By Lydia Fair, 2019 Desilets Memorial Intern
July means that Summertime on the Centre Common, the Framingham History Center’s free family programs are in full swing! On July 11th Outdoors Rx led children in paper kite making and a nature scavenger hunt. On July 18th Larry Spotted Crow Mann, a member of the Nipmuc Tribe of Massachusetts, author, and educator, told traditional stories and shared songs and drumming. The audience ranged from nursery school children to adults who were all engaged in hearing about the first people of Framingham.
In addition to the family programs, preparation is underway to transform the Edgell Memorial Library for the upcoming Framingham’s Top Ten exhibit in October. This week Stacen, Laura and I took down the longstanding Civil War exhibit to open up as much space as possible for the 10 objects that will be displayed. This was another opportunity to practice handling historical objects and observe what precautions are taken to preserve artifacts.
In 1920, the 19th amendment passed which guaranteed and protected a woman’s right to vote. With the 100th anniversary quickly approaching, the FHC is planning a self-guided driving tour which features a dozen important sites pertaining to the Suffragist Movement in Framingham. I have designed the first draft of the brochure which includes information about how these bold women fought for the cause. The final product will be debuted during a program titled “In a Good Cause”: Framingham and the Fight for Women’s Suffrage presented by Anita Danker on September 8th.
One ongoing project that I’m working on is the mini-exhibit which will be displayed in the Village Hall on the Common, just inside the front entrance. I am currently writing text for the timeline that will accompany a display of postcards from the FHC collection. The exhibit will take visitors through the various periods of postcard production throughout U.S. history.
Prior to applying for the Tom Desilets internship I read previous intern’s blog posts and noticed a consistent theme was how fast the summer seemed to pass, and I have to agree – this already being my 7th week!
