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World History and the Dandelion
Once respected around the world for its nutritional value and medicinal properties, today, the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is seen by many as a noxious weed. Why? We have the rise of “lawn culture” to thank whose origin stems back to 17th century England where lawns were a status of wealth. Before this landscaping trend took root in the U.S., we might have seen dandelion varieties in seed catalogs and homegrown samples entered in the county fair during the 1800s. But here we are 200 years later, and this delightful and tenacious little flower has been hexed by many as undesirable. And to add insult to injury, the cost of herbicides spent each year to kill this gift from nature is in the millions, impacting far more than just the dandelion. Learning about history through the lens of the common dandelion can help us understand how our culture has gone from loving to hating (and hopefully back to loving) this flowering herbaceous perennial plant. This approach to history might tap into your interests in nutrition, medicine, culinary arts, agriculture, social studies, ecology, and even mythology. Start your history lesson with this short video “Dandelions and Civilization: A Forgotten History” by The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered.
Every year, Americans exchange an average of 142 million Valentine’s Day cards – making the holiday near the top of the list of card-exchanging holidays (second only to Christmas). Valentines come in many different shapes and sizes, and can be handmade or store bought, clever and creative, or very traditional. Whatever form they come in, the valentines that we exchange each year have their roots right here in western Massachusetts, and are symbolic of the love, caring, and appreciation that we have for the important people around us.
In 19th century New England, the winter season was a time for gathering and socializing with family, friends, and neighbors. As the fields lay dormant in anticipation off the agricultural season, rural New Englanders used the cold season as a time for meeting friends, having conversations, and visiting with one another. Before the telephone or telegraph, visiting a friend’s home was a way to share news, gossip, and stories. Now with the invention of social media, automobiles, and blended fabrics, how do communities gather in the winter months, celebrating local culture and strengthening their sense of place?
Step back in time to a simpler day when holiday celebrations involved cooking over an open fire and illuminating homes with candlelight – the holiday season offers opportunities to experience celebrations of the past at three different living history museums! Families can explore, watch demonstrations, and engage in hands-on activities in order to learn about the ways in which the holiday season was honored in early New England.
Hilltown Families and Mass Appeal (a weekday, hour-long lifestyle program on NBC) have teamed up to offer a live monthly segment on WWLP 22News! Each month, Hilltown Families’ Founder & Executive Director, Sienna Wildfield, joins Mass Appeal hosts to talk about ways to engage in your community while supporting the interests and education of your children (and yourselves!).
This monthly segment continued on Tuesday, November 1, 2016. This month Sienna and Seth talked about ways to engage in our community in the late fall. Reviewing the newest edition of Learning Ahead, Seth and Sienna talk about learning through the lens of the food, habitat and culture found in the Nov/Dec issue of Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western MA:
Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western Massachusetts is a bimonthly publication produced by Hilltown Families that sheds light on embedded learning opportunities found in cultural resources that exist within the geography, history, and cultural traditions of Western Massachusetts.
With these downloadable seasonal itineraries, self-directed teens, lifelong learners, and families are encouraged to engage together in cultural opportunities that support similar interests, resulting in a shared history, strengthening sense of place.
Looking through a seasonal lens, our Cultural Itinerary for Western Massachusetts for November and December includes…
Local Hauntings Hauntings and history go together because ghosts are often traditionally seen as apparitions that once lived and therefore represent a past not entirely forgotten because it crosses realms and lingers in the present and future. Many historic tales of hauntings are passed down through oral histories of places. Through word of mouth, legends and ghost stories are passed down from generation to generation and become a part of a town… Read More
Hilltown Families on Mass Appeal: Foliage, Pumpkins & Hauntings Hilltown Families and Mass Appeal (a weekday, hour-long lifestyle program on NBC) have teamed up to offer a live monthly segment on WWLP 22News! Each month, Hilltown Families’ Founder & Executive Director, Sienna Wildfield, joins Mass Appeal hosts to talk about ways to engage in your community while supporting the interests and education of your children (and yourselves!). This monthly segment continued on… Read More
Hilltown Families and Mass Appeal (a weekday, hour-long lifestyle program on NBC) have teamed up to offer a live monthly segment on WWLP 22News! Each month, Hilltown Families’ Founder & Executive Director, Sienna Wildfield, joins Mass Appeal hosts to talk about ways to engage in your community while supporting the interests and education of your children (and yourselves!).
