Category Archives: Special Collections

In the Archives: The People and Animals of Thompson Island

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aam_c_0To celebrate Archives Month, I will be posting highlights from our collections throughout October, beginning with this first post about one of our most popular collections, the Thompson Island collection. I hope that this will turn into a regular series. To learn more about Archives Month, visit the Society of American Archivists website.

As the reference archivist in University Archives and Special Collections at UMass Boston, I get to work with a wide range of interesting historic materials and want to share some of what I find in the archives. One of our most heavily-used collections is the Thompson Island collection. One of 34 islands in Boston Harbor, Thompson Island has a long history of education and social welfare. The island has been home to several schools since the early nineteenth century: the Boston Farm School Society (1833-1835), the Boston Asylum and Farm School (1835-1907), the Farm and Trades School (1907-1956), and Thompson’s Academy (1956-1975). Learn more about the records of these schools and the history of education on Thompson Island here. The island is currently home to the Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center, which was established in 1988.

In addition to human residents, Thompson Island has seen a number of animal inhabitants over the years, from dogs and cats to various livestock. Browse the gallery below for a selection of historic critter-related photographs from our Thompson Island collection.

Horses, 1913
Family of ducks, 1917
Dog, 1917
Cow, 1932
Pig, undated [circa 1913-1942]
Goat, undated [circa 1913-1942]
Cat, undated [circa 1913-1942]
Two geese, undated [circa 1913-1942]
Cow and calf, undated [circa 1913-1942]

View the finding aid for the Thompson Island collection here, digitized photographs here, and digitized copies of the Thompson Island Beacon, a student-produced newspaper, here.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & 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 & 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 & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

League of American Wheelmen collection comes to the Healey Library at UMass Boston

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John Allen, part of the Board of Directors for the Charles River Wheelmen, unloads one of 200 boxes donated to University Archives and Special Collections on Tuesday. Photo credit: Colleen Locke/UMass Boston

On Tuesday, September 22, University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston received a large donation of material (approximately 200 boxes) from the League of American Wheelmen.

The League of American Wheelmen (now called the League of American Bicyclists) is a national bicycling organization founded in 1880 that played and continues to play an important role around issues of bicycle safety, design standards, promoting bicycling and the rights of bicyclists, and (early in the organization’s existence) advocating for paved roads before the presence of automobiles.

A number of individuals and organizations were involved in the acquisition of the LAW records, including the Charles River Wheelmen (CRW) and member John Allen; Cycling Through History, the Massachusetts African American Heritage Bike Network; and Lorenz Finison, the author of Boston’s Cycling Craze, 1880-1900: A Story of Race, Sport, and Society, which was published in 2014 by the University of Massachusetts Press.

Prior to the donation to the Archives at UMass Boston, Tom Helm, a League member and former board member, stored the collection in his Pennsylvania home for many years, after the League moved to smaller offices and could no longer accommodate the large collection. The transfer of this collection from Helm’s home to UMass Boston has been a real labor of love for those involved, and the financial commitments made by some to secure the safe arrival of these materials at UMass Boston is worth noting. For example, Cycling Through History received a grant from the CRW earlier this year that funded the transportation of these materials to UMass Boston.

The Healey Library at UMass Boston is fast becoming a national resource on bicycling history. We’ve taken in a total of eleven collections over the past few years that tell the stories of bicycling in Boston and around the country. Materials related to the League can be found among the department’s existing collections, as well – notably in the papers of Ralph Galen and Phyllis Harmon. Read more about these collections here.

The extensive records of the League will make a great addition to these existing collections and plans for an exhibition are in progress. We’re currently working with an intern, Sara Davis, a graduate students from Simmons School of Library and Information Science. The exhibit will be on display in 2016.

Keep visiting this site to stay informed about our work with these collections.

University Archives & 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 & 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 & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Internet Scout and the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs in University Archives & Special Collections

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Shield_in_final_positionI’ve been following Internet Scout since 1994 and have long found the site to be a wonderful digital compendium of high quality science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and humanities resources on the Web, selected by a “team of librarians and subject matter experts who select, research, and annotate each resource.”

The other day I was browsing the site and was excited to find an entry for the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs that noted local historian Anthony Mitchell Sammarco purchased and donated to University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston several years ago. The experts at Internet Scout describe the collection as “a remarkable digital archive” and I couldn’t agree more.

Bracing_of_light_pole_in_North_SqThe photographs, taken from 1929 to 1933, document the construction of the first Boston Harbor tunnel, later called the Sumner Tunnel (after William H. Sumner) when it opened to travelers and commuters. The tunnel, which opened on June 30, 1934, was constructed to handle automobile traffic from the North End of Boston to East Boston. The Boston Globe reported, on July 1, 1934, that approximately 13,000 automobiles passed through the tunnel in the first 24 hours of operation.

