Author Archives: Caroline Littlewood

Ninety-nine years on: The 1919 Boston Police Strike Project moves forward

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Patrolmen attached to the Sixth Division, 1901 Boston Police Department Yearbook. At least one of these officers, Joseph O. Hodgkins, was a striker.

Patrolmen attached to the Sixth Division, 1901 Boston Police Department Yearbook. At least one of these officers, Joseph O. Hodgkins, was a striker.

It’s that time of year! Today marks the 99th anniversary of the 1919 Boston Police Strike. We are now only one year away from the centennial of the strike, and the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project is in full swing. Volunteer researchers are hard at work documenting the men behind the strike, bringing us closer to our ultimate goal: the launch of a database of striker biographies on September 9, 2019.

Last fall, students in Carolyn Goldstein’s History 620 Introduction to Public History and Public Memory graduate seminar explored strategies for commemorating the strike and for engaging public audiences in thinking about the strike and its significance from many perspectives. Their projects generated ideas to inform interpretive programs to accompany the database of striker biographies.

In the spring, we introduced a free and self-paced open education course to teach participants how to perform biographical research and fill out a Bio Research Worksheet. Doing Biographical Research: The 1919 Boston Police Strike Project is open to all, even those not interested in volunteering for the project. After completing the course, students may apply to contribute to the project as volunteer researchers. To date, more than 100 people have enrolled in the course, and community volunteers have started research on over 700 of the 1142 strikers.

Also this spring, Margaret Sullivan gave popular presentations about the strike at the New England Historic Genealogical Society and the Boston Public Library. Subsequent media coverage by the Boston Globe and WGBH’s Curiosity Desk helped spread the word and connect new audiences with the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project blog.

Visitors to the blog can check out the newest feature, a searchable list of strikers. Browse the list to see who participated in the strike and where they lived and worked, or view a single striker’s duty card.

To learn more about the project, visit the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project blog. Email bpstrike@live.umb.edu with any questions.

Save the date for a commemorative centennial event on September 7, 2019 at the Central Branch of the Boston Public Library in Copley Square.

1919 Boston Police Strike Project online course up and running

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Police officer John J. Doyle went on strike in 1919. Source: Steve Doyle.

Police officer John J. Doyle went on strike in 1919. Source: Steve Doyle.

On September 9, 1919, more than 1,000 City of Boston police officers walked off the job to fight for union recognition and improved working conditions. In the days that followed, they lost their employment and public sympathy, their stories relegated to historical footnotes.

One hundred years later, the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Joseph P. Healey Library and the Boston Police Department Archives will celebrate the centennial of the 1919 Boston Police Strike. Together, the two institutions will launch a comprehensive database profiling the men who went on strike. This project is dependent on volunteers. To date, a growing team of community researchers have investigated the stories of over 500 “men behind the strike.”

Each volunteer researcher receives training in biographical research methods and our project-specific worksheet. After demonstrating proficiency with the research process, researchers are invited to fill out a worksheet for a striker. Every single worksheet takes us one step closer to a complete database of striker biographies.

Volunteer researchers learn to build a biographical profile from the information contained in a single duty roster card. Source: Boston Police Department Archives.

Volunteer researchers learn to build a biographical profile from the information contained in a single duty roster card. Source: Boston Police Department Archives.

A new online course, “Doing Biographical Research: The 1919 Boston Police Strike Project,” provides training to prospective researchers remotely. The course is free, self-paced, and open to the public. Researcher and recent “Doing Biographical Research” graduate Kayla Skillin said of the course:

The online course that was put together by the project staff was a great introduction to the project and really outlined what they are looking for for each striker. I think this would be a great course to take not only for volunteers, but also anyone who would like to improve on their own online genealogy research skills!”

Get on board!

To learn more about the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project, visit http://blogs.umb.edu/bpstrike1919.

Interested in getting involved and staying connected? Join the mailing list.

Want to jump right to the course? Enroll here!

 

 

Forty years past: Remembering the Blizzard of ’78

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On February 5, 1978, a storm of historic proportion hit the northeastern United States. The Blizzard of ’78 slammed into Massachusetts, stranding thousands and inflicting millions of dollars in damage. The snow brought the state to a week-long standstill as residents banded together to take stock of the damage and clear debris.

