Tag Archives: public history

The story behind the photos: Video interviews from the Mass. Memories Road Show

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The Mass. Memories Road Show team is thrilled to announce that the video interviews collected at Mass. Memories Road Shows over the past 10 years are starting to become available at openarchives.umb.edu. For this progress, we thank Lael Dalal, a summer intern from the archives program at Simmons College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science, who has developed a workflow for editing and cataloging the videos and for uploading them to our online platform. So far, Lael has uploaded the videos for Brewster, Halifax, Irish Immigrant Experience, Milton, Stoughton, and, most recently, Provincetown.

In this blog post, Lael shares her experience working with the video interviews in the collection:

While at UMass Boston, I have had a chance to work with what I think are the most intriguing elements of the Mass. Memories Road Show collection–the video interviews. Before I arrived, I had only a vague idea of what a Road Show entailed. I quickly discovered that at each event participants bring photographs to be scanned and cataloged. In addition, they can sit for a short interview and explain the “story behind the photos” in front of a video camera. These wonderful videos, most of which were recorded by Jack Lerner and Liz Clancy of Best Dog Ever Films, offer invaluable context for the photographs and written stories in the collection.

Andre Rouse and his daughter Trinity at the Stoughton Mass. Memories Road Show

All of the videos record contemporary personal stories for posterity. Some are endearing and heartbreaking. One of my favorites is of Andre Rouse and his young daughter Trinity at the Stoughton Mass. Memories Road Show. They brought photographs of themselves over the years at Stoughton events and family gatherings. While the photos show them participating together in community activities, the video captures their sweet relationship and shows how a loving father has raised his daughter after his wife passed away.

Lawren F. Cohen at the Brewster Mass. Memories Road Show

Other very personal videos also provide a sense of what a community was like at a particular period in history. One of my favorites is from Lawren F. Cohen in Brewster, where he shares memories growing up by the ocean during the Great Depression. He describes the hardships he endured–including hunting for his family so they could eat– yet recalls the time fondly. He lights up and laughs when he recalls working at an old country store as a young man, where he and other “rouges” would hangout and cause a ruckus.

Cornelius McEleney at the Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show

Cornelius McEleney at the Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show is another video near to my heart. This thematic event focused on a particular cultural group, rather than on a town or city in Massachusetts. McEleney came from Ireland many years ago and towards the end of the video sings a beautiful song about the trials and tribulations of Irish immigrants who came to America. The song is a unique complement to the photos that he contributed.

The videos tell varied and multi-faceted stories and serve as important documents connecting the past to the present. You can view the videos at openarchives.umb.edu by browsing each Road Show and by searching for “video” in each Road Show’s collection.

Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show images and stories now available

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'Taken outside family home in County Kerry, Ireland. Pictured, from left to right: Moriarty cousins (children in rear), (front left) my uncle James Shea, (front right) my grandmother Mary Shea.' 1938. Contributor: Joan Walsh.

‘Taken outside family home in County Kerry, Ireland. Pictured, from left to right: Moriarty cousins (children in rear), (front left) my uncle James Shea, (front right) my grandmother Mary Shea.’ 1938. Contributor: Joan Walsh.

The images and stories gathered at the Irish Immigrant Experience Mass. Memories Road Show on November 16, 2013 are now available online. Held at the Irish Cultural Centre of New England (ICCNE) in Canton, Mass., the event was organized and sponsored by the ICCNE in conjunction with The Irish Ancestral Research Association (TIARA), The Eire Society of Boston, and the Consulate General of Ireland.

Two dozen volunteers from these organizations worked together with a team of UMass Boston staff members and graduate students as well as “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Shows to welcome individuals with connections to Ireland and Irish American heritage.

'We were waiting in Cobh to board the boat to America--we went into N.Y. port. Pictured, from left to right, back to front: my dad Patrick Heeney, myself Frances Heeney, my mother Anna Heeney and Mary Heeney.' 1953. Contributor: Fran Heeney.

‘We were waiting in Cobh to board the boat to America–we went into N.Y. port. Pictured, from left to right, back to front: my dad Patrick Heeney, myself Frances Heeney, my mother Anna Heeney and Mary Heeney.’ 1953. Contributor: Fran Heeney.

About 100 individuals shared almost 250 photographs of family members who immigrated from Ireland to the United States as long ago as the mid-19th century and as recently as the late-20th century. Several contributors brought images of ancestors who were born in Ireland, recording carefully researched stories of how their relatives settled, found work, and formed communities in Massachusetts.

'This is a picture of my father's mother, sister and brothers after they were finally together again in America. My father was approx. 29 years old. Most families had a similar photo taken after arriving in America. This picture always brings back memories of this wonderful group of people. Pictured, from back to front, left to right: Mary Kathleen Sheehan, Cornelius Sheehan, Jerimah Sheehan, my father John Sheehan, my grandmother Nora Sheehan and William Sheehan.' 1926. Contributor: Claire McWade.

‘This is a picture of my father’s mother, sister and brothers after they were finally together again in America. My father was approx. 29 years old. Most families had a similar photo taken after arriving in America. This picture always brings back memories of this wonderful group of people. Pictured, from back to front, left to right: Mary Kathleen Sheehan, Cornelius Sheehan, Jerimah Sheehan, my father John Sheehan, my grandmother Nora Sheehan and William Sheehan.’ 1926. Contributor: Claire McWade.

Studio portraits of Irish American families in Boston neighborhoods and surrounding towns figure prominently in this collection. Images of first communions, weddings, and family reunions are among the types of special occasions preserved. Many photographs and stories document the service of Irish Americans in the U.S. military during the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and, more recently, in Iraq.

Browse the Irish Immigrant Experience 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 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.