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We celebrate our history in this town in a way that is both unusual and intense, and not without controversy.
That is partly because of the Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum. The museum, the oldest continuously operating public museum in the country, is celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. Two hundred years ago, on the 200th anniversary of the Pilgrim’s arrival in Plymouth, a small group of people decided that our history needed to be memorialized so they formed the Pilgrim Society. Some were descendants of the Mayflower passengers, but others were also members of old families in Plymouth that believed a shared history was important.
At the time, artifacts and documents from the Mayflower and the early Pilgrims’ settlement were stored in private homes. The Pilgrim Society believed they were national treasures that belonged in a museum. To house them, the society conceived of a stately edifice built out of granite. It hired Alexander Parris, a well-known architect who was working on the design for Fanueil Hall in Boston, and successfully set about doing the hard work of raising a lot of money.
Plymouth Rock was just a hunk of stone imbedded in the town wharf in front of a shipping office door. It is rumored that there was a hammer and chisel left there for tourists to chip off souvenirs. “Plymouth Rock was really on the society’s radar, and they felt it was really important to preserve,” said Donna Curtin, executive director of Pilgrim Hall. “People were using it as a doormat. People were kind of just kind of curious. Oh, you go down and see it and, you know, walk outside the shipping office and step onto this rock.”
The Pilgrim Society’s efforts to preserve the rock started a multi-step adventure over the course of the next century. It was moved from the wharf to the front of the museum and then back to the waterfront. Minus a few pieces, it now sits under the familiar portico on the waterfront. A piece of it is in Pilgrim Hall and another chunk is housed at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Over the years, it has also been linked with colonialism and oppression. For example, in a famous 1964 speech, civil rights leader Malcolm X exclaimed, “We didn’t land on Plymouth Rock; the rock was landed on us.” Today, it’s regularly the site of protests – most recently, pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The society was also instrumental in the building of the Forefather’s Monument, the 81-foot-tall statue on Allerton Street. It was dedicated in 1889.
As the custodian of the town’s history today, Pilgrim Hall could use your help. It’s in the middle of a capitol campaign to replace the main roof, skylight and the lighting in the main gallery. This will also give it a chance to reimagine the telling of the complicated story of the early history of Plymouth. As Curtin says, the goal is to “present a holistic history in a space that really was not really thinking in those terms when it was built.’
For more information about the museum, go here.
July 10
Wednesday in the park: The Summer Concert Series on the Plymouth waterfront continues with Chicago Total Access, a New England-based Chicago tribute band. This free event is presented by Project Arts of Plymouth. Does anybody really know what time it starts? Yes – at 6:30 p.m. Enjoy the horn-powered music, sample food truck fare, and enjoy the view and summer weather. For more information, go here.
Sustainable Plymouth, South Shore & Cape Citizens Climate Lobby, the Plymouth Public Library and the League of Women’s Voters of the Plymouth Area are sponsoring a series of sustainability workshops this summer. They will cover popular government programs designed to help pay for home energy efficiency improvements and how these technologies work. At the session, Energy Efficiency Coordinator Loie Hayes of the Green Energy Consumer Alliance, will cover the benefits of heat pumps, how to search out the best set-up for your home, and the rebates and tax credits available. This heated discussion is free and takes place at the Plymouth Public Library at 132 South St at 7 p.m. For more information, go here.
July 11
The Plymouth Public Library Foundation is hosting its second annual Garden Tour and Fair. The Dr. Richard M. Shiff Garden behind the library on South Street is focus of this fundraising event. Activities include spending time in the garden, viewing six spectacular Plymouth gardens, and taking a tour of Plymouth County Sheriff’s aquaponic/hydroponic garden. Several environmental organizations and local garden businesses will also participate. Tickets are $30 or $40, depending on the time of purchase. For more information, go here.
Book Love, at 7 Village Green the Pinehills, will present an evening with Pamela Lischko Lowell. She will discuss her work volunteering with Mass Audubon and the Southcoast Osprey Nest Monitoring Project. The event starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 and you can get them here.
July 13
Priscilla Beach Theatre presents “Legally Blonde” for one more week until July 20. A classic story of a colorful co-ed getting into Harvard and trying to win back her boyfriend. Come dressed in pink but don’t you dare wear last season’s shoes. At 800 Rocky Hill Road. Evening and matinee performances. For tickets, go here.
Pilgrim Hall Museum presents Nancy Rubin Stuart, author of “The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation.” She’ll provide commentary as actors playing Mrs. Warren and John Adams discuss her account of the American Revolution. A famous female historian in the 1700s? Now that’s a revolutionary idea. The event starts at 7 p.m. at 75 Court St. Tickets are $10 and you can get them here.
Plymouth Memorial Hall, 83 Court St., presents the crazily talented Ben Folds (formerly of the late, great Ben Folds Five) on his “Paper Airplane Request Tour.” We’re requesting “Battle of Who Could Care Less,” Ben. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $50 to $130 and you can get them here.
July 14
The Spire continues to present the Americana Theatre Company’s “Murder on the Orient Express,” on select dates through July 21 with performances on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and 2 p.m. matinees on Sundays. This classic whodunnit by Agatha Christie follows detective Hercule Poirot, as passengers on a train rely on him to identify the murderer before he/she strikes again. It’s to die for. Tickets are $40 and you can get them here.
July 16
The Community Land and Water Coalition is holding its second open forum, Protecting Our Land and Waters. Topics for discussion in this session include sand mining, the Plymouth Airport runway extension, Wastewater Treatment Plant expansion, and overdevelopment. Come sift your way through it. At the public library at 132 South St., this event starts at 6 p.m. It is free and open to the public. For more information, go here.
July 18
Plimoth Patuxet Museums presents Lone Wolf and The Spaghetti Corner Band. Guitarist DJ White, bassist Bobby Jacobs, and drummer Will Jacobs are from the Akwesane Mohawk reservation on the border of Canada and New York. They will play original music as well as covers of folk, blues and rock songs. Starting at 6 p.m., at a stage along the Eel River, at 137 Warren Ave. Tickets are free and you can reserve them here.