The photographs, stories, and videos gathered at the Winchester Mass. Memories Road Show are available online now for research.
Hosted by the Jenks Center on Saturday, October 20, 2018, the event was organized by the Town of Winchester Archival Center in collaboration with the Winchester Public Library, the Winchester Historical Society, Winchester MultiCultural Network, Winchester High School, Wright-Locke Farm, and Winchester Community Access and Media, Inc (WinCAM). Thirty local volunteers–including many students from Winchester High School–joined a team of UMass Boston staff members, public history graduate students, and “Roadies” to welcome nearly 150 adults and children with connections to the suburban town north of Boston.
Anna at League of Women Voters, Winchester Farmers Market, 2018. ‘At age eighty-six, I have lived a storied life and moved to town a few years ago. I have become a community fixture, active in the League of Women Voters, the farmer’s market, and volunteering for political campaigns. I appear daily at the Starbucks with my friend Gloria Tedesco, and hold court where dozens of people come and go to hear of my adventures. Pictured: myself Anna LaViolette.’
Participants contributed images of everyday life in the community over the years, especially in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Several photographs document connections forged through participation in civic groups such as the Rotary Club, League of Women Voters as well as in scouting and religious organizations. Community gatherings at the Winchester Farmers’ Market and the En Ka fair and parade are also featured in the collection.
En Ka Parade 1977. ‘The Rotary Club was promoting the blood drive at the En Ka Parade. We were first graders at the Lincoln School. I don’t have many photos of that time in my life, so this is a special photo. Pictured, from left to right: Elin Goodman, Therese Krajewski, Laura Colella, Jenny Osgood, Jane, and Orissa Baker.’ Contributor: Laura Colella.
Many images depict Winchester residents’ proud efforts to preserve landmark structures such as Sanborn House and enjoying the beauty of the town’s natural resources including the historic Wright-Locke Farm, the Middlesex Fells, and the Town Common.
‘An immigrant story, 2018. We walked every Saturday and Sunday morning around Horn Pond. Yan was born in China and immigrated in the early 1990s when her husband went to the Fletcher School at Tufts. She had a small baby boy at the time she moved here, and they soon had another son. She now works for a technology company in Cambridge and regularly visits her family in China. Pictured: my friend Yan Yao. Location: Horn Pond.’ Contributor: Susan Kincaid.
Contributors also chose to preserve memories of school and extra-curricular activities, sharing photographs of their first day of school as well as participation in sports competitions, student organizations, and high school graduation ceremonies.
‘My eighth grade graduation in 1957 from Saint Mary’s School in Winchester–church in background. Pictured: myself Anne Hurley (central figure, girl in white dress, lamp post sticking out of her head).’ Contributor: Anne Hurley.
Several contributors brought photographs documenting accomplishments, adventures, and friendships as teenagers growing up in Winchester.
Moonlight, 2018. ‘On Labor Day, me and my friends snuck out to go for a walk through Winchester which was like a ghost town at the time. It was special being the last summer night before school. Pictured, from left to right: Ethan Johnson, myself Ben Wall, and Alex Medieros. Location: Washington Street.’ Contributor: Ben Wall.
Browse the Winchester Mass. Memories Road Show collection.
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 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.
