Category Archives: Events

Allston Brighton Mass. Memories Road Show collection now available

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This is an annual spring clean-up of the Penniman Road Community Garden in Union Square. It was a former paved parking lot, converted into a community garden by the Allston Brighton Community Development Corp. in 1985, and contains 28 plots gardened by Boston residents. Gardeners reflect the diversity of the Allston community. Contributor: Robert J. Pessek.

This is an annual spring clean-up of the Penniman Road Community Garden in Union Square, 2012. It was a former paved parking lot, converted into a community garden by the Allston Brighton Community Development Corp. in 1985, and contains 28 plots gardened by Boston residents. Gardeners reflect the diversity of the Allston community. Contributor: Robert J. Pessek.

The images, stories, and video interviews gathered at the Allston Brighton Mass. Memories Road Show on October 26, 2014 are now available for research.

Held at the Veronica B. Smith Multi-Service Senior Center, the event was organized by the Brighton-Allston Historical Society, Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation, Allston Village Main Streets, Boston Public Library Faneuil Branch, and Brighton Main Streets. Two dozen local volunteers collaborated with a team of UMass Boston staff members and “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Shows to welcome adults and children with connections to the Boston neighborhood.

Some of the 1956 graduating girls of St. Columbkille High School. Soon to graduate, we were allowed to go off campus for lunch. This photo was in front of Fitzie's Diner (now Citizen's Bank) in Brighton Center. Contributor: Anne Mahoney.

Some of the 1956 graduating girls of St. Columbkille High School. Soon to graduate, we were allowed to go off campus for lunch. This photo was in front of Fitzie’s Diner (now Citizen’s Bank) in Brighton Center. Contributor: Anne Mahoney.

Approximately 80 individuals contributed nearly 150 photographs documenting personal memories of friends and relatives in Allston, Brighton, and beyond. A large number of contributors shared photographs of themselves and their relatives relaxing at home and attending informal family gatherings and milestone events. The collection also includes images documenting graduation ceremonies, sports competitions, and musical performances.

Many photographs and stories portray residents at work enhancing the quality of life in a changing Boston neighborhood: preserving and renovating historic structures, eliminating invasive plants from Chandler Pond, and campaigning to save the local library. Contributors further shared memories and images of school days, the transportation system, and local businesses.

20 years later my first community involvement in Brighton was working to save this school, which led to my current involvement with many Allston-Brighton civic groups. Contributor: Charlie Vasiliades

Me in Oak Square, first grade, 1964. Twenty years later my first community involvement in Brighton was working to save this school, which led to my current involvement with many Allston-Brighton civic groups. Contributor: Charlie Vasiliades.

Browse the Allston Brighton 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 8,000 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 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 action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities, including the Boston Harbor Islands. To learn more about University Archives & Special Collections, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

Mass. Memories Road Show heads to Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday, Oct. 25

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Martha's Vineyard MMRS final flyerWhen: Sunday, October 25, 2015 | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Location: Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center | 130 Center Street | Vineyard Haven, Mass.

Do you have a connection to Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts? Do you live or work in Martha’s Vineyard? Are your roots in Martha’s Vineyard? Do you spend summers in Martha’s Vineyard or do you vacation there? Share your memories and take your place in Massachusetts history at this free, public event.

Please bring 1-3 photos in their original format (digital or print photographs) and your stories to be recorded. We will scan unframed pictures and copy digital images and return the images back to you. All images will be added to the online collection at openarchives.umb.edu. Preserve your memories of this wonderful island!

Read more about this event 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.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is produced by the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston and is co-sponsored by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund.

Local funding for the Martha’s Vineyard Mass. Memories Road Show is provided by Friends of Island Libraries, and a grant from the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council. Additional support provided by The Mansion House Inn and Twin Oaks Inn.

For more information, contact Amy Ryan at 508-696-4211 (ext. 11) or by email at amyryan@clamsnet.org. Or visit the the Martha’s Vineyard Mass. Memories Road Show planning committee’s informational website at www.vhlibrary.org/MMRS.shtml.

Download the flyer for the Martha’s Vineyard Mass. Memories Road Show here and remember to share it with your friends and family members!

You’re Invited! – Researching English Ancestors with the Essex Record Office (UK)

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ERO logo squareWhen: Friday, August 7, 2015 |
10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Location: Research Room, University Archives and Special Collections, 5th floor, Joseph P. Healey Library, University of Massachusetts Boston

Everyone interested in genealogy and family history is welcome to attend this free, public event, sponsored by University Archives & Special Collections, the Joseph P. Healey Library, and the Essex Record Office of the UK.

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP to library.archives@umb.edu.

Allyson Lewis, Archivist, and Neil Wiffen, Public Service Team Manager, will give a one-hour presentation about Essex Record Office and their collections, provide a display of original documents including parish registers and wills, and offer a help desk on researching English ancestors. Read more about the presenters below.

Essex is a county in Eastern England to the north east of London. It has the second longest coastline of any UK county. It has featured throughout English history as a hotbed of revolution and revolt. 6 barons from Essex were instrumental in forcing King John to agree to Magna Carta in 1215 and the Peasants’ Revolt against taxation began in Essex in 1381. During the 17th century it was a centre for developing non-conformist thought and had early congregations of Quakers and Independents both of whom soon made the voyage to the New World and settled in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Essex Record Office is the storehouse of over one thousand years of the county’s history. Collections include maps, parish registers, wills, deeds, manorial records, Quarter Sessions records, charity, business and school records and records of local government. It is also home to the Essex Sound and Video Archive. With over 7 miles of shelving, our purpose built building is fully equipped to preserve these records for the future. Details of the collections are available on Seax our online catalogue. Images of parish registers and wills are available on our family history website, Essex Ancestors.

