonstrations.
Trolley Era reenactors riding the trolley.
Raffle drawing during the BBQ dinner.
Wooden and electric trains to play with.
Play reading, “No. 10 Rides Again”.
These Hands-on demonstrations of Trolley Era activities that relate to industries served by the trolley line will be available at certain scheduled times:
Hands-on Cider pressing.
Hands-on Butter making.
Hands-on Weaving.
Hands-on Toolmaking.
Hands-on Uses for Vinegar.

A drawing for a pair of Cape Cod Central Elegant Dinner Train tickets. Raffle of railroad items and local services to raise money for the Carbarn Fund. On the web at http://www.sftm.org or trolley@sftm.org.

July 19, 2014 — New Salem Academy Museum Dedication
Old Academy Building, New Salem Center, 10:45 a.m.

The New Salem Academy Museum will be dedicated at 10:45 am on July 19th, during New Salem’s Old Home Day. The Ceremony will take place in front of the Old Academy Building on the Common in New Salem Center. A dedication plaque will be presented to the museum by the New Salem Academy Trustees, followed by remarks from local officials.

The Academy was incorporated on August 5, 1795 as a private co-educational school. It closed in June, 1989. At the time the Academy closed, the assets of the school passed to a 15 member Board of Directors for management. Since that time, over $400,000 in grants and scholarships has been awarded to organizations and individuals for educational purposes.

In 2006, the Board of trustees determined that Academy memorabilia and artifacts which were in possession of Academy alumni catered around the country, as well as those stored in various private homes and public buildings in New Salem, needed a home. After much deliberation it was decided to support the efforts of a group, later named, Friends of Historic New Salem, in their efforts to raise money needed to restore this historic building. In 1996, Historic Massachusetts had chosen the Old Academy Building as one of the state’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Resources. The building was built in 1837 and is the largest stack plank structure in the United States.

The Trustees plan was to occupy the second floor of the building with both a museum and a circa 1838 classroom. Eleanor McGinnis was appointed as archivist with the charge to assemble the Academy’s physical history in a proper museum format. The Trustees’ Old Academy Building committee has also been overseeing the project. Current members of that committee are Dan Hammock, Larry Blakley, Michael Dupont, Brian Casey and Eleanor McGinnis.

The museum exhibits include a number of display cases with rare photographs of the town and school dating back over 130 years. Some of the other memorabilia displayed in the cases and on the walls include: diplomas the size of wall hangings, early 1900’s sports clothing from both male and female basketball players, school banners, class rings and cheerleaders bracelets. You can see report cards and personal letters from former students describing what their years at the Academy were like and what those years have meant to them. An exciting recent acquisition is the original book and bylaws of the New Salem Academy Lyceum Club, circa 1870. The Lyceum Club was a club of female students who studied and reported on important issues of the day just 5 years after the Civil War and 50 years before the passage of the 18th amendment, in 1920, giving women the right to vote.

For individuals interested in information about family members who attended the school, there is resource information back through the early 1800’s and copies of the annual student publication describing the important thoughts and happenings for over 100 years of school life.

For those who are curious about student life and education there is a recreated circa 1830’s classroom with original desks and artifacts from the period.

For further information about the museum, please contact Larry Blakley at 978-575-0450 or Eleanor McGinnis at 978-575-044

July 18, 2014 — “History of Goshen’s Hammond Acres”
Goshen Historical Society
The Barn at Hammond Acres, Goshen, 7 p.m.

History of Goshen’s Hammond Acres by Robert Labrie. For a map on how to get there, call 268-7005 or email goshenhistoricalsociety@gmail.com

July 16, 2014 — “Images of Quabbin Past”
Swift River Valley Historical Society
Prescott Church (on museum property), 40 Elm Street, New Salem, 7 p.m.

Join the Swift River Valley Historical Society for “Images of Quabbin Past” on Wednesday, July 16, at 7 pm in the air-conditioned Prescott Church on museum property (40 Elm Street, New Salem). Friends of Quabbin President, Gene Theroux, will present an introduction and summary of the videos produced for the 75th Year of Remembrance Ball. Works by Burt Brooks, Elizabeth Howe Lincoln, Sue Chaffee, Russell Buzzell, Les Campbell, the Quabbin Photo Group, Swift River Valley Historical Society and Friends of Quabbin photo archives are included. And an early motion picture of the Enfield Centennial Celebration from 1916! Gene has added a number of images to his presentation, including this scene in front of the Enfield Town Hall on Memorial Day, so you’re in for a treat even if you’ve seen one of his previous program!

July 16, 2014 — “Contemporary Northampton in 2030”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 1:30 p.m.

Carolyn Misch will present an illustrated talk on plans for the city’s future transportation, green infrastructure, open spaces and urban design. Carolyn Misch, AICP, is senior land use planner and permit manager in the department of Planning and Sustainability, City of Northampton. This talk is in conjunction with photographer Chester Michalik’s exhibition Northampton in Time, a Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton exhibition. Free and open to the public.

July 13, 2014 — “Journey Through Lesbian Mecca: The Northampton LGBTQ History Walking Tour”
Meet behind Thornes Marketplace at 1:30
Northampton, 2 – 5 p.m.

Do you know what these places were and where they were located? The Egg, Dyke Dorms, The Gala, Hover House, Nutcracker Suite, Greasy Gorgon Garage, Ye Rose Tree Inn, Green Street Cafe, Common Womon Club, The Grotto…and more! 50 tour stops located in and around downtown Northampton!

Be in the know about Northampton queer history! Registration is limited to 30 people. Conducted by the Sexual Minorities Archives as a benefit for the non-profit Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, Inc. Requested donation is $20 general and $10 for seniors ages 60+, students, and low-income individuals. To reserve your place, email kent.eliz@gmail.com or call 508-369-3711 (Rain date: Sunday, July 20th, 2:00 pm)

July 13, 2014 — Open House
Buckland Historical Society, 2 – 4 p.m.

The Buckland Historical Society Museum – a former school house which now houses three floors of artifacts and town records, 20 Upper St., Buckland Center, MA

The Wilder Homestead – a furnished 1775 saltbox with five fireplaces, a 1779 English barn with antique barn loom, and a shoemaker shop, 129, Rt. 112, Buckland, MA

For more information contact: Polly Anderson 413-625-9763

July 12, 2014 — “Early New England House Joinery Symposium”
Historic Deerfield
Garonzik Auditorium, Koch Science Center, Deerfield Academy, 8:45 am. — 4:30 p.m.

The work of 18th-century house joiners, including their workshops, tools and the trade, from framing to finish, is the focus of the first Early New England House Joinery Symposium at Historic Deerfield. Geared towards both professionals practicing in all aspects of the preservation field as well as owners of historic structures, the symposium will be held on Saturday, July 12, 2014, from 8:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Garonzik Auditorium, Koch Science Center, on the campus of Deerfield Academy.

The symposium will feature lectures from notable speakers on the topic of early building trades. They include Architectural Historian James L. Garvin, who will give the keynote address, “The Craft of the House Joiner: Inspiration, Tools, and Products.” J. Ritchie Garrison, Director, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture, will present “Building New England: The Work of Master Housewrights, 1750-1850.” Architect and Timber Framer Jack Sobon will discuss “Framing the 18th Century: Timber Conversion, Setting Out, Cutting, and Erecting a Timber Framed Building.” Ted Ingraham, Historic Woodworking Consultant, will present “Sawdust & Shavings, Building the David Whittier House: The Tools and Labor of an 18th-Century Joiner.” Historic Deerfield’s Architectural Conservator, Bill Flynt, will present “Fragments of Fashion: First Period Detailing Discovered in the Deerfield Area.”

Participants in the symposium will also have a unique opportunity to see examples of early architectural fragments in Historic Deerfield’s collection not usually on view to the public. The Flynt Center of Early New England Life will be open for participants who would like to see the exhibition Into the Woods: Crafting Early American Furniture.

Registration for Historic Deerfield’s Early New England House Joinery Symposium is now open. An early registration discount is available through May 16, 2014. To view the complete schedule and to register online, visit http://www.historic-deerfield.org/enehj. (http://www.historic-deerfield.org/enehj) or contact Julie Orvis at (413) 775-7179 to register by telephone.

July 6, 2014 — Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1:00-3:30 p.m.

Come spend a summer afternoon. Create your own sundae, and tour the air-conditioned museum that has one of the largest button collections in the U.S. and furnished with period furniture and items that belonged to the Keep family. The museum will be open for the afternoon

The hiking trails are still in bad shape since the tornado, but the lower trails can be accessed.

The Social will be held rain or shine – it will move into the barn. There is no admission charge for this event. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email at khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or visit the web: http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

July 6, 2014 — “Summer Celebration and Fiddle Fest”
Museum of Our Industrial Heritage
2 Mead Street, Greenfield, 1 – 4 p.m.

The Museum of Our Industrial Heritage will host a “Summer Celebration and Fiddle Fest” on Sunday, July 6, 1-4 pm on the grounds of the historic Newell-Snow factory on the Green River near downtown Greenfield. Admission is free. Fiddle entertainment under the tent will be led by renowned western Massachusetts fiddler Donna Hébert. The program features Celtic aires and waltzes from Quebec performed by Hébert’s trio Mist Covered Mountains. A line up of acoustic entertainment for the whole family includes a fiddle jam for all comers. Visitors can take a guided walk along the Green River to the Wiley-Russell dam, and visit the museum’s new exhibit for 2014, “Rags to Riches,” the story of Franklin County’s Paper Industry. Enjoy demonstrations with Iron Johnny the blacksmith and others, and try hands-on activities: thread a nut and a bolt; try your hand at paper making. Refreshments will be served. Rain or shine.

This program is supported in part by grants from the local cultural councils of Bernardston, Buckland, Greenfield, Heath, Leyden, Orange, Wendell, and Whately, local agencies supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

The Museum of Our Industrial Heritage is located at 2 Mead Street in Greenfield. Admission is always free. Poster attached — please post! For more information, call 413-336-8275 or email info@industrialhistory.org

June 13, 2014 thru July 3, 2014 — “Fixing Our Eye”
A Mixed Media Series by Rochelle Shicoff
Historic Northampton

Rochelle Shicoff’s newest work combines fragments of both past paintings and her contemporary photographs, pencil drawings of cows and dyed vintage table runners with handmade crochet embellishments that act as the work’s support surface. This combination of materials invites the viewer into an intimate world that connects the past to the present. Shicoff was inspired by an embroidered picture worked by Esther Stoddard circa 1750 in Historic Northampton’s collection. Shicoff says, “It seemed quite appropriate to select this piece as my source of inspiration. In my paintings and drawings, I often combine media and use similar imagery: birds, foliage, trees, architecture, animals and human figures.” At left is Beyond Understanding, made of graphite, encaustic, fabric, photographs and acrylic fragments of past paintings.

Opening Reception — Arts Night Out Friday, June 13th 5-8 pm
Instead of paint and drawing media to create her imagery, Shicoff defines her shapes with textile trim and uses fabrics and encaustic to provide texture and color. She cut, layered and pieced together fabrics from her vast collection of textiles and unusually patterned exotic dresses purchased in the markets of South East Asia and Egypt. Shicoff says, “Through this multi-layered application of materials, I aim to create a degree of mystery and visual tension.”

Artist Talk, Saturday, June 21st at 2 pm
Rochelle Shicoff is the recipient of the Rome Prize Fellowship in Painting as well as numerous national commissions and residencies. Her murals can be seen in New York City, Florida, Georgia and Taxco, Mexico. She was a principal artist on the mural project History of Women in Northampton: 1600-1980 and is co-author of The Mural Book: A Practical Guide for Educators, 2001, Crystal Productions Company. She lives and maintains studios in Brooklyn, New York and Monson, Massachusetts.

Exhibition Hours
Wednesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm
Sundays 12 noon – 5 pm

Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton — A partnership of Historic Northampton, A.P.E. Gallery and the Northampton Center for the Arts to exhibit the work of area artists who draw on local history for theme or inspiration.

JUNE

Sunday, June 29, 2014 – Afternoon Concert with Achéray Ensemble
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 3 p.m.

Spend the afternoon at Wistariahurst on Sunday, June 29 at 3:00 p.m. for a concert with Achéray Ensemble. The Achéray Ensemble plays instrumental Latin American music that brings together tradition and contemporary expression. The acoustic voices of South American folk instruments, cello, guitar, wind instruments, and percussion, takes the listener on a musical journey through the igniting energy of the Afro-Latin rhythms, the spellbinding spirit of South American indigenous music, and the hybrid ethnicity of many Latin-American genres, all woven together with strokes of jazz and classical music references. The band is designed to present the work of founder Juan-Carlos Carpio, a native of Ecuador and Argentina. Carpio has played music since his teens, when he traveled to Peru and was exposed to ancient sites and Andes music. Later, Carpio came into contact with African music, which has resulted in vastly different styles now prevalent in the vastly different styles of music that Achéray Ensemble plays. Achéray’s members are Juan-Carlos Carpio, South American guitars, flutes, and bass; Jeremy Milligan, guitar; Greg Snedeker, cello; Carl Clements, woodwind instruments; Idalberto Perdomo, percussion.

Tickets are $12 general / $10 members and are available online here or at the door. For more information call 413-322-5660.

January thru June 2014 — Genealogy Research Clinics
Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society
Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 6 p.m.

Join Fran Malone, President of WMGS, and Dave Robison, Treasurer of WMGS and owner of http://www.oldbones.info for “Genealogy Research Clinics.” Spend some time with genealogy researchers with years of experience using the internet to help get the answers you’re looking for. Time saving research strategies using Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Google and SteveMorse.org among other sites.

Sessions will be held on the third and fourth Thursdays of the month in the computer room of the Agawam Senior Center.

Special note: If you are planning to attend a Genealogy Research Clinic, please be sure to add your name and phone number to our sign-up list. If a clinic needs to be canceled, we will call you.

June 28, 2014 — “The Bedrock of our Foundation: Rocks & Gardens of Hawley”
Sons & Daughters of Hawley, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For our Hawley tour this year, we are emphasizing the rocks and foundations that Hawley is built upon. In addition to viewing many of Hawley’s lovely flower and stone gardens, we will have Bud Wobus, Professor of Geology at Williams College, speak on the river rocks and their place in Hawley’s long geological history. He is an expert on igneous and metamorphic rocks and brings his students to Hawley every year to view the unique outcropping of metamorphasized basalt lava in the Chickley River.

Jerry Pratt of Ashfield Stone will open his “boat house” and display various amazing Hawley stones. He and Bud Wobus will discuss the rocks of Hawley, including rare pillow rocks and crowsfoot amphibolite which are quarried by Ashfield Stone and fabricated at their operation in Shelburne Falls.

At the Charcoal Kiln, Alec Gillman, Visitor Services Supervisor, DCR MassParks, will be available to discuss one of the oldest remaining fieldstone charcoal kilns in New England. Until about 1900 it produced charcoal fuel for local industry. Twenty-five feet in height and diameter, it held about 35 cords of wood with a burn time of one week.

Luncheon will be served at Melanie and Ray Poudrier’s home in East Hawley. At Stone Edge, folks can view their extensive perennial gardens, admire their stone structures, walks and patios and relax by their pond. Bud Wobus will also be at the luncheon to enjoy the tasty buffet and answer any questions folks have about the rocks and foundations of Hawley.

Suggested donation is $10 for the tour and $12 for the luncheon. The tour is sponsored by the Sons and Daughters of Hawley. We encourage all Hawleyites and interested neighbors to come and learn about the history of our rock foundations at this special, one of a kind event.

June 28, 2014 — “Community Day for Orange, MA”
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum
130 River Drive, Hadley

Emma Woodcock wishes to welcome fellow residents of Orange, Mass, to a Community Day at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum in Hadley, MA, on Saturday, June 28, 2014. Emma, a life-long resident of Orange, is interning at the Museum for the summer. On Community Day, all are welcome to the Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free tours will be given on the half–hour. Afterwards, guests can relax on the back veranda with complimentary lemonade and cookies. Members of the Orange community are encouraged to explore the homestead and grounds of one of the founding families of Hadley, and learn about the history of the Connecticut River Valley.

An American History major and rising junior attending Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Emma is thrilled to be working at the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum this summer. “So often we learn about the events that comprise American History on the national stage—ranging from the Revolutionary War to the changing face of American culture,” Emma says. “Working at the museum presents a chance to contextualize what happened on a local level.” Emma has been interested in history from a young age, and first heard of the Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum through family friends who used to live in Sunderland. “I want to continue looking into local history,” Emma remarks; she hopes to participate in a program in Historic Deerfield next summer, which would allow her to conduct original research, give tours, and produce her own scholarly work on regional history.

The Porter–Phelps–Huntington Museum provides a detailed look at the role of one family over the span of 200 years in the Connecticut River Valley and allows guests to experience the evolution of a nation through the family’s eyes. The house was built in 1752, with the last structural additions completed circa 1800. It is maintained in condition of last use and the interior décor is composed entirely of original objects, furniture, and artifacts. Visitors can witness the impact of historical events like the Revolutionary War and the abolition of slavery, as well as learn about the changing role of women and the influence of various theological movements on local society.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House is not only host to historical interpretation, but also to weekly concerts and teas. Every Wednesday evening the Museum presents Wednesday Folk Traditions, an annual concert series featuring talented musicians working in a vast array of traditions, cultures, genres, and sounds, ranging from traditional American folk singers to diverse international ensembles. Every Saturday afternoon beginning in July, the Museum hosts “A Perfect Spot of Tea,” where guests are invited to relax on the back porch, sample desserts and tea from local restaurants and bakeries, and listen to talented local musicians.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive (Route 47) in Hadley, two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47 North. The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment. For further information about the Museum and its programs, visit our website at http://www.pphmuseum.org or call the Museum at (413) 584-4699.

June 28, 2014 — “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro”
A Communal Reading of a Lecture by Frederick Douglass
Amherst Town Common, (Rain: Grace Episcopal Church, 14 Boltwood Ave.), 1 p.m.

In his fiery July 5, 1852 speech, the great abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass took exception to being asked to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Find out more about the “Reading Frederick Douglass” statewide collaboration at: http://www.masshumanities.org

June 28, 2014 — “Walking Tour of Abolition Era Sites in Downtown Northampton”
meet outside John M. Greene Hall, Smith College, Northampton, 11 a.m.

Historic Northampton, partnering with the David Ruggles Center, has expanded its historic marker series to include three historic markers at sites significant to the abolition era in Northampton. Join tour guide Steve Strimer for a 1.5 mile walking tour marking the placement of the historic markers on Elm Street and Old South Street on Saturday, June 28th at 11 am beginning at John M. Greene Hall (rain date: June 29th).

The Abolition Era historic markers were funded by a grant from MassHumanities matched by local sponsors:

Elm Street and Round Hill, Northampton: Sponsored by Smith College

Old South Street, Northampton: Sponsored by the Daily Hampshire Gazette

Industry & Anti-Slavery, Florence: Sponsored by Florence Savings Bank

The tour leaves from the steps of John M. Greene Hall at Smith College on Elm Street (opposite Prospect Street) and winds for 1.5 miles through the heart of Northampton. See the house where the Catherine Linda slave case played out. See where Lydia Maria Child boarded next to the former slave auctioneer Thomas Napier. Walk down to the houses of Moses Breck and Seth Hunt, supposed Underground Railroad conductors. Finally, climb the steps of City Hall, brand new in 1850, where ten Northampton residents, all former slaves, called Northampton to resist the Fugitive Slave Act. At the end, those interested will caravan up to the Mill River Dam in Florence (3 miles from City Hall) where the third marker on industry and anti-slavery in Florence was installed.

This program is funded in part by MassHumanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Friday, June 27, 2014 – Mysteries of the Mansion Scavenger Hunt
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 to 9 p.m.

Are you good at deciphering clues, extracting evidence and following trails? Teams of up to six will scour the Skinner mansion for answers to riddles and clues, solving puzzles while learning about the Skinner Family and Wistariahurst. Bring a sharp mind for an evening of enjoyment! Reservations necessary. Admission $10 per participant

Thursday, June 26, 2014 — “Calling All Lovers of Hard Cider”
Historical Society of Greenfield
43 Church St., Greenfield, 7 p.m.

Judith Maloney’s talk will cover the hard cider tradition in New England and in our area. West County Cider Co. was the 1st licensed and artisanal hard cider operation in the Valley – begun in 1984 by Judith & Terry Maloney. The pair also established the popular Franklin Co. Cider Days – so this is a celebration of their 20th year! Call this ‘apple-wine’ what you will: Cyder – Cyser – Cirdre – Sidra…..’apfelwein’ is HOT!! Hard cider is steadily re-gaining the popularity it once had as our standard Colonial beverage. Cider zealots abound! – and due in no small part to the Maloneys.

Ms. Maloney will cover cider’s many variations: European and American apples – colors – differing alcoholic content – the range from dry-sweet, etc. Cider has a long and fascinating history…..and so you will know why West Co. Cider takes great pride in their fresh-pressed juices. People attending are encouraged to share stories, or experiences about cider……Questions most welcomed as well. This will be a FUN topic……Please join us!!

Wednesdays, June 4 thru 25, 2014 — “The “ABCʼs” of Family Research: Pulling the Person out of the Paperwork”
Granby Free Public Library, 297 East State Street, Granby, 11 a.m. to noon with Q&A after each session

Learn the basics of family history research with Dave Robison, a professional genealogist and owner of Old Bones Genealogy of New England. Dave has been researching his own family for over 18 years and has discovered thousands of ancestors back to Plymouth Colony, is directly descended from 19 Revolutionary War Patriots and has ancestors who served in the Civil War for both the Confederate Army and the Union Army. He has also been teaching and lecturing for 5 years while taking private contract research projects.

Sample subjects covered:
• How to get started
• How many ancestors could I possibly find
• Discovering and interpreting historical data such as census records, birth, marriage and death records, deeds, wills, immigration, naturalization and other important genealogical documents
• Where to find all these records (…and itʼs not all on the internet!)
• Creative strategies to use your computer to do some of the leg-work
• What to do with the data once you have it
• Recording, documenting and citing sources (original and derivative), information (primary and secondary) and evidence (direct and indirect)
• Creating pedigree charts, family group sheets, research logs and other documentation
• Writing an Heirloom Family History

If you have any questions or comments, please contact Dave Robison at dave@oldbones.info or the Granby Public Library directly at (413) 467-3320. Please visit Daveʼs website, Old Bones Genealogy of New England at http://www.oldbones.info or his blog at http://www.oldbonessearch.com.

June 22, 2014 — “A Space for Faith: The Colonial Meetinghouses of New England”
Pelham Historical Society
Old Town Hall, corner of route 202 and Amherst Rd., Pelham, 2 to 4 p.m.

