Abby Epplett, Historian

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. The charming town of Sandwich, MA boasts a self-guided historical walking tour curated by the Sandwich Historical Commission and Sandwich Community Media , along with plenty of plaques and memorials. Despite the cloudy weather, I enjoyed my stroll down historic Main Street.

In August 2024, I went on a five-day trip to Cape Cod, MA where I visited many museums and cultural organizations, along with quick history stops and trails. Between major stops in Cotuit like Cotuit Historical Society and Cahoon Museum of American Art , I made several quick history stops. I visited Cotuit Library and nearby Cotuit Memorial Park, Cotuit Federated Church, Mariners Lodge, and Freedom Hall.

Universally disliked by the Free People of Middle-earth, Orcs seemed to exist only to kill and destroy, and yet these people presented a moral dilemma: if orcs were truly evil and not human, they deserved death; however, if they showed an understanding of good and evil, even if they repeatedly did wrong, then targeting them was a race-based genocide. Tolkien was uncomfortable with the concept of his heroes being racist towards their enemies, yet the heroes were frequently racist towards each other, so this was not what set apart their treatment of orcs. The key difference was that orcs could be killed without repercussions. While Elves participated in kinslayings, Dwarves and Elves fought each other, and Men joked about hunting Hobbits, these actions were eventually seen as reprehensible, while the mass killing of orcs was viewed as acceptable, even a game.

Appendix B contained a long and detailed timeline clarifying dates and locations related to characters found in the dialogue portion of the book and Appendix A, explaining relationships between characters, and describing the fates of characters, especially members of the Fellowship. Like in the real-world, all characters died on Middle-earth or passed over the Sea — a metaphor for death — bringing closure to the story in a way rarely seen in modern fiction but common in religious texts, mythologies, and history books.

Several weeks ago, I visited Norton Historical Society in Norton, MA. Located down the street from my undergraduate alma mater, Wheaton College, this historic school and barn features many artifacts from the town and surrounding area. A tour guide and a scavenger hunt assisted me in finding unique items stashed in the space.

Back on Sunday, July 14, 2024, I visited the Berkley Historical Society , a stop in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony Museum . Located in the tiny town of Berkley with a population under 7,000, this museum told the history of the rural community with a focus on military uniforms and local businesses. The collection lives in the beautifully restored and updated Old Town Hall, which once housed the library. Because of this work, the building had the best lighting system I have seen in any museum.

While in Mansfield, MA last Sunday — July 14, 2024 — I made several quick history stops around the Town Common. Like many New England towns, stops included municipal buildings such as the Town Hall and former town library, a classic New England church, and memorials for soldiers and firefighters located around a central green, while the Old Town Cemetery was located across the street.

This past Saturday — July 6, 2024 — I visited three stops in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum , along with one bonus stop. The third stop for the passport book, along with the fourth and final stop for the day, was the Carpenter Museum at Rehoboth Antiquarian Society , which included a pair of quick history stops in the area. The museum received its name not from an occupation but a family, as the Carpenters donated towards the construction of the main museum building, which looks like an 18 th century farmhouse.

This museum season, I am completing the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum in Taunton. Last Saturday, I visited three more museums in the passport book, plus a bonus museum. The Veterans Memorial Museum of Rhode Island is a remarkable collection of military and war artifacts started by Glenn Dusablon, who also gave my private tour. The museum is on the second floor of the American French Genealogical Society in Woonsocket, RI , formerly a gymnasium / auditorium accessible by elevator or stairs, and does not have external signage, but rest assured that the parking lot at 78 Earl Street is the right place to be!

Last Saturday — June 15, 2024 — I had an adventure in New Bedford, MA. My third major stop was Fort Taber Park , which included the remains of a historic fort, a paved walking trail, and Fort Taber - Fort Rodman Historical Association Military Museum . This museum was my second stop in the Passport to History developed by Old Colony History Museum , my first stop being Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, MA on June 2, 2024 .

In this week’s installment of my mini-series on the Appendixes of The Lord of the Rings , I focus on Appendix A (ii), which is divided into two sections — “The Northern Line: Heirs of Isildur”, and “The Southern Line: Heirs of Anárion”. This section reads similar to a genealogy, last discussed during my overview of Appendix A , but instead of moving from father to son, the lists move between kings, and later to chieftains or stewards. The many names and dates become overwhelming, even to a seasoned reader, so I am selecting a few notable kings in the lists and drawing comparisons between their fictional stories and those in real world history. Founding an Empire Both lists begin with Elendil, discussed last week in my essay on Appendix A (i) as a flood survivor character, similar to Noah in Genesis 6 or Utnapishtim in The Epic of Gilgamesh . Upon arriving in Middle-earth, Elendil took a different role: the founder of an empire. History is filled with famous first king...

Today marks the second birthday of Abby Epplett, Historian . Two years ago, I posted my first review, which featured the “How Do You See the World?” Experience & Mapparium . Last year, on the first birthday of the blog , I counted down my top ten best performing posts, along with giving a general overview about blog viewership, and I will do the same this year. This is the 281 st post for the blog, bringing me to 156 posts in my second year, compared to 125 posts in my first year.

