American Textile History Museum, What Was Inside?

"There is A Lot to Like About Lowell" is the city slogan.

(See tab on the right side called "Lowell Series" for many more articles about Lowell.)

The American Textile History Museum, on 491 Dutton Street, Lowell has been one of my favorite museums for many years, and for about five years, I volunteered there doing quite a few things. I always monitored the special exhibits, by answering non-technical questions, preventing photographs from being taken and watching what people brought in, like soft drinks, food and umbrellas. I did this every Thursday evening, from 6-8, as well when special events held on Friday or Saturday evenings in the function area (events such as company fundraisers, weddings, birthday parties, etc.), and assisted in the office of the volunteer coordinator. I met many nice women, some of whom I still see around the city.

Part 2 may be seen HERE. I have included the Museum Guide with a diagram of the building as well as a lot of period rooms.

Favorite exhibits of mine were the Princess Diana dresses (my post), a hat exhibit, Hawaiian shirts, several quilt exhibits and Hollywood costumes (my post with a photo of flyer for the exhibit).

Unfortunately, the museum closed the first of this year, and I haven't heard if or when they will open. If you ever wanted to see the exhibits, I can show you what I saw the week before it closed. I will do two posts, this one covers the clothes and accessories, in no particular order; the second will show the historical aspect of the museum next week.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: MUSEUM CLOSED FOR GOOD

American Textile History Museum

(DATED June 14, 2016)

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you that due to a significant financial deficit, the American Textile History Museum will be forced to permanently close our doors.

This was a very difficult decision for all involved and certainly not the outcome we had hoped and worked for. However, due to serious operational challenges and financial shortfalls, our Board of Trustees has realized that this is the only responsible option.

All ATHM exhibits are now closed to the public; all programs and classes will be closed as of June 30, 2016. In the coming weeks and months, we will be working closely with the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office and Supreme Judicial Court to dissolve the Museum's 501(c)(3). You can learn more on our website about what lies ahead.

ATHM has begun the process to transfer our priceless collection to other nonprofit organizations able to serve as faithful, long-term stewards. Recognizing your interest and commitment to this collection, we will endeavor to share on our website the future homes of the artifacts as they are relocated. We are gratefully accepting donations towards the preservation of the collection as we relocate the artifacts in our care.

We sincerely appreciate your support of ATHM. We are sorry to share this unfortunate news and we thank you again for your support of this great museum.
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From LowellSun.com http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_30018045/

Lowell textile history museum will not reopen

by By Melissa Hanson, mhanson@lowellsun.com

"LOWELL -- Months of talks about a new business model with a local partner were not enough to identify a sustainable plan for the American Textile History Museum, as officials on Tuesday announced the museum's permanent closing.

The museum was primarily working with the Lowell National Historical Park to develop a strategic partnership that would help keep the museum afloat after nearly two decades of financial difficulty, interim Executive Director Todd Smith said.

Though Smith and Park Superintendent Celeste Bernardo planned a partnership of the two organizations, Smith said it became clear that in order to effectively work with the park, which receives federal funding, an organization would have to already be viable and sustainable on its own. The museum is not.

The museum examined other regional organizations for partnership possibilities, but the national park was its best option. Without a clear path for a new business model, museum employees shifted their focus to preserving and identifying a new home for the collection, which has hundreds of thousands of pieces, from objects as small as a sewing needle to those as large as a the towering green roller printer in its lobby.

Museum exhibits at the 491 Dutton St. location closed to the public on Jan. 1. The call was made by the board of trustees after it determined it was not feasible for the museum to continue operating on a shrinking budget.

After seven months, consultation from the Nonprofit Finance Fund and Laura Roberts Consulting failed to identify a viable business model to keep the museum running, the museum said in a statement. The museum is in the process of dissolving its 501(c)(3) status with the state Attorney General's Office and the Supreme Judicial Court.

"This was an extremely difficult decision for all involved and certainly not the outcome we had hoped and worked for," said museum board Chairman J.

One of the museum's extensive collection of fabric sample books. This is the Hamilton Mills book from November 1883 to February 1884.

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

Matthew Coggins. "However, the board recognizes that serious operational challenges, financial shortfalls and other circumstances make it impossible to ethically and responsibly dedicate further financial assets to attempt to keep our doors open."

