The Weston Historical Society has received a very special gift from Weston resident Dr. Artemis Willis: an oil painting of a World War I soldier painted by noted Weston artist Gertrude Fiske. The painting will be featured in the historical society's tercentennial exhibition at the Weston Public Library (January 5 to 29, 2013).
Mary Marder, Pam Fox, and Robin Reisman with school chair made in Weston between 1854 and 1875 at the school furniture mill on Crescent Street operated by Samuel Shattuck.
Tania Deary cleans a large gilded frame. Click here for other pictures of WHS volunteers at work on the WHS Tercentennial Exhibition.
This set of golf clubs will be conserved and displayed. It was probably made in Scotland and used by Weston resident William H. Coburn in the 1890s at one of the first golf courses in the state, the Weston Golf Club, then located on Church Street.
WHAT'S NEW
Family grouping from the
Boston Irish Famine Memorial
Weston Historical Society
Annual Meeting and Lecture
Thursday, November 8, 2012
7:00 pm
Weston Public Library
Refreshments. All are welcome.
Irish Need Not Apply:
The History of the Irish In Boston
by Christopher Daley
Historian and popular lecturer Christopher Daley will look at the history of the Irish in Boston, beginning with the slow pre-famine trickle of Irish Catholic immigrants — and corresponding increase in Anti-Irish/Catholic sentiment— to the massive wave of immigration after the Great Potato Famine. There will be a discussion of the rise of the Irish within the sphere of Boston politics and the emergence of the "Ward Boss." Short vignettes will be given on such Irish political leaders Patrick Collins, Hugh O'Brien, Patrick J. Kennedy, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and of course the old "Rascal King" himself, James Michael Curley.
The Farmer's Precinct:
Three Centuries of Weston History
The Weston Historical Society will help kick off Weston's 300th Anniversary with a major exhibition The Farmers' Precinct: Three Centuries of Weston History at the Weston Public Library from January 5 to 29. Members' opening will be Sunday, January 6 from 2:30 to 4:30 pm.
Planning has been underway since the fall of 2011, when a committee of six volunteers began examining the society's collection, developing themes, and choosing objects. The hard-working planners, Pam Fox, Mary Gregory, Mary Marder, Tania Deary, Rebekah Gardiner, and Robin Reisman, unpacked boxes and emptied closets and in the process discovered many unusual objects.
Themes were chosen to illustrate Weston's evolution from an agricultural community to a modern suburb: Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, Education, Estates, Summer Pleasures, Weston in Wartime, and Post-War Growth. While Weston is not generally thought of as having much industry, a wide variety of products "made in Weston" will be displayed: pots from Hews Pottery, thread from the Coolidge, Sibley, & Treat mill, a "butter and cheese drill" from a Crescent Street mill (come to the exhibit to see what it was used for), school furniture, and wooden organ pipes made at the Hook & Hastings Co. organ factory.
At the May 2012 Town Meeting, residents voted Community Preservation Act funds up to $9500 for conservation of objects to be included in the exhibition. A paper conservator is working on an 1805 penmanship exercise done at "Miss Tufts School" in Weston, and painting conservators have cleaned important oil paintings. An objects conservator, Nina Vinogradskaya, has been working regularly with committee volunteers to clean objects using a special hepa vacuum cleaner and moistened Q-tips. The historical society has hired exhibit designer Will Twombly of Spokeshave Design and graphic designer Mary Orr to assist in producing a professional display. After its library debut, a traveling version of the exhibition will go to Weston schools and other public venues.
Fundraising is currently
underway for the WHS Tercentennial Exhibition. The names of sponsors will be acknowledged on a display
panel at the exhibition. The Weston Public Library Trustees, Friends of Weston Public Library, and Weston300 Host
Committee are the first three of what the society hopes will be many sponsors helping to pay the expenses
for design, graphics, and materials. Contributions can be mailed to Weston Historical Society at P.O.
Box 343, Weston MA 02493. Sponsors will be acknowledged in the following categories:
Underwriter ($1000 and up),
Patron ($500 to $999),
Friend ($250 to $499)
Supporter ($100 to $249).
The society is grateful for the help of members, Weston residents, and local businesses including Ogilvies
and Florentine Frames.