Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show photographs online now

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The photographs and stories gathered at the Nahant Mass. Memories Road Show are available online now for research.

Gathering of summer playmates on grounds of Motley family home. These were my mom's generation of friends. Pictured, from left to right: Herbert Motley, Eleanor Warren Motley, George Richardson, Elizabeth Motley, Pierson Richardson, Elliot Richardson, David Devens, and Pat Devens.

Summer friends, 1924. ‘Gathering of summer playmates on grounds of Motley family home. These were my mom’s generation of friends. Pictured, from left to right: Herbert Motley, Eleanor Warren Motley, George Richardson, Elizabeth Motley, Pierson Richardson, Elliot Richardson, David Devens, and Pat Devens.’ Contributor: Kristy Lee.

 

Held at the Nahant Town Hall on Saturday, April 1, 2017, the event was organized by the Nahant Public Library, 01908, Nahant Council on Aging, Nahant Historical Society, Nahant Public Schools, Nahant Safer Waters in Massachusetts, Inc. (S.W.I.M.), and Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center with funding from the Friends of Nahant Public Library and the Nahant Cultural Council. Over twenty local volunteers came out on a snowy spring day to collaborate with a team of UMass Boston staff members and public history graduate students, as well as “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Show events, to welcome more than 100 adults and children with connections to the town on the North Shore of Boston.

This is a rite of passage growing up here in Nahant--jumping off the wharf! My son relishes in every summer moment. Pictured: Casey DeCamp. Location: Town Wharf

Nahant summer rite of passage, 2014. ‘This is a rite of passage growing up here in Nahant–jumping off the wharf! My son relishes in every summer moment. Pictured: Casey DeCamp.’ Contributor: Liz Carlson.

 

Participants contributed images of everyday life in this tiny island community over the years. Summertime family gatherings are especially well represented in the collection. Many individuals shared memories of their enjoyment of the island’s natural beauty–and photographs capturing sunsets, beaches, and scenic views from their kitchen windows.

'Family photo on Curlew Beach where we played and swam. Pictured, from back to front, left to right: Isabelle (Belle) Oakes Hunnewell, Hollis Hunnewell, Elliot January Hunnewell, Horatio Hollis Hunnewell, Peter Remsen Hunnewell, and Edith Elliot Hunnewell, and Tiller. Location: Curlew Beach.'

Hunnewell family photo, 1972. ‘Family photo on Curlew Beach where we played and swam.’ Contributor: Edith E. Hunnewell.

 

Several photographs document informal gatherings of teenagers at the local convenience store and organized activities of groups such as the Girl Scouts, the Nahant Women’s Club and the Knights of Columbus.  Many images depict Nahant residents’ efforts to clean up the ocean waters around the island as well as the scientific research and education programs of Northeastern University’s Marine Science Center.

This photo pictures the founding director of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center, Doc Riser. This photo means a lot of me because it exemplifies the perpetual curosity and love for science that made Doc an exemplary leader and inspired future generations of marine scientist. In my role as an educator at the Marine Science Center, I explore these same tidepools with youth and am honored to carry on Doc Riser's legacy of science curosity and passion. Pictured: Nathan 'Doc' Riser. Location: East Point.'

Tidepooling with Doc Riser, founding director of the Northeastern University Marine Science Center, 1960s or 1970s. ‘This picture means a lot to me because it exemplifies the perpetual curiosity and love for science that made him an exemplary leader and inspired future generations of marine scientists.’ Contributor: Val Perini.

 

Browse the Nahant 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 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.

Exhibition celebrates thirty-year history of Joiner Institute’s Writers’ Workshop

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The exhibition includes two wall displays. Pictured here, attendees at the exhibition’s opening reception view mounted translations of Zen poems from early Vietnam.

Earlier this summer, University Archives & Special Collections worked with staff from the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences at UMass Boston on an exhibition celebrating the thirty-year history of the Institute’s Writers’ Workshop.

The display, in the Walter Grossmann Memorial Gallery in the Healey Library, includes a range of materials related to the Writers’ Workshop, as well as archival materials, photographs, and artwork from the Archives’ Joiner Institute collections.

