Kingston (Massachusetts) Public Library
Happy first day of fall! In celebration of the occasion, check out this postcard from around 1915. The message on the back reads: “We need you on Rally Day. Remember the date: October 29. Do not disappoint. Help us make this our best Rally Day. Cordially yours, Grace W. Cobb”. The postcard was not mailed, and the text was pre-printed, except for the date and the signature, which were written in.
Source: This image is from the Joseph Cushman Finney Papers (MC11).
From the fabulous Finney postcards comes this touching glimpse of two mischievous vandals and their squirrel sidekick pranking Santa while he naps.
For more Christmas goodness from the Local History Room , see here and here.
Source: Joseph Cushman Finney Papers MC11
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com.
For more on Kingston’s Welcome Home parade, see this post.
Source: Emily Fuller Drew Collection MC16. Negatives scanned with LSTA funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and digitized at the Boston Public Library in conjunction with the Digital Commonwealth)
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com
Source: School Photographs IC5
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com
Decoration Day, which we now know as Memorial Day, started in 1868. Kingston’s first documented observance was 1879, with formal Town funding starting in 1881. Stop by the Library to see photographs of Memorial Day parades dating back over a century.
Source: Mary Hathaway Collection MC21
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.co
In 1910, Kingston’s first 4th of July parade rolled through town.
More photos from this parade are here and here.
Source: LHR General Image Collection IC7
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com.
Another Memorial Day is upon us. Here are a few photos from the Local History Room collections which provide a glimpse of one of Kingston’s Memorial Day parades sometime before 1961.*
*This date is based on a flag carried by the color guard, which reads “U.S.S. Des Moines.” This heavy cruiser was launched in 1946 and decommissioned in 1961.
Source: LHR General Image Collection IC7
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com.
As a descendant of First Comers and an indefatigable researcher of their occupations, genealogies, land swaps and lawsuits, Emily Fuller Drew was perhaps more entitled than most to dress up like a Pilgrim. It certainly seems to have suited her.
More Thanksgiving posts here and here and here and here!
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog at piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com.
In 1910, the first of many Fourth of July parades rolled in Kingston.
In honor of this most American holiday, here are a few views of one of our favorite floats from the inaugural year: the “Guardians of the Clam Flats.”
Source: LHR General Images IC7 (top two); Hathaway Collection MC21
And now, a word from our sponsors…
If you can spare a moment, please help the Library Needs Assessment Committee plan for the Library’s future by sharing your thoughts and ideas in this short survey. Even if you don’t currently use the Library, we want your input.
For more, visit the Kingston Public Library, and the Local History Room, and the full blog piqueoftheweek.wordpress.com.
One of the things I love about this blog is the list of search terms that people use to get here. It’s like a secret glimpse of what they want, and the sometimes very specific and other times wildly divergent ways they describe whatever that is. The top searches are a mix of general and Kingston-centric — Nick’s Rock, delivery wagons, dance cards, famous hermits, Old Colony Railroad, all with hundreds of hits. But my all-time favorite is a little ways down the list, at 23 searches over the last 4 or so years: leprechaun couple.
So glad I could oblige!