When the Avery/Dennison Company closed most of its operations in Framinghamin 1991 many Framingham History Center volunteers tried desperately to convince them to leave their corporate archives in Framingham with the History Center. Their efforts fell on deaf ears and until this past summer the fate of the archives had been a mystery. No longer!
We are happy to report that thanks to a conversation at a back yard barbeque hosted by FHC volunteer and docent, Mary Gallagher, the Dennison archives are back in Framingham. Paula Boulette, a Dennison facilities manager, told Mary’s son Mark about some dirty, dusty filing cabinets and other items sitting in a warehouse in California that were about to be thrown out. As a longtime Dennison employee living in Framingham, she knew these archives had to be saved and fortunately Mark and Mary put her in touch with the FHC. She said “I don’t know if it is fate, but I had extended my trip to California for a few days and that’s when I saw them.” She insisted that the boxes, filing cabinets and portraits be shipped back to Framingham and they were.
Since July, FHC Curator, Dana Ricciardi, and volunteers Susan Silva, Pat Lavin, Dawne Buckley, Kevin Swope, and Nancy Prince have been sorting through hundreds of boxes in a Dennison warehouse finding treasures too numerous to list here. We’re planning a Dennison Roundtable on January 24th to begin the discussion of what they are finding and their importance to the community.
Nancy Prince’s father was an executive at Dennison for more than 40 years and she has been part of the work crew from the start. She is amazed by how their product line truly followed a person’s life cycle – “from the baby diaper liners, to school products to home making products.” She also mirrored my thinking that Dennison was the precursor to the Martha Stewart empire with their “raising home art and holiday celebrations to a new level.” We’ve always thought Dennison was responsible for Halloween being the commercial holiday that is currently around the world.
Pat Lavin had not know what her mother looked like as a young person until she happened on a picture of her mother as a 15 year old Dennison employee in one of their Round Robin annual publications. Pat, who just finished writing My Dear Esty: Letters from Framigham’s Civil War Soldiers wrote to me saying “ The Civil War letters stole my heart, now the Dennison legacy has filled me with wonder and curiosity. What a treasure trove! It feels like such an honor to have this once in a lifetime opportunity to peruse a family business which includes not only Dennison’s place in Framngham, but its place in the World.”
Dennison had a history room where we imagine the Babylonian tag pictured here that dates back to 2,300 B.C. must have been kept. Nine of these ancient tags are now safely housed in the History Center as part of this remarkable collection. This is truly just the beginning of the story. Come and learn more in January and stay tuned.