Paul Wainwright, noted photographer and author of A Space for Faith: The Colonial Meetinghouses of New England, will present an oral and visual history of the New England meetinghouses. The Old Town Hall was Pelham’s meetinghouse; Jonathan Edwards, Northampton’s minister, famous in America for his preaching and among Calvinist theologians and scholars abroad for his theological scholarship, gave the ordination sermon installing Pelham’s first minister, Robert Abercrombie, in 1744. For more info, contact Blair Bigelow at: blairf.bigelow@comcast.net

June 21, 2014 — “25th Anniversary Polish and Eastern European Genealogy Roadshow”
Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts
Polish Center of Discovery & Learning, 33 South St., Chicopee, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Come help PGS-MA celebrate our 25th Anniversary with a genealogy roadshow! For both beginners and experienced researchers, this will be a day of fun and learning featuring four speakers, one-on-one consultations, and great displays and help stations. Cost is $15 members/$20 non-members if you register before May 21. ($5 additional if after this date or at the door)

Topics & Speakers:
Uncover Your Roots in the Lemko Region of Southeast Poland – Mike Buryk
Beginning Your Genealogy – Alan Doyle Horbal
Naturalization & Related Records – Walter Hickey
Poland – What’s That?? – Staś Radosz

Displays & Highlights
– Translation Stations (Polish, Russian, and more)
– Free Scanning Station (scan your family documents and photos to computer media)
– “Ask a Genealogist” One-on-One Session with Experts (first come/first served at mailed registration)
– On-line Search Guidance at LDS Family Search.Org Stations
– Find and Map Your Ancestral Village
– Polish Lunch by Bernat’s
– Genealogy Raffle

Plenty of Chances to Meet & Mingle!

For more information and a registration form please visit http://www.pgsma.org

Or call Ed Dzielenski, Board Member, 413-567-3132. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Chicopee Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

Saturday, June 21, 2014 – J.A. Skinner History Tour
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 10 a.m. to noon

Take a bus tour to explore the collecting hobby of Joseph and his cabinet of curiosities at the J.A. Skinner Museum in South Hadley. Reservations necessary. Admission $25 general / $20 members

Saturday, June 21, 2014 – Notable Trees in Holyoke
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 9:30 a.m.

Trees are a valuable natural resource that provide attractive landscapes in public parks and private lands. Join us for a stroll through the neighborhood, including Forestdale Cemetery. You will be amazed at the fantastic variety of trees in Holyoke’s neighborhoods. Presented by Tom Kass, licensed MA Forester. Suggested donation $5 to benefit the garden restoration at Wistariahurst

Friday, June 20, 2014 – “Classic Cars and Classic Music”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Mark your calendars to kick off summer when Holyoke Parks & Recreation and Wistariahurst Museum present a FREE night of live entertainment and fun for the whole family outdoors. Flash back in time with classic music, classic cars, on the beautiful Wistariahurst grounds. Bring your own lawn chair or blanket. Rain date Saturday, June 21 at 6:00 p.m. FREE

June 20, 2014 — “Szabo/Sabo Family History & Residences”
Goshen Historical Society
Goshen Town Hall, 7 p.m.

Szabo/Sabo family history and residences, by Arlene Harry. The Sabos came to Goshen from Austria-Hungary in 1888, working here and elsewhere before settling permanently in Goshen in 1892.

June 19, 2014 — MA SHRAB Conference
Mt. Wachusett Community College, Gardner

Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board (MA SHRAB) sponsors 3rd Annual Forum, Gardner, June 19, 2014. This year’s Forum will focus on ways to let people know about your collections through description and digitization projects. The event will be held at the Mt. Wachusett Community College in Gardner, MA. Schedule includes: “Maximum vs. Minimum Processing” with Rob Cox; “Introduction to ArchivesSpace collection management system” with Brad Westbrook and Rachel Onuf; “Digitizing Cultural Heritage with Digital Commonwealth and the Boston Public Library” with Tom Blake; Digitization Projects Panel Discussion; “SHRAB Roving Archivist program results and opportunities” with Rachel Onuf; and much more.

Registration is now open although it is limited to 150 attendees. Priority is given to Massachusetts residents and those representing Massachusetts cultural and historical institutions.A small donation of $10 per person is requested at the door to help defray the cost of refreshments and lunch.

Additional funding for this event is generously provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Please join us for this great opportunity to network with colleagues, find project collaborators, share information about resources and ask questions about challenges. If you have any questions about this event, please contact Veronica Martzahl at veronica.martzahl@sec.state.ma.us or visit our Friends page on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1jhwP5J

Registration Link: https://ma-shrab-forum-2014.eventbrite.com

The mission of the MA SHRAB is to provide leadership, advocacy and guidance to help ensure the identification, preservation, and use of the state’s historical resources (public and private). The MA SHRAB encourages and supports communication and coordination among the historical records communities and the public. It is the state-level review body for grants submitted to the NHPRC.

June 15, 2014 – The Northampton Flutes in Concert
Rowe Historical Society, 282 Zoar Rd., Rowe, 2-4 p.m.

Please join us in the Carriage House at the Rowe Historical Society for a delightful Father’s Day concert performed by the Northampton Flutes. This gifted trio of professional flutists plays music from around the world arranged specifically for them. Their varied repertoire includes many genres: Broadway, Irish jigs, popular favorites, baroque, and modern. They also perform Brazilian, Japanese, and Hebrew music. The critically-acclaimed musicians are: Nancy Janoson (flute), Sue Kurian (flute and piccolo), and George Owens (standard C flute and seldom seen or heard specialty flutes – alto, bass and contrabass). The musicians interact with the audience to explain the characteristics of the individual instruments and the importance of each composer and composition. Their concert is lively, informative, interesting, and simply delightful! This performance is supported by a grant from the Rowe and Massachusetts Cultural Councils. All our events offer comfortable seating, delicious refreshments, a fine assortment of beverages, and a very welcoming staff. Additional information is available at: http://www.rowehistoricalsociety.org and 413-339-4238.

June 15, 2014 — “Father’s Day at Historic Deerfield”
Historic Deerfield

Dads and Grandfathers receive free admission to the museum on Sunday, June 15.

June 14, 2014 — “Canal Days Along the Bike Path”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Turners Falls, 10 a.m. to noon

Take a springtime stroll back in time to when Turners Falls was filled with the sights and sounds of flat boats along the canal. Using historical maps, quotes and illustrations, we’ll explore the scenic west end of the popular Canalside Trail. Join local historian Ed Gregory, geologist and industrial history buff, Steve Winters, and Northfield Mountain’s Kim Noyes, to discover the rich and colorful history along this 1 ½ mile section of the paved path. Gain a new appreciation for this quiet end of the bike path as you imagine canal barges waiting their turn for the locks, a lively 19th century tavern, the birth of the iron whistle coming to town and much more. This program is co-sponsored with the Pioneer Valley Institute (PVI.) Meet at the parking lot on the east side of Montague City Road across from the Farren Care Center in Turners Falls. Call 413-659-4462 after 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning if weather is questionable. Rain date: Sat., June 21. For ages 16 and older. FREE (donations to PVI welcome)

June 14, 2014 — “Summer Kitchen Open House”
Joseph Griswold House, 8 Old Upper Street, Buckland, 3-6 p.m.

This is a fundraiser to benefit the Steeple Fund of the Mary Lyon Church in memory of friend and neighbor Edie Gerry. Donations are greatly appreciated.

A summer kitchen is a small outbuilding or shed that is usually built next to a house or sometimes attached to the main house. It is used as a kitchen in warm weather and is thought to have been first used in 1874. Our summer kitchen has been a storage room for the past decade and has now been transformed into a fanciful, eclectic reminder of bygone days. Please join us for refreshments and an afternoon of fun. See the beautiful, handcrafted model of the Mary Lyon Church created by Arnold Purinton and donated to the church in memory of Edie. The miniature church is replete with replicas of the stained glass windows, granite steps fashioned from Ashfield Stone and even a tiny bell in the belfry that can be rung by pulling a rope in the entryway. Win a prize if your name is drawn and you have correctly identified “the man in the portrait”!

Please RSVP: booklady2@hotmail.com Your hosts, Sue and Hank Samoriski

Friday, June 13, 2014 — “Tools, Trades and Tasks: All Work and No Play?”
Opening Gala for New Exhibit
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Memorial Hall Museum, Deerfield, 4 to 7 p.m.

Join the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association in Deerfield for the opening gala of Memorial Hall Museum’s new exhibit,”Tools, Trades and Tasks: All Work and No Play?” on Friday evening, June 13th from 4 to 7 pm. Exhibit opening, old-fashioned tool demonstrations, festive music, & refreshments! Please RSVP to: pvmaoffice@deerfield.history.museum by June 7th. We hope to see you!

June 12, 2014 — “How Water was Turned into Power in the Early Mills”
Colrain Historical Society
Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House, Colrain, 7:30 p.m.

How water was turned into power in the early mills will be the program topic at the meeting of the Colrain Historical Society, Thursday, June 12 , in the Stacy Barn behind the Pitt House. Charlie Lotspeich, Park Supervisor at Holyoke Heritage State Park, will discuss the mechanics of waterpower and the transition to turbines and steam, in the third of a series of programs on water power and mills in Colrain’s history.

A business meeting will begin at 7 p.m., followed at 7:30 by the waterpower program. This free program will be open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For further information call Joan at 624-8818.

June 10, 2014 — “Calvin Coolidge’s Williamsburg Connection”
Meekins Library, Williamsburg, 7 p.m.

Join writer and Coolidge scholar Susan Well on Tuesday, June 10, 2014 at the Meekins Library, Williamsburg, from 7 to 8 p.m. for her talk, “Calvin Coolidge’s Williamsburg Connection,” the story of how Williamsburg town businessman John Lyman and his family influenced the future president.

John Lyman, a former Williamsburg businessman, rented a room in his Northampton house to a quiet law student, Calvin Coolidge. Lyman’s brief tenure as a pro-temperance selectman in Williamsburg, his business failure and subsequent business ventures and move to Northampton in 1884, is a fascinating story.

This presentation focuses on the discoveries Susan Well made while researching her book Calvin Coolidge: At Home in Northampton, which tells the story of where the president lived. Three were “rooming houses” where he slept while eating out at the iconic Northampton restaurant called Rahar’s. Another was a rented half of a duplex house made famous by the contemporary press because until then all presidents had owned their own home. The Coolidges did own their last home, The Beeches.

You will hear how Coolidge’s choice of homes reflects his personality and values and how the Lymans fit into this story.

Presenter Susan Well, a genealogist, has also been a docent at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum at the Forbes Library in Northampton since 2005. She combined her two interests, families and research, to find information about the neighbors and landlords of President Coolidge for her book, Calvin Coolidge: At Home in Northampton.

This program is part of the Meekins ongoing occasional series, Lives of the Valley, celebrating biography and the stories of people here in the Valley. It is the stories of our historical Valley friends and neighbors that reach across generations and make this a special place. This program is free and everyone is welcome.

For more information call: 413-538-6489 or 413-268-7472, contact Meekins Archivist Daria D’Arienzo at ddarienzo@me.com or visit the Meekins Library online at: http://www.meekins-library.org/. Williamsburg and Haydenville residents, who might need a ride, please contact the Meekins Library.

June 8, 2014 — Afternoon Concert with Northampton Woodwind Quintet
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 2 p.m.

This ensemble is dedicated to the literature, the voice and the multiple personalities of the woodwind quintet. They play original compositions and transcriptions of works for other instruments and have even made their own arrangements of works by the likes of J.S. Bach and Elvis Costello. Free and open to the public.

June 8, 2014 — Bus Trip to Prescott
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., New Salem, 10:45 a.m.

Swift River Valley Historical Society hosts a bus trip to Prescott, one of the “lost towns” of the Quabbin. On Sunday, June 8th, the Swift River Valley Historical Society (SRVHS) is hosting a bus trip with Marty Howe to Prescott, one of the four “lost” towns of the Quabbin Reservoir. Reservations must be made in advance. Send check made out to SRVHS for $15 to Marty Howe, 98 Lower Beverly Hills, West Springfield, MA 01089. Include a phone number and/or email address where you can be reached. This trip often fills quickly, so reserve your seat early! If your check arrives after all seats are reserved we’ll contact you.

Meet across the street from Swift River Valley Historical Society (40 Elm Street) at 10:45 am for a prompt 11:00 am departure. Bring lunch, drinks, bug repellent, sunscreen, camera and binoculars. Be prepared for ticks, black flies, mosquitoes and deer flies.

Prescott, one of the four towns destroyed for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir, was disincorporaed 76 years ago. Marty Howe shares photographs and a wealth of information about the people and properties of this “lost” town. The SRVHS has a special permit from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to travel in this restricted area, where you can still see old roads and the stone foundations of homes. All DCR rules are observed: no smoking, and no taking or leaving anything. For more information, call 978-544-6882 or email srvhsmuseum@gmail.com.

Sunday, June 8, 2014 — “Americans in Occupied Belgium, 1914-1918”
Booksigning by Ed & Libby Klekowski
Amherst Women’s Club, 35 Triangle St., Amherst, 3 p.m.

Talk, Refreshments, and Book Signing. Profits Benefit Amherst Women’s Club Scholarship Program.

Book Price – $30 (Cash or Check Only)

Edward J. Klekowski
Emeritus Professor of Biology
Adjunct Professor of History
Biology Department, Morrill Science Center
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, Massachusetts 01003-9297, USA
Phone: (413)545-0524; Fax: (413) 545-3243
e-mail: edk@bio.umass.edu

Note our new WW1 books:
Americans in Occupied Belgium 1914-1918
Ed & Libby Klekowski, McFarland Pub. 2014

Eyewitnesses to the Great War
Ed & Libby Klekowski, McFarland Pub. 2012

June 8, 2014 — “A Step Back in Time”
Friends of the Westhampton Library
Westhampton Public Library, Westhampton, 2 to 4 p.m.

The Friends of the Westhampton Public Library will host their second annual History Day, called A Step Back in Time, from 2-4 on Sunday, June 8th. This year, they will be demonstrating and teaching stenciling on muslin and tin piercing, and creating silhouettes of folks on new-fangled brightly patterned paper of their choosing. Polka dot silhouettes? Yes! A couple of strong guys will be making ice cream. There will be live music (guitar and banjo), a basket maker and a fiber spinner to talk with and learn from, and visitors can even play checkers with Sylvester Judd, Esq (who is well over 200 years old)! There will be tea and maple cookies, and a display of maple sugaring equipment, as well. We offer guests a paper Passport to History which can be stamped at every ‘station’ in order to be eligible for a door prize. All of this is free to the public.

June 7, 2014 — ““Spring into Greenfield: A Trolley Ride Through our Town’s History and Architecture”
Pioneer Valley Institute

The Pioneer Valley Institute is offering a day tour of the highlights of Greenfield on Saturday, June 7: “Spring into Greenfield: A Trolley Ride Through our Town’s History and Architecture”. The town’s trolley bus will be the mode of transportation for the day, and is a reminder of the active trolley system available 100 years ago throughout the Connecticut River Valley.

Greenfield, its buildings, its industries, and farmland, offer a complex story. This hub town for Franklin County is the site of fine examples of architectural design, of industrial innovation, and of current efforts to retrofit Greenfield’s fine older buildings to conserve energy for the coming decades. Greenfield was a crossroads for train freight service and will soon see restored passenger service. Waterpower and fine farmland attracted early settlers and investors, and innovators and businesses continue to recognize opportunities in the town.

The center of Greenfield hosts stunning examples of architecture, and Lindley Wilson, art and architecture instructor, will lead a walking tour and provide an opportunity to experience a refreshing view of the art and history of Greenfield, a view which often escapes the notice of busy pedestrians and shoppers.

Following the walking tour, the next trolley bus stop will be a visit to the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage. Early innovative and successful use of waterpower made Greenfield an industrial center that supported a large workforce and a busy commercial district, and some of the state’s wealthiest residents. The Museum’s exhibits capture the innovative forces in Greenfield and other county towns during the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum’s Meade Street site is a prime example of the town’s ties to waterpower.

After lunch at one of Greenfield’s diverse restaurants, the tour will explore the future with Nancy Hazard, former director of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and member of Greening Greenfield, as guide. The tour will explore re-purposing and improving Greenfield’s older buildings on the way to a visit with a resident of the Wisdom Way Solar Village, a first-in-the-nation near-zero-net-energy affordable housing project, where residents spend less than $400 each year on heat and electricity.

The tour will conclude by exploring the exciting progress at Just Roots, Greenfield’s Community Farm, built on Greenfield’s Poor Farm, which operated over 100 years from 1849 into the 1950’s. This innovative farm is benefiting area residents by offering community gardens, reskilling workshops, programs for youth, internships, food donations to the food bank and much more!

On the way back to the starting point, the trolley will pass by the acclaimed food processing center, run by the Franklin Community Development Corporation (CDC), which plays a key role in Greenfield’s agricultural renaissance. We will also pass by and talk about Mark Zaccheo’s most recent housing rehab project. The Conway Street elementary school now offers 0-net-energy living. Learn how Zaccheo produces all the heat and electricity on site.

To sign up for the Tour, visit the Pioneer Valley Institute website by June 2 at http://www.gcc.mass.edu/pvi/ or 774-5038 to request a paper registration form.

June 7, 2014 — “Art of Industry”
Museum of Our Industrial History, 2 Mead St., Greenfield, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On Saturday, June 7, from 10 am – 4 pm, the Museum of Our Industrial Heritage will host a special exhibit, The Art of Industry, with an artist’s reception on Friday, June 6, from 5 – 8 pm. Admission is free. This special exhibition is on view for one evening and one day only.

The exhibit highlights the painting “Millers Falls Company”, one of the earliest commissioned works by Franklin County landscape artist Stephen Maniatty (1910-1984), thought to have been part of a mural in Greenfield’s Mansion House Hotel. The museum proudly debuts this painting after a recent restoration by local artist Frank Gregory. Integrity of workmanship, design, and materials is on display in hand-drawn blueprints and promotional artwork from Russell Cutlery, Greenfield Tap & Die and other former manufacturing companies of Franklin County; in hand made tools embellished with personalized artwork; and original paintings by local artists, including Thurman Munson, Frank Gregory, Susan Pecora and Astrid Sheckels.

The Museum of Our Industrial Heritage is located in the Newell-Snow factory building on the Green River at 2 Mead Street in Greenfield. Admission is always free. For more information, call 413-336-8275 or email info@industrialhistory.org http://www.industrialheritage.org

May 9 thru June 6, 2014 — “Nightingale Uncaged: Jenny Lind in Northampton”
An Exhibition by Elizabeth Stone
Historic Northampton, Northampton

Inspired by portraits & ephemera from Historic Northampton’s collection, Northampton figurative artist Elizabeth Stone presents a contemporary interpretation of opera star Jenny Lind.

Jenny Lind, “the Swedish Nightingale,” was a renowned opera star in Europe who became an icon in this country when she toured America in the mid-19th century. Her tour was heavily promoted and managed by P.T. Barnum. After 9 months and 93 concerts up and down the region west of the Mississippi, Jenny Lind amicably broke her 100 concert contract with Barnum. She continued to tour on her own and arrived in Northampton for a concert in July of 1851. She drew a crowd of 1,800 folks to the old First Church on Main Street. Lind enjoyed the beauty of Northampton and returned 7 months later after marrying her piano accompanist, Otto Goldschmidt. The newlyweds traveled by train to Northampton, where they spent 3 months quietly honeymooning at the Round Hill Hotel. Jenny Goldschmidt’s farewell concert in Northampton took place at the Town Hall in May 1852. Proceeds from the concert funded the library of the Young Men’s Institute, the forerunner of Forbes Library.

Jenny Lind’s successful music career unfortunately predated the advent of sound recording. We can only imagine her coloratura soprano voice through descriptions and recordings made of her repertoire by later artists. Though she was often painted and photographed, the images are mostly romanticized. Glowing accounts of Jenny Lind’s character depict her as a philanthropic model woman who was kind to the sick and less fortunate, deeply religious, self-possessed and modest.

Northampton treasures the memory of Jenny Lind Goldschmidt’s sojourn here. She was constantly besieged by fans on her tour with Barnum, but when she struck out on her own, she chose Northampton as the place where she could live peacefully with her new husband. Jenny called Northampton “the most beautiful village in the world” and reputedly “the paradise of America.” The paradise nickname has stuck, but Jenny Lind’s memory is fading as time goes on. Nightingale Uncaged: Jenny Lind in Northampton is an attempt to bring her back in an ethereal form. Elizabeth Stone’s contemporary impressions of Jenny Lind, made of translucent white materials, contrast with a romanticized oil portrait by an unknown painter and ephemera from the collection of Historic Northampton.

Opening Reception: Arts Night Out Friday, May 9th, 5 – 8 pm with music and refreshments

“The Diva and the Crowd: Jenny Lind’s American Tour,” a gallery talk by music historian Steve Waksman, Smith College Professor of Music & American Studies, Saturday, May 24, 2014 at 3 p.m. The gallery talk will take place at Historic Northampton at 46 Bridge Street in Gallery III. Seating is limited to 25 chairs.

Friday, June 6, 2014 — Annual Program/Pie Social
Buckland Historical Society
at the Mary Lyon Church, Upper St., Buckland Center, 7 p.m.

American Harmony — an exciting chorus of musical re-enactors — presents the songs that stirred the soul of early America. The concert takes place in the historic Mary Lyon Church on Upper Street and is a benefit for the Buckland Historical Society. The program includes some of the most popular sacred and secular songs of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The singers are directed by music historian Nym Cooke, whose passion for early New England sacred music is breathing new life into a long-lost singing tradition. Cooke is the author of a new book and CD coming out this fall, also titled “American Harmony.”

A Pie Social will follow the program with a selection of homemade pies, coffee, and punch. Admission: $6 for adults, $3 for students 12 and under.

Polly Anderson, 32 Upper St., Buckland, MA, 413-625-9763, pollyanderson@comcast.net

June 6, 2014 — “Gala in the Garden”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 p.m.

Put on your best evening summer attire and spend the evening in the lovely gardens at Wistariahurst. There will be delectable fare from Blue Heron Restaurant & Catering, cash bar with signature cocktail, live music from Eight to the Bar and more fundraising thrills. Tickets $40 general / $35 members

June 2, 2014 — “Never Done: Interpreting the History of Women at Work in Massachusetts”
Mass Humanities History Conference
Hogan Campus Center, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester

Keynote Speaker — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, author of A Midwife’s Tale.
Details at:
http://www.masshumanities.org

June 1, 2014 — “Home Remedies for Your Pets”
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1:30 p.m.

Dr. Dorsie Kovacs says, “For as long as I can remember I`ve loved animals and bugs…except mosquitoes.” As a graduate of Michigan State University, she has been working as a veterinarian in Monson for 34 years. She started out just treating animals with the medical protocol taught in school. Then took courses and studied more natural approaches as she tried to find effective treatments that would benefit the animal’s well being and healing process. (For mosquitoes her only approach is a good slap!)

There are many home remedies people can use for treating minor medical problems involving a pet. These range from dietary supplements for fleas, anxiety, and dry skin to topical therapy for minor cuts, broken toenails and infected ears. She invites everyone to get together and share knowledge.

There is no admission charge for this program and refreshments will be served. The Keep Homestead Museum will be open for visitors 1:00-3:30pm. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or on the web at http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

MAY

May 31, 2014 — The Skinnerville Tour
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m

A bus tour to Williamsburg will follow the course of the disaster that brought William Skinner to Holyoke one hundred forty years after the 1874 Mill River Dam collapse. See what remains of the village that bore Skinner’s name.

