When national Prohibition went into effect in January 1920, it drove the alcohol industry largely underground. Distilled spirits were more profitable for bootleggers to produce than wine or beer, but the product was low-quality and tasted awful. Cocktails or mixed drinks soared in popularity because the mixers and sweeteners masked the flavor of bootleg booze….
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Shake Up Your “Giggle Water” With This Handsome Silver Penguin
2018-2019 Southern New England Apprenticeship Program
The Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program at the Connecticut Historical Society is pleased to announce the 2018-2019 grant recipients for the Southern New England Apprenticeship Program. These grants support skilled traditional artists and craftspeople to intensive teach their expertise to a student apprentice, recognizing that Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island share many ethnic and occupational…
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A spectacular exhibit. An enduring partnership.
By Lynne Williamson and Jody Blankenship In June, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CHAP) became a part of the Connecticut Historical Society. Originally developed by and based at the Institute for Community Research in Hartford since 1991, CHAP is a wonderful program that works with communities across the state to document and share all…
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This Wednesday @CTHistorical: A Movie Under (and about!) the Stars
Houston, we really have a problem, due to inclement weather, tonight’s showing of Apollo 13 has been cancelled, and rescheduled to next week, July 22, at 8:15 pm, doors open at 7:00 for access to the Connecticut 50 Objects/50 Stories exhibit.
Connecting & Building Communities
In the summer of 2014, the exhibit Katharine Hepburn: Dressed for Screen and Stage was on display at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS). I had just begun to work at the welcome desk and was impressed by the droves of people who visited the exhibit every day.
Hands-On History: Home School Days at CHS
By Corinne Swanson, Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the CHS Last week, the CHS education staff wrapped up our last school programs for the 2014-2015 school year, bringing a very busy year to a close. However, even after all the school buses left, we held our Home School Day: Summer Kick-Off on Monday,…
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The CHS Gift Shop: Featured Items for Summer
By Sara Plante, Visitor Services Associate With the arrival of the glorious summer months, comes the desire to take advantage of the freedom the warm weather provides. As you find yourself out and about, don’t forget the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS)! Escape the heat, visit our new exhibit Connecticut 50 Objects/50 Stories, and of course,…
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All About That Brass
By Tasha Caswell, Research & Collections Associate, the Connecticut Historical Society How often do you think about the buttons on your clothes? Unless you’re into fashion or design, you probably don’t think about them that much (unless one falls off). I know I don’t. Maybe you’ll be surprised at how much impact such small objects…
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Look, Listen and Touch: Kids and Museums
By Corinne Swanson, Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs at the Connecticut Historical Society Do you have a childhood memory of visiting a museum with your class or family? During these visits, did you ever feel that if your voice rose above a whisper, or if you dared to try to touch something, that you…
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My Favorite Wedding Dress? It’s Made of Leather
By Sierra Dixon, Research and Collections Associate, Connecticut Historical Society One of my favorites is a handmade wedding dress that was produced by the late Maisie Shenandoah, Clan Mother of the Oneida Indian Nation. The wedding dress was made for her relative Butch Laydem’s fiancée, Kay Kayser, of the Schaghticoke tribe, which spanned the area…
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Decorative Arts Study Day with Dr. Philip Zimmerman
By Jenny Steadman, Adult Programs Manager of the Connecticut Historical Society On May 21, CHS welcomed a group of Decorative Arts enthusiasts who spent the whole day literally turning things upside down under the expert guidance of Dr. Philip Zimmerman, a museum and decorative arts consultant, author, and nationally recognized authority on early American furniture. Focusing…
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Crowd-Sourcing Connecticut’s Past
By Richard Tuchman, Chief Development Officer, Connecticut Historical Society At noon on Tuesday, May 19 the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) opened its first crowd-sourced exhibition, Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories, at its museum in Hartford. It will run until October 24. The objects in the new exhibit and online gallery bridge centuries, locations, ethnicities and cultures…
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Welcome, Bichop Nawrot, Larry Mowell and Don Williams!
By Jody Blankenship, CHS Executive Director We’re pleased to welcome Bichop Nawrot as the CHS’s recently-elected president of the board. Bichop has served on our board for a decade, much of that time as treasurer and chair of the Finance Committee. He also worked on the strategic Planning Committee and the Executive Director Hiring Committee….
