Hartford History Center

 “Cooking It Up: Hartford, Health and History” – a program combining good food, good health and fond memories and featuring Hartford restaurants. Chefs prepare well-loved recipes from the restaurant kitchen while local nutritionist Sharon Mierzwa provides tips on how to make our meals healthier.  Host/producer Nancy R. Savin leads an appetizing discussion on the city’s food and dining landscape, past and present.  

All programs, filmed before a live audience in the Library’s 2nd floor studio kitchen, are broadcast on Hartford Public Access as well as available here.

The Hartford History Center at Hartford Public Library is presenting “Abraham Lincoln: Self-Made in America,” a world-class educational exhibition sponsored by the Lincoln Financial Foundation.The exhibit features reproduction artifacts from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. Hartford Public Library is the only Connecticut venue for this traveling exhibit on display from September 27 through November 29, 2011.

The exhibit is composed of  learning stations and covers Lincoln’s life from his childhood though his self-education, careers as a surveyor and a lawyer, his family life, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, the 1860 Presidential election, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, the 13^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that abolished slavery in 1865, and his death.

The Hartford History Center will have on display additional Civil War artifacts and images culled from Hartford Public Library’s own special collections to further illuminate the period. The exhibition was mounted in conjunction with the state’s 150^th anniversary of the Civil War.

Running concurrently, digital images of The Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk at Riverfront will be displayed on the Downtown Library’skinetic wall in the atrium. This digital installation provides a link between the outdoor sculpture and the current traveling exhibit.The sculpture walk celebrates the art of leadership, a president for the ages, and a legacy that inspires generations.

“Abraham Lincoln left home as a young man in search of opportunities for a better life.  Through hard work, personal study and perseverance, he obtained the highest office in the country. His story transcends the specifics of time and place. We are grateful to the Lincoln Financial Foundation for allowing us to share this man’s inspirational journey,” said Hartford Public Library CEO Matthew K. Poland.

“In light of Hartford’s role in Abraham Lincoln’s road to the White House, as well as our parent corporation’s historical connection with the Lincoln family and our sponsorship of the Lincoln Financial Sculpture Walk at Riverfront, this was a natural partnership for us,” said Byron Champlin, Hartford program officer for Lincoln Foundation. “The hallmarks of Abraham Lincoln’s life were integrity, service, and confidence in the future regardless of challenges; these are qualities that serve us as well in the 21^st century as they did in the 19^th.”

An opening reception will be held on Tuesday, September 27, from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

The evening will include a brief talk by Hartford author Wilson H. Faude on the Hartford Wide Awakes, the first political marching organization in the country and a major force in Lincoln’s 1860 campaign. Additionally, recognized Lincoln portrayer Howard Wright will bring the words and spirit of Abraham Lincoln to life for evening guests. The reception will be held in the Hartford History Center, on the third floor of the Downtown Library, with refreshments on the ARTWALK.  The reception and the exhibition are free and open to the public.

Arts and Archives on the ARTWALK is Hartford Public Library’s opportunity to showcase projects workshop participants created in the grant-funded “Arts and Archives: Master Classes in the Arts and Humanities for Older Adults” series held at the library this past year.

The July 9 opening reception will feature keynote speaker Mary Catherine Bateson, cultural anthropologist and daughter of noted anthropologist Margaret Mead. Bateson is a best-selling author and lectures extensively on creative aging. Her most recent book is Composing a Further Life: The Age of Active Wisdom.

“Arts and Archives: Master Classes in the Arts and Humanities” was funded in part through the Library Services and Technology Act of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Arts and Archives program consisted of seven arts and humanities-themed workshop series held throughout the year providing hands-on instruction led by master artists in sculpture, pen-and-ink drawing, visual arts, poetry writing, digital photography, music appreciation, and memoir writing. Each series included a Hartford heritage-based seminar and made available the special collections of the library’s Hartford History Center.

The exhibition will be up July 9 through September 2 and it and the opening reception is free and open to the public.  For more information, please call the Hartford History Center at 860-695-6297.

Enjoy a romantic view of Hartford, 100 years ago!

On display now and throughout the month of April are select Hartford postcards, blown up to oversize proportions.  Images are on view on the 3^rd floor, on the wall adjacent to the main staircase.  

The Hartford History Center is home to more than 3,000 Hartford-specific souvenir cards.

.

Ella G. Brown attended Hartford Public Schools, studied Education and Sociology at Virginia State University and, two decades later, received a master’s degree from the University of Hartford. In 1943, she became Connecticut’s first African American policewoman when she joined the Hartford Police Department.

Throughout the course of her twenty-six year career in law enforcement, Brown primarily focused on preventative and protective work with women and children. She has worked in conjunction with the Juvenile Division, the Vice and Liquor Squad, and the Patrol Division.

Brown’s interests extended outside of law enforcement, and in 1963 she co-founded the World Travel Service – the first full-service travel firm owned and operated by an African American in the Hartford area. The firm moved to the Sage-Allen Department Store in 1967 and was operated by Brown as the Sage-Allen Travel Center until 1976.

Brown began serving as executive director at the North Hartford Senior Center in 1977, a position she held until she died in 1984. Ella G. Brown’s lifetime of work and civic service has earned her numerous honors and recognitions, including awards from both the University of Hartford Alumni and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Women’s History Month Resources courtesy of iCONN.org:

In celebration of Women’s History Month, iCONN.org has assembled a web page with free resources at this link: http://www.cslib.org/iconnsitemap/staff/WomensHistoryMonth.aspx .

This page includes women’s biographies, Women’s Studies International and the U.S. Census Bureau “Facts for Features” for Women’s History Month. Enjoy!