Undergrounds Before Rail: Escaping Slavery, Claiming Liberty

Award-winning historian Margaret Newell tells the stories of Native and Black people escaping slavery, and the people who helped them Freedom was not a concept just for white male Puritans. The right to consent to governance, the right to liberties, equal treatment under law – these were claimed by enslaved people in the only way they could – by escaping. Award-winning historian Margaret Newell, joined by Slave Legacy History Coalition co-founder Egypt Lloyd, explores the network of Indigenous and Black people helping enslaved individuals to escape – the stories of those who fled. This is a rarely revealed story of resistance to tyranny, juxtaposed to Puritan rights and freedoms. Most Americans are familiar with the history of the 19th century Underground Railroad. Formerly enslaved people wrote autobiographies and newspapers published escape accounts, and later historians interviewed participants. We know much less about the experience of Native Americans and Africans who attempted to escape the tyranny of slavery in the colonial era, whose stories often only appear as testimony in courts or in runaway advertisements. Frederick Douglass and other 19th century fugitives escaped via stagecoach, train, and steamship to the North. There, they entered thriving African American communities who assisted them. In a time before toll roads, transit, and diverse urban centers, how did people escape, where did they go, what networks existed to help them, and what challenges did they confront in maintaining freedom? What did freedom mean in an era where no free soil existed, when the bonds of slavery were being tightened by colonial administrations at the behest of slaveholders? The treaty that ended the first major Anglo-Indigenous conflict, the 1637 Pequot War, included a fugitive slave clause. As colonial cities and transportation networks grew, so did newspaper runaway ads, pass requirements, and policing of people of color. Professor Newell will share the stories of Native Americans and African Americans who tried to claim their liberty and the people who helped them, 1620-1750, with respondent Egypt Lloyd. Many of the escapees tried to head home, whether that meant to Pequot, Wampanoag and Narragansett reserves, or La Florida, or even Africa. Some traversed the Atlantic Ocean. Others focused on physical mobility and maintaining family and marriage ties through temporary absence. Still others organized mass escapes that resembled slave uprisings. Meanwhile, communities and individuals shared successful strategies for fighting slavery’s tyranny. They aided fugitives at enormous risk to themselves.

Boston Public Library

Historic Storms of Cape Cod

Join local author Don Wilding to revisit the Cape’s most severe weather events and their devastating impact. Cape Cod has always been in the path of deadly hurricanes and ferocious storms. Unwelcome summer visitors include the “Long Island Express” Hurricane of 1938, the Great Atlantic Hurricane of 1944, the twin Hurricanes Carol and Edna in 1954, and Hurricane Bob in 1991. These storms destroyed countless homes and left several coastal communities under several feet of water. Surging tides carried away houses with residents inside who didn't survive and sank the Coast Guard lightship Vineyard in Buzzards Bay, killing all 12 crew members. Fall and winter brought the benchmark Blizzard of 1978, the nor’easter of January 1987, and the infamous “Perfect Storm” of October 1991 which delivered some of the highest tides ever seen on the Outer Cape. Don Wilding has been telling stories of Cape Cod Outer Beach history since the start of the millennium. An award-winning writer and editor for Massachusetts newspapers for thirty-six years, Don is the author of four other books on Cape Cod history, including Shipwrecks of Cape Cod: Stories of Tragedy and Triumph and Cape Cod and the Portland Gale of 1898, both from The History Press. He has worked as a tour guide and leads history walks for the Harwich Conservation Trust at Cape Cod National Seashore. Don and his wife, Nita, live in Franklin, Massachusetts, and in Dennis on Cape Cod.

