Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park

05/08/2020

The Lawrence History Center invites you to make a diary entry (or daily entries!) about your experience living in Lawrence during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. We will compile them, post/publish, and then add them to our archival collection for posterity.
---------------------------
Lo/La invitamos a que contribuya una entrada de diario (o entradas diarias!) sobre su experiencia viviendo en Lawrence durante la pandemia de COVID-19 de 2020. Recopilaremos las entradas, las compartiremos o publicaremos, y luego las agregaremos a nuestra colección de archivos para la posteridad.

http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/remoteoralhistory/diaryentry

Thanks to Terry Date at The Eagle-Tribune for the front page story highlighting the Lawrence History Center Remote Oral History and Lawrence Community Diary projects!

"Afar and up close"
The Lawrence History Center chronicles the pandemic
https://www.eagletribune.com/news/merrimack_valley/afar-and-up-close/article_1ce8a196-dd7a-5d7e-a85a-5b260d4ffb47.html

So far Mark Cutler and his students have conducted 4 of 6 Zoom Video Oral History interviews scheduled for this week.

The Community Diary has received dozens of entries from people of all ages and backgrounds. Please share your experiences during the pandemic (or about living in the city in general) at http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/remoteoralhistory/diaryentry

[Image below: LHC director Susan Grabski, bottom, and LHC collections manager Amita Kiley along with LHC board VP/Phillips Academy Spanish instructorMark Cutler talk over Zoom video conferencing about the center's new project chronicling the 2020 pandemic.]

04/28/2020

Going once, going twice ... SOLD!

This Day in Lawrence History -

On this day, April 28, 1847 at 11:00 am, the Essex Company began to auction off lots of land in the newly created town on Lawrence! The map below, digitized by the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library is titled "Plan of lots in that part of Methuen called Lawrence: to be sold by the Essex Company at auction on the 28th of April, 1847, on the premises at 11 o'clock a.m"

Lawrence History Center holds original copies of this map in our Essex Company Collection (http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/essexcompany). If you've ever visited us and explored our first floor vault, you've seen this map!

To view this map in more detail, click here: https://collections.leventhalmap.org/search/commonwealth:x059c9063

04/27/2020

We spy the boarding house that the Lawrence Heritage State Park Visitors Center is housed in - 2nd building on the right at 1 Jackson Street (corner of Canal and Jackson Streets)!

From the Lawrence History Center Photograph Collection:

Title: American Woolen Co. headquarters. Mill St., Lawrence
Date: [ca. 1950]

https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search/commonwealth:rb68xp29x

04/23/2020

Celeste Cruz used to grace the reception desk at the Lawrence Heritage State Park! Be sure to check out her wonderful work!

Celeste’s Coloring Book is now available! Download here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uQuw1W61rLGbslaVbB45M5aURXVrrwUp

When you finish, post your illustrations on social media and tag us and the creator! 😌

04/20/2020

Does (or did) your family live in a triple decker in Lawrence?

Does (or did) your family live in a triple decker in Lawrence?

This Wednesday, April 22, 2020 at 4:00PM, be sure to check out:

Triple Deckers: A New England Love Story, a talk and screening by documentary filmmaker Marc Levitt

Levitt will share both a short, trailer and a longer compilation of footage from his his “in ‘in progress’” documentary, Triple Deckers: A New England Love Story, exploring how the iconic three story homes helped to create the first US suburbs, forged a multi-cultural, mixed gender American Industrial working class and through their architectural DNA helped to make a country where its citizens understood that their well being and that of their neighbors were interdependent.

Register by emailing [email protected].

https://www.rihs.org/event/virtual-virtual-valley-talks-marc-levitt-on-triple-deckers-a-new-england-love-story/

04/18/2020

Historic Trolley Tour of Lawrence

Join the President of the Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park Joe Bella on a Historic Trolley Tour of Lawrence!

Credit: Lawrence Community Access Television.

