Events

FEBRUARY
Medford Businesses Through Time
Speakers: Max Heinegg, Medford Brewing; Douglas L. Heath and Alison C. Simcox, Local Historians/Authors; Rep. Paul J. Donato, Massachusetts House of Representatives
Thursday, February 26, at 7:00 p.m., Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library, 111 High Street. (Register)

In recognition of the 100^th anniversary of Medford Chamber of Commerce, panel participants will look at Medford businesses over time. Historians Doug Heath and Alison Simcox will talk about early Medford industries – shipbuilding, rum making, granite quarrying, brickmaking, Max Heinegg will talk about brewing in Medford, and Rep. Paul Donato will give a brief history of the Chamber of Commerce. Join us and learn about Medford’s initial industries and subsequent contributions to Massachusetts’ economy.

MARCH
The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon
Speaker: Laurie Gwen Shapiro, Documentary Filmmaker and Journalist
Thursday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m., Charlotte and William Bloomberg
Medford Public Library, 111 High Street. (Register)

The Aviator and the Showman unveils the untold story of Amelia’s decade-long marriage to George Putnam, offering an intimate exploration of their relationship and the pivotal role it played in her enduring legacy. Despite her outwardly modest and humble image, Amelia was fiercely driven and impossibly brave, a lifelong feminist and trailblazer in her personal and professional life. Putnam, the so-called “PT Barnum of publishing” was a bookselling visionary—but often pushed his authors to extreme lengths in the name of publicity, and no one bore that weight more than Amelia. Their ahead-of-its time partnership supported her grand ambitions—but also pressed her into more and more treacherous stunts to promote her books, influencing a certain recklessness up to and including her final flight. In this new account, Laurie Gwen Shapiro will emphasize Earhart’s multifaceted human side, her struggles, and her authentic aspirations, the truths behind her brave pursuits and the compromises she made to fit into societal expectations. Drawing from