 A History of Boston with Daniel Dain and Peter Vanderwarker

Join author&nbsp;Daniel Dain&nbsp;and photographer&nbsp;Peter Vanderwarker&nbsp;as they talk about their new book,&nbsp;A History of Boston.&nbsp;They will act as your tour guide through the history of the city and discuss what lessons can be learned for the challenges of a modern city today. Boston is today one of the world’s greatest cities, first in higher education, hospitals, life science companies, and sports teams. It was the home of the Great Puritan Migration, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the first civil rights movement, the abolition movement, and the women’s rights movement. But the city that gave us the first use of ether as anesthesia, the telephone, technicolor film, and the mutual fund―the city where Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott founded their world-changing partnership―was also the hub of the anti-immigration movement, the divisive busing era, and decades of self-inflicted decay. Boston has the most important history of any American city. Yet its history has never been given a comprehensive treatment until now. Tour with Dan Dain from the arrival of First Peoples up to the election of Boston’s first woman and person of color as mayor. Dain’s masterful work explores the policies and practices that took Boston from its highest heights to its lowest lows and back again, and examines the central role that density, diversity, and good urban design play in the success of cities like Boston. Daniel Dain, author of the book&nbsp;A History of Boston, was born in Boston and grew up in Newton before leaving the area to attend Vassar College and Michigan Law School. Since then, he has spent his entire professional career as a lawyer in Boston working with commercial property owners and developers on issues related to their use and development of real estate. Dan is the founder and president of the law firm Dain Torpy, where he chairs the firm’s real estate litigation practice. Active in the community, he writes and lectures widely on land use law and urban planning. Dan is a co-founder and treasurer of the Needham Land Trust, is on the board of the business advocacy groups NAIOP of Massachusetts and A Better City, is a board member of the Vilna Shul on Beacon Hill, and manages a private equity fund that invests in independent local restaurants. He also chairs the arts company White Snake Projects, the Town of Needham’s Golf Club Advisory Committee, and the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association’s Litigation Section. The legal rating publication Super Lawyers has recognized Dan as one of the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts every year since 2013. Dan is an avid hiker and is a fanatic follower of Boston and University of Michigan sports teams. He loves giving tours of Boston to friends and visitors, and is known for his ability to give restaurant recommendations for any cuisine or location around Greater Boston. He lives in Needham with his wife and two kids. <img src="https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/uploads/images/full/30363e37f8c3afa01b435c56357fa44e/2.jpg"> Peter Vanderwarker’s work received Institute Honors from the American Institute of Architects in 1991.&nbsp;His photographs are in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Addison Gallery of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.&nbsp;&nbsp;Recent exhibitions include&nbsp;Sublimation&nbsp;at Gallery NAGA, 2017;&nbsp;Seaport Views&nbsp;at the US District Courthouse in 2016; and&nbsp;Vanderwarker’s Pantheon, at the Boston Athenaeum in 2009.&nbsp;&nbsp;Peter is represented by Gallery NAGA, Boston.&nbsp;Peter has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from University of California, Berkeley, and he was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University in 1997. His work has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Graham Foundation. <img src="https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/uploads/images/full/ee54f45f768cfff299c7a1a5fceb749c/petersm3.jpg">

Inundation District

Featuring post-film (which runs&nbsp;79 minutes) discussion with&nbsp;Boston Globe&nbsp;reporter and filmmaker David Abel led by Garrett Dash Nelson In a time of rising seas and intensifying storms, one of the world’s wealthiest, most-educated cities made a fateful decision to spend billions of dollars erecting a new district along its coast — on landfill, at sea level. Unlike other places imperiled by climate change, this neighborhood of glass towers housing some of the world’s largest companies was built well after scientists began warning of the threats, including many at its renowned universities. The city, which already has more high-tide flooding than nearly any other in the United States, called its new quarter the Innovation District. But with seas rising inexorably, and at an accelerating rate, others are calling the neighborhood by a different name: Inundation District. David Abel&nbsp;is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who covers climate change for&nbsp;The Boston Globe.&nbsp;He is also a professor of the practice at Boston University. Abel’s work has won an Edward R. Murrow Award, the Ernie Pyle Award from the Scripps Howard Foundation, and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Feature Reporting Garrett Dash Nelson&nbsp;is a historical geographer whose work focuses on the relationship between community structure, geographic units, and political ideology and is&nbsp;President and Head Curator of the Norman B. Leventhal Map &amp; Education Center.