This video is about Historic Trolley Tour of Lawrence

04/16/2020

Make making a daily entry in the Lawrence History Center Community Diary a ritual! Or assign it to your students as a writing exercise! Be a part of history in real time!

Building on our new Remote Oral History project (http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/remoteoralhistory), please check out our new "Lawrence Community Diary: COVID-19 Pandemic 2020 | Diario comunitario de Lawrence / COVID-19 Pandemia 2020" project!

At the Lawrence History Center, we have the diaries of a young woman, Helen Annie Benker, written in 1918 and 1920. The following is an excerpt from an entry made on Wednesday, October 2, 1918, during the flu pandemic:

"...When I got home I refilled my little camphor bag which I wear, and took a drink of whiskey which we do twice a day to prevent sickness."

We invite you to make a diary entry (or daily entries!) about your experience living in Lawrence during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. We will compile them, post/publish, and then add them to our archival collection for posterity!

--------------------------------

En el Centro de Historia de Lawrence, tenemos los diarios de una joven, Helen Annie Benker (haga clic para la transcripción completa), escritos en 1918 y 1920. Lo siguiente es un extracto de una entrada realizada el miércoles 2 de octubre de 1918, durante la pandemia de gripe:

"... Cuando llegué a casa volví a llenar mi pequeña bolsa de alcanfor que llevo puesta, y tomé un trago de whisky que hacemos dos veces al día para prevenir enfermedades."

Lo/La invitamos a que contribuya una entrada de diario (o entradas diarias!) sobre su experiencia viviendo en Lawrence durante la pandemia de COVID-19 de 2020. Recopilaremos las entradas, las compartiremos o publicaremos, y luego las agregaremos a nuestra colección de archivos para la posteridad.

http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/remoteoralhistory/diaryentry

04/09/2020

Are you from Lawrence? Tell us your story about your community coming together in difficult times. Let us know how you’re faring during the current pandemic, or tell your story of resilience during other crises, such as the Merrimack Valley gas explosions, “City of the Damned” fallout, and more. We want to hear from you and include your voice in the history of Lawrence!

Follow the link to see how the Lawrence History Center is bring oral history to you!

The Lawrence History Center is pleased to announce a new project:

"Remote Oral History: Physically Distanced. Socially Connected. /
"Historia oral remota: Distanciados físicamente. Conectados socialmente."

The Lawrence History Center, at this difficult moment in our shared history, would like to capture stories of our community coming together in times of crisis. Our project, "Remote Oral History: Physically Distanced. Socially Connected.", seeks to allow people to make personal, human connections when they most need them and also to help to highlight the lives of community members in a way that reflects the current reality.

Participation methods include a brief 2-minute story and/or a full-length interview via Zoom.

To participate, please visit: http://www.lawrencehistory.org/collections/remoteoralhistory

Funded, in part, by the Lawrence Cultural Council.

04/07/2020

Andy X. Vargas

Please be responsible with our public spaces. We won't have them even moderately available for long, unless we all practice social distancing and good hygiene.

03/23/2020

Heritage At Home

Heritage At Home

These are challenging times in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and we are all navigating a new reality together. Despite the changes to our daily schedules, it is still important to experience the cultural, natural, and historic resources in the heritage area--even through social distancing. M...

03/18/2020

You Can Virtually Tour A Whole Bunch Of National Parks From Your Couch

You Can Virtually Tour A Whole Bunch Of National Parks From Your Couch

All for free, too!

03/15/2020

Hi all,

As you probably expected DCR has announced the closing of all State Park Visitor Centers at least through April 1.

Unfortunately that ends our Irish Month events, although Lawrence's AOH had wisely already cancelled all of its programs. I should qualify that by saying that today's would-be White Fund lecture by Joseph Blanchette, author of "The View From Shanty Pond", will likely be rescheduled in the Fall. That said, below is the state announcement making it official.

