e-Newsletter | April 29, 2022
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We've been getting a lot of calls and emails about the garden tour. "Is it happening this year?" (The answer: Yes!) One person told me her mother always comes up from Connecticut for the weekend and they take it in over two days. Asked how long they'd been doing that, she said, "As long as we've lived here - for 12 years." Start your own new tradition this year! Visit ten private gardens in Newburyport, Newbury and West Newbury. Our 43rd year! One ticket is good for both days. A perfect present for Mother's Day. Get your tickets today.
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Woman on the MOON
...a blog by Bethany Groff Dorau
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A New Look for Old Newbury
The poster for this year’s 43rd annual Garden Tour reveals a new element to our evolving identity at the Museum of Old Newbury. In August 2021, the museum contacted Matter Communications, a public relations, social media, and creative services firm, to explore a refresh of the look of our materials. It started off with a simple request – I needed business cards and stationery, and it set off a search for a logo.
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The Museum of Old Newbury, like many venerable institutions, has a complicated identity based on a century and a half of evolution. Matter had shepherded Lowell’s Boat Shop, the Custom House Maritime Museum, and other respected institutions to new and refreshed brand identities, and I was hoping that they would have some ideas for us as well.
My first contact at Matter was an old friend who works in a different branch of the company than the one that could help me with a logo. She sent me to a colleague. The whole thing seemed quite simple – invite some creative people over, show them some cool stuff, and voilà…a logo. First, we went on a hunt for past marketing and branded materials. They were legion.
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Our legal name is still, and will likely always be, the Historical Society of Old Newbury. Our official letterhead bears that logo – squarely based on their interest in the early years of European settlement. The year of settlement is at the top of the seal, the date of the founding of the Historical Society is at the bottom. There are not one but two people brandishing weapons, a view of a castle, and another of ships in the harbor. It is laden with meaning, with elements that spoke volumes about who the organization was in the first years of its founding, and who they wanted to attract. Aside from some problematic imagery, there was little about this logo, aside from the ships in the harbor, perhaps, that spoke to who the Museum of Old Newbury is today, and who we want to be in the future.
We also had a logo that featured just the Cushing House, others that represented elements of the garden. We had been known as the Hist, 98 High, the Cushing House, The Society, and MOON, among other things. It was a delightful walk-through time celebrating generations in the life of this place I love.
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The Triton, the fan light, and the weathervane were all considered |
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The design team came to the museum, and during our conversation, it became clear that this would not be a simple matter of popping some compelling image onto a business card. We needed a deeper dive into who we are. |
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So, who are we? Our mission statement says: The Museum of Old Newbury preserves and interprets the history of “Old Newbury," which includes Newbury, Newburyport, and West Newbury, from settlement to the present. It's what we do, and it is a good place to start, but who are we to our members, our visitors? What do we have that sets us apart? We preserve significant elements of the collection of the Newburyport Marine Society, along with centuries of other maritime history. So, a ship? But wait – the key elements of our collection are just that – the collections. So, a silver spoon? A pewter flagon? A chair? A figurehead? Detail from important local wallpaper? But wait – don’t people really identify us with the wonderful architecture of the 1808 Cushing House? And what about the years, decades, even, of work that has been done on the garden and landscape? Our peach orchard used to be world famous.
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This is when you realize why, like so many other professions that look like “fun”, branding and marketing are hard work. Matter took it all in, ran it around in their considerable brains, and gave us some options and some reasons why those options could work for us. In the end, the logo you see represents four elements of who we are. The ship, of course, represents our maritime heritage and collection. The wisteria represents a recognizable element of our landscape (those of you who have ever had to fight with wisteria may wish we had chosen differently). The flagon represents our incredible collection of objects from Colonial Newbury, particularly affiliated with the church, and the Cushing House is our home. Any of these images can be called out and used individually, but as a group, they speak to what we have to offer. And as a group they represent a window, a window not only into our past and the history that built this community, but also a window into what comes next. Because after all, a window goes both ways. |
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Selection means elimination, and there are numerous elements that we wish we could have included. One logo idea featured the weathervane from the First Religious Society, an iconic rooster. In a logo, however, it did not work as a representation of the museum. The image on the most recent run of business cards, and on the sign outside, was Triton, a remarkable maritime figure discovered during a harbor dredging operation. Known affectionately as the “Merman”, he is an amazing artifact, but rendered in miniature, he is difficult to place. There is no single thing that speaks explicitly to our incredible art collection and archive.
