Taverns and Tavern Life in Early New England
Friday, September 30, 2011, 6:00 p.m., at First Congregational Church, Mansfield Center.
Our annual dinner meeting will be held on September 30 at the First Church of Christ in Mansfield Center (Rtes. 89/195). Following a delicious dinner and a brief business meeting, Tom Kelleher of Old Sturbridge Village will present a talk on “Taverns and Tavern Life in Early New England.”
Taverns were as numerous as churches in early New England, and played at least as large a role in the public life of the community. From the food and drink to the songs sung by the fireside, this talk will look at what it was like inside the “public houses” that dotted the highways and center villages of virtually every town in New England.
Tom Kelleher is currently Curator of Historic Trades, Mills, and Mechanical Arts at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. In over twenty-six years at that premier living history museum, he has worked as a costumed historical interpreter, trainer for the cooper shop, supervisor of the mills, coordinator of historic trades, research historian, program coordinator, and managed staff training. Tom has researched and developed dozens of historic characters and programs, which he has presented at scores of museums, schools, and historical societies around the country. He has also taught a variety of craft skills and historical subjects to museum staffs as well as the general public and at teacher workshops throughout the United States and Canada. Active in a number of professional organizations, including the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums where he served two terms on the board of directors, Tom has conducted training for interpreters, teachers, docents and guides at over a dozen parks and museums.
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR THE DINNER. Please send in the reservation form or call the museum (860-429-6575) by September 26 to reserve your spot.
Those who wish to attend the programonly should arrive by 7:30 p.m. There will be an admission fee of $3.00 at the door for those who are not attending the dinner.
Cased Colt Percussion Revolvers
Sunday, October 9, 2011, 2:00 p.m., at the MHC Museum, 594 Storrs Road (Route 195), Storrs.
During the era of the percussion revolver in the mid 1800s, many Colt handguns ended up in fancy partitioned cases with several accessories. These cased sets are pretty to look at and they are highly collectable in antique gun circles.
Colt collector (and MHS member) Frank Wemple will make a presentation about cased Colt revolvers. We’ll consider some of the common questions surrounding these sets such as: Did Colt make the boxes? Were all cased Colt revolvers assembled and sold by Colt? What accessories are correct for certain revolvers? If I want to buy a cased Colt revolver, how can I tell if a set is correct and original? Some of these questions have clear answers while the answers to others are murky at best. This will be a “show and tell” presentation and several cased Colt revolvers will be on display.
Handed Down in Song: New England’s Past as
Captured in the Helen Hartness Flanders Ballad Collection
Friday, November 18, 2011, 7:30 p.m., place to be announced later.
Walter Woodward, Connecticut State Historian, will present a program on traditional ballads and what they tell us about New England history.
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