Longfellow House Bulletin, Vol. 3, No. 1, June 1999

on fellow ous L g ulletinH e Volume 3 No. 1 A Newsletter of the Friends of the LongfellowB House and the National Park Service June 1999 “Save America’s Treasures” Hillary Clinton Pays Historic Visit to the House ot since Martha Washington has a Gifts Announced Nfirst lady (or future first lady) crossed tanding in the Longfellow House the threshold of the Longfellow House, Slibrary at a podium decorated with a but on December 5, 1998 Hillary Rodham festive “Save America’s Treasures” banner, Clinton came as part of a national tour to Hillary Rodham Clinton announced gifts “Save America’s Treasures,” an effort to totaling $305,000 to preserve the House’s publicize and raise funds for historic sites collections. These generous donations in need of restoration. came from both corporations and private The tour also included stops in Los individuals in response to “Save Amer- Angeles, San Francisco, and Queens, New ica’s Treasures,” a national public-private York. At each site, the first lady announced initiative which directs funds to our private-sector contributions to help with nation’s most urgent preservation cases. the restoration projects. The Longfellow In response to President Clinton’s 1999 House was the first of four stops in the budget proposal, Congress appropriated Boston area that day. $30 million for a Millennium Fund to During her two-hour visit to the House, “Save America’s Treasures,” which would Mrs. Clinton took a private tour, addressed toric house she had known years ago. Mrs. be administered by the National Park an audience of about fifty in the Longfel- Clinton was intrigued to learn that al- Service and allocated for preservation low library, and enjoyed the recitation by fif- though Martha Washington had spent four projects of national significance. teen fifth-graders of “Paul Revere’s Ride.” months at the House during the Revolu- “Save America’s Treasures” aims also to As the first lady entered the House, she tionary War, she was the first sitting first stimulate parallel private efforts to pre- remarked to Site Manager Jim Shea that she lady to visit the House. serve our heritage. The National Trust for had visited the Longfellow House as a Accompanied by Senator Edward M. Historic Preservation is leading the effort Wellesley student and felt particular plea- Kennedy, Robert Stanton, the recently ap- by inviting individuals, foundations, and sure in returning to Cambridge and the his- pointed first African-American Director of corporations to participate by serving on the National Park Service, and Susan Eisen- the Millennium Committee to Save Amer- hower, historian and head of the Millenium ica’s Treasures, chaired by Hillary Clinton. Project, Mrs. Clinton toured the House with The first lady announced that the Jim Shea as guide. In Longfellow’s study, Fidelity Foundation of Fidelity Invest- Mrs. Clinton spontaneously paused to stand ments gave $75,000 to the Longfellow in front of and place her hands on Longfel- House for collections processing and low’s desk in order to contemplate the poet’s another $150,000 as a challenge match for experience. In the dining room she viewed a conservation. Rising to the challenge letter from George Washington written from grant and collectively donating $80,000 the House in 1776, drawings by the Longfel- were Peter and Carolyn Lynch, Ann and low children, a daguerreotype of the poet Graham Gund, Steve and Barbara Gross- and his family, and other objects especially man, David Rockefeller, and Barnes and displayed for her. Noble Booksellers. Despite the protests of the secret ser- Since the December 5th announce- vice, Mrs. Clinton insisted on seeing the ment, the Longfellow House has received archives stored in the basement, although an additional $10,000 from the Friends this was not part of the scheduled tour. of the Longfellow House and hopes to Senator Kennedy urged the first lady to see meet the full challenge in the near future. not only the extensive treasures and the (continued on page 2) Hillary Clinton’s Visit (continued from page 1)

site’s potential as a research center, but also of “Paul Revere’s Ride” they had made and VWX the dangerous proximity of these treasures illustrated. And Mrs. Clinton asked that her Friends of the Longfellow House to the furnace. photograph be taken with all the children. Board of Directors After the tour the first lady addressed a Other parts of the program in the Barclay Henderson, President rapt audience in the library included remarks Edith Hollmann Bowers, Vice President library and lauded Sena- by Senator Edward M. Robert Mitchell, Clerk tor Kennedy’s commit- Kennedy, Robert Stan- Charlotte Cleveland, Treasurer ment to the Longfellow ton, and National Park Frances Ackerly House and his role in Service Site Superinten- Gene A. Blumenreich Ruth Butler getting her there. She dent Rolf Diamant. LeRoy Cragwell also acknowledged his “This is the most im- Dick Dober leading role in obtaining portant moment in the Nancy Fryberger $1.6 million in federal history of the Longfel- Diane der Hovanessian funding for the House. low House in this cen- Carol Johnson “He didn’t just talk about tury,” Diamant noted in Diana Korzenik offsets and line items,” his