Category: News

2:00 p.m.  March 19, 2017
Blackstone Valley Historical Society
North Gate Toll House
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike
Lincoln, RI  02865

Joseph Coduri, author of “Rhode Island Railroad Stations: Post Card Views at the Turn of the 20th Century” will be giving a presentation based on his book.  Using images from vintage post cards, Mr. Coduri will illustrate the role the railroads played in early twentieth century life in Rhode Island.  The railroads linked Rhode Island’s villages and connected them to the shoreline communities. Please join us!  This program is free and the public is welcome.  Donations are gratefully accepted.  Image is from the book, showing postcard views of the Westerly and Apponaug stations.

About the author:  Joseph E. Coduri received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island and began this career on the staff of the University’s Bureau of Government Research working with cities and towns throughout Rhode Island.

After 14 years he left the academic environment and became a Supervisor of Local Government Assistance for the State of Rhode Island. Joe retired in 2013 after a 45-year career in State service.

Joe has been collecting post cards of Rhode Island for the past 35 years, and since 1988 he has chaired or co-chaired the very successful Annual Exhibit & Show of the Rhode Island Post Card Club. His first goal in retirement was to produce Rhode Island Railroad Stations: Post Card Views at the Turn of  the 20^th Century.  Joe and his wife Joan reside in Warwick, Rhode Island

 

3:00-5:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 26, 2017
North Gate
Blackstone Valley Historical Society
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike
Lincoln, RI  02865

 

Don’t miss the work of Lincoln’s favorite amateur photographer.  Please stop by for refreshments and to meet the artist.

Pawtucket Times interview with Dan Bethel

 

The Museum of Work and Culture is presenting its second series of Valley talks. Talks are usually held at 1:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

February 12: Documentary filmmaker Kenneth Proudfoot screens The Amazing Life & Times of Austin T. Levy and will lead a Q&A on the production of the film that chronicles the life of one of Rhode Island’s leading entrepreneurs and philanthropists.

February 26: Ellen (Wright) Puccetti & Claire (Bissonnette) Wright Boudreault present the history of Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery, chronicling the growth of the family business, the experience growing up on the farm, and what goes into raising cows and making their famous pastry.

March 12: Writer and  historical reenactor Paul Bourget explores life in Civil War encampments, detailing issues of transportation, camp set ups, medicine, military chores, and especially food.

 

Sunday, January 22, 2017
2:00 P.M.
Blackstone Valley Historical Society
North Gate
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike
Lincoln, RI 02865
Upstairs Hall

Selections from the movie Senetchonet to Manville: A Journey Through Time  

Nestled in the northern part of the Town of Lincoln, Rhode Island, Manville is a quiet community that is proud of its working heritage.  However, that lifestyle was shaken in 1955 with two terrible disasters that altered its way of life forever.

Join the Blackstone Valley Historical Society as it debuts a tribute to Manville by Roger Gladu, who has been a part of the community for his lifetime.  Sections of his video, Part I, will introduce the community, show the working environment in the early 20^th century, and the natural disasters that, except for the strong will of the people, could have wiped out Manville forever.

Susan Clarke, Program Manager of the Society, will narrate parts of the video concerning the products made in the factories during those times, interspersed with recorded sections of several persons who did, in fact, work in the major mill.  This presentation will be a wonderful introduction to Manville as a quiet, peaceful region that, despite major adversity, still is a proud part of  the Blackstone region.

 

This program is free, but donations are gratefully accepted, and all interested persons are invited to join the organization.

 

The Blackstone Valley Historical Society is deeply saddened by the loss of our mentor and dear friend, Albert Klyberg.

In the words of C. Morgan Grefe, Director of the RI Historical Society:

“There are people in this world who change the way we think about a place. Al Klyberg was one of those people. He came to Rhode Island with a passion for history, and not just any history, but the history of every single person. And he committed his life to sharing that history with everyone.

He had a beautiful vision of the role that history should play in our lives, and I am honored to have known and worked with him. He continued to shape the RIHS every day, and I – we all – are grateful.

Thank you, Al, for your service, your passion, and your dedication. You made history, and you are forever part of us. You are missed so very much already.”

In Memoriam: Albert T. “Al” Klyberg, 1940-2017

 

January 22, 2:00 p.m.
North Gate Toll House
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

Movie!  Public welcome, no charge for admission.

Enjoy selections from the movie, Senetchonet to Manville: a Journey through Time, by Betty Mencucci and Carlo Mencucci.  This is a documentary on the history of Manville, which contains hundreds of historical photographs of Manville from the collection of Roger Gladu.  This showing is made possible by a generous gift of Roger and Lorraine Gladu.

 

The Blackstone Valley Historical Society
Christmas Open House
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
December 11, 2016
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

We wish to thank our members and friends for their support throughout the year. Join us for a celebration of music, refreshments, and maybe a visit from a man in a red suit!

Bob Ferri will be playing holiday music for us. Come see all the work we are doing in the dining room,  Bring your family and friends.

 

 

2:00 p.m., November 20, 2016
North Gate Toll House
Blackstone Valley Historical Society
C. Morgan Grefe, RI Historical Society, The Three-decker Menace

If you look around your neighborhood, there are probably some of these large, three-story houses; however, elsewhere in the U.S. they are not there.  Why is that?  When were the first of these large homes built, and why?  Are they an offshoot of our manufacturing roots, as necessary housing for workers?  And, are they really a “menace” within a neighborhood?

Dr. Morgan Grefe, the Head of the Rhode Island Historical Society, became interested in this form of housing during her Ph.D. studies at Brown University.  Her insight as to their history and construction will fascinate all who have lived in, or even just seen rows of, three-deckers in their neighborhoods.

Free and open to the public.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

2:00 p.m.
October 16, 2016
North Gate Toll House, Blackstone Valley Historical Society
1873 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI  02865

Ray Wolf, “World War II, as told by John E. O’Hara”

Ray Wolf, author of “The Scituate Reservoir”, and many other books of local history, will talk about his book “World War II”, written from the logbook written by John E. O’Hara kept while he was in the Navy from 1942-1945.  It will also touch on its companion volume, “Shirley, His Only Love”, written about John O’Hara’s wife and their life together in Rhode Island after they met in 1948. He may also mention his most book, “Rhode Island Diners Today”, and his newest research on outhouses!

This event is free and the public is welcome. Donations are gratefully received.

 

 

Exciting News!  North Gate is the Town of Lincoln’s 20th Christmas ornament.

“North Gate” was originally built as a toll house for the newly built Louisquisset Pike in the early years of the 19th century.

Valley Breeze reporter Brittany Ballantyne interviewed Richard DiMase, Dave Sale, and BVHS President Jason Dionne at North Gate.  North Gate was selected for the town’s 20th annual ornament because of “the relevance of the tolls on the pike, and the parallels with today’s truck tolls passed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives in February of this year,” according to Richard DiMase.

The ornament sells for $17.00 and can be purchased at North Gate at Blackstone Valley Historical Society events, and several other places around the town of Lincoln.

The sale of Christmas ornaments over the years has provided $23,000 to the town for the re-location of the historic Hot Potato School House, which was transported from the corner of Angell and Whipple Road to Chase Farm last November.

Read the Valley Breeze article.