The museum will change in the decades, and with any luck, centuries ahead. We will continue to search for the best ways to communicate with our friends old and new. In the meantime, beginning on June 2, you can come see it all for yourself. We'll be open to visitors for the first time since 2019. Reserve your Museum of Old Newbury house tour tickets here! It's free for members and residents of "Old Newbury; $10 for those "from away," $8 for seniors, $5 for youth. We are looking forward to seeing you here!
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The Castle Hill Gardens - Past, Present and Future
Thursday, May 26, 7pm at the Museum
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From the restoration of the Grand Allee in 2010 to the rejuvenation of the Rose Garden in 2020, the last decade has returned Castle Hill to a top-notch horticulture destination. New collections of heirloom roses and clematis add layers of complexity to the stunning architecture and sophisticated plantings of the formal gardens. Join Beth Walsh, horticulturist at Castle Hill, for an illustrated discussion of the gardens and learn a bit about their history and their exciting modern iteration!
Beth Walsh, RLA, MCH, is a landscape architect and horticulturist with a background in historic preservation. She has been with The Trustees since 2018 and feels very lucky to call Castle Hill her office. Beth began her career in New York City with the Central Park Conservancy, and prior to joining the Trustees, was the head gardener at a private estate in Manchester-By-The-Sea, where she was able to fully develop an eye for fabulous plant combinations and top-notch maintenance. She is dedicated to managing historic landscapes in ways that keep them true to the past yet relevant and exciting in modern times.
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43rd Annual Garden Tour
June 11 & 12, 2022, 10am-4pm
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The Museum of Old Newbury has secured ten gardens for this year's Garden Tour.
You'll enjoy access to private gardens across "Old Newbury."
$25 for museum members
$35 for non-members
$65 - become a new member and get 2-for-1 tickets
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Literary Festival this Weekend!
April 29 - May 1
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Executive Director Bethany Groff Dorau loves being a part of the rich cultural life of this amazing community.
For nearly a decade, she has organized and hosted history speakers with Ghlee Woodworth as part of the Newburyport Literary Festival. Join Bethany and Ghlee for a full day of engaging, thought-provoking history writers on Sunday, May 1. Watch from home - once again all online this year. Full schedule here: Literary Festival
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Open House at Congregation Ahavas Achim, Sunday, May 15, 4–6pm
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Congregation Ahavas Achim is celebrating 125 years this year! Guided architectural tour of the historic building erected in 1865. Slideshow of photos and a timeline of Newburyport’s Jewish community dating back to 1896. Community memorabilia will be on display and refreshments will be served. This event will be in-person only. CAA is located at 53 1/2 Washington Street.
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Preservation Week is Back! May 20-22
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After an absence of three years, NPT's Preservation Week is returning beginning with a talk on the history of the Mills of Newburyport, narrative walking tours, and self-guided tours. Stay tuned for the complete schedule coming soon! More information on Facebook.
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Something is Always Cooking at the Museum |
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Figgy Chicken
I had a friend who was on a low cholesterol diet so I made up this recipe several years ago. We all like it because it's an easy stove top recipe, the fruitiness is really pleasing, especially in the spring, and it looks pretty on the plate - something to make a weekday dinner a little more festive. -Susan Edwards
Two skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup orange juice
1/3 cup white wine (Pinot Grigio is recommended)
orange zest
generous pinch of rosemary
1 1/2 tablespoons of orange fig spread*
1 1/2 tablespoons of raspberry vinegar
Dredge chicken breasts in flour. Sauté with butter in a large skillet until they are lightly browned. Add orange juice, white wine, zest, and rosemary and simmer chicken for 20 minutes. Add more liquid if needed. Add fig spread and continue cooking for about 20 minutes. When liquid is slightly reduced, add raspberry vinegar and stir until it makes a sauce and coats the spoon.
Serve with rice and an avocado and orange salad.
*If you can't find orange fig spread, use regular fig spread and add a teaspoon of orange marmalade.
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Click on image above to play the puzzle |
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Black and white silk fan embellished with silver sequins
19th century
Gift of Francis Benjamin, Museum of Old Newbury collections
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Museum e-Newsletter made possible through the
generosity of our sponsors:
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Museum of Old Newbury
98 High Street
Newburyport, MA 01950
978-462-2681
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