introduction of the Arthur Loeb she said. “Instead, he first lady. Joan Mark recited ‘Paul Revere’s After the Longfellow Marilyn Richardson Ride’ by memory.” Jim Shea and Mrs. Clinton at the poet’s desk House visit, the first Maura Smith Mrs. Clinton referred to a number of lady headed for the African Meeting House Lynne Spencer Charles Sullivan things she had learned from the tour of the on Beacon Hill. As Mrs. Clinton and Sen- Catherine Vickery House, and she commented on the com- ator Kennedy left the House, television mitment and knowledge of the Longfellow video cameras caught the first lady emot- Advisory Board House’s staff. Joking about Jim Shea’s ing to the senator, “It was so much fun.” Timothy Anglin Burgard enthusiasm for the site, she said, “I thought Reflecting on the visit, Jim Shea was Dennis J. Carlone Francis Duehay Jim Shea was going to levitate.” struck by the first lady’s genuine enthusiasm Justin Kaplan In her speech culminating in the an- for the House. “She exclaimed over the 1844 Leslie A. Morris nouncement of donations, Mrs. Clinton wallpaper and said several times this was ‘the Richard Nylander noted the authenticity and importance of most authentic place.’ Also, she was very Stephen D. Pratt the site. “With Washington’s coming here, interested in Longfellow’s grandson, Henry Marc Shell with Martha Washington’s actually living Wadsworth Longfellow Dana, who was the Judith Tick here for six months, this truly is one of the first unofficial curator here from 1917 to Lowell A. Warren, Jr. most important original sites that shows 1950, and his interest in Russian theater, cul- Eileen Woodford what it means to be an American and what it ture, and politics. But most of all, she really Newsletter Committee took to create the United States of America.” understood the context and high integrity Ruth Butler, Editor Robert Pinsky, Poet Laureate of the of this place and how unique this house is.” Joan Mark United States, spoke of the importance of “She absorbed an amazing amount in a Marilyn Richardson the arts, but instead of reading a poem brief tour,” Shea said. “She didn’t give a Glenna Lang, Designer himself, he turned the program over to a prepared speech, and she was able to in- James M. Shea group of fifth-graders from the New clude immediately so much of what she had opq School in Cambridgeport. They presented learned. She expanded upon her observa- a dramatic reading with solos and choruses tions during the tour and the significance National Park Service of Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride,” of what she had been shown.” He paused Myra Harrison, Superintendent which they had studied in depth. for a moment. “You know, I think the place James M. Shea, Site Manager “We all clapped,” said Frances Ackerly, that excited her most was the basement.” Paul Blandford, Museum Educator Friends of the Long- Nancy K. Jones, Museum Educator Liza Stearns, Education Specalist fellow House board Kelly Fellner, Education and Visitor Services member, “but Hillary Kathryn Clippinger, Museum Curator Clinton got up and Jude Pfster, Museum Specialist moved across the Anita Israel, Archives Specialist room to be near the Ed Bacigalupo, Chief of Maintenance children. She clapped Pat LaVey, Facility Manager and really looked at them. She was so fo- Printed by Newprint Offset, Waltham, Mass. cused on the children.” Afterwards the stu- 1234 dents presented the first lady with a book - 2 Interview with the New Superintendent…Myra Harrison by Ruth Butler at Longfellow, Olmsted, and Kennedy. I had vice, an agency that had a brief life under In January the National Park Sevice been well introduced to the first two sites, Carter until it was dismantled under Reagan. appointed Myra Harrison the new super- but really didn’t know much about Kennedy. We managed several large- and small-scale intendent of the Olmsted, Longfellow, and R.B. How long were you in Lowell, and programs that extended over many states. Kennedy National Historic Sites, succeed- how did you come to make the change? In R.B. So your career has gone from being ing Rolf Diamant who has become super- the National Park Service, do you hear one of engagement in large systems to now intendent of the new Marsh-Billings- about open positions and then apply? working with very specific places and issues. Rockefeller National Historic Park in M.H. I was in Lowell for seven years M.H. Well, I ‘ve worked on many spe- Woodstock, Vermont. In her introductory when the regional director asked me to take cific issues before but never at the same site remarks at a February 23rd reception hon- this job. I was absolutely delighted! I could over a long period of time. I’ve been in oring both Harrison and Diamant, Harri- not imagine turning it down. It is a spark- some difficult preservation fights, winning son quipped she was glad she had big feet ling opportunity in a setting that is un- some and losing others. I’ve seen my name since everyone had mentioned she must fill matched. I’ve had several management jobs on documents I wish I had never signed. the large shoes of her predecessor. and experience in managing people who are R.B. Interesting. Give me some examples A few days after the reception, I of preservation fights won or lost. interviewed