by Colleen Jenkins, 2016 Tom Desilets Memorial Intern
I am about halfway through my summer internship, and everything I am learning is rich and diverse. I am still working on sorting through the doll collection (and many other projects!), but there is never a boring day at the Framingham History Center. I have learned that there is no simple way to deaccess anything at the FHC. For example, if there are four boxes in a corner that we know do not know much about, we have to triple check that we won’t regret letting them go. Once the boxes have been inventoried, the things that fit the FHC Mission are accessioned and stored into our collection. The items that are left may have some information that lead us to more knowledge about something else, and other items do not fit the mission at all. What is interesting about this process is that even the smallest bits of information can create an involved story line.
For example, the donors I have come across most often with these dolls are, Mrs. George Marlowe, wife of a prominent Framingham architect, Ms. Margaret Kendall, a well-known artist, and Mrs. Daniel Dodd, who I haven’t been able to find much about. Dodd’s dolls and doll clothing are from the 1850s, while Kendall and Marlowe’s dolls are closer to the mid-1900s. Though these women lived at different times throughout Framingham’s history, each woman shares a common interest from their childhood and their doll collections are now together into one large collection at the FHC.
In my internship interview, I mentioned how important I think it is that people are aware of their own history. FHC Curator Stacen Goldman asked me why I thought it was important for people to be aware of this. It was hard to give her a straight answer because it’s one of those questions that you know has an answer, but, like the history itself, it changes throughout your life. In regard to the doll collection, I think these dolls show us the importance of community in one’s life. The definition of community is a group of people who live in the same place, usually for a long period of time, which means they have a history together. As Framingham grows and diversifies, it maintains the roots of its community — the history of its town. Playing with dolls is something that nearly everyone can relate to as a child, and this particular doll collection is part of the history of every person that lives in Framingham.
Speaking of common connections, we had a great bonding experience the other day. We all know that interns have a medley of responsibilities, but never did I think I would be standing next to our Education Coordinator, Laura and our Costume Collections Manager, Katie, with a crowbar in my hand and safety goggles on my face, taking down a cabinet in our costume room. Since we are a non-profit, we don’t have the luxury of passing the hard work off to someone else. However, these resourceful women were eager take on the challenge. A day of hard labor was accompanied with laughs, smiles, and some Disney songs, making the task one of the most fun things I have done so far this summer. So now we have a pile of wood in our basement and more space to organize our costumes. One task done, many more interesting ones to come!