Food service workers posed in front of a car of the Boston and Albany Railroad in Milford, Massachusetts, c. 1910.
STORIES, NOT STUFF
Collecting a Diverse New England
by SARA R. DEAN The recipient of three academic awards, Sara R. Dean holds a master’s in public history from Northeastern University and a bachelor’s in history and social sciences from Eastern Connecticut State University. Besides her work at Historic New England, she has conducted research on African American history for Old South Meeting House and the Bostonian Society. Sara is currently working as department coordinator for Academic Affairs at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
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an objects speak for themselves? If so, what do they tell us about the past and what do they leave unsaid? I found myself asking those questions in the summer of 2018 when, as Historic New England’s community engagement intern, I conducted research with the organization’s archival materials and collections objects. Historic New England seeks to build relationships with local communities and invites them into the work of the organization through partnerships and collaborations. I discovered that this work is closely tied to Historic New England’s collecting practices and to its mission to engage diverse audiences. Diversity has always been a fact of life in New England, and today New Englanders from diverse backgrounds are eager to learn about this history. During my time working with the archival material and objects in the collection, I found that some objects offered tantalizing glimpses into their subjects’ lives while others produced HistoricNewEngland.org
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