Athol Daily News – Museum surprises from A to Z
Published: 04/25/2022 11:37:38
Modified: 04/25/2022 11:36:13 AM
PHILLIPSTON — April 12 was the day museum curator Jane French presented her special “Museum Surprises” program for the Phillipston Historical Society meeting. She said it would be based on 26 things from A to Z that were represented in the museum. It looked like a unique company, but I couldn’t imagine anything in the collection that could start with Z.
When we arrived at the meeting, we saw four tables covered with sheets. The lumps in the spreads told us that the surprises lay below. A sense of mystery reigned as we all settled in for an evening of surprises.
One by one the surprises were unveiled and French told us fascinating stories about the objects by holding them up or showing pictures of objects too big to bring to the program. Here is a sample of some of the letters:
French turned out to be a good storyteller. His love and enthusiasm for the museum is contagious. She put a lot of creative thinking and research into the program and everyone enjoyed a fun and informative alphabet presentation. We all learned new things and enjoyed our story even more. We are grateful to her for all the time she has devoted to creating a beautiful museum in just 22 years. And, we are grateful to the townspeople who have so generously donated family rooms to be preserved for us and future generations to enjoy. Maybe one day we’ll even have an article for Z.
Occasional writer Carole Gariepy of Phillipston is the author of seven books, all non-fiction. A recent one is a travel book, “Why go there? In her youth, she was a teacher.