Get your cameras ready! Blackstone Valley is about to get really colorful! Pictured here is Manchaug Falls in Sutton, MA, tucked away in a little park on the corner of Manchaug Road and Main Street and across from Manchaug Mills. But, before you head out for picture taking this season, brush up on the history of Blackstone's beautiful mill villages with our walking tour brochures.
Photo by Bonnie Combs
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
In This Edition - September 2, 2021

  • BHC Seeks Nominations for John H.Chafee Heritage Awards
  • Accessible Cycling for Veterans - September 10, 17, 24
  • Plein Air Painting at the Little Red Shop Museum in Hopedale - September 18
  • Volunteer with BHC at the Greenway Challenge - September 25
  • Volunteer Hours are Due October 1
  • News from Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
John H. Chafee Heritage Awards
BHC Seeks Nominations For John H. Chafee Heritage Awards
The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor (BHC) seeks nominations for the John H. Chafee Heritage Awards. The Chafee Awards honor individuals or groups who have worked on projects, programs, and organizations that promote cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and/or the quality of life in the Blackstone River Valley. Award winners will be honored early this winter.

BHC established the award to honor the late Senator John H. Chafee and recognizes citizens and organizations whose work in the Blackstone Valley embodies Chafee’s vision and ideas. Recipients have included community leaders, preservation heroes, business partners, environmental advocates, and students whose achievements resulted in public benefit.

To submit a nomination, send a one-page letter citing their accomplishments. In addition, please indicate if the candidate is a student for whom there is a separate category. Nominations must be received by October 15, 2021, and can be mailed to Chafee Awards, Blackstone Heritage Corridor, 670 Linwood Avenue, Whitinsville, MA, 01588, or emailed to Devon Kurtz at dkurtz@blackstoneheritagecorridor.org.
Accessible Cycling for Veterans
along the Woonasquatucket River Greenway
Plein Air Painting at the Little Red Shop Museum - Hopedale - September 18
Saturday, September 18
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Arts in the Parks
Plein Air Painting
at the Little Red Museum
12 Hopedale Street
Hopedale, MA

Come paint with us outdoors! Enjoy painting in the media of your choice on the grounds of the Little Red Shop Museum at Hopedale Pond during Hopedale's Day in the Park celebration.

This is a non-instructional event. Pre-registration is required.
In celebration of World Watercolor Month and the 125th Birthday of the Looff Carousel at Slater Memorial Park in Pawtucket, RI, we invited artists to join us to paint what inspired them around the beautiful grounds at the park.

This event was presented in partnership with the Rhode Island Watercolor Society and the City of Pawtucket Parks and Recreation Department.

Photos and videos by Suzanne Buchanan, Bonnie Combs, Laura Cenedella, and Vicki Sullivan. Video produced by Dennis Smith, a Volunteers-In-Parks volunteer.
VOLUNTEER WITH BHC
AT A GREENWAY CHALLENGE TRANSITION SITE
Come and VOLUNTEER with us!

Looking for an exciting volunteer opportunity?

Come and volunteer with us at the UNIBANK Blackstone River Valley Greenway Challenge on Saturday, September 25.

We are sponsoring a transition site at the River Bend Farm Visitor Center at Blackstone River & Canal Heritage State Park in Uxbridge.

Volunteers will help with transitions from street bikes to trail run, trail run to paddle, and final paddle to run. Site jobs include timing, direction posts, crowd control, etc.

To learn more, contact Bonnie Combs at bcombs@blackstoneheritagecorridor.org.


Respond by September 8 for a free volunteer t-shirt.
Volunteer Hours are Due by October 1 for Year-End
VIPs - Please Submit Your Hours
As the 2021 Fiscal Year comes to a close on September 30, this is a friendly reminder to volunteers to please submit your hours by October 1.

As you know, the value of a volunteer is now $28.54 per hour, and your hours count as in-kind contributions and support the important work we do throughout the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.

Earlier this year, we launched a new website for recording your hours. If you need any help with this, please reach out to Suzanne at sbuchanan@blackstoneheritagecorridor.org.

Remembering Volunteer Margaret Carroll

A memorial service for Margaret Carroll will be held Saturday, September 11, at 11 a.m. at St. Augustine Church, 15 Lincoln Street, Millville, MA.

The family is requesting that all attendees wear masks and be vaccinated.

Click here for Margaret's obituary.
Thank You For Celebrating Founders Day With Us!
Painting by Dennis Smith, Volunteers-In-Parks volunteer, created during the Founders Day Celebration which included a Plein Air painting event.
Thank you for joining us for our Founders Day Celebration at Old Slater Mill National Historic Landmark on August 25. Not only did we celebrate the 105th birthday of the National Park Service, but we celebrated Old Slater Mill Association's 100th year and the Volunteers-In-Parks program's Hartzog award! The Blackstone River Valley Volunteers-In-Parks program was named the 2020 Region 1 winner of the George & Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in the Park Volunteer Program Award category. The event was also the backdrop for a Plein Air painting event and a Day of Service volunteer project with employees from Displays2go.