Many citizens from across the state have vivid memories of the storm, and Mass. Memories Road Show events over the past decade provided individuals with a chance to preserve their experiences and stories.

Washington Street near Lake Street, Brighton, week of the blizzard of '78. 'During the blizzard of 1978, not only was there an epic amount of snow, but it was unique for the near shutdown of the Boston region for a week. A few days after the storm I took a walk with my camera along the streets of the neighborhood, where no cars were allowed, only people.' Contributor: Charlie Vasiliades

Washington Street near Lake Street, Brighton, week of the blizzard of ’78. ‘During the blizzard of 1978, not only was there an epic amount of snow, but it was unique for the near shutdown of the Boston region for a week. A few days after the storm I took a walk with my camera along the streets of the neighborhood, where no cars were allowed, only people.’ Contributor: Charlie Vasiliades.

 

Photographs in the Mass. Memories Road Show collection commemorate personal losses and sacrifice brought about by the storm.

High tide February 1978 blizzard. 'High tide brought the water level to the edge of MacMillan Wharf, boats almost floating to the pier. My husband (deceased 2011) Anthony Jackett was the owner of the 'Plymouth Belle,' a commercial dragger rigged with top mast for swordfishing. This was the weekend the 'Capt. Bill' was lost at sea. Captain Ralph Andrews and all his crew were lost. Location: MacMillan Wharf.' Contributor: Priscilla Jackett

High tide February 1978 blizzard. ‘High tide brought the water level to the edge of MacMillan Wharf, boats almost floating to the pier. My husband (deceased 2011) Anthony Jackett was the owner of the ‘Plymouth Belle,’ a commercial dragger rigged with top mast for swordfishing. This was the weekend the ‘Capt. Bill’ was lost at sea. Captain Ralph Andrews and all his crew were lost. Location: MacMillan Wharf.’ Contributor: Priscilla Jackett.

 

Other images and stories record residents at work and at play after the blizzard, as community members got back on their feet.

Fighting fire through the Blizzard of 1978. 'My father-in-law, Eugene H. Lorden, Jr.: Deputy Chief, coming up to a home to put out a fire in a stove. Deputy Eugene Lorden would fight through anything to help anyone. That's what impressed me about him.' Contributor: Bill Neville

Fighting fire through the Blizzard of 1978. ‘My father-in-law, Eugene H. Lorden, Jr.: Deputy Chief, coming up to a home to put out a fire in a stove. Deputy Eugene Lorden would fight through anything to help anyone. That’s what impressed me about him.’ Contributor: Bill Neville.

 

See more photos of the Blizzard of ’78 from the Mass. Memories Road Show here.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 10,000 photographs, videos, and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was established in 1981 as a repository to collect archival material in subject areas of interest to the university, as well as the records of the university itself. The mission and history of UMass Boston guide the collection policies of University Archives & Special Collections, with the university’s urban mission and strong support of community service reflected in the records of and related to urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, war and social consequence, and local history related to neighboring communities. To learn more, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

Nahant and Eastham Mass. Memories Road Show videos now online

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The video interviews from the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show and Eastham Mass. Memories Road Show, held in the spring of 2017, are now available online. Over sixty people of all ages recorded their “stories behind the photos” in these two Massachusetts shore communities.

In both Nahant (on Boston’s North Shore) and Eastham (on Cape Cod), contributors spoke of their love for the seashore. Some individuals reflected on the joys of coastal life, recalling days of sailing, canoeing, fishing, or simply walking along the beach. Others described the power of nature and shared stories about the havoc wreaked by storms over the years. In Nahant, several video interviews documented activities of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center. Water was also on the mind in Eastham, where contributors expressed pride in the town’s new municipal water system.

Joseph Ayers at the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show: Video Interview. 

Browse the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show video collection here.  Read about the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show here.

Road Show contributors shared stories about the circumstances of their arrival in town and the local relationships they have built. In Nahant, a few individuals recalled their first journey over the causeway connecting Lynn on the mainland to the island town. Chris Stevens remembered arriving and thinking “this is it, I’m home.” Other Nahanters grew up in town, left to live in Boston, and later returned back home.

