Exciting news from the Mattapoisett (Historical Society) Museum was shared on June 11 with the introduction of the new curator, Connor Gaudet, who holds master’s degrees from Long Island University and New York University and brings an impressive range of experiences to the position.
Gaudet said that he had been the oral history coordinator for the 9/11 Tribute Center, a small museum founded by a retired firefighter who lost his son to the tragedy and a World Trade Center Red Cross volunteer who worked in support of the World Trade Center Recovery. He has also held positions at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth. Now the former Mattapoisett resident is back and eager to engage the public and the community regarding all things historical.
In speaking about the 9/11 program, Gaudet touched on his philosophy: taking history in all its many forms, even the difficult bits, and “using it to lift people up … leave them feeling like they want to do something good, feel inspired and empowered to help the world. This is public history at its finest, using history no matter how dark to inspire people to something bigger and better.” He said his is a mission-driven spirit.
With a background that includes curating and digitizing collections at Pilgrim Hall, Gaudet sees part of his mission to complete that work started by the previous curator Jeff Miller. He said there are bundles of letters tied with 19th century strings waiting to reveal their long-held stories.
“History has always been the foundation of how I view the world around me,” said Gaudet. “I see an odd building or a diagonal property line and try to think of the reason behind it. Seeing the past in the present, understanding its influence in our lives … I try to remove history from behind a velvet rope and live within it, as a part of it. I don’t like velvet ropes.”
Gaudet said that some of the items held by the museum may be used for hands-on demonstrations or simply to give children the opportunity to carefully handle historical items, making history more immediate for young minds.
“I want all of you to be excited about history and learn in a hands-on way,” said Gaudet, explaining that the museum owns a fully restored, 18th century barn loom that could be used for live demonstrations as well as a spinning wheel. He called them interactive educational experiences waiting to happen.
Gaudet told the audience as he ended his comments, “You are all a part of the story and the history of this town just as much as Joseph Meigs, Florence Eastman, Axe-handle Bolles or even Seth Mendell.
“We live and make history every day,” everyday history that doesn’t make the news but is still important. He said that everyday history is what connects the town to the big picture – the people.
Gaudet has hit the ground running. Since starting this new chapter of his history with the museum, Gaudet has cowritten two grants for an oral-history collection project. He has also hosted six middle-school classes on walking tours. And since the smallest slices of life help societies understand their culture when a lens of time is later applied, the museum has accessioned a small collection of local restaurants’ take-out menus, a 1966 print magazine advertisement for the Aurora Model Company and a kit for the ship the Wanderer. The print ad, coupled with a real Wanderer model already in the collection, completes that slice of Mattapoisett’s history.
With the summer season knocking on the museum door, a new summer exhibit will be unveiled, and walking tours are being fine-tuned. To learn more, visit mattapoisettmuseum.org.
Mattapoisett Museum
By Marilou Newell