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The first meeting of the Joint Committee on Redistricting was held today. From the website of the 187th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – a statement from the Redistricting Committee cochairs and the first scheduled meetings on the Redistricting Calendar: The Special Joint Committee on Redistricting will study…
Read More »Presentation of the traditonal “Shamrock Bowl’” President Obama – 2010 Since the Eisenhower Administration – the St. Patrick’s Day presentation of shamrocks to the President of the United States has become an important tradition. In 1952 what was then a ceremonial “box of shamrocks” became a custom-made Waterford crystal vase – now…
Read More »In this week when we celebrate St. Patrick and all things Irish, it’s natural to think back on the history of the Irish in Massachusetts – the firsts, the lasting contributions and then the prejudice. In his Boston Globe column today, Kevin Cullen tells the story of Barney McGinniskin – “the first Irish cop,…
Read More »MassMoments advises us today that on this day – March 15, 1820 – Massachusetts lost the over 30,000 square of the “province” of Maine. The relationship between Massachusetts and Maine was always rocky from the 1650s to the separation – with Maine feeling discontented by the political control, the great distance…
Read More »Erica Noonan writes from the Globe MetroDesk of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s initiative with five women’s liberal arts colleges – Barnard, Bryn Mawr and the Massachusetts colleges – Mt. Holyoke, Smith and Wellesley – now known as “The Sisters.” The focus of this partnership is “to increase the participation of…
Read More »MassMoments reminds us today that on this day – March 14, 1794 – Massachusetts native Eli Whitney applied for a patent on one of his many inventions – the cotton gin (engine). This machine was simple but it made separating the seeds from the field-grown cotton less time consuming and thus…
Read More »On this day – March 12, 1933 – just a week after his inauguration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his first national radio address or “fireside chat” broadcast directly from the White House thus launching a series talks with nation. FDR relied on simple language and folksy anecdotes or analogies to explain the often…
Read More »Some of us have vivid memories of the “Blizzard of 1978” and the harsh toll it took on our lives, our property, our schedules and our peace of mind. Imagine back nearly a century before when another blizzard hit Massachusetts. Mass Moments remind us that on this day – March…
Read More »On today’s “Political Intelligence” page of the Boston Globe, senior political writer Glen Johnson tell us of his meetings and inaction of the recently deceased writer and columnist David Broder. The site posts the actual note from Broder to Johnson – a longtime admirer – who was seeking a position with him at…
Read More »On this day March 9, 1862 – one of the most famous naval battles in history took place. This batlle between the iron-clads – the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S. Virginia (formerly the U.S.S. Merrimack*) “ushered in a new era in naval warfare.” History.com offers this account of the battle…
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