Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of working with and mentoring Duxbury High School interns.  Each semester two to four students come daily to the Drew Archives and assist in the cataloging of collections.  I am pleased to have been able to add three new finding aids here because of their hard work during the internship program – the diary of Martha (Hammett) Blanchard, the Keen Family Collection, and a letter by William P. Webster.

Meaghan Marohn, a Duxbury High School senior, cataloged the diary of Martha (Hammett) Blanchard, a summer resident of Duxbury.  The diary was written in 1922 when Martha Blanchard 71 years old.  It contains daily entries describing the weather, visits with friends, special outings, holidays and household chores.  Of special note is the entry  on Aug. 22 when lightening struck the Myles Standish Monument in Duxbury, knocking the statue’s head and torso to the ground.  The diary gives an idea of what the typical day of  a woman in 1922 would look like.  The diary was donated by Rebecca Chin, a descendent of Martha Blanchard.

Nick Blair, also a senior at Duxbury High School, assisted in the cataloging of the Keen Family Collection.  This collection was donated last year by Janet Peterson and it contains some of the oldest documents we have at the Drew Archival Library – two 17th century deeds.  The Keen family lived in the Ashdod section of town and their property is part of Camp Wing today.

Senior Josh West cataloged the letter of a young Duxbury teacher, William P. Webster, from 1842.  This entertaining letter was written to William’s brother, Walter, and tells of lyceum lectures, holiday  celebrations and even a Forefather’s Day dinner in Plymouth.  The letter is interesting in another way – it was written on an unusually large piece of paper as somewhat of a joke.  Webster clearly had a sense of humor.  The letter was donated by John and Polly Nash.

In addition to the Finding Aids prepared by Duxbury High School students, Simmons College intern, Emily Carta, worked diligently on the Wilde Family Collection.  Dr. James Wilde was one of Duxbury’s two 19th century doctors.  He lived on St. George Street, just a short walk down the street from the Drew Archives.  What we discovered during the processing of the collection was the Dr. Wilde’s daughters are as noteworthy as their father.  Kate Wilde was a suffragette and editor of the Woman’s Journal in Boston.  Lucy Beal Wilde was equally active in the social movements of her day.  The collection was donated by Dawn Wilde whose husband was a direct descendent of Dr. Wilde.

This semester three students are working on a number of interesting collections that will be added here when completed.