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Historic farms, like Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, Newbury, Massachusetts, and Casey Farm, Saunderstown, Rhode Island (illustrated on table of contents page), are important comABOVE LEFT
Because the majority our sites have been preserved to depict history as a continuum, interpretation can be presented with more accessible stories from more recent times. Doing so suggests a way to engage younger audiences through experiences closer to their personal experiences, and then from that foundation, to build toward an increased interest in the more distant past. Historic New England’s Modernist Weekend and visits for the Young Friends to private homes of the midtwentieth century illustrate this approach. A side effect of the so-called “bowling alone” syndrome, in which individuals are increasingly replacing social engagement with solitary activities, is a heightened demand for satisfaction of specific, rather than general, interests and control of personal time. The need to wait even ten or fifteen minutes for an hourly tour is objectionable to many today, as is the fear of being trapped should a tour not prove satisfactory. While some find the tour with a knowledgeable guide to be the very best experience one can have in a historic site, there is much evidence that contemporary audiences want something different. Visitors no longer wish to have a passive role, they want to experience a place hands-on, contribute their own knowledge and insights, and have opportunities that go beyond the usual. Many Historic New England sites now 8
Historic New England Summer 2008
David Bohl
David Carmach
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munity resources. ABOVE RIGHT Items from the recent past, like this typewriter at the 1728 farmhouse, Cogswell’s Grant, Essex, Massachusetts, can provide visitors with an entry point into more
offer cellar-to-attic tours that take guests to places previously off limits. Overnight programs at the farms involve family groups in doing farm chores and tending livestock. Travel programs offer interaction with curators and with historic homeowners in other parts of the world. Evening and winter events open the museums at times that are more suitable to when visitors are seeking things to do. Such simple ideas appeal to audience groups that are unlikely to attend a standard guided tour. We are on the verge of the retirement of the Baby Boomer generation, those born between 1946 and 1964. While there has been much effort to attract the young to historic sites to build audiences for the future, museums are beginning to recognize that there is a large potential audience emerging in the Boomer retiree group. That generation is better educated, healthier, and more affluent than any prior generation. Their life expectancy will allow for many years of productive activity. Their interest in history, beginning with their own stories but expanding to larger themes, is growing with age. Some suggest that the group offers a base of interest and support that can be tapped for a new golden age for historic house museums. What the retirees are likely to look for is social interaction with people like themselves with shared