Myra Harrison. M.H. I lost a fight to save a building Ruth Butler. It’s been hard to get designed by Ernest Flagg at the Naval together, so I know how busy you are. Academy in Annapolis , but I did win a What goes into assuming the position big one in Newburyport against HUD of superintendent of these three sites? and an urban renewal plan that would Myra Harrison. Well, I have been in have ruined the urban fabric of that city. a steep learning curve. My previous park R.B.What was your formal training? experience was as acting superintendent M.H. For my B.A. I concentrated in at the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, American Cultural History at Vassar and these three sites seem even busier. and then went to Brown to do my grad- Of course, the scale is much smaller so uate work. While there, I worked with I’m closer to the front line troops, to the Myra Harrison with Rolf Diamant at a reception honoring them the Providence Preservation Society ebb and flow of daily events. But some other dispersed. My most recent jobs have not had after which I got an N.E.H. Fellowship at things are at play here. For one, previous much public face, but the jobs I’ve enjoyed the National Trust. park management—particularly Rolf but most have had a large component of inter- R.B. What are the special challenges also his deputy John Maounis—had a push- action with people outside the Park Service. you see as superintendent here? the-envelope mentality in the way they My work at the Cultural Resources M.H. The three sites are at very different looked for opportunities and recognized Center deepened my understanding of his- stages in their individual evolutions. At this what others might not have seen. That was toric fabric, archeology, and collections point I want to understand all that has hap- very impressive—I see its effects particu- conservation. Before that I had done a great pened and figure out how each can best move larly at Olmsted but also throughout. deal of work with buildings and archeol- along. At Longfellow we need a clear vision Another part of the challenge is getting ogy—always from a management point of of what programs and staff should be in to know three extremely different places view. But what I want to stress is that I’ve place when the House reopens. We need to with their own themes, partners, and inter- been in historic preservation for a very long take advantage of the new facilities and pretive programs. They’re managed as a col- time. I went into the field in 1970 because enhance the services we’ve traditionally lection largely because their individual it combined all the things I loved most—it offered. You know, it wasn’t so long ago that budgets could not sustain the kind of infra- was visual, and it allowed me to think as a all three sites, including Longfellow, were on structure they need to flourish. As an orga- historian and to be engaged in public pol- a list of NPS places viewed as ripe for clo- nizational structure, it makes sense, but at icy. Now I have the opportunity to engage sure because they weren’t attracting enough first there’s a lot to absorb. Finally, the staff at a different, deeper level, with a “collec- activity. Budget cutters were thinking about are all high achievers, which is great, but they tion” of sites and their collections—it has who might take over their stewardship. This set a heady pace! Fortunately, these places almost a sense of connoisseurship after was a wake-up call. We never want these sites are served by people who are constantly working with large programs that extend on such a list again, and that’s a challenge. thinking about what they might do and their reach over many states and parks. R.B. Has this been a big move for you rarely about what they would rather not do. R.B. How long have you been with the to come to Boston? R.B. How well did you know this site Park Service, and how did you decide to M.H. Actually, no. My husband teaches before you came? make a career with this agency? history at M.I.T., and we have been house M.H. Since I was director of the North M.H. I’ve been with them since 1981. 1 masters there at Baker House for the past East Cultural Resources Center in Lowell, I was part of another agency that was ab- ten years. So I feel very connected to the was nearby and I had visited Longfellow, but sorbed into the Park Service. I started with area and especially to Cambridge…. I was also several members of my staff in the Advisory Council on Historic Preser- just wondering if Longfellow knew any of Lowell—archeologists, collections conser- vation in Washington. Then I was with the the founders of M.I.T. in the 1860s? I vators, and historic architects—had worked Heritage Conservation and Recreation Ser- should check the archives for that! 3 - Collaborating on History and New Trails Fanny Longfellow, HenryW. Longfellow’s he Longfellow House is currently tory-based tours and programs in Cam- wife, in a letter to her brother Thomas Tinvolved in two exciting collaborations bridge. In November the Cambridge His- Gold Appleton, August 30, 1843 with other groups interested in local his- toric Commission, the Cambridge Histori- tory that will improve the experience of cal Society, Cambridge Office for Tourism, We have decided