Join author Daniel Dain and photographer Peter Vanderwarker as they talk about their new book, A History of Boston. They will act as your tour guide through the history of the City and discuss what lessons can be learned for the challenges of a modern city today. Boston is today one of the world’s greatest cities, first in higher education, hospitals, life science companies, and sports teams. It was the home of the Great Puritan Migration, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the first civil rights movement, the abolition movement, and the women’s rights movement. But the city that gave us the first use of ether as anesthesia, the telephone, technicolor film, and the mutual fund―the city where Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott founded their world-changing partnership―was also the hub of the anti-immigration movement, the divisive busing era, and decades of self-inflicted decay. Boston has the most important history of any American city. Yet its history has never been given a comprehensive treatment until now. Tour with Dan Dain from the arrival of First Peoples up to the election of Boston’s first woman and person of color as mayor. Dain’s masterful work explores the policies and practices that took Boston from its highest heights to its lowest lows and back again, and examines the central role that density, diversity, and good urban design play in the success of cities like Boston. Daniel Dain, author of the book A History of Boston, was born in Boston and grew up in Newton before leaving the area to attend Vassar College and Michigan Law School. Since then, he has spent his entire professional career as a lawyer in Boston working with commercial property owners and developers on issues related to their use and development of real estate. Dan is the founder and president of the law firm Dain Torpy, where he chairs the firm’s real estate litigation practice. Active in the community, he writes and lectures widely on land use law and urban planning. Dan is a co-founder and treasurer of the Needham Land Trust, is on the board of the business advocacy groups NAIOP of Massachusetts and A Better City, is a board member of the Vilna Shul on Beacon Hill, and manages a private equity fund that invests in independent local restaurants. He also chairs the arts company White Snake Projects, the Town of Needham’s Golf Club Advisory Committee, and the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association’s Litigation Section. The legal rating publication Super Lawyers has recognized Dan as one of the top 100 lawyers in Massachusetts every year since 2013. Dan is an avid hiker and is a fanatic follower of Boston and University of Michigan sports teams. He loves giving tours of Boston to friends and visitors, and is known for his ability to give restaurant recommendations for any cuisine or location around Greater Boston. He lives in Needham with his wife and two kids. <img src="https://bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/uploads/images/full/30363e37f8c3afa01b435c56357fa44e/2.jpg">

The Fenway Effect : A Cultural History of the Red Sox

To be a part of Red Sox Nation is to be a hopeful romantic who neither betrays loyalty nor surrenders hope in the direst of circumstances. The Fenway Effect author David Krell knows the Sox phenomenon well, and he'll give us a lively discussion of the wider social impact of Boston's beloved team. The Sox history has intersected with the history of Boston and gone well beyond it, through the Curse of the Bambino, the military service of Ted Williams during World War II, and the Boston Marathon bombing.The Fenway Effect chronicles these stories and others that have built the incredible saga of the Sox. How did Cheers depict the passion of Boston’s sports fans? Why is Narragansett beer so important to New England? What’s the architectural impact of The Teammates—the statue of Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, Ted Williams, and Dom DiMaggio outside Fenway Park? What did the Boston press really think about Red Sox owner Harry Frazee selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees? What was the origin of Fenway Park’s predecessor—Huntington Avenue Grounds? Even Yankees fans will tip their caps to the rich impact of the Red Sox on music, movies, branding, broadcasting, and more. And Krell even includes the oral history of Red Sox fans, some of whom share anecdotes that are funny, insightful, and heartwarming. David Krell is an author, speaker, and former producer at MSNBC. He is the author of 1962: Baseball and America in the Time of JFK (Nebraska, 2021) and “Our Bums”: The Brooklyn Dodgers in History, Memory, and Popular Culture.

A Boston Harbor Islands Adventure, the Great Brewster Journal of 1891

Join Stephanie Schorow and other members of the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands&nbsp;research team&nbsp;to hear a fascinating story from Massachusetts history.&nbsp;In 1891, four intrepid women from Lowell sailed to a remote island in Boston Harbor for a 17-day escape from New England's prim and proper society. Calling themselves the Scribe, the Aristocrat, the Acrobat, and the Autocrat, the women rusticated in a cottage on Great Brewster Island, reveling in the chance to shed their identities of wife, mother, and daughter. Relive their sojourn through their remarkable journal, filled with observations, illustrations, photographs, and poetry, reproduced here by the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands. The book was a team project led by&nbsp;<a href="http://www.stephanieschorow.com/" target="_blank">Stephanie Schorow</a>, the author of nine books on Boston History, and members of the nonprofit volunteer and advocacy organization,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.fbhi.org/" target="_blank">Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands</a>. Stephanie Schorow&nbsp;is a journalist, writing instructor and the author or coauthor of nine books on Boston history.&nbsp;She has worked as an editor and reporter for the&nbsp;Boston Herald&nbsp;and the Associated Press, as well as newspapers in Connecticut, Idaho, and Utah.

