Hatfield Historical Society Home

Recent visitors and workers at the Hatfield Historical Museum

Eric Guyette, 5th grade history teacher at Hatfield Elementary School, meets with George Ashley, right, and Kathie Gow on Sept. 11, 2018, to look at the Historical Museum's archives related to Native Americans and their relationship with the town's colonial settlers.

. We had three sisters visit July 30, 2018, descendants of John and Hannah Cowles and also of Nathaniel Dickinson. They filled in some gaps by consulting a Cowles Family History and a Cowles family tree from our collection. From the left, Kathy Schmidt, Linda Bailey and Barbara Wagner.

Historical Society President Cher Nicholas talks with Christian Dauer Aug. 2, 2018, about his family's donation of items from the Wight family and the North Hatfield house where they lived on Main St. (in the Bradstreet area).

Linda Golash works with Jack Lyman on March 27, 2018, to ID his 35mm slides on the taking of his family farm by eminent domain to build Interstate-91. Jack donated his slides to the Historical Museum, and you can see some of them on our Facebook page from last April..

Work continues in Museum -- even on dreary winter days!

While adding previously missing reports to the online Foxfire Finding Aid on Jan. 17, 2017, volunteer Hannah Zahn comes across her OWN Foxfire report from 22 years ago (1995) -- wow! Her topic: Fred McLaughlin Remembers World War II. Want to see if your report is listed, and available for viewing at the Historical Museum? Or see if there's a report about your house or a family member? Check the link below:
foxfire_finding_aid_1982-2000_revjan2017.doc

Historical Society Treasurer Bryan Nicholas pinch hits as computer tech on Jan. 12, 2017, and adds another 2K RAM to our aging Dell running Windows Vista. Next conundrum: can we upgrade our operating system just a little and keep using our Frostbow Collection Manager 3 database, since we really like it? Or must we migrate to a brand new museum database?

Jan. 7, 2017, the first open Sat. of the new year, pulls in our fearless volunteers. From the top: Wayne Schlegel, Marta Bilodeau, Bob Osley, Vivian Kinzler and Wunderley Stauder.

Silver and Gold exhibit goes up, 150 Years of Toys comes down!

Maxine Hathaway and Madeline Fagan design some lovely tree ornaments in silver and gold during the opening (Dec. 18, 2016) of the new exhibit, "Silver and Gold -- It's Not Just Jewelry That Shines at the Hatfield Historical Museum!" The exhibit will be on display in January and through the spring.

December 2016. Clockwise, starting top left: Meg Baker packs away artifacts from the toy exhibit and updates museum database. Bob Osley takes care of light carpentry and lighting for the new Silver & Gold exhibit. Wunderley Stauder preps artifacts for the exhibit by gently cleaning this vintage Vitamix juicer. And last, this is what the artifacts looked like before they became an "exhibit." Come see the finished product!

Sharing family stories

Cinda Jones visited the museum July 18, 2016, to learn more about her Cowls /Coles ancestors (John and Hannah) who came to Hatfield from Fairfield, CT, in the mid-17th century -- some of whose descendants left Hatfield in 1741 to settle North Amherst, where she now lives. She also shared Cowls history and genealogy.

The children of Edward Kielbowicz, Hatfield WWII veteran, visited the museum Aug. 2, 2016, to donate Ed's WWII uniform, plus let us scan a portrait of Ed as a young soldier. From L, Carol Steele, now of Sunderland, and Walter and John Kielbowicz of Hatfield. John also donated his fatigue shirt from Vietnam.

Project begins to restore historic house photos

John Makinnon checks out an old photo of his house at 66 North St. in February 2016, and donates toward a current project to scan the images and put them away for safekeeping, while re-framing new edited images for continued display along the steps of the museum. Anyone else willing to help this project along?

In March 2016, we start dismantling the framed photos and removing the acidic backing boards and mats. We're quite happy to make use of the framing skills of museum volunteer Marta Bilodeau.

Local game designers visit museum

The inaugural “Museum & Game Design” outing of the local game design community (centered in Greenfield and Northampton) took place at the Hatfield Historical Museum last week, Jan. 23, 2016. Members of the group include designers, writers, publishers and general enthusiasts of tabletop pen & paper role-playing games, live action role-playing games, video games, parlor games and board games -- including our own Meguey Baker, the museum’s Collections Assistant. Here you see members of the group checking out the medical exhibit (From House Calls to Hoaxes), kitchen tools and the World War II exhibit (Surviving World War II). While not a particularly organized group, Meg says, some portion of the membership gathers at least monthly for coffee and discussion.

