The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Collecting area: Massachusetts

Konsevich, J. P.

J. P. Konsevich Photograph Album

1934-1936
2 vol. .25 linear feet
Call no.: PH 098
Photograph of J.P. Konsevich standing next to truck, outside the 116th Company Office building in Wendell State Forest
"J.P. Konsevich, Truck driver," ca. 1934

J.P. Konsevich, almost certainly Joseph Peter Konsevich (born Oct 22, 1921 in Millers Falls, Mass.; death May 9, 1988 in Westfield, Mass.), was one of the over 99,500 men to join the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Massachusetts. The Emergency Conservation Work (March 31, 1933 – Jan. 1, 1942; renamed, Civilian Conservation Corps in 1937) was just one of the many relief programs established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to aid in the effort to curb rising unemployment and to lift the “spiritual” morale of the country. In Massachusetts the main work accomplished was in tree planting, firefighting, and tree and plant disease and insect control, although several recreational facilities were also built in the forests and parks. Konsevich served on one of the latter projects, as a member of the 116th Company, stationed at Camp S-62 in Wendell State Forest.

This combination of two homemade photograph albums thoroughly documents the CCC 116th Company, and their camp in Wendell State Forest. Of the over 800 photographs, 518 are identified, with the majority being portraits of the men at camp facilities. The local landscape of concern to the company is also featured, including the Connecticut River, Erving, Greenfield, Northampton, Northfield, Turners Falls, and especially documentation of the aftermath of the flood of March and April, 1936. A small set of photographs additionally document Konsevich’s presence at the Chicago World’s Fair (Century of Progress Exposition of 1933).

Gift of Charles L. Darling, August 2022

Subjects

Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)--Massachusetts--HistoryCivilian Conservation Corps (U.S.)--PhotographsCivilian Conservation Corps (U.S.). Company 116 (Mass.)--PhotographsFloods--Massachusetts--Franklin County--PhotographsFloods--Massachusetts--Hampshire County--PhotographsNew Deal, 1933-1939--Massachusetts--History

Contributors

Konsevich, J. P.

Types of material

Photographs
Kopiecki, Sophie D. Zmijewski

Sophie D. Zmijewski Kopiecki Papers

ca. 1950-1990
8 boxes 12 linear feet
Call no.: MS 553

An active member of a number of women’s Polish American clubs in Massachusetts, including the Massachusetts Federation of Polish Women’s Clubs, Sophie Kopiecki was a schoolteacher and mother in the eastern part of the state. Documenting her contributions to the various clubs of which she was a member as well as her activities as a teacher, this collection includes publications, programs, memorabilia, and student assignments.

Gift of Barbara Kopiecki Stathis, Apr. 2008

Subjects

Polish American friendly societies--MassachusettsPolish Americans--Ethnic identity--History--20th centuryPolish Americans--Massachusetts

Contributors

Kopiecki, Sophie D. Zmijewski
Kotts, Norine

Norine Kotts and Cheryl Lewis Papers

Ca. 1982-2013
2 boxes 2.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1177

Longtime partners in work and life, Norine Kotts and Cheryl Lewis met in San Francisco in 1980. Kotts, daughter of a law enforcement officer and a homemaker, whose family who moved frequently, was a freelance photographer; Lewis, a biracial Chicago native and daughter of a furniture maker and a schoolteacher, who grew up in Rockland County, N. Y., was an art student in the Bay Area and a lifelong cook. They moved back to the house Kotts was sharing with a group of lesbians, in Somerville, Mass., and eventually into the world of food collectives, restaurants, and hospitality. In 1982, along with two co-founders, Kotts and Lewis opened the cafe Beetle’s Lunch in Allston, a Boston neighborhood. Named “1983 Best Punk Restaurant” by Boston magazine, Beetle’s Lunch became known as a welcoming alternative community space situated at a convergence of queer and feminist politics, new concepts in art and music, and the changing food scene, with a dash of idealism, especially on the part of its young feminist founders. Relocating to Portland, Me., in 1985 Kotts and Lewis opened Café Always, playing a significant role in fostering and shaping that city’s burgeoning food culture: as Portland’s first restaurant to employ local farmers and incorporate local ingredients into the daily menu, Café Always garnered national attention. After selling the business in 1995, the couple opened Aurora Provisions, a gourmet food and wine shop with an in-store restaurant and catering service, which they ran until selling it in 2001. As consultants they continued to participate in and influence the food scene in Portland, helping to launch Portland favorite El Rayo Taqueria in 2009.