The Skinnerville Bus Tour will be launched from Wistariahurst with tour guide and historian Ralmon Black from the Williamsburg Historical Society. During the half hour drive to Williamsburg the early history of the Pioneer Valley will be discussed, exploring the first use of the land and the transition from farming to industry that was underway when William Skinner arrived in the middle of the 19th century. Landmarks will be pointed out in Florence and Haydenville as the approach is made to Skinnerville where so little remains to be seen on the ground that there will be images in hand to enable one to visualize the riverscape and the 1874 setting of the first Skinner home, their mansion, the Unquomonk Silk Mill and its small dam. The tour will go on to the site of the failed Williamsburg Reservoir Dam from which point there will be a walk to the vestiges of the dam to see the spillway, corewall, and location of the gatekeeper’s cabin. Then we’ll follow the course of the floodwaters the three miles down to Williamsburg Center before the drive back to Holyoke. Bring your questions! Register in advance as reservations are necessary either online at Wistariahurst.org or by calling 413-322-5660. Admission $45 general / $40 members.

May 31, 2014 — “Lecture & Open House at William Cullen Bryant Homestead”
Cummington, 2:30 p.m.

Manish Sinha, Professor of Afro-American Studies and History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will speak in the parlor of the William Cullen Bryant Homestead in Cummington at 2:30 on Saturday afternoon, May 31, 2014 on “Did the Abolitionists Cause the Civil War?”. Born in India, Professor Sinha was drawn to the study of American slavery by an initial interest in the Civil Rights movement’s use of Gandhi’s non-violent strategies. She is the author of several books and numerous articles about the Civil War period. She often brings the lessons of 150 years ago to examination of present political tensions in pieces for the New York Times Opinionator, the History News Network, and other print and on-line publications. Recipient of many awards and fellowships, she appeared in the PBS 2013 documentary “The Abolitionists” and most recently on a segment of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show. The William Cullen Bryant Homestead is a property of The Trustees of Reservations. Admission to the talk is free for members of The Trustees and $5 for non-members.

Earlier on the same day, the Homestead will be one of the properties open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the “Home Sweet Home” invitation to the public to visit historic homes owned by The Trustee of Reservations. Members and non-members are free. For more information about both events visit http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/pioneer-valley/bryant-homestead.html or call 413 532 1531×10 to make reservations for the talk.

May 1 – 31, 2014 — “Through the Lens- Longmeadow 100 Years Ago”
An Exhibit of Old Longmeadow Photographs
Betty Low Rm, Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow

During the entire month of May at Storrs Library, there will be a photography exhibit entitled “Through the Lens- Longmeadow 100 Years Ago” in the Betty Low Room. On display will be a collection of old photographs- most of which were taken by Paesiello Emerson in the 1900 – 1925 time period and donated to the Longmeadow Historical Society. These photographs can be viewed during regular library hours.

On Monday, May 12 from 6 – 7:30 PM, there will be a Community Reception with a discussion of these photographs with members of the Longmeadow Historical Society. In addition, Bill Fournier a local expert on vintage photography will be discussing some of the equipment used during the early 1900’s.

Sunday, May 25, 2014 — “12th Annual Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue Celebration”
Sojourner Truth Memorial Committee
Park & Pine Sts., Florence, 2 p.m. (12:30 walking tour)

12:30 Walking Tour of Sojourner Truth’s Florence

2:00 Annual Celebration with speaker Dr. Amilcar Shabazz, UMass, Amherst and performer Deja Carr, lead vocalist for PVPA’s “Who’da Funk It?”

Reception following the event at the David Ruggles Center, 225 Nonotuck Street, Florence.

May 25, 2014 — “West Cemetery Ramble”
Amherst Historical Society
West Cemetery, Amherst, 2 p.m.

The annual tour of Amherst’s West Cemetery will take place Sunday, May 25, (rain date Monday, May 26) at 2 pm. The ramble will start with the oldest section, with burials from 1737. Then it will move on to Parson Parsons, General Ebenezer Mattoon, Orra Hitchcock, Henry Jackson, Frazar Stearns, William Smith Clark, and the Dickinson family plot. Meet your tour guides, Phil Shaver and friends, at the Gaylord Gate behind the Toy Box store at 201 N. Pleasant St. Free and open to the public.

May 23-25, 2014 — “Ware Remembers”
Ware Historical Society
Historic 1799 Ware Center Meeting House, corner of Greenwich Plains Road & Rte. 9, Ware

Honor a loved one on Memorial Day weekend. The Ware Historical Society is presenting the Fourth Annual Ware Remembers Memorial Ceremony honoring loved ones. Purchase a flag in the name of those dear to you who are Living or Deceased, Military or Civilian, Ware Residents or Non-Ware Residents.

For your donation of $5.00 per name, an American flag will be placed on the green of the Historic 1799 Ware Center Meeting House on the corner of Greenwich Plains Road and Route 9 in the Ware Center District beginning on Friday, May 23, 2014 until Flag Day.

On Sunday, May 25, 2014 at 6:00 PM at the same location, a Roll Call ceremony will honor the name of your loved one. Multiple requests can be made. One flag and name per $5.00 donation. Forms can be obtained at the Ware Senior Center, 1 Robbins Road; the Young Men’s Library Association, Main Street; or at the Town Clerk’s Office, Town Hall. All forms complete with donation must be received by Tuesday, May 20, 2014.

You are asked to print name of person to be honored clearly. Only the name of the loved one will be read. Information about the person to be honored is optional, but would be welcome and could help to add to the record of Ware’s history. Because this is the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the First World War, we encourage all who have stories related to the Great War to contact us so that we can record the memories and honor those who lived at the time. All stories related to 1914 to 1918 would be appreciated. Anonymous donors are welcome but a telephone number is necessary in case we need help with pronunciation

We hope to see a field of flags in front of the Ware Center Meeting House. What a lovely and meaningful tribute, red white and blue covering the lawn of the original Town Hall, on the green where Ware’s young men prepared to fight for the Independence of the Colonies!!!

If you have questions, leave a message at 413-967-6882 and someone will call back.
Checks are payable to the Ware Historical Society. Forms and donations can be dropped off at the Ware Senior Center or mailed to WHS-Ware Remembers, P.O. Box 351, Ware, MA 01082. If you have any questions, please call 413-967-6882. A portion of the donations will go to the Ware Veteran’s Council. The ceremony is open to the public. Attendees are asked to bring their lawn chairs.

May 24, 2014 — “The Diva and The Crowd: Jenny Lind’s American Tour”
A slide lecture by music historian Steve Waksman
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3 p.m.

In conjunction with artist Elizabeth Stone’s exhibition Nightingale Uncaged: Jenny Lind in America, music historian Steve Waksman will present a slide lecture on Jenny Lind’s American tour. Jenny Lind arrived in the United States on September 1, 1850. Her first concert took place ten days later on September 11th at Castle Garden in New York City. From that time until her departure from the United States on May 29, 1852, Lind would perform across the United States, stirring more notice – and perhaps more excitement – than any previous touring musical artist. With Jenny Lind, music entered the American public sphere in a new way – something akin to what would in the twentieth century become termed “mass culture.”

Steve Waksman is Professor of Music and American Studies at Smith College. Waksman is author of Instruments of Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience and This Ain’t the Summer of Love: Conflict and Crossover in Heavy Metal and Punk. Waksman is researching a new book on the cultural history of live music and performance in the United States, tentatively titled Live Music in America: A History, 1850-2000.
The lecture will take place at Historic Northampton at 46 Bridge Street in Northampton in Gallery III. Please note seating is limited to 25 chairs.

May 24, 2014 — Plant & Garden Book Sale
Leverett Historical Society
Town Hall, Leverett, 9 a.m. – noon

Master Gardener Dawn Marvin Ward will be available to provide advice for plant choices and care. To donate plants, books or help: Contact Dawn at 367-9562 / dmward@crocker.com or Julie at 367-2656

Join Us –Rain or Shine! PLANTS CAN BE LEFT BEHIND THE TOWN HALL BY FRIDAY EVENING MAY 23 – PLEASE MARK!

May 23, 2014 — “Revolutionary Spirits of Amherst”
Amherst Historical Society
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, 5 – 8 p.m.

Join us at the Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, to sample the past as we offer you a selection of beverages of the New Republic, enjoy good things to eat, visit with kindred souls and revel in the history of Amherst. We will be serving hard cider, local wine and beer, syllabub and soft beverages along with hors d’oeuvres.

The Amherst History Museum has some exciting new exhibits for viewing and insights into who lived in the Simeon Strong House to share.

Click here to buy tickets online: $35 per person in advance. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door for $40. All proceeds to benefit the Amherst Historical Society.

May 22, 2014 — “Miles Morgan: Man & Myth”
Museums a la Carte Lecture Series
Davis Auditorium, Springfield Museums, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Frances Gagnon, Springfield Historian. Adorning Springfield’s Court Square since 1882, the bronze statue of early settler Miles Morgan was the city’s first public art work. When first proposed by descendant and banker, Henry T. Morgan, a great controversy erupted and triggered a heated debate about Miles Morgan’s place in Springfield history. Some felt the tribute was not sufficiently deserved, while other emphasized that this early, but not original settler had contributed to the growth of the settlement in valuable ways. The Morgan gift awakened an awareness of local history despite the argument about Miles’ true role. Actual records show him to be a forthright, hardworking man unable to write his own name while holding various town offices. He came from modest means and was respected by all. Several later biographical sketches describe Miles glowingly as something of a swashbuckling military hero and powerful leader on par with founder William Pynchon. This conflicts with records that define him as a Sergeant and not a Captain … and early settler, but not an original founder. The program will draw contrasts about the man and the myths created about him. It is easy to conclude that Miles Morgan was interesting enough to stand the test of time without embellishment and Springfield can proudly claim him as progenitor of many generations of Morgans.

May 21, 2014 — “From Stuttgart to Springfield: A Visit in 1911 With a German Immigrant”
Noble Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
42 Water Street, Granville, 6:30 p.m.

Bring the family and join us next Wednesday, May 21st at 6:30 PM for an entertaining evening as Elizabeth Wood presents her program about Gertrude Failing Groff entitled “From Stuttgart to Springfield: A Visit in 1911 With a German Immigrant”. Come hear about Gertrude’s experiences sailing to America on the steamship Deutschland and entering the United States through Ellis Island. Find out what searching for employment in the garment industry in 1900 was like and how Gertrude eventually made her way to Springfield.

Elizabeth Wood has been a resident “Living History” docent at the Storrowton Village Museum in West Springfield for over 20 years. Explore the experiences of the early 20th century immigrants from a sociological and historical perspective as Gertrude Failing Groff begins her quest to start a new life in this country.

The program and refreshments are free, and donations are always gratefully accepted. Hope to see you on the 21st!

Liz Smith, NCCHP Clerk/Treasurer, 42 Water St., Granville, MA 01034
Ncchp.org@gmail.com
http://www.ncchp.org

May 19, 2014 — “The Corn Broom Industry in Hatfield and Hadley”
Historical Lecture Series
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Early in the nineteenth century many local farmers grew a variety of sorghum, a plant closely related to maize (corn). When the plants, commonly called broom corn, were mature, the farmers cut off the stiff tassels from the top of the plants and dried the tassels, which they then used to make brooms. Learn about the rise and fall of the broom-making industry in the Pioneer Valley at this lecture with speaker George Ashley. $7 general/ $5 members.

Saturday, May 17, 2014 – Annual Plant Sale
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Wistariahurst Museum, known for its gorgeous gardens, will be the place to be on May 17! Plants are reasonably priced, running about half the cost of what they go for in a nursery. Wagons and wheelbarrows are encouraged! Admission is free

May 17, 2014 — “Emily Dickinson Annual Poetry Walk”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street, Amherst, 2 p.m.

Romantic love will be the theme of this year’s Emily Dickinson Poetry Walk on Saturday, May 17. The hourlong walk will begin at 2 p.m. at the Dickinson Museum at 280 Main Street in downtown Amherst. Beginning in the Homestead garden, the walk will proceed through Amherst, stopping at sites significant in Dickinson’s life, including The Evergreens, her North Pleasant Street home site (behind Zanna’s), and the poet’s grave in West Cemetery. At the cemetery, participants are invited to join in the traditional lighthearted toast to the poet and to read a favorite Dickinson poem. Afterwards, all are invited to enjoy light refreshments in the Museum’s garden.

For the 2014 season, the Emily Dickinson Museum has developed a new program, Dickinsons in Love, that closely examines the romantic lives of the poet and her family. Following this theme, the 2014 Poetry Walk will include excerpts from Dickinson’s letters, including the Master Letters (written between 1858 and 1861, they suggest a serious romantic attachment), as well as poems that reveal the depth of the poet’s experience with love’s emotional complexities.

Poems will be read by volunteers. To sign up, arrive at 1:45 p.m. Reading assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. The annual event, which is free and open to the public, marks the anniversary of the poet’s death on May 15, 1886.

Prior to the walk, at noon, a luncheon for Museum members will be held, followed by a lecture by Amherst College history professor Frank Couvares on the nature of romantic relationships during Dickinson’s time. Reservations for the luncheon/lecture are required; to reserve your place and/or to become a member, please call 413-542-5084.

At 5:00 p.m., the Dickinsons in Love program will be offered. Admission is $25 for Museum members, $30 for non-members. Reservations are required; call 413-542-2034 or e-mail edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org. To become a member, call 413-542-5084 or visit the Museum website.

May 15 & 17, 2014 — “Dickinsons in Love”
Emily Dickinson Museum, Amherst

What did “love” mean to nineteenth-century New Englanders? During the Museum’s “Dickinsons in Love” program, visitors will explore the multiple romantic relationships of the Dickinson family at the Homestead and The Evergreens.

Museum guides reveal the nature of courtship, marriage, unrequited passions, and extramarital romance in the Dickinsons’ world. The stories unfold through the words of the family members themselves. Guests are invited to read from family letters as part of the experience and to join their guides in pondering nineteenth-century romance over wine and cheese at the program’s conclusion.

“Dickinsons in Love” takes place in both the Homestead and The Evergreens. Visitors are advised to wear appropriate footwear for walking between the houses. Adult themes will be presented, so the program is not suitable for young children.

Times: 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, May 15; 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Additional dates: Saturday, June 21 and 28, 5 p.m.; Saturday, July 5, 12, 19, 26, 6 p.m.; Saturday, August 2, 6 p.m. Fee: $30/person; $25/museum members; Reservations required. For more information, or to make reservations, call (413) 542-2034 or email: edmprograms@emilydickinsonmuseum.org.

May 15, 2014 — “Guns in Early America: Busting the Myth of Colonial Sharpshooters”
Hatfield Historical Society
Congregational Church Parlors, Hatfield, 7:30 p.m.

Author and Amherst College history professor, Kevin Sweeney, will talk about the ownership and use of firearms in colonial America. For the past decade, Kevin has been researching the reality behind the popular image of well-armed colonists who were skilled firearms users. What types of guns and projectiles did they actually own and use, and what type of marksmen were they? Join us and find out!

Wednesday, May 14, 2014 – “Revisiting Elizabeth Towne’s Time Capsule”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 4 p.m.

In 2011, students and the staff from The Care Center opened a time capsule that suffragette and Nautilus publisher Elizabeth Towne placed under the cornerstone of her house and publishing offices 100 years before. Free, donations accepted.

May 13, 2014 — “Water Mills of Williamsburgh”
Williamsburgh Historical Society
At the Church, 4 North Main Street, Wmsburgh, 7:30 p.m.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY SPRING MEETING
6:30 PM Potluck Supper Social, Following a Brief Business agenda

7:30 PM Program: “Water Mills of Williamsburgh: Where, When, Who Built Them & the Technology They Embraced”
An Illustrated Talk Presented by local historians of the Williamsburgh Historical Society
Eric Weber – Bob Barker – Ralmon Black
In 1763, before the industries of Florence or Leeds were starting up, water-wheels were turning in that part of Hatfield soon to be Williamsburgh. This illustrated program will reveal some of the earliest industrial history of the Northampton Mill River, winding down through the water works of the town from Goshen, Ashfield, and Conway.

In the century before the Great Flood, there were more than 25 active water-powers, splashing, creaking with a buzzing and ringing that filled the air for miles around. Photos of the many mills and millponds long gone and forgotten will be featured among the illustrations. Free and open to the public. (Bring a lucky pot and share)
Donations to defray costs connected with this event would be appreciated

For information, call or email: Ralmon Jon Black, Corresponding Secretary, [413] 268-7767
RalmonBlack@gmail.com

May 13, 2014 — PVHN Rap Session: Involving the Schools
Stone House Museum, Belchertown, 6:30 p.m.

How do we get the schools to work with our museums and historical societies? What have we got that they want?
What strategies have worked (or not worked) for your museum/site? What are the barriers? Is there a key to reaching younger people?

The next PVHN “rap session” will be on Tuesday, May 13 at the Stone House Museum in Belchertown at 6:30 p.m. These are informal, group meetings of history-minded folks to share ideas and help each other. Please come if you have an interest in the topic. All are welcome.

May 12, 2014 — “Explore the Writer Within”
A Personalized Writing Workshop with Roland Merullo
Meekins Library, Williamsburg, 7 – 9:30 p.m.

* Getting started;
* Overcoming obstacles to writing
* Identifying the kind of piece you want to write
* Discuss your specific project writing plan
* Receive advice about your own work at any stage

OPEN TO WRITERS OF ANY LEVEL OF ACCOMPLISHMENT
Merullo is the award winning author of: Taking the Kids to Italy, Vatican Waltz, The Talk Funny Girl, A Little Love Story, Breakfast with Buddha, Fidel’s Last Days, American Savior, Revere Beach Trilogy, Russian Requiem, Golfing with God, and others.Suggested Donation $50

Please call to sign up 413-268-7472, or email: ddarienzo@me.com
This is a Benefit for the Meekins Library, Honoring Retiring Director Lisa Wenner. All proceeds will go to the Meekins Library Annual Fund.

Monday, May 12, 2014 — “Made in the Happy Valley – Publishing Nautilus I & II”
Historical Lecture Series
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

With Tzivia Gover. Early suffragist Elizabeth Towne’s legacy as a publisher are the journal, “The Nautilus,” and numerous other New Thought books from her home and business at 247 Cabot Street in Holyoke. Historical artifacts from Towne’s career will be displayed, and Gover will tell of how the young mothers who are her students helped carry Towne’s legacy forward, and who now publish their own journal in Mrs. Towne’s House, “Nautilus II”. $7 general / $5 members

May 12, 2014 — Reception for “Through the Lens- Longmeadow 100 Years Ago”
An Exhibit of Old Longmeadow Photographs
Betty Low Rm, Storrs Library, 693 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow

Sunday, May 11, 2014 — “Against the Mainstream: The Animations of Lutz Dammbeck”
Fast Forward Film Series at Historic Northampton
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3-4 pm

About Lutz Dammbeck — Painter, filmmaker, author and media artist Lutz Dammbeck was born in Leipzig in 1948. In his pictures, films, collages and installations, the painter and filmmaker brought together elements of film and fine art. He was one of the key representatives of independent film and media art in the former GDR and a fascinating phenomenon within modern contemporary art. Dammbeck was among the first generation born in communist East Germany. After graduating from a graphic design college, he eventually found employment at the state-run DEFA film studio. At DEFA, Dammbeck completed a half-dozen animated shorts beginning with the ideologically-correct children’s story Der Mond (The Moon) in 1975, and ending with his surreal Die Flut (The Flood) in 1986.

Free and Open to the Public, Seating is limited to 30 chairs. http://www.historic-northampton.org
The Fast Forward Film Series is funded by a grant from The Northampton Arts Council.

May 10, 2014 — “Exploring Plainfield’s History through Hidden Landmarks”
Plainfield Historical Society
meet behind Congregational Church, Plainfield, 10 a.m.

Join Dario Coletta, Plainfield’s own landscape historian, on Saturday, May 10, in visiting some of Plainfield’s little-known historical sites, including its animal pound, cemeteries, and a 19thcentury stone cave used for tanning hides. We’ll meet behind the Plainfield Congregational Church at 10:00 a.m. Dress appropriately for a short hike.
A suggested donation of $15 for adults and $5 for students to the Historical Society would be appreciated.

May 10, 2014 — Opening Day at the Stone House
Stone House Museum, Belchertown, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

This year we will again celebrate Opening Day for the Stone House Museum with history and creativity of Belchertown’s past and present. Activities will run from 9 am —2 pm. Admission is free. Tour the House and Grounds; shop for perennials for your garden; visit craft booths of local artisans; shop for unique “old bags”! And don’t forget to visit the “Made in Belchertown” exhibit in the museum!

Plan to celebrate the Museum Opening with us. All proceeds to benefit the Stone House Museum.
See more at: http://stonehousemuseum.org/ai1ec_event/opening-day/?instance_id=38#sthash.07V8xRwc.dpuf

May 10, 2014 — “Geology & Natural History of GCC & Beyond”
Pioneer Valley Institute & Greenfield Community College
Sloan Theater, Greenfield Community College, 9 a.m.

Meet at GCC Sloan Theater at 9 AM for a brief presentation. Park in Lot F. Trip leaders: Richard Little, Dave Small, Steve Winters & Nancy Goodman. Rain or shine. This 2-part event is free. Bring a lunch.

The Pioneer Valley Institute presents a day of exploring the local geology and natural history on Saturday, May 10. The program, led by Richard Little, Dave Small, Steve Winters and Nancy Goodman, begins at 9 AM in the Sloan Theater on the GCC campus followed by a morning walk and talk that will include a discussion of the geologic origins of this flat area (Lake Hitchcock bottom) as well as the ecology, mainly of the flora and wetlands. There is a clear ecological succession seen in one of the ponds as it changes to swamp. The walk will then proceed uphill along the GCC access road through the forest and up to the shoreline of Lake Hitchcock. At the end of the morning the walk will bring participants back to the Rock Park for a tour and further discussion on the geology of the GCC campus.

After an hour for lunch the tour will continue by car so participants will reconvene in Lot F at 12:15 and carpool to Sachems Run Trail in Highland Park for a hike to the outcrops and Poet’s Seat to see the views out over Greenfield and Turners Falls. At 1 PM the group will head to the Stop and Shop for more local geology and then continue on route 2 East across the French King Bridge to Dorsey Rd. Park. There are many interesting geologic outcrops and views along this confluence of the Connecticut and Millers Rivers. The return trip will make several stops along the way to look at classic Connecticut Valley Jurassic Period geology with dinosaur footprints and alluvial fan deposits before returning to the GCC campus.

This event is free and will be held rain or shine. Any questions? Feel free to send an email to Richard Little at rdlittle2000@aol.com.

