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“Love, gratitude and esteem, I feel; You cannot doubt it; elaborate expressions of each of these affections of my mind, might prove a copious subject, and the goodness amiableness and many excellent virtues, which excite them, might if represented in their full perfection, adorn the purest Page, and give a fair example of female excellence.”
MHS FY2019 Annual Report Now Available Online
Our Annual Report is now available online. Browse through a digital flip book or download a pdf. Highlights include a year in review by MHS Board Chair Paul Sandman and President Catherine Allgor; an impact story about National History Day in Massachusetts; an acquisition spotlight on a collection of letters to William and Caroline Eustis; and an in memoriam piece about MHS Life Trustee Amalie Kass. Visit www.masshist.org/about/reports and scroll down to MHS Annual Reports to view.
Featured Item from the MHS Collection

Ellery Sedgwick, editor and publisher of  The Atlantic Monthly , observed that "to an editor open-mindedness is of the first importance. [But] there is a point just below credulity and very far above skepticism where his mind should stick and open not one jot further."

This photograph, taken around 1919 by Bachrach, depicts Opal Whiteley in the process of reassembling her diary after it had been ripped into thousands of pieces by a "jealous foster sister." In 1920, Ellery Sedgwick would publish extracts from Whiteley’s reconstructed journal in serial form in the  Atlantic , and then an extended version as The Story of Opal: The Journal of an Understanding Heart . Read about the mysterious Opal Whiteley and how her diary fragments became a published book.
Online Programs

On Wednesday, 20 May, at 5:30 PM, Gavin Kleespies, MHS, will present a virtual tour of historical markers in Cambridge.

Historical markers influence what and who we remember. Yet, they are not always what they appear to be. Some are just wrong. While some of these markers may not reflect the whole truth, sometimes the stories they tell offer important lessons about who gets to shape history. This virtual tour will explore Cambridge’s strange patchwork of unreliable markers including “mimic” houses, mislabeled trees, and even a fake rock. Please note that this program is oversubscribed and registration is now closed. A recording will be available on Friday, 22 May at noon at www.masshist.org/video and on our YouTube channel .
Other Upcoming Programs
On Wednesday, 27 May, at 5:30 PM , join us for an online talk with Ted Widmer, Macauley Honors College (CUNY), about his new book,

In June, we will offer the following online programs:

Visit www.masshist.org/events for more information and to register.  
Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)
 
The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our COVID-19 web display to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or, you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact collections@masshist.org for more information.  
 
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit: www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php . You can also read what others have shared.