Several Eastham residents recalled moving to town from near and far. Gail M. Callahan first arrived as a child, back when there was “nothing but beach.” With her family, she spent hours “clamming, fishing, and . . . picking blueberries.” Some contributors remembered visiting for a summer vacation and never leaving. Video interviews also document local organizations’ efforts to preserve the environment, both natural and man-made. The beaches and historic structures of both towns are safe in the hands of these devoted locals!

Judy Gaynes Sebastian at the Eastham Mass. Memories Road Show: Video Interview. 

Browse the Eastham Mass. Memories Road Show video collection here. Read about the Eastham Mass. Memories Road Show here.

Questions? Email carolyn.goldstein@umb.edu.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 10,000 photographs, videos, and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was established in 1981 as a repository to collect archival material in subject areas of interest to the university, as well as the records of the university itself. The mission and history of UMass Boston guide the collection policies of University Archives & Special Collections, with the university’s urban mission and strong support of community service reflected in the records of and related to urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, war and social consequence, and local history related to neighboring communities. To learn more, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

More than 1,000 videos from Mass. Memories Road Show at UMass Boston now online

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Videographer Jack Clancy records an interview with Max Manadee at the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show, April 1, 2017. The photographs, stories, and videos collected in Nahant will be online soon. Photo courtesy Dalia Shilas.

For over a decade, the Mass. Memories Road Show has celebrated and documented the stories that connect people in Massachusetts to their communities. In this period, the program has come a long way. With the help of volunteers and community partners, the Mass. Memories Road Show has collected over 8,000 images and more than 1,000 video interviews. The Mass. Memories Road Show collection includes contributions from nearly 40 communities and University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston continues to work toward representing all 351 towns in the Commonwealth.

“We began collecting video interviews at one of the Dorchester Mass. Memories Road Shows in 2006,” recalls Joanne Riley, University Archivist and Curator of Special Collections. Riley enlisted a UMass Boston undergraduate student to record the first interviews, and the Video Station soon became a standard feature of all Mass. Memories Road Show events. The Road Show team met Liz Clancy Lerner at the Quincy Mass. Memories Road Show in 2007 and the following year began working with her and her father Jack Clancy, of Best Dog Ever Films, to record and edit the videos in a consistent manner.

“Contributors are excited to describe their photographs,” explained Road Show program coordinator Carolyn Goldstein, “and many of them choose to sit for a video interview to share ‘the stories behind their photos’ or other memories.”

“Throughout the years I have laughed and cried at the stories I’ve recorded,” recalls Liz Clancy Lerner. “I’ve been thrilled at the enthusiasm I see for history in the communities I’ve visited. This is a special project that records what’s often seen as ordinary family stories, but when you dig a little deeper, and really hear how they impact individual families, you see how much these images and anecdotes truly are the beating heart of these Massachusetts communities. I can’t wait to hear more!”

All of the video interviews collected at the Mass. Memories Road Shows from 2006 through 2016 are available online now for research. Some of the newest additions to the collection are the video recordings from early Road Shows held in Dorchester, Quincy, Reading, Stoneham, and Duxbury. Interviews from more recent Mass. Memories Road Show events in Martha’s Vineyard, Spencer, and Hyde Park are also available.

Mary Doherty Manseau at the Dorchester Mass. Memories Road Show: Video Interview from UMass Boston Archives on Vimeo.

These videos preserve the family histories, childhood memories, activities, and experiences that together help tell the complex personal history of Massachusetts.

Explore the Mass. Memories Road Show video collection here.

Caroline Littlewood is a graduate assistant in University Archives & Special Collections and a graduate student in History (Public History Track) at UMass Boston.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 9,000 photographs and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston was established in 1981 as a repository to collect archival material in subject areas of interest to the university, as well as the records of the university itself. The mission and history of UMass Boston guide the collection policies of University Archives & Special Collections, with the university’s urban mission and strong support of community service reflected in the records of and related to urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, war and social consequence, and local history related to neighboring communities. To learn more, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.