March, 2016

 in Newsletters

MARCH PROGRAM:

THE NOT SO GOOD LIFE OF THE COLONIAL GOODWIFE

Tuesday, March 8, 2016 6:30 p.m at the Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller St. Meriden, CT

 Colonial Goodwife poster copy

Discover what life was really like for New England’s colonial women in the spheres of birth, death, sex and birth control, childcare, sickness, and medicine.

In 2011, Velya Jancz-Urban and her family bought a foreclosed 1770 farmhouse in Woodbury, Connecticut, unaware of what the house would reveal. Behind the walls, surprises and secrets waited to be exposed. This became the spark for the novel, Acquiescence. While researching her novel, Velya became obsessed (in a good way) with colonial women.

Her entertainingly informative presentation, “The Not-So-Good Life of the Colonial Goodwife,” not only makes audience members laugh and grimace, but it also honors our foremothers. It’s not about quilting bees and spinning wheels; rather it’s an interactive presentation about the little-known issues faced by New England’s colonial women.

See:  www.colonialgoodwife.com  Or this Amazon link for Acquiescence:

Velya Jancz-Urban is a teacher, author of a number of books on a variety of topics, former Brazilian dairy farm owner, expert on New England’s colonial women, and inhabitant of a 1770 house she claims is haunted.

 This program is free and open to the public. It is co sponsored with the Meriden Public Library. Refreshments will be served.

 

AT THE ANDREWS HOMESTEAD

Be prepared to be amazed! Our May exhibit at the Homestead will showcase lesser known manufacuring companies and businesses who called Meriden their home. While the International Silver, Bradley and Hubbard, Manning Bowman, Handel, Wave Crest, Miller and Parker Companies will still be there, the emphasis will be on the smaller companies, the ones that made amazing things for which they have not received the same buzz as the aforementioned.

There have been some changes made in the upstairs rooms at the Andrews Homestead in preparation for our May exhibit (see above.) With the interest that schools have been showing in learning about Meriden, we will be using the rooms as teaching tools to give an idea of life in the late 19th and early 20th century. There will also be changes In some areas downstairs. Meantime, the ouotside of the house has been completed with the addition of copper gutters with leaf guards. The gas fired heat is up and running. The city has done a great job on our museum so please come and visit in May.

On a different note – the old tree in front of the Homestead lost yet another branch, taking out our telephone line in the process. Kudos to Monitor Controls for alerting us of the problem, to Ray and Chris Ruel who went down in bad weather to investigate and confirm the problem and to Frontier Communications for hooking us back up in a speedy fashion.

 

AT THE RESEARCH CENTER

Our volunteers continue to help in the never-ending geneaogy project headed by Allen Weathers.

Heavy snow and consequent plowing brought down the white fence at the Research Center. Sincere thanks to our member Rob LaRivierre of the Remodeling Company who came in and repaired/re-erected the fence.

 

MEMBERSHIP

Lesley Solkoske and Lesley Carabetta, our membership co-chairpersons, sent out renewal notices in early January.

We wish to thank all who have already responded so quickly to the 2016 membership drive.

If you have not yet done so, please send in your dues – your payments and donations keeps us going.

We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome our new members: Judy Laczek and Diane Lukonis.

 

FOR THEIR GENEROSITY

Sincere thanks to the following donors:

John Arndt, Agnes Baur, Frank Chiarenza, Ruth Ann C. Davis, John Fowler, Nancy Gluck, Lorraine Hancock, Margaret S. Jenkins, Stacia Morehouse, Diantha Morse, Janet Pestey, Robert B. Siegler and to Joan M. Munger for her donation in Memrory of Leon Bartholomew

 

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR

CORPORATE MEMBERS

 

Nest Egg Auctions

758 Four Rod Road

Berlin, CT 06037

203-630-1400

The Record Journal

11 Crown St, Meriden CT 06450

203-235-1661

The Remodeling Company

848 N. Colony Rd

Meriden, CT 06450

203-213-1053