Parish registers were introduced in England and Wales in 1538 by Thomas Cromwell, adviser to Henry VIII. It was the first time that records were kept of those baptised, married and buried. Elizabeth I restated the need to keep parish registers in 1558 and 1597. These records are a treasure trove for the family historian as they are the main source of information available before the introduction of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths in July 1837.

Wills are a fascinating resource for family history and social history, giving information about family relationships, clothing, possessions, tools, landholdings, animals and religious ideas. Dating from 1400 to 1858, the wills held at Essex Record Office are available online as part of our Essex Ancestors service.

Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited, so please RSVP to library.archives@umb.edu.

Neil profile 1

Neil Wiffen, Public Service Team Manager of the Essex Record Office, was born in and educated in Chelmsford before undertaking his first degree at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. He started working at the ERO in 2000 when the new building was opened. At the University of Essex he completed an MA in Local and Regional History and has a strong interest in the history of the county of Essex sparked off mainly by his Dad telling him tales of watching American bombers taking off from the nearby Boreham Aerodrome. His Wiffen ancestors can be traced back to the Halstead area of Essex to at least 1800 but he is waiting to retire before undertaking his family history proper.

Allyson profileAllyson Lewis is an archivist with 30 years’ experience. She is a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford where she read Modern History. She then took a Masters in Archive Administration at University College London. She has worked at Essex Record Office for 12 years and has responsibility for providing Access Points around the county to bring the Record Office closer to the public. She has focussed on researching First World War ancestry as part of the commemorations of the First World War in 2014. Allyson was born in Liverpool but her family come from all parts of the UK and mainly lead back to the Shetland Islands.

UMass Boston archivists give presentation at ACRL/NEC annual conference

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Meghan Bailey, Processing Archivist in the Healey Library at UMass Boston (left), and a conference attendee discuss the department’s poster.

Last week, archivists from University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston headed to the ACRL/NEC Annual Conference in Worcester, Massachusetts. At this year’s conference, called Spacing Out with the Library: An Exploration of Collaboration Across the Physical, Virtual and those Places in Between, Meghan Bailey and Andrew Elder presented as part of the poster session on the department’s efforts, sparked by the 50th anniversary of the founding of the University of Massachusetts Boston, to carry out a wide range of initiatives, all focused on locating, accessioning, preserving, and sharing the physical evidence of the university’s history.

Meghan and Andrew represented the department at the conference, but the poster was developed and designed collaboratively by the full staff of University Archives & Special Collections.

acrl posterOur poster, titled “‘Save Our History!’ Collaborating to Preserve the Past at UMass Boston,” outlines the various collecting activities, outreach methods, digitization projects, and dogged detective work that resulted in the addition of more than 2,500 linear feet of unique historic materials to the University Archives, as well as a number of well-received public events and exhibitions. We highlight our planning processes, marketing efforts, outreach and collecting endeavors, and our work to share the history of UMass Boston with members of the university community and beyond. We also highlight a number of our successes and identify ways other institutions and archives can work collaboratively to launch similar initiatives.

View the poster and handout here.

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.

Chew on This: 11th annual Mass History Conference explores the history of food in Massachusetts

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2015 bannerWhen: Monday, June 1, 2015 | 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Where: Hogan Campus Center, College of Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass.

Online registration is open. Visit www.masshumanities.org.

Click here for directions.

At this, the eleventh annual Mass History Conference, conference organizers will welcome the many small historical organizations and practitioners preserving, interpreting, and deepening the exploration of Massachusetts history.

You are what you eat! Or are you? At this year’s conference, we will explore the meaning and availability of food in Massachusetts History: what we grow, what we eat, food and identity, scarcity and quality. We will once again present a program that is chock-full of excellent hands-on examples of, and workshops in, the best practices in public history. We are planning workshops on topics like doing food demonstrations; conducting oral histories that focus on food and identity; and using public history in reinventing the food system. The conference will also include sessions on 20th century food production; archives with cookbook and other food-related collections; the history of and current strategies for feeding the hungry in Massachusetts cities and towns; multicultural food ways and local practices; how to interpret account books; Native American food practices; and interpreting agricultural landscapes.

This year’s conference, Chew on This: Presenting the history of food in Massachusetts, will feature a keynote address by filmmaker Ian Cheney, creator of The Search for General Tso, a 2014 documentary film about Chinese food in America, and co-founder of Food Corps.

Conference organizers are happy to welcome the 2015 MA SHRAB Forum to the Mass History Conference! MA SHRAB is holding two free sessions in the afternoon to which any Mass History Conference participant may attend. If you would like to ONLY attend these two SHRAB sessions, register for free on the MA SHRAB Forum Registration Page.

The Mass History Conference, widely celebrated as the best networking and skill-sharing opportunity for historians of our state culture, is co-presented by Mass Humanities, New England Archivists, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Public History Program, Massachusetts State Historical Records Advisory Board (MA SHRAB), the University of Massachusetts Boston Public History and Archives Track, and the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Online registration is open. Visit www.masshumanities.org.