“That leap of faith that carries us from past to present,” an event hosted by the Historical Society of Cheshire County (HSCC) as a part of its Lunch & Learn series, was held on Friday, April 12. The event consisted of KSC students from this semester’s Creative Nonfiction writing class reading essays they had written based on several artifacts they had chosen from the historical society’s collection, from whale-oil lamps to tin toy cars.
Students were given access to a wide array of artifacts in the historical society’s possession earlier in the semester.
“We have a lot of artifacts that we call ‘touchable artifacts’ because we use them with school groups,” said Kathy Schillemat, office manager of HSCC. “They also went out into our other spaces and chose whatever caught their eye there. They ended up sending me their essays for me to take a look at them and give them a little proofreading and accuracy and things like that, and I’ve just been amazed at the results.”
Five students read their work aloud to HSCC staff during their lunch hour. Essay topics ranged from a wooden statue of Henry David Thoreau, toy cars made by Kingsbury Toy Manufacturing Company, early 20th century toasters and even a photo of Kirsten Dunst from 1995’s “Jumanji,” which filmed some of its principal scenes in Keene.
The students made connections to modern times and even their own lives through the artifacts, highlighting that the wooden Thoreau statue was carved by John Pritchard of Dublin, N.H., or discussing how the entertainment of children has changed since Kingsbury Toys produced its tin vehicles.
Professor Rodger Martin, who is also one of The Equinox’s advisors, ran the Creative Nonfiction class this semester and spoke on the idea behind bringing students in to study these artifacts. “It really began with the Mason Library,” Martin said. “I would often bring students to go through the Keene State archives, and the essays were so inspiring, I said, ‘We need to do more of this, and we have archives right across the street of a whole different type.’ So I thought, why don’t we try it?” Martin expressed his fascination with his students’ work. “You just don’t know where they’re going, and it becomes personal for them.”
The Lunch & Learn series has been an ongoing effort by the Historical Society and is in its second year. Past collaborations have been with Northeastern University and KSC’s own music department. Executive Director Jenna Carroll explained, “For us, it’s been an important collaboration that we hope to continue with the college first and foremost.” The second goal, according to Carroll, is much broader and about connecting people with local history. “We want people to be thinking about finding their own place in history,” said Carroll. “They’re (the students) here with creative writing and have created a little bit of history but they’re also connected to their own personal experiences, and that’s what we hope for anybody.”
Alicia Drakiotes, a Historical Society volunteer and former KSC student, attended the event. “I was interested to hear the essays of the folks who interacted with artifacts.”
May Cassidy can be contacted at
mcassidy@kscequinox.com
