History Around Us
I’ve always been drawn to the quiet reminders of the past, plaques, statues, and weathered stones that hold the memory of lives once lived. Exploring these traces connects me to those who came before and deepens my appreciation for the world we share.
Recent Posts
Clay Pipe Warmer
Resting on the hearth of a colonial tavern was this simple iron frame and without a pipe set across it, I would never have recognized it as a clay pipe warmer. As with every object, there is a history, and it is that curiosity that draws me in to learn more. Before matches were common and […]
Make Way for the Ducklings
Walking through the Boston Public Gardens, there is a familiar and beloved sight: a line of small bronze ducks following closely behind their mother. Most locals recognize them as characters from the classic children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey. These statues were created by sculptor Nancy Schon and installed in 1987 as a […]
Atlanta City Boardwalk
Maybe it wasn’t the best time of year to explore the boardwalk in Atlantic City, but we had just finished watching “Boardwalk Empire” and found ourselves with a free weekend. It felt like the perfect opportunity to step into that world, if only for a weekend, and experience the place where so much of that history unfolded. […]
William Billings Plaque
Walking along the Boston Common, there are a number of plaques that quietly mark the lives of people who helped shape the early character of the city. One of them is for Willian Billings, listed as one of America’s earliest native-borncomposers. Billings was born and lived in Boston at a time when the country was just beginning to define its […]
Death Mask
In the Dedham History Museum, is this death mask. An intimate impression of a person’s face taken shortly after death. The practice of creating death masks has a long history. In ancient Egypt, masks were place with the dead, though they were often idealized. In ancient Rome, families preserved wax masks of ancestors as a way to honor lineage […]
Columbus Sculpture
There is a gift that certain artists have, the ability to capture a moment so completely that the story is understood before it is explained. That is how I felt standing before the Columbus sculpture at the Museum of Jewish History in Girona. Created by Frank Meisler in 1994, this is not a single image, but […]
“La Verema”
It was great to spend a day in Sitges, exploring a new town after teaching in Barcelona. The views of the Mediterranean stretched out endlessly shifting in color with the light. Walking along the beach was refreshing and a quiet transition for our time in Barcelona. Sitges is a town of white buildings against the blue of […]
“Eisenhower Comes to Concord”
Growing up in the 1950s, I remember a moment in each school day where we would pause, turn to a photograph of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and as I remember it, drink a glass of milk. I do not remember much else about this ritual, but the memory has stayed with me. I was too young to […]
Chicken Bone Beach
There are layers of history in Atlantic City, and one I was not familiar with was Chicken Bone Beach. Located near Missouri Avenue, the stretch of shoreline carries a story that is not immediately visible when you first arrive. In the early 20th century, during a time when segregation shaped daily life, African American visitors were […]
Mayor Kevin White
Walking near Faneuil Hall, it is easy to focus on the history you expect to find: Revolutionary sites, early American stories, the familiar markers of the city’s beginnings. Just beyond that, is a figure that is hard to ignore: the life size bronze statue of Kevin H. White. Located at street level and captured mid-stride, the sculpture immediately […]
Norman Lear Statue
Heading back to our car, I stopped to grab this photo in the alley near Emerson College. It is one of those narrow Boston passageways that I might have easily walked past without a thought but tucked into this space is something special: a life-size bronze statue of Norman Lear. Lear attended Emerson in the early 1940s, enrolling […]
George Washington Marker
Driving through the town of Wayland, there is the round stone monument that sits along the roadside. Unlike grand statues that make historic events, this one is modest, a cylindrical stone pillar with a bronze marker identifying it as part of the George Washington Memorial Highway. The roadside marker reflects an interesting moment in American history when […]