to let father purchase this tourists visiting greater Boston and at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery, and Friends of the grand old mansion if he will. Our interest same time enhance the visibility of our site. Longfellow House all met together. As peo- in it has been quickened by our present The Boston History Collaborative was ple at the meeting shared information on guest, Mr. Greene of Rome, a great friend established in 1997 as a not-for-profit Cambridge history, program ideas, and com- of Henry’s and a very amiable, agreeable alliance of academic and public historians, mon concerns, they decided to form a new person. He has excited an historical associ- visitor bureaus, and down- alliance and named it the His- ation, or rather reminded us how noble an town businesses such as toric Cambridge Collaborative. inheritance this is—where Washington Liberty Mutual and The Collaborative has ex- dwelt in every room…. We are full of Bank Boston. Their mis- panded to include Harvard plans and projects with no desire, however, sion is to make Boston, University and meets monthly to change a feature of the old countenance both nationally and inter- to discuss ways to enhance which Washington has rendered sacred. nationally, the destination opportunities for the public for people interested in to learn about Cambridge his- compelling and educa- tory and to collaborate on tional historic sites. By cre- public programs. Longfellow House in Print ating a series of trails, they During the first year the will link historic sites group will concentrate on Channels 5 and 7, the New England Cable through major themes such three projects: organizing Network, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald, as maritime history, immi- tours during Preservation and the Cambridge Tab extensively covered gration, abolition and civil Week (May 10-17), produc- Hillary Clinton’s visit to the House on rights, innovation, and liter- ing a brochure of summer December 5th. A Boston Globe editorial by ary history.The first of these tour offerings, and plan- Michael Kenney encouraged people to theme trails is called the Lit- ning for the 225th An- donate to the Fidelity challenge grant. eraryTrail of Greater Boston. niversary of the War for l The Literary Trail opened Independence in 1999. In a children’s book by Susan Goldman officially in March with a cel- Kelly Fellner, Nancy Rubin with illustrations by Elsa Warnick, ebration and gala dinner at Jones, Paul Blandford, all Toilets, Toasters, and Telephones: The How and Why the Parker House, the well- from the National Park Ser- of Everyday Objects, the House is noted for known gathering place of the Saturday vice, and Frances Ackerly of the Friends of having indoor plumbing (shower and toi- Club during the nineteenth century. Longfellow House are the representatives let) installed by the Longfellows in the Speakers at the dinner, including David of the Longfellow House participating in 1840s—very early plumbing in the U.S. Hackett Fischer, John Kenneth Galbraith, the Historic Cambridge Collaborative. l and David McCullough, praised the tour For more information on the Historic A fictionalized account of George Wash- as an exciting and important endeavor that Cambridge Collaborative or its events, con- ington during the American Revolution, can help connect people to the stories of tact Kelly Fellner at the Longfellow House Citizen Washington by William Martin, the past. (617-876-4491.) describes the general’s activities and head- Currently, the LiteraryTrail is offered as quarters at the House. Channel 5 inter- a half-day guided trolley tour exploring his- viewed Martin on March 10 and showed toric sites in Boston, Cambridge, and Con- recent footage of the House. cord. Tour guides allow visitors time to l explore the interiors of some of the sites. In March 1999 Art Education magazine pub- Because the Longfellow House is closed for lished an article by Diana Korzenik entitled rehabilitation, the trolley pauses in front of “Becoming an Art Teacher c. 1800” about it while the guide speaks of the poet, his Fanny Longfellow’s predecessors who prac- family, and work. People can also follow the ticed and promoted art education in Boston Literary Trail by using a self-guided tour in the early nineteenth century. book that is available in area bookstores. l The temporary closing of the Longfel- Filmed on location at the House and in low House has given the interpretive staff an Longfellow Park, Longfellow Bridge, a fiction- opportunity to develop public programs for alized account of a curator trying to get the Cambridge community. As they began funding, aired on CBS on May 9. This planning classroom education programs and made-for-TV movie was written by Jeff walking tours, they considered how these Copy of Houdon’s 1785 bust of George Washington Arch, the author of Sleepless in Seattle. programs could complement existing his- from the front hall of the Longfellow House - 4 George and Martha Washington’s Period at the Longfellow House enry and Fanny Longfellow delighted that the Wadsworth House (the original Hin knowing that the nation’s first pres- residence of Harvard’s president) should ident had previously lived in their house. be made ready for Washington