The museum was running through up to $800,000 annually, officials said. Its current endowment is $1.65 million. That money will be used to steward the collection to new homes, likely to multiple partners. But while keeping some parts of the collection together, it will not be enough to cover the entire cost.

"We are really hoping there are members of the community near and far who will feel that the long-term preservation of the collection is worthy of giving to," Coggins said in a phone interview.

Some dresses from the mid to late-1800s at the museum.

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

The museum has seven full-time staff members and several hourly contractors. For now, their focus will be on moving the collection, but once that task is complete the staff will be let go, Coggins said. It will take at least a year to complete that process.

Classes at the museum will end June 30.

Smith said the board and the museum staff have done nothing but "a spectacular job" with the museum, something also acknowledged by industry leaders he has spoken with during the process.

"It's been a very difficult process to go through, and this is certainly not the outcome that we had hoped for," Coggins said.

Financial difficulty has plagued the museum for nearly two decades.

Smith poses near cotton dresses from the mid-1800s.

Sun staff photos can be ordered by visiting our SmugMug site.

Since moving from North Andover to its current location in 1997, attendance and revenue have been much lower and operating costs much higher than projected estimates at the time of the move.

The loss is significant. The textile museum holds the world's largest collections of tools, spinning wheels, hand looms and early production machines, as well as more than 5 million pieces of textile prints, fabric samples, rolled textiles coverlets and costumes, according to its website. The museum was founded in 1960 and is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. It offered a core exhibit, rotating special exhibits, events, and online access to the artifact collections at www.athm.org. 

It's grim to see a textile museum fail in the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, but Smith said the concept of a museum is not entirely dependent on its survival.

"It's more the execution of the business model and how it deals with the financial reality of serving that mission," Smith said in a phone interview.

Smith was appointed in mid-September, following the sudden departure of Jonathan Stevens, president and CEO, over differences of opinion with the board of trustees regarding the museum's future direction.

The museum is working with The Edge Group in Lowell to prepare to sell its 65,000-square-foot condominium space on Dutton Street.

Last year the museum had 20,000 visitors, slightly higher than the annual visitation for the previous years because of the attention to the "Wonder of Wool" exhibit.

Smith said officials plan to keep the museum's website up for at least a year after closing, and that the online collection will still be available for researchers.

Christopher Rogers, a member of the museum's Board of Advisors, said the closure is sad, but that his grandmother, Caroline Stevens Rogers, who founded ATHM in 1960, was a big believer in change when it is needed.

"She'd be the first to cry for a minute for the loss, but then say, 'It's been incredible. Look at all the good we've done,'" he said.

This was not the museum's first attempt at major change. In 2005, the board voted to restructure, permanently closing the Textile Conservation Center and selling part of its Dutton Street building for conversion into mixed-use space. The museum closed its exhibits and galleries to the public and launched a $3.9 million campaign to raise funds for a core exhibit renovation, endowment and operating costs. The campaign goal was reached and the museum reopened in June 2009.

Museums have struggled financially since the economic crisis in 2008, the museum's statement said. In the last year, at least 11 U.S. museums have closed.

The textile museum will still collect donations to support the hours necessary to transfer the collection to another organization for long-term stewardship. Donations will be accepted at www.athm.org/donate, by mail to 491 Dutton St., Lowell, MA 01854, or calling the museum and giving your credit card number over the phone.

"We are asking that all who share a love of and concern for America's history and heritage help us preserve and protect the museum's unparalleled collection of American artifacts," Smith said.

Follow Melissa Hanson on Twitter and Tout @Melissa__Hanson."

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_30018045/lowell-textile-history-museum-will-not-reopen#ixzz4BeOrvIQ2

Visiting the Monuments and Old North Bridge 67 Years Ago!

My mother's college friend, Mrs. Williams and her two daughters came to visit us in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1958. We had already lived in that town for about four years, so I am quite certain the 1958 visit wasn't my first time there. One of the daughters, Dee Williams Malan and I were about the same age and when I lived in Alexandria, VA, she did too. We saw each other often, and once she came to Lowell,  MA for a quick visit. I am in the middle back, mother on the right and my two sisters are in front. So, who is who here? The two girls in front are ,u sisters. I am in the middle back, my mother on the far right.