Friday, May 9, 2014 — “Puritan’s Process: The Multifaceted Millicent Todd Bingham”
History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

With Julie Dobrow. You no doubt know about Emily Dickinson. You’re probably familiar with the story of how Mabel Loomis Todd, one of the Amherst Historical Society’s founders, was one of Emily’s first editors. You might even know something about the issues over the publication of subsequent volumes of Emily’s poetry and letters and disputes over where her papers would end up. But you probably have heard far less about Mabel’s only child, Millicent Todd Bingham, who was actually quite central to this whole saga, in her own quiet and unpretentious way.

Tufts University professor Julie Dobrow, who is currently writing a dual mother/daughter biography of Mabel and Millicent, will speak as part of the Amherst Historical Society’s History Bites Lunchtime lecture series on Friday, May 9. Her talk will focus on Millicent Todd Bingham’s fascinating life and the ways in which she believed her values embodied those of her Puritan ancestors, even two centuries later.

May 8, 2014 — “Learning from American Environmental History”
A Lecture by Professor David Glassberg
97 Hawley St, Northampton, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Studying environmental history offers insights into the ways that past generations of Americans imagined and shaped the land, as well as helps us to understand the roots of the current environmental crises that they are inheriting. The workshop will explore various topics in American Environmental History as represented by documents, prints and photographs, and motion pictures available on-line through the Library of Congress and other repositories.

This event is a part of the 2013-2014 History Institute, a four-part series on contemporary events in historical perspective sponsored by the UMass History Department and the Collaborative for Educational Services. A workshop for K-12 teachers will follow from 5:30-7:00.

May 8, 2014 — “The Water Resources of Colrain”
Colrain Historical Society
Stacy Carriage Barn, behind the Pitt House, Main St., Colrain, 7:30 p.m.

Prof. (Emeritus) Richard Little will talk about the water resources of Colrain at a meeting of the Colrain Historical Society Thursday, May 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Stacy Carriage Barn behind the Pitt House on Main Street. This will be the second in a series of programs this year on the history of water power and mills in Colrain. The program will be preceded at 7 p.m. by a business meeting. Refreshments will be served, and the public is welcome to this free program.

Little’s talk will address the geological history of Colrain and surroundings, with an emphasis on understanding water resources. From colliding continents to advancing and retreating glaciers, Colrain has a diverse and exciting geologic heritage.

Prof. Little currently lives in Easthampton and teaches part time at Holyoke and Greenfield Community Colleges. He leads “Fantastic Landscape Tours” to Iceland and the great US National Parks. For more information see his web site http://www.EarthView.Pair.com.

May 7, 2014 — “Celebration of Local Novelists”
Local History/Local Novelists Series
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 7 p.m.

Deborah Noyes, novelist, Captivity

Jacqueline Sheehan, novelist, Picture This

Hilary Sloin, novelist, Art on Fire

May 7, 2014 — “Historical View of the Wistariahurst Gardens”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Belle’s garden on the Skinner Family property, was admired for its beautiful wisteria vines and the breathtaking gardens and grounds. The Museum’s archives reveal photographs, design plans, garden notes and personal reflections relating to the gardens and upkeep. Learn how the gardens have evolved over time and how Belle Skinner’s garden remains a
beautiful showpiece in the Holyoke community. The program concludes with a walk through the gardens. Suggested donation $5 to benefit the garden restoration at Wistariahurst.

May 6, 2014 — “History Lecture on the Underground Railroad in Suffield”
Suffield Academy’s American Studies Class
Kent Memorial Library, 50 Main St., Suffield, CT, 7:30 p.m.

Students from Suffield Academy’s American Studies class will present their findings on the history of the Underground Railroad in Suffield. The program will begin at 7:30 pm on May 6th in the Kent Memorial Library at 50 North Main Street in Suffield. Throughout the winter term the class investigated Suffield’s potential role in this secret network that assisted fugitives from documented locations in Hartford and Farmington, to points north, such as Springfield, Florence, and Northampton. The presentation will include new information about nineteenth century Suffield residents who were members of the Hartford Anti-Slavery Society.

Working in a project based learning model, students also discovered that Henry W. Foster of Hartford played a key role in shepherding fugitives north through this area before they found sanctuary with Reverend Osgood in Springfield, Massachusetts. The class researched the location of Foster’s safe house in Hartford, and they are sharing more about Foster’s important role in Hartford County. The class is currently communicating with the State Historic Preservation Office to pursue the installation of a Freedom Trail plaque, which would commemorate Henry W. Foster’s courage and resilience. In addition, the students have been collaborating with leaders at the i-Quilt Plan, an urban design organization that creates innovative pedestrian signs in downtown Hartford. The class hopes to add the location of Foster’s safehouse as a historic landmark because Foster was also a member of the African American community that helped form Talcott Church, which was the first African American church in Hartford.

Come learn more about these developments as well as an exciting chapter in Suffield’s history on Tuesday, May 6th.

Refreshments will be provided in the Pinney Gallery following the program to facilitate more community discussion. Residents with questions should email Bill Sullivan at bsullivan@suffieldacademy.org. Free admission.

May 5, 2014 — “Made in the Happy Valley – Stop Whining and Create”
Historical Lecture Series
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Artist, author and teacher, Dean Nimmer will discuss the importance of fostering your own innate creativity to enhance the quality of your life. Using your instincts and imagination to develop original ideas and actions is not the exclusive province of artists. The process of thinking, of inventing and most importantly, of making, constitute some of the most
important building blocks of your uncharted DNA that are often ignored in our society. $7 general / $5 members

May 4, 2014 — Northampton LGBTQ History Walking Tour
Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, Inc.
Behind Thornes Marketplace, Northampton, 1:30 p.m.

Do you know what these places were and where they were located?

The Egg; Dyke Dorms; The Gala; Hover House; Nutcracker Suite; Greasy Gorgon Garage; Ye Rose Tree Inn; Green Street Cafe; Common Womon Club; … and more

Can you name the LGBTQ-owned businesses in Northampton today? Be in the know about Northampton Queer history!

A fascinating walking tour that reveals the untold history of the Northampton, Massachusetts LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community will take place on Sunday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. and you are invited! Offered by the Sexual Minorities Archives as a benefit for the non-profit Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation (SMEF), Inc., the 2-1/2-hour walking tour, Journey Through Lesbian Mecca, will include more than 45 stops concentrated in a 3-mile area in and around downtown Northampton. Many of the locations on the tour were sites of organizations and businesses in the 1970s through the early 2000s that helped shape the LGBTQ community’s emergence in the area and the city to establish its national reputation as a welcoming place for LGBTQs. The tour will also cover sites as old in history as 1899, and spaces owned or operated by LGBTQ people today.

To develop the tour, research was conducted by volunteers at the Sexual Minorities Archives, a national collection of LGBTQ literature, history, and art located in Northampton; and at the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. Elizabeth Kent, M.A., Brandeis University and Smith College alumna, and Bet Power, Executive Director of SMEF, Inc. and Curator of the Sexual Minorities Archives, will guide the walking tour.

In 1995, author Michael Lowenthal wrote, “Northampton is something of a lesbian Mecca, to which all dykes must make at least one pilgrimage during their lives.’” Today there are scarce few lesbians, gay men, trans people, bisexuals, and queers living in the U.S. who have never passed through Northampton or lived here at some point in time.

Even sites of lesbian graffiti once located in the city will be covered. The tour will swing through locations both in the city and on the Smith College campus.

Registration is limited to 30 people. The requested donation is $20 general and $10 for seniors ages 60+, students, and low-income individuals. Please arrive at 1:30 p.m. to check in. The tour will step off promptly at 2:00 p.m. Meet up with the tour group at 1:30 p.m. behind Thornes Marketplace to the right of the entrance to the parking garage. Parking in the Armory Street lot and on the streets is FREE on Sunday! To reserve your place or for more information email: sexualminorities.archives@yahoo.com or call 413-584-7616. Tour-goers may pay in advance or on the day of the tour. To pay in advance, endorse a check for your donation to: SMEF, Inc. and mail it to: SMEF, Inc., P.O. Box 1023, Northampton, MA 01061-1023.

May 4, 2014 — “Gardening for the Birds, Butterflies, & Other Good Bugs”
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1:30 p.m.

“Gardening for the Birds, Butterflies & Other Good Bugs” with Master Gardener George Kingston on Sunday, May 4, 1:30pm at the Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, MA. Kingston will present how to plan and plant your gardens to attract birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, by catering to their needs and using native plants. Dr. George Kingston is a retired engineering research manager. He has been a certified Master Gardener since 2001, and is a past president of the Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association. He has presented numerous talks on a variety of gardening subjects. Kingston is also an author of gardening articles, and most recently, a non-fiction book, “James Madsion Hood: Lincoln’s Consul to the Court of Siam”, published by McFarland in 2013. There is no charge for this program. All interested people are welcome. Refreshment will be served.

The Keep Homestead Museum will be open on that day from 1:00-3:30pm. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or visit the web at http://www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

May 4, 2014 — “A Hike in Bear Swamp with Nancy Goodman”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Bear Swamp entrance on Hawley Road, Ashfield, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

The Pioneer Valley Institute is sponsoring a springtime hike in Ashfield’s Bear Swamp on Sunday, May 4. We will meet at the Swamp’s entrance on Hawley Road in Ashfield at 10 o’clock in the morning. Come explore this special place in a rich, mesic forest filled with masses of spring ephemerals including Dutchman’s Breeches, Spring-beauty, Bishops Cap, and trilliums among other interesting plants found here. The aptly named Fern Glade Trail passes through carpets of ferns and wildflowers. We will check out the spring awakening of the trees and other signs of spring. This hike is mainly moderate with some strenuous spots. Wear water resistant boots and bring bug spray, field guides, rain gear if needed and a bag lunch. For more information email Nancy Goodman at wildeyes@rcn.com. Directions can be found at http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/pioneer-valley/bear-swamp.html#t3. Free and open to the public.

May 4, 2014 — “Quabbin Hike”
Swift River Historical Society
meet at New Salem Common, New Salem, 11:15 a.m.

The first of two 2014 Quabbin Reservoir hikes led by Marty Howe is scheduled for Sunday, May 4th, along the New Salem Gate 26-27 loop. Participants meet at New Salem Common for an 11:15 a.m. departure, returning at about 3:00 p.m. Hikers stay with the group, but may leave the hike early if they inform the leader. All Department of Conservation and Recreation rules are observed: no smoking, and no taking or leaving anything.

Hikers should bring lunch, drinks, cameras, binoculars, sun screen and bug repellent, and be prepared for ticks, black flies, mosquitoes and deer flies. Drizzle or light shower threats do not cancel the hike, but steady rain does. The Swift River Valley Historical Society website (www.swiftrivermuseum.org) and Facebook page post updates when the weather is questionable. For more information, call 978-544-6882 or email srvhsmuseum@gmail.com. Free.

Sunday, May 4, 2014 — “Bicycle Tour Around the Mansions”
Wistariahurst Museum
meet at Heritage State Park, Holyoke, 11 a.m.

Enjoy a bicycle tour around the Mills and Canals with historian Craig Della Penna. The tour route will begin and end at Holyoke Heritage State Park and will include stops on Race Street, North Canal Street, Bridge Street and Lyman Street. Reservations necessary. $15 per participant.

May 3 & 4, 2014 — Southwick Cultural Council Art Show
Town Hall, 454 College Highway, Southwick, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Art Show coming to the Southwick Town Hall, 454 College Highway. It runs from 10 to 4 both Saturday and Sunday May 3 and 4. There are artists and demonstrators and musicians. The art work is for sale.

Our historical society parts are the food concession–hot dogs, soups, sandwiches made to order, and homemade goodies for dessert–and our annual historical display using the theme this year of “Winter Activities in Southwick.” A model of an icehouse will be on dispaly and a video of the ice-harvesting process will run in addition to photos with captions illustrating the various activities in the past and present hanging on the walls of the Selectmen’s Meeting Room.

May 3, 2014 — “Bicycle Tour Around the Mansions”
Wistariahurst Museum
meet at Kennedy Park, Holyoke, 11 a.m.

Enjoy a bicycle tour around the Fairfield Avenue Historic District lead by Craig Della Penna. Tour begins at Kennedy Park. Rain date is Sunday May 4
at 11:00 a.m. Reservations necessary. Register online at: http://www.wistariahurst.org or call the museum at 413-322-5660. $15 per participant

May 3, 2014 — “Conway Station, Polly’s Bridge with Polly Bartlett & Muriel Russell”
Pioneer Valley History Network
meet at Big Y parking lot to carpool, 10 a.m.

The Pioneer Valley Institute in cooperation with the Deerfield River Watershed Association will present an historical visit to the Conway Station on Saturday, May 3. This important site was the meeting of the Conway Street Railway serving the industries of Conway by trolley to the New Haven Railroad, later the Boston and Maine Railroad. To make all this happen the New Haven Railroad built a 550 foot long bridge 160 feet above the South River and the trolley company then built a lower and shorter bridge over the Deerfield River. Both bridges are long gone but pictures will be available to see. Today there is a new pedestrian bridge over the South River just 30 feet above the river using the piers of the old high bridge. There will be as much hiking as people wish along the Mahican-Mohawk trail which uses the old railroad roadbed and a hike down to the dam which supplied electricity for the trolley.

We will meet at 10 o’clock in the Big Y parking from which we will carpool to Metaphor Yarns at 623 Mohawk Trail as parking there is limited. For more information please call Muriel Russell at (413) 624-3311.

Friday, May 2, 2013 — “Africa Night”
Palmer Historical & Cultural Center
2072 Main St., Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

A local author and an Eastern Massachusetts family, both with deep roots in this small town and with great interest in two small villages on the African continent, will speak May 2 at 7 p.m. at Palmer Historical and Cultural Center, 2072 Main Street.

Suzanne Strempek Shea of Bondsville crossed the ocean to write and research her tenth book, This Is Paradise: An Irish Mother’s Grief, an African Village’s Plight and the Medical Clinic That Brought Fresh Hope to Both, to be published April 19 by PFP Publishing.

Mary (Koss) Grimanis of Wayland, along with her husband and daughters, six years ago founded The Akaa Project, a nonprofit organization working alongside families in a rural community in the Eastern Region of Ghana to create opportunity through educational, health care and financial initiatives.

The two, friends since grammar school and both 1976 graduates of Palmer High School, have their African interests as yet another bond. Shea will read from her new book and Grimanis, along with daughter Lauren, will speak about the genesis of their project, and how it continues to improve lives. Copies of This Is Paradise, and all of Shea’s other books, will be available for sale and signing, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting The Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic in Cape Maclear, Malawi, which is the setting of her book. The Grimanis family will sell crafts from Ghana, with proceeds benefiting The Akaa Project. Refreshments will be served. Admission is FREE, but freewill donations will be graciously accepted.

May 2 – 3, 2014 — “Midnight to Midnight: Northampton’s Self-Portrait in 48 Hours”
Historic Northampton, Forbes Library and the Northampton Camera Club
Northampton

A Project to Photograph Northampton, Florence & Leeds
With a 48-hour photography blitz, Northampton will photograph itself on May 2nd and 3rd. Historic Northampton, Forbes Library and the Northampton Camera Club invite you to photograph people, places, activities and events in Northampton, Florence and Leeds over this 48 hour period. Participants will then have until May 10th to submit photographs to the Northampton 48 hours website.

Submitted photographs will be displayed in slide shows at designated Northampton locations. Historic Northampton and Forbes Library will select photographs for their permanent collections based on both historical interest and photographic quality. Help create this permanent archive of life in Northampton in 2014. Northampton’s Self-Portrait in 48 Hours aims to record a candid, realistic and comprehensive view of people engaged in their daily activities in Northampton, Florence and Leeds in 2014.

Project Partners — Midnight to Midnight is a collaboration of Historic Northampton, Forbes Library and the Northampton Camera Club.
Project Sponsors — Midnight to Midnight is supported in part by Florence Savings Bank and Jake’s Restaurant and by eclecTechs, host of the project website.

APRIL

March & April 2014 — “Into the Shade/Work & Culture”
Gallery Exhibit, Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke

Opening Reception Saturday, March 8 from 2 to 4pm Deborah Baronas finds that the combination of art and history is especially potent as it can inspire and educate a broad audience. Baronas has captured the lives of Rhode Island and Massachusetts 19th century textile mill workers, domestic servants and tobacco farm field hands, whose cultural histories are reflected in hand stenciled scrims, paintings, artifacts, and other media. These become part of the backdrop and commentary, both literally and figuratively. Meet Deborah Baronas at the opening reception on Saturday, March 8 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Works on view through April. Admission to the gallery is $3/ members are free.

Sunday, April 27, 2014 — “Music of World War Two”
Premier Swing Band
Assumption Church Hall, 94 Springfield St, Chicopee, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

The French History Society celebrates D-Day on Sunday April 27th 2:00 to 5:00 at the Assumption Church Hall, 94 Springfield St, Chicopee MA.
$10 donation and World War Two Vet’s are free – FrenchConnection104@Gmail.com
Please visit our web site for more information about The Fanfare Brass http://premierentertains.com/PremierJazzSwingCombo.htm.
David Neill – cell phone 413-686-5027

April 27, 2014 — “Discovering Hawley History & Its Natural Surroundings”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Hawley State Forest, Hawley, noon – 4 p.m.

Join recreational geologist and historian Ed Gregory for this Pioneer Valley Institute walk and talk at noon on Sunday, April 27. The group will meet in parking lot A on the Greenfield Community College campus and carpool from there to Hawley. The cost for the general public is just $5; PVI members and kids under 13 free.

Enjoy a spring visit to the charcoal kiln built in 1870 by Albert Dyer for prominent Hawley farmer, William O. Bassett. The kiln is 25 feet high and 25 feet in diameter, hand-laid and a testament to the builder and his engineering skills. Next, we’ll visit the Old Hawley Town Common. Hawley was incorporated in 1792 and in 1798 the townspeople formed a two-acre town common located on the south side of the county road that bisected the Hawley Bog and went to Plainfield. Later a permanent church would be located on the site. We’ll visit the stone foundations of various dwellings and a tavern that made up the Common. We’ll also have the opportunity to view the geology of the area.

Our return trek will lead us to the legendary Hawley Bog. Seven hundred feet of secure boardwalk affords views of spectacular flora and perhaps some indigenous fauna. Comfortable outdoor attire and footwear is recommended as springtime can be a little wet under foot. Bring water and a snack if you wish. In the event of rain, the hike will be rescheduled for Sunday, May 18, same time. Email Gregory at golfserv@comcast.net if the weather is uncertain.

April 26, 2014 — Assoc. for Gravestone Studies Western MA Chapter Meeting
Unitarian Church Hall, Northfield, 10 a.m. to 4-ish

We’ll begin the morning session with Bob Drinkwater’s “Art & Symbolism in the Cemetery” (viewer participation encouraged) and take it from there. We’ll spend the afternoon at one or more local cemeteries. Details and directions to follow . . . If you would like to do a presentation, contact: Bob Drinkwater,soulestones@gmail.com.

April 26, 2014 — Patriot’s Day Revolutionary Muster & Parade
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Travel back in time and rediscover the history behind the Patriot’s Day holiday and the “shot heard round the world.” Revolutionary times will come to life through demonstrations of period crafts and activities, fife and drum music, and a parade and muster. Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes and Drums, Knowlton’s Connecticut Rangers and Buckland’s Artillery play a lead role in the day’s activities. Historic Deerfield guides and cooks will interpret open hearth cooking, chocolate’s role in the military, and powder horn carving in the 1786 Hall Tavern. Horse-drawn wagon rides will transport visitors through the village, and all historic houses will be available for touring. Visitors can make a flag to wave during the afternoon parade, and then take it home as a memento. Self-guided “Revolution Walk” tours will be available, as well as family-friendly food.

April 26, 2014 — “A History of Logging Tools in Our Valley”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Shutesbury Town Hall, Shutesbury, 10 a.m.

The Pioneer Valley Institute urges you to join us on Saturday morning, April 26, at 10 o’clock as historian Harry Proudy, of Ashuelot, NH, and logger Steve Puffer, of Shutesbury, MA, discuss the history of logging tools and how these tools were used to harvest timber. Proudy will discuss historic logging tools, focusing on the period from 1920-1950. He will also show a short video of these tools being used. Puffer will discuss his own experiences as a logger using these tools. Light refreshments will be served in the morning.

After a short break for lunch—bring your own brown bag—there will be a hike lasting about an hour into the Paul C. Jones working forest in Shutesbury, a large tract of conserved forest land. Dress for the weather, wear boots, bring water and a lunch.

April 26, 2014 — “Brewer Neighborhood Walk”
Pelham Historical Societymeet at the Historical Complex, Pelham, noon – 3 p.m.

Bruce Klotz will lead a walk through the Brewer Road neighborhood as a follow up to the program. Pack a bag lunch and dress for the weather. Rain or Shine. Call to sign up: Bruce Klotz, 253-1601

April 26, 2014 — “Letters From Maude”
Fellowship Hall, Shelburne, 7 p.m.

Love Blooms from 1905 – 1909
“…I am not going to write a very long letter. Just enough to let you know you are constantly in my thoughts, and more than all to assure you that I am still caring for you.”

These are a few lines from one of the many letters that Maud Purrington wrote her future husband, Frank Johnson, between the years of 1905 and 1909. A presentation of the letters and photos will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2014, 7 pm, at Fellowship Hall, Shelburne MA. These letters give a glimpse of rural life at the turn of the twentieth century, the importance of the Shelburne Falls and Colrain Street Railway, the booming years of the Catamount Hill Reunions, and above all, one example of a courtship of this era and the love that two people shared.

Frank Johnson was the man who saved Trolley No.10 and his son, Marshall Johnson, donated it to the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum. Come and find out what might well be the reason Frank Johnson saved the famous No.10! Refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by the Women’s Fellowship of the First Congregational Church of Shelburne, on Little Mohawk Road, just off RT 2 in Shelburne Center (not Shelburne Falls!).

April 25, 2014 — “Looking Back”
Folk Music Concert
Village Congregational Church, 32 Main St., Cummington, 7-9 p.m.

Laurie Israel, folksinger, and friends. An evening of Appalachian, Irish, American and Yiddish folk songs, Swedish double fiddle music, American and Yiddish labor songs. By donation.

Steve Bushway, fiddle; Vi Walker, saw and vocals, David Perkins, vocals. Susan Pearson and Alice Schertle, readers.

Village Congregational Church, 32 Main Street, Cummington, Massachusetts, 7 – 9 p.m. Parking in back of Church.

April 25, 2014 — “Robin & Linda Williams & Their Fine Group”
Benefit for the Source to Sea Cleanup of the Connecticut River
Memorial Hall, Shelburne Falls, 7:30 p.m.

The Connecticut River Watershed Council presents Robin & Linda Williams and Their Fine Group. A benefit concert for the annual Source to Sea River Cleanup
Known from NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion, Robin & Linda play a robust blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time & acoustic country music. Pat & Tex LaMountain open the show.

General seating $15 VIP reception & seating $35. Tickets available on-line http://www.ctriver.org/concert; phone 800-838-3006

Thursday, April 24, 2014 – “National Park Service — The Hidden Gems”
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, 2 p.m.

Celebrate National Parks Week with author Julia Lynam, of the recently published book, Treasures on Your Doorstep. A PowerPoint program showcases hundreds of hidden National Park gems across the country.

