A Day of Celebration and a Note of Thanks

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A Day of Celebration and a Note of Thanks

by Bethany Groff Dorau

The place was packed! Party-goers enjoy the garden outside the Perkins Art & Research Center as they await the first tours of all three floors of the space.

I first met Steve Crosby outside my office window at the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm over a decade ago. He was on a ladder, having just removed the bottom half of my window. If memory serves, we both did a little mime routine, laughed, and have been friends ever since. He went everywhere with his beloved dog, always a good sign, and in his free time, he made theater sets at the high school and worked on legendary Halloween displays at his Marlboro Street house.

Over the years, we worked together on property care projects at various Historic New England properties, and we also worked together to plan the large-scale Revolutionary War encampments at the farm. Steve, who portrays Isaac Davis, captain of the Acton Minuteman, was key to the organization of these events, a cool-headed problem-solver. I enjoyed working with him.

And then there was that time...when a tree fell over Little's Lane during an encampment in 2017, trapping hundreds of 18th century soldiers at the farm. Steve, in blue, took it in stride.

Fast forward to 2022. I had been at the Museum of Old Newbury for a year. The Perkins project was in the offing, and we had numerous planning meetings with Donnegan Systems, the gold standard in the field for library and archival storage systems. An engineering study was done by the incomparable John O'Connell, who had done the original plan when the building was purchased by the museum in 2007, and had donated his services to the museum. We had a daunting laundry list of complicated problems to solve before we could move forward - everything from loose floorboards and broken stairs to brick repairs and structural reinforcement.

And so, I called on Steve once again. Together we worked out the issues we encountered, bringing in talented specialists as needed. Dan Gelinas stepped in to provide a new engineering study after John O'Connell sadly passed away. Lutron provided wireless switches, installed by River Conte's genius team at River Electric. Steve rebuilt stairs and railings, repaired windows and doors, and coordinated with everyone - ensuring that the decisions made by all preserved the character of the building. He asked questions I did not know to ask, and solved problems that seemed unsolvable.

Just one example: when the plan for the third floor racks required a ceiling that would have obscured the beautiful open structure of the roof, Steve installed removeable clear corrugated panels that would protect the collection while leaving the structure open. Lightweight LED strips were designed and installed under these panels, preserving the space while allowing it to serve a very modern purpose.

There are dozens of people who deserve thanks for their contribution to the Perkins Art & Research Center, but I can honestly say that it would not have happened, and would not have been so much fun, without Steve (who also makes a pretty killer parade float/racing bed) with board member James Brugger.

Speaking of gratitude, below is an inadequate but sincere attempt to thank just a few of the folks who made possible Sunday's party, and all the happy days ahead at the Perkins Art & Research Center. We are, indeed, fortunate in our friends. Huzzah!

The Antique and Horribles Parade, 1875

by Bethany Groff Dorau

Images of the Antique and Horribles Parade in our collection may seem at first glance like any other parade assemblage, but are worth a closer look...

We moved the lion's share of our photograph collection into Perkins this week, where it joined the glass plate negatives of John White Winder and the thousands of slides that make up the Fran Dalton Collection. The images in this collection are legion, tens of thousands of images from this one community over nearly two centuries.

Sometimes I feel like I'm swimming through images, trying to put myself into the scene and feel what it was like to be present at the launch of a schooner, or on a deforested Old Town Hill where the entire length and breadth of Old Newbury could be seen on a clear day.

But there is one image, catalogued innocently enough as STATE ST_010A that stopped me dead in my tracks.

This image, one of a handful in the collection, could almost be mistaken for a normal street scene. But there, next to the coach driver, is a ghoulish figure, the only one of the assembled lot who, after some research, I concluded was dressed for a horribles parade. The image itself is fascinating, and raises questions of its own. Was this person hitching a ride to or from a parade? Was the coach part of a long-forgotten performance? Who can name six restaurants who have come and gone from that spot (current occupant is Bar25)? As I was describing this image to Sierra Gitlin once, I stumbled through a long list - "they're outside...you know, Cutters - Steak & Stein - I mean Rockfish - you know, State Street Grille..."

Most of us have heard of a horribles parade, still very much a fixture of community life in Marblehead, Gloucester, Beverly Farms, and across New England. These satirical parades offer a chance to poke fun at local institutions, political leaders, and air neighborhood grievances with humor. Newburyport, for all its quirky traditions and outspoken political commentary, has not had a designated horribles parade in decades - it is difficult to pinpoint when the last such event took place, as horribles parades were often included in other celebrations. For example, such a parade appears as a children's event on July 4, 1949 at Perkins Playground.

It is far easier to pinpoint the first Newburyport Horribles Parade, however, since numerous advertisements ran in the local paper supporting the idea. On June 21, 1875, the editor of the Newburyport Herald opined that an "Antiques and Horribles Parade would "have a tendency to keep our own people at home and induce some of our neighbors to come into the city." After all, "no place can do it better than Newburyport."

The first known Antiques and Horribles Parade, a parody of the military company the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, was held in Lowell on July 4, 1851, and was a raucous and ribald smash hit. The Lowell Antiques and Horribles Company quickly became a year-round organization, advertising fishing trips and other social events and disseminating information about political and civic issues. Other communities may have eschewed Lowell's activist bent, but quickly organized similar parades, including many in Essex County.

Newburyport's desire to have a horribles parade may have been due, in part, to the exodus of its citizens (and their money) to other cities en masse, complete with special trains that squired Newburyporters to the 1858 Haverhill parade. One year prior, a special train was procured to take the city's finest to Georgetown for their parade.

In any case, the early years of the Newburyport parades appear in a handful of photographs, now preserved in the Perkins Art & Research Center, each one an ephemeric inside joke. To me, these images represent that characteristic so seldom associated with the 19th century in New England - a bold and sassy sense of humor.

The inaugural 1875 Antiques and Horribles Parade was captured in this stereoview by S.C. Reed and is in our collection.

Something Is Always Cooking...

Savory Tomato Pie

This pie, which may at first glance seem like a deep-dish pizza, is somehow something else - treat it more like a quiche, and it is perfect warm or cold. The season's bounty of tomatoes is celebrated in this traditional dish, and the rich fresh flavor comes right through.

Ingredients:

5-7 fresh tomatoes, peeled and sliced

handful fresh basil leaves , chopped

1/2 cup green onion (or red onion), chopped

1 9-inch pre-baked pie crust

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup freshly shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup mayonnaise (or half mayo, half sour cream)

dash of Tabasco if desired

2 Tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the tomatoes on paper towels in single layers. Sprinkle with salt and allow them to rest for 10 minutes.
• Pat the tomatoes dry to remove additional juice.
• Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pre-baked pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. 
• Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together, and add a dash of Tabasco sauce if desired. 
• Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. 
• Bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

Enjoy!

Puzzle Me This...

Click the image to do the puzzle

Steve Crosby portrays Captain Isaac Davis, whose headstone commemorates his death in the earliest moments of the American Revolution.

In Memory of Capt. Isaac Davis/

who was slain in battle at

Concord April ye 19th 1775 in/

the defence of ye just rights/

and liberties of his country/

civil & religious. He was a loving/

husband a tender father & a/

kind neighbour an ingeneous/

craftsman & serviceable to/

mankind. Died in ye prime of/

life aged 30 years 1 m., & 25 days.