Newzletter - December, 2002

It is hard to believe that the year is almost over. It seems to have flown by so fast. There is so much to be grateful for and so many people to thank! This newzletter could not exist without the loving contributions of many people, including Kat Koorey, Harry Widdows, Sherry Chapman, and Susan Magliaro, who this month snagged an interview for the web site with the great artist/writer Rick Geary! Thank you Susan.

I used to think that the Lizzie Borden world was quite small and included only a dozen or so serious scholars. Not so McGee! I have come to learn how numerous and ever popular this mystery has become. It is truly wonderful to count the many significant friendships that I have formed because of my interest in Ms. Borden. Little did Lizzie know that she could inspire such camaraderie!

I have some plans to add some quick time films to the web site, once I figure out how to do it. I visited the B&B in 1997 and took some video of the tour and have stored it all these years on the 8mm tape it was filmed on. But with my recent purchase of a digital video camcorder, I now have the technology to transfer analog to digital. I don't know what you are doing on your Christmas vacation, but I am spending it learning how to be a super geek

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting ideas to expand the web site. So if you have any thoughts, suggestions, or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.

As an update: the Lizzie Borden Society Forum continues to grow. We now have 123 members. Please stop by and see us sometime. Introduce yourselves and stay for tea! Some of you have joined but have never logged on to the forum. While levels of participation will vary from member to member, I had the thought that some of you may have forgotten your log in information or had changed email addresses. If anyone who receives this message would like to be given a new password, please email me and I will do so.

I invite all members to share a bit of information about yourself under the "Stay To Tea" section of the forum. For first time posters, this might make you feel more confident to join in the other discussion areas once you have that first post under your belt."

Every month I will conduct a contest, the winner of which will receive a Lizzie-related gift item.

This month's winner receives a "Lizzie Borden: Did She or Didn't She" bumper sticker AND a copy of the newspaper reports of the Bertha Manchester murder case. You remember Bertha don't you? She was murdered by a hatchet-wielding killer while Lizzie was in jail. Great reading and never before published in this compiled format. The document is a PDF file, viewable on any computer system.

This month we are offering a trivia contest. All answers can be found on the web site or on the resources available for free download there.

Rules: answer ALL THREE questions correctly to be given a chance to win. If more than one entry has the correct answers to all three questions, two winners will be selected to receive the grand prize.

Your job was to rewrite this ditty, using the same meter and cadence. The subject matter should relate somehow to the case, but is not limited to the actual crime itself.

Winners were determined by a committee of three Borden buffs. All entries are now published in the Writer's Corner of the Lizzie Borden Virtual Museum and Library—so in a sense, everyone who enters WINS!

First place winner: Janet Monaghan! Janet receives a "Lizzie Borden: Did She or Didn't She?" bumper sticker AND a copy of the newspaper reports of the Bertha Manchester murder case of 1893.

Second place winner: Susan Magliaro! Susan receives a "Lizzie Borden: Did She or Didn't She?" bumper sticker.

Third place winner: Diana Griffiths! Diana receives a set of small pear candles.

Now through December 21, Theatre Babylon in Seattle, WA, is presenting the northwest premiere of The Lizzie Borden Play: A Speculation, written by Robin Roberts and directed by Ilene Fins. Says the advert for the production:

Sounds interesting, don't you think? For further information, check out the web site here.

If any of you out there get a chance to see this production, please email me with your thoughts on on the show and I will publish them in the soon-to-be developed Lizzie Review section of the web site.

PRESS RELEASE: The Shaw Festival Announces 2003 Season.
In Brief:Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, September 25, 2002 . . . Shaw Festival Artistic Director Designate Jackie Maxwell announces the playbill for the 2003 season. This fresh look at the mandate features classics, new translations, and contemporary works from the international and Canadian repertoires.The 2003 playbill includes 11 productions at the Shaw Festival's three theatres situated in historic Niagara-on-the-Lake. Neil Munro will direct the flagship production Misalliance, penned by the Festival's namesake, Bernard Shaw. Jackie Maxwell will be directing two plays at the Festival Theatre - Susan Coyne's new translation of Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, and The Coronation Voyage by Quebec's celebrated playwright Michel Marc Bouchard. Other highlights include Sean O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars at the Court House Theatre, and Blood Relations by Canadian Sharon Pollock as well as two musicals at the Royal George Theatre.