April 24, 2014 — “The Zeta & Other Bits of Aviation History”
Southampton Historical Society
at the Southampton Senior Center, Southampton, 7 p.m.

The Zeta – It was a neat little airplane, the prototype of a new line of planes built by Miller Aviation, but the Second World War was on the horizon, and the market was changing fast. Pilot Mark Granville made a few pleasure trips with it, but when the war brought an end to civilian flight, he dismantled the wings, and packed the Zeta into the barn of his Southampton house. Then he was called to Connecticut to work with military planes.

After the war, his friend and colleague, Romaine Lambert rescued the Zeta, and the plane began its pilgrimage around Southampton barns, but it never flew again. Lambert donated it to the Springfield Museum of Science, and it now floats over the great hall of the new Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History – – still bright in its original red and grey paint after 75 years.

The story of the Granville brothers and their Gee Bee airplanes is recorded by June Granville Dakin in Farmers Take Flight. She will be the guest of the Southampton Historical Society at the Spring meeting on April 24, along with historian Thomas Nallen, who bring us back to the glory days of the old Springfield airport. Several local pilots and plane builders, as well as Lambert family members will contribute stories of their aviation experiences since then.

The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the Southampton Senior Center. For further information, contact Ruth McCormick at 413 650-3698, or Margaret Walden at 413 527-9692.

April 24, 2014 — “Life, Times, and Music of Louie Armstrong”
Dixieland Stomp and David Neill
First Congregational Church, 20 Main St., Brimfield, 7 p.m.

In this program, Dixieland Stomp performs the actual music as performed by Louie Armstrong’s music from the Hot 5 and Hot 7 recording of 1927 to 1929. We will also find out how a poor destitute child from New Orleans became the world’s greatest trumpet player. For more information visit our web site –
http://www.premierentertains.com/Dixieland%20page.html

April 21, 2014 — “The Neighborhood at Brewer Road”
Pelham Historical Society
Ramsdell Room, Pelham Community Center, 7 p.m.

Visit 19th century Brewer Road neighborhood as perceived by the late Robert Lord Keyes and Linda Campbell Hanscom, longtime PHS officer and Pelham native, who will present on the history of this historic Pelham enclave.

April 19, 2014 — “East Longmeadow Quarry Walk”
Meet at Methodist Church, corner of Chestnut St. & Rte. 83, 10 a.m.

We are having a redstone quarry tour by Bruce Moore on Saturday, April 19th at 10 a.m. in East Longmeadow. Meeting at the Methodist Church at the corner of Chestnut Street and Route 83. The hike is not terribly rigorous, but dress accordingly and be prepared for ticks — light colored pants and bug spray advised! Space is limited, so rsvp to Betsy McKee at abmck@comcast.net.

April 17, 2014 — “From the Great Blasket to America”
Museums a la Carte Lecture Series
Davis Auditorium, Springfield Museums, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Michael J. Carney, co-author, Gerald W. Hayes co-author. Mike Carney was born in 1920 on The Great Blasket Island just off the southwest coast of Ireland. Raised under challenging circumstances in that unique and isolated Irish-speaking community, Mike sets out to seek a better future in Dublin – and eventually in Springfield, Massachusetts. The unattended death of his brother from a treatable illness back home set off a chain of events that led to the evacuation of the Island by the government. Mike personally lobbied the great Éamon de Valera to relocate the few remaining Islanders who were living in increasingly desperate conditions. Joining the millions of Irish who emigrated to the United States, Mike settled in Springfield along with two-dozen former Islanders. While taking full advantage of opportunities offered by his adopted country, he never lost his love for the nation of his birth. This is a story of Mike’s persistent efforts to promote Irish culture in America and to preserve the memory of The Great Blasket; to respect and honor roots left behind and to set down new roots in a new land. Both heartbreaking and inspiring, it recounts one man’s life, but speaks to the experience of many.

April 15, 2014 — “History of the Quabbin”
Ramapogue Historical Society
Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street, West Springfield, 7 p.m.

The Ramapogue Historical Society will present a lecture by J.R. Greene of Athol, on the history of Quabbin. The event will take place on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 7 p.m. at the Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street, West Springfield. Mr. Greene will narrate slides, giving a brief description of the history of the Boston Water System traveling out of Quabbin. Most of the talk will center around the 4 towns, Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, Prescott, that were taken for the reservoir, what they looked like and what life was like in them. Mr. Greene is the author of more than a dozen books on the subject. The lecture is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

April 13, 2014 — “Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America”
A One-Hour Film by Lawrence Hott & Diane Garey
Academy of Music, 274 Main Street, Northampton, 4 p.m.

The premiere is sponsored by WGBY, Public Television for Western New England, and is free and open to the public.

Frederick Law Olmsted: Designing America is a co-production of WNED-TV, Buffalo/Toronto and Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc. Executive Producers John Grant and David Rotterman. Narrated by Stockard Channing. The film has been made possible by major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor and The Margaret L. Wendt Foundation. With funding provided by HSBC, The Tiffany & Company Foundation and The C.E. & S. Foundation. With additional support from The Peter C. Cornell Trust and Mass Humanities.

Friday, April 11, 2014 — “Childhood Play: 1620-1860”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

John Nelson’s illustrated talk was originally titled “Out with the Rod, in with the Toy: the Revolution in American Conceptions of Childhood 1620 – 1860.” He will trace one of the great social upheavals in US history as told through its folk toys: the revolution in how adults perceived the potential of children for both sin and play from the time the Pilgrims landed to the eve of the Civil War. His interest in this topic led to his own collection of antique toys, workshop time spent replicating examples, and the book, American Folk Toys (Taunton Press, 1990). He will also demonstrate examples of toys from his own collection.

Professor John R. Nelson, Jr. founded the five-course Professional Writing and Technical Communication (PWTC) Program at the University of Massachusetts in 1990. Since that time, it has placed 99 percent of its graduates in jobs involving writing, editing and information design. He holds degrees from Hamilton College (B.A., 1959), the University of Maine (M.A., 1962), and the University of Oregon (Ph.D., 1967). He served as a Visiting Professor at the Universities of Freiburg, (1971-1972), Stirling (Scotland, 1976-1977), and Kent (1988-1989).

April 11-12, 2014 — “Dickinsons in Love”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main Street, Amherst

The Emily Dickinson Museum’s exciting new program, “Dickinsons in Love”, returns on April 11 and 12. Explore the multiple romantic relationships of the Dickinson family as museum guides reveal the nature of courtship, marriage, unrequited passions, and extramarital romance in the Dickinsons’ world centered around the Homestead, where Emily lived, and The Evergreens, her brother Austin’s home next door.

“Friends, family, all relationships were vitally important to Emily Dickinson. We feel there’s much more to say about them — especially romantic relationships — than we could address on the daily guided tours. Many of our visitors want to know more,” said Emily Dickinson Museum Executive Director Jane Wald.

During the 90-minute openly frank “Dickinsons in Love,” visitors will get just that. Museum guides will reveal the nature of courtship, marriage, unrequited passions, and extramarital romance in the Dickinsons’ world centered around the Homestead, where Emily lived, and The Evergreens, her brother Austin’s home next door.

“Dickinsons in Love” will be held on Friday, April 11, 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, April 12, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., and will be offered monthly throughout the year. Tickets are $30 per person or $25 for Friends of the Emily Dickinson Museum, available by calling (413)542-2034 or emailing labbott@emilydickinsonmuseum.org for reservations. Participants are advised to wear appropriate footwear for walking between the houses.

The speculation over Emily’s own love life, of course, will be a major focus, as museum guides discuss the inspiration for verses like:

Wild nights – Wild nights!
Were I with thee
Wild nights should be
Our luxury!

“The romances of other family members will also provide a deeper insight into the personal dynamics and range of romantic relationships known in nineteenth-century Amherst,” explained Director of Interpretation and Programming Cindy Dickinson (no relation to the poet). “The stories, drawn from a wide assortment of source materials, run the gamut from the tepid to the tempestuous.”

The stories unfold through the words of the family members themselves: from Edward Dickinson’s 1828 courtship letter — “Let us prepare for a life of rational happiness. I do not expect or wish for a life of pleasure!” – to Austin Dickinson’s more ardent tone writing his lover Mabel Todd — “I love you darling, with my love, & my love is timeless & sleepless – cannot be divided – insatiable.” Guests will be invited to read from these family letters and, at the program’s conclusion, will join their guides in pondering nineteenth-century romance over wine and cheese. For additional dates, visit http://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/events.

April 10, 2014 — “All to the Tune of a Hickory Stick: A Look at Education in a One-Room Schoolhouse”
Hatfield Historical Society
Congregational Church Parlors, Hatfield, 7:30 p.m.

Dennis Picard, Director of Storrowton Village and Museum in West Springfield, returns to delight us with this presentation of the One-Room Schoolhouse! Could there be a few of us out there who remember these? Come listen!

April 10, 2014 — “Mills of Colrain”
Colrain Historical Society
Home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Rd., Colrain, 7 p.m.

There were scores of mills — saw mills, grain mills, fulling mills, box mills — along the banks of the Green and North Rivers in the mid-19th century Colrain. Available water power made this an early mill town. Muriel Russell will describe these mills and where they were at the opening meeting of the Colrain Historical Society April 10, at 7 p.m. at the home of Joan McQuade, 7 Main Road.

This program kicks off a series running through October which will look at water power in Colrain, mill technology and some of the major mills established along the major streams here. This first program will be preceded at 6 p.m. by a potluck supper and followed by a business meeting. It is free and open to the public. Those attending the potluck are asked to bring a vegetable, salad, main dish or dessert to share and a beverage, if desired. Coffee and cider will be provided. For information call Belden at 625-2003.

April 9, 2014 — “Quiet: An Evening Inspired by Emily Dickinson”
Local History/Local Novelists Series
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 7 p.m.

Jane Wald is director of the Emily Dickinson Museum.

Kevin Quashie teaches cultural studies and theory at Smith College. He is the author or editor of three books, most recently The Sovereignty of Quiet: Beyond Resistance in Black Culture.

Charles Coe is author of two books of poetry: All Sins Forgiven: Poems for my Parents and Picnic on the Moon.

April 8, 2014 — “Pulling the Person Out of the Paperwork”
Palmer Historical & Cultural Center, 2072 Main Street Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

With DAVE ROBISON, Professional Genealogist, Old Bones. “Pulling the Person out of the Paperwork” has been designed as a single 1 to 1 ½ hour interactive talk about the very old yet very popular subject of genealogy and family research. Dave will briefly cover his background and experience along with some surprises he discovered regarding his own ancestors right here in Western Massachusetts.

The presentation starts with the basics such as how to get started, how to make a plan, what you might be able to uncover, sources, web sites, examples of the breadth and depth of data that you may be able to find and what to do with it once you’ve found it, becoming a family history “detective”, interviewing your relatives to preserve the story of your family, how to organize your data, suggestions for family tree software and a brief mention of DNA as it relates to genealogy.

Attendees will come away with many helpful tools such as templates for pedigree charts and family group sheets, lists of web sites, relationships charts, sample census records, contents of various census records from 1790 to 1940 and much more.

Reservations are not required but it is helpful if you can notify us in advance by calling or emailing if you are planning to attend. There may be a (multiple days) genealogy workshop created as a result of interest expressed from this lecture.

www.oldbones.info (Web Site); www.oldbonessearch.com (Blog)
(413) 233-4866; (413) 642-1393 (Fax)

April 7, 2014 — “Legislative Listening Tour”
Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, 10 a.m. to noon

This “listening tour” is a statewide series headed by State Representative Cory Atkins (D-Concord) and Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives (D-Newburyport) as co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development. They are eager to solicit ideas from the industry and communities to help the Committee develop policies that strengthen tourism, arts, and culture. Typically these events — which are open to the public — are attended by key figures in the hospitality industry as well as by people who are heading up arts and cultural organizations both big and small.

The Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Culture are the legislators who recommend budget adjustments that support the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT), the 16 Regional Tourism Councils (RTCs), and the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) and Cultural Facilities Fund. Collectively the industry is asking for $20 million for MOTT, $8.5 million for the RTCs, and $16 million for the MCC in FY15, representing $6.2 million, $2 million, and $5 million in increases respectively from the current year’s funding.

Hampshire County’s hearing will be Monday, April 7 at the Yiddish Book Center from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. You’re welcome to sign up to speak (2-3 minutes) about the work you’re doing and the critical support we need from our legislators. However, your attendance would also have just as much impact. If you have any questions or are interested in speaking at the hearing, please be in touch with our communications coordinator Melissa Breor.

April 6, 2014 — “Horses & the 19th Century Family Farm”
with Blue Star Equiculture
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Road, Monson, 1:30 p.m.

Blue Star strives to remind our communities of the important role the Horse has had alongside us in the past and their possible contribution into the future! There will be a hands-on meeting of two of the draft horses and a slide show of the 19^th century contribution of the horses in our local community.

Horses to visit are:
Remix, a 7 year old Percheron whose beauty equals his affection. He is a great teacher in the Draft Horse Husbandry course.
Alfie, also a 7 year old Percheron, who is concerned about making everything perfect. He’s ‘’best buds” with his brother Remix,
and Little Magnus our miniature horse. He’s incredibly sweet and affectionate, and loves attention.

The program will be presented by the Blue Star staff: Pamela Rickenbach, who spent great deal of her life in the Bolivian Amazon, along with time in the Peruvian and Bolivian Andes. She was a carriage driver and tour guide in the National Park in Philadelphia. Paul Moshimer, originally from Maine, comes to Blue Star imbued with a life-long love of animals and humans and is committed to meeting the horse on the horse’s terms. He drives a team and is a licensed teamster. He is the operations manager of BSE, and oversees the day-to-day running of the farm and equipment. They will be joined by Christina Andersen, barn manager. All share Blue Star Equiculture’s belief that in a new partnership with our horses, we can make a significant sustainable impact for young people and the environment.

There is no admission charge. The museum will be open to visitors from 1:00-3:30pm and refreshments will be served. For more information, call 413-267-4137, email khm@keephomesteadmuseum.org or visit the web at www.keephomesteadmuseum.org

Saturday, April 5, 2014 — Public Reception for Steampunk Artists
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield, 6 p.m.

Here’s your opportunity to meet the great artistic minds behind the fascinating creations on display in the Springfield Armory’s Steampunk exhibition. Mingle, view the exhibit, ask questions, and learn about the inspiration behind their unique and outlandish inventions.

Friday, April 4, 2014 — “Madiba’s Gifts: Nelson Mandela’s Life and Legacies – A Tribute”
Bowker Auditorium, Stockbridge Hall, UMass, Amherst, 4 – 7 p.m.

A celebration and reflection of the impact of Nelson Mandela’s life and work, this Five College Africa Day event features panel conversations focusing on the South African Struggle and performances by the Amandla Chorus, the Amherst Area Gospel Choir, the Five College West African Music Ensemble, and the Wonberi Dancers. A reception immediately follows the event, which is free and open to the public.

Featured Keynote entitled Mandela’s Words: Mightier than the Sword, will be presented by Garrey M. Dennie, Former Speech Writer for Nelson Mandela. Dr. Garrey Dennie is a Professor of History at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He obtained his first degree at the University of the West Indies, in Barbados. He later obtained his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore. His principal fields of research and teaching are African History and Caribbean popular culture. He has taught in Jamaica, South Africa, and the USA. These experiences underline the fact that for him the African Diaspora is not simply an intellectual construct but his lived reality. He has written extensively on the politics of death in modern South Africa. His major works include: Flames of Race, Ashes of Death: Re-inventing Cremation in Johannesburg and The Standard of Dying: Race, Indigence, and the Disposal of the Dead Body in Johannesburg. In 1990, while still a graduate student, Dr. Dennie had the remarkable experience of serving as one of Nelson Mandela’s speech writers.

Sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor with the support of the Five College African Studies Council. For additional information, please contact the Office of External Relations and University Events at 413.577.1101 or events@admin.umass.edu.

April 2, 2014 — “Made in the Valley”
PVHN Spring Gathering & Annual Meeting
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield, 9:30 a.m. thru 3:45 p.m.

Please join with other members of the Pioneer Valley History Network for our Spring Gathering & Annual Meeting.

SPEAKERS WILL INCLUDE:

SUZANNE FLYNT
“Poetry to the Earth: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Deerfield.”
Suzanne L. Flynt of Dummerston, Vermont, is Curator of Memorial Hall Museum in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Her recently-published Poetry to the Earth: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Deerfield accompanies the exhibition Skilled Hands and High Ideals: The Arts and Crafts Movement in Deerfield. Her publication The Allen Sisters: Pictorial Photographers 1885-1920 was awarded the Historic New England Book Prize in 2002. She also serves on the board of the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center.

KEN SCHELLING — Mill Manager and Technical Director, Southworth/Paperlogic Co., Turners Falls, MA
“The History of Papermaking in Western Massachusetts”
Ken grew up and was educated in the great manufacturing centers of Lawrence and Lowell where old mills were everywhere. With 34 years experience in the paper industry, he has developed a deep appreciation for the history as well as the technological advancement of papermaking.

GUY McLAIN — Director of History Museums, Springfield Museums
“The Golden Age of Pioneer Valley Industry”

ALEX MACKENZIE
“Challenges of Firearms in Museum Collections”
Alex MacKenzie has worked with the collections at Springfield Armory National Historic Site in Springfield, Massachusetts since 1998, but full time for the last seven years. As Curator for the site, he manages one of the world’s largest firearms collections in addition to archival and rare book collections. The firearm collection at Springfield Armory was started by the US Army in 1866, and opened its doors to the public in 1871. The National Park Service has had stewardship over the collections since 1978.

We will be ordering boxed lunches from Frigos! Lunches are optional but include sandwiches, chips, cookie, drink, salad for $10.

This Gathering might be one of our best, so please register as soon as you can, so you won’t miss it.

April 2, 2014 — “Welcome to the Graveyard”
Western Mass. Genealogical Society
Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main Street, Agawam

“Welcome to the Graveyard” — The Gravestone Girls present a virtual tour of New England Cemeteries.

Cemetery educators, The Gravestone Girls, whose mission is to “Keep Our Dead Alive”, will be presenting a virtual tour, called “Welcome to the Graveyard”, centered on the history of New England gravestones and cemeteries at the Agawam Senior Center as a guest of the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society. The program will be held, Wednesday, April 2 at 6pm. The 60 minute presentation is built on photographs taken in these special and interesting burying places around New England and charts the evolution of cemeteries and gravestones from the colonial era into the 21st century.

This is a popular program that has been given around the New England area by The Gravestone Girls for almost fifteen years. The group regularly works with libraries, historical societies and genealogical groups, among others, to teach about “the art, symbolism and history of these living history museums located on everyone’s main streets and backyards” says Ms. Sullivan, one in the group of three cemetery enthusiasts. She further added “Almost everyone is interested in these peaceful and beautiful spaces, but may be hesitant to say so to others. Our presentation lets you know you’re not the only one. Come see what we do, we fill the room every time!”

For a detailed calendar of this and other Gravestone Girls events please visit http://www.GravestoneGirls.com Further information can also be found through the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society’s website http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mawmgs. The Agawam Senior Center is located at 954 Main Street, Agawam, MA.

The Gravestone Girls not only provide interesting historical cemetery presentations, they also create beautiful and unusual sculpted art pieces using the primitive art from the faces of original New England gravestones as well as teach gravestone rubbing classes. Their gravestone art is shown regularly at art and craft festivals. Often commissioned for documentation and fundraising projects utilizing special aspects of important cemeteries and gravestones, they have executed these public and private projects for clients nationwide.

Contact Information: Brenda Sullivan
Company Name: The Gravestone Girls
Address: 16 Schussler Road, Worcester, MA 01609
Telephone: 508.212.3162
Email: thegirls@gravestonegirls.com
Website: http://www.GravestoneGirls.com

April 2, 2014 — “Caleb Strong and the Ugly Duckling”
Friends of Forbes Library Annual Meeting
Coolidge Room, Forbes Library, Northampton, 6:30 p.m.

We invite you to join us at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of Forbes Library on Wed., April 2nd, 6:30 p.m., in the Coolidge Museum, to be followed by a most interesting talk on local history. The subject of Elise Bernier-Feeley’s talk “Caleb Strong and the Ugly Duckling”, will be Caleb Strong’s life and posthumous influence on a little known occurrence in World War II.

Strong (1745-1819) was a native son of Northampton, who, after graduating from Harvard and practicing law in Hampshire County, rose rapidly to prominence in both Massachusetts and national political service, including serving on the drafting of both the Massachusetts and Federal constitutions and serving as both Governor and U.S. Senator.

We hope you can join us for this intriguing talk. Refreshments will be served afterward in the art gallery. See you there!

April 2, 2014 — “The Olmsted Brothers’ Landscape Legacy in Holyoke”
Community Room, Holyoke Public Library, Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Amanda Rookey, master’s degree candidate in Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts, will share her research into the work of the Olmsted Brothers in Holyoke. In 1907, John Charles and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., son and stepson of the renowned landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted, came to Holyoke at the request of Mayor Nathan Avery. Avery, who helped establish the state’s first municipal playground commission in Holyoke, had a keen interest in improving outdoor life in a city whose population had soared to 50,000. At his request, the Olmsted Brothers investigated the history and condition of four Holyoke parks (Springdale, Elmwood, Pulaski, and Jones Point) and provided detailed recommendations for how to protect and develop Holyoke’s substantial natural bounty for the benefit of all its residents.

Ms. Rookey’s research compares the historical parks to the existing park system and to heritage parks in other industrial cities in New England. On April 2 (6:00 p.m.), she will lecture and lead a discussion on the interconnection of landscape, community, history and aesthetics in Holyoke. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Holyoke History Room: 413-420-8107.

MARCH

Monday, March 31, 2014 – “The Happiness Machine”
Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

In 1988, Holyoke, Massachusetts, was a once thriving city coping with recession. A resident named John Hickey decided it was time to turn those circumstances around by saving the park’s vintage merry-go-round and placing it in the heart of the downtown area. This is the inspiring story of that unprecedented effort which united a community and saved an important part of their history. $7 general / $5 members

March 31, 2014 — “Was Uncle Tom from South Carolina?”
Lecture by Susanna Ashton, Professor of English, Clemson University
Loughman Living Room, Scanlon Hall, Westfield State University, 7 p.m.

The storied life of fugitive slave, international activist, and Springfield resident John Andrew Jackson.

In 1846 John Andrew Jackson escaped from an inland South Carolina plantation and, with courage and luck, made his way to Massachusetts in 1847. He traveled around Northampton, Florence, and Springfield, seeking help to buy his wife and baby their freedom. Before he could accomplish buying their freedom, he was forced to flee the United States because of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Making his way north he hid with Harriet Beecher Stowe a few weeks before she began Uncle Tom’s Cabin and eventual, made it to the city of Saint John, NB Canada, thanks to help from the Underground Railroad. Eventually he toured England and Scotland and lectured there on abolition. He returned to the United States in 1867 and settled in Springfield to work as a coordinator and philanthropist. His narrative of 1862 is little known, as is the complex life he had for the decades afterwards where he sought to bring the broken parts of the union together. Professor Ashton’s research on Jackson is a literary story, but is also about the archive of the marginal, the folklore of the underground, and the forgotten networks and connections that make up how we see our histories and our communities.

Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Emily Todd at etodd@westfield.ma.edu

March 22 or 23 and March 30, 2014 — “Bread Baking Techniques from the Past to the Present”
Historic Deerfield & King Arthur Flour Co.
Deerfield, MA & Norwich, VT

Historic Deerfield’s Open Hearth Cooking Program, in partnership with the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour, will give avid bread bakers the opportunity to travel in time this March with complementary baking classes that explore the history of baking bread with 18th- and 21st-century baking techniques.

The first class, to be held in two sessions at Historic Deerfield on Saturday, March 22 or Sunday, March 23, will explore the history of bread baking in Colonial America. This class will be taught by the Open Hearth Cooking staff at Historic Deerfield. Participants will prepare yeast bread using an 18th-century recipe from an English cookbook and bake it in the brick oven in the museum’s 1786 kitchen at the Visitor Center at Hall Tavern.

The second class follows the next week on Sunday, March 30, at the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour. This class will be taught by a Baking Instructor from King Arthur Flour. Participants will use 21st-century techniques and recipes to bake a tasty yeast bread to take home.

The classes are designed to complement each other, however, participants may register for one or both classes. Registration for the classes will be handled by Historic Deerfield. A confirmation letter, map, and directions will be sent upon receipt of payment.

The class at Historic Deerfield will be held on Saturday, March 22 or Sunday, March 23, from 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. in Deerfield, Mass. The class repeats so participants should sign up for one class only. The class at Historic Deerfield is limited to eight participants per session. The fee for the first class is $55 ($50 for Historic Deerfield members).

The class at the Baking Education Center at King Arthur Flour is held in one session on Sunday, March 30, from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. in Norwich, Vermont. This class can accommodate 16 participants. The fee for this class is $52, a special 20% discount for participants of the Historic Deerfield bread baking classes.

Registrations, with checks payable to Historic Deerfield, should be sent to:
Cooking Class
Historic Deerfield
PO Box 321
Deerfield, MA 01342

For more information, please contact Claire Carlson, Education Program Coordinator at Historic Deerfield, (413) 775-7217 or ccarlson@historic-deerfield.org.

March 30, 2014 — “From the Battlefield to Forgotten History”
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield, 2 p.m.

Andrew Carroll, author of three New York Times best-selling books, will present a talk and book signing on his esteemed Legacy Project. Launched to collect the wartime correspondence of US troops he began to amass stories about extraordinary people and places that history had forgotten. His new travelogue, Here Is Where: Discovering America’s Great Forgotten History, chronicles his exploration of unmarked historic sites in each of the 50 states.

September 17, 2013 thru March 30, 2014 — “From Shtetl to Suburb”
Wood Museum of Springfield History, 21 Edwards St., Springfield

The story of the Jewish community in the Pioneer Valley is detailed in a new exhibit at the Springfield Museums titled “One Hundred Years of Jewish Life in the Valley: From Shtetl to Suburb.” The exhibit is on view in the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History from September 17, 2013 to March 2, 2014. The exhibit is sponsored by Temple Beth El, with generous support from Jewish Endowment Foundation, Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Chez Josef, Dave’s Soda and Pet City, and Jewish Geriatric Services. Additional resources were also provided by the Jewish Historical Society of Western Massachusetts. The media partner for the exhibit is The Jewish Ledger. MassMutual is the 2013 Premier Sponsor of the Springfield Museums.

The exhibit’s guest curator is Dr. Stuart Anfang, past president of Beth El, which is celebrating its centennial this year. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to collaborate and celebrate the proud heritage of our entire Springfield Jewish community,” explains Anfang, who developed the exhibit with professionals from the Museum.

The new exhibit chronicles how Jewish immigrants first came to the region, many as a result of pogroms in Czarist Russia in the late 19th century. Early leaders of the Jewish community are also highlighted, including Leopold Karpeles, a Bohemian Jew who settled in Springfield and was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War.

Through a combination of historical artifacts and photos, the exhibit documents the growth of the Jewish community in both size and influence from the early 20th century to the present day. During this time, the Jewish community settled on Liberty, Sharon and a few other streets in the North End of Springfield. The exhibit includes a number of photographs and artifacts documenting Jewish life in that area.

The exhibit also traces the eventual decline of inner city neighborhoods in places like Springfield after World War II and the impact on Springfield’s Jewish community. By 1966, two-thirds of the area Jewish population resided in either Forest Park or Longmeadow. Demographic shifts and a massive urban renewal project in the North End in the 1960s eventually resulted in the relocation of most remaining synagogues and Jewish institutions to Dickinson Street and Longmeadow.

The exhibit winds up with a look at the institutions existing today that keep the Jewish community thriving. Guy McLain, Director of the Wood Museum of Springfield History stated that “The story of Jewish immigrants and their work to develop a thriving community over the last century is a fascinating tale of courage, hard work, and perseverance. Their story is unique, but also emblematic of the challenges faced by so many immigrant groups throughout America’s history.”

General admission is $15.00 for adults, $10 for seniors and college students, $8 for children 3-17, and free for children under three and museum members. This fee provides admission to all four Springfield Museums. Springfield residents receive free general admission with proof of address.

The Springfield Museums are located on the Quadrangle at 21 Edwards Street in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. Free, secure onsite parking is available. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, please call 413-263-6800.

Fridays & Saturdays, February 8 thru March 29, 2014 — “Children of the Swift River Valley” Photo Exhibit
Swift River Valley Historical Society
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

19th and Early 20th Century Images. Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls. Open Fridays & Saturdays, February 8 thru March 29, 2014. (Call 413-863-3221 to confirm the hall is not closed for another event.)

Over fifty 19th and early 20th century photographs reproduced from the collection of the Swift River Valley Historical Society in New Salem remind us of life before the Quabbin Reservoir was built. The exhibit will also feature a simulated 19th century photography studio with backdrops painted by Althea Dabrowski’s Northfield Elementary School Students.

This program is supported by grants from the Gill, Bernardston, Colrain, Conway, Deerfield, and Montague Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

March 28, 2014 — “Ghosts of Campus Past”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst was established under the Morrill Land Grant act as the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1863 on 310 acres with four buildings, four faculty and 56 students. Today, the campus supports a community of 30,000, with an enrollment of 20,000 under graduate and 5,000 graduate students. It occupies over 11.5 million gross square feet of buildings on 1,400 acres of land. Robert S. Cox will introduce us to “Ghosts of Campus Past” in this illustrated talk dedicated to the buildings that have gone before on the campus and a few disguised by the accretions of time and expansion.

Cox has a bachelor’s degree in geology; master’s degrees in paleontology, history, poetry, and library science; and a PhD in history. He has held positions as curator of manuscripts and photographs at the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan and as keeper of manuscripts and director of scholarship and technology at the American Philosophical Society. Cox teaches at Simmons Graduate School of Library Information Sciences and in the Department of History at UMass Amherst. His books include Massachusetts Cranberry Culture: A History from Bog to Table (2012); A History of Chowder: Four Centuries of a New England Meal (2011); The Shortest and Most Convenient Route: Lewis and Clark in Context (2004) and Body and Soul: A Sympathetic History of American Spiritualism (2003).

March 27, 2014 — “Status and Comfort: Glimpses of Early Bedrooms”
Woodbury Room at the Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, 7 p.m.

Jane Nylander, president emerita of Historic New England, will deliver the lecture “Status and Comfort: Glimpses of Early Bedrooms,” a talk on bedrooms in 19th-century New England. “Status and Comfort” ties in to the ongoing restoration of Emily Dickinson’s bedroom, a project which began in summer 2013.

As a curator and museum director, Jane Nylander has been active in historic preservation in New England since the 1960s. She is the former president of Strawberry Banke Museum, and former Curator of Textiles and Senior Curator at Old Sturbridge Village. Nylander is the author of Our Own Snug Fireside: Images of the New England Home, 1750-1860, Windows on the Past, and Fabrics for Historic Buildings as well as many reference works on 19th-century decorative arts. With her husband, Richard, she is serving as guest curator for an exhibition on bedrooms and sleep, opening on October 9, 2014 at the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts.

For more information about Jane Nylander’s talk, contact Lucy Abbott, program coordinator, at labbott@emilydickinsonmuseum.org or (413)542-2034.

March 27, 2014 — “Who We Are: The Vietnam War & the End of ‘American Exceptionalism'”
A Lecture by UMass Amherst History Professor Christian Appy
Collaborative for Educational Services, 97 Hawley St., Northampton, 4:30 p.m.

“American exceptionalism” was a core tenet of national identity since the 17th century. Promoters of the creed have insisted that the U.S. was unrivaled not only in its resources, wealth, and military might, but in its values and institutions, its rights and opportunities. And unlike other powerful nations, the U.S. was said to act always as a force for good in the world. This talk explores how the Vietnam War posed fundamental challenges to the faith in American exceptionalism. We will also examine post-Vietnam efforts to revive it.

Professor Christian Appy is the author of Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered From All Sides (Viking, 2003), which was a main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and won the Massachusetts Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2004. His other works include Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam (1993) and Cold War Constructions: The Political Culture of United States Imperialism, 1945-1966 (2001). Appy also edits a book series for the University of Massachusetts Press called “Culture, Politics, and the Cold War.”

Wednesday, March 26, 2014 — “Rewriting the Spanish Civil War”
UMass/Amherst Department of History
Cape Cod Lounge, Student Union, UMass, Amherst, 4 p.m.

Adam Hochschild. How do you write about a subject on which more than 15,000 books have already been written? Journalist and author Adam Hochschild will tell how and give a
biography of his current book in progress.

Hochschild is the author of seven books of memoir, reportage, and history. His 2005 book Bury the Chains was a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for History. His magazine writing has won awards from the Overseas Press Club and the Society of Professional Journalists, and he has received awards for the body of his work from the American Historical Association and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In addition, he teaches at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, has consulted for the BBC, and has taught writing workshops for working journalists in the U.S., Britain, Zambia, South Africa, and India.

Monday, March 24, 2014 – “Colonial Asheries: An Eighteenth Century Industry Unrecorded and Forgotten”
Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

In 1760, potash was an important farm and home industry. It was a dangerous, dirty and an entirely unpleasant business, which ended when the land had all been deforested. That ubiquitous activity has gone unrecorded, as though it could not soon enough be forgotten. At this talk, learn about the extent and magnitude of the colonial potash industry and how it affected the economy of those times and the land forever. $7 general / $5 members

March 24, 2014 — “The Great Flood of 1874: An Illustrated Talk”
Connecticut Valley Pamona Grange
Williamsburg Grange Hall, Williamsburg, 7:30 p.m.

Eric Weber will project a few of the hundreds of images he has collected, taken in the aftermath of that very significant event. It is free and open to the public. Donations greatly appreciated.

Sunday, March 23, 2014 — “The Furniture of Western Massachusetts: Tradition, Innovation and Regional Identity”
Historic Deerfield Winter Lecture Series
Historic Deerfield, 1 p.m.

Presented by Joshua Lane, Curator of Furniture, Historic Deerfield. Free.

March 20, 2014 — “The Lewis Hine Project”
Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts
Polish Center of Discovery & Learning, 33 South Street, Chicopee, 6:30 p.m.

Mr. Joseph Manning, a former social worker, and historian will speak on “The Lewis Hine Project: Tracking down the lives of child laborers.” Manning will show some of these historic photographs, tell the stories of the immigrant child laborers in them, and talk about the exciting process of searching for descendants. Several of the stories at this presentation will be about Polish children. FREE. Bring a friend.

Location: Polish Center of Discovery & Learning, 33 South Street, Chicopee, 413-592-0001 http://www.polishcenter.net/

March 20, 2014 — “Images of Quabbin”
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple Street, Belchertown, 7 p.m.

Friends of Quabbin President Gene Theroux will provide an introduction and summary of the videos produced for the 75th Year of Remembrance Ball. Included in these short videos are tributes to the works of Greenwich artist and photographer Burt Vernon Brooks (1849-1934) whose artistic talents show us what life was like in the pre-Quabbin Swift River Valley almost a hundred years ago, 1938 Enfield Farewell Ball through the 75th Year of Remembrance Ball, noted artisans who accomplished works of the former Swift River Valley and Quabbin Watershed such as Elizabeth Howe Lincoln, Sue Chaffee, illustrator Russell Buzzell & Les Campbell, Photos of landscapes from the Quabbin Photo Group, Photos from former residents, descendant’s to include the Enfield Centennial Celebration from 1916, and photos from the archives of the Swift River Valley Historical Society and the Friends of Quabbin.

Gene Theroux is a direct descendant from ancestors from both sides of his family who had resided in the Swift River Valley and amongst the first settlers of the Valley to include the Torrance family, the Jones family and Giles Rider was Gene’s 4th G GF. Both Gene’s grandfathers grew up in Enfield and both were doughboy’s in France during WW I and were founding charter members of the American Legion. After Gene retired from the USAF as a Chief Master Sergeant in charge of Communications; he then had time to work from the genealogy that his parents and a Grand Aunt had worked on for many years. Gene has been on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Quabbin for 5 years and has been the President of the Board of Directors for the last two years. Gene is also the Commander of American Legion Post 124 in Westfield, Massachusetts whose membership is the 3rd largest of American Legion Posts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Gene’s passion for history and his work the last couple of years for the Friends of Quabbin has motivated him to return to college as a history major.

March 20, 2014 — French Canadian Genealogy Presentation
Community Room, Chicopee Public Library, 449 Front Street, Chicopee, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

French Canadian Genealogy Presentation by Michelle LeClair, Genealogy researcher for over 20 years. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Please call the Reference Desk with questions: 594-1800 x108

Tuesday, March 18, 2014 — PVHN Rap Session: Social Media
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

PINTERESTS! and TWITTERS! and FACEBOOKS! OH MY!

Online Social Networking will be the next topic for the PVHN Rap Session which will take place on Tuesday, March 18, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Wistariahurst Museum in the Carriage House, 238 Cabot Street, Holyoke MA.

Not sure why to start, where to start, how to start using social networking? Feel like you just learn one social networking tool to find it replaced by another? And what is the difference between a tweet and a post and an Instagram? Who has time for this additional promotional avenue? How can you tell if it is paying off? Where do you go for help with online questions? Who reads these things anyway? And a Social Networking Policy? Yeah we probably need to think about one of those too.

Join your history, library, museum, and archive colleagues for an informal rap session to see how others have started their social networking, what worked and what didn’t, pitfalls, hurdles and challenges, and the success stories of that one image that was posted to facebook that received voluminous comments and reached a much broader audience than you ever thought possible.

A laptop with internet connection will be available to share to demonstrate the ins and outs of these Social Networking Tools. (Please be aware that Wistariahurst does not have a wireless network available. Also, websites dealing with sports, religion, shopping, etc often will be blocked by the City of Holyoke’s firewall in order to protect its intranet.)

Bring a friend just to reassure all that old fashioned networking will always remain fashionable. We will be gathering on Tuesday, March 18, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Wistariahurst Museum in the Carriage House, 238 Cabot Street, Holyoke MA. For directions visit http://wistariahurst.org/visit/directions/. There is free on-street parking all around the museum.

Monday, March 17, 2014 – “Early American Master Potters”
Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Canceled

Redware potter Steven Earp, enthralled with the works of early redware potters, will present a look at the formative beginnings of America’s craft heritage. $7 general / $5 members

March 17-19, 2014 — “Every Dish Has a Past: A Workshop in Historic Recipe Research”
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA

Sandra L. Oliver, noted food historian and celebrated author, will lead an intensive three-day workshop in historic recipe research. Each participant selects a recipe and an alternative they would like to research. Class time is divided between lecture and discussion time, and Oliver will teach a method of conducting the research. Each participant will use a combination of resources both real-books in the room-and virtual-online resources via computer-to conduct research. Participants are encouraged to bring a computer with wireless capacity. The workshop concludes with a cooking afternoon to test your recipe on the final day in the 1786 kitchen at the Visitor Center at Hall Tavern. The workshop is limited to 15 participants. Please contact Julie Orvis, Special Events Coordinator, to register at (413) 775-7179 or jorvis@historic-deerfield.org.Registration deadline is March 7. Online registration for this program is also available on the museum’s website, http://www.historic-deerfield.org.

March 12, 2014 — “Hadley & the California Gold Rush”
Hadley Historical Society, 50 Middle Street, Hadley, 7 p.m.

The California Gold Rush was an important period in American history, having an enormous impact on migration, land development, the slavery debate, and the nation’s economy. Many pioneers from western Massachusetts played important roles in the development of California, and many of those who returned to New England built on their western adventures to achieve positions of stature and importance in our communities. This talk by Cliff McCarthy will tell the stories of some of these intrepid adventurers, including some from Hadley.

Monday, March 10, 2014 – “Hitchcock Press and Letterpress Printing”
Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Guy Gaulin, owner of Holyoke’s Hitchcock Press, will give a brief history of Letterpress from Gutenberg’s invention, through its decline in the 1950s, and its present day renaissance as a craft that offers printed items of exceptional beauty. Examples of Hitchcock Press’ work will be shown. $7 general / $5 members

Sunday, March 9, 2014 — “The Light of the Senses”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3 p.m.

A Women’s History Month Talk on Mary Hallock-Greenewalt, a pioneer in experimental audiovisual art/visual music. Mary Hallock-Greenewalt (1871-1951) was a pioneer in experimental audiovisual art/visual music who has received scant biographical attention. This presentation will chronicle a quest to learn more about Mary and her Syrian mother, Sara, the inspiration for her daughter’s fascinating synesthetic inventions. Traces of their complex lives found in archives and libraries – including Historic Northampton – illuminate intertwined institutional and technological histories in which women’s contributions and experiences have been misunderstood or overlooked.

Please join us for a discussion of local and transnational life-stories, artifacts, and sensations of two individuals well worth remembering. Seating is limited to 25 chairs.

Anne Ciecko is an Associate Professor of International Cinema in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Visit http://www.historic-northampton.org for more information.

February 14 thru March 7, 2014 — “Vanished: The Hospital on the Hill”
Photograph Exhibit
Historic Northampton 46 Bridge Street, Northampton

Photographs by Stan Sherer ~ Text by J. Michael Moore

In 1858, the “Northampton Lunatic Hospital” opened in an optimistic spirit of humanitarian reform. Both the location and the design of the building were intended to enhance the therapeutic effect. Set on a hill a mile west of the town center, it was surrounded by expansive grounds and afforded a beautiful view of the Connecticut River Valley. By the dawn of the 20th century, the newly renamed, overcrowded, “Northampton State Hospital” housed 600 people.

But the bucolic vision had dimmed; the hospital was severely overcrowded and gradually served primarily as a roof over the heads of the patients, many of them left there and forgotten. In 1978 a consent decree mandated the development of an array of community housing and services. The last eleven patients left Northampton State Hospital in a van shortly before 10 am on Thursday, August 26, 1993.

Little remains of the hospital whose history mirrors the changing American views of mental health care over 135 years. Today Village Hill, Northampton is a new community of housing and commercial businesses. Vanished: the Hospital on the Hill tells the story of the Northampton State Hospital through photographs and the words of the employees. This exhibition grew out of an oral history project initiated in 1992 by hospital employees who wished to record and preserve their experiences as workers on “Hospital Hill.”

Exhibition Hours

Tuesday – Saturday 10 am to 5 pm

Sundays 12 noon to 5 pm

February 14 thru March 7, 2014 — “Behold Binocular”
Photograph Exhibit
Historic Northampton 46 Bridge Street, Northampton

In 1859 Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote about the stereoscope for The Atlantic Monthly: “Form is henceforth divorced from matter. In fact, matter as a visible object is of no great use any longer, except as the mould on which form is shaped. Give us a few negatives of a thing worth seeing, taken from different points of view, and that is all we want of it.”

Holmes’ article and the stereographs in the Mount Holyoke Prospect House Collection at Historic Northampton both date to the height of stereography’s popularity. Behold Binocular addresses perception and attention change through the lens of stereoscopy. The word derives from Greek στερεός (stereos), meaning “firm, solid”, and σκοπέω (skopeō), meaning “to look, to see.” Drawing from 19th century stereographs in the Mount Holyoke Prospect House Collection that record the natural setting around Northampton, Behold Binocular will juxtapose past and present three-dimensional instruments, separating form and matter, with sculpture, a union of form and matter. Perspectives of past and present, form and illusion will slide together, producing a third perspective for viewers to experience.

Ariel Rosenblum is a sculptor whose work explores process as product and perception through traditional textile handcraft techniques including weaving, felting and embroidery. A graduate of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, she is currently pursuing her MA in Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture at the Bard Graduate Center in New York City.

Exhibition Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 10 am to 5 pm
Sundays 12 noon to 5 pm

Contemporary Art at Historic Northampton is a partnership of the Northampton Center for the Arts, A.P.E. Gallery, Ltd. and Historic Northampton

March 6, 2014 — “Unlaunch’d Voices: An Evening with Walt Whitman”
Museums a la Carte Lecture Series
Springfield Museums, at the Quadrangle, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Stephen Collins, actor and teacher. The play opens with the elderly Whitman on the evening of his seventieth birthday. The audience is a visitor in his room as he prepares for his birthday celebration. Whitman begins to reminisce and to question his success as a man and a poet. He tells us his work has proved to be “less than a failure….” He remembers a mystical experience he had in his thirty-seventh year that inspired him to write poetry. During the telling, Whitman transforms into his young vibrant self and we begin to trace back along with him the experiences that led to the creation of Leaves of Grass, his lifetime work. The first part of the performance explores Whitman’s preoccupation with the self and his resolve to write with “free and brave thought…” We revel with him as he celebrates his body and himself and are confidants as he shares his struggle with his sexual self. In the second part of the performance, Whitman’s life is changed forever by the occurrence of the Civil War. It is here that he finds “… the most important work of my life…” nursing the wounded soldiers in the hospitals. Through poetry and readings of actual letters, we experience Whitman’s movement from selfishness and selflessness and his growth into a mature artist who is at peace about “himself, God and death.”

March 6, 2014 — “The Great River: Three Centuries of Connecticut Valley Art & History”
Hatfield Historical Society & Whately Historical Society
Congregational Church Sanctuary, Hatfield, 7:30 p.m.

William Hosley, cultural resource consultant and principal of Terra Firma Northeast, will present an illustrated program on the people, places and things that figured prominently in the cultural and artistic life of the Connecticut River Valley during its first two centuries. Bill explores aspects of regional history through the study of gravestones, architecture, household furnishings and regional industry. These objects illustrate the bonds that linked, and still link, the neighboring towns of the Connecticut River Valley, while offering insights into the people who owned them. Not to be missed!

March 5, 2014 — “The Quabbin”
Local History/Local Authors Series
Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

This event was rescheduled from February 5 due to weather.

J.R. Greene has written a dozen Quabbin-related books including The Creation of Quabbin Reservoir: The Death of the Swift River Valley and three related to Calvin Coolidge. He is also Vice Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum at Forbes Library.

