Letter from Call Field
Recently, a fellow researcher discovered and alerted me to a letter in our archives from Berkeley Taylor to his friend, James D. Booth of...
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Betsy McKee
Sep 122 min read
Jonathan Hale Goldthwait: Engraver of Maps
The Goldthwait family of Longmeadow had several talented and artistic members: Jonathan Hale Goldthwait (1811-1870) was an engraver,...
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Liz Kendall
May 193 min read
Charity Bush Ely (1836-1867)
Charity Bush Ely Collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society Born in the Connecticut River Valley town of Whately, Massachusetts,...
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Betsy McKee
Mar 283 min read
Frankenstein! And we don’t mean Mary Shelley’s monster!
We are all familiar with the story of Frankenstein written by Mary Shelley—perhaps from one of the many movies inspired by the book. My...
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Betsy McKee
Feb 152 min read
Can You See it? The Magic of the Stereoscope Viewer
Many of our readers will remember enjoying a toy from our childhoods—the View-Master! Circular wheels with tiny photos were inserted into...
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Betsy McKee
Feb 12 min read
Old, Fake, or Repro: the Story of the Caned Chair
The Longmeadow Historical Society, like many other historical organizations, has a variety of objects with stories attached. Sometimes...
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Betsy McKee
Nov 23, 20232 min read
What We're Thankful For
During this season of thanksgiving, the Longmeadow Historical Society would like to reflect on what we are grateful for. This kind of...
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Betsy McKee
Sep 21, 20233 min read
Can you spell Silhouette?
Silhouette, like daguerreotype, is a word I always pause over when writing. No surprise that both terms were named after...
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Melissa Cybulski & Betsy McKee
Jul 27, 20231 min read
Barbie visits the Storrs House Museum
The dolls of the Storrs House Museum were thrilled to receive a visit this week from the most celebrated doll in the land right now …...
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Betsy McKee
Apr 27, 20232 min read
Tales of Discovery II: Obed and Mary (Newell) Montague
Like I've said before, we love tales of discovery, and re-discovery. This is a tale of Mary Newell Montague and her husband Obed...
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Betsy McKee
Mar 30, 20232 min read
Martha Chapin Goldthwait (1863-1934)
Faithful readers will be familiar with the name Goldthwait from previous History Notes, including a recent one about the return of a...
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Betsy McKee
Mar 16, 20236 min read
Stop Thief! The Mystery of the Missing Gun!
The exciting news in 2023 is the return of a firearm missing from the Longmeadow Historical Society Collections since 1970! The story...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
Mar 2, 20232 min read
Skating, Sleighing and Sliding
Barney & Berry Ice Skates Longmeadow Historical Society Collection Next week, local historian and friend of the Longmeadow Historical...
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Betsy McKee
Feb 2, 20234 min read
Hey Phil!
In honor of Groundhog Day, this author thought our readers might like to don their beaver silk top hats like this c. 1890-1905 one in our...
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Betsy McKee
Dec 29, 20222 min read
Let it Snow
Do you remember the thrill of a new snowfall, a snow day, and your parents saying "let's go sledding?" This author remembers dragging a...
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Melissa M. Cybulski
Dec 21, 20223 min read
Sarah A. Coomes Colton's Paintings
Two charming folk art paintings in the collection of the Longmeadow Historical Society bear the hallmarks of the kind of work educated...
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Beth Hoff
Nov 22, 20223 min read
Paying for the Great War
"Over the Top for You" by Sidney H. Riesenberg, 1918. How do you pay for a war? Waging war is expensive and when the United States...
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Betsy McKee
Nov 21, 20223 min read
Standish, or "Why don't you speak for yourself, John?"
Have you ever heard of a standish? Besides the Pilgrim story of Miles Standish, I hadn't either. Long before Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
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Lenny Shaker
Nov 21, 20223 min read
Kenneth B. Page's WWI Service Medals
Service Medals awarded to Pvt. Kenneth Page of Longmeadow during WWI Kenneth Bausman Page was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on June...
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Betsy McKee
Nov 21, 20222 min read
"View of the Connecticut River from Pecousic Brook" Revisited
This painting of the Connecticut River looking north across present-day Forest Park has been a treasured item of the Longmeadow...
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