Friends of Minute Man National Park

A new American Revolution Round Table has been established at Minute Man National Historical Park (ARRT-MMNHP). The inaugural meeting has been set for September 27, 2010, Monday night, from 7 to 9 pm at the Visitor Center near the Battle Road and Route 2A.

The American Revolution Round Table is sponsored by the Lincoln Public Library, the Minute Man National Historical Park, and the Tufts University Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. The purpose of ARRT-MMNHP is to provide a nonacademic, informal continuing forum to review and discuss notable and recent books and research findings about the major events and personalities of the American Revolution. In addition, the Round Table is intended to: (1) Encourage the study and discussion of the ideals of the American Revolutionary War; (2) Promote better understanding of the pivotal events and personalities of the American Revolution, and (3) Increase public awareness of the meaning, significance and legacy of the American Revolution.

At the September 27th meeting, the group will first discuss organizational plans, to be followed by a discussion of Ray Raphael’s book, The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord. Raphael’s book is an important study documenting the rebellion that actually took place in the countryside across Massachusetts in 1774, leading up to the fateful conflict of April 19,1775 that broke out at the Battle Green of Lexington and the following confrontation at Concord’s North Bridge.

For those interested in participating in the new American Revolution Round Table, please call to reserve a place. There is no charge for the first meeting, with a modest $25 annual membership fee to follow afterward. Meetings will be held three times a year, in the fall, winter and spring. Questions and calls should be directed to Mel Bernstein, Moderator, at (781) 259-9926, or mbern9@gmail.com.

Get all the latest news from the Friends of Minute Man! Members have been mailed their Summer 2010 Quarterly Courier and now it’s also available for downloading and reading online.

The Quarterly Courier Summer 2010

Have ideas, stories, or  photos to share for the next issue? We welcome submissions and are always interested to hear and see what others are enjoying in the Park. Send your ideas to info@friendsofminuteman before August 15th to be included!

The Colonel James Barrett
300th Birthday Party and Open House

Saturday, July 31
10:00 am – 5:00 pm

448 Barrett’s Mill Road, Concord

Minute Men and British companies
Fife & Drum; camping, cooking; musket salute
Horse driven field plowing for hiding weapons
British house search re-enactments
Musket & cartridge maker experts
Historians and authors
Restoration specialists
Blacksmiths, timber framers, craftsmen
Archaeology and artifacts
Tour the house and see the latest restoration work- windows, claps, orginal paint finishes
Barrett descendants – are you one? Review genealogy data

Restoration of Barrett Farm has been generously supported by the Town of Concord Community Preservation Fund, Save America’s Treasures Preservation Fund, and many private donations

For more information, www.saveourheritage.com 978-369-6662

Not to worry… thanks to Friends member and volunteer photographer Jerry Callaghan, you can experience the April Battle Road living history event through his pictures! In addition, he was also on hand to take photographs of the ever-popular Battle Road Heroes program presented by the Guild of Historic Interpreters the following weekend.

Click on the photo to see more Battle Road event images….

See more from the popular Battle Road Heroes event….

Thank you Jerry!

Do you have photos to share? Send us an email at info@friendsofminuteman.org… or ask about our new group on Flickr. You can upload photos to share that you’ve taken while at Minute Man National Historical Park!

Last Sunday, The Friends of Minute Man made their debut appearance in the 2010 Sundays in the Park series and we met lots of interesting people! Thanks to everyone who stopped by our location near the Hartwell Tavern parking area, and particularly to Franny Sacco and Gary Baker for helping setup our Friends tents.

This was our Favorite Faces & Places display that we encouraged Friends members and visitors to add their names too. As the weeks continue, we’ll replace their names with the photographs that were taken at the park. You can see that North Bridge and Hartwell Tavern were two of the hot spots mentioned last week!

We were able to meet first time visitors, longtime Friends’ members, and even make some new friends.  Friends’ Member Paul O’Shaughnessy is pictured at left with friends, Adam and Steve.

