On The Road With The Lewis Hine Project

Since October of 2006, I have been making presentations, with pictures, about the Lewis Hine Project at schools, colleges, libraries, museums and other venues all over New England. Here’s where I’ve been and a few notes about each visit. I will update this page as new events occur, and post upcoming appearances.

April 2008: I made a presentation to students and faculty members at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, at the invitation of Prof. of History, David Glassberg. Afterward, I was treated to a delicious dinner at a great restaurant called Amherst Chinese Food.

April 2008, Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts

Professor Todd Wemmer, who created the Lost and Found Photos project, invited me to talk to one of his classes. The students were eager participants, and stuck around for an extra 25 minutes. My wife and I stayed overnight, compliments of the college, and had a great lunch at the Salem Diner, just across the bay from Beverly. See www.lostandfoundphotos.org

April 2008: Mosier Elementary School, South Hadley, Massachusetts

The third grade class I worked with was a joy. They really knew their stuff! I started off by asking them if they had a job. A dozen hands went up right away: “I take out the garbage” – “I dry the dishes” – “I feed the dog” – “I vacuum.” So I asked them if they did this job 12 hours a day, with 15 minutes for lunch, six days a week, like the child laborers in the photos. They got the point. After class, one boy told me I look like Lewis Hine. That's third time this has happened. At this point, I am beginning to believe it.

March 2008: Henry Sheldon Museum, Middlebury, Vermont

My wife and I drove three hours to this lovely old colonial town, about 45 minutes south of Burlington. The night before, they had a serious ice storm, but everything worked out fine. One of the audience members was Mary Williamson, a niece of Lewis Hine, who lives nearby. It was a thrill to meet her. Once again, someone told me that I look like Hine.

March 2008: Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts

I showed slides from my Lewis Hine Project and led a discussion about researching old photographs. Hampshire is known for its unique academic programs, and is the alma mater of the great documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.

February 2008: Chesterfield Historical Society, Chesterfield, Massachusetts

This tiny hill town 20 miles west of Northampton has a very active historical society. They were friendly and welcoming, and I got to share a community supper with them.

January 2008: Forbes Library, Northampton, Massachusetts

Thanks to an article I wrote about my project in the local newspaper, and some great publicity generated by the library, I was greeted with an overflow crowd. I was stunned at the beginning when someone in the audience said that I look like Lewis Hine. The next day, I got an email from a woman who had attended. She told me that she was so moved by my project, that she wanted to volunteer her assistance in transcribing my taped interviews with descendants. Thanks, Seunghee, for being my first staff member.

December 2007: Smith College Campus School, Northampton, Massachusetts

I talked to sixth grade students who are studying child labor. These wonderfully bright children are taught by Tom Weiner, a gifted and innovative educator. This was one of the liveliest and most rewarding events I have attended.

November 2007: Western Massachusetts Jobs With Justice, Holyoke, Massachusetts

This well-known non-profit organization arranged a presentation at the beautiful Holyoke Heritage Museum, a very appropriate venue, since Holyoke was one of the great industrial cities in New England in the 1800s. It was the home of one of the first great canals in the country, and one of the centers of the paper industry.

November 2007: Bent-Northrop Memorial Library, Fairfield, Vermont

Most of the audience members were middle school students who had recently read Counting On Grace, the book inspired by the Lewis Hine photo of Addie Card. My brother and his wife, who live in nearby Burlington, were in attendance.

June 2007: Rockridge Retirement Community, Northampton, Massachusetts

Many of the audience members had worked in their younger days at the area’s silk mills, so they had plenty of comments. It was fun, and the location was only two miles from my house.

May 2007: Mt. Anthony Union High School, Bennington, Vermont

I made presentations to three double classes, in the town just up the road from Pownal. It was a real workout, since I had only one 20-minute break for lunch, and woke up that morning with a terrible case of laryngitis. But the students were terrific, and I got through it.

April 2007: Pownal Historical Society, Pownal, Vermont

I was the speaker at the annual meeting. This is the town where Addie Card was born and raised. My search for her life story represented the first Hine photo I researched. That story is posted on this site, and was obviously a very popular part of my presentation.

February 2007: Lenox Library, Lenox, Massachusetts

This event was organized by the Berkshire Institute of Lifelong Learning, which is affiliated with Berkshire Community College. It was very well attended, and I enjoyed it very much.

October 2006: Worcester State College, Worcester, Massachusetts

I was invited by a professor in the history department to speak to one of his classes. The college is quite a place, having grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. One of the students had been a child laborer in the Latin American country where she grew up.