Our 22nd Year Begins!
Restoration Work, Event Planning & Volunteer Recruitment/Training Underway
As the saying goes, "When it rains, it pours!" Nothing sums it up more than what the past 3 months have been like. Fortunately, we had a wonderful Christmas season and our tours went off without a hitch nor did anyone really know what was happening behind the scenes.
During the rainy days of October, a small leak appeared in the third floor attic. Quickly, that small leak made its appearance as numerous large leaks throughout the attic, requiring an emergency roof replacement. While the roofers were there, the board decided to also have the roof to the archive building replaced as it was at the end of its life too. Luckily, both projects were completed prior to our Christmas season. But immediately after the decorations came down, we had to continue with the repair work.
The water damage included rotting the wood in the ceilings, as well as having the plaster fall due to all the hammering of the new roof above. Thankfully, a team of volunteers came in to help empty out rooms, and move the looms and spinning rooms so that the plastering could take place. And just when we thought we had a handle on it all, more water leak stains appeared on the 2nd floor, requiring two bedrooms and the hallway to be painted.
Those projects were unexpected, but we already had a major project planned for our winter closing period with the completion of the window restorations. In January some 24 windows were removed to be restored, so down came shutters, curtains, and furniture to be moved.
Happily, all the plastering and painting are done, and the windows are due back in this week. Now we have the job of putting the house back together, and getting an exhibit ready for our 2023 Opening on Sunday, April 23rd!
In the midst of it all, we've been planning out the calendar of activities for the year, recruiting new volunteers, and training docents.
Never have we been looking so forward to welcoming our visitors back!
You're Invited to Hearthside's Annual Meeting
Sat. March 18th • 10 am-12 noon
Mark your calendar to attend our Annual Meeting on Saturday morning, March 18th being held at the Visitors Center at Chase Farm Park!
This is a wonderful opportunity to learn what our four Campus sites have accomplished this past year, and what's in store as we embark upon our 22nd year. We only can do what we do with the generous help of many, many volunteers! So this is a celebration and appreciation of all those efforts.
Highlights at the meeting include a keynote presentation by Preserve RI executive director, Val Talmage. That organization has made significant investments in Great Road's history in recent years, first by restoring the Chase Farmhouse and the completion of a total restoration of the 1694 Valentine Whitman House at the other end of Great Road. A "Year in Review" slide presentation, our award to the Volunteer of the Year, special recognitions, election of new and returning Board members, and greetings from Lincoln town administrator Phil Gould are featured as well.
This is always a great opportunity to connect, or re-connect, with those who share in the interest of preserving Great Road's history! If you've never visited the schoolhouse or the Moffett Mill, this is also your chance to do so, as those sites will be open following the meeting.
Come to learn, come to meet friends, and come to eat cake. Help us in this annual show of appreciation and to celebrate another year of preserving history here on Great Road!
THE HISTORY & ART OF SILHOUETTES
Pullen's Corner Schoolhouse Sunday, March 12th Between 1 and 3 pm
Here's an opportunity to learn the rich history about the ancient art of silhouettes. From the shadlow of a profile traced on a wall, to shadow puppet theater, to the intricate portrayal of Victorian fun and fashion, all cut from black paper, the history of the silhouette is beautiful that transcends centuries.
Come and create your own artwork during this program to take home. All materials are provided in the entry price of $10. The program is suited to children ages 6 and older as well as adults. Younger children will use simple cutouts, while adults may choose a more intricate picture. There will be patterns to use.
The activity is offered at 1:00 or 2:00, and advance registration is recommended to insure that there will be a spot for you.
2023 SCHEDULE OF PROGRAMS
Check out our Calendar here. We'll start with our Annual Meeting on March 18th, followed by Starry, Starry Night on April 14th and our opening exhibit and tour on April 23rd. As always, additional programs/tours may be added throughout the year. Notices for all our events will be sent out beforehand, with tickets going on sale one month in advance.
Check out the separate Calendar for the schoolhouse activities here. See the column to the left for information on the first program coming up on March 12th. As always, additional programs/tours may be added throughout the year. Notices for all our events will be sent out beforehand, with tickets going on sale one month in advance.
Getting Ready for Our New Season!
As we begin our new season, we'll be ready to deliver our visitors to the campus sites--the Moffett Mill, the Pullen's Corner Schoolhouse, and Hannaway Blacksmith Shop, via our brand new passenger van. This van was delivered in November, thanks to a grant from The Champlin Foundation!
The Schoolhouse will be the first to kick off the season on March 12th with a program on the History & Art of Silhouettes, tours in April, and a return of the May Pole activities and school trips in May and June. Our Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 18th, a time to gather together to celebrate and honor those who've contributed to our successful year. It's also a perfect time for anyone new to learn about the organization.