Suzanne Buchanan, BHC's Volunteer Coordinator, presented each volunteer with a custom-designed medal created by ChemArt of Lincoln, RI. Special recognition was given to:



  • Dick Moore, BHC's Board Chair, for his continued service on BHC's Board of Directors, starting as a Commissioner with the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in 1986.

  • Bob Billington, President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, for his continued service on BHC's Board of Directors, starting as a Commissioner back in 1986.

  • Bill Luther, from the Ten Mile River Watershed Council, for his recruitment of river stewards to remove litter along the Ten Mile River Greenway, volunteering with the Blackstone Heritage Bikeway Ambassadors and leading Rides of Discovery, as well as volunteering at adaptive cycling and kayaking events.

  • Bob Evans, leader of the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Photography Ambassadors, who also played a vital role during COVID offering technical assistance to BHC.

  • Dennis Smith, for helping to launch the Plein Air painting events and making follow-up videos.

Suzanne also presented Senator Jack Reed with an honorary volunteer medal for his years of service supporting the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park.

Senator Reed presented Suzanne with a special certificate to recognize her many years of service to the Blackstone River Valley.
Following the volunteer awards ceremony, volunteers lined up along the railing while Vicki Sullivan, BHC Photography Ambassador, took a photo from the other side of the river.

See more photos from the event in the link below. Special thanks to Blackstone Heritage Corridor Photography Ambassador Carol Dandrade for being the event photographer. Additional photos were contributed by Paddle Club volunteer Cheryl Thompson, BHC Photography Ambassador Vicki Sullivan, and BHC staff.
News from Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
National Park Service Introduces Two New Permanent Staff Members
at Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park
and Roger Williams National Memorial
"Kevin Rice is our new administrative assistant, and Allison Horrocks has returned as a permanent park ranger," Eric Breitkreutz, Park Superintendent, announced. "We're honored to welcome these talented and kind people to our team here at these two national parks."

Kevin joins the team as a motivated professional in administration with a strong background in Public History. Since graduating with his master's in public history from Southern New Hampshire University, Kevin has worked for seven National Parks (Padre Island NS, Saugus Iron Works NHS, Salem Maritime NHS, Springfield Armory NHS, Coltsville NHP, Saint Gaudens NHP, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP) and has held positions in four different divisions.

Kevin currently lives in the North Shore of Massachusetts with his fiancée, Christina, their cat Ziggy, and dog Noodles. They all look forward to creating a new chapter in the National Historical Park and National Heritage Corridor!
Allison began her career with the National Park Service in 2016 as a DOI/VISTA serving the park and Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc. She spent the last four years at Lowell National Historical Park, where she created a series of community dialogs about current issues, gave tours of the Lowell mills and canals, and portrayed a mill girl for teacher workshops.

Allison is a Rhode Island native and is most excited to see Slater Mill become a premier cultural destination and community space. Her cat's name is Raymond. She may be reached at Allison_Horrocks@NPS.gov. 

For the time being, both will have offices at Slater Mill.

Photo: Ranger Allison Horrocks
Shakespeare in the Park

Remaining Shows:
September 2 - 5

8:00 p.m.

Free Admission!

Roger Williams National Memorial
282 North Main Street
Providence, RI
 
Bring a lawn chair, a blanket, and refreshments, and enjoy an amazing and entertaining evening under the stars with the stars of this show.
National Park Service Hosts Artist Dan Borelli at Slater Mill

Public Workshops: September 9, 11, and 25
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Slater Mill
67 Roosevelt Avenue
Pawtucket, RI

Massachusetts artist Dan Borelli will spend the next few months as Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park’s artist in residence. In a project titled “Illuminating Futures: Blackstone River Valley,” Borelli will gather information from locals around Old Slater Mill to hear stories and create a prototype installation. This proposed lighting installation will raise awareness about water quality and foster stewardship for the Blackstone River.

In his "Ground Truthing" workshop, you’ll learn techniques for seeing the relationship of the city to the river and learn about how we connect with the river in our everyday lives. Find more info here.
Take Me Fishing Day

Sunday, September 26
10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Kelly House Museum of Transportation
1075 Lower River Road
Lincoln, RI

Join Rhode Island Fish and Wildlife and National Park Service staff for a free, family-friendly day of fishing on the Blackstone River. Poles and bait will be available as well as lessons.

For more information, visit nps.gov/blrv or facebook.com/BlackstoneNPS.
Become a GearHead Junior Ranger
"Explore, Discover, Protect, and GO!"

The Junior Ranger motto is recited by children around the country, each taking an oath of their own to protect parks, continue to learn about parks, and share their own ranger story with friends and family. Here in the Blackstone River Valley, Junior Rangers are called GearHeads. What's a GearHead, you might ask?

GearHead (n.): a kid, powered by the gears in their brain, who explores nature, discovers history, protects the environment, and goes on adventures throughout the Blackstone River Valley.

Click through the GearHeads website and claim your Junior Ranger status today! Submit a completed activity, and we'll send you a Junior Ranger badge!

Click here to download and print.

Note: print on legal size paper.
Navigate & Explore the Blackstone River Valley
with our Interactive Map!


670 Linwood Avenue, Whitinsville, MA 01588
(508) 234-4242
Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.