and that he Frances Ackerly, Friends of the Longfellow would be sharing it with other people. But House board member, was also fascinated he needed space for his generals to meet, by the Washingtons’ months in Cambridge for secretaries, and for people to dine and but felt there was socialize. little information As it turned and no collection out, it was a very of images from wise decision that this period. She George Washing- researched life in ton move into the the House during more ample Vas- this time, its resi- sall House. He dents and visitors, wrote to his wife and simultane- Martha at Mt. ously gathered vi- Vernon, where sual material to Longfellow House as it looked in 1775, they had lived for make this period drawing by Edie Bowers for Frances Ackerly’s slide show their entire mar- more vivid. After much research based on riage, and asked that she spend the winter Engraving of Martha Washington, after a painting numerous sources including the Longfel- with him in Cambridge. Traveling north of by John Wollaston, in Alice’s bedroom at the House low archives, she recently completed a slide Alexandria for the first time, she arrived at lecture on this subject. the House in December 1775 with her son important decisions that were made in the George Washington lived in the from a previous marriage, Jack Custis, and House or during Washington’s residency House—at that time called the Vassall his wife Eleanor. there. For example, during the winter of House—from July 1775 to April 1776, a George Washington used what later 1775-76, when the British were besieged in critical period for this nation at the begin- became Longfellow’s study as his office and Boston and Charlestown, the Commander- ning of the Revolutionary War. Only dining room, and slept in the room above. in-Chief met with his generals and decided months before Washington’s arrival on July His secretaries used the room directly that Henry Knox would go to Fort Ticon- 2, 1775, the House had been abandoned behind it, now the library. Mrs. Washington deroga to bring back the cannon they desper- when its first owner, the Tory John Vassall, received guests in the present parlor. We do ately needed. They subsequently planned to and his family had fled the Patriot troops. not know what was in the House when the surprise the British at Dorchester Heights. Mrs. Ackerly speculates that the newly General moved in, but records show that the To include the voices of women, Mrs. appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Provincial Congress provided some furni- Ackerly quotes from letters evaluating new Continental Army may have chosen the ture, and Washington purchased upholstery arrivals and commenting on the sounds of Vassall House because of its proximity to fabric, linens, and household items. siege and battle written during this period the river and also its large size. The Provin- When the Washingtons arrived, they by Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, cial Congress had originally proclaimed were in their forties. Frances Ackerly has and Mercy Otis Warren. acquired slides of rare portraits of both These and other fascinating details can Martha Washington in a letter written George and Martha Washington as they be heard in Frances Ackerly’s slide lecture at the Longfellow House to Betty Ram- looked during their Cambridge days. Other this coming fall. say of Alexandria,Winter 1775 images show important visitors to the House during these months, such as Abi- The Longfellow House is Some days we have a number of cannon gail Adams, General Artemas Ward, Gen- and shells from Boston and Bunkers Hill, eral Charles Lee, Henry Knox, and Mercy closed for renovations, but it does not seem to surprise anyone but Otis Warren. On January 6, 1776, the Wash- but you can still visit it at… me; I confess I shudder every time I hear ingtons celebrated their sixteenth anniver- www.nps.gov/long the sound of a gun. I have been to dinner sary in the House, after the General was with two of the generals, Lee and Putnam, persuaded that it would be seemly to cele- On our Web site you can stay up-to-date and I just took a look at poor Boston and brate under the circumstances. on the progress of the rehabilitation. Charlestown from Prospect Hill. Mrs. Ackerly commissioned Edie Bow- Our mail order brochure posted there Charlestown has only a few chimneys ers, an artist and Longfellow descendant, will allow you to purchase many items standing in it; there seems to be a number to create an illustration of the House as it previously found in our bookstore. And of very fine buildings in Boston, but God looked before Andrew Craigie added the if you would like to contact us for any knows how long they will stand; they are side porticos. She also gathered images of reason during this time, simply pulling up all the wharfs for firewood. Cambridge in the early 1770s when it was a E-mail us at: [email protected] village of about 1600 people. Mrs. Ackerly also documents the many 5 - Stanley Paterson’s Research on Longfellow’s Letters and Journals or the past five years in the House increased, so did the volume of his mail. tents into the street for the public to scramble for. Farchives and Harvard’s Houghton Li- In The Letters