On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at 7:30 p.m., the Mystic River Historical Society presents a talk by Carolyn Wakeman, an author and Trustee of the Florence Griswold Museum.
It is easy to take history for granted in Old Lyme, where ship captains' homes, weathered barns, abandoned quarry sites, and meandering stone walls blend into a familiar landscape. But spend a few moments glancing through the old letters, maps, ledgers, and photographs in the Lyme Historical Society Archives housed at the Florence Griswold Museum, and the past comes vividly to life. The pastel portrait of a local woman, a sepia-toned photograph of reeled shad nets near the ferry dock, an exchange of family letters during the War of 1812, bring shadowy individuals and experiences sharply into focus. To highlight the resources of its Archives, the museum launched a new website that selects individual documents, photographs, and works of art from an earlier era to tell stories about people, events, and a changing landscape.
Carolyn Wakeman grew up in Old Lyme and has recently returned after a distinguished teaching career in China and, more recently, at the University of California at Berkeley. She is the author of “The Charm of the Place: Old Lyme in the 1920s,” published in 2011 by the Old Lyme Historical Society.The program is at the Mystic Congregational Church Parish Hall and is followed by a question and answer period and refreshments. It is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Mystic River Historical Society 536-4779, or email info@mystichistory.org.