John Quincy Adams, Reluctant Abolitionist

Join author Jeffrey A. Denman as he discusses the life of John Quincy Adams as seen through the lens of slavery.  U.S. President, Harvard alumnus, diplomat, member of Congress, and attorney before the Supreme Court, John Quincy Adams had a unique relationship with slavery. Prickly and curmudgeonly, Adams danced with abolitionists, but never became one himself. However, Adams did harbor an intense hatred for the arguments of Southern slaveholders, and eventually found himself in the center of America's greatest struggle. Informed by Adams’s revealing and often tormented musings from his vast diary, this sweeping narrative offers a unique and gripping account of John Quincy Adams’s battle with slavery while exploring the many fault lines in American society that led to the Civil War. Included are the dramatic showdowns in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as Adams's attempts at outsmarting Southern politicians, and Adams's efforts to keep slavery in the forefront of Congressional activities. Jeffrey A. Denman is co-author of Greene and Cornwallis in the Carolinas: The Pivotal Struggle in the American Revolution, 1780-1781, as well as several magazine and journal articles. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Maine and the University of Connecticut and a retired teacher of American History and World Geography in the Brookline Public Schools in Brookline, Massachusetts. His research focuses primarily on the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in American history. To learn more or connect with Jeff, please visit <a href="https://www.jeffreyadenman.com/">https://www.jeffreyadenman.com...</a>

Cranberries: New England's Bounty

Join us to hear Anthony Sammarco delve into the history of cranberries. Registration recommended but not required. Native Americans introduced European settlers to cranberries near what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. The name cranberry derives from the German kraanbere (English translation, craneberry), first named as cranberry in English by the Reverend John Eliot of Roxbury in 1647. The humble cranberry was used as a versatile fruit for food, dye, as well as medicine. The settlers learned to harvest wild cranberries and came to rely on them for nutrients and for bartering with their Native American neighbors. By the late 18th century, they were used to cure scurvy and by the 20th century cranberries were big business from juice as well as sauce and would become inseparable from turkey at Thanksgiving. Anthony M. Sammarco is a noted historian and author of over seventy books on the history and development of Boston, and he lectures widely on the history of his native city. His books Lost Boston, The History of Howard Johnson’s, Jordan Marsh, The Baker Chocolate Company, and Christmas Traditions in Boston have been bestsellers.

The 90th Anniversary of the Civilian Conservation Corps: Its History & Legacy in Massachusetts 