of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Much of the journal is mundane: brary, Stanley Paterson, an original member Andrew Hilen wrote, “The daily mail con- Saturday March 1, 1851. Read a few pages of of the Friends of the Longfellow House, tained an infinite variety of requests for Browning’s “Christmas Eve” over again….Dined read journals and correspondence of the information and appeals for help. His cor- in town, and said “good bye”to Papa and Jewett, who Longfellow family and studied Longfellow’s respondents asked for autographs, pho- depart for the West Indies on Tuesday next. own journals and letters written to him. tographs, and money; they begged for topi- Sometimes there were long descriptions When Stanley died this March, he had fin- cal poems for public occasions and of parties, dinner guests, famous people he ished preparing two volumes of letters and memorial verses for dead knew, some he liked and journals for publication and was working on children and sweethearts; some he disliked and he the concluding volume which would have they demanded criticisms was not bashful in saying gone up to Longfellow’s death in 1882. of enclosed manuscripts, so. But where was Henry The following is Stanley Paterson’s most and when it was not Longfellow in all this? recent essay on his research: forthcoming they some- Hardly to be seen. Occa- Letters times charged him with sionally his emotion does Over his lifetime Longfellow was known ingratitude….To each of come through in periods to have written nearly 15,000 letters.Only these letters Longfellow of great stress like the 5,000 have been recovered. These have been responded patiently and death of his daughter: published in that wonderful work of six diplomatically, giving up Monday October 11, volumes edited by Andrew Hilen in 1982. much of his time to 1848. Lower and lower. They were gathered from many sources but accommodate strangers Through the silent desolate particularly from the collection made in the who were often as inter- rooms the clocks tick loud; they 1930s and 1940s by Longfellow’s grandson ested in obtaining his sig- seem laboring on to the fatal Dana. Here in letters to his close friends nature as they were in hour. At half-past four this Charles Sumner, George W. Greene, and receiving answers to their questions.” afternoon she died. Fanny and Mary sat with me by Sam Ward, Longfellow frequently poured Journals her bedside. Her breathing grew fainter, fainter, then out his inner feelings, particularly in the Longfellow kept a journal from age nine- ceased without a sigh, without a flutter—perfectly seven-year period when he was unsuccess- teen until his death at age seventy-five. painless. The sweetest expression was on her face. fully courting Fanny Appleton. Thirty-seven volumes, 4,848 pages in all. The room was full of angels where she lay; The incoming letters Longfellow care- There are gaps of a few days here and there And when they had departed she was gone! fully preserved and bound in books. His to one period of four years. The long gap was This deep wound that bleeds and aches; correspondence was voluminous—over occasioned by eye trouble which nearly This long pain—a sleepless pain! 6,000 correspondents all over the world. He blinded him in 1843. For at least one of these Sometimes his sense of fun shows complained that he was chronically behind years, his wife Fanny kept the journal for him. through: in his letter writing. Sometimes over sixty Wednesday December 14, 1853. How brief Tuesday October 17, 1848. I made an epi- letters piled up on his desk, and ultimately this chronicle is, even on my outward life. And of my gram on the introduction of water into Boston, and they all got answered. He frequently com- inner life, not a word. If one were only sure that one’s the incapacity I feel of writing an ode for the occa- plained in his journals and letters about the journal would never be seen by anyone, and never get sion as requested. extent of his correspondence and the time into print, how different the case would be! But death Cochituate water, it is said, it took each day to answer. As his fame picks the locks of all portfolios, and throws the con- (continued on next page) Memorial Address for Stanley Paterson by Lynne Spencer, March 27, 1999 tanley had many gifts, but it is his gift for friend- do with the wholeness of Longfellow’s character. Korzenik, who was working in the archives. Sympa- Sship that draws us together today. He cultivated Genial, loving: friend to all, and all to his friends. thetic chemistry and recognition of a need led to the his connections as assiduously as he drafted his books Stanley’s last great project was on Longfellow. The forming of the Friends of the Longfellow House. The or crafted his pipe hangers in his days as engineer and deep feeling of admiration for Longfellow and the cir- Friends in their four years of existence have been entrepeneur. He knew that god is in the details, that cle of friends inspired Stanley to take on the Her- instrumental in raising funds and for advocacy which the small touch—a quick phone call, lunch, tea, an culean task of transcribing the diaries from the origi- inspired Congress to increase the annual operating evening at the theater—were all the grist of life. Best nal manuscripts. Stanley knew they had been heavily budget. Recently Stanley missed the opportunity to of all, he liked doing things that led to the next thing edited, and he wanted to recover the original meet Mrs. Clinton when she visited the House. But and the next, hopefully ending in a party. There was nuances—he also wanted to see if any gossip had he had another engagement. no end in itself, but all was continual process. Per- been excised. