Category Archives: Collections

Posts about our collections.

In the Archives: The Mass Media

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Author: Amanda McKay, Archives Assistant and graduate student in the English MA program at UMass Boston

The Mass Media is UMass Boston’s only independent student-run newspaper. In print since 1966, the newspaper aims to publish “a reliable, relevant and factual paper every week” (The Mass Media 2025). UMass Boston’s Founding Day Convocation ceremony took place in December 1966. This date aligns with the newspaper’s founding, making the newspaper a strong part of UMass Boston’s history. University Archives and Special Collections houses copies of past issues of the newspaper. Issues ranging from 1966 to 2011 are digitized and available through the Open Archives website, and more recent editions are available on the Mass Media website. As a student and active member of the UMass Boston community, diving deep into past issues is very interesting and reveals a lot about UMass Boston’s students, faculty, campus, and culture as a whole.

A letter to the editor from a UMass Boston library worker. Volume 1, issue 1, 1966.

One interesting section from the first issue of the newspaper is the “Letter to the Editor” section, allowing students and faculty to get the word out about something important. In this issue, a library worker sent in a letter regarding students leaving unattended items in the library in order to reserve a study spot while they go somewhere else. This issue also features advertisements from local businesses and organizations, showcasing how the newspaper not only connects UMass Boston students to each other, but also to the surrounding community of Boston as a whole. The image below shows an advertisement for the Charles Playhouse in Boston. By including advertisements like these, the newspaper allowed for students, especially those new to the area, to get acquainted with Boston, while also supporting local organizations.

An ad shown in volume 1, issue 1 of The Mass Media for The Charles Playhouse.

Looking at more recent editions of the newspaper, it is clear that The Mass Media’s vision and dedication to the community has stayed strong and consistent. In Volume 59, Issue 15 from April 2025, articles highlight world and local news as well as aspects of student culture and events. Now there is even a humor and puzzle section, allowing readers to connect with the newspaper in different ways. As a student here at UMass, I have a deep appreciation for the commitment to honesty and integrity in reporting by our student newspaper. Be sure to pick up the most recent copy of The Mass Media at any time by visiting the newsstands throughout campus, or by visiting The Mass Media’s website. Email library.archives@umb.edu for an appointment to view the collection in person at Healey Library, or visit Open Archives to view the issues virtually.

An article from The Mass Media, volume 59, issue 15.

References:

“About.” The Mass Media. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://umassmedia.com/about.

“Mass Media Student Newspaper Collection.” University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://openarchives.umb.edu/digital/collection/p15774coll18.

“Print Archive.” The Mass Media. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://umassmedia.com/category/pdf-archive.

“The University of Massachusetts Boston.” Wikipedia. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Massachusetts_Boston.

University of Massachusetts Boston, The Mass Media newspaper collection, UAPUB-0008. University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston. Accessed August 8, 2025. https://archives.umb.edu/repositories/2/resources/456.

In the Archives: Jack Powers Collection

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Author: Amanda McKay, Archives Assistant and graduate student in the English MA program at UMass Boston

Drawn portrait of Jack Powers with “A Poet of the City” next to it.

Growing up in and around housing projects in Roxbury, Massachusetts, Jack Powers was no stranger to struggle and need. At the age of seventeen, Powers decided he was going to turn this struggle into something good, and the rest of his life is a testament to his devotion to community, welfare, and knowledge. Healey Library’s Jack Powers collection highlights the various areas of activism that Powers belonged to. Two major accomplishments from this collection are the Beacon Hill Free School and his Stone Soup poetry reading series.

Bookmark from the Downtown Reading Series, 1992.

During the prime of the Beacon Hill Free School, weekly classes on various topics were held for local community members, free of charge. Holding around eleven classes per week in his apartment, and another twenty per week in the Beacon Hill community center, Powers had a full schedule—and he never sacrificed his philanthropy for paid work. Class topics were not limited by any means, with Powers saying, “Every idea was held up like a jewel in the light so that if there were any defect hopefully human intelligence would see it” (Robb 2 Jun. 1979). His idea of freedom was expressed through the catalogue of extensive classes that were offered.

Schedule of the Downtown Reading Series, 1992.

