Historic New England e-newsletter

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Historic New England

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May 2009

An example of Historic New England's leadership in providing models for other historical organizations is the impact of the article "The Future of the Historic House Museum" that President Carl Nold presented in the Summer 2008 issue of Historic New England magazine. The article was quickly quoted by historical groups in their own newsletters, including a president's column in the Castle Chronicle for Smith's Castle Museum, Wickford, Rhode Island. Connecticut Landmarks, the largest heritage organization in that state, requested permission to reprint the article in their publication. That appearance generated an invitation for Mr. Nold to speak to the Chairman's Council of the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut. Forty-eight community leaders gathered for a talk, including people with connections to the Bruce Museum, Nantucket Historical Association, the Finance Museum, and other organizations. As groups across the region work to engage communities with historic sites, Historic New England's success at building membership and audience is an example for others.

Preserving traditional buildings

A close look at two historic houses

This spring Historic New England's properties in Lincoln, Massachusetts, were the focus of an assessment during the Traditional Building Exhibition and Conference in Boston. More than twenty architects, along with Historic New England's property care staff, participated in a workshop on surveying historic buildings.

Participants from as far away as Hawaii enjoyed lectures and discussion, after which they separated into two groups to examine either the c. 1740 Codman Estate or the 1938 Gropius House. Each team analyzed the site, structure, systems, and finishes. The course on assessments was well timed, since Historic New England has recently begun to survey all thirty-six properties as part of the recently awarded, multi-year Preservation Maintenance Fund grant. Click here to read a recent article on the grant. Bringing professionals from different backgrounds together afforded everyone the opportunity to share expertise and view familiar problems from new perspectives.

Preserving food memories
May Year of the Kitchen recipes

Foodways change with the times, varying according to availability of ingredients, geography, and ethnicity. Recipes can be considered a microcosm of social history. During the Year of the Kitchen, Historic New England offers recipes of the month to share its efforts in preserving stories about food and foodways. In May, we invite you to our website for some of the recipes Ise Gropius prepared at the Gropius House from the 1940s through the early 1980s for her family and guests. We also invite you to visit the Gropius House and view Ise's kitchen for yourself.

Preserving kitchen stories

"America's Kitchens" opens at the New Hampshire Historical Society's museum on June 11.

Castle Tucker vignette

The "America's Kitchens" exhibition uses the kitchen as a way of understanding four centuries of American history. Kitchens tell stories - about families and women's roles; preparing food without running water, electricity, or refrigeration; household help; new technologies; changes in gadgets and appliances; and dramatic shifts in values and everyday life. The exhibition features vignettes of historic kitchens in Colonial New England and nineteenth-century Illinois, as well as a traditional adobe kitchen in the Southwest, and a 1950s bright blue, "show kitchen."

Be sure to visit the exhibition and experience what life in the kitchen was like in other times and places. Churn butter, share a kitchen memory, or jot down a recipe from one of the many cookbooks available.

Historic New England members, RSVP today for the special members-only reception on Saturday, June 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., with exhibition curator Nancy Carlisle. Contact Membership@HistoricNewEngland.org or call 617-227-3956.

Preserving farm friends

Two little pigs

Two little pigs Big Dave and Little Romeo are vacationing at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, and were recently welcomed to the farm by pre-school children participating in the Farm Friends program. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals brought the two pigs to meet six sheep, two goats, one horse, and the turkey "ambassador" housed at the farm as part of a farm animal foster care partnership. Big Dave and Little Romeo are staying at the farm through the summer. Stop by and say hello.

The pigs are fed by donations from the restaurants at The Tannery in Newburyport, owned by Historic New England member David Hall. Big Dave and Little Romeo enjoy buckets of fresh fruit and vegetable scraps three times a week, plus plenty of hay and pig chow.