Maryanne O’Hara is the author of Cascade, a novel of art and desire in the 1930s, set in a town loosely based on the four towns that were flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir. Cascade is a Slate Best Books 2012 Editor’s Choice selection, People magazine “People Pick,” Boston Globe “Best of the New 2012,” Library Journal “Best Bet, 2012, Massachusetts Must Read for 2013, and finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award.

Gail Thomas has published two books of poetry, No Simple Wilderness: An Elegy for Swift River Valley and Finding the Bear. Her poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies including The Beloit Poetry Journal, Calyx, Cider Press Review, The North American Review, The Chiron Review, The Naugatuck Review and The Prose Poem Project.

Books will be for sale.

Monday, March 3, 2014 – “Jewelry Design with Precious Metal Clay”
Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Presenter Bevlynn Gallant is a fabrication jeweler who teaches this cutting edge jewelry making process using precious metal clay. The formed clay is dried and fired leaving a hardened metal. Gallant will demonstrate the process and compare it to traditional silversmithing techniques. $7 general / $5 members

Sunday, March 2, 2014 — Swift River Valley Children Portraits Program
Quabbin Visitor Center, Belchertown, 2 p.m.

The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Quabbin Visitor Center will offer a free slide presentation entitled “Something Of The Character Within—19th And Early 20th Century Portraits Of Swift River Valley Children” on Sunday, March 2, at 2 p.m. The program will be presented by Sheila Damkoehler and Elizabeth Pierce of the Swift River Valley Historical Society, and Althea Dabrowski, art educator with the Pioneer Valley Regional School District.

The Swift River Valley Historical Society was established to serve as the historical organization for the four towns disincorporated in order to build the Quabbin Reservoir. The museum is a treasure trove of materials from the former towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott, including an extensive photographic collection. The program will share some of these images and address questions such as: What was it like to have a photograph taken in the 19th century? How did it change in the 20th century with the introduction of the “snapshot” by Eastman Kodak, and yet again in the 21st century with tiny cameras hidden inside tiny cell phones and instant postings to facebook or Instagram? The presentation will look at the experience of visiting one of the studios scattered throughout the area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. What did children wear? How did they pose? What kind of backdrops and props might have been available in the photographer’s studio? What effect was the photographer looking for?

The Visitor Center is located in Belchertown at the west end of Winsor Dam in the DCR Quabbin Administration Building. Access is through the West Entrance to Quabbin on Route 9, three miles west of the Route 9 and Route 202 intersection in Belchertown. For additional information please call the Quabbin Visitor Center at (413) 323-7221.

January 19 thru March 2, 2014
Quabbin Visitors Center, Ware Rd., Belchertown

The Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Quabbin Visitor Center will offer a series of free programs this winter on Sunday afternoons at the Center located in Quabbin Administration Building. All programs begin at 2:00 p.m. and are suitable for all ages, however reservations are encouraged by calling the Visitor Center at (413) 323-7221.

Sunday, January 19, 2-3pm — EAGLE ONE – AUTHOR PRESENTATION AND BOOK SIGNING –Dianne Benson Davis, author of Eagle One

Sunday, January 26, 2-3pm — FOREST INVASIVE SPECIES AND THE QUABBIN FOREST– Gregory Goodfellow, Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator with the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture

Sunday, February 2, 2-3pm — VISIONS FROM THE PAST — Dale Monette, DCR Quabbin Visitor Center staff member

Sunday, February 9, 2-3pm — THE CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF DANA COMMON: A NATIONAL REGISTER STORY — Ellen Berkland, Staff Archeologist with the Department of Conservation and Recreation

Sunday, February 23, 2-3pm — BALD EAGLES AND QUABBIN RESERVOIR — Andrew Vitz, State Ornithologist with Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

Sunday, March 2, 2-3pm — SOMETHING OF THE CHARACTER WITHIN — 19th And Early 20th Century Portraits Of Swift River Valley Children
Sheila Damkoehler, Executive Director of Swift River Valley Historical Society

FEBRUARY

January & February 2014 —“Echoes of Industry: Death & Rebirth of Holyoke’s Mills”
Wistariahurst Gallery Exhibition
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke

Eric Broudy’s show in the gallery at Wistariahurst Museum offers a quiet memorial to a bygone industrial era, while presenting an introduction to its successors. With 25 mills near the end of the 19th century, Holyoke was the largest paper manufacturer. Today these mills are reminders of another age – victims of fire, demolition or a new purpose. What remains offers a silent dignity that demands to be recorded. They remain a part of the Valley’s history – part of the daily lives of thousands of workers and families for more than a century.

Broudy’s work is divided into two parts. The photography section depicts noble echoes of Holyoke’s past in paper and textile manufacturing, reflecting an understanding of texture, composition, and the dynamics of light and shape. These photographs capture the broken mill exteriors and interiors, combining the vast interiors and architectural details with rubble and shattered windows to remind us that nothing can stand forever, not even these fortresses of industry.

The second section – a video installation, shows some of these old mills coming alive again, bustling with galleries, dance and yoga studios, offices, theater, a brewery and more. Broudy has captured these new images of Holyoke, showing these businesses and opportunity sprouting along the canals like new shoots and plants after a forest having burned.

Meet Eric Broudy at the Opening Reception of “Echoes of Industry” on Friday, January 10 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. where he will be speaking about his Holyoke research and ultimate show. Admission to the gallery is $3

Thursday, February 27, 2014 — “Trying to Do My Duty: The Civil War Letters of Frank & Rebecca Lincoln”
Stone House Museum, Belchertown, 7 p.m.

The Stone House Speaker Series continues on February 27th with local authors Larry and Kitty Lowenthal, who will read from their book Trying to Do My Duty: The Civil War Letters of Frank and Rebecca Lincoln. These letters, discovered in Brimfield after being forgotten for decades, have been thoroughly edited and annotated by the Lowenthals. They are remarkable for illustrating both the military and domestic sides of the war to save the Union. Frank’s letters give a detailed description of camp life in eastern North Carolina, where he served as captain in 1862-63, while Rebecca’s tell of daily life in a Massachusetts community amid the hardship and uncertainty of war. The Lowenthals will read portions of the letters, which give a first-hand feeling for how ordinary people were affected by a terrible conflict.

This reading will take place in the parlor of the Stone House Museum at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 27. The talk is free and all are welcome. Donations will be gratefully accepted.

February 25, 2014 — “20th Annual DuBois Birthday Bash”
St. John’s Congregational Church, 45 Union St., Springfield, 10 a.m.

This year’s Birthday Celebration features a performance of “A Man for All Times: W.E.B. Du Bois,” an absorbing one-man show telling the inspirational story of the political and personal life of W.E.B. Du Bois, as performed by the Pulse Ensemble Theatre.

Tuesday, February 25, 2014 — PVHN Rap Session: Historical Program Development and Implementation
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6:30 to 8 p.m.

Lets gather to talk about those successes and those “learning opportunities” that we have experienced in implementing Historical Programming. You know what I am talking about… the wonderful programs for which no one shows up, or the small program that attracts a multitude for which you aren’t prepared.

Join your colleagues for an informal rap session to see how others have handled program situations like where to find speakers; where to find your audience; where to find funds; optimal timing; how to market your event; is it worth all the effort; evaluating your programs; and developing an enduring program plan.

Join your History-minded folks on February 25, from 6:30 to 8:30 at Wistariahurst Museum 238 Cabot Street, Holyoke MA

For directions visit http://wistariahurst.org/visit/directions/. There is free on-street parking all around the museum.

Monday, February 24, 2014 – “Life of a Mill Hand” with Sara Campbell
Wistariahurst Historical Lecture Series: Made in the Happy Valley
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

Using genealogical records and primary resources genealogist Sara Campbell will prepare a sketch of an Irish immigrant family in Civil War-era Holyoke. $7 general / $5 members.

February 24, 2014 — “Silencing the Women: The Witch Trials of Mary Bliss Parsons”
Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

Author reading with Kathy-Ann Becker. Silencing the Women: The Witch Trials of Mary Bliss Parsons is a historical novel exploring the life and times of a Puritan woman who found herself trapped within early New England witchcraft accusations. In the wilderness settlements at Springfield and Northampton, along the Connecticut River, petty jealousies combined with power struggles between church, state, and the genders, sparking fears of witchcraft.

In the cold and dark of a seventeenth century Boston Jail, Mary Bliss Parsons prepared herself for trial by raising her voice to the only One who listens to women. Her simple offering is the story of self vindication and the journey of her indomitable spirit. Her memories take the reader to a world of real places and real people enmeshed in a struggle for survival. This story is true, being based as accurately as possible upon a record of early historical documents.

Kathy-Ann Becker is a tenth generation granddaughter of Ms. Parsons who discovered that when moved, a person can hear the voice of one’s ancestors beating in the pulse of the blood within them. Copies of the book will be for sale.

Sunday, February 23, 2014 — “Making a Masterpiece: The Turret-Top Tea Table at Historic Deerfield”
Historic Deerfield Winter Lecture Series
Historic Deerfield, 1 p.m.

Presented by Brock Jobe, Professor of American Decorative Arts, Winterthur Museum. Free. Sponsored by Bank of America.

February 23, 2014 — “Fourth Annual DuBois Tribute”
St. John’s Congregational Church, 45 Union St., Springfield, 3 p.m.

The tribute this year focuses on service, unity, and joy, as demonstrated by the lives of W.E.B. Du Bois, Nelson Mandela and others. Music, dance and insights underscore this inspirational day.

February 23, 2014 — “Bald Eagles & Quabbin Reservoir”
Quabbin Visitor Center, Ware Rd., Belchertown, 2 p.m.

Quabbin Reservoir played a vital role in the reintroduction of the Bald Eagle to Massachusetts. Join Andrew Vitz, State Ornithologist with Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, for a presentation on the extirpation of Bald Eagles and their steady increase since their reintroduction up through the 2013 breeding season.

February 16, 2014 — “Men of Color to Arms! Story of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment”
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield, 11:30 a.m.

Postponed due to weather

Learn about the significant and powerful role of African American soldiers in the Civil War. Attend a guest presentation by Ryan McNabb of Boston African American NHS followed by a blank firing of Civil War Muskets on the Armory’s historic grounds with Living Historians from the MA 54th Regiment and the Peter Brace Brigade.

February 15, 2014 — “Great Falls: Discovery, Destruction and Preservation in a
Massachusetts Town”
The Nolumbeka Project
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls, 11:45 a.m.

The Nolumbeka Project will present the documentary “Great Falls: Discovery, Destruction and Preservation in a Massachusetts Town” at the Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls, MA. Doors open at 11 a.m., movie at 11:45 a.m., discussion to follow. Refreshments will be sold. Admission is free but donations to the Nolumbeka Project are welcome. Snow date: May 18, 2014. Cancellation? 413-657-6020.

http://www.nolumbekaproject.org

The film chronicles when in 2009 the town of Turners Falls, Massachusetts, was attempting to expand the runway to its airport. The plan called for the removal of a low hill that contained what Native American tribal representatives identified as a ritual site – a ceremonial stone landscape. The surprising discovery and the on-going effort to understand and protect what was identified as an extraordinary historical asset, is a dramatic story of environmental and cultural preservation. The film, directed by Ted Timreck and produced by Ted Timreck and Peter Frechette, is part of the Hidden Landscapes Project which represents the joined efforts of hundreds of professional, Native and antiquarian researchers who have generously volunteered to combine their expertise into a chronicle of exploration – a series of video stories that investigate the archeological history and the modern legacy of Eastern Native civilization. The combined vision of so many researchers working together also represents a new approach to the long standing and often, very heated controversy that surrounds the mysterious stone ruins of Eastern North America.

On this day, the Nolumbeka Project will be celebrating its first year as the holder of the deed to, and stewards of, the historic 10,000 year old Wissatinnewag village site in Greenfield, MA, located on the west bank of the Connecticut River at the foot of the Great Falls. Members of the Project are humbled and grateful for the challenges and rewards this stewardship has manifested and welcome others to take this opportunity to join the organization.

February 15, 2014 — Founders Day Celebration
Amherst Historical Society
at the Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst, 2:30 p.m.

Please join us as we commemorate the founding of Amherst on February 13, 1759. We honor those who bring a fresh perspective to Amherst’s history and connect the past to our community today.

2014 Conch Shell Award — Ed Wilfert
Contributions to understanding the built history of Amherst

President’s Award — Ellen O. Melley
Service to Amherst History

Mabel Loomis Todd Lecture — Robert S. Cox
Head of Special Collections and Archives, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
“A History of Chowder in the Valley”

Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. http://www.amhersthistory.org

February 14, 2014 — Opening Reception for “Vanished: Hospital on the Hill”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 5 – 8 p.m.

Gallery Talk at 6 pm — “The Long March to Memorializing Northampton State Hospital”
by Tom Riddell, Professor Emeritus of Economics and American Studies, Smith College

February 13, 2014 — “Sweethearts at Sea: Love and Marriage in the Nineteenth Century New England Whaling Industry”
Museums a la Carte Lecture Series
Springfield Museums, at the Quadrangle, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Canceled Due to Weather

Amanda L. Goodheart, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Massachusetts Amherst. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, while the men of the American whaling industry sailed around the world in pursuit of their catch for up to five years at a time, their wives sustained their families and communities ashore. This gendered separation of labor remained the rule in whaling communities such as Nantucket and New Bedford, Massachusetts until the mid-nineteenth century, when a group of whaling couples defied whaling industry traditions and society’s expectations by going to sea together. Using the letters and journals they left behind, we’ll explore the fascinating stories of these remarkable men and women as they experienced life together at sea.

February 12, 2014 — “The Underground Railroad in Western Mass.”
South Hadley Public Library, 27 Bardwell St., South Hadley, 6:30 p.m.

February is Black History Month! Come listen about runaway slave Basil Dorsey on the Underground Railroad in the Connecticut Valley at the South Hadley Public Library. The South Hadley Public Library will host Steven Strimer, of the David Ruggles Center of Florence, for a lecture on Feb. 12 at 6:30 p.m.

Did you know that the Connecticut River was a funnel for runaway slaves from the South to get to Canada? Some older homes along the river in the Pioneer Valley have hidden nooks and crannies to hide runaway slaves. Strimer will share the story of Basil Dorsey, a runaway slave, and his route to freedom from Maryland to Massachusetts.

Come early for good seats! Snow date will be Feb. 26, also at 6:30. This program is free and open to the public. The South Hadley Public Library is located at 27 Bardwell St.; for more information call (413) 538- 5045.

February 11, 2014 — “The Geology of Williamsburg”
Williamsburg Historical Society
at the Church, North Main St., Wmsburg, 7 p.m.

Colliding Continents, Great Mountains, Glaciers, Lake Hitchcock!

6:30 pm Potluck Supper Social (Bring a favorite dish to share)

7:30 pm Program AN ILLUSTRATED TALK PRESENTED BY PROFESSOR RICHARD LITTLE

Donations would be greatly appreciated. Free and Open to the Public. Bring your Friends

Sunday, February 9, 2014 – Victorian Valentine Workshop
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 1 p.m.

On Sunday, February 9, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. participate in a fun and creative program that will inspire the artist in everyone! In 1847, Esther Howland, Mount Holyoke graduate from Worcester, MA received her first Valentine’s Day card. She was so pleased with this English novelty that she tried making some valentines of her own. With the help of her brother, a salesman who carried her cards with him along with his other samples, she received $5,000 worth of orders her first year in business! Her cards were covered with an array of linen lace, colored paper, hand-painted birds and flowers and hand-inscribed, rhymed messages.

Channel your inner Esther by creating your own beautiful, unique card for special friends, family and sweethearts. Antique valentines, bygone love poems and enchanting phrases will be on display for inspiration. Reservations for the workshop are suggested. Sign up online at www.wistariahurst.org or call Wistariahurst at 413-322-5660. $7 general/ $5
members

February 9, 2014 — “Continuing Evolution of Dana Common: A National Register Story”
Quabbin Visitor Center, Ware Rd., Belchertown, 2 p.m.

The Quabbin Visitor Center will offer a program entitled “The Continuing Evolution of Dana Common: A National Register Story” on Sunday February 9^th beginning at 2:00 p.m. This free program will be presented by the Department of Conservation and Recreation Archeologist Ellen Berkland, MA, RPA.

Dana was one of the four communities disincorporated in 1938 as part of the Quabbin Reservoir Project. Of its two town centers, North Dana and Dana Center, the latter stood entirely above the reservoir shoreline on watershed land taken for the protection of the drinking water quality. While all of the buildings were relocated or removed, Dana Center remains intact with its town common and the foundations of former structures. In 2013, Dana Common was added to the National Register of Historic Places following a lengthy application process. The presentation by Ms. Berkland describes background history about the area, the process of the nomination and why Dana Common was ultimately chosen to be added to the list.

Saturday, February 8, 2014 — “Children of the Swift River Valley” Reception
Swift River Valley Historical Society
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls, 1-3 p.m.

Please join the Swift River Valley Historical Society on Saturday, February 8th from 1-3 pm, at the Great Falls Discovery Center in Turners Falls, MA, for the opening reception of the “Children of the Swift River Valley” historic photo exhibit (see “Ongoing” above). Get a free vintage-stye portrait taken by Hallmark Institute of Photography students in front of simulated 19th century studio backdrops painted by Northfield Elementary School Students.

Sunday, February 2, 2014 — “Visions From the Past”
Quabbin Visitors Center, Ware Rd., 2 p.m.

During the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir, photographers were hired by the state to document the destruction of the Swift River Valley and the creation of the reservoir. Join Quabbin Visitor Center staff member Dale Monette for an exploration of these rarely seen photographs and compares the historic images with contemporary views taken from the same spot as the originals over 75 years ago.

JANUARY

January 29, 2014 — Open House
Holyoke History Room
Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut St., Holyoke, 5-7 p.m.

Drop in to the History Room in its new space on the Level 3 of the Library. Find out about researching Holyoke families and topics. Meet our volunteers and the archivist. See a demonstration of the new ScanPro microfilm scanner. Use Ancestry Library Edition. Share your memories or questions. Enjoy some refreshments in the Community Room. For more information, call 413-420-8107.

Sunday, January 26, 2014 — “Brilliance Revealed: Original Palettes of Early New England Furniture”
Historic Deerfield Winter Lecture Series
Historic Deerfield, 1 p.m.

Susan L. Buck, Ph.D., Conservator and Paint Analyst, will show how 17th and early 18th-century interiors were far more colorful than we can imagine: even middling houses often had brightly painted furniture, high-contrast patterned textiles and intensely pigmented woodwork paints. Twenty-five years of technical research into the original paints and varnishes used to decorate early American painted furniture and woodwork has consistently revealed how solid background colors, and complex geometric and floral designs, have naturally darkened and degraded over time. This research, using optical microscopy techniques, has also revealed how early decorations were deliberately altered or painted over to suit changing tastes or to improve what was deemed too worn or dirty. This presentation will help to change perceptions of the painting skills and colorful palettes of early New England decorative painters and their clients.

January 26, 2014 — “Forest Invasive Species & the Quabbin Forest”
Quabbin Visitor Center, Ware Rd., Belchertown, 2 p.m.

Massachusetts forests are being affected by invasive insects such as Asian Long Horned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer. Join Gregory Goodfellow, Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator with Massachusetts Department of Agriculture for a discussion on these threats to our forests as well as the ways to control or treat the outbreaks.

January 25, 2014 — “Job Shattuck: Shays’s Rebellion’s Other Leader”
Springfield Armory National Historic Site, Springfield, 2 p.m.

Author Gary Shattuck of the recently published book, Artful and Designing Men, will share his knowledge on the anniversary of the bloody storming of the Springfield Arsenal in 1787. Shattuck will present his findings and be available for discussion and book signings.

Sunday, December 22, 2013 and Saturdays in January, 2014 — Special Holiday Exhibit
“The Elsa Slattery Santa Letters (1898-1904): From the North Pole to North Hatfield and Northampton!”
Hatfield Historical Museum, 39 Main St., Hatfield

Special Holiday Exhibit in the Hatfield Historical Museum, 39 Main St., Hatfield

Opens on Luminarium Sunday, Dec. 22, 2013, 5:00– 6:00 p.m.

Also available for viewing Saturdays in January, 9:30– 11:30 a.m.

Also at Luminarium: Holiday Storytime at library (5-6 pm); caroling at Town Hall (6 pm)

Bell & Choral Concert at Congregational Church (6:45 pm) – all free!

January 23, 2014 — “Angel of Hadley”
Belchertown Historical Association
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

Next to George Washington, the Angel of Hadley was our young nation’s most popular figure in the early nineteenth century. Famous authors like Sir Walter Scott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, James Fenimore Cooper and Robert Southey used him; innumerable schoolbooks praised him; artists delighted in showing him as he rescued Hadley from an attack by Native Americans in 1675. Thrilling as his exploit was, we moderns must ask, “Did it happen?” This illustrated talk by Jim Freeman will provide material for you to judge whether or not one of our country’s most compelling heroes deserved his wide reputation.

Thursday, January 23, 2014 — “Energy and Human Rights in the Caspian Basin”
Public Lecture by UMass Professor Audrey Altstadt
The Collaborative for Educational Services, 97 Hawley St, Northampton, 4:30 p.m.

The oil and gas-producing states around the Caspian Sea — Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran — have poor human rights records, but the US and EU need their energy resources. For the US, as frequent champion of human rights and democratic rule, this dichotomy presents a philosophical and political dilemma. This talk by University of Massachusetts Amherst History Professor Audrey Altstadt will examine energy and human rights in the region and view up close a few cases illustrating Western preference for energy security over human rights.

Monday, January 20, 2014 — 30th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Northampton, 9 a.m.

The American Friends Service Committee is happy to announce our 30th Annual MLK Day celebration! The tradition that started in 1984 in Northampton continues again this year, with a day full of community activities. As always, all of the events of the day are free and open to all members of the community! The schedule of the day is:

9 am………………….Walking Tour of African American Heritage Trail (Corner of Park and Pine Streets, Florence)

11:30 am……………Community Lunch (First Churches of Northampton, Center Street)

2 pm…………………Family Friendly Convocation. With special performance, storytime and sing-along for children. Featuring the children’s chorus of the Lander Grinspoon Academy, Cindy Cail from Voices from the Inside, Steve O’Neill from EPOCA, and THE NIELDS! (Edwards Church, 297 Main St, Northampton)

To volunteer to help out, please call (413) 584-8975 or email office@afscwm.org! The Facebook Event is listed here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1453126471577635/

Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee, The Unitarian Society Social Justice Committee, and Smith College Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, The Sojourner Truth Memorial Statue Committee and The David Ruggles Center.

January 19, 2014 — “Pioneer Valley & the California Gold Rush”
Westhampton Public Library, Westhampton, 3 p.m.

Sunday, January 19, 2014 — “Eagle One”
Author Presentation & Booksigning
Qabbin Visitor Center, Ware Rd., Belchertown, 2 p.m.

