Framingham History Center Blog

We had a very successful Family Day last Saturday.  It was great to have kids (and some parents) playing “olde time” games on the Centre Common.  We also had activities in all of our buildings and kicked off the day with our most profitable yard sale to date!

Thanks to everyone who came and also to those who donated their items to the yard sale.  We’ll see you next year!

Michelle McElroy
Operations Manager

Last week someone stopped in looking for old pictures of the original Shoppers World soldiers being built. He is part of a carpenters’ union whose members are volunteering their time to build replicas of the soldiers.  The town is providing the materials and workspace while these generous men are donating their skills and effort.  They were  asked them to make 6 soldiers to better balance the amount of soldiers displayed throughout town during the holiday season (most soldiers are placed downtown and around the south side)
I was kindly invited to the shop to check out the progress since I was such a big fan of the original Shoppers World. It was a real treat to get to see this project in action. There are two original soldiers that they’ve taken apart to investigate all the support beams and angles.  These guys are replicating every inch of the interior and exterior to make them look and hold up just like the originals.

Here are some pictures from my visit.

On a related note, we’ll keep you posted on our upcoming Shoppers World exhibit

Michelle McElroy
Operations Manager

African American History Roundtable
Thursday, February 18th 6:00pm
Edgell Memorial Library
3 Oak Street, Framingham
Our African American History Roundtable discussion begins at 6:00 pm tomorrow evening at the Edgell Memorial Library.  This will be an informal gathering of interested parties to discuss the full range of our local African American History.  While we will review what we have in the FHC collection to illustrate known stories and people, there is more that needs to be collected, researched and shared.  Bring your interest in or knowledge of Framingham’s African American community – past, present and future and join the discussion.
 
Bank On It!
Sunday, February 21st 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Edgell Memorial Library
3 Oak Street, Framingham

Come and learn about the history of banking in Framingham from coin and currency collector Arthur M. Fitts III. Fitts’ long-standing interest in Framingham history, especially memorabilia, will enrich this program featuring Framingham paper money through roughly the past 200 years. He will also cover early banks in Framingham and by association the evolution of banking nationally.
You will undoubtedly gain a greater perspective on current banking practices at a time when they seem to be dominating the headlines.

Free to FHC members and $5 for non-members.  To purchase tickets click here.

On Sunday night, at the Danforth Museum, the START Partnership unveiled their economic impact statement with much fanfare.  The MC for the evening was none other than our own Executive Director, Annie Murphy who spoke about how the six organizations in the partnership currently impact the local economy and their projected impact over the next 10 years.  For example, last year 22,530 people from outside Middlesex County came to Framingham to support the various arts and cultural activities.  That number is projected to grow to 264,396 over the next ten years. 

The organizations who contributed data to this study were the Framingham History Center, the Danforth Museum, Amazing Things Art Center, Framingham Public Library, the New England Wildflower Society/Garden in the Woods, and Performing Arts Center of Metrowest.  Staff and directors were at the event as well and many spoke or hosted presentations by their organizations.  Speakers included a full slate of our local representative delegation with State Senator Karen Spilka, Representative Pam Richardson and Representative Tom Sannicandro and Greg Liakos from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. 
There were mini-performances by the Performing Arts Center, story tellers and musicians as well as a video presentation on how the START Partnership members contribute to the arts and culture of Framingham.  It was a great way to see what Framingham has to offer and how it’s only getting better!  If you are interested in receiving a copy of the Economic Impact Study, please email me at michelle@framinghamhistory.org

Once or twice a year we have a program called “Street Smarts”, where we focus on the history of a certain part of town.  On Sunday we held a Street Smarts presentation about the neighborhood around the Women’s Reformatory.

You may not think “Women’s Reformatory” and “neighborhood” would go together but it actually was the case at one time.  Framingham residents Ellen Walker and Martin Mulvey grew up on the prison grounds because their parents worked at the prison and they shared their surprisingly fond childhood memories.

Our fabulous volunteer, Ronnie Cronin, who clocked many hours of research and is also a childhood friend of Ellen Walker, started off the presentation with a brief history of how the The Sherborn Massachusetts Reformatory Prison for Women became the Framingham Women’s Reformatory (dropping “prison” from the title).

Ellen and Martin then spoke about what their childhood was like with acres of fields used by the reformatory  for their own vegetable gardens and livestock.  Martin remembered realizing why the fence was so much higher around the field with the bull in it  (there to “service” the female cows) after he hopped over it.  He also recalled playing in the giant bales of hay and eating all the strawberries he and his friends wanted while on the way to the apple orchards.   Ellen told us about playing inside the prison with the superintendent’s niece and interacting with the inmates, who were never referred to as prisoners during their “temporary stay”.  She was even in a play with the inmates and recalled how lovely and lady-like they all were.  She never had a bad experience with anyone inside the reformatory.  Below is a photo of Ellen in a prison production of an unknown play.

What I found most interesting was hearing about the Superintendent, Miriam Van Waters who sounded like a remarkable woman. She was a pioneer in criminal rehabilitation.  She cared deeply about the inmates, the staff working at the Reformatory and their families.
Below is a photo of Miriam Van Waters and Eleanor Roosevelt during Mrs. Roosevelt’s visit to the Reformatory.

It was such an interesting program and I really felt enlightened by Ellen and Martin’s stories.  A big thank you to them and everyone who attended and shared their memories as well.

Michelle McElroy
Operations Manager