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Recognizing CHS volunteers: A huge thank you to our outgoing president and board members
By Jody Blankenship, CHS Executive Director On behalf of the Connecticut Historical Society’s board and staff, I want to thank three individuals who will be leaving or taking a new position on the Board of Trustees, Lynn Szwaja, Chief Charles Teale and Paul Beach. Lynn Szwaja is completing her second term as a CHS trustee….
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50 Objects. 50 Stories. Endless Conversations.
by Jody Blankenship, Executive Director, Connecticut Historical Society What’s your Connecticut story? At the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS), we’re highlighting 50 Connecticut-defining items in our new exhibit, Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories. In parallel, the exhibit’s online gallery has 150 items and that number continues to grow! Earlier this week, more than 220 CHS members and…
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CHS Hosts the Pewter Collector’s Club of America
On Saturday, May 16, the Connecticut Historical Society hosted 35 members of the Pewter Collector’s Club of America who have come from all over the U.S. to study the CHS’s remarkable pewter collection. Expert Wayne Hilt leads the discussion. For more information about the Pewter Collector’s Club of America, go to www.pewtercollectorsclub.org. About the Connecticut…
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191 Years of Telling Connecticut’s Story. A new era of community-fed interpretation.
by Jody Blankenship, executive director of the Connecticut Historical Society On May 30, 1825 thirty-one men from across the state of Connecticut met at the State House for the first meeting of the newly chartered Connecticut Historical Society. At this gathering The Rev. Thomas Robbins gave remarks on the “objects of the Society,” the members…
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Lester Smith: Suffield’s Historian Extraordinaire
Curiosity comes naturally to an engineer, and that is what sparked Lester Smith’s passion for history. A former trustee of the Connecticut Historical Society and now the historian and curator for the Suffield Historical Society, Lester has dedicated decades to research and the preservation of Suffield’s history. Although his initial curiosity veered towards cartography (his…
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Exploring Connecticut’s Haute Fashion History
By Jenny Steadman, Adult Programs Manager, CHS The costume and textile storage on the CHS’s third floor is my favorite space in the Connecticut Historical Society museum. Every time I go up there, I get a shiver down my spine thinking of all the stories that go with all the dresses and uniforms and even…
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Put Yourself on the Map
By Corinne Swanson, Coordinator of Youth and Family Programs, Connecticut Historical Society I’m a huge fan of maps. When studying history, maps are essential for getting a visual, concrete understanding of the places where events take place. They can be incredibly powerful in influencing the way we think (Remember the episode of “The West Wing” where C.J….
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Little Miss 1565
By Barbara Austen, Archivist, Connecticut Historical Society CHS recently received the archive of Thomas Barber, a detective with the Hartford Police Department. In 1944, he was one of the men charged with identifying the bodies found in the Hartford Circus Fire that July. It always haunted him that no one identified or claimed a young girl;…
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The CHS Gift Shop: Featured Items for Spring
By Sara Plante, Visitor Service Associate, Connecticut Historical Society. As the winter finally wanes and spring unfolds, opportunities to explore our state and take pleasure in nature increase. As you venture out to enjoy the warming weather and general greenery, consider a stop at the Connecticut Historical Society’s gift shop. We carry many Connecticut-made items…
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A Century of Connecticut Fashion Discussed
The Connecticut Historical Society’s “From Bonnets to Bell Bottoms: A Century of Connecticut Fashion” road show has drawn people from all over the state who are interested in the history of style. On March 18, Karen DePauw, research and collections associate at Connecticut Historical Society, gave a fascinating presentation on clothing from the Civil War…
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CT Historical Society and TheaterWorks Building Arts & Culture in Downtown Hartford
Hartford, Conn., February 19, 2015: Continuing in its effort to bring the resources of its museum into the community, the Connecticut Historical Society has partnered with TheaterWorks to present a satellite exhibit that visually explores the presence of arts and culture organizations in downtown Hartford with an emphasis on how they were affected by urban…
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We Have Expanded Our Hours!
Starting February 10, 2015, there are expanded hours at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS). The new hours are Tuesday-Thursday 12:00 – 5:00 pm, and Friday-Saturday 9:00 – 5:00 pm. Full service will be offered in Waterman Research Center during all public hours. Click here for more information about the Waterman Research Center.
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