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Stay engaged with the MHS this year!
“if you should find me Sublime remember I catch it from you, for I admire the thots your rural retirement afford you, but they must in some measure result from an heart that can Look with pleasure within itself, free from those hurries & perplexities which attend those who not happy at home, Seek for happiness in the Circle of Noise & Vanity, & to whom the Sober moments of Calm reflection & Solitude are intolerable.”
Urn Finial

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote “Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry-arch of the North-Church-tower, as a signal light, —One if by land and two if by sea...” in his epic poem Paul Revere’s Ride. The story he presented, although historically inaccurate, was based on his research of a document written by Paul Revere and given to the MHS. Because of the churchs role in Boston’s Revolutionary story, the building is a revered stop on the Freedom Trail and an important part of US history.

This finial, shaped like an urn, was part of the Charles Bullfinch 1806 redesign of the Old North Church after a hurricane in 1804 toppled the original steeple of 1723. However it is the last finial in existence from the Old North Church from that redesign, as Hurricane Carol damaged the steeple once more on 31 August 1954.

Urns are a common symbol in churches and graveyards as they represent death, specifically, bodily remains. When an urn is draped, or has drapery on it, as this one does, it represents the separation of life from death.

Pilot Project: Crowdsourcing Transcriptions

The MHS has launched a pilot transcription project and we are looking for volunteers to help transcribe documents right from home! We encourage everyone to create an account and try it out.

Transcription is the process of converting handwritten documents, diaries, or other kinds of manuscripts into readable texts. Eventually, this project will help to create searchable transcriptions of these documents, like the example shown here, and in the future the transcriptions will make these collections infinitely more accessible.

We are beginning our pilot project with the missionary journals of Luman Boyden. This is one of a number collections related to marginalized communities, including African Americans, those who are economically disadvantaged, and Native Americans, that have been recently digitized by the MHS.

Are you interested in trying your hand at transcriptions? Sign up today and see what is available to transcribe by visiting: https://www.masshist.org/mymhs. Questions? Visit the FAQ page.

The Making History Gala is just around the corner. Historian Heather Cox Richardson—one of USA Today’s “Women of the Year”—will be joined by GBH’s Jared Bowen to provide a wonderful evening for guests.

 
“[Richardson] is the breakout star of the newsletter platform Substack, doing the opposite of most media as she calmly situates the news of the day in the long sweep of American history.” -The New York Times
The Object of History Podcast New Episode on 15 April

On 15 April 2022, listen to episode 9, “The Many Lives of the Lusitania Medal” In this episode, experts examine several medals produced when a German U-boat torpedoed the Lusitania, civilian British ocean liner, during the First World War. The medals became the center of a propaganda campaign that spanned the Atlantic. Originally created by a German artist, the medals quickly became tools for the Allied propaganda machine and a nightmare for the German government. 

Set your calendars for the April release! Listen to it here on the MHS website, or wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.
March and April will feature a mix of virtual and hybrid events, with a choice of in-person or virtual attendance. Please be sure to register in the way you plan to attend.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED

Pipe Dreams: The Pursuit of Desalination & the Promise of a Water-Abundant Future in the 1950s & 1960s

Elizabeth Hameeteman, Boston University, presents Pipe Dreams: The Pursuit of Desalination & the Promise of a Water-Abundant Future in the 1950s & 1960s, with comment by Megan Black, MIT, an Environmental History Seminar.

Driven by the strong conviction that water resources needed to be managed, controlled, and used in a rational manner, fears about not being able to meet present and future water needs triggered and justified the proliferation of large water infrastructure projects in the post-WWII period—and also, as I propose, the pursuit of desalination. Its potential as a new, untapped source of fresh water carried promises of modernization and development, and especially appealed to governments looking to develop, diversify, and decentralize sources of supply. By uncovering how several countries and international organizations imagined the potential of desalination, and tried to jumpstart its widespread adoption, I show how the story of desalination adds new layers to our understanding of the postwar development era.