In the meantime, be safe and feel free to enjoy some fresh Spring air at our greenspaces... at a safe social distance, of course. Also do call or email if you have any questions...we'll still be coming in (or at least checking in).

Thanks,
Jim Beauchesne, VSS/LHSP
[email protected]
978-794-1655

-----------------------------------------------

Baker-Polito Administration Announces Temporary Closure of Certain State Conservation and Recreation Managed Facilities

BOSTON - Out of an abundance of caution due to the spread of COVID-19 in Massachusetts, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has announced the temporary closure of certain agency managed facilities effective Saturday, March 14, 2020 through Wednesday, April 1, 2020 at which time DCR will reassess circumstances. Additionally, during the temporary closure all associated events at these locations are cancelled.

Importantly, all state parks and comfort stations across the Commonwealth remain open and available for the public to utilize. DCR reminds residents and visitors to avoid gathering in large groups, maintain social distancing, and practice healthy personal hygiene to stop the spread of the virus.​

The temporary closures of certain facilities is consistent with the State of Emergency declared by Governor Baker on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 and guidance that conferences, seminars and other discretionary gatherings, scheduled and hosted by Executive Branch agencies involving external parties are to be held virtually or cancelled. Additionally, Governor Charlie Baker issued an emergency order prohibiting most gatherings of over 250 people to limit the spread of the COVID-19.

For information about the Baker-Polito Administration’s ongoing efforts to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19, please visit the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) website: https://www.mass.gov/resource/information-on-the-outbreak-of-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19

03/06/2020

LAWRENCE GOES HOLLYWOOD THE FRANK LACKTEEN STORY

In case you weren't able to join us on February 9, 2020 for film historian Omar Mouallen's talk about his deep research on his ancestor, Lawrence’s Frank Lackteen:
forhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77C0vZi2Xl0

Thanks to Lawrence Community Access Television!

This video is about LAWRENCE GOES HOLLYWOOD THE FRANK LACKTEEN STORY

03/04/2020

WHITE FUND LECTURE:
On Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m., at the Heritage State Park Visitor’s Center, One Jackson St. in Lawrence, the Ancient Order of Hibernians in America will be hosting a White Fund Lecture. The speaker is author Robin Gerry from N.Y. who will discuss her book, “Healing the Family Heart Holes: A Genealogical Quest to Solve an Illegal Adoption Mystery Using DNA, Old Records, and Irish Luck.” This event is FREE and Open to the Public. For more information on the book, go to:
https://www.goodreads.com/

03/02/2020

Irish Heritage Month begins !

03/01/2020

Today this letter from Asociacion Carnavalesca de Massachusetts is in theThe Eagle-Tribune. We also thank the many people mentioned for bringing this wonderful exhibit to the Lawrence Heritage State Park. Community participation and volunteers, enrich our programming throughout the year. If you or your group has an idea for programming or an exhibit, contact Jim Beauchesne at 978-794-1655, to learn more about working with the LHSP.

02/20/2020

Read about this amazing display of costumes, color and craft now at the Lawrence Heritage State Park!
Photo: Stelvyn Mirabal, left, of Lawrence, and Willy Correa

https://www.eagletribune.com/news/lifestyles/unmasking-a-tradition-lawrence-dominicans-keeping-spirit-of-limping-devil/image_fd4cf3ff-0809-5327-837b-d3d9d0b633cd.html

02/19/2020

2020 Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park Annual Membership renewal letters are in the mail! Not a member yet? Please join us!

Last year was a success for the Lawrence Heritage State Park because of membership support! We hosted dozens of school groups, walking and boat tours, exhibits, and community meetings and events at our thriving Visitor Center at 1 Jackson Street – a restored boarding house with two floors of interactive exhibits that tell the tale of Lawrence, one of the nation's first planned industrial cities.

The Park staff also kept busy maintaining acres of park land for community recreational use. In additional to regular maintenance, thanks to DCR, families are now able to enjoy new playground equipment at the Lawrence Riverfront State Park!