Looking for slaveholders' house

Eric Weber, president of the Williamsburg Historical Society, looks through the Billings Family papers in late February 2015, to try to locate the house or house site where Joseph Billings -- who owned the slave Amos Newport -- lived on the south end of Main St. in Hatfield. If you happen to know, leave a note on the contact page. Thanks!

Some kids can still read cursive!

On a cold February 2015 afternoon, Grace and Grace, both in Miss Weston's 4th grade class at Hatfield Elementary, read through some of the letters written by Hatfield students to their classmate Johnnie Winters, when he was in the hospital, back in 1911. Not only are the letters written in cursive, but they would have been written with pens dipped in ink pots

Chilly work day at museum...

Museum volunteer Hannah keeps her coat on to work on writing up accession sheets on a particularly cold day in January 2015 in the Hatfield Historical Museum. Yup, that's 46.8 degrees on the thermo-hygrometer below, with 26% relative humidity.

(Well, actually, we retreated downstairs to the library until the heat came on and snaked its way up to the 2nd floor...)

Similar to Hatfield natives, we Historical Museum workers are a hardy sort!

Committee checks out fruits of CPA funding

Pictured (l to r): Bob Wagner (chair), Michael McGrath, Ronald Sassi, Kathie Gow, John Wilkes and Peter Cocks.

Hatfield's Community Preservation Committee visited the Historical Museum in late October 2014 to see some of the the fruits of the town's funding through its Community Preservation Act grant. Curator Kathie Gow and Collections Asst. Shauna Strattonmeier gave them a behind-the-scenes tour that included a look at the museum database and a dozen or more treasures that have been repaired, conserved and/or archivally protected with funds from the town's Community Preservation Act.

In the photo at left, they are looking at some of the book binding repairs, custom book boxes and document conservation done by Paxton, MA, conservator Daniel Gehnrich on our 17th and
18th century daybooks/ledgers, as well as conservation on our 19th century samplers done by Albany-based textile conservator Sarah Stevens of Zephyr Preservation Studio.

Polish researcher back for more

"I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the Hatfield Historical Society and for the possibility of expanding my study thanks to the Society’s archival and material resources," said Dr. Agnieszka Pasieka of the Institue of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, after her Sept. 2014 visit. Here, she examines Minutes of the Polish Club from 1917.

Waite descendant researches roots

“Hatfield is a beautiful place. I want to return and explore the area more,” said George Giordese (a 9th-gen. great-grandson of Benjamin Waite), who visited in Sept. 2014 to examine our files on Hatfield hero Waite. George hails from East Hartford, CT, and is also related to Samuel and John Belding (Belden).

Check out our portraits from Memorial Day Weekend:
Who looks most like a Civil War soldier?

Hatfield Book Club takes curator's tour

For their March 2014 meeting, members of the Hatfield Book Club get the curator's behind-the-scenes tour of treasures from the Hatfield Historical Museum.

Donations from SA Class of 1948

Virginia Carter Allis visited the museum in April 2014 to donate a few items from the estate of her late sister Esther Carter, who graduated from Smith Academy in 1948 – including her class ring and National Honor Society pin. Esther lived just over the town line in Whately on State Rd. (Rt. 5/10), and was salutatorian of her class as well as secretary and yearbook editor-in-chief. Thanks, Victoria!

Post-doc visitor from Poland

Dr. Pasieka, visiting from the Institue of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, examines some of the the museum's primary sources related to Polish immigration. Here she is reading the 1927-1933 daybook of Dorothy Jandzinski, who graduated from Smith Academy in 1931. Dr. Pasieka came seeking this daybook in March 2014 after reading about it on our Polish Immigration Finding Aid, posted on the Resources page of this website. The Finding Aid was made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities in 2011.

Waterman, Esterbrook, Parker and more!

Museum volunteers Marta Bilodeau and Hollington Lee discover a mutual interest in fountain pens and writing instruments and bring their collections to the museum to share in March 2014.

Santa Claus letters draw a crowd

Descendants of the Timothy Slattery and Harmon families, from Massachusetts, Florida and Colorado (!) visited the museum in mid-October 2013 to view a collection of letters we received recently as a donation from the Berkshire Historical Society. The ornately decorated letters, dating from the late 1890s to the early 1900s, are written from Santa Claus to young Elsa Slattery, who lived on Pantry Road in North Hatfield.