Join Marty Podskoch to hear about the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC began on April 5, 1933 when President Roosevelt signed the Emergency Conservation Act that was part of the “New Deal” to relieve the poverty and unemployment of the Depression. FDR brought together two unused resources, the young men and the land. He promised he’d have 250,000 men in camps by the end of July 1933. It targeted single men, 18-25 years old, and WWI veterans in relief of families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression. Enrollees were paid a dollar a day. Twenty-five dollars was sent home to their parents and the young men had five dollars spending money. The program provided unskilled manual labor in environmental conservation and the development of natural resources in rural lands. CCC camps were located in all of the 48 states and these territories: Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands — St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix. Roosevelt chose the Army to supervise the camps which consisted of approx. 200 men each. The Army moved thousands of enrollees from induction centers to working camps in record time. It used its own regular and reserve officers, together with regulars of the Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy to temporarily command camps and companies. Enrollees received good food, uniforms, shelter, and medical care. During the summer of 1933 they lived in tents; later they moved into wooden buildings. There were 51 CCC camps in these Massachusetts towns, state parks, and forests: Andover, Harold Parker SF; Ashburnham SF; Brewster @ Roland C. Nickerson SP ;Brimfield SF, Charlemont @ Mohawk Trail SF (2 camps SP-6 &amp; S-87), Chester SF, Chicopee Memorial SP; Douglas SF; Easthampton-Holyoke @ Mt. Tom Res.; East Otis @Tolland SF; Erving SF; Foxborough SF; Franklin SF; Freetown @ Fall River SF; Goshen @ D. A. R. SF; Granville SF; Hawley @ Kenneth Dubuque Memorial SF; Heath @ H. O. Cook SF; Leominster SF; Edgartown @ Manuel E. Cornellus SF; Monroe SF; Monterey @ Beartown SF (2 camps S-66 &amp; SA-66); Mount Greylock (2 camps SP-8 Pittsfield &amp; SP-70); Mount Washington @ Bash Bish Falls SP; N. Spencer @ Spencer SF; Oakham, SF; Otis SF; Petersham SF; Peru SF; Pittsfield SF; Plymouth @ Miles Standish SF; Sandisfield SF; Sandwich @ Shawme-Crowell SF; Savoy Mt. SF (4 camps SP-21, SA-70, S-87, S-94); Spencer SF (S-55); Sutton SF; Townsend SF; Upton SF; Warwick SF (2 camps S-86 &amp; S-92); Washington-Lenox-Becket-Lee @ October Mt. SF (2 camps S-52 &amp; SA-520); Wendell SF; Willard Brook SF(S-61); Winchendon @ Otter River SP; and Windsor SF. In Massachusetts the main work was in tree planting, firefighting, and tree and plant disease and insect control, although several recreational facilities were also built in the forests and parks. Enrollment in Massachusetts exceeded 99,500 men. An average of 28 camps a year were operated with a total financial obligation within the state of more than $45,100,000. The CCC disbanded in 1942 due to desertions, increased employment opportunities, changes in public opinion, lack of funding, and the need for soldiers to serve in World War II. The CCC program is considered by many to be one of the most successful of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Roosevelt’s “Tree Army” planted more than 3,000,000,000 trees on land made barren from fires, natural erosion, intensive agriculture or logging. In fact, the CCC was responsible for over half the reforestation, public and private, in the nation’s history. Enrollees constructed trails and shelters in more than 800 parks nationwide. The CCC helped to shape the modern national and state park systems we enjoy today. CCC companies contributed to an impressive number of state and national park structures that visitors can still enjoy. The CCC developed 94 national park sites including national parks, monuments, recreation areas and historic sites, and created 741 state parks. The Civilian Conservation Corps Legacy is a national organization that is “Dedicated to research, preservation, and education of future generations to create a better understanding of the CCC and its continuing contribution to American life and culture." Anyone interested in learning about the work of the CCC Legacy and joining should visit <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ccclegacy.org%2F&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdparks%40bpl.org%7C17889355f47e400f9cf008db6edb02e7%7Cfa735c71d7954c01b0ae09fa7415b2b1%7C0%7C0%7C638225659187821192%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=po501PJJEFNwiW4X9b5x4aKZTIHVEPg%2Bw60U7pv5UKQ%3D&amp;reserved=0">www.ccclegacy.org</a> or <a href="https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.com%2Fgroups%2Fccclegacygroup&amp;data=05%7C01%7Cdparks%40bpl.org%7C17889355f47e400f9cf008db6edb02e7%7Cfa735c71d7954c01b0ae09fa7415b2b1%7C0%7C0%7C638225659187821192%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=vNmvbmMqVOA%2Bkl8Lj5X%2B317xRe0z3PbiodLxDVybex8%3D&amp;reserved=0">facebook.com/groups/ccclegacygroup</a>. Martin Podskoch is an author, historian and East Hampton, CT resident recognized for his extensive work documenting the history of the Catskills, Adirondack Fire Towers, and the Civilian Conservation Corps camps. His first travel guide, “The Adirondack 102 Club: Your Passport &amp; Guide to the North Country” has become the best-selling travel guide book in the Adirondacks.

