Hearthside launched its 2020 season on June 14th, not with the Toys From the Attic exhibit as planned, but rather with a  newly-created outdoor architectural and history tour.  Typically our guests have gone right into the house eagerly awaiting to learn about the history of Hearthside.  And the majority of the time, there is an exhibit with a particular focus that dominates the tour.  

So, this outdoor tour provides a great opportunity to not only learn about the background of the building of the house, but also more about its architecture and some of the history surrounding it.  And what better way to discover this history than to gaze upon the house while enjoying sunshine and fresh air, and the beauty of the grounds.

And the survey says......

Last week a program survey went out to the readers of this newsletter and it told us alot.  In fact, we changed some of our alternate plans based on the opinions given.  So here is the latest rundown on our activities as they stand right now.  Watch your email for announcements and registration for the individual events in the upcoming weeks. 

Outdoor Architectural & History Tours:  June 27,28  (more can be added later if popular) 

Movie Nights:  J uly 18, Aug. 8, and Aug. 22 - Bring your blanket for "movies with the stars" featuring classic movies shown outdoors on Hearthside's lawn.  

Doll Garden Party: Aug. 1 - Onsite with altered format to allow distancing  

History Tours at Great Road Heritage Campus - tentatively Aug/Sept.

Toy Making for Kids - TBA

Toys from the Attic Exhibit - private tours available now; tentatively public opening Aug./Sept. 

Those who make the trek up to the attic may have noticed that the wall in front of them was in bad shape.  But then again, maybe the beauty of the round window took attention away from the crumbling and cracked plaster, or the fact that the plaster was falling away from the round window.  Fortunately, Friends of Hearthside was able to get a $10,000 appropriation in the Town of Lincoln's budget last year to address these issues, and the work has just been completed.  The pictures below show the Before and After comparisons.  The work was done by Lawrence Chiango, Custom Contracting, who was not only a skilled carpenter, but an artist as well.  Think about what the skill it took to not just repair the wall and then put new plaster on it, but to make it look old and blend in with the rest of the walls, rather than a stark white brand new wall which it was.  It took days to come up with the right shades of grays to apply.  Lawrence had a palette of some dozen or so combinations to replicate coal soot, 200 years of dirt, mold, etc.  The result was a new wall that looks old!  Newport Window Restoration restored the two side windows, which also have new custom built storm windows installed.  You can truly see, and feel, the difference in the attic now.  The drafts are gone, and it is even somewhat soundproofed from the traffic noise.  But, best of all, it is good and sturdy now and ready for the next 200 years.         

The finished project showing the newly-plastered and painted wall, rebuilt round window surround, two restored side windows, new door jamb and door casings, repaired and painted door, and new hardware.  Chimney repairs were also done as part of the project.

Dave Westcott with his tabletop loom at the 1904 World's Fair at Hearthside in 2015.  Photo by David Cruz

It seems that Hearthside sure has its share of very special people who enter our lives at just the right time.  So was the case with Dave Westcott.  I reached out to Dave back in 2012 when we had finally learned from the American Textile History Museum (after 7 years of asking), that Hearthside could display a few of the Talbot looms (although at that time it was to be on a temporary basis).  Now that the looms were coming back home after 100 years, how we were going to get them, and then how on earth would we ever know what to do with them.  First things first, we had to go to the museum in Lowell to pick them up, but these huge antique looms were fully assembled in storage.  They would need to be disassembled, then brought to Hearthside and reassembled.  And once that was done, we would have to get them warped and operating so we could actually show how weaving was done.  But wait, then we also needed to have someone learn HOW to weave.  It was a formidable challenge for sure.  But one phone conversation with Dave Westcott changed everything.  I was put in touch with Dave, as he was the president of the RI Weavers Guild at the time and could be a resource for finding someone to help.  It didn't take long for Dave's bubbling enthusiasm to kick in and within minutes he had volunteered himself for what he said was a very exciting project that he wanted to be a part of. And the rest, as they say, is history.  We are forever grateful to him for all he did for Hearthside.

Dave not only became the leader on the Hearthside Looms project, but he became our resident weaving expert. He taught some of our docents how to throw the shuttle and beat the warp so they could enhance our tours with demonstrations on the loom. Dave had boundless energy and enthusiasm, was very creative, a natural teacher, and extremely talented engineer who could figure out how to make anything work.  He was also a master spinner.  Anyone who came within range of Dave would be subject to his offers of being taught how to weave; and if you said no thanks, he would bring you over to the spinning wheel; and if you said no to that, then he showed you how to card wool with two wooden paddles with small metal spikes on them to comb through the wool. By that time, there was no saying no to Dave.  So you picked up the paddles and combed the wool into fibers. Once you did that, he taught you how you could wind the fiber onto the spindle so it could be spun into yarn.  But if you didn't have a spindle, no problem.  Dave came up with an easy method to "drop spindle" the wool by using a dowel and an old CD, his 21st century answer to working with the antique methods.  If it wasn't enough that Dave put together those first looms, he repeated the task again in 2016 when the American Textile History Museum was closing and deaccessioning its collections, among which was the Talbot collection.  Once again, Dave and our volunteer crew made the trip to Lowell, only this time, we had dozens more looms, spinning wheels, yarn winders, and other equipment to bring back to Hearthside.  Mission accomplished, thanks to Dave!

To say that Dave made his mark on Hearthside is an understatement.  Besides being responsible for the whole attic set up of weaving and spinning equipment and teaching, Dave also organized an old-fashioned Spinning Frolic.  It took place on the front lawn on a summer afternoon, with groups of spinners sitting and methodically working their wheels to the tunes of Celtic music performed by local musicians, also arranged by Dave. When it was too hot in the summer to have demonstrations in the attic, that wasn't a problem.  He brought his tabletop loom, set up outside and delighted crowds during events such as our 1904 World's Fair.

Dave was passionate about his hobby and wanted to share that with the world.  Hearthside provided a great stage to carry that out.  And he brought friends and family along with him.  His wife, Iris, performed many times on the piano during our Christmas events and at the World's Fair.  Dave and Iris were m arried 44 years.  Dave was well known as being an eccentric fiber artist.  But of course there was another side to him.  When Dave wasn't playing around with his fiber crafts, he was Town Planner in his hometown of N. Providence. He also was an engineer at CE Maguire, and an instructor in science, civil engineering and construction technology at the New England Institute of Technology, sharing his extensive expertise.  

Dave lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on April 13th at the age of 66.  But he will live on forever in our hearts and in those looms and spinning wheels on the third floor at Hearthside.  We miss him so very much and are so fortunate to have known such a remarkable man.

 

It wasn't just kids who showed up to make a Valentine.  Several seniors enjoyed putting their creativity to work.	One of the ladies shows off her finished masterpiece.
Harry Sanna stands guard at the school's outhouse (just a model though) while the girls and women worked on their Valentine's projects.	Inara Gardner has plenty of materials to create her special Valentine.

  

Sincerely,

Kathy Hartley                                                       

Founder, President & CEO

Friends of Hearthside, Inc.

 

The mission of the Friends of Hearthside, Inc. is to preserve, protect, promote, and interpret the history of the Hearthside House and the Great Road Heritage Campus.