This is a virtual event. A registration link will be posted on the MHS website when the seminar is rescheduled.
Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril & Possibilities in the Early American West

On Wednesday, 13 April, at 6:00 PM, Samuel Foreman, MD, presents Ill-Fated Frontier: Peril & Possibilities in the Early American West.

Ill-Fated Frontier is a pioneer adventure with a compelling narrative of the frictions that emerged among entrepreneurial pioneers on a planned expedition, sixty enslaved people, Native Americans fighting to preserve their land, and Spanish colonials with their own agenda. It is a turbulent and visceral portrait of the wild American frontier in 1789 that begins with an optimistic plan and ends with the body of one of the expedition’s leaders returning to New Jersey pickled in a barrel of rum. What happened in between lies at the center of this fascinating account.

This is a hybrid event. The in-person reception starts at 5:30 and the program begins at 6:00. There is a $10 in-person fee (no charge for virtual attendees, MHS Members, or EBT Cardholders.)

Queer Abby: Newspaper Advice Columnists as Allies for Gays & Lesbians, 1960–1980

On Thursday, 14 April, at 5:15 PM, David Ferrara, University of Alabama, presents Queer Abby: Newspaper Advice Columnists as Allies for Gays & Lesbians, 1960–1980, with comment by Lauren Gutterman, University of Texas at Austin, a History of Women, Gender & Sexuality Seminar.

This dissertation chapter examines newspaper advice columnists as resources for queer Americans. From the early 1960s onward, columnists like Abigail Van Buren, Ann Landers, and Helen Bottel elevated queer voices to millions of readers. Within the context of the nascent homophile movement, nationally syndicated columnists created alternative platforms for mediated discussions about queer sexualities. They proliferated information that could be otherwise difficult to obtain, and occasionally provided counsel intended to destigmatize queer desire. Advice columns, by their interactive nature, provided queer people a forum to discuss their identities, articulate their desires, and contradict misconceptions about homosexuality before mainstream audiences.

This is a virtual event.


The MHS offers both virtual and hybrid programs. For hybrid events, please be sure to register which way you will attend. Visit www.masshist.org/events for updates, cancellations, and to register.

On Wednesday, 20 April, at 6:00 PM, Barbara Gannon, University of Central Florida, presents 54th Unmarked Dead in Olustee, Florida. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 21 April, at 6:00 PM, John Demos presents Narrative History, in conversation with Catherine Allgor, MHS. This is a hybrid event.

On Monday, 25 April, at 6:00 PM, Michael Meyer presents Benjamin Franklin’s Last Bet: The Favorite Founder’s Divisive Death, Enduring Afterlife & Blueprint for American Prosperity. This is a virtual event.

On Tuesday, 26 April, at 5:15 PM, Michael Glass, Boston College, presents A Decent Home: The 1950s Suburban Boom on Long Island, with comment by Rebecca K. Marchiel, University of Mississippi, a Malgeri Modern American Society & Culture Seminar. This is a hybrid event.

On Wednesday, 27 April, at 6:00 PM, Jim Vrabel and Susan Wilson present Film Club: The Bostonians. This is a virtual event.

On Thursday, 28 April, at 5:15 PM, Edward Miller & Bryan Winston, Dartmouth College, present The Dartmouth Digital History Initiative: Digital Humanities, Data Visualization & Oral History Archives, with comment by Janneken Smucker, West Chester University, a L. Dennis Shapiro and Susan R. Shapiro Digital History Seminar. This is a hybrid event.

On Thursday, 28 April, at 6:00 PM, Michael Liu, Author of Forever Struggle: Activism, Identity and Survival in Bostons Chinatown; David Moy, Hyams Foundation; Lydia Lowe, Chinatown Community Land Trust; and Carolyn Chou, Asian American Resource Workshop, present Confronting Economic Injustice: The Story of Parcel C, moderated by Margaret Woo, Northeastern University School of Law. This is a virtual event.
Interested in Viewing Past Programs?
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video or our YouTube channel. A selection of past programs is just a click away.
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