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Meet Maureen Taylor, “Photo Detective”

Weston Historical Society Spring Meeting
Tuesday, April 24
7:15 pm Refreshments
7:30 pm Lecture
Weston Public Library Community Room
Refreshments will be served

Have you ever looked at a family photograph and wished you knew more about the subject? Are there clues that might tell you whether it's Great-Aunt Bertha or Grandmother Adelaide? Join us at the Society's annual spring meeting Tuesday, April 24, 7:30 pm, when Maureen Taylor, internationally recognized photo identification and family history expert, will show us how to “read” photos and solve photographic mysteries.

According to a 2007 Wall Street Journal article, “With millions of Americans obsessively tracing their roots, Ms. Taylor has emerged as the nation's foremost historical photo detective.” She will demonstrate how to combine knowledge of photography with costume history, art history, genealogy, and cultural anthropology to bring new insight to old photos.

Taylor has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Hallmark Television, The View, Better Homes & Gardens, the Boston Globe, Martha Stewart Living, MSNBC, PBS Ancestors, and more. She is the author of 11 books including the following: Fashionable Folks: Bonnets and Hats, 1840-1900 (2011); Finding the Civil War in your Family Album (2011); The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation (2010, with David Allen Lambert); Fashionable Folks Hairstyles, 1840-1900 (2009); and Preserving Your Family Photos (2010).

Weston's 300th Birthday is Almost Here!

Small goat-drawn float from Weston's 1913 Bicentennial Parade.

The Weston300 Committee has been planning town-wide events and urging community organizations to sponsor their own 300th events during the year. The 300 Committee has scheduled three Saturday celebrations throughout the year. The first, a Happy Birthday Weston day, will take place on Saturday January 12, which is 300 years to the day when Weston was incorporated as a separate town from Watertown. At that time the date was written January 1, 1712. In later years, with adoption of the Gregorian calendar, January was considered the first month of 1713. (The calendar conversion also resulted in 12 days being added by 1700, hence the January 12 date). The second two celebratory days will be June 1 and October 5. Among the festivities planned are fireworks in June and a parade in October.

To help kick off the year, the Weston Historical Society is preparing a major exhibition for the month of January at the Weston Public Library Gallery and Community Center. We expect to have a Happy Birthday open house on January 12. The exhibit will move to other locations during the anniversary year.

The exhibit will feature items from the society's collection and some borrowed items, arranged in thematic groups. Themes being considered include Home and Family, Education, Livelihoods (farming, commerce, and industry), Summer Pleasures, Weston at War, and Post War Suburban Growth.

The historical society is requesting $9500 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds to conserve objects of significance to Weston history. Experienced painting, paper, and objects conservators are being contacted. CPA money, if approved at May Town Meeting, will ensure that Weston's material heritage can be proudly displayed.

The society will be raising money to fund the exhibit itself, including the exhibit panels, display cases, design work, and graphic production. Some of the items that will be on display are pictured at the left. If you have something special you think we should display, please contact Pam Fox.

Weston Town Square decked out for the 1913 Bicentennial Parade.

H & H Organ Factory float for the 1913 Bicentennial Parade.

Link to Interactive Website for Kids