Dianne Benson Davis spent four months living alone as the caretaker for eight baby bald eagles in the remote Quabbin Reservoir area of Massachusetts. Eagle One is the record of her time with the eagles, based on the letters and journals she kept there. It is also a personal memoir; the story of perseverance and struggle as a single mother, the joys of learning and teaching about wildlife, and of finding happiness and fulfillment in work and family.

January 17, 2014 — “A Fireman of 1899 — His Life & His Job”
First Person Historic Presentation
Meetinghouse, Storrowton Village, Eastern States Exposition, West Springfield, 7 p.m.

Eastern States Exposition’s Storrowton Village Museum will present its annual First Person Presentation, “A Fireman of 1899 – His Life and Job,” Friday, January 17 at 7 p.m., in its historic Meetinghouse.

William N. “Bill” Moss, of Harvard, Massachusetts, will recount the challenges of 19th century firefighters, both in their personal and professional lives. Experience the journey as Moss, dressed in period costume as a firefighter of more than a century ago, introduces audiences to a typical day’s work in the life of a fireman at the height of the golden years of industry and city growth at the end of the 19th century. Moss is a retired firefighter and frequently conducts lectures at the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, Dartmouth College, Northeastern University and Old Sturbridge Village. A historian and teacher, Moss has been involved in historical character presentations for more than a decade. He also leads interactive workshops for adults and children.

This 45-minute entertaining and educational program for adults and children will be followed by a question and answer period. Admission is $5, children under 6 are admitted free and tickets will be available at the door. Reservations for this event are encouraged but not required. For more information, call the Village at 413-205-5051. Visit http://www.TheBigE.com for details on all the events at Eastern States Exposition throughout the year as well as the annual Big E.

Note: This event is weather permitting. If the weather is questionable, please call the Village for details prior to your departure.

January 16, 2014 — “One Hundred Years of Jewish Life in the Valley: From Shtetl to Suburb”
Museums a la Carte Lecture Series
Springfield Museums, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

Stuart A. Anfang, MD, past president of Temple Beth El, and medical director for adult outpatient psychiatry at Baystate Medical Center will discuss the struggles and triumphs of Jewish immigrants and their descendants in the Pioneer Valley during the late 19th and 20th centuries referring to the newly installed exhibit, “The Jewish Community in the last 100 years.” The exhibit combines artifacts, pictures, personal history, and video to trace the unique journey of the Jewish community “from Shtetl to Suburb.”

January 14, 2014 — “Why Reinvent the Wheel?” Rap Session
Hatfield Historical Society, 39 Main Street, Hatfield, 6:30 – 8 p.m.

PVHN is sponsoring “Why Reinvent the Wheel?” rap sessions. Kathie Gow, curator of the Hatfield Historical Museum, has agreed to organize and host the first of what we hope will be an on-going opportunity for sharing information among those of us who are involved with small museums and historical societies. These meetings are informal and free. The first of the sessions will be held January 14, 2014 at the Hatfield Historical Society, 39 Main Street, Hatfield (basement level) from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The topic for the first meeting is “Grants: What’s Worth Going For?”. If you are coming, please RSVP to Kathie at: kgow.hatfield@gmail.com

January 10, 2014 — Opening Reception for Gallery Exhibition
“Echoes of Industry: Death & Rebirth of Holyoke’s Mills”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 – 8 p.m.

Meet photographer Eric Broudy at the opening reception for Echoes of Industry. Broudy will be speaking about his Holyoke research with photography, leading to an extension of the show with a video installation. Admission to gallery $3

January 8, 2014 — WMGS Meeting
Western Mass. Genealogical Society
Wood Museum of Springfield History, Springfield, 6 p.m.

The Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society will hold their next meeting from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. Please be sure to arrive between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m.

About the archives: In addition to a large collection of French Canadian records, the library has indexes to the Ellis Island passenger records, the Loiselle Index, over 20,000 genealogy books, 6,000 microforms, 25,000 photos and 1.3 million archival documents, as well as diaries, deeds, account books, land transfer documents and photographs.

Pioneer Valley History Network

Celebrating Local History in Western Massachusetts

Past Events 2014

DECEMBER

Beginning September 28, 2013 — “Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts” Wright House, Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

21 December 2014 thru January 2015 — “Giving Thanks: A Folk Art Thanksgiving Supper” Hatfield Historical Museum 2nd Floor, Hatfield Public Library, 39 Main St., Hatfield

18 December 2014 — “Victorian Christmas Traditions” A la Carte Lecture Series Davis Auditorium, D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

December 13, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons” Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 12, 2014 — Closing Reception for “Splendor and Sorrow: Glimpses of WW1” Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 5-8 p.m.

December 11, 2014 — “Something of the Character Within—19th and early 20th Century Portraits of Swift River Valley Children” Stone House Lecture Series Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

December 11, 2014 — “Democracy & the Military: A Panel Discussion” Historic Northampton & Springfield Public Forum at Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 7 p.m.

December 10, 2014 — Valley Gives Day!

December 10, 2014 — Emily Dickinson Birthday Celebration Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Tea Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 2 – 3:30 p.m.

December 7, 2014 — Architectural Walking Tour Longmeadow Historical Society First Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 p.m.

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Open House Keep Homestead Museum 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 – 3:30 p.m.

December 6, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons” Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 6, 2014 — Joint Open House Dewey House, 87 South Maple St., Westfield Edwin Smith Historical Museum, 6 Elm St., Westfield, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

December 6, 2014 — Heritage Baking Day Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

December 5, 2014 — “When the Highway Came Through” Pioneer Valley Institute Stinchfield Lecture Hall, Greenfield Community College, 7 p.m.

December 5, 2014 — “A Comparison: Farming today at Amherst’s Sunset Farm to farming in the 1860 South” History Bites Lunchtime Lectures Amherst Historical Society, Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 4, 2014 — “Caroling and Yankee Swap” Southwick Historical Society Southwick Senior Center, Town Hall, 434 College Highway, Southwick, 6 p.m.

December 3, 2014 — “Embers of War” Springfield Public Forum Symphony Hall, Springfield, 7:30 p.m.

December 3, 2014 — Western Mass. Genealogical Society Meeting Agawam Senior Center 954 Main Street, Agawam, 6-8 pm.

NOVEMBER

Wednesdays, October 22 thru November 2014 — Advanced Genealogy Classes Old Bones Genealogy of New England Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 6 – 8 p.m.

September 30 thru November 24, 2014 — “A Genius for Place” A Panel Exhibition from the Library of American Landscape History Mezzanine, Forbes Library, Northampton

October 2014 — “Historic Trades at Deerfield” Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

November 22, 2014 — “Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England” Lecture & Tasting Amherst Historical Society Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, 2:30 p.m.

November 21, 2014 — “With Womanly Weapons Girt”: Women’s Voluntarism & Quilts in the Civil War History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

November 18, 2014 — “JFK 51 Years Later” Palmer Historical & Cultural Center 2072 Main Street Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

November 18, 2014 — Talk by James Woolsey, Superintendent of Springfield Armory National Historic Site Ramapogue Historical Society (Day House) West Springfield at Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street (Route 20), West Springfield, 7 p.m.

November 17, 2014 — “Pulling the People Out of the Paperwork” Genealogy Lecture Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 17, 2014 — “Artful and Designing Men” Pelham Historical Society Ramsdell Room, Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m. Canceled Due to Weather

Sunday, November 16, 2014 — “Working for Peace and Justice in the Pioneer Valley the Past 60 Years” a public talk by Frances Crowe Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 1 p.m.

November 16, 2014 — “Our Northampton, Their Northampton: Six Feature Films Set in Northampton” Fast Forward Film Series Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3 p.m.

November 16, 2014 — “Meet Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” One-Person Show Performed by Katie Green Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., North New Salem, 2 p.m.

November 14-15, 2014 — “Borrowing from Antiquity to Design a New Republic: Neoclassicism in America” Historic Deerfield Decorative Arts Forum Historic Deerfield

November 14, 2014 — Tour of University Products Pioneer Valley History Network Meet in the UP Parking Lot, 517 Main Street, Holyoke, 12:45 p.m.

Canceled due to Medical Emergency

November 14, 2014 — “100 Years Ago” An Evening of Song, Music and Readings The Village Church, 32 Main St., Cummington, 7-9 p.m.

November 14, 2014 — “The New Asylum Seekers” Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series UMass Amherst, Campus Center, Room 804, 1 p.m.,Public Reception to Follow

November 13, 2014 — “Belchertown Yanks “Over There”, While on the Home Front…” Stone House Lecture Series Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “Against Wind and Tide: The African American Struggle Against the Colonization Movement” Odyssey Bookstore 9 College St., South Hadley, 7 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “Charity & Sylvia” Lecture & Book Signing Neilson Library Browsing Rm., Smith College, Northampton, 7:30 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “B. V. Brooks’ Pre-Quabbin Art, Photos & Postcards” With Quabbin Historian, J.R. Greene Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 7 p.m.

November 10, 2014 — “Quilt History- Why Does it Matter? Wistariahurst Museum 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 8, 2014 — “Caring for Collections in Small Museums” Historic Deerfield & PVHN Deerfield Community Center, 16 Memorial Street, in Old Deerfield, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

November 8, 2014 — “Traditional Felting Techniques 101: Water + Wool = Artful Fabric!” Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 10 a.m.

November 7, 2014 — “A Deerfield Story: The Mysterious Death of Infant Smith” History Bites Lecture Series Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

November 5, 2014 — “Paradise Found” Local History/Local Novelists Series Coolidge Museum, Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

November 3, 2014 — “Twilly, Willy, Jenny and Jack and the Northeast’s Earliest Water Powered Textile Machine” Wistariahurst Museum 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 2, 2014 — Button Appraisal Day Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 p.m.

Sunday, November 2, 2014 — “Remembering World War I” Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., Worthington, 2 p.m.

Saturday, November 1, 2014 — “Spooky Stories Near & Far” Historic Northampton, 7 p.m.

OCTOBER

October 31, 2014 — Candlelight Tour of the Skinner Mansion Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 & 8:30 p.m.

October 29, 2014 — “Gravestone CSI: Causes of Death Found on Gravestones” Noble Cooley Center for Historic Preservation NCCHP Museum, 42 Water St., Granville, 6:30 p.m.

October 27, 2014 — “Japanese Silk Trade and William Skinner & Sons Manufacturing” Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

October 27, 2014 — “Public Humanities: Looking Back and Looking Ahead” Gamble Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College Art Building, South Hadley, 5:30 p.m.

October 26, 2014 — Second Annual Publishing Fair Amherst Area Publications Munson Memorial Library, 1046 South East Street, Amherst, 1 – 4 p.m.

October 24, 2014 — “Ghosts in the Graveyard” Longmeadow Historical Society Longmeadow Cemetery, Williams St., Longmeadow, 6:30 p.m.

October 24, 2014 — “Cranberry Culture: A Short History of a Tart Fruit” History Bites Lecture Series Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, October 23, 2014 — “Augustus George Hazard and the Hazard Powder Co. from 1835-1913 and the Laflin Powder Mill in Southwick” Southwick Historical Society Christ Church United Methodist, 222 College Highway, Southwick, 7 p.m.

October 23, 2014 — “Nations of Immigrants: The United States in Global Perspective” Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series Student Union Ballroom, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

October 22, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

October 21, 2014 — “Strong-Howard House Restoration in Windsor, CT” Ramapogue Historical Society Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street, West Springfield, 7 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Weaving Stories” Wistariahurst Museum 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Ghostology 101: A General Study of the Paranormal” Pelham Historical Society Ramsdell Rm., Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Mexican Immigration in Historical Perspective” Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Hall, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Walk Around Ringville Worthington Historical Society Meeting place 190 Witt Hill Road (near the southern intersection of Witt Hill Road & Rte 112), Worthington, 2 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Society Annual Meeting Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., 6 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Westhampton Fall Festival Friends of the Westhampton Public Library

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Open House & Family Day Museum of Our Industrial Heritage, 2 Mead St., Greenfield, 1-4 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Fall Meeting Association for Gravestone Studies/New England Chapter Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT, 9:30 a.m.

October 18, 2014 — “Sanford Tavern Archaeology Dig” Sons & Daughters of Hawley Mohawk Trail Regional High School, Route 112, Buckland, 2 -4 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — “A Walk with Southwick Spirits” Southwick Historical Society Old Southwick Cemetery, College Highway, Southwick, 2 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Archaeology Day in Deerfield Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 18, 2014 — Historic Holyoke Cemetery Tours Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 3 p.m. & 6 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Home Movie Day Community Room, Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke, 1 p.m.

Beginning September 28, 2013 — “Furniture Masterworks: Tradition and Innovation in Western Massachusetts”
Wright House, Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

21 December 2014 thru January 2015 — “Giving Thanks: A Folk Art Thanksgiving Supper”
Hatfield Historical Museum
2nd Floor, Hatfield Public Library, 39 Main St., Hatfield

18 December 2014 — “Victorian Christmas Traditions”
A la Carte Lecture Series
Davis Auditorium, D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts, Springfield, 12:15 p.m.

December 13, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 12, 2014 — Closing Reception for “Splendor and Sorrow: Glimpses of WW1”
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 5-8 p.m.

December 11, 2014 — “Something of the Character Within—19th and early 20th Century Portraits of Swift River Valley Children”
Stone House Lecture Series
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

December 11, 2014 — “Democracy & the Military: A Panel Discussion”
Historic Northampton & Springfield Public Forum
at Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 7 p.m.

December 10, 2014 — Emily Dickinson Birthday Celebration
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Tea
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 2 – 3:30 p.m.

December 7, 2014 — Architectural Walking Tour
Longmeadow Historical Society
First Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, 1 p.m.

December 7, 2014 — Holiday Open House
Keep Homestead Museum
35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 – 3:30 p.m.

December 6, 2014 — “A Dickensian Christmas with the Dickinsons”
Emily Dickinson Museum, 280 Main St., Amherst

December 6, 2014 — Joint Open House
Dewey House, 87 South Maple St., Westfield
Edwin Smith Historical Museum, 6 Elm St., Westfield, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

December 6, 2014 — Heritage Baking Day
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

December 5, 2014 — “When the Highway Came Through”
Pioneer Valley Institute
Stinchfield Lecture Hall, Greenfield Community College, 7 p.m.

December 5, 2014 — “A Comparison: Farming today at Amherst’s Sunset Farm to farming in the 1860 South”
History Bites Lunchtime Lectures
Amherst Historical Society, Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, December 4, 2014 — “Caroling and Yankee Swap”
Southwick Historical Society
Southwick Senior Center, Town Hall, 434 College Highway, Southwick, 6 p.m.

December 3, 2014 — “Embers of War”
Springfield Public Forum
Symphony Hall, Springfield, 7:30 p.m.

December 3, 2014 — Western Mass. Genealogical Society Meeting
Agawam Senior Center
954 Main Street, Agawam, 6-8 pm.

Wednesdays, October 22 thru November 2014 — Advanced Genealogy Classes
Old Bones Genealogy of New England
Agawam Senior Center, 954 Main St., Agawam, 6 – 8 p.m.

September 30 thru November 24, 2014 — “A Genius for Place”
A Panel Exhibition from the Library of American Landscape History
Mezzanine, Forbes Library, Northampton

October 2014 — “Historic Trades at Deerfield”
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield

November 22, 2014 — “Forgotten Drinks of Colonial New England”
Lecture & Tasting
Amherst Historical Society
Jones Library, 43 Amity Street, Amherst, 2:30 p.m.

November 21, 2014 — “With Womanly Weapons Girt”: Women’s Voluntarism & Quilts in the Civil War
History Bites Lunchtime Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity St., Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

November 18, 2014 — “JFK 51 Years Later”
Palmer Historical & Cultural Center
2072 Main Street Three Rivers, 7 p.m.

November 18, 2014 — Talk by James Woolsey, Superintendent of Springfield Armory National Historic Site
Ramapogue Historical Society (Day House) West Springfield
at Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street (Route 20), West Springfield, 7 p.m.

November 17, 2014 — “Pulling the People Out of the Paperwork”
Genealogy Lecture
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 17, 2014 — “Artful and Designing Men”
Pelham Historical Society
Ramsdell Room, Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m.
Canceled Due to Weather

Sunday, November 16, 2014 — “Working for Peace and Justice in the Pioneer Valley the Past 60 Years”
a public talk by Frances Crowe
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge Street, Northampton, 1 p.m.

November 16, 2014 — “Our Northampton, Their Northampton: Six Feature Films Set in Northampton”
Fast Forward Film Series
Historic Northampton, 46 Bridge St., Northampton, 3 p.m.

November 16, 2014 — “Meet Mrs. Mary Rowlandson”
One-Person Show Performed by Katie Green
Swift River Valley Historical Society, 40 Elm St., North New Salem, 2 p.m.

November 14-15, 2014 — “Borrowing from Antiquity to Design a New Republic: Neoclassicism in America”
Historic Deerfield Decorative Arts Forum
Historic Deerfield

November 14, 2014 — Tour of University Products
Pioneer Valley History Network
Meet in the UP Parking Lot, 517 Main Street, Holyoke, 12:45 p.m.

November 14, 2014 — “100 Years Ago”
An Evening of Song, Music and Readings
The Village Church, 32 Main St., Cummington, 7-9 p.m.

November 14, 2014 — “The New Asylum Seekers”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
UMass Amherst, Campus Center, Room 804, 1 p.m.,Public Reception to Follow

November 13, 2014 — “Belchertown Yanks “Over There”, While on the Home Front…”
Stone House Lecture Series
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “Against Wind and Tide: The African American Struggle Against the Colonization Movement”
Odyssey Bookstore
9 College St., South Hadley, 7 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “Charity & Sylvia”
Lecture & Book Signing
Neilson Library Browsing Rm., Smith College, Northampton, 7:30 p.m.

November 12, 2014 — “B. V. Brooks’ Pre-Quabbin Art, Photos & Postcards”
With Quabbin Historian, J.R. Greene
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 7 p.m.

November 10, 2014 — “Quilt History- Why Does it Matter?
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 8, 2014 — “Caring for Collections in Small Museums”
Historic Deerfield & PVHN
Deerfield Community Center, 16 Memorial Street, in Old Deerfield, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

November 8, 2014 — “Traditional Felting Techniques 101: Water + Wool = Artful Fabric!”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 10 a.m.

November 7, 2014 — “A Deerfield Story: The Mysterious Death of Infant Smith”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

November 5, 2014 — “Paradise Found”
Local History/Local Novelists Series
Coolidge Museum, Forbes Library, Northampton, 7 p.m.

November 3, 2014 — “Twilly, Willy, Jenny and Jack and the Northeast’s Earliest Water Powered Textile Machine”
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

November 2, 2014 — Button Appraisal Day
Keep Homestead Museum, 35 Ely Rd., Monson, 1 p.m.

Sunday, November 2, 2014 — “Remembering World War I”
Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., Worthington, 2 p.m.

Saturday, November 1, 2014 — “Spooky Stories Near & Far”
Historic Northampton, 7 p.m.

October 31, 2014 — Candlelight Tour of the Skinner Mansion
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 7 & 8:30 p.m.

October 29, 2014 — “Gravestone CSI: Causes of Death Found on Gravestones”
Noble Cooley Center for Historic Preservation
NCCHP Museum, 42 Water St., Granville, 6:30 p.m.

October 27, 2014 — “Japanese Silk Trade and William Skinner & Sons Manufacturing”
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

October 27, 2014 — “Public Humanities: Looking Back and Looking Ahead”
Gamble Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College Art Building, South Hadley, 5:30 p.m.

October 26, 2014 — Second Annual Publishing Fair
Amherst Area Publications
Munson Memorial Library, 1046 South East Street, Amherst, 1 – 4 p.m.

October 24, 2014 — “Ghosts in the Graveyard”
Longmeadow Historical Society
Longmeadow Cemetery, Williams St., Longmeadow, 6:30 p.m.

October 24, 2014 — “Cranberry Culture: A Short History of a Tart Fruit”
History Bites Lecture Series
Simeon Strong House, 67 Amity Street, Amherst, 12:15 p.m.

Thursday, October 23, 2014 — “Augustus George Hazard and the Hazard Powder Co. from 1835-1913 and the Laflin Powder Mill in Southwick”
Southwick Historical Society
Christ Church United Methodist, 222 College Highway, Southwick, 7 p.m.

October 23, 2014 — “Nations of Immigrants: The United States in Global Perspective”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
Student Union Ballroom, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

October 22, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

October 21, 2014 — “Strong-Howard House Restoration in Windsor, CT”
Ramapogue Historical Society
Mittineague Congregational Church, 1840 Westfield Street, West Springfield, 7 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Weaving Stories”
Wistariahurst Museum
238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 6 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Ghostology 101: A General Study of the Paranormal”
Pelham Historical Society
Ramsdell Rm., Pelham Community Center, Pelham, 7 p.m.

October 20, 2014 — “Mexican Immigration in Historical Perspective”
Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series
Bernie Dallas Room, Goodell Hall, UMass Amherst, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Walk Around Ringville
Worthington Historical Society
Meeting place 190 Witt Hill Road (near the southern intersection of Witt Hill Road & Rte 112), Worthington, 2 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Historical Society Annual Meeting
Worthington Historical Society, 6 Williamsburg Rd., 6 p.m.

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Westhampton Fall Festival
Friends of the Westhampton Public Library

Sunday, October 19, 2014 — Open House & Family Day
Museum of Our Industrial Heritage, 2 Mead St., Greenfield, 1-4 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Fall Meeting
Association for Gravestone Studies/New England Chapter
Suffield Academy, Suffield, CT, 9:30 a.m.

October 18, 2014 — “Sanford Tavern Archaeology Dig”
Sons & Daughters of Hawley
Mohawk Trail Regional High School, Route 112, Buckland, 2 -4 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — “A Walk with Southwick Spirits”
Southwick Historical Society
Old Southwick Cemetery, College Highway, Southwick, 2 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Archaeology Day in Deerfield
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Saturday, October 18, 2014 — Historic Holyoke Cemetery Tours
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, 3 p.m. & 6 p.m.

October 18, 2014 — Home Movie Day
Community Room, Holyoke Public Library, 250 Chestnut Street, Holyoke, 1 p.m.

October 16, 2014 — “Belchertown’s Boys in Blue”
Belchertown Historical Association
Stone House Museum, 20 Maple St., Belchertown, 7 p.m.

October 16, 2014 — “The Unredeemed Captive” by John Demos
Longmeadow Historical Society
Auditorium, Williams Middle School, 410 Williams St., Longmeadow, 7 p.m.

October 15, 2014 — PVHN Rap Session: “Basics of Publicity”
Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton, 6:30 p.m.

October 15, 2014 — Guided Tour of the Old Burying Ground
Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, 12 noon

Tuesday, October 14, 2014 — “Apples of New England: The History of Apple Growing”
Williamsburg Historical Society
Congregational Church, 4 North Main St., Williamsburg, 7:30 p.m.

October 12, 2014 — Gallery of Quilts Opening Reception
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St., Holyoke, noon to 4 p.m.

October 12, 2014 — “Colonial Day”
Buckland Historical Society
Wilder Homestead, Rte. 112, Buckland, 2 – 5 p.m.

October 11 & 12, 2014 — 2014 ADA/Historic Deerfield Art & Antiques Show
Historic Deerfield