The letters are currently on display and can be seen Saturday mornings.Thanks to the Slattery/Harmon clan for bringing us scans of Elsa, her family home and more!

Pediment Press scans our photos...

to be included in a pictorial history book on Hampshire County between the years of 1860 and 1939. Brad Fenison, president of the press, and his wife, came to us for some on-site scanning of Hatfield images in late June 2013. It's a great-looking book with 18 or so photos from Hatfield. You can see a few pages in the book, a joint project with the Daily Hampshire Gazette, HERE, and it's supposed to be available for sale in Novermber 2013.

Planning for Smith College reunion, Class of 1969

Rosa Smith and Debby Slavitt, Smith College Class of '69, visited the museum in August 2013 to plan some pre-reunion activities for their 45th Reunion in May 2014. Among several other Valley stops, the schedule will include guided tours of Sophia Smith artifacts in the Historical Museum, Sophia's grave site, the Hatfield Farm Museum, and a narrated stroll by her two houses.If you're from the Class of 1969, get in touch with Rosa, Debby or the Program Committee, so you don't miss these events!

Rare books curator examines account book -- from 1687!

Account/day book of Samuel Billings III

Martin Antonetti at right, visited us at the end of February 2013 from Smith College, where he works as curator of rare books in the Mortimer Rare Book Room. (He also directs Smith’s new Book Studies Concentration, writes and lectures on the history of the book, and teaches courses at Smith and at the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science). Martin gave us lots of good advice on handling and storing our antique (and in some cases rare) books and documents. Along with Historical Society member Helen Bardwell, here he is examining an account/day book of Hatfield’s Samuel Billings III -- from 1687!

Martin Antonetti and Helen Bardwell examine a 326-year-old account book.

Looking for Sandersons...

Professional genealogist Alexandra finds some records about her ancestors, the Isaac Sanderson family, during a fall 2012 visit. She also passes on some useful search information to us as well!

...and for Fields!

Zechariah Field descendant George Lee of New York looks up information on his relatives and connects with other Field family members after a summer 2012 visit to the Hill cemetery.

Civil War reenactor Stephen Raff visits the Hatfield Library and the museum's Civil War Exhibit as he publicizes the "Battle of the Seven Pines" at Look Park (Aug. 11-12), presented by the 15th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. It sounds like an exciting schedule, complete with battle reenactments, medical tents, a train robbery and even a battle for kids. (If only he could always accompany our Civil War exhibit -- he looks so good there!)

Two great-granddaughters of Matt Klocko visit the Polish Immigration Exhibit and try out the large cabbage cutter. Matt emigrated from Poland around 1910 at age 14 (!) and went on to open the Hatfield Market in 1928 and operate it for the next 30 years. (Come see some artifacts of his life in the exhibit.)

The changing of the guard

In preparation for the new exhibit on Polish immigration in Hatfield in the early 20th century (opening May 12, 2012), Helen Bardwell dresses a mannequin in the beautiful wedding dress worn by Anna Danys (Donnis) Saydlowski. Anna and Michael Saydlowski were married June 16, 1914 -- nearly 100 years ago -- by Father John J. O'Malley in St. Joseph's Church, Hatfield.

Antique cabinets get fortified!

At long last, the back "walls" of our two central display cabinets have been shored up, now ready to accept new exhibits. Many thanks to Jonathan Bardwell of Bardwell Woodworking & Remodeling. (Yes, these two Bardwells are related!)

Washington state comes to Hatfield

A former Hatfield resident, now hailing from Washington state, makes a fall visit to the museum with her Hadley relatives.

Wishing for central air...

With a fan at her back and a slit window at her front, Smith Academy senior Katie Keating tries to stay cool on 90-degree days as she inputs records from the Hill Cemetery from the late 1800s. This was just one of the many jobs Katie worked on as the museum's 2011 summer assistant.

Visitors from Connecticut

The day before Fall Festival 2011, we were graced by a visit from New England historical consultant Bill Hosley (formerly chief curator of American Decorative Arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum for 17 years) and his wife Christine Ermenc, director of the Windsor (CT) Historical Society. Check out Bill's Housing History Facebook community page (5 photos).

Visitors from Oregon

The long-distance visitor award for June goes to this man and his wife from Ashland, Oregon, who were excited to find some documents relating to their ancestors.