Later, in the 1970s, Powers decided to create Stone Soup, a nightly poetry event. Stone Soup was a come-one-come-all event that featured renowned poets such as Allen Ginsberg, as well as local poets who hadn’t gotten their break into the spotlight yet. True to its name, a children’s folktale about community, the poetry series was a collective energy that livened up the arts scene in Beacon Hill and in Boston as a whole. Powers once said that, “We’re all in this world together, and there’s no better way to translate pleasure than through the magic of words,” showing his true intentions behind the reading series. Accessibility was at the forefront of Powers’ mind, and he achieved it by creating a safe space that was less “literary salon” and more “neighborhood activism.” Stone Soup lives on today, with meetings held both virtually and in person. There is an updated blog page with recent and upcoming activities that the organization holds as well as spotlights on local authors and artists.

The Jack Powers collection at UMass Boston not only includes information regarding the programs that Powers founded, but also information about Powers’ personal life and writings. The collection isn’t just about the power of art, it also documents the power of community and what can happen when people come together, something that must be remembered and held onto for generations to come.

Poster for “Jack Powers at Gallery Imago,” February 1985.

All images courtesy of the Jack Powers collection in Healey Library.

References:

Hartigan, Patti. “Literary Boston: Literary Boston.” Boston Globe. February 16, 1989. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/literary-boston/docview/2445561348/se-2.

Holder, Doug. “Stone Soup Poetry founder Jack Powers: Looking back.” The Somerville Times. October 27, 2010. https://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/8821.

Jack Powers collection, SC-0001. University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston. Accessed August 1, 2025. https://archives.umb.edu/repositories/2/resources/195.

Negri, Gloria. “Boston’s Jack Powers: Helping people body and soul.” Boston Globe. March 15, 1987. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/bostons-jack-powers-helping-people-body-soul/docview/2074430383/se-2.

The Poetry Foundation. “Jack Powers.” Accessed August 1, 2025. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/blog/uncategorized/55706/jack-powers-.

Robb, Christina. “A Poet’s Odyssey with Stone Soup.” Boston Globe. June 2, 1979. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/poets-odyssey-with-stone-soup/docview/747069726/se-2.

In the Archives: Dorchester Pottery Works

Date
Posted by
Comments0

Author: Amanda McKay, Archives Assistant and graduate student in the English MA program at UMass Boston

In 1895, George Henderson brought his knowledge of stoneware to Boston and opened Dorchester Pottery Works, a stonework business with the intention of selling stoneware both industrially and commercially. Until its closing in 1979, Dorchester Pottery Works operated as a family-run business, with son Charles Henderson taking over after George’s death in 1928. Before his death, George worked to create his own clay-firing kiln, described as, “beehive type, downdraft kiln built in a circular form. The interior dimensions, 22 feet in diameter and 10 feet in height allowed two to three freight carloads of pottery to be fired at one time” (Mock 1984).  With the large-scale kiln, the family business was booming and was well-received by consumers.

UMass Boston’s University Archives and Special Collections department not only holds records of the business but also houses pieces created at Dorchester Pottery Works. Photos of the pottery available through Healey Library’s Open Archives website show just how detailed and beautiful these pieces were. My personal favorites are the ones that are more artistic, showing off the skills of the pottery makers and stoneworkers. For example, these blue dishes show off painted, artistic designs including half scroll, geometric, and colonial lace patterns.

However, the creativeness did not stop at just the painted design. This star-shaped candy dish shows off how form and design come together by skilled workers to create a practical, yet visually interesting piece.

Along with these, the workers also created practical, minimalistic pieces, such as this brown pot.

Along with housewares, they also created various feeders and even a chicken waterer—a container to hold water for chickens, allowing clean water to be filtered through to promote the health of the livestock.

Their most popular invention was the footwarmer with a metal, leakproof tap which received a lot of praise and attention. It was even featured in The Ladies Home Journal!

Some of these pieces can be seen on display in the Archives Research Room on the fifth floor of Healey Library, or digitally through Open Archives, so be sure to stop by or visit our website to see what was created at Dorchester Pottery Works!

References

“Dorchester Pottery Works.” Wikipedia. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester_Pottery_Works.