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Some here today joined us at the annual celebra- haps that is why his Longfellow project was so apt. the period, he left Longfellow’s own words and anno- tions of Longfellow’s birthday on February 27th. Last Like many of his interests, it all began in Nahant…. tated the people and events discussed. year Stanley prepared excerpts from Longfellow’s When Stanley was working on the Nahant book, Stanley’s Longfellow diary project led him, of dairies on his courtship of Fanny Appleton. This year I was struck by the feeling and care in the chapters on course, to the Longfellow House in Cambridge. Here he prepared a piece on their marriage. He asked me Longfellow. Why? I wondered. Well, I think it had to he was warmly embraced by the staff and by Diana (continued on next page) 6 - Research (continued from previous page) Tho’ introduces in pipes of lead, Will not prove deleterious; e Upcoming Events f But if the stream of Helicon Fridays in June, Thursdays & Saturdays in July through October, 10 AM & 2 PM.: Thro’ leaden pipes be made to run, Neighborhood WalkingTours. Themes will include: The effect is very serious! Footprints on the Sands of Time: Longfellow’s 19th Century Cambridge Or the note he left on the Raven hotel Brattle Street Architecture through the Centuries register in Switzerland: To the River Charles: The Evolution of a River Landscape Beware of the Raven at Zurich, Washington’s Headquarters in Cambridge 1775-1776 ‘Tis a bird of omen ill; July 11: Annual Mt. Auburn Cemetery WalkingTour: A Troop of Shadows: A noisy and unclean bird, The Longfellows’ Circle of Friends With a very, very long bill. July 17: Longfellow Summer Festival of Music and Poetry in Longfellow Park The progress of most of his literary Activities include: works can be traced through his journals. Poetry readings and workshops; Children’s activity area with historic games & painting; Sometimes they came hard with many days Evening concert—the Brandenburg Concertos by the Apple Hill Chamber Players or months of effort. At other times, an idea Call (617) 876-4491 for times and meeting places or visit our Web site at: www.nps.gov/long would come in the middle of the night to be recorded the next morning—or some- times in the middle of the night. In all, the House Artifacts Exhibited at Major Museums journals serve as a wonderful autobiogra- hile the Longfellow House is closed rior of the House is a chromolithograph by phy of Longfellow if one has the patience Wto the public for rehabilitation, some the renowned Boston printer, Louis Prang. to wade through the trivia of his life. important objects from its collection can be The Brooklyn Museum of Art retro- seen on exhibition at a number of presti- spective of Eastman Johnson (from Octo- gious museums in this country and overseas. ber 1999 through February 2000) will fea- Stanley Paterson Fellowship The Smithsonian Institution’s Museum ture four 1846 oval portraits of Henry W. of Natural History inWashington, D.C., is Longfellow, Ralph W. Emerson, Charles The Friends of the Longfellow displaying, through the fall, several rare his- Sumner, and Nathaniel Hawthorne which House announce the establishment toric photographs of Japan’s Ainu people usually hang in the Longfellow study.These of the Stanley Paterson Fellowship, for their exhibit entitled “Ainu: Spirit of a are some of Johnson’s earliest works. Nine in the amount of $1000, to honor Northern People.”These photographs are more of his portraits remain at the House. his memory and to encourage the part of the collection Charley Longfellow The Maine History Gallery in Portland, use of the Longfellow House ar- commissioned and brought back from his the city where Longfellow grew up, is show- chives. Donations will be gra- travels in Japan in the 1870s. ing an 1849 daguerreotype of Longfellow, ciously accepted. The fellowship Another Smithsonian museum, the his wife Fanny and their two sons in an will provide funds for a researcher National Museum of American Art, is exhibition called “First Light: The Dawn to work at the House archives or a including in their “Picturing Old New Eng- of Photography in Maine.” related facility. The fellow is re- land: Image and Memory” show an unusual The Edo-Tokyo Museum in Japan has quired to be in residence at least miniature replica of the Longfellow House requested the loan of a photograph of ten working days. Applications are from the House archives. The replica is in Charley Longfellow’s tattooed back and his due June 1, 1999. the form of a wooden stationery box with a journal from his second trip to Japan in 1885. movable top and a chimney to hold stamps. This show is organized in collaboration Affixed to the wood and detailing the exte- with the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem.