Starry Starry Night returns with both early spring, when skies tend to be much clearer, and late summer dates. The first event takes place on Friday, April 14th, with the other on Wednesday, August 23rd.
Hearthside will open its doors for the season on April 23rd with guided tours. There will be a special exhibit that will be featured until the fall, focusing on the Talbots, who lived at Hearthside (and gave the house its name) from 1904-1926. With their Hearthside Looms, their contributions to the arts and crafts movement were quite extensive nationwide, in addition to their generations of playing an important role in RI history. The exhibit will be on display until September. The other Campus sites will also be open April 23rd, including the Moffett Mill.
Our Afternoon Tea on May 13th is always an enjoyable and elegant affair and educational too. This year's theme will be the "Titanic", which happened to have been a major event that took place in 1912 during which time the Talbots were living at Hearthside. This among other major events will be part of the Talbot exhibit this season.
We're delighted to welcome back the American Girl Doll Tea, which will take place on Saturday, June 3rd with two seatings offered. This family event is geared to girls age 6 and older accompanied by an adult. The focus is on Samantha, the 1904 character doll. The Doll Garden Party will also take place in August.
Summer tours of Hearthside will feature the exterior, as well as the exhibits indoors, and there are more Campus tours, especially giving more opportunities to visit the Moffett Mill.
All our activities are listed and announced on our Facebook page and website, along with the opportunity to sign up in advance. Tickets are only on sale one month prior to the event (except earlier for our members).
BeWitched & BeDazzled Returns!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30
We've been busy the past two months making plans for the coming season, We're excited to announce that our major event will be a return of BeWitched & BeDazzled: A Magical Fall Festival at Chase Farm. After an outstanding success last year on all fronts (despite the wet weather), the plan to take this inaugural event to an annual one got the full support of our board, volunteers, sponsors, vendors, entertainers, and most importantly the town of Lincoln. Plans are for it to be even bigger and better than last year. Mark your calendar now for Saturday, September 30th 10-4:30 pm for this unique festival loaded with family fun and of course history.
There are many opportunities to be involved as a sponsor, vendor, advertiser, or volunteer! Our website will have all the sign up forms in the coming weeks, or simply Send an Email now with your interest.
In Memoriam
Ellen Metcalfe
This season we will miss one of our long time volunteers, Ellen Metcalfe, who passed away on December 13th. Ellen had been a volunteer and docent with Hearthside since 2014. Many will remember Ellen's great wit and spunkiness. In fact, one of her favorite roles was playing the "Dowager" at our Downton Abbey Teas. She was ideal for the role (even though she had never watched the program and didn't know the character).
She was a friend to all, and loved Hearthside and her family here so very much. She also brought her own family here often, especially at Christmas. For a short time, her granddaughter, Maddie, was a youth docent. When COVID hit, Ellen told me the worst part for her was being kept away from Hearthside and her friends. She so desperately wanted to be at Hearthside and was the first one to sign on to come back the minute we opened the doors, even though at 86 she was our eldest volunteer. Ellen just felt that strongly about being a part of Hearthside that she was willing to take the risk.
We were so fortunate that Ellen chose to volunteer with Hearthside, and I'm so glad to have had the opportunity to have known this great lady. For those who made donations to Hearthside in her memory, we thank you and know how much her family appreciated the support of something that meant so much to her. As we begin this new season, the theme of the Tea is changed, as our Dowager will not be with us. Ellen will be so very much missed by all.
New Weathervane: A Tribute to Hearthside's History
Hearthside received a very special gift from Ross & Beverly Pini last year---a weathervane to add to the roof of the archive building. After months of planning as to what would be the most appropriate symbol, we decided upon a horse. Not only did Hearthside's owner at the turn of the century, Frederic Sayles, run an equestrian farm with several award-winning mares at the Mariposa Farm (now the Butterfly Farm), but Hearthside's last family also had a horse. The barn that still stands at the rear of the house was built for Sherry Mowbray's beloved horse, Sargeant.
Timing worked out perfectly in the Fall with a new roof being installed on the building. The cupola was in need of repair, and thankfully our volunteer carpenter, Steve Sztabor, took charge and re-built much of the cupola's base and secured the new weathervane to it, and placed it as the crowning glory to the property. And a most fitting tribute to the history of horses at Hearthside!
We are forever grateful for these generous gifts from the Pini's and from Steve, making this wonderful and most appropriate addition possible!
There's always something happening at the Great Road Heritage Campus. We look forward to seeing you and your friends and family this season!
Kathy Hartley
President