Lawrence History Center

The Board of Directors of the Lawrence History Center and the Host Committee are pleased and excited to announce the recipient of the 2012 Eartha Dengler History Award:

Richard Purinton
The Lawrence Gateway and One Man’s Mission to Help

Dick Purinton is a man with a mission, quietly and effectively doing what one person can to make the Lawrence gateway real for Lawrence's people and the organizations that serve them. His work with the Essex County Community Foundation, Jericho Road, the Greater Lawrence Summer Fund, the Essex Art Center and the Lawrence Family Development Charter School is an inspiration to all. Today, his boundless energies are focused most on the Student Immigration Movement, as he mentors, advises, connects, and provides financial support for young people from Lawrence who seek paths to education and citizenship. Dick is a man who lives, every day, the optimism, opportunity and generosity of a true gateway.

In keeping with Dick’s work and passions, the Award Event this year will pay tribute to him and also showcase the ways that Lawrence continues to serve as a gateway city for immigrants from around the world. We are delighted to honor Dick and we invite you to join us in celebration of his leadership on Thursday, June 14, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. on the 6th Floor of the Everett Mill, 15 Union Street, Lawrence!

Click here to purchase tickets to and/or support the 2012 Eartha Dengler
History Award Ceremony Honoring Dick Purinton as an event sponsor!

On March 13, 2012, we welcomed about 100 guests and 26 models into our exhibit space for the "Follow the Thread Vintage Fashion Show," by Jacqueline Cooper. The show was wonderfully narrated by Terry Kelley and the models were members of the local community! It was a very fun event as you will see from the photos (Model, Maria M., pictured on right). Everyone looked stunning!

Click here for photographs!

Jacqueline Cooper's exhibit, "Follow the Thread: America's Jewish Immigrants and the Birth of the Garment Industry" will be on display within our exhibit, "Short pay! All out!" on the 6th floor of the Everett Mill through June 30, 2012. The exhibit tells the story of Jewish Immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries, events unfolding, simultaneously on two continents, and the significance of their relationships to one another. "Adapting to the changing world" is a timeless and universal theme portrayed here by the Jewish immigrants' journey, with the garment industry as vehicle.

"Follow the Thread" is hosted by the Lawrence History Center, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires, and funded in part by Mass Humanities.

On May 10, 2012, LHC President, Pamela Yameen, was honored at the YWCA Tribute to Women 2012 Awards Luncheon. Each year the YWCA honors a select group of women living and/or working in the Merrimack Valley who have made outstanding contributions to their profession and community.

Friends and colleagues describe Pamela as resourceful, motivated, generous, dedicated, and selfless. The following nomination was submitted by LHC Director, Susan Grabski, with the wholehearted support of the LHC Board of Directors, Staff, and Volunteers:

Pamela Yameen is a rare and unique woman who has had a wonderful impact on those around her in the Merrimack Valley. She has an active role in her family’s business, Butcher Boy Market, she is dedicated to her family, friends and colleagues, is active in the local not-for-profit community, and never hesitates to support worthy causes that benefit her hometown of Lawrence. Her generosity comes in many forms – financial, advice, support – and she physically exudes excitement about Lawrence and for making it a better place. It’s not just about individual organizations, it’s about doing something positive for Lawrence overall. Pamela is an effective communicator and she is successful in bringing people together to work toward common goals.

Pamela and her parents (and a table full of family members!)

Please join us for a Vintage Fashion Show on Mother's Day!