The production runs from May 1 to November 30th. For further information, please visit here.

To read about all about Kathleen Carbone's program/lecture on Lizzie Borden, titled "Forty Whacks: Lizzie Borden Through the Looking Glass" presented on November 13 at the Allston Historical Society at the Allston Public Library, click here.

Great News! Lizzie, a new musical by Rich Charron & Michael Wanzie is Broadway Bound! Read all about it here.

You might remember this musical, whose original title was Lizzie Borden: A Musical Tragedy in Two Axe. From their press release:

Congratulations Michael and Rich! Orlando hometown boys making it to the Great White Way!

I have recently added several new pages to the Lizzie Borden Virtual Museum and Library. They include:

Considered the preeminent journal for Borden scholars, buffs, and armchair detectives, the Lizzie Borden Quarterly has been in publication since January 1993. Publisher: Gabriela Adler, Editor: Maynard F. Bertolet, published by Bristol Community College in Fall River.

Here is the table of contents from the latest (October 2002) issue:

"Lizzie' s Turncoat Friend" by Michael Martins and Dennis Binette
"Lizzie On Line" by Stefani Koorey
"In Pursuit of the Proceedings" by Sherry Chapman
"A Friendship Destroyed" by Paul Dennis Hoffman
"The Trial Testimony of Alice M. Russell--Part I"
"Patrick H. Doherty -- The Witness Statements -- Concluded"
"The Bibliographic Borden" by Lisa Zawadzki
"Lizbits" by Neilson Caplain
"Princess Maplecroft" by Mary T. Cusack
"Letters to the Editor" by Marilynne K. Roach

To Subscribe to the Lizzie Borden Quarterly, send your name
and address and your check or money order for
U.S.A.: 1 Year $18.00, 2 Years $30.00,
Non U.S.A.: 1 Year $24.00, 2 Years $40.00

Mail To:
Lizzie Borden Quarterly
Dr. Gabriela Schalow Adler - Publisher
Bristol Community College
777 Elsbree Street
Fall River, MA. 02720-7391

9. LIZZIE GIFTS

Here is a list of the newest additions to the Lizzie Borden Gift Shop. Please visit the store at this address for contact information regarding purchasing these items.

Lizzie Borden Mouse Pads. Now for the first time you can own a Lizzie Borden Mouse Pad! The perfect holiday gift for anyone interested in the Borden murders of 1892, the history of Fall River, or Victorian America. These high quality mouse pads are 3/16th of an inch thick and measure 9.25 X 7.75 inches.This stunning mouse pad depicts Lizzie in front of the 92 Second Street house in Fall River, Mass. in which both her father and stepmother were murdered (see image). While Lizzie was tried and acquitted of the crimes, not everyone believes her to be innocent. Did she or didn't she? Shipping is $1.50 to continental US. $16.95 each or 2 for $32.00

Complete Primary Source Documents PLUS important books on the case on CD-ROM: Police Witness Statements (46 pages + full index); Inquest (2 vols.); Preliminary Hearing (5 vols., 460+ pages); Trial Transcript (2 vols., 1,900 + pages). PLUS The Fall River Tragedy (1893) by Edwin H. Porter and The Trial of Lizzie Borden (1937) by Edmund Pearson --- both books are in PDF format and contain all photographs from the original editions. All documents and books are in PDF format for easy viewing on ANY computer or operating system (Mac, PC, Linux). Now you can own all of the important primary sources on one disk! If purchased separately in hard paper format, your total would be at least $250. This copy of the Preliminary Hearing is in CORRECT ORDER. The original is not. Includes an original introductory essay that provides much needed information on the preliminary hearing process and Lizzie's process specifically. The disk includes all four documents, two important books on the case (Porter and Pearson), plus a free bonus of a large collection of photographs related to the case in jpg and gif formats, including images of the primary participants in the murder mystery and photographs of the inside and outside of the murder house, 92 Second St. in Fall River, Mass. $49.95.