This monthly segment continued on Monday, August 29, 2016. This month Sienna and Lauren talked about agricultural fairs, fall festivals, one room schoolhouses and apples featured in the debut of “Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western MA.”
Who am I? Where am I? These are the fundamental questions proposed by the humanities. Inquiries related to local history, literature, and education, inspire us to think deeply about the places where we live and how our identity fits into the context of our community and the seasons.
Funded in part by Mass Humanities, Learning Ahead: Cultural Itinerary for Western Massachusetts is a NEW bimonthly publication produced by Hilltown Families that sheds light on embedded learning opportunities found in cultural resources that exist within the geography, history, and cultural traditions of Western Massachusetts.
By emphasizing place-based exploration through humanities inquiry, these cultural itineraries connect residents of all ages to their place, helping to shape a more comprehensive understanding of our cultural identity, heritage, and history. This contributes to establishing meaningful relationships between young people and elders, and more active citizens.
With these FREE downloadable seasonal itineraries, self-directed teens, lifelong learners, and families are encouraged to engage together in cultural opportunities that support similar interests, resulting in a shared history and a strengthened sense of place. Click through to download a free 38-page PDF!
Examining the world from a “what if” perspective, AlternateHistoryHub is filled with videos considering what the world would be like if important historical events had either not taken place or had a different outcome. Challenging viewers to think about the role that events have in shaping all that follows, the YouTube channel is filled with fascinating videos that can be used for formal learning – or for fun.
Are your children or teens interested in history? What about swordfighting? Learning about history can be extra engaging with an intersecting interest, especially one which can be active and participatory. Here are community-based resources to learn about history through an interest in sword-fighting, along with fencing classes, theater and film.
Opened as an arsenal to support George Washington’s troops during the Revolutionary War, the Springfield Armory served as a major arms manufacturing center for over two centuries. The Armory closed in 1968, becoming a National Historic Site which now provides families with opportunities to explore the intersection of local and national history.
Though western Massachusetts isn’t known as a sports mecca, it’s filled with community-based resources for exploring sports and the history behind them. As the birthplace of at least two major sports and home to teams and clubs engaging in a great many more, the area offers a variety of ways to learn about sports of all kind.
Nutritional Anthropology and Culinary Education Every culture has its own set of values, rituals, and traditions surrounding food. The staple ingredients, indulgences, and forbidden fruits of a given culture are influenced by agricultural systems, habitat, ethical concepts, and religious beliefs. Holidays and celebrations around the world are associated with traditional and ritual foods. Have you ever wondered why birthday cakes are round? Or why latkes are fried during Hanukkah and Buche de… Read More
Local bike ride modeled after rides across the pond, bring placemaking to the streets while raising funds and learning through the lens of history!
Spotlighting a different event in Massachusetts history for every day of the year, Mass Moments makes the state’s history accessible and exciting for learners of all ages. Alongside information about each event, families can find links to further resources and locations to visit – making for an all-encompassing community-based learning experience!
Food is a delectable lens through which to explore local history and culture: not only is it delicious, but it’s something that is a part of everyone’s life, no matter age or socioeconomic status. Eating is a universal human experience, and the what and why of this experience speaks volumes to the context in which we live our lives.
Covering the contents of local plates over the last 250 years, Historic Northampton’s “Table Talk” spotlights the changes that the city’s food-centric downtown has seen. Speaking to food and many other topics, the exhibit offers a unique opportunity for community-based learning.
This week on the Hilltown Family Variety Show, David Grover is our Guest DJ with a History through Stories & Songs Episode. David puts together an eclectic mix of favorite folk songwriters and singers that highlights the history of our country. (Original broadcast: May 25th & 26th, 2013.)