Follow the Thread: Vintage Fashion Show
Sunday, May 13, 2012
4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Everett Mill, 15 Union Street, 6th Floor, Lawrence
(within the LHC bilingual exhibit, "Short pay! All out!")
~ Admission Free ~

"Yesterday was an amazing day for the LHC. Well over 300 walked through our door and the streets and historic buildings of Lawrence, from over 20 states and two foreign countries. There was an exciting buzz all day. People were constantly lingering at the end of sessions, there were conversations and networking, and as we checked in on panels, the packed rooms were hushed as people listened intently. Many certainly want to come back." ~ Pamela Yameen, LHC President

Saturday, April 28, 2012 was indeed a wonderful day in Lawrence. When our bilingual exhibit, "Short pay! All out!" opened on the 6th floor of the Everett Mill (15 Union Street, Lawrence) on January 12, 2012, our hope was to start a dialogue about the issues and themes brought to the forefront by the strikers one hundred years ago. The interest and attendance at the Bread and Roses Centennial Academic Symposium reaffirms that the same issues resonate today and that the conversations that began many months ago are continuing and expanding their reach all across this nation and beyond.

We have welcomed nearly 2,000 people to our bilingual exhibit, "Short pay! All out!" since we opened on January 12, 2012 - 100 years after the Great Lawrence Strike of 1912 began! We hope to welcome thousands more between now and the end of September when we will open our exhibit doors forthe Essex National Heritage Area's 11th annual Trails & Sails: Two Weekends of Walks and Water, September 21-23 & September 28-30, 2012!

For a glimpse at upcoming events & ongoing exhibits at the Everett Mill, 15 Union Street, 6th Floor, Lawrence, Massachusetts 01840 CLICK HERE.

The exhibit, "The History of Maine Labor Mural," by Judy Taylor will be mounted from April 22, 2012 through May 6, 2012 within the LHC bilingual exhibit, "Short pay! All out!" on the 6th floor of the Everett Mill, 15 Union Street, Lawrence.

"The History of Maine Labor Mural" brings to Lawrence a set of images that now stands at the forefront of the discussion of 20th and 21st century public art and visual culture. In March 2011, the mural was removed from the lobby of the Maine Department of Labor at the order of Governor Paul LePage. The artist and the curator Nancy Nesvet produced life-size reproductions of the eleven panels of the mural for this traveling exhibit. The themes depicted in the mural and the exhibit texts are closely related to the 1912 textile strike in Lawrence as well as later labor struggles.

On Saturday, April 14, 2012, we welcomed nearly 80 people to the opening reception for "The Lewis Hine Project: Stories of the Lawrence Children," by Joe Manning.

Mr. Manning gave a moving presentation to an audience that included descendants of the children he tells stories about. Please view the pictures from the event (click on image below) and be sure not to miss this wonderful exhibit!

"The Lewis Hine Project: Stories of the Lawrence Children" is free and open to the public within the LHC bilingual exhibit, "Short pay! All out!" on the 6th floor of the Everett Mill, 15 Union Street, Lawrence from April 12, 2012 through June 30, 2012 (Exhibit Hours: Thursday through Saturday, 11:00 a.m.—3:00 p.m., and by appointment by calling 978-686-9230).

The Lewis Hine Project: Stories of the Lawrence Children is sponsored by the Bread and Roses Centennial Committee and funded in part by the Lawrence History Center and the UMass President's Office.

[The reception occurred on April 14, 2012. Please visit HERE for event photos!]

On behalf of the Lawrence History Center Board of Directors, Staff, and Volunteers, we thank all of you who continue to support our mission to collect, preserve, share, and interpret the history and heritage of Lawrence and its people. We are humbled by your donations to our 2011 Annual Appeal.

Because of your support, we are able to continue to provide access to the invaluable resources in our archive, as well as launch new educational opportunities, events and, most recently, to open "Short pay! All out! The Great Lawrence Strike of 1912" on the 6th floor of the Everett Mill! Be sure to check out the Online Bread and Roses Centennial Exhibit, as well!

The 2012 Centennial Commemoration is off to a great start and we offer our sincere gratitude to those who value the history and heritage of Lawrence as much as we do! We hope to see you Lawrence in 2012!!

(If you haven't contributed, it is not too late! Donations may be made online by clicking the Donate button on the left or by mailing your donation payable to the Lawrence History Center, 6 Essex Street, Lawrence, MA 01840)