This year’s Writers’ Workshop Festival and Celebration, which was held in June, “celebrated 30 years of community and creative responses to war” and continued the Institute’s “tradition of focusing on the intersections of writing, war, social justice, and peace making.” In this exhibit, we look back on the history of the Writers’ Workshop, as well as the wide range of accomplishments and activities of the Joiner Institute since it was established in 1982. Additionally, this display features materials from a number of archival collections in University Archives & Special Collections that document the history of the Vietnam War (many materials were originally collected by or in collaboration with the Joiner Institute).

Included as part of this exhibition are a number of posters from the archival collections and Vietnamese water puppets. The art and practice of Water puppetry in Vietnam dates back to the 11th century.
Included as part of this exhibition are a number of posters from the archival collections and Vietnamese water puppets. The art and practice of Water puppetry in Vietnam dates back to the 11th century.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers' Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers’ Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers' Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers’ Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers' Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop. In addition, the exhibition documents a major initiative of the Joiner Institute since the late 1980s: the translation of Vietnamese literature, fiction, and poetry, into English. Included in this display is information about Vietnamese author Le Luu, a former soldier in the North Vietnamese army and the first Vietnamese writer to visit the United States since the war ended in 1975. Luu was a guest of the Writers’ Workshop in 1988.
This exhibition features archival materials such as newsletters, photographs, flyers, and more, that document the early years of the Writers’ Workshop, as well as more recent activities of the Workshop. In addition, the exhibition documents a major initiative of the Joiner Institute since the late 1980s: the translation of Vietnamese literature, fiction, and poetry, into English. Included in this display is information about Vietnamese author Le Luu, a former soldier in the North Vietnamese army and the first Vietnamese writer to visit the United States since the war ended in 1975. Luu was a guest of the Writers’ Workshop in 1988.
This exhibition features a range of materials related to the study of war and social consequences that are part of University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston. Pictured here are materials from the Francois Sully collection. Other collections featured include the photographs and papers of Gloria Emerson, photographs by Philip Jones Griffiths/Magnum, and materials related to WGBH's Vietnam: A Television History.
This exhibition features a range of materials related to the study of war and social consequences that are part of University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston. Pictured here are materials from the Francois Sully collection. Other collections featured include the photographs and papers of Gloria Emerson, photographs by Philip Jones Griffiths/Magnum, and materials related to WGBH’s Vietnam: A Television History.
The exhibition includes two wall displays. Pictured here is a display of photographs related to the Writers' Workshop by Melissa Shook.
The exhibition includes two wall displays. Pictured here is a display of photographs related to the Writers’ Workshop by Melissa Shook.
The exhibition includes two wall displays. Pictured here are mounted translations of Zen poems from early Vietnam.
The exhibition includes two wall displays. Pictured here are mounted translations of Zen poems from early Vietnam.

This display was organized in close collaboration with the Joiner Institute.

University Archives & Special Collections has curatorial responsibility for material acquired by the William Joiner Institute (formerly the William Joiner Center) as part of its mission to study the effects of the Vietnam War on our society, as well as the study of war and social consequences more broadly. The collections of archives, manuscripts, photographs, and videos primarily explore veterans’ issues and experiences.

Explore the Joiner Center/Institute collections and collections related to war and social consequences. For a guide to researching the Vietnam War, click here.

Visit the display in the Grossmann Gallery on the 5th floor of the Healey Library at UMass Boston. The exhibition will run through the fall of 2017.

For questions about the exhibition and these collections, 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.

Mass. Memories Road Show program manager Carolyn Goldstein interviewed on Where’s Wilmington? television show

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Carolyn Goldstein, Public History and Community Archives Program Manager in University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston, was featured on a recent episode of Where’s Wilmington? 

The show’s host, Lisa Kapala, spoke with Carolyn and with Charlotte Wood, Assistant Director of the Wilmington Memorial Library, about the Wilmington Mass. Memories Road Show event scheduled for Saturday, September 30, at Wilmington High School. Click here to view the video online.

Charlotte Wood (left) and Carolyn Goldstein (right) on Where’s Wilmington? Click image to view video.

 

To learn more about this Road Show, see the Wilmington Town Crier article and download a flyer about the event.

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. It is produced by the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston and is co-sponsored by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund.

Questions? Email carolyn.goldstein@umb.edu or cwood@wilmlibrary.org.

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.

American Youth Hostels records: Explore the history of bicycling in this newly-processed collection

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University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to announce that a number of our collections related to the history of bicycling have been processed and are now available for research. This is the third of several planned posts on Open Archives News that will highlight recently-processed collections in University Archives & Special Collections related to the history of bicycling.