The Borden Murders and Their Aftermath, as reported in the New Bedford Evening Standard. One of the foremost and complete newspapers that covered the Borden tragedy of Fall River, Massachusetts, was the New Bedford Evening Standard. Almost all books on the Borden case draw heavily from its pages. Rich in detail, these news reports capture the flavor and atmosphere from the day of the crime to Lizzie’s ultimate acquittal. Now for the first time you can have a digitized transcription of the pages of this vital resource. Arranged by date, these articles if printed out would be over 460 pages in length. This collection does not include the trial coverage itself and is intended as a complement to the primary source documents found at this website. These articles cover the daily side happenings during the period of the trial and the events leading up to it and its decision. Reading these pages is like being transported back in time to 1892-93 Fall River and New Bedford, Mass. Every attempt was made to make an exact duplicate of each daily article. This is a must for any Lizzie Borden buff who wants to read first hand about the excitement and drama surrounding the daily happenings of this extraordinary case. This important document is brought to you in PDF format for easy viewing on ANY computer or operating system (Mac, PC, Linux). The disk includes the extensive transcripts of the New Bedford Evening Standard plus a free bonus of a large collection of photographs related to the case in jpg and gif formats, including images of the primary participants in the murder mystery and photographs of the inside and outside of the murder house, 92 Second St. in Fall River, Mass. $19.95.

Lizzie Borden -- The Murders and Their Aftermath, as reported by the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. A little known upstate New York newspaper, the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, NY, devoted extensive coverage to the Borden murders in Fall River, Massachusetts and their aftermath in the years 1892 and 1893. In a series of 28 articles they present the daily happenings and events that were so captivating to the reading audience. The articles were transcribed and digitized using the exact spelling and factual errors to reflect the sense of the reporting of this real life drama and are made available for the very first time in this format. This well written and interesting series of articles is a welcome addition to any collector of material on one of the most horrific unsolved murder cases of all time. This collection is in PDF format for viewing on any computer system. The collection can be read with a free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for download at Adobe.com. This unique and original collection has never before been offered for sale. Transcribed by Harry Widdows, famed originator of the Lizzie Borden Trial Transcript in Word format. $9.95

Lizzie Borden Screensaver! This specially created screensaver is for the Lizzie Borden buff, true crime reader, armchair detective, or historian. The screensaver contains over forty photographs covering the span of the 1892 Borden tragedy. Photos of Lizzie, the Bordens, the Morses, 92 Second Street, the victims, Fall River, Maplecroft, and the Oak Grove Cemetery graves are included. This unique and brand new item has never before been offered for sale. Created by Harry Widdows, famed originator of the Lizzie Borden Trial Transcript in Word format. This CD makes a great gift and installs in seconds on any PC running Windows. $11.95 includes FREE SHIPPING!

Lizzie Borden Bumper Sticker! Now for the first time you can own a "Lizzie Borden -- Did She or Didn't She?" bumper sticker. These high quality bumper stickers are made from the finest synthetic (polypropylene or polyester) materials. The color pigments are heat-fused onto the material. This makes the image resistant to weather, carwashes, etc. The stickers are flexible and easy to apply. Our bumper stickers are the standard 3" by 10" in size. The sticker is black and white (see image). Please note that the word "COPY" does not appear on the finished bumper sticker, it is used for advertisement purposes only. $4.95 each or 2 for $9.00, shipping is only 45 cents! .

The Preliminary Hearing. 481 pages, 5 volumes. August 25 - September 1, 1892. Available for the first time in .pdf format on a CD-ROM. Searchable and complete. With introductory essay by Harry Widdows and Stefani Koorey. This copy does not require a word processing program to view as this disk's contents are in PDF format. In addition, this copy of the Preliminary Hearing is in CORRECT ORDER. The original is not. And finally, this copy of the Preliminary Hearing includes an original introductory essay that provides much needed information on the preliminary hearing process and Lizzie's process specifically. The disk includes the Preliminary Hearing plus a free bonus of a large collection of photographs related to the case in jpg and gif formats, including images of the primary participants in the murder mystery and photographs of the inside and outside of the murder house, 92 Second St. in Fall River, Mass. $19.95