Memorial (continued from previous page) to join him as a reader. Together we worked through the material. I remember asking Stanley if Longfel- Recent Discoveries in the House low’s life was so very perfect. Their marriage seemed As part of the packing process, the huge mirror on the front wall of the parlor so blissful, without the cares that seem to plague nor- was removed. It revealed the 1790s wallpaper installed by the Craigies. Appar- mal people. Stanley seemed nonplused with the ques- ently, in 1844 the Longfellows had papered around the mirror and had inadver- tion. Yes, his diaries leave little doubt—his life, his tantly left exposed between the two front windows a large expanse of the previ- marriage were perfect. I pressed. Surely there were ous owner’s Chinese-style wallpaper with bamboo, bird, and butterfly designs. unhappinesses. But no, even with the death of a l beloved child, the harmony of their lives seemed A Simmons College intern researching the Dana Correspondence Collection untouched. And so I remember posing a similar ques- found letters from young women family members describing their experiences at tion to Stanley a year ago when we were traveling boarding school and their reactions to the Civil War. Unusual perspectives! together. I remember pressing him about his own life. l How had it been for him, I wondered. My life is per- Under a pile of books in Alice Longfellow’s study was a pamphlet called “The fect, he stated with resolute finality. There is nothing Art of Tying a Cravat” signed by her teen-age brother Charles Longfellow in 1861. I would change. I, in turn, was nonplused. There is nothing you would change? Nothing. - 7 " dopt-an-Object rogram Join us as a Friend and help support an international collection of A elp us tend to our mostP critical pri- Fine & Decorative Arts, Rare Books, Letters, and Historic Photographs Horities by donating specifcally to objects in need—seven delicate and col- representing three centuries of American History… orful Japanese screens sent home by q $1000 Benefactor q $100 Supporter Charley Longfellow, the poet’s older q $ 750 Donor q $ 60 Contributor son, after his twenty-month sojourn in q $ 500 Patron q $ 30 Family Japan from 1871 to 1873. q $ 250 Sponsor q $ 20 Individual In 1874 in a letter to his son, Henry q W. Longfellow expressed his delight $ 15 Student upon the arrival of the screens: Make checks payable to: We are now opening the other cases, and Friends of the Longfellow House taking the beautiful things out to keep them 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 from the damp….Last night the Library was For more information, call (617) 876-4491 gay, with screens. These rare screens in the Longfellow Name House are distinctive and reflect Charley Address Longfellow’s eclectic and personal tastes. City Some bear fine, formal landscapes while others feature cartoon-like sketches of State Zip Japanese gardens. Unfortunately, all the Telephone screens are heavily damaged and in great Special area(s) of interest in the Longfellow House: need of care. Their large size and fragile nature make them susceptible to tears, q broken frames, and deteriorating cores. I would like someone to call me about volunteer opportunities. Priceless gold leaf is flaking off, and Contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. hand-blocked papers hang in tatters. The cost of conserving this collec- tion is extremely high. Won’t you help preserve and repair these significant examples of nineteenth-century Asian art and a tangible representation of early Friends of the Longfellow House Japanese-American relations? 105 Brattle Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

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