 100 Years of Boston Comedy

Join freelance writer Nick Zaino in a look back at the long history of humor in Boston and New England. From a young Fred Allen finding inspiration at the Boston Public Library, to Norm Crosby and Bill Dana playing swinging hotspots, and Jay Leno playing strip clubs before the sense blossomed. Then the comedy boom in the 80s that spawned Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Denis Leary, and others, through some contemporary names like Eugene Mirman, Mike Birbiglia, and Bo Burnham. He will also cover people from the area who didn’t perform live in Boston, but were born or educated here, like Conan O’Brien, who worked his comic muscles at the Harvard Lampoon, and Ziwe, who’s childhood in Lawrence and education at Phillips Academy contributed to her outlook on race relations, part of the basis of her comedy. Nick A Zaino, III, is a resident of Lynn, and has been covering comedy from a local angle for the Boston Globe and Boston Phoenix for almost 25 years. He is currently seeking representation for a book that collects interviews and experiences from his career writing about comedy, including sections on George Carlin, Jon Stewart, Lily Tomlin, Vir Das, Bob Newhart, Mike Birbiglia, Phoebe Robinson, comedy after 9/11, and his early days talking to road comics for the Buffalo News, among others. Zaino is also a gigging musician, a podcaster and published author of short horror fiction.

Along Blue Hill Avenue, Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan

Join us as Anthony Sammarco talks about his latest book which explores the evolution of Mattapan with the popular shops, theaters, and places of worship that made this neighborhood a thriving nexus of cultures. By the turn of the 20th century, Mattapan began to see the development of new streets laid out off Blue Hill Avenue and Norfolk Street. Though predominantly Yankee in the late 19th century, within a decade or two the area began to attract new residents of different ethnic and religious backgrounds.  Anthony M. Sammarco is a noted historian and author of over seventy books on the history and development of Boston, and he lectures widely on the history of his native city. His books Lost Boston, The History of Howard Johnson’s: How A Massachusetts Soda Fountain Became a Roadside Icon, Jordan Marsh: New England’s Largest Store, The Baker Chocolate Company: A Sweet History, and Christmas Traditions in Boston have been bestsellers.

Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley: Drowned by the Quabbin

Join author Elena Palladino in a discussion of her book on the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir, and along with it, the destruction of four towns. In April 1938, Swift River Valley residents held a farewell ball to mark the demise of the quintessential New England town of Enfield and its three smaller neighbors, Greenwich, Dana, and Prescott. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts was sacrificing these towns to build the Quabbin, a massive reservoir of drinking water for residents of Boston. Three prominent residents attended the somber occasion. Marion Andrews Smith was the last surviving member of an important manufacturing family. Willard “Doc” Segur was the valley’s beloved country doctor and town leader. And Edwin Henry Howe was Enfield’s postmaster and general store proprietor. They helped build their beloved community for decades, only to watch grief-stricken as it was destroyed by 412 billion gallons of water. Author and historian Elena Palladino recounts the story of these communities as seen through eyes of those who lived there until the end. Elena Palladino grew up in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and now lives with her family in Marion Smith’s former home in Ware. She holds a BA in English from Simmons College, an MA in literary and cultural studies from Carnegie Mellon University and an EdM in higher education from Harvard University. She works in higher education in Western Massachusetts. This is her first book. For more information or to connect with Elena, visit <a href="https://quabbinhouse.com/">https://QuabbinHouse.com</a> or QuabbinHouse on Instagram. Copies of the book will be for sale after the program.

The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno That Nearly Incinerated the City

Join us on the 150th anniversary of the Great Boston Fire with local author Stephanie Schorow as she recounts the event's history, from the foolish decisions that precipitated it, to the heroics of firefighters who fought it. For two days in November 1872, a massive fire swept through Boston, leaving the downtown in ruins and the population traumatized. Coming barely a year after the infamous Chicago fire, Boston’s inferno turned out to be one of the most expensive fires per acre in U.S. history. Yet today few are aware of how close Boston came to destruction. Both the book and presentation are lavishly illustrated with period artwork and photographs. Published just before the fire’s 150th anniversary, The Great Boston Fire captures the drama of a life-and-death battle in the heart of the city. Stephanie Schorow is a journalist, writing instructor, and the author of eight nonfiction books on a variety of topics in Boston history. They include: The Great Boston Fire: The Inferno that Nearly Incinerated the City (Globe Pequot); Inside the Combat Zone: The Stripped Down Story of Boston's Most Notorious Neighborhood (Union Park Press); and Drinking Boston: A History of the City and its Spirits (Union Park Press), and, with Beverly Ford, The Boston Mob Guide: Hitmen, Hoodlum and Hideouts. She will publish an updated version of her 2005 book The Cocoanut Grove Fire: A Boston Tragedy in November. Her novel Cat Dreaming will be published in 2023 by Small Town Girl Press. She shares her home in Medford with two cats that like to walk over her keyboard when she is typing.