View the finding aid for the Sumner Tunnel construction photographs here and view the digital collection here.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & 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 & 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 & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Phyllis Harmon: League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Collection – Now open for research

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Guest post by Lindsay Sprechman

Phyllis Harmon: League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Collection

Phyllis Harmon: League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Collection

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston is happy to announce that the Phyllis Harmon: League of American Wheelmen (LAW) Collection is now open and available for research. This collection documents Phyllis Harmon’s work in the bicycling community, especially her work with the League of American Wheelmen, a prominent bicycling organization.

The League of American Wheelmen was founded in 1880 to address bicyclists’ needs. In their early days, they advocated for bicyclists’ access to roads at a time when many laws and ordinances were written keeping them off the road. LAW was also instrumental in the Good Roads Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which advocated for improved road conditions. The League became inactive twice during periods from 1924 to 1939 and from 1955 to 1964, but reorganized in 1964 and still continues to advocate for bicyclists today. LAW was renamed the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) in 1997.

League of American Wheelmen newsletter, June 1940

League of American Wheelmen newsletter, June 1940

Phyllis Harmon is known as the “Grande Dame of American Bicycling” for her work with LAW and other bicycling organizations. Harmon became a member of LAW in 1939 and served numerous roles in the organization, including treasurer, executive vice president, historian, office manager, executive director and honorary director. However, her most prominent position was her role as writer and editor of LAW’s magazine, LAW Bulletin. Harmon volunteered to publish the magazine from her home and edited it from 1939 to 1945 and again from 1964 until 1979. For her contribution to the bicycling world in Chicago and around the country, Harmon was inducted into the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation’s Hall of Fame in 2006 and the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2009.

This collection includes many of LAW’s organizational records, including Board meeting minutes, constitutions, by-laws, correspondence and memos. It also includes materials on LAW’s conventions and rallies, membership directories and surveys, collected research and articles about bicycling, and more than 30 years of issues of the LAW Bulletin, and its successor, Bicycle USA.

View the finding aid for this collection.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & 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 & 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 & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Barbara Maysles Kramer: Saturday Evening Girls papers – Now open for research

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"Barbara Maysles Kramer with Revere pottery made by Saturday Evening Girls." Boston Globe, May 12, 1991.

“Barbara Maysles Kramer with Revere pottery made by Saturday Evening Girls.” Boston Globe. May 12, 1991.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston is pleased to announce that the Barbara Maysles Kramer: Saturday Evening Girls papers are now open and available for research. Spanning eight linear feet, this collection documents Barbara Maysles Kramer’s research, in collaboration with her husband, Dr. Bernard M. Kramer, on the Saturday Evening Girls (1899-1969) and the Paul Revere Pottery (1908-1942). Barbara Maysles Kramer was the daughter of Ethel Epstein Maysles, a long-standing member of the Saturday Evening Girls. The collection also documents the Kramers’ preparations for a book entitled Tales of the Paul Revere Pottery (unpublished).

Members of the Saturday Evening Girls at work in the Paul Revere Pottery. Circa 1915.

Members of the Saturday Evening Girls at work in the Paul Revere Pottery. Early 1900s.

The Saturday Evening Girls, or SEG, was a club established by BPL librarian Edith Guerrier for young immigrant women living in Boston’s North End. Members were involved in a variety of activities, including singing, theater, folk dancing, discussions of classic literature, lectures from prominent Bostonians, arts and crafts, and the publication of a newspaper, the SEG News. In 1908, Edith Guerrier and her partner, Edith Brown, established the Paul Revere Pottery with financial support from local philanthropist Helen Osborne Storrow. Members of the Saturday Evening Girls worked at the Paul Revere Pottery, creating colorful, often whimsically-themed pottery that was part of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Pieces of Paul Revere Pottery.

Pieces of Paul Revere Pottery.

The Barbara Kramer papers include issues of the SEG News, photographs of the SEG members and their activities, and response forms from a survey that Kramer conducted with surviving SEG members and their descendants. The collection also documents an exhibit held at UMass Boston’s original campus in Park Square in 1975, The Saturday Evening Girls: Opening a door to America. Also available in the Healey Library’s Special Collections is Barbara Maysles Kramer’s personal copy of An Independent Woman: The Autobiography of Edith Guerrier (call number: Z720.G89 A3 1992).

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

View the finding aid for this collection.

Flyer for "The Saturday Evening Girls: Opening a door to America" exhibit. 1975.

Flyer for “The Saturday Evening Girls: Opening a door to America” exhibit. 1975.

 

University Archives & 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 & 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 & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.