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Celebrate Paper Heritage - September 2010

"Paper Work"
September 16 - October 2 Wednesday - Saturday 12-5

Lichtenstein Center for the Arts
28 Renne Avenue Pittsfield, MA 413.499.9248

Opening Reception: 3rd Thursday September 16, 5-7

Work on or with paper by regional artists; animated video about the industry; clips from a new documentary about the paper mills of Lee; remarks by Crane & Co. historian Peter Hopkins.

"Paper Makers"
Storefront Artist Project
September 16 - October 16 Thursday-Sunday 11-5

124 Fenn Street Pittsfield, MA

Opening Reception: 3rd Thursday September 16, 6-8

Portraits by photographer Bill Wright of local men and women who work in local paper mills.

Berkshire Museum
39 South Street, Pittsfield MA

Monday - Saturday 10-5 Sunday noon-5
Open free on 3rd Thursdays

Henry Klimowicz’s Paper and Light, an installation made of discarded cardboard, and historical artifacts from the museum and the Crane Museum of Papermaking.

3rd Thursday Flies! - Thursday September 16th
Renne Street Pittsfield MA

Learn how to fold unusual paper airplanes from a paper-folding guru. Awards will be given to outstanding airplanes made by participants.

HERITAGE AREA ANNOUNCES NEW PUBLICATION - June 2010

A Historical Life-Journey of African Americans in The Berkshires, and Its Most Influential Woman.

The Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage Trail is pleased to announce the publication of “One Minute a Free Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Struggle for Freedom”. Written by research librarian Emilie Piper and anthropologist Dr. David Levinson, the book will be published later this month by the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area / African American Heritage Trail. A launch event was held on June 27 at 2:00 PM at the Stockbridge Library, 46 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA.

Based on three years of research in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, the book takes readers on a journey of heart and mind across time, place, families, and communities. This journey begins with the life of Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman, perhaps the best-known and most influential woman to come from the Berkshires. Freeman is remembered today because of her successful suit for freedom in 1781, which helped end slavery in Massachusetts.

Elizabeth Freeman is remembered also as woman who resisted being a victim, instead living a full and rewarding life. Although Black, female, unable to read or write, a slave, and, for much of her life, a servant, she lived a rich and independent life. Elizabeth Freeman managed to buy her own home and a farm, she supported her family, and she cared for the people of the region as a skilled nurse and midwife.

Freeman’s life is the starting point for the book’s broad and in-depth exploration of the lives of other Black families and other Black communities as they formed and changed over time in Sheffield, Stockbridge, Lenox, and Norfolk.

Specifications: 272 pages, 50 illustrations and maps, index. $24.50

Interview with Emilie Piper and David Levinson, authors of One Minute a Free Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Struggle for Freedom,  a new book released this summer by Housatonic Heritage/African American Heritage Trail.

Both authors will be present to sign and sell books at The Trustees of Reservations annual Mumbet Day at The Ashley House in Ashley Falls on Saturday, August 21. More information at www.TheTrustees.org and www.AfricanAmericanTrail.org.

Interview by Tammis Coffin, The Trustees of Reservations:

What were your top questions about Mumbet/Elizabeth Freeman when your research began?

We wanted to know what was Elizabeth Freeman’s life like as an independent woman apart from the Ashleys and the Sedgwicks – did she have a family, what was her personal life like? These aspects of her life had been almost totally ignored, so we give them much attention.  Second, what is the true story of the suit for freedom and other aspects of her life like was she married?  Here, we looked at the historical record to see if the story as it has been told over and over for nearly 200 years actually reflects reality.

What questions were you able to answer?

We were able to answer both questions. Basically, Elizabeth Freeman had a rich life of her own involving her family, her home, friends, and her nursing and midwifery work. Her life for us was the beginning point for the examination of the lives of the other Black families and Black communities in the region. As for the suit for freedom, we found that the basic story seems to be pretty much what happened although we tweak some details her and there. And, no, she was never married. The story of the marriage to man who died in the Revolution is not true and she was not Du Bois’s great-grandmother.

What questions still remain?

One of things we wanted to do as part of our family research was see if we could find any descendants of Elizabeth Freeman alive today. The last of her descendants in the Berkshires probably moved away in the 1860s, so we had to look elsewhere – in New York, Connecticut, and even Liberia. We did identify a man living in New Haven, CT in 1965 but the trail ended there.  We are sure there are descendants and maybe one will hear of the book. We would also have liked to learn more about her relationship with Theodore Sedgwick. And it seems like we’ll never know anything about her parents.

What were the most helpful documents you found?

For her family life it was the detailed census reports, tax records, deeds, wills, and estate records which all together provided the information we needed to describe how families organized themselves and how they lived. The writing –public and private – of members of the Sedgwick family were an especially valuable resource.

Tell us a little more about her influence during her lifetime.

To some extent her reputation was based on her identity as the woman who sued for her freedom and won. In the words of one prominent citizen, she was “a well-known character” in town.  But, she was liked and admired and valued mainly because of her work as a midwife and nurse and years later people she cared for as children  wrote of the care she gave them. It was this work plus her reputation for hard work, honesty and common sense that led Rev. Field to refer to her as “this excellent woman” in his eulogy.

Tell us a more about the will that Freeman left when she died and what you found interesting.

Wills are often an incredibly valuable and fascinating source of information. Unfortunately, few poor people and especially poor women had wills, so we are lucky that Elizabeth Freeman had one and one that has enormous detail about her possessions and whom she left them to. This was one of the first documents we read and it raised all sorts of questions about her own life and her relationship with the Sedgwicks that became the heart of the book. Most importantly, it listed all her immediate kin so we had for the first time a full list of the members of her family and we could then research each of them and follow their lives in the Berkshires and beyond.

