Good Things
Nov. 17th, 2009 08:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancerjodiFinding free money in unused gift cards
A night with Brian
Mal being all snuggly in bed
Sleeping in, and working from home for a couple of hours (meeting in Needham this morning)
Finally starting to read http://www.amazon.com/Waltham-Rediscovered-Ethnic-History-Massachusetts/dp/0914339265
My parents have owned a copy of the book for quite a while, and I bought my own at some point. My father's parents contributed greatly to the creation of this book, with a good deal of photos and excerpts in there about Gram's family.
As a student of sociology, I am just impressed with the efforts and the community-wide process that was involved to create this. I was touched to read of the ethnic group, neighborhood and factory reunions that took place early on in the process to solicit participants for the project. I remember riding a float in the parade that celebrated Waltham's immigrant history at it's 250th anniversary, in my Italian Folk dance duds (Gram had signed me up for a class at the Sons of Italy for a time).
The thing is huge, so it won't be leaving my house, but I'll surely get through it when I'm around here. Last night I was reading to Brian a blurb about the history and popularity of the old Waltham super. I'm looking forward to digging out stories of relatives again. There's a passage that Gram wrote about her experience dropping out of school and working to help support her family (and great detail about the tasks she performed at the Watch Factory, and her wage at the time).
I think most striking last night was the passage in the front written at a neighborhood reunion for the mixed-group immigrants that lived in the Charles-Felton street area, near the river and all of the factories. They didn't have fancy homes, or lots of land, or nice furniture, or any of the things that the Joneses require as a sign of success, but they had a rich and diverse community, bustling and keeping things going and helping each other out. The book was published in the 80s before the fall and subsequent rise/gentrification of the Moody Street area, and yet as much as things change they stay the same. I'm glad to be a part of the continual history of our little city, and hope that I would make our ancestors proud.
You will have to humor me as I share some passages from this book as I go along.
A night with Brian
Mal being all snuggly in bed
Sleeping in, and working from home for a couple of hours (meeting in Needham this morning)
Finally starting to read http://www.amazon.com/Waltham-Rediscovered-Ethnic-History-Massachusetts/dp/0914339265
My parents have owned a copy of the book for quite a while, and I bought my own at some point. My father's parents contributed greatly to the creation of this book, with a good deal of photos and excerpts in there about Gram's family.
As a student of sociology, I am just impressed with the efforts and the community-wide process that was involved to create this. I was touched to read of the ethnic group, neighborhood and factory reunions that took place early on in the process to solicit participants for the project. I remember riding a float in the parade that celebrated Waltham's immigrant history at it's 250th anniversary, in my Italian Folk dance duds (Gram had signed me up for a class at the Sons of Italy for a time).
The thing is huge, so it won't be leaving my house, but I'll surely get through it when I'm around here. Last night I was reading to Brian a blurb about the history and popularity of the old Waltham super. I'm looking forward to digging out stories of relatives again. There's a passage that Gram wrote about her experience dropping out of school and working to help support her family (and great detail about the tasks she performed at the Watch Factory, and her wage at the time).
I think most striking last night was the passage in the front written at a neighborhood reunion for the mixed-group immigrants that lived in the Charles-Felton street area, near the river and all of the factories. They didn't have fancy homes, or lots of land, or nice furniture, or any of the things that the Joneses require as a sign of success, but they had a rich and diverse community, bustling and keeping things going and helping each other out. The book was published in the 80s before the fall and subsequent rise/gentrification of the Moody Street area, and yet as much as things change they stay the same. I'm glad to be a part of the continual history of our little city, and hope that I would make our ancestors proud.
You will have to humor me as I share some passages from this book as I go along.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 02:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 04:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 06:03 pm (UTC)I guess I'm feeling envious. :-) (Which is not the same as jealous. It's nicer. :-) )
no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 06:17 pm (UTC)And then specifically, I found it neat to connect my family's personal history to the one of the city at large. I think my Grandmother had a big role in keeping the stories/spirit alive for all of us, which is why it's stuck. She was a very special lady, and we were lucky to have her in our lives and to be loved by her. I'm excited about sharing some of her writings here with people, because I know that her kind of spirit is a rare one.
Unrleated, are you celebrating a birthday in Dedham in jammies on Sunday afternoon? Maybe I will see you there. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-11-17 06:41 pm (UTC)