As you know, the Friends of Lawrence Heritage State Park is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) charitable organization that formed in 1999 to support the LHSP and its activities. Our mission is to support LHSP by acting as a fiscal agent for grants, helping to restore and revive Park features, advocating for the Park, and by conducting and supporting programs.

We hope that you are able to support our efforts in 2020 by renewing or taking out an annual tax-deductible membership today! By doing so you will receive updates about all events and activities and, most importantly, you will be a part of telling and growing the story of Lawrence, Massachusetts!

Ways to renew your ANNUAL FLHSP Membership or join as a NEW member:

Renewals:
Return the 2020 membership card and dues in the envelope provided in the mailing sent to all current members today.
OR
Renew or start a NEW membership ONLINE via credit card at www.lawrenceheritage.org/membership

Thank you in advance for your support of the Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park!

02/19/2020

Follow the Eagle Tribune for this great exhibit! Asociacion Carnavalesca de Massachusetts

Exhibit celebrating Dominican Republic's Carnaval season. The Asociacion Carnavalesca de Massachusetts has costumes on display through Feb. 27 at Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park.
Eagle-Tribune story, photos and video on Thursday.

02/17/2020

You will know you are at the Lawrence Heritage State Park when you see the beautiful Bicknell Clock. Originally it was at 407 Essex Street outside the Bicknell Brothers . Their shop opened in 1879. In 1997 the clock was moved, restored and placed in its present location at the state park.

02/16/2020

Do you have photographs or information? Let’s us know in the comments. “The earliest notice found about Whippets is at Lawrence’s 1903 Semi-centennial celebration. June 1, 1903, 2:00 PM a Whippet race was held at the Spicket playstead with the prizes listed as $70, 20, and 10. No direct evidence exists to show that this race was held by a Whippet Club, but later the name was associated with a tavern located at 152 South Union Street. This was a destination for Democratic politicians and was also known as Gilligan’s after the family that owned it. William F. Gilligan was the last one. He died in 1973. The Lawrence Whippet Club died with him.” Queen City Blog, Lawrence Public Library @queencityma

02/13/2020

02/12/2020

A detail from artist Ralph Fasanella’s massive 1977 painting, Lawrence 1912: The Bread and Roses Strike, which hangs at the Lawrence Heritage State Park. Come see the entire painting at One Jackson Street, Lawrence, MA.

02/06/2020

Please note the many activities that are available to our community every week. We Are Lawrence posts a round up each week.

Hey #LawrenceMA, what are you doing this weekend? Details and more events can be found at wearelawrence.org/events

Hola #LawrenceMA, ¿qué vas a hacer este fin de semana? Los detalles y más eventos se pueden encontrar en wearelawrence.org/events

Events this weekend brought to you by / Eventos este fin de semana traídos a usted por:

- Lawrence Heritage State Park
- Lawrence Senior Center
- Lawrence Public Library
- Elevated Thought
- Feria Internacional del Libro en Lawrence
- Moderno Appliance & Furniture
- Firefly Community Center
- Lawrence High School drama club
- COCO Brown
- Lawrence Elks #65
- Salvatore's Lawrence at Riverwalk / Salvatore's Comedy Series
- Beyond Soccer, Inc.
- Groundwork Lawrence
- El Taller
- Izizwe Dance Studio
- Land of Handom
- Friends of the Lawrence Heritage State Park
- Salsa in Lawrence
- Reliefs In
and more!

Please share / Por favor comparte

01/29/2020

On this day in 1963:

Robert Frost died, the most popular and renowned American poet of the twentieth century. But his success was a long time in coming. It was as a student at Lawrence High School that he discovered he had a gift and a passion for poetry. His first published poem appeared in the school newspaper in 1890.

More here:
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/robert-frost-dies.html?utm_source=Mailchimp&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eMoment