Abby Epplett, Historian

On Thursday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m., I attended the third installment of the 2023 Parked at Home series hosted via Zoom by Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park (BRVNHP) . Park rangers Mark Mello of BRVNHP and Joshua Bell at Eisenhower National Historic Site discussed the role of the Blackstone River Valley in military productions from the Civil War to the present, along with the career of five-star general and 34 th United States President Dwight “Ike” David Eisenhower . Mello began the presentation with an overview of the United States presidents, forty-five men serving forty-six terms in office with the obligatory reminder that Grover Cleveland served as 22 nd and 24 th . He reminded the audience that twenty-one NPS sites preserve birthplaces, homes, and other important monuments to the presidents . The Blackstone River Valley has strong connections to 27 th president William Howard Taft , whose family lived in the area and whose ancestor, Lydia Chapin Taft ,...

From November 2 through November 4, I attended the 2022 Annual NEMA ( New England Museum Association ) Conference as a General Scholarship Recipient , which I received thanks to “ Connecticut Humanities and the Connecticut Office of the Arts ; MassHumanities ; Mass Cultural Council ; Vermont Humanities ; and NEMA Annual Appeal donors. After two years of attending virtually, the 104 th edition of the conference was back in-person at the Sheraton Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts . Reinventing Membership for a Hybrid Future During the first session of the day, speakers Brendan Ciecko of Cuseum and Kathleen Porter of the Trustees spoke about their efforts to promote online and virtual programming for cultural organizations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this shift changed the way museum will interact with members in the future. Ciecko emphasized the changes made by other cultural organizations, relating the findings of the Cuseum study to a...

From November 2 through November 4, I attended the 2022 Annual NEMA ( New England Museum Association ) Conference as a General Scholarship Recipient , which I received thanks to “ Connecticut Humanities and the Connecticut Office of the Arts ; MassHumanities ; Mass Cultural Council ; Vermont Humanities ; and NEMA Annual Appeal donors. After two years of attending virtually, the 104 th edition of the conference was back in-person at the Sheraton Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts Session 1 Who Was Mary Duncan? Accessing New Narratives at Historic House Museums Danielle Bennett , a graduate student at CUNY Graduate Center , and Jan Williams , the Executive Director of Buttonwoods Museum , also called Haverhill Historical Society, discussed their efforts in turning tours in Haverhill from “Old Dead Rich White Guy History” to a more inclusive narrative. Several women are featured in the new Buttonwoods tours. One story features Hannah Duston ,...

From November 2 through November 4, I attended the 2022 Annual NEMA ( New England Museum Association ) Conference as a General Scholarship Recipient , which I received thanks to “ Connecticut Humanities and the Connecticut Office of the Arts ; MassHumanities ; Mass Cultural Council ; Vermont Humanities ; and NEMA Annual Appeal donors. After two years of attending virtually, the 104 th edition of the conference was back in-person at the Sheraton Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts Keynote Session: Becoming Good Ancestors: A Sense of Oneness Before the keynote, NEMA Executive Director Dan Yaeger began with opening remarks about the last time the conference had gone on hiatus, which was during World War II when some museum workers were drafted. He introduced the new Value Statements and Mission Statement, which highlight the need for equitable treatment of all people, dismantling oppressive structures within the museum world, addressing the global climate cri...