The Kotts and Lewis Papers provide glimpses into the formation and operation of several notable New England food establishments, documenting the creative, professional, and personal aspects, as well as the food itself. The collection contains menus, photographs, business plans, correspondence (including a set of letters Kotts wrote to her mother on the backs of menus), recipes and cookbooks, memorabilia, and a guest book filled with diners’ comments. Kotts and Lewis are also the subjects of a series of oral histories conducted by sociologist Janice Irvine.

Gift of Norine Kotts and Cheryl Lewis, Nov. 2022

Subjects

Lesbian businesswomenLesbian cooksRestaurants--Maine--PortlandRestaurants--New EnglandRestaurants--Social aspectsRestaurateurs

Contributors

Irvine, Janice M.Lewis, Cheryl

Types of material

Letters (Correspondence)MenusOral historiesPhotographs
Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston

Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston Records

1937-1997
1 box 0.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 466

The oldest active Polish folk dance ensemble in the United States, the Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston was formed in 1937 by a group of young ladies of Polish heritage interested in promoting Polish culture through the mediums of song and dance. The club opened its membership to young men in 1947, and was offcially incorporated in 1957. Since its formation, the dancers have appeared throughout the U.S., Canada, and Poland, and the group has received recognition and awards worldwide, including a special performance before his Holiness Pope John Paul II in 1983.

The collection includes programs for performances from the club’s earliest days, tickets, newspaper clippings featuring articles about the group, and copies of the organization’s constitution describing the group’s mission and membership.

Subjects

Folk dancing, PolishPolish Americans--Massachusetts

Contributors

Krakowiak Polish Dancers of Boston
Kramer, Susan

Kramer-Mathews-Gyorgy Collection

1969-1988
1 box 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: PH 080
Depiction of The Farm in fall color, Oct. 1980
The Farm in fall color, Oct. 1980

Founded in August 1968 by Marshall Bloom and a group of colleagues from the Liberation News Service. From the outset, the Montague Farm Commune was a center of political and cultural (and countercultural) creatvity. In its first year, it was the headquarters for the Montague branch of the Liberation News Service and Farmers were involved in a range of other causes. Most famously, in 1974, Farmers lit the fuse of the antinuclear movement. Rallying against a proposed nuclear power plant in Montague and Farmer Sam Lovejoy’s act of civil disobedience that felled a weather monitoring tower set up in preparation, the Farmers carried waged a campaign of non-violent direct action that became the hallmark of antinuclear groups across the country. Their actions against the Yankee Rowe and Seabrook (N.H.) power plants were instrumental in dampening further development of nuclear power in the United States. In 2003, the Farm community agreed to sell the Farm property to Zen Peacemakers.

The photographs in this collection were taken by three members of the Montague Farm Commune: early members Anna Gyorgy and Tony Mathews, and Tony’s wife Susan Kramer. The photos depict daily life on the Farm and its residents, primarily in he period between 1978 and 1981, including farm work, sugaring, domestic chores, family and children, holidays, and celebrations, such as May Day. A handful of images, mostly by Mathews, go back to the earliest days of the Farm, and there are later images from the 20th and 25th reunions. Of special notes are over 100 images taken by Kramer during the occupation of the Seabroon Nuclear Power Plant in May 1977, at which 1,414 occupiers were arrested.

Gift of Susan Kramer and Anna Gyorgy. Jan. 2018

Subjects

Antinuclear movement--New Hampshire--PhotographsCommunal living--Massachusetts--Montague--PhotographsDemonstrations--New Hampshire--Seabrook--PhotographsMontague Farm Community--PhotographsOrganic farming--Massachusetts--Montague--PhotographsSeabrook Nuclear Power Plant (N.H.)--Photographs

Contributors

Gyorgy, AnnaMathews, Tony

Types of material

Photographs
Kszepka, Joseph A., collector

Joseph A. Kszepka Collection

1906-1949
8 items 0.15 linear feet
Call no.: MS 276

Collection of printed materials, primarily the constitutions and by-laws of Massachusetts Polish-American organizations, including publications of the Pilsudski Polish-American Citzens Club in Southbridge, St. Stanislaus’ Polish Lyceum in Three Rivers, and the Polish American Citizens’ Club also in Three Rivers, which contains study questions for the U.S. citizenship exam. Also a prayerbook (1906) and a textbook for parents and teachers, Masturbation in Men and Women and Its Effects (1912), translated to Polish from German.

Subjects

Polish Americans--Massachusetts

Contributors

Kszepka, Joseph A.
Labor

Labor, Work, and Industry Collection

1869-1989
3 boxes 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 328

Chance and geography conspired early in the history of New England to lay a foundation for both industrialization and the rise of organized labor.

