Mabel Loomis Todd’s Amherst – A Motorbus Excursion
Join us on Saturday, April 28 to experience Mabel Loomis Todd’s Amherst–from her earliest residence at the Amherst House hotel to her final resting place in Wildwood Cemetery. This extended tour given from Mrs. Todd’s perspective will be narrated by Dr. Julie Dobrow as we travel in motorbus comfort with stops at the Homestead and Evergreens, the Observatory, and Wildwood Cemetery. Be prepared to learn about the artistic and literary achievements that made Mabel extraordinary in her own time, and a fascinating person to study today.
History Bites Lunchtime Lectures
With February comes a whole new season of History Bites, our lunchtime lecture series. History Bites is a series of thirty minute lectures to inform and entertain, covering various aspects of the history of Amherst and the lives of those who once lived here.
Next up, long-time MIOH boardmember Don Campbell will present a talk on Friday, April 20th entitled “From Smallest Tap and Die to Largest Machine,” about the Museum of Industrial History, and its mission to celebrate our industrial heritage through preserving, collecting, and educating the public, with emphasis on Franklin County and Athol, Massachusetts. Bring your lunch, and we provide coffee, tea and cider for you as you listen to the presentations. The programs begin promptly at 12:15 with seating and beverages ready just before noon. The lectures are free and everyone is welcome to attend.
(see the full schedule of this year’s lectures here.)
Grand Concert! An Evening of the Music of Jenny Lind
Join us for the sixth Songs and Serenades concert programming on May 4th, from 6:30-8:00 pm, to explore the music of Jenny Lind, the international voice sensation of 1850. Hers was one of the most remarkable careers in music. Renowned for her voice in the mid-19th century, she toured the United States (including Northampton) between 1850 and 1852 under the auspices of no less than America’s great huckster and showman, P. T. Barnum. Songs and Serenades’ third appearance at the Strong House pays tribute to this remarkable woman and her work with a concert drawn from her repertoire, as well as piano works by her friends and contemporaries, including Rossini, Bellini, Meyerbeer, and others.Refreshments will be served! This is a ticketed event.
Opportunities for Local Learning
On Wednesday, November 1st, second graders from the Common School visited the Jones Special Collections and the Amherst Historical Society!
This experience gave the hands-on experience into researching local history by exploring the collections of artifacts and primary documents. They examined straw hats, a wooden yoke, a wooden scythe and a wooden plane and practiced making inferences about the objects using what they had learned in class. Visits like these give kids a first-hand look at the history of their own town, tangible enough to reach out and touch, connecting the next generation with all the generations past.
Facilitating these key historical experiences is one of the most important missions of the Amherst Historical Society. If you’re interested in scheduling a visit for your classroom or other group, please get in touch with us! We would love to hear from you.
The Spectacular Mabel Loomis Todd
What do you know about Mabel Loomis Todd?
For the majority of those who know her name, she is primarily associated with Amherst as the editor of Emily Dickinson’s poems and letters and her long-term relationship with Emily’s brother Austin. While true to fact, these details miss the spirit of a woman intensely involved in this community from her arrival in 1881 until the Todds moved to Florida in 1917. Those who knew her remembered “her vividness, her love of beauty, her ceaseless activity and her joy in the things she did, what she was is undoubtedly more than anything she did,” recalled her daughter, Millicent Todd Bingham, in Mabel Loomis Todd: Her Contributions to the Town of Amherst, our guide for this exhibition.
This exhibit was created with the research and assistance of Dr. Julie Dobrow, author of the upcoming book Outside Emily’s Door: Mabel Loomis Todd, Millicent Todd Bingham and the Making of America’s Greatest Poet, and Emma John, Hampshire College intern.
This exhibit is now open at the Simeon Strong House.
Read more here.
These are all entries under the letter “C” in the book Amherst A to Z, written by Elizabeth Sharpe. The book is illustrated with pictures of artifacts from the Amherst History Museum, historic images from the Jones Library’s Special Collections, as well as photographs of our town and the folks who live here.