2012 Calendar

January

• Cambridge Historical Society's 107th Annual Meeting
  Sunday January 29, 2:00-4:00 pm
  The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street
  
  Meeting will include the election of council, officers and advisors and feature a talk by the team that produced the New Oral History Book From the Heart of Cambridge: A Neighborhood Profile.
  
  Click here for more information on the book

February

• Reception with Sydney Nathans
  Thursday February 23, 5:00-6:30 pm
  The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street
  
  Sydney Nathans is the author of:
  To Free a Family: The Journey of Mary Walker,
  
  Tickets are $25 and the proceeds benefit the Cambridge Historical Society and the Museum of African American History.
  
  
  
  There will be a lecture following the reception at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Details below.
  
  
• Co-sponsored lecture by Sydney Nathans
  Thursday February 23, 7:00-9:00
  Cambridge Center for Adult Education 56 Brattle Street
  
  To Free a Family: The Journey of Mary Walker tells the remarkable story of Mary Walker, who in August 1848 fled her owner for refuge in the North and spent the next 17 years trying to recover her son and daughter. This story is anchored in two extraordinary collections of letters and diaries, that of her former North Carolina slaveholders and that of the northern family -- Susan and Peter Lesley -- who protected and employed her. The Lesleys purchased the Blacksmith House -- now part of the CCAE -- for her, where she, and then her children and grandchildren, lived from 1870-1912. Sydney Nathans' narrative reveals Mary Walker's remarkable persistence as well as the sustained collaboration of the black and white abolitionists who assisted her.
  
  The Cambridge Center for Adult Education asks for a $10 contribution to attend this lecture. For tickets to the lecture, please visit The Cambridge Center for Adult Education.
  

March

• Young Friends Event: 245 Mount Auburn Street Tour
  March 8, 6:00-8:00
  
  A short presentation on the history of Mount Auburn Street and the History of the Mount Auburn Hospital will be followed by a tour and explanation of the history and renovation of the home.

• Marian Cannon Schlesinger reads from her new memoir
  I Remember: A Life of Politics, Painting and People
  
  Sunday March 11, 2:00-4:00
  
  
  Marian Schlesinger, author of Snatched From Oblivion and the childrens book San Bao and His Adventures in Peking, will read from her new memoir I Remember. Questions and book signing will follow. Books will be available for purchase and light refreshments will be served.
  
  This event is free for CHS members and $5 for non-members. Space is limited. Please RSVP to rsvp@cambridgehistory.org.

• Our "How to" Series with Folklorist Millie Rahn
  
  
  • How to Document Your Family History through Foodways
    

Wednesday March 14, 6:00-8:00
The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street

It’s said we are what we eat, but folklorists believe that what we eat symbolizes who we are. Food is central to our identities, and its customs, beliefs, production, preparation techniques and materials, rituals,and traditions are cultural artifacts called foodways. Foodways can teach larger lessons about history and culture, and about tradition and change. Together, these topics can demonstrate how the family story, the community history, and the significant events of humanity areregularly expressed through food. Participants are invited to bring an object and/or a story about their family food traditions, past and present. 

April

• Lecture Series - The Inner Belt: The Road that Almost Divided Cambridge
  
  
  A series of lectures on the history and controversy of the inner belt. Guest speakers include Tunney Lee, professor emeritus of Architecture and Urban Studies and Planning at MIT; Robert Goodman, professor emeritus of Architecture at Hampshire College; Fred Salvucci, civil engineer and former Massachusetts secretary of transportation; Antsi Benfield, community organizer; and Anthony Flint, fellow and director of Public Affairs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
  
  
  Program One
  The Cambridge Historical Society
  159 Brattle Street | Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Wednesday, April 4, 2012 | 6:00-8:00PM
  
  

  Program Two
  The Cambridge Public Library (Lecture Hall)
  449 Broadway | Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

  Thursday, April 19, 2012 | 6:00-8:00PM
  
  

  Program Three
  Location to be announced
  Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

  Wednesday, April 25, 2012 | 6:00-8:00PM
  
  
• Culinary Journeys: A historic walking tour of the multi-ethnic eateries in Central Square
  Saturday April 28, 3:00-5:00 pm.
  Starting at Koreana (158 Prospect Street)
  
  
• Dana Fellows Event
  (open to members at the Dana Fellow level and above)

May

• Innovation: How our City Changed America
  The CHS 2012 Spring Benefit

June

• The Poorhouses of Massachusetts
  Lecture by author Heli Meltsner
  Wednesday June 6, 6:00-8:00 pm
  The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street
  

July

• Open Archives Tour
  Click here to see info about last years tour of nine archives across the city.
  

August

• Cambridge Discovery Days
  Saturday August 4 and 11
  A city wide celebration of Cambridge history hosted by the Historic Cambridge Collaborative. See information about last years tours here.
  

September

• Historic Boat Cruise on the Charles River
  

October

• Cambridgeport History Day
  
  Cambridgeport History Day

  • Featuring:
    If this House Could Talk
    Walking tours
    Activities, music and fun for all

November

• History Awards

December

• Holiday Party
  December 12, 6:00-9:00 pm
  The Hooper-Lee-Nichols House 159 Brattle Street