The Murder of Bertha Manchester, 1893, articles of the crime from the Evening Standard, New Bedford, Mass., May 31 to June 13, 1893, on CD-ROM. Says Lizzie Borden scholar, K. Koorey, "The pitiful saga of the Bertha Manchester murder was an important addendum to the legend of the Borden Case. The murder was committed in similar style, with similar weapon, in daylight, upon an innocent woman. It’s splash upon the headlines May 31, 1893, just days before the beginning of the trial of Lizzie Borden for the hatchet murder of her father and step –mother, may have influenced a jury pool that was about to be chosen to serve in the 'Trial of the Century.'" Volume contains thirteen articles and several newspaper images. Also includes an original Introduction and Epilogue by K. Koorey. This collection is in PDF format for viewing on any computer system. The collection can be read with a free Adobe Acrobat Reader, available for download at Adobe.com. This unique and original collection has never before been offered for sale. Transcribed by Harry Widdows, famed originator of the Lizzie Borden Trial Transcript in Word format. $7.95.

Edmund Pearson The Trial of Lizzie Borden and Edwin Porter The Fall River Tragedy, on CD-ROM. Pearson, Edmund. The Trial of Lizzie Borden. New York: Doubleday, 1937. Important work that includes great quantities of trial testimony, not generally found elsewhere, but criticized for his one-sided approach which favored Lizzie as the killer. Porter, Edwin H. The Fall River Tragedy. Fall River, MA: George R. H. Buffinton, Press of J. D. Munroe, 1893. Porter's book is the first major work in the field of Borden studies. Includes many rare photographs. Both books are complete and are in PDF format for easy viewing on ANY computer (Mac, PC, Linux). The disk includes both books (and all photos from the original editions) plus a free bonus of a large collection of photographs related to the case in jpg and gif formats, including images of the primary participants in the murder mystery, and photographs of the inside and outside of the murder house, 92 Second St. in Fall River, Mass. $19.95

Lost Lesbian Lives contains three one-woman plays written by actress and playwright Marjorie Conn. It includes The Honeymoon Years of Eleanor Roosevelt & Lorena Hickok, Miss Lizzie A. Borden Invites You to Tea, Thar She Blows! Disguised as a Boy She Went A'whaling. These works and others represent Marj's unwavering commitment to recording and restoring the lives of lesbians, lives which have been all too often erased from history. The plays in this book focus on three very different women: Lorena Hickok, an early female reporter and the lover of Eleanor Roosevelt. Lizzie Borden, the subject of the 19th Century Trial of the Century, who was also the lover of a famous actress. Isabella Chase, a fictional character patterned after the real women who disguised themselves as men and served on whaling and other ships in the mid-19th Century. Each of them encompasses a part of the North American lesbian experience, and thus is a part of our history. All 3 plays are one-woman plays and have enjoyed productions in Provincetown, MA and New York City. Excellent monologue material for women (and men in drag) of all ages. Excellent reading material. All 3 characters have in common their love for animals. 10% of the proceeds for this book is being donated to Greyhound Rescue Organizations. Lost Lesbian Lives is a captivating read by itself, and the perfect companion for those fortunate enough to see Marj perform one or all of these great plays. Happy Reading! $17, includes shipping. $17.00

10. THIZ AND THATZ — Alternative to Turkey and Victorians Celebratre Christmas

Instead of serving an ordinary Christmas dinner consisting of Turkey, Goose, or Ham, how about instead offering your guests one of Lizzie's favorite recipes? How about some Christmas Meatloaf? With a desert of Lizzie's Sugar Cookies? Below are Lizzie's own recipes.

Just how did the Borden's celebrate Christmas? There are no historical accounts that offer us clues as to how that family celebrated any special occasion. Instead, we must rely on sources that detail how the typical 1890s family enjoyed the season and pull from those facts a possible scenario that may fit the occupants of 92 Second Street. Even if we may never know for sure, it is still interesting to read of the Christmas traditions of Victorian America. Here is a short list of some sites to aid you in your research.