Seated by Susan: Birthplace Museum Launches Special Exhibit

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ADAMS, Mass. — The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum will hold an exhibition launch event to celebrate their newest children's exhibit, Seated by Susan, on Friday, Aug. 23 at 4 pm. The exhibit has a children's focus but is for all ages.

The exhibit provides a glimpse into what working children's lives were like in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Featuring a collection of children's chairs placed throughout the museum, visitors young and old will engage with labels that include different facts and tidbits about working life in the 1800s, which tie into a larger scavenger hunt that includes a prize at the end if all questions are answered correctly. The collection of children's chairs were donated by members of the museum's Board of Directors and includes a variety of different chair styles from the 1800s through the mid 19th century. The decision to use the children's chairs relates to Susan herself, Executive Director James Capuzzi said.

"We want this upcoming exhibit to cater to a younger audience. The Birthplace Museum was the childhood home of Susan B. Anthony, so using the children"s chairs as a vehicle to tell a larger story about what life for children in the 19th century looked like; and how it differs from that of children today, felt natural," he said.

The event with activities for children and refreshments will take place at the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, 67 East Road, Adams, MA, on Friday, Aug. 23 at 4:00 pm.. All ages are invited to attend. Museum admission will be free from the exhibit launch, Aug. 23 through Monday, Aug. 26 in honor of Women's Equality Day, which commemorates the enactment of the 19th amendment. The amendment states that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The 19th amendment was certified by proclamation on August 26, 1920.

The special exhibition will be installed through Susan B. Anthony's Birthday, Feb. 15, and is the combined effort of the museum's past and current interns, Mia Campbell, Hannah Hoggatt, Delaney Thurston, and Christina Lothrop. Current intern Hannah Hoggatt, putting the final touches on this two year project, expresses her excitement for the new exhibit.

"We have all worked hard to ensure that the new exhibition not only provides an accurate representation of life in the 19th century, but also provides visitors with an enriching experience that gets them excited to learn about history in a unique way. We did not want to just display the chairs and their information, so we had to dig deeper to come up with a creative solution; I am super proud of what we have accomplished and I look forward to opening this exhibit to the public," she said.

 


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Cheshire Eliminated Harbormaster Post

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Select Board last week voted to eliminate the post of harbormaster and turn the boat over the Fire Department at the request of both the police and fire chiefs.
 
Interim Police Chief Tim Garner gave the board a history of the post and how it came to fall under the Police Department.
 
"The vote was received by the Police Department as part of our grant. I think it was in development in 2009, maybe as part of community policing-type grant that we got, and it was specifically designated for fire and police, and decided on a patrol and rescue," he said. "So basically, if something happened on the lake, we'd be able to have a boat that would get access to go out and do what we got to do."
 
He said the first harbormaster would patrol Hoosac Lake only to educate and advise as they were not allowed to enforce laws.
 
"He would go out on the lake periodically and not enforcing, because it's not our lake, he would go and do PR work and just advise people about life jackets or give them a safe boating book or something like that. Just basically PR work," he said.
 
Select Board member Michelle Francesconi said this was because it could lead to trouble if they were attempted to enforce rules.
 
"I think one of the issues that we were running into, even with the harbormaster position, and I can remember with the vote in general, was the perception that it was an enforcement vote, and it would put somebody in a precarious situation, or could potentially put the harbor master in a bad situation, just if they were perceived as a law enforcement officer, because you don't know what you're going to come up on, either be drunks or drugs, or any other crimes on the water, too," she said.
 
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