A Page from North Quabbin History: Preserving the historic textiles

Among the items recently added to the Athol Historical School’s collection is a junior high band uniform, donated by Claire Starrett.

Among the items recently added to the Athol Historical School’s collection is a junior high band uniform, donated by Claire Starrett. PHOTO BY MICHAEL ADAMS

Lace dresses from the past which are part of the Athol Historical Society’s collection are displayed on mannequins.

Lace dresses from the past which are part of the Athol Historical Society’s collection are displayed on mannequins. PHOTO BY MICHAEL ADAMS

Dresses which are part of the Athol Historical Society's collection span a wide variety of styles and eras.

Dresses which are part of the Athol Historical Society's collection span a wide variety of styles and eras. PHOTO BY MICHAEL ADAMS

Published: 10-14-2024 5:02 PM

Modified: 10-17-2024 3:07 PM


By Carla Charter

Over the summer, Athol Historical Society President Michael Adams began working on the organizing and preservation of the society's textiles.

While attending college at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Adams said he took several classes on textiles, including one on antique textile preservation.

“My organizing the museum started out as simply preserving and stabilizing our textiles. Like a string on the sleeve of a sweater I started pulling and I was knee-deep in all of the society's collections,” Adams said. “It was like I was on a walkabout and the museum was the Australian outback. I was engrossed in the process and I found it hard to leave.

Adams said he spent the summer in and out of the building, working mostly in the evenings, estimating that he put in over 175 hours, which provided him the chance to really know and understand the collections.

“Our collection of clothing is vast and diverse, both in style and era. We have women’s dresses that date back to the 1860s in the Prairie Style, with calico prints on simple cotton, to high style Civil War-era Victorian jewel-toned silk dresses with bustles, corsets, hidden snaps and closures,” he said. “These clothes were highly engineered and seem cruel to the woman who had to wear them. At the turn of the century, women’s clothing became more relaxed and we have three Edwardian white lace day dresses that are so delicate and almost dizzying with the level of lace and embroidery work.”

“My absolute favorite items are our 1920s and 30s bathing costumes. The women’s and men’s suits were very modest and made of wool and I think an early synthetic fiber for some stretch. To think toeless wool-striped thigh-high socks were walking across the sandy beaches of Lake Ellis makes me laugh,” Adams said. “We even have the most wonderful examples of ‘hand work’ quilts, lace bead work and embroidery on display. We have beautiful samplers done by school-age girls dating back almost 200 years.”

Textiles at the society can also be found in the military collection, which includes the society's oldest textile, an authentic American Revolutionary War uniform, as well as uniforms from World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Gulf War and a WWI nurses uniform.

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“The uniforms represent five of the six branches of the U.S. military, except for Space Force,” Adams said.

A recent textile donation can be found in the Athol Schools and Education collection – an Athol Junior High School band uniform donated by Clare Starrett. This collection also includes class photos of the Athol High School students dating back to 1899.

“Our oldest yearbook dates back to 1919, bound in brown suede with embossed school logo and date,” said Adams.

The textile collection is set on mannequins and coat hangers designed for preservation and are on display at the society.

“Some of my earliest memories are with my great grandmother Elizabeth (Libby) Cooke and then with my grandmother Polly Whipps as a teenager setting up the Gilman Art Show and then into adulthood,” said Adams. “I would come back to visit family from New York City on a Friday... and that Saturday I would be dusting antiques and cleaning pews with my aunt Susannah (Susannah Whipps), who was president for 20 years, whose position I took over when becoming president a year ago.”

Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.