HERE

On the 19 of April

1775

was made

the first forcible resistance

to British aggression

On the opposite Bank

stood the American Militia

HERE stood the Invading Army

and on this spot

the first of the Enemy fell

in the War of that Revolution

which gave

Independence

to these United States

In gratitude to GOD

and

In the love and Freedom

this Monument

was erected AD 1836.

Below photos taken 2013, 2015, Concord, Massachusetts.

I never knew the name of this monument, so Wikipedia came to the rescue. It appears it's just called the 1836 Monument. While on that site, I discovered some other very interesting bits of information, shared below:

"Bridge

The original North Bridge was dismantled in 1793 by the town of Concord because its use as a bridge had become impractical; a new bridge was erected a few hundred yards away. The bridge was rebuilt multiple times in 1875, 1889, and 1909. The current replica was built in 1956 and was based on drawings of the bridge built in the 1760s. The bridge was restored in 2005.

1836 memorial (above)

In 1836, when there was no bridge at the site, the residents of Concord erected a memorial obelisk on the east side of the river, the side closest to the town center. Inscribed on the eastern (approach) side of the monument is: "HERE On the 19 of April, 1775, was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression[.] On the opposite Bank stood the American Militia[.] Here stood the Invading Army and on this spot the first of the Enemy fell in the War of that Revolution which gave Independence to these United States[.] In gratitude to GOD and In the love of Freedom this Monument was erected AD. 1836."

On Independence Day, July 4, 1837, the memorial was dedicated, an event for which Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his "Concord Hymn". The first, and best known, of the four stanzas of this poem is:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

1875 memorial (below)

The first stanza of "Concord Hymn" is inscribed at the base of the statue Minute Man by Daniel Chester French. The statue, which stands on a 7-foot-tall granite pedestal, was cast in the Ames Foundry in Chicopee, Massachusetts and was made from seven American Civil Warcannons donated for the project by Congress. The statue, and the 1875 bridge, were dedicated on April 19, 1875 at a centennial recognition of the original battle of April 19, 1775."

1875 Memorial, more commonly known as the Minuteman Statue.

Past photo posts about the North Bridge Visitor Center, park and bridge in Concord, seen HERE and HERE. In reviewing the photos, I don't think I need to take any more photos!

Glastonbury, Connecticut -- Kilborn Ancestor Buried There Plus See the World War II Memorial

A visit to the Green Cemetery in Glastonbury, Connecticut on April 17th proved to be the most frustrating hunt for a stone I've ever had in all 100 or so cemeteries I've been in. I thought I was so well prepared as I had a copy of my John Kilbourn /Kilborn stone beautifully photographed for FindAGrave (FAG) by Rebecca, and I knew the row and exact location of the stone. So what happened? I was armed with an iPad and a small Sony aim and shoot camera, but I couldn't read any writing on a large number of stones. The shadow is exactly in the same place as the FAG photo below. When you compare the two pictures, I'd love some feedback. Do you think it was taken in another month or is there another reason? I wonder if Rebecca will respond to my query as to what month she was there, even though she posted her photo in 2007!

From the photo below, I thought it was taken at 11:57 AM, but in fact I was in error. After I posted my original post, I realized that that time was due to my taking a copy of the FAG photo with my iPad. Thank you to the two who commented on why there could have been a difference of 3 minutes, since my horrible picture was taken at 11:54. The idea of a flash being used was a good suggestion, but I think since you see a shadow, like mine, that might not be a reason. Perhaps it was the time of the year.

I have taken cemetery photos of John's 7 of direct line of Kilborn, all in Connecticut (Colchester, East Haddam, Clinton, and New Haven). John Kilborn's father was probably buried across the river in Wethersfield per FAG.

John Kilbourn is my 8th great-grandfather. There are 21 Kilbourns or Kilborns in that cemetery and I could only read three! The stone reads

HERE

Lieth The

Body of Mr. Jn^o

Kilborn Who Died

November y^e 25^th 1711

in y^e 60^th year of His

Age

FAG photo above, not taken at 11:57 AM
Mine below was taken at 11:54 AM

Changing it to black and white helped a little, at least I can see a few words.

Inside the fence are the row numbers. I called the Historical Society and got the exact location.

Green Cemetery has many entrances, not just the one shown.

