I have been home from my New England adventures long enough to recover from jet lag, unpack the suitcases, and learn that what I thought was a fracture is a less serious — but still mighty painful — injury. It seems that Boston’s famous cobblestones can be treacherous even on the warmest fall days.
It had been a fabulous day beginning with a drive from Woodstock, Vermont into Boston where I spent the afternoon at one of my favorite Boston landmarks — the New England Historic and Genealogical Society. I enjoyed seeing the newly-renovated entrance to NEHGS. It gives the building a fresh look with mature plantings and well-designed walkways and benches, and looks like it’s already become a favorite resting place for visitors.
After an hour or so doing look-ups in the stacks, I was happy to discover that the hard-working NEHGS staff was still on-site on Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend. I said hello to Brenton Simons, chatted with Tom Wilcox and Kelly McCoulf, and then enjoyed a tour of the archives floor with Tom Champoux and Alessandra Magno. I even had time for a visit with Judy Lucey to talk about donating to NEHGS and organizing home archives.
What could be better? Dinner with Mr. Curator and a walk back to our hotel would have been a perfect way to end the day; instead I took a nasty tumble on the sidewalk resulting in a trip to the Emergency Room. Cuts and bruises were minor, but the diagnosis of a likely fractured elbow left me in a splint and sling for the duration of our trip. Fortunately, our next stop was my-nephew-the-doctor and his family who made sure I was well cared for, and entertained by their lively two and three year olds.
We did get to all the great New England fall activities like apple picking, cider tasting, and pumpkin festivals, but avoided the local corn maze after hearing about the family who became lost in the Danvers maze and had to use their cell phones to call for help. Oh, and did I mention cemetery rambles? We got those in too.
Then it was more driving to rendezvous with my son and family in New York where we enjoyed more apples, pumpkins, and a few hours at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival. These things DO have genealogical connections… I’ll be getting to those in future posts, but for now I’ll be keeping things on the shorter side and letting my arm get back to normal.
Wow, I just found the picture of you in a sling. I too fell this year and fractured my left shoulder bone. In my sling for 6 weeks. Got out of it just in time for SCGS Jamboree in June. Hope you're feeling better, take care.
Yes, Spencer, Tom Champoux showed me the photo found in a donor's private collection, and now at NEHGS. I wonder what other treasures will show up in the future.
It look like you had fun visiting the NEHGS. Hope you're doing better now. Were you able to see first-hand the photo of Helen Keller, who is holding a doll, and her teacher Anne Sullivan at the NEHGS? caravan parks
Hey Denise, sounds like you had a lovely time aside from your arm being hurt– hope it's okay!
Oh, Midge, you caught me out! This was Hewittville Cemetery in Windsor County, Vermont, but I didn't transcribe the stone. Next year!
Hey, CA girls are not supposed to fall down on vacation. Whose gravestone is that?
Here's to a speedy recovery. I'm glad you didn't get lost in a maze! Lol