This week, I return to the sacred text, not the first chapter of Part One: The Fellowship of the Ring but the end of Part Three: The Return of the King . This section has 150 pages of materials, from 341 to 491, that according to J.R.R. Tolkien did not fit within the structure of the narrative, to which I ask, “What structure, sir?” This arrangement has never been replicated, nor will it likely ever be seen again, as modern editors and publishers do not allow such unconventional formats. The information in the Appendixes and Index reads like an academic textbook yet maintains a uniquely Tolkien sense of humor. Over the next several weeks, I will cover these appendixes using comparative history, linguistics, and mythology to better understand their content.

I had been meaning to watch the Ann & Hope Documentary by David Lawlor from  Run of the Mill , which debuted on YouTube in August 2023, and I finally got around to doing it! This fact-paced film gave the history of the three iterations of Ann & Hope — a boat, a mill, and a department store chain — through twelve chapters, with plenty of interviews, drone shots, music, and animation segments. Rhode Islanders who grew up near an Ann & Hope store will have the chance to reminisce, historians will enjoy the fact-packed content, and cinefiles will appreciate the clever editing. After an opening music video, “Chapter 1: The Creation of the Blackstone River Valley” and “Chapter 2: William Blackstone” focused on the history of the Blackstone valley before the Industrial Revolution. The film introduced park rangers Allison Horrocks (who frequent readers of the blog will remember from Parked at Home ) and Kevin Klyberg of Blackstone River Valley National Historical P...

In my second week of hiatus from texts written by J.R.R. Tolkien, I wanted to talk about documentaries, one of the most popular ways to learn about history, science, and nearly any other topic. Tolkien’s works are pseudo-historical, presented as translations of a heavily edited ancient text with a modern historical essay added to the front as a Prologue and a series of Appendixes added to the back by various authors. Additionally, characters within the book halt the narrative to describe historically and culturally significant people, places, events, and ideas using both prose and song. Today, screens have largely replaced writing, with documentaries serving the population that once read textbooks. A film adaption faithful to the text could utilize the elements of a documentary to convey its layers of world-building information. Defining the Documentary When creating a documentary, filmmakers collect artifacts in a range of media, then turn the varied experiences into a...

For my second stop during last Saturday’s adventure, I visited the American Heritage Museum in Hudson, MA. While the name “American Heritage” might make one think of apple pie, baseball, and fireworks, this museum was actually about military vehicles from around the world with a special focus on World War II. Opened five years ago based on the collections of the late Jacques M. Littlefield via the former Military Vehicle Technology Foundation, the massive 67,000 square foot (6,625 square meter) structure with a state-of-the-art lighting and audio-visual system showcases the largest collection of its kind in an empathetic and engaging way. The museum is part of the Collings Foundation , which tends to focus on aircraft.

Last Saturday, April 13, I finally visited the Massachusetts State Police Museum located down the street in Whitinsville, MA, which had received three previous mentions on my blog: during the 250 th anniversary of the founding of Northbridge, MA ; the National Park Service Ranger Walkabout “Wonders of Whitinsville” ; and my Quick History Stops of Whitinsville from a few weeks ago. I received a personalized one-on-one tour from a retired state trooper and learned both the history of the police force along with its connections to other events in Massachusetts history.

Last year during Day 2 of Smithsonian National Education Summit 2023 , I learned about Becoming US , a high school level educational resource for teaching about immigration and migration. Based on the website of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) , this resource includes classroom guides, a glossary, news articles, videos, and activities for students in 8 th through 11 th grade. Although I have not been in that demographic for over ten years, I enjoyed learning about these topics from multiple perspectives. About This section explained that the online project began in 2014 as part of a collection of in-person, print, and virtual productions. The exhibit Many Voices, One Nation and accompanying book Many Voices, One Nation: Material Culture Reflections on Race and Migration in the United States provided much of the material found in the lessons. Resources Preparing to Teach NMAH provides a forty-four page guide made in collaboration with Teachi...

Continuing my trip through Portsmouth, NH in September 2023, I visited the USS Albacore , a submarine used by the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1972. Officially called USS Albacore (AGSS 569), the vessel was built in nearby Portsmouth Naval Yard and was used to conduct underwater experiments. Now open as a museum, the boat was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1953 and a National Historic Landmark in 1989, along with belonging to the Historic Naval Ships Association . Tours are self-guided, and visitors press buttons on speakers to hear museum employees and former crew members tell the story of the boat.

For the 1965/1966 edition of The Lord of the Rings released in the United States by Ballantine Books , J.R.R. Tolkien wrote a five-page foreword giving context to his writing process, explaining inspirations behind the story, and rebuking his critics. While Tolkien insisted in this essay, just as he did in letters to fans and during interviews, that little in the book was based on reality, the influence of industrialization and the World Wars, trends in music and art, and historical discoveries affected his ideology presented in the novels. I will use the literary criticism theory of cultural studies to examine this foreword by describing important events that occurred concurrently with the many drafts of the manuscript. Future posts will demonstrate how these events influenced the text itself and my hypothetical animated musical. Near the beginning of the letter, Tolkien explained that one of his primary interests was writing “the mythology and legends of the Eldar Days” ...