Mock, Elizabeth. “Dorchester Pottery Works: records, 1905-1961.” April 1984. https://web.archive.org/web/20060919220912/http://www.lib.umb.edu/archives/pot.html

Open Archives. University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://openarchives.umb.edu/digital/search/searchterm/dorchester%20pottery.

Legacy of Care: The History of the Boston Female Asylum

Date
Posted by
Comments1

Author: Amanda McKay, Archives Assistant and graduate student in the English MA program at UMass Boston

As the 1800s streets of Boston were bustling with carriages, a group of women were plotting a new development: a home for young girls. The first of its kind, the Boston Female Asylum catered to young girls who were orphaned and destitute. The asylum was a major advancement for both women and children. Over the years, the asylum evolved to include more care options, influencing the modern day foster care system. By the turn of the next century, the organization was offering counseling and placement services for young girls. In 1923, the organization merged with the Boston Children’s Aid Society, forming the Children’s Aid Association.

Portrait of Mrs. Hannah Stillman, founder of the Boston Female Asylum

The organization’s early years garnered a lot of attention and support from notable local figures such as Abigail Adams. The Boston Female Asylum Records collection within Healey Library encompasses vital historical documents such as minutes, face sheets, and various publications. Dating back to the early 1800s, the collection shows the evolution of the organization. The most notable documents are the yearly reports and by-laws, rules, and regulations publications, clearly noting changes and developments within the organization. The improvements are evident in the resources provided. The 1898 Bylaws, Rules, and Regulations publication highlights that,

Between the age of twelve and fourteen years the girls are sent to families, living usually in the country or small towns, chosen by the Managers from many applications; the intention being to give them opportunities for further schooling and training in housework, and to have them treated as members of said families, from whom they are to receive the sum of $50; $20 of it on reaching the age of seventeen and $30 at eighteen.

Cover of 1898 Boston Female Asylum By-laws, Rules, and Regulations

Interestingly, later publications, such as the 1852 Report for the fifty-second anniversary of the Boston Female Asylum has no mention of the girls being sent anywhere to work. The growth and progress of the institution is shown by this partnership with community members. Not only were people of the community supporting the Boston Female Asylum, but they were active members, fiscally and physically. By sending in donations and allowing girls to work in their home for a wage, the Boston Female Asylum not only provided safe housing and conditions for young girls but also gave them an opportunity to work and become independent when needed. Today, the effects of the work that was done at the Boston Female Asylum is not lost. Going through various mergers in its history, the organization is now known as The Home for Little Wanderers. The roots of the Home are not just with the Boston Female Asylum, but various other institutions such as Boston Children’s Services, the New England Home for Little Wanderers, Parents’ and Children’s Services, Charles River Health Management, and Wediko Children’s Services. Serving Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York, the Home provides community-based services for young people under the age of 26 who need emotional, social, educational, and physical support.

Cover of Report for the fifty-second anniversary of the Boston Female Asylum, 1852

References

Boston Female Asylum. Boston Female Asylum. Historical Account. By-laws, Rules and Regulations. Boston: Beacon Press, 1898. https://archive.org/details/bostonfemaleasyl00bost_3/mode/2up.

Boston Female Asylum. Report for the Fifty-Second Anniversary of the Boston Female Asylum. Boston: n.p., 1852. https://archive.org/details/bostonfemaleasyl00bost_3/mode/2up.

Boston Female Asylum records, SC-0003. University Archives and Special Collections, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston. Accessed July 11, 2025. https://archives.umb.edu/repositories/2/resources/197.

Davainis, Dava. “Boston Female Asylum: Records of Benevolence.” State Library of Massachusetts. December 16, 2019. https://mastatelibrary.blogspot.com/2019/12/boston-female-asylum-records-of.html.

The Home for Little Wanderers. “About Us.” Accessed June 27, 2025. https://www.thehome.org/about-us/our-history.

“Artists in the Archive” exhibition now on view in the Grossmann Gallery

Date
Posted by
Comments1
Image of artwork by Margaret Hart, featuring materials pulled from the Thompson Island Farm and Trade School collection at UMass Boston. Includes a collage of text beneath a drawing of Thompson Island, a photograph of a building, and outlines of students.

