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| The Millbury Historical Society Incorporated 1972 Millbury, Massachusetts |
| P.O... Box 367 Millbury, MA 01527 |
| The Museum of the Millbury Historical Society is located in the Asa Waters' Mansion and houses an extensive collection of town memorabilia, sports items, and historical artifacts. Admission is free. Contact Frank Gagliardi @ 508-865-4192. |
| Calendar and Events |
| Tremendous Trivia Talents of the Millbury Historical Society From left: Cheryl Piasta, Ken Dumas, Maureen Army, and Janet Dumas |
| Past Events |
| Trivia was in the air as The Millbury Historical Society team gamely competed in the annual Millbury Dollars for Scholars Trivia Contest. Twenty-two teams vied against one another in the Millbury High School Gym on Saturday March 7. Gifts and prizes were awarded to the winners of the contest which raises money for local scholarships. The Millbury Historical Society's team was certainly the most enthusiastic and good looking! |
Michael Tougias, author
of The Blizzard of ’78,
presented a narrated
slide show at the Annual
Meeting of the Millbury
Historical Society on
Thursday 11 June. A
crowd of seventy-five
were raptly attentive,
asked questions, and
later partook of delicious
goodies.
President Frank Gagliardi
first led with the business
meeting. Homage was
paid to society members
who passed away during
the year and Happy
Birthday was sung, as
usual, to the Town of
Millbury.
of The Blizzard of ’78,
presented a narrated
slide show at the Annual
Meeting of the Millbury
Historical Society on
Thursday 11 June. A
crowd of seventy-five
were raptly attentive,
asked questions, and
later partook of delicious
goodies.
President Frank Gagliardi
first led with the business
meeting. Homage was
paid to society members
who passed away during
the year and Happy
Birthday was sung, as
usual, to the Town of
Millbury.
| Best-selling author Mike Tougias enthralls the capacity crowd about the Blizzard of '78. |
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The Millbury Historical Society's Presentation: Michael E. Bell, folklorist and author of "Food for the Dead: On the Trail of New England's Vampires" Was a Great Success |
On the dark and stormy night of Wednesday 28 October, author and folklorist Michel E. Bell surprised and enthralled his audience of forty at the Asa Waters' Mansion with his slide presentation that demonstrated our vampire-slaying ancestors battled disease with the most potent tool humankind possessed: an instinctual belief in their power to heal themselves, aided by their own folk customs. For Bell, it all began in 1981 when rural Rhode Islander Everett Peck related a story passed down through generations of his family. In 1892, months after young Mercy Brown succumbed to tuberculosis, her body was exhumed from a local graveyard. Relatives cut out her heart, burned it on a nearby rock, and fed the ashes to her dying brother, hoping to cure him of the wasting disease. They feared that Mercy had become a vampire, sapping her sibling's vitality to provide sustenance for her spectral existence. Or, had she become a scapegoat, blamed for the baffling affliction ravaging her family. After a question and answer session, Dr. Bell met with interested individuals and signed copies of his book "Food for the Dead." All were invited into the Rose Room of the mansion for appropriately spooky refreshments. |
| Memories! Memories! Attention Millbury Historical Society members and Millbury inhabitants (present and past): Do you have old photos of Millbury? Bits and pieces of Millbury's past such as bricks from long-gone buildings or sports memorabilia? In preparation for Millbury's Bi-centennial celebration in three years, the Millbury Historical Society is seeking such items- either as acknowledged donations or loans. Please contact Frank Gagliardit at 508-865-4192 if you would care to participate in this program. |
