Latest news with #MuseumofWorcester
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Longtime Worcester lawmaker Harriette Chandler to receive Harvey Ball Smile Award
Harriette Chandler, whose long career on Beacon Hill followed a stint on the Worcester School Committee, will receive the 2025 Harvey Ball Smile Award. The honor gets its name from the Worcester graphic artist said to have created the familiar smiley face. The Museum of Worcester announced Monday that Chandler was this year's honoree, due to be recognized at the annual Harvey Ball slated for Oct. 23. 'Harriette Chandler is one of the most accomplished and historically important politicians in the history of the city ofWorcester,' said museum Executive Director William Wallace. Chandler, a Democrat, spent 28 years in the Massachusetts Legislature, 22 in the Senate and six in the House of Representatives. Before that, in 1991, she entered electoral politics with a successful run for School Committee. Three years later she captured the 13th Worcester District seat in the House. She spent time as the president of the Senate, the second woman to hold the post. She announced in late 2022 that she was stepping aside from politics. It was her advocacy for women's rights that prompted the Museum of Worcester to select her for the Harvey Ball Smile Award. This year, the city is marking the 175th anniversary of the National Women's Right Convention held in Worcester. The Harvey Ball Smile Award dates to 2001, created after Harvey Ball's death. The Coghlin family, the multi-generation electrical contractors, were honored a year ago. Past winners included comedian Denis Leary, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tim Murray, singer Dale LePage and Michael V. O'Brien, former city manager. The annual Harvey Ball will be held at Mechanics Hall. Harvey Ball is largely credited with inventing the smiley face in 1963 to raise employee morale at the State Mutual Life Assurance Co. after it purchased Guarantee Mutual Co. of Ohio. More: World Smile Day: 5 happy things you should know, from Harvey Ball to Forrest Gump This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Longtime lawmaker Harriette Chandler to receive Harvey Ball Smile Award
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet Esther Howland, 'Mother of the American Valentine' − and one of Massachusetts' own
WORCESTER − Love is in the air in the heart of Massachusetts year-round with a heart displayed on every Worcester street sign, as it is in the "heart" of the state. But Worcester has another lovely legacy in Esther Howland, nicknamed the "Mother of the American Valentine." Born in 1828, she was the fourth of seven children and only daughter of Southworth and Esther Allen Howland. During this time, Southworth owned the largest stationery store in the area and was also the leading publisher and bookseller. Growing up in a world of paper, it was a Valentine's Day card sent from England in 1847 that inspired the young woman to design her own version, complete with lace and intricate illustrations. She began making cards by the dozen with a group of local women at the family residence on Summer Street. While there were technically Valentine's Day cards already in the U.S. market, Howland's versions were unique and soared in popularity. Valentine's Day: 💗 What is the history behind this holiday? Here's what to know, when is it this year Soon she was selling some $100,000 worth of cards, equivalent to more than $2 million in 2025. Transforming into a major operation, Howland partnered with Grafton businessman Edward Taft in 1879, and the New England Valentine Co. was born. According to Taft family folklore, it was not Howland who began making the first cards but Jotham Taft, Edward's father, who taught his friend the art of the valentine. The story claims that on a business trip to England in 1839, working as a stationer and printer, Jotham Taft discovered the cards and upon his return began creating them with his wife, Sally Coe. Regardless of which version of the folklore you believe, their partnership was short-lived, and the company was sold to George Whitney in 1881, just three years after Howland and Edward Taft shook hands. Whitney was a competitor in the card industry and had begun making his own versions around the same time. By 1913, a company by the name of Hallmark moved into the Valentine's Day card business and the rest is history. "It's interesting, sometimes it's impossible to tell the Howland cards from the Whitney cards unless you turn them over and look at the back," said Wendy Essery, the library and archives manager of the Museum of Worcester. The museum rolls out hundreds of Valentine's Day cards in February, but Essery said love is in the air year-round at the museum. "People come in all throughout the year and ask about the valentines," she explained, adding she's more than happy to get cards out of storage for anyone who might want to see them off-season. The American Antiquarian Society in Worcester now houses more than 3,000 Valentine's Day cards both printed and handmade, including Howland's, Taft's and Whitney's versions. "These cards really show everyday life," said Lauren Hewes, vice president of collections at the AAS. "We have several cards with locks of hair, so some of them can be incredibly personal, like sending a little piece of themselves through the mail." "We have what's called 'vinegar cards,' you know, cards you'd send to your 'frenemies,'" she continued. These cards were often given to someone whom the sender saw as just a friend rather than a romantic partner. Many of the messages held a dark humor, sarcasm and even a little insult to the receiver. "There are small little cards, about the size of a business card called an 'escort card.' It wasn't easy to meet someone of the opposite sex, you couldn't just walk over to someone and start talking, so people would slip these small cards to one another," Hewes said. "They all said things like 'May I see you home?' and 'I'd like to get to know you better,' all very tame." And with the passing of time, those messages have changed, as did the act of courtship. "You can see the trends of the times in the cards, even the homemade ones," Hewes said. "When the telegraph was invented, people started making references." "As the rules of society loosened up, the messages on Valentine's Day cards became more direct." That change is palpable walking through the aisle of CVS this time of year. One card read; "You're one of the few people I'll actually answer the phone for." Another reads: "Thanks for not ghosting me." While the messages of love have changed, the sentiment remains the same. T&G engagement editor Sarah Barnacle is getting to know Central Mass. by exploring some of the best places to go and things to do in Worcester County. If you have an idea or suggestion, please email sbarnacle@ This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Who invented Valentine's Day cards? This Massachusetts woman
CBS News
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
History of candlepin bowling in Massachusetts highlighted at Museum of Worcester
WORCESTER – The Museum of Worcester is celebrating 150 years, and one of their featured exhibits showcases the city's storied history of candlepin bowling. Candlepin bowling was first played in Worcester in 1880. The pins and bowling balls are smaller in candlepin compared to 10-pin bowling. In addition, you get three rolls in candlepin as opposed to two in 10-pin. There has never a perfect score achieved in candlepin bowling. Candlepin bowling in Worcester Vanessa Bumpus is the exhibit coordinator for the Museum of Worcester. "It's exciting. We are all things Worcester. If it was made here or manufactured here, we know about it. From the smiley face to the birth control pill to candlepin bowling," Bumpus said. Though candlepin bowling used to be a New England institution, the last alley closed in Worcester in 2020. "Candlepin is such a great family sport, friends. We want leagues to come back. I know they are still out there, but it would be great if it came back to the city," Bumpus said. Museum of Worcester The museum has a room to let you know the items that were made in the state's second largest city. The crankshaft for the Model T in 1923 was made by Wyman Gordon Company. They are the largest manufacturer of crankshafts in the world. David Clark Company created a full pressure high-altitude flying suit. The astronauts that are currently stuck in space are wearing David Clark suits. The container they put the Dunkin' donuts in? Those baskets are made by Wire Fab in Worcester. You see those at all your local Dunkin' locations. The company also makes ice cream holders and cages for goalies masks. "The grandfather of the emoji" The iconic yellow smiley face you've likely seen countless times before was created by artist Harvey Ball in Worcester. "Could you ask for a better title than being the city of smiles? It's the grandfather of the emoji. We all type an emoji at some part of our day and it's just a great expression of positivity and good energy and we like to think, all things Worcester," Bumpus said. The Museum of Worcester has free admission until January 23, 2026.
