Abby Epplett, Historian

Today, October 30, I went to “Be the Voice of the Kittacuck”, an intertribal gathering and collaboration with local river advocates. Kittacuck is the Nipmuc name for the Blackstone River. As shows on the official poster embedded below, the event lasted from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and took place at Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which is part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park .

On the second day of my long weekend trip to western Massachusetts in March 2026, I visited MASS MoCA , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams. Due to the size of the museum, I am covering this visit in three posts. The first post described the building, local history and ecology, and artwork on the exterior. This second part will describe the my favorite exhibits at the museum. The third part will describe the permanent Sol DeWitt exhibit and tips on how to visit the museum.

Earlier today—May 21, 2023—I attended the Fish Passage Celebration, an intertribal gathering and collaboration with local river advocates. Held at Old Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI, which is part of Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park (BRVNHP) , the event lasted from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and culminated in a short parade through the historic area of Pawtucket. This event is a sequel or follow-up to an event last fall, Be the Voice of Kittacuck , which recognized one of the original names of the Blackstone River.

On Friday, December 2, I went to an artists’ reception and video screening at Spaulding R. Aldrich Heritage Gallery and the G.B. & Lexi Sign Performance Center, which are located at the Alternatives’ Whitin Mill in Whitinsville, MA. The renovated structure is owned by Open Sky Community Services , with events planned by its arts and culture arm, ValleyCast . This venue also held “ World War II comes to the Valley ” back in August. The two featured artists at the event were photographer-documentarists David Lawlor and James Hunt . The film presented by Lawlor was The second installment of his series, Run of the Mill . Lawlor has a fun, youthful documentary style highlighting “his urban exploration of old mill buildings”, as described in a flyer given out a the event. He explores mills that continue to be manufacturing facilities, abandoned buildings, repurpose structures now serving as housing or with plans to create community-focused spaces. My favorite parts of the f...

Last Sunday, March 19, I visited Old Slater Mill from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and joined a host of community groups advocating for the building of a fish passage. This is the third event I have attended to raise awareness around this issue, the first two being the Fish Passage Celebration in May 2023 , and Be the Voice of Kittacuck in October 2022 . Since the construction of dams in the 18th century to control water power on the Blackstone River and its tributaries, herring and other migratory fish have been unable to properly make their seasonal journeys. This has disrupted the ecosystem and badly affected fishers.