2023 News Postings

Freedom Historical Society Presents “Freedom Artifacts and the Stories They Tell” on Wednesday, May 17 at 7 PM

Freedom Historical Society continues its 2023 speaker series on Wednesday, May 17 at 7 PM with a program entitled “Freedom Artifacts and the Stories They Tell.” The program will be presented by Bob Cottrell, local historian and Curator of the Conway Public Library’s Henney History Room. The program is free, open to the public, and will be held at Freedom Town Hall (16 Elm Street).

This in-person presentation will explore some of the hidden treasures in the collection at the Freedom Historical Society and how these artifacts tell stories about life in Freedom in years past. Many of the artifacts are in the Allard House or Works Barn Museum but not on exhibit. Bob is a fun, engaging storyteller and for this program will explore a variety of ways in which some of Freedom’s remarkable collection of historical artifacts can tell stories through exhibits, living history demonstrations and online activities.

Bob Cottrell has a Masters degree from the Winterhur Program in Early American Culture in Delaware and has worked in the history/museum field since 1980. He has worked at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Crowley Museum and Nature Center in Sarasota, FL, the St. Petersburg Historical Museum also in FL, the Connor Prairie Museum in Indiana, and at Bilikent University in Ankara, Turkey. In 1996, he became the founding Director of the Remick Country Doctor Museum and Farm in Tamworth, NH.

Members of the Freedom Historical Society and the general public are welcome and invited to attend. For more information or questions, please call (603) 491-8347.


Freedom Historical Society Presents “Writing Your Family History” on Wednesday, April 26 at 7 PM

The Freedom Historical Society continues its 2023 speaker series on April 26 with a program entitled “Writing Your Family History” by Kyle Hurst, Senior Genealogist of Newbury Free Press/New England Historic Genealogical Society. The program is free and will be presented via ZOOM at 7:00 PM. Click on the ZOOM button below to register.

(This Zoom program has already occurred.)

The program will cover the process of turning your raw data into a written narrative suitable for sharing with your family. Topics include: determining your audience, organizing your materials, choosing a genealogical format, adding citations, enhancing your narrative with stories, and decision-making before publishing.

Kyle holds a B.A. in both History and Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University. For the culmination of this program, she completed a semester-long internship at the National Archives in Waltham, MA. Her book Ancestors and Descendants of Charles Le Caron and Victoire Sprague won the 2020 National Genealogical Award for Excellence in the Genealogical and Family History category. Her areas of expertise include genealogical research in the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, and various European countries.

Members of the Freedom Historical Society and the general public are welcome, and are invited to register in advance using the ZOOM button above. Be sure to join the meeting prior to the 7 PM start time on April 26. For additional information, call 603-491-8347.


Freedom Historical Society Presents “New Hampshire on Skis” on Wednesday, March 22 at 7 PM

The Freedom Historical Society continues its 2023 monthly speaker series on March 22 with a program entitled “New Hampshire on Skis” by E. John B. Allen. Made possible by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities, the program is free and open to the public. It will be presented via ZOOM at 7:00 PM. Click on the ZOOM button below to register.

(This Zoom program has already occurred.)

First, take Scandinavian and Austrian immigrants, the Dartmouth Outing Club, the Cannon Mountain Tramway, the muscular Christian, amateur tinkerers, and Professor E. John B. Allen. Cover it with snow and shake and you have the makings of a unique New Hampshire history! Join us and learn about early skiing in the state, the importance of jumping, the mechanization of skiing, and how New England and New Hampshire fit into the big picture of America’s ski culture.

Professor Emeritus of History at Plymouth State College, John Allen was awarded the International Skiing History Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. He serves as historian for the New England Ski Museum in Franconia and is the author of several books including: From Skisport to Skiing: One Hundred Years of an American Sport; The Culture and Sport of Skiing from Antiquity to World War II; and A Historical Dictionary of Skiing. More recently he has published: Skiing in the Eye of the Artist (Vienna 2021) and Travelling the Old Ski Tracks of New England (2022). John has served as a consultant to several ski history documentary films.

Members of the Freedom Historical Society and the general public are welcome, and are invited to register in advance using the ZOOM button above. Be sure to join the meeting prior to the 7 PM start time on March 22. For additional information, call 603-491-8347.


Freedom Historical Society Presents “Moved and Seconded: Town Meeting in New Hampshire” on Wednesday, February 22 at 7 PM

(This Zoom program has already occurred.)

The Freedom Historical Society is opening the 2023 monthly speaker season on February 22 with a program presented online via Zoom by author, storyteller, and humorist Rebecca Rule. This entertaining program entitled, “Moved and Seconded: Town Meeting in New Hampshire” is made possible by a grant from New Hampshire Humanities and is free and open to the public.

Drawing from research for her book of the same name, Rebecca Rule has regaled audiences with stories of the rituals, traditions and history of town meetings, including the perennial characters, the literature, the humor, and the wisdom of this uniquely New England institution.

She has hosted the “New Hampshire Authors” series for 10 years and now hosts “Our Hometown” on NHPBS. She also writes the monthly “AYUH” column for New Hampshire Magazine. Her latest book is “That Reminds Me of a Funny Story.” She writes fiction, essays and reviews from her home in Northwood, NH.

Please register in advance using the Zoom button above, and be sure to join the meeting prior to the 7 PM start time on February 22. For additional information, call 603-491-8347.