Boston Public Library, Central Library in Copley Square

We Are the Land: The Power of Place in Indigenous Life

Join us for a discussion with Lance Young (Eagle Wolf), sachem of the Nemasket Nation and moderator Lori Rogers-Stokes Land for the English settlers who arrived here in the 17th century was something to be farmed, fenced, bought, and sold. For New England's Native people, land was more than home: the land was part of them and they were part of the land. Lance Young, sachem of the Nemasket Nation, explores the profound differences in colonial and Indigenous views of land and explains the fundamental importance of place. Lance Young (Eagle Wolf) is the chief sachem of the Nemasket Nation, Wolf Clan, and chairman of the Nemasket Tribal Council. He is a 10th generation great-grandson of the squaw sachem Aime, daughter of the chief sachem Ousemequin Massasoit of the Pokanoket, father of Metacom King Philip. He is the Director of Marketing for a technology consulting firm. This program is being co-presented by the <a href="https://historicbostons.org/">Partnership of Historic Bostons</a>.

S22: conversations

Wondering what to do in Boston? Places to eat? Free activities? Good for a group? Date night spot? Girls night out? The best things to do? Ask Joyraft!

Best places to go in Boston? Things to do? Places to eat?

Questions & answers about things to do in Boston

Recs 💬

Community recs 💬

S4: top picks

The most fun, cool and unique things to do in Boston. Can’t miss events, shows and experiences. Concerts, restaurants, bars, free things in Boston and beyond.

The most fun and cool events happening around Boston

Hot and new things to do in Boston

Hot & new

Hot & new 🔥

S11: happening this weekend

What to do in Boston this weekend? From festivals, concerts, performances, free events, screenings and more, Joyraft has the best things to do in Boston.

25+ things to do in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville this weekend

Things to do in Boston this weekend

This wknd

This weekend for you

S21: roundups

Our top picks: outdoor dining, free events, spring festivals, best bars, upcoming concerts, museum parties - the latest in and around Boston.  Slug: joyraft-top-picks-best-things-to-do-boston-ma

Top picks of the best things to do in and around Boston

Joyraft picks: Boston’s best things to do

Best of 💫

Curated by Joyraft ⭐️

S20: c+d experiences

Discover new, unique events and experiences happening in and around Boston. Perfect for date night, good for a group or with a friend. Be the first to know.

The newest events happening in and around Boston

The newest events on Joyraft

Just added to Joyraft

S28: calendar experiences

This week in Boston

This week in Boston 📆

This week 📆

S16: editor picks

The most unique and can’t miss things coming up in Boston / Cambridge / Somerville and beyond. Festivals, food, drinks, fairs, concerts, art and free activities.

Unique and Can’t Miss Things to Do in Boston

Can’t-miss things to do in Boston 🚨

Can't-miss things to do 🚨

S2 (A): top experiences

The most popular things to do on Joyraft. Concerts, restaurants, bars, events, parties, openings, kid friendly, date ideas, free things in Boston and beyond.

Top 20 things to do in Boston

Top 20: Joyraft’s most popular

Top 20 on Joyraft

S3 (A): trending experiences

Discover can’t miss events and things to do in Boston. The most fun, unique and cool events coming to the Boston area this spring and summer.

The hottest events happening in Boston

Trending events on Joyraft

Trending 📈

S17: interest based

Your guide to everything free in and around Boston. From events, to fairs, to festivals, to outdoors. Joyraft has all the free events happening near you.

100+ free things to do in Boston and beyond

Free things to do in Boston

Free things to do

S19: interest based

Discover kid-friendly fun in Boston, Massachusetts, and surrounding areas! Enjoy hands-on exhibits at the Boston Children’s Museum, explore the New England Aquarium, and visit the Franklin Park Zoo. Find parks, playgrounds, and seasonal events perfect for families across Massachusetts.

Top 20 kid-friendly things to do in Boston, MA

Kid-friendly things to do in Boston

Kid-friendly events

S18: interest based

Where to eat and drink in Boston? Joyraft has Boston’s newest bars, restaurants and specials. Drinks and pre fixe dinner menus. Cambridge & Somerville too.