What do you think Elizabeth Freeman’s life means for women today?

She was a strong, courageous, powerful woman who despite the triple disadvantages of being black, a woman, and illiterate never saw herself as a victim and instead lived a rich and independent life with much of her time and energy devoted to helping others. She continues to be a role model whose story continues to speak to many women today, rich and poor and Black and white.

Have you learned anything new since the book was published?

It is always the case that once a book appears so too do people interested in the subject and also new tidbits turn up in unrelated research. Just the other day while working on our next project – the Berkshire men of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry regiment – we found the following quote in an 1863 Berkshire Courier article: “Not the least distinguished  person in the history of Stockbridge  was old ‘Mumbet’ who nursed me when a child, holding me kindly in her black arms, until I was afraid of white folks.” The article was written by Henry Field, then adult son of the Congregational minister David Field who had officiated at Mumbet’s funeral in 1829.  

The book is $24.50 and available at local bookstores.

Tammis Coffin
Education & Outreach Coordinator

The Trustees of Reservations | Berkshires Office

P.O. Box 792 | 1 Sergeant Street | Stockbridge, MA 01262
(413) 298-3239 x3003
www.thetrustees.org

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Free Bicycling Clinic - Sunday May 16, 2010

Register for a FREE bike clinic for children ages 5-12.  Held at Lime Rock Park on Sunday May 16, 2010 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm.  This clinic will teach your child skills abuot bicycle safety, handling and helmet fit.  Children must bring a bicycle and helmet in order to participate.

Taught by League of American Bicyclists certified instructors.  Use the White Hollow Road entrance to Lime Rock Park.

Sponsored by Housatonic Heritage in partnership with Lime Rock Park and Northwest CT Council of Governments.
RAIN DATE - Sunday May 23

Download the registration form, fill it in and save it to your computer.  Then email it to Programs@HousatonicHeritage.org 
or fax it to 860-435-6662.

North East Trail Symposium - June 10-11-12, 2010

This 3 day symposium is designed for landscape architects, engineers, planners, agency personnel, conservation commissioners, volunteers, landscape contractors, and trail professionals. There will be plenty of doing, seeing, and listening - for all skill levels - led by locally, regionally, and nationally known experts in the trails field. Attend 1, 2, or 3 days.

A preview of workshop topics is provided HERE.
We look forward to seeing you at the Symposium!
EARLY REGISTRATION BEGINS ON APRIL 26, 2010
Download the Registration Form

Add your name to the mailing list at: wnetrailbuildersinfo@gmail.com

If you have contacted us previously no need to now - we will forward your registration information shortly. We will provide details such as field and classroom workshops, our field session requirements, lodging and restaurant options, and lunch options. There will be evening programs located around Great Barrington which will be free to Symposium participants and the general public.

Symposium Registration
- Early Registration - April 26, 2010 to May 9, 2010 TWO WEEKS ONLY! *
- Regular Registration - May 10, 2010 to May 27, 2010

Attend 1, 2, or 3 days - Discounts for 3 day registrations!
Scholarship opportunities are available for people who live and work in the Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area.  Download the form.

We are offering a premium to those who sign up during the early registration period for two or more days. Each early registrant will receive a CD with all the workshop presentation at no cost. This information will be offered for sale at the symposium.

This event is sponsored by:

Great Barrington Trails and Greenways
National Park Service
MA Dept. Of Conservation & Recreation
Berkshire Natural Resources Council
Great Barrington Land Conservancy
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
The Trustees of Reservations
Peter S. Jensen & Associates, LLC
Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area

March 2010

African American Heritage

Under the guidance of Rachel Fletcher, Housatonic Heritage has entered into an agreement with David Levinson and Emilie Piper (Authors) to publish the latest volume on African American heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley entitled "One Minute a Free Woman" Elizabeth Freeman and the Struggle for Freedom. The book will be published in June 2010, with a launch celebration (lecture/discussion and signing) at the Stockbridge Library on June 27th.

The book provides readers with the first thorough and accurate account of Elizabeth Freeman's life, the lives of her descendants in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and histories of Black communities in the Berkshires and neighboring New York State and Connecticut from the mid-1790s to late 1800s. The book is meant for a general public with fifty illustrations and maps and dozens of excerpts from primary texts including Freeman's will, deeds, account books, letters, and personal journals.

The African American Heritage Trail has launched a new website at http://www.africanamericantrail.org/. The newly redesigned website is visually rich, loaded with current content, and has a bold look that is reflective of the Trails' hardcover book - African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley .

Heritage Trails (Connecticut) Committee is preparing an application for a $10,000 Bikes Belong Coalition grant. The Coalition supports the development of bike trails and infrastructure projects throughout the country. The goals of these funds include trail mapping and problem solving for the portion of the bike trail from Canaan to Kent, CT. This bike trail is part of the regional bike trail "spine" that will eventually connect Pownal, VT. with New Milford, CT.

The CT Committee is also preparing a Kent Trails map and brochure that will depict 5 biking loop trails within that town. Details within the brochure include turn-by-turn directions, a map, description and elevation change. These details will help bicyclists to determine the suitability of a particular trail for their biking ability level. This map and brochure will serve as a pilot project for similar matching brochures that could be developed in municipalities throughout the Upper Housatonic Valley.
The Committee is holding a Bicycle Safety Clinic on Sunday May 16th at Lime Rock Park race track in Lakeville. Targeted to elementary school-aged children, this professionally taught course will instruct children in proper riding techniques and equipment use (including helmets).

2009 Annual Report is available!

Download the unabridged version that includes in-depth descriptions of all Housatonic Heritage programs.  (Annual reports for prior years found here.)