Our purpose is to inspire and promote community interest in and appreciation for the history of Worthington, Massachusetts. We identify, select, gather, preserve, maintain, catalogue and make accessible to the public, historical documents and significant memorabilia from the town.
By-Laws Available Online
The By-Laws of the Worthington Historical Society are now available online. They were last revised in 1993 and some revision and updating is needed. Proposed changes will be presented at the next annual meeting in late September and posted here in advance for members to review.
Membership Appeal
Thanks to all of you who have joined or rejoined the WHS, and donated so generously. We are dependent on you to keep going and to maintain our growing archives. WHS is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. and all donations are tax-deductible.
And we welcome not only financial donations. If you are cleaning your attic and have items you might want to donate to us for us to sell, please contact one of us to talk about it (go to Board of Directors on left).
Finally, if you have items related to Worthington's history, past or present, we are happy to scan photos or take photos of them to include in our archives so others mikght benefit from them as well. All in all, THANKS EVERYONE!.
May 10, Thursday, 7 PM.Prose-Poetry Reading by local writers: Sean Barry, Joseph Best, Hilary Costa, Mary Koncel, Penny Molyneaux, Ruth Lehrer, and Wilson Yerxa. Co-sponsored by the Worthington Historical Society and Friends of the Worthington Library. This is fundraiser, so donations are gratefully accepted.
May 19. Saturday. 9 AM-12 noon. Open House in conjunction with the Worthington Gardener's annual spring sale. Displays, genealogy. The Shirley Rida exhibit will continue as well, as her books of poetry will be available for purchase. All welcome!
July 14.Saturday. 7 PM-11 PM. Cabaret in conjunction with Arts Alive and the 2nd annual Hilltown Arts Festival. Dancing and plentiful entertainment. $15.00 per person; includes entertainment and food. Cash bar.This is a fundraiser for Arts ASlive and the Worthington Historical Society.
September 16. Sunday. 4 PM-whenever. Beef Roast
Cemetery Cleanup
Regular cemetery clean-ups will soon be starting. The schedule will be posted shortly. Click on the
Cemetery Projects in the Navigation List to your left, for more information.and
to see images from the 2009 cleanup at Center Cemetery, led by
Aaron Rutz, and of the 2010 cleanup at North Cemetery, supervised by
Kai Nalenz, who has also been working on the repairs at the cemetery
in Chesterfield center.
Worthington schools exhibit
This exhibit can be seen at the Capen School school building on Dingle Road, and is viewable by appointment. Please call Diane Brenner, 238-5593, if you would like to arrange to see it.
Class picture, Capen-Riverside School, 1897. Tall young man at center is Arthur Capen. Teacher is Mary Kilbourn.
"Karin and Bob Cook: Surviving Independently in a Modern World"
Produced by Ed and Helen Pelletier. Includes interviews conducted by Kate Ewald and Pat Kennedy
Now available on DVD. $15.00; please use "Donate" button below or call Pat Kennedy at 238-5560 to order.
Bob and Karin Cook in front of their woodpile. Late 1970s or early 1980s.
The video is about an hour long, two parts, and it focuses on the story of the Cooks' arrival in Worthington in the early 1970s and their decision to live off the land as simply as possible. They describe their maple syrup business, their wreath making and wood harvesting ventures, raising their kids off the grid with almost no modern conveniences (they powered their single lamp at night with a car battery) and Karin's life as an artist. It will be of interest to anyone interested in sustainable living in the Northeast.
The Millennium Quilt
The Worthington Millennium Quilt is on permanent display. The quilt was unveiled at the WHS annual meeting on September 26th, 2010: a center panel with a map of Worthington surrounded by hundreds of images representing the changing seasons during the millennium year; along with four side banners containing twenty individual blocks showing some important places in town. Ten years in the making, this awesome labor of love was presented by seven of the many women who had worked on it including Leona Arthen, Pat Kennedy, Althea Mason, Laurie McAnulty, Elodi McBride, Helen Pelletier, and Maryse Pommenville. They described the evolution of the project including the huge number of hours that went into its planning, design and execution; and pointed out the many details that help make this both a beautiful work of art and an important historical "document." Unable to attend were Nancy Babcock, Joyce Bartlett, Damaris Fernandez-Sierra, Marge Frew, Judy Gibson, Diane Meehan, Debbie Phillips, Karen Rowe, Lisa Schroeder, Willow Shire, Nancy Smith, Jane Tesla, and Nancy Wyman; and, two of of the original participants, Connie Dorrington, and Anne Ewald now, sadly, deceased.
The Millennium Quilt, 2010, on display at the Worthington Historical Society (photo by Ed Pelletier)
We have created 21 Millennium Quilt note
cards from Ed Pelletier's photographs of the twenty blocks and the
center panel. These can be ordered for $2.25 each or $10.00 for 5 (10%
discount on five or more to any WHS member, postage extra). Each card
is printed on heavy matte or glossy paper and comes with envelope in a plastic
wrapper. You can click here to see the ORDER FORM, the individual
cards are visible on the second page of the form. Please mail orders
to the WHS, P.O. Box 12, Worthington, MA 01098 or call or email Diane
Brenner (see above) to arrange a pickup.
WHS Archive Database Now Available for Searching
In addition to photographs, the WHS database contains numerous artifacts ranging from ox yokes to christening dresses, diaries and account books. These have been catalogued in our archives database which is now partially searchable. Just click on the word "Archives" in the list to your left.
Please be aware that access isn't yet complete. If you are looking for an item and can't find it, please contact us directly. Also, you will see on the list the word "OMEKA." We are in the process of moving our databases into this more cohesive, visually elegant, streamlined and shareable format. This is an ongoing project, so there are glitches and rough spots that need to be fixed, but you are invited to check in and see how we are progressing.
South Worthington Methodist Church 1907.
Papers on the History of Worthington
Revised index (as of 10/22/09) to Papers on the History of Worthington is available for downloading. Click here to access the
PDF Version.
We are open by appointment. Please call Diane Brenner (238-5593) or Pat Kennedy (238-5560) to arrange for a visit. You can also contact us by
email.