American Youth Hostels, photograph of bicycling tour, circa 1950-1959. Pictured are a group of cyclists on a tour coordinated by the American Youth Hostels.

American Youth Hostels records, 1874-2012, bulk 1936-2007

The idea of the youth hostel was conceived in 1909 by Richard Shirrmann, an elementary school teacher living in the industrial center of Germany, who wanted to introduce youth to the countryside (1). Shirrmann’s idea caught on and by 1932, Germany had more than 2,000 youth hostels recording more than 4.5 million overnights annually. In the meantime, the movement spread throughout Europe as another 600 hostels opened (2).

That same year, the first international meeting for hosteling associations was held in Amsterdam to develop common standards, and the International Youth Hostel Federation was formed. Isabel and Monroe Smith attended the second international meeting in 1933 (1). Isabel Smith was an art schoolteacher and Monroe Smith a Boy Scout leader.

In 1934, the Smiths established the first American Youth Hostels (AYH) in Northfield, Massachusetts. A chain of hostels was subsequently set up in Vermont and New Hampshire in the summer of 1935. These early hostels were located on farms, with support from a local committee (2).

American Youth Hostels photograph of Dr. Dudley White with a group of cyclists, circa 1950-1959

It didn’t take long for the youth hostel movement and its mission to spread. By May 8, 1947, the proposed by-laws from Article II of the Greater Boston Council of the American Youth Hostels stated: “the purpose of the Council shall be to help all, but especially young people, to a greater knowledge, use and love of the countryside, and to make available to them the cultural and educational benefits of travel, both here and abroad, particularly by establishing, maintaining and inspecting youth hostels within the Greater Boston area and assisting in their establishment in the surrounding areas; by arranging hiking, cycling, skiing and other trips or activities, and training trip leaders; and by providing an information service; to maintain a Council office and staff; to endeavor to promote within the Greater Boston area the development and greater service of youth hostels generally” (3).

The AYH incorporated bicycling as part of their programming during the Great Depression, appealing to the AYH mission to promote travel, health, and the enjoyment of the outdoors (4). AYH cycling tours in length and included day trips and overnight trips exploring the countryside, neighboring communities, various states, Canada, Europe and South America.

By the post-war period, the bicycling world often merged with the AYH. During the 1950s, future founder of the Charles River Wheelmen, Fred Chaffee, led popular cycle and nature tours at AYH (4). In 1964, AYH joined the bicycle industry to kick off “American Bike Month” in response to the increase in pollution (4). John Leek, who worked from 1975-1978 at the Bicycle Repair Collection in Cambridge, and hosted the first office of Bikes Not Bombs, led many AYH bicycle tours (4). During the mid- to late-1980s, the AYH joined the Boston Area Bicycling Coalition and the Charles River Wheelmen to host numerous Grape Nuts Bike Festivals in Boston (4).

American Youth Hostels newsletter, 1941 May 8

The American Youth Hostels records consist of board agenda, minutes, reports, charters, contracts, notes, newsletters, correspondence, by-laws, flyers, clippings, maps, photographs, scrapbooks, CDs, and one VHS tape. A listing of American Youth Hostels clubs established between 1965 and 1967 resides in folder 19 of Series I. A short history on hostels entitled “Highroad to Adventure – The Hostel Way: A slide show by the Greater Boston Council American Youth Hostels, by Stephen Sloss, 1977” can be found in Series VI. Scrapbooks.

View the finding aid for this collection here.

Read more about the various bicycling-related collections in University Archives & Special Collections at UMass Boston here, and learn more about researching the history of bicycling here. To learn more about the AYH’s involvement in and the cultural history of bicycling keep an eye out for the anticipated 2018 publication of Boston’s 20th Century Bicycling Renaissance: Cultural Change on Two Wheels by Lorenz J. Finison.

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

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

  1. “Hostelling International USA: History of Hostelling.” HI USA. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2015.
  2. Series I. Organizational Records, 1945-2011, folder 17. Leader’s Manuel Part 1 revised, January 1991.
  3. Series I. Organizational Records, 1945-2011, folder 1. Secretary’s reports [minutes], 1945- 1950.
  4. Finison, Lorenz J. Boston’s 20th Century Bicycling Renaissance: Cultural Change on Two Wheels. Anticipated publication 2018.

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.

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.