Thompson Island Boys School, Margaret Hart, from the Scrapbook of Thompson Island Farm and Trade School 1921-1928, inkjet prints and watercolor on rag paper collage, 2024. 

Artists in the Archive, an exhibition opening this week in the Grossmann Gallery on the fifth floor of the Healey Library, features original work by members of the Endpoint Collective–Deborah Carruthers, Gabriel Deerman, Margaret Hart, and Mark Roth–as well as multi-disciplinary and Indigenous artist Erin Genia. All artists worked directly with materials from the University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston to address issues of climate change and social justice in this region.

The exhibition is curated by Carol Scollans, Professor of Art and Art History at UMass Boston, and will be on display through January 17, 2025. A reception will be held on Friday, October 25, 2024, from 4:00-5:30 p.m. Members of the university community and the general public are welcome to attend.

The Endpoint Collective is a group of research-based artists from around the world who have found value in challenging traditional subjects and processes in their artmaking practices. One of the central questions they posit is the transition toward a posthuman existence exacerbated by the looming environmental issues we face. Their work explores non-hierarchical positioning of human and non-human beings (such as animals, fauna, and the earth). By means of traditional and inventive research, group discussions, and the creation of artworks, the collective has found a distinct vocabulary for their originative endeavors. Through exhibitions of their shared work, the collective invites the public into a conversation about these thought-provoking concepts as well.

Through their respective works, each of the five artists investigates issues of connection, replication, and structure via process-based mechanisms including printmaking, collage, photomontage, painting, and textiles. The works present a fascinating investigation into these complex issues with multi-layered and process-centered resources while boldly engaging the viewer through rich imagery and provocative methodological approaches.

Image of artwork by Gabriel Deerman showing various images of printing blocks and blue lines.

Looking for Light Under the Ground (diptych), Gabriel Deerman, block printing ink on paper, 2024.  

Gabriel Deerman is a painter, printmaker, and draftsman exploring figurative and landscape based art.  Working from observation, his approach addresses globalization and climate change triggered by scientific and cultural human relationships to time and place. His distinctive approach questions traditional aesthetic experiences of the natural world as a way to bridge the human and nature divide.

Image of artwork by Margaret Hart showing a collage that includes a yellow jewel beetle, outlines of islands in the Boston Harbor, and text.

Boston Harbor Islands Jewel Beetle, Margaret Hart, inkjet print on rag paper collage, 2024.

Margaret Hart is a mixed media artist, using principally photography and collage as a way to investigate climate change, gender, technology, and personal narratives. Her work examines the philosophical potential of a post-human era questioning what the world is and what it could look like where humans are no longer the central characters of existence.

Photograph of various round artwork pieces by Deborah Carruthers hanging on a wall.

Re-Viewed, Deborah Carruthers, Circular birch panels, acrylic paint, 2024.

A Montreal native Deborah Carruthers is an interarts painter, installation artist, and composer who collaborates with scientists and activists around the world exploring environmental issues; particularly the distress caused by the lived experience of environmental change and human intervention called “solastalgia.”

Photograph of artwork by Erin Genia on a wall. Includes a face or facemask with various text statements in blue starts.

Call to Consciousness 3 Erin Genia, Ceramic, MDF board, acrylic paint beads, mixed media, 2024. 

Erin Genia, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and community organizer specializing in Native American and Indigenous people’s arts and culture. Her work is focused on amplifying the presence of Indigenous peoples and seeks to invoke an evolution of thought and practice aligned with the natural world and the potential of humanity.

Group Gather Around Group after “Group Gathers Around Fir Tree” photograph from the Boston Urban Gardeners Collection, Mark Roth, acrylic on canvas, 2024.  

Painter and curator Mark Roth is based in New York and studies human behavior from a biological perspective. Using formal painting practices, Roth aspires to discover stories resonant to the Anthropocene or the current geological age during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment.

This exhibition is held in conjunction with the Thinking About Climate Change: Art, Science, and Imagination in the 21st Century conference which will be held in the UMass Boston Campus Center Ballroom on October 25-26, 2024.

 

The Grossmann Gallery is open during Healey Library hours.

University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities. University Archives and Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives and Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.