The Historical Society of Glastonbury is next to the Cemetery. This was the original town hall built in 1840. The war memorial is in front of the town hall.

IN HONOR OF THOSE WHO SERVED THEIR

COUNTRY IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND IN MEMORY OF

CHARLES GALLI WHO WAS KILLED IN ACTION.

HERBERT AMOND

RICHARD A. BANTLE

EVERETT E. BANTLY

ALLEN F. BEHNKE

ROBERT G. BRASH

CHARLES W. CHASE, JR.

JOSEPH A. CLAPIS

LAWRENCE L. COGGIOLA

ELMORE L. CORNISH

MARY L. CORNISH

JACK DARBY

GEORGE E. ELLIOTT, JR.

WILLIAM J. ELLIOTT

DURAND G. FULLER

CHARLES GALLI

ALBERT A. GEOFFROY

CHARLES M. GODDARD, JR.

DANIEL H. HODGE

ALBERT K. KARASH, JR.

VINCENT KASPER

WALTER KERR

JOSEPH KIRK

FRANK J. LEACH

EGIDIO F. MARINELLI

JACK E. MAY

RICHARD A. MERRIAM

EDWARD J. MILLER

HENRY J. MORSE

GUIDOI OLIVA

LAWRENCE W. RICHARDS

WALTER J. STANLEY

JOSEPH F. STARK

LUCIEN VEGIARD

JOSEPH J. WACHTER, JR.

EDWARD D. WELDON

JOSEPH F. WESTERGOM

ERECTED 1947

Town green is beside the cemetery and behind the Historical Society.

Memorials Written for my Mother and Her Revised Will to Benefit 6 Non-Profit Organizations

A newspaper obituary written about my mother was titled, "The Ultimate Volunteer, " I blogged about that obituary five years ago, see HERE. Now, 26 years after her April 16, 2016 death, I am posting three memorial articles to my mother. From the obituary, "She died of a heart attack, at the age of 70, doing what she loved, leading a group of bicyclists on an annual Patriot's Day bike ride in Lincoln [sic] (should be Lexington)."

Alan Dressler, Marta Gredler and Sharon Cain wrote memorial articles and Jean H. James wrote the Memorial Ride in my mother's name. Part of what they wrote are these statements: "Just a few of her activities: the Presidency of her Skidmore college class; Westford (MA) teacher; AARP; the Concord Piece-makers (her quilting group); Boy Scout recycling drives; Rails to Trails projects; and of course Bicycling with the Nashoba Valley Pedalers." "Long-time volunteer of the New England Quilt Museum." Personally, I know she was a Girl Scout volunteer and for several years the Sunday School volunteer administrator.

Her revised will dated 1 March 1990, just 6 weeks prior to her death and a few months before a scheduled trip to France, replaced her original one prepared in ca. 1955. She thought so much about her love of the Church, Rails to Trails, New England Quilt Museum, Friends of the Acton Council on Aging, Northfield Mt. Hermon School (where she attended a private high school), and Skidmore College that she left each of them 1/6 of 1/4 of her estate.

Marta

Revolutionary War Memorial--22 Names from Andover, Massachusetts

IN MEMORIAM

TOWN OF ANDOVER

CASUALTIES IN THE MILITARY AND NAVAL SERVICE

IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR

PHILIP ABBOT

SAMUEL BAILEY, JR.

EZRA CHANDLER

JOSEPH CHANDLER

TITUS CHICKERING

CHARLES DANIELSON

STEPHEN FARRINGTON

BENJAMIN FRYE 

JAMES FRYE

JONATHAN HAGGET

THOMAS HAGGET

WILLIAM HAGGET

JESSE HOLT

ABIJAH INGALLS

JACOB JONES

JOHN LOVEJOY

BENJAMIN PARKER

DAVID PORTER

JONATHAN STEVENS

THOMAS STEVENS

EPHRAIM SWAN

ASA TOWN

"HE FOUGHT THE FIGHT, HE KEPT THE STEP,

LOYAL, AND BRAVE, AND TRUE.

FOR A FREE LAND HE PAID THE PRICE,

COMRADES, THAT DAY FOR YOU."

ANNIE SAWYER DOWNS

ERECTED BY THE TOWN IN THIS BICENTENNIAL YEAR 1976