This miscellaneous collection contains materials relating to work, business, and organized labor with an emphasis on New England. Among other materials, there are sets of by-laws, reports, and agreements pertaining to Masschusetts locals of IUE, IBEW, Cigarmakers International, Bricklayers, and Retail Clerks.

Subjects

Labor unions--Massachusetts

Types of material

Photographs
Lake Pleasant (Mass.)

Lake Pleasant (Mass.) Collections

ca.1885-1975
4 boxes 2 linear feet
Call no.: MS 914
Independent Order of Scalpers club
Independent Order of Scalpers club, ca.1900

One of five villages comprising the western Massachusetts town of Montague, Lake Pleasant was founded by the New England Spiritualist Campmeeting Association in 1870 as a rustic summer resort. Formally incorporated in 1879 under the guidance of Henry A. Buddington and Joseph Beals, Lake Pleasant grew into a community of nearly 200 small cottages, hotels, train station, and a Spiritualist temple on the edge of a serene lake, with a high-season population approaching 2,000. The village began a slow decline in fortunes after a disastrous fire in 1907, but retains its small cottage feel to the present.

The collection includes an assortment of materials relating to the history of Lake Pleasant, including over forty 8×10 glass plate negatives taken by local photographer George L. Scott (ca.1900-1907), other assorted photographs (ca.1885-1905), deeds to village properties, publications, and materials relating to the Lake Pleasant Water Commission. The collection also includes a handful of other images taken by Scott from elsewhere in Franklin County.

Subjects

Fires--Massachusetts--Lake Pleasant--PhotographsLake Pleasant (Mass.)--HistoryLake Pleasant (Mass.)--PhotographsLakes--MassachusettsSpiritualists--MassachusettsSummer resorts--Massachusetts

Contributors

Scott, George L., 1868-1952

Types of material

Glass plate negativesPhotographs
Lambert, Roger Newton

Roger Newton Lambert Account Book

1829-1834
1 vol. 0.15 linear feet
Call no.: MS 256 bd

A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School, R. Newton Lambert set up in private practice in Upton, Mass., in 1829. His medical career, however, would be brief. In October 1836, just 37 years old, Lambert died in Lyme, N.H.

Lambert’s double column account book includes records of services performed (such as the extraction of teeth, vaccination, and childbirth) and medicines prescribed, as well as accounts for his patients’ (primarily women and families) and notations on work for the town’s poor.

Subjects

Bradish familyChildbirth--Massachusetts--History--19th centuryFisk familyPhlebotomy--Massachusetts--History--19th centuryPhysicians--Massachusetts--19th centuryPhysicians--Massachusetts--Upton--Economic conditions--19th centuryPoor--Medical care--Massachusetts--Upton--History--19th centuryPutnam familyRockwood familyTeeth--Extraction--Massachusetts--History--19th centuryTherapeutics--Massachusetts--History--19th centuryUpton (Mass.)--Economic conditions--19th centuryVaccination--Massachusetts--History--19th century

Types of material

Account books
Lamson and Goodnow

Lamson and Goodnow Records

1837-1911
23 boxes, 14 vols. 38 linear feet
Call no.: MS 662
Depiction of Lamson and Goodnow
Lamson and Goodnow

Access restrictions: Temporarily stored offsite; contact SCUA in advance to request materials from this collection.

In 1834, Silas Lamson devised a curved snath that greatly improved the efficiency of the scythe, and riding the commercial success of his invention, Lamson, his sons Ebenezer and Nathaniel, and partner Abel Goodnow, founded the manufacturing firm of Lamson and Goodnow in Shelburne Falls, Mass., in 1837. Early in its history, Lamson and Goodnow recruited skilled workers from cutlery centers in England and Germany and began manufacturing the high quality knives and tableware that have remained the center of their production ever since. The firm was a major contributor to the region’s transformation from a primarily agricultural to an industrial economy, and by the time of the Civil War, they helped establish the Connecticut River Valley had emerged as the center of American cutlery production. At vartious points during their history, Lamson and Goodnow have been involved in the manufacture of arms (e.g. the Springfield Rifle), sewing machines, agricultural implements, and other tools. They remain active in the production of cutlery, trade tools, and kitchenware.

The Lamson and Goodnow records contain relatively dense documentation of a major manufacturer of cutlery and agricultural implements from roughly the time of its founding in 1837 through shortly after the turn of the twentieth century. In addition to account books, records of orders, sales, and production, and a dizzying array of canceled checks, receipts, and trade cards, the collection includes correspondence from field agents and customers that document the growth of the company during the first 75 years of its operation.

Subjects

Cutlery trade--MassachusettsShelburne Falls (Mass.)--History

Contributors

Lamson and Goodnow

Types of material

Account books