Today, Sunday, June 6th, the Friends will be back in the Park from 2-4 near the Minute Man Visitor Center, 250 North Great Road in Lincoln, Ma. We’ll continue to capture your favorite places in the park and add more photos to our favorite faces!

Want to meet more Friends in the Park? Stop by the Hartwell Tavern this afternoon from 2-4 and get to know the Friends of Minute Man National Park! Add your comments to our Favorite Faces & Places Display and tell us what you love best about Minute Man National Historical Park.

We’ll be in a different location each Sunday afternoon – so watch our blog and website to learn where we’ll be and what special activity we have planned each week.

Interested in helping? Let us know by emailing carrie@friendsofminuteman.org. Come join the fun!

The Friends want to do just that! Come spend an hour or two volunteering with Membership Director Carrie Midura on Sunday afternoons at Minute Man Park. Each week, from 2-4pm, we’ll pick a new location, set up a shaded tent, a table and chairs and chat with fellow members, visitors, enjoy activities and even the occasional picnic! We’ll feature different locations and activities each week, from photography to story-sharing to games and scavenger hunts.

Get to know your fellow members and discover new locations in the park to visit. To sign up as a volunteer for a Sunday afternoon session, please email carrie@friendsofminuteman.org. The Friends will be spending Sundays in the park from late May through September – be sure to check our website or voicemail to find out where we will be each week!

Kudos go out to our ten Bucket Brigade team members (plus Rosie the dog) for being friendly faces at the 2010 Battle Road event at Minute Man National Historical Park today! They braved the chilly weather and intermittent drizzle to talk with visitors, hand out membership information, collect donations and reward donors with stickers!

Thank you to Adrienne Beaver for taking our photo!

I’m thrilled to report that the Bucket Brigade raised just over $600 in donations, plus we received two new memberships at the event. In addition, the bucket brigade team members handed out over 400 stickers and nearly that many membership discount cards. That’s a lot more people who are now familiar with the Friends and if you were one of the many visitors that helped the Friends today, thank you!

It was wonderful to connect with so many visitors to the park, many of whom were local and very enthusiastic despite the inclement weather. The Friends website (www.friendsofminuteman.org/br2010) will feature the Battle Road 2010 discount membership promotion through next weekend and we look forward to welcoming many new Friends to our community!

The Colonial Tavern Dinner held on April 14th at the park’s historic Noah Brooks Tavern was a rousing success.  Guests enjoyed colonial-themed appetizers and rum punch while listening to colonial music and playing historic parlor games of chance.  This was followed by a gala dinner.  Many thanks to the committee who put this wonderful event together: Membership Director Carrie Midura, Brigid Kennedy-Pfister, Pat Costello, Frances Sacco, Edward Treace, Jennifer Voss, and park Superintendent Nancy Nelson.

Thanks are also extended to our 18th century volunteers, Jeremy & Nancy Bell, Eric Chetwynd,  Shane Clarke, Jane Coughlin, Erin Johnston, Lorien Moore, Kimball Tarr, and Dan Voss for adding a true colonial flavor and spirit to the event. We were also delighted to have Short Order Gourmet as the caterer for the evening and West Concord Liquors provided the refreshments, including an evening port tasting. Floral Fantasies of Tyngsboro prepared the stunning floral and fruit decor and Upstairs Antiques loaned several sets of brass candlesticks just for the event. Thank you to one and all for making the event a success.

Membership Director Carrie Midura welcomes Barbara Buchan and Jane Herlacher

Jane Coughlin and Laurien Moore take a break from serving

The Bells with Superintendent Nelson

William Hill, Jane Adams and Punchmaster Jeremy Bell

Musicians Eric Chetwynd, Erin Johnston, Nancy Bell and Friends President Bob Morris

Neil Rasmussen and Anna West Winter try their luck with Gaming Master Kimball Tarr

Guests enjoying the first course.

Warmth and enjoyment emanated into the night.