Ten Hills Farm by C.S. Manegold

C.S. Manegold, author of the new book, Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery In the North, will speak tomorrow night, Monday, March 1st, in Newton.

The talk is part of the lecture series Encountering Slavery and Race in New England and is funded by the Foundation for Racial, Ethnic & Religous Harmony.

Ten Hills Farm was a six-hundred acre farm that stretched across parts of Medford and Somerville.  The farm was owned by three families – the Winthrops, the Ushers, and the Royalls – all of whom owned slaves are were tied to the slave trade.  The Royall House and slave quarters, built in the 1730s, is close to Medford Square.

C.S. Manegold will speak at the Myrtle Baptist Church, 21 Curve Street, West Newton at 7 p.m. on March 1, 2010.  Admission is free.  For more information please call Historic Newton at 617-796-1450.

I just bought Ten Hills Farm last night and look forward to an eye opening read. I’ll post about it when I’m done.

Celebrate Black History Month on Saturday with a gospel music concert

In honor of Black History Month, there will be a free gospel music concert at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford this Saturday.

Presented by the Somerville Community Baptist Church, the Community Gospel Choir will perform with a live band and other instrumentalists accompanying. Joe Fitzgerald, Boston Herald columnist, will be master of ceremonies.  

The Community Gospel Choir is a volunteer group with members from several area churches. Stacie Clayton, Choral Director at the Somerville Community Baptist Church, is the choir director.

Admission is free. Donations accepted.

“We’ve Come This Far By Faith”, a gospel music concert, will take place Saturday, Feb. 27. 2010 at 5 p.m. at the Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St., Medford MA. 

The theatre is between the Post Office and the Medford High School condos.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow of Cambridge

This Saturday, Feb. 27th is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s birthday.  Longfellow was born on Feb. 27, 1807.  He lived for many years in Cambridge on Brattle Street and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.

Mount Auburn Cemetery is celebrating the Cambridge poet’s birthday with an event that also marks this year’s 150th anniversary of Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride”.

Longfellow wrote the poem in 1860 and it was published in the January 1861 issue of The Atlantic Monthly.  “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere …”, the poem has long been a favorite of school children who learn a version substantially shorter than the original.

The poem was also a favorite of the late Ted Kennedy who narrated the poem for the Boston Landmarks Orchestra’s premiere of “Paul Revere’s Ride”.

The birthday celebration at Mount Auburn at the Story Chapel will include a multi-media presentation of Kennedy’s narration.  Coffee and tea will be served at 9:30 a.m. Following the presentation a wreath will be laid at Longfellow’s grave, and then birthday cake will be served at the Chapel.

Admission is free.

The Longfellow birthday celebration will be held on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. at Story Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery. 580 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA.

For information call 617-601-1981.

Jane Austen's house in Chawton

Looking for something different to do for Valentine’s Day? 

Gore Place, a Federal Period historic house museum in Waltham, is offering Jane Austen Tours – The Art of Romance in the Austen Era – next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 13 and 14, 2010.

A guide in period costume will use Jane Austen’s words from her letters and novels to describe life in a country house of the period. 

The tour costs $12 for adults and $8 for children ages 5 to 12.  Attendance is limited and reservations are suggested.

For tickets call 781-894-2798.

The Jane Austen tours will be held Saturday, February 13, 2010 and Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm at Gore Place in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Gore Place is at 52 Gore Street, Waltham, MA 02453.

The parade and pudding pot ceremony for the 2010 Hasty Pudding Club Man of the Year, Justin Timberlake, is scheduled for this Friday, February 5th.

 Here’s a look at Anne Hathaway and the Hasty Pudding Club:

See also:

Renee Zellweger 2009 Hasty Pudding Club Woman of the Year

Modernist House for Sale - 119 Park Ave, Arlington

Caring for the Modern House – Historic New England Workshop Owners of mid-century modern houses – or those who love them – will want to attend an upcoming workshop in Lexington, MA.  

Ask The Experts – Caring For The Modern House is scheduled for January 31, 2010.

A panel of experts will discuss the special challenges presented by caring for modernist houses.  Come with your questions and issues about preserving, restoring, updating, and maintaining your home.

Panelists include:

• Brent A. Gabby, Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger
• Katherine Mierzwa, Friends of Modern Architecture
• Sally Zimmerman, preservation specialist at Historic New England

Sponsored by the Lexington Historical Society, the Friends of Modern Architecture, Lincoln and Historic New England.

The workshop will take place Sunday, January 31, 2010 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm at the Lexington Historical Society, 13 Depot Square, Lexington, MA. 

Registration is required.  Call 781-862-1703

Admission: $40 for nonmembers. Reduced admission for members of Historic New England, the Historic Homeowner program, Lexington Historical Society or Friends of Modern Architecture.

Don’t own a modernist house but would like to?  The mid-century modern house above is my new listing in Arlington.  It’s open this Sunday, the 24th, from 1 to 2:30 or call me to schedule an appointment.

In a presentation titled Of the People: Faces of the Civil WarMedford Historical Society board member Jim Kiely and Barbara Kerr, Director of Collections, will talk about the history of the collection, how it was rediscovered, and what we can learn about the Civil War from the photographs.

The Medford Historical Society’s collection of Civil War photographs includes some 5400 prints and is thought to be the fifth largest collection of its kind in the world.

The lecture, Of the People: Faces of the Civil War is scheduled for:

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 7 pm

At the Winchester Public Library, 80 Washington St, Winchester MA 01890

Admission is free

On a side note (no pun intended!) - the Civil War engraving above is just a random image I bought to illustrate this post. It’s of Ambrose Burnside, a Union Army general for whom sideburns are named.

Is this the right insulation for an antique home? Come to this Medford presentation to find out.

Brrrr!! It’s nippy out!  Wondering how to weatherize your old house?  An upcoming Medford class is geared to homeowners of antique houses who want to make upgrades to save energy but don’t want to jeopardize the original character of their vintage home.

Greening the Older Home is sponsored by the Medford Historical Society.

Topics to be covered:

• Insulation
• Windows
• Lighting
• Exterior sealing
• Renewable energy options

Panelists:

• Sally Zimmerman, Preservation Specialist, Historic New England
• Rebecca Williams from the Northeast Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
• Christopher Skelly of the Massachusetts Historical Commission

Greening the Older Home is scheduled for Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 10:00 a.m.

The program will take place at the Springstep building at 98 George P. Hassett Drive (next to Medford City Hall and the Route 93 Rotary).