Support Hilltown Families: Vote for Hilltown Families as “Best Blog” in the Valley Advocate’s Best of the Valley Readers’ Poll for 2016!
The past helps to explain the present, and by examining history from multiple perspectives, much can be learned about the struggle for equal rights. Using radio series Beyond Affliction and resources from the Disability History Museum, families can consider history from the perspective of people with disabilities.
Western Massachusetts was once filled with numerous mining and quarry operations, and studies of geology and local history overlap with explorations of former mine and quarry sites! We’ve highlighted four such gems that families can easily visit this summer.
Were your ancestors immigrants? Are you finding a need to better understand the immigrant experience in Western Massachusetts? Wistariahurst Museum has lined up a series of historical lectures to examine various immigrant communities in the Pioneer valley and to better understand the cultural enrichment these folks brought with them.
Next week, the celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 19th, 2015, presents families with a three-day weekend. Instead of spending your extra day off sleeping in and lazing around the house, highlight the historical significance of the holiday for your family and find a way to make it meaningful. Families can find special events and service opportunities taking place across western Massachusetts, each of which presents students with the chance to learn experientially about the history of oppression in our country, community activism, and the importance of kindness and a commitment to serve others. Here are six ways to celebrate with your community and family in meaning ways in western MA…
The Pioneer Valley has a long and rich history, and clues to life in the past are everywhere – as long as we know where to look! Using online resources from the Memorial Hall Museum and the Museum of our Industrial Heritage, families can take a virtual tour of the once-bustling neighborhood of Cheapside port – now just a street in southeastern Greenfield.
Rich with community history, cemeteries across western Massachusetts offer families a variety of rich learning experiences this fall. From gravestone rubbings to tours of historic burying grounds, there are many ways in which families can tap into the knowledge buried amongst the graves.
Western Mass has a strong bond to the fall season, through the seasonal foods we produce and the dynamic beauty that comes with the leaves changing color. At Historic Deerfield, all ages can immerse themselves in New England fall traditions through experiential learning. A series of historic trade events and demonstrations support the fantastic and unique interactive learning opportunity that fall and Historic Deerfield offer combined. Read on to plan your family fall visit!
Western MA has always had a great attitude towards the preservation of history and amplifying the many events and stories of the state’s rich historical past. Historical societies and museums are terrific community-based educational resources families can access to support a better understanding of where we live and strengthening a sense of place in our children and ourselves. During the warmer months the public has access to many of these resources when otherwise are closed during the colder months.
The many great institutions across the western part of the state open their doors during this time of year to the best kind of community based learning, through meticulous preservation and innovative programming. Once you read on, you’ll see you can fill up your summer calendar easily with local history, and provide an enriching learning platform for you and your kids.
Emily Dickinson, born and raised in Amherst, MA, is one of western Massachusetts many notable poets and writers. The Emily Dickinson Museum, comprising of the Dickinson Homestead and The Evergreens, welcomes families, children and writers into Emily’s life as lived in the Pioneer Valley in the 1800’s.
One of the best times to visit the Homestead and to check out the community-based educational opportunities this local resources offers, is during the museum’s upcoming annual Garden Days. There will be many opportunities to for community engagement, including volunteering, workshops, family gardening activities, and times to reflect and feel the inspiration of the Pioneer Valley as Emily did over 150 years ago!
At Worthington Historical Society real-life experiential education, blogs and online resources offer families a wealth of local history to support a wide assortment of learning. During the summer, walking tours offer families a chance to connect the dots between then and now.
Discover the complex story of Greenfield, a city stamped with impressive architecture, art history, diverse restaurants, community gardens, and an innovative eye to the future, during a day long tour, “Spring into Greenfield: A Trolley Ride Through our Town’s History and Architecture.” This enriching trip weaves together the many aspects of community crucial to the workings of a vibrant and progressive city, and will provide a unique lens into learning about a diverse, yet connect, series of interests!
Cultural Itineraries
- Season: January & February
- Season: March & April
- Season: May & June
- Season: July & August
- Season: September & October
- Season: November & December
