We had a truly wonderful meeting of the Fall River History Club on Wednesday night. Without a lecturer scheduled (the holidays are neigh after all), the idea was hatched to ask members to bring in anecdotes of growing up in and around Fall River and/or select a few artifacts from their collection to share.
We had a great turnout and some new members came as well. The stories were fantastic and the company was full of good cheer. It is a great experience to have so many interested people turn out for a story or two. We all went away more enriched because of it.
Here is the write up in the Herald News.
Herald News Marc Dion told the story of his grandmother’s rosary, bringing it in for us to hold. George Petrin shared with us some of his Fall River souvenir ware and a screwdriver with the advert on it for Kaplan’s Furniture Store, his mother’s favorite place. Oh, he also brought a beer bottle from King Philip’s Brewery, and told stories about the old breweries in Fall River, with the audience members adding to the tale with their own remembrances.
A highlight of the night was Rosemary Pettine who read a letter to us from the Confederate soldier who had killed her ancestor at the battle of Fredricksburg. This letter was written with such grace and compassion, that it brought tears to our eyes, some 130 years after it was penned. The soldier was writing to her grandfather letting him know he had some possessions that belonged to the Union man he had killed in that battle and wanted to return them.
Dave Dennis told an amazing story about meeting a long lost relative while trying to secure the needed signatures to have a recount done after losing a city council seat by just 40 votes. The woman was agonizing over what to do with her dead husband’s pocket watch. The watch belonged to Dave’s grandfather, as this woman’s husband had been Dave’s cousin. The watch had been treasured by Dave’s grandfather, a cop who walked the Corky Row beat for years. The sequence of events that led up to this gift of the watch is almost unbelievable, with so many different things having to line up to make it possible.
Al Lima brought a photo of his sister Rikki, and told a few stories about her. She died years ago from asthma when she was just 39.
Alan Amaral served up some tales of his Italian heritage and donated two copies of a book about the Italian immigrants in Fall River (which were immediately borrowed!).
Everett Castro brought in some really old images of the Quequechan and asked the assembled group to ID their current incarnation/location.
Mary Jane Walls brought in a WWI German bayonet she had found in the house she moved into.
Jim Mullins brought in a piece of the floor from the old city hall where his father was the tax collector and regaled us with humorous tales of his boyhood and the way things used to be.
I brought in a load of postcards of Fall River and a 1922 Planning book that had been commissioned to improve the look of the city. Some of this plan is actually in the new master plan. If only they had followed this plan back in 1922—Fall River would be such a different place!
It was a grand time had by all. There won’t be a meeting in December, as usual, but we will return again in the new year for our January meeting. If anyone would like to join us, we meet the third Wednesday of every month (but December) at 6:30 in the Fall River Public Library. Or you can join our mailing list by emailing us at fallriver(at)mac.com.
