Letter from the President

Dear fellow members of WWHP, 

A few reflections as my term as president draws to an end. 

A significant achievement over this term of office is the composition of the Steering Committee that better reflects the rich diversity of the Worcester community, representing a variety of viewpoints and experiences. 

On a practical note we have centralized our costume collection, bringing it into the WWHP office at Worcester Historical Museum. Implementation of a rental operation 

awaits completion of cataloguing and storage arrangements. 

Regarding administration, we are now guided by a monthly calendar of tasks, lest any necessary “administrivia” be overlooked. In addition, the manner of creating budgets for programs has been altered to account for real cost of each program, including administrative overhead. 

There is much that remains to be completed. 

But before we jump into the work ahead, we’ll take a long-term look at where WWHP is headed. You are all invited to join us September 30 at Brigham Hill Community Barn [see full description on p. 9 of this newsletter]. Be part of WWHP’s future! 

Among the tasks that await us is the completion of a revised trail guide. Worcester Women’s History Heritage Trail (originally published in 2002) included information on sites related to significant Worcester women of the nineteenth century. A new trail guide will complement these listings with important women of the twentieth cen-tury. I hope to be able to announce at the Annual Meeting that we are ready to go to press! 

Publication of this new material will involve expenses not presently covered, which means we must get to work designing proposals to suitable funding sources to support this new work. 

The valuable office space at Worcester Historical Museum is underutilized and in need of re-ordering to house our 265-item collection of books on women’s history (all available for lending to our members) and to implement of the costume rental service. 

Looking ahead beyond the next few years, 2020 will mark the centennial of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote (I refuse to say it “gave” women the right to vote!). WWHP is already in preliminary plans with Worcester Historical Museum and others to celebrate in 2022 the tricentennial of the town of Worcester. 

Our understanding of the past is key to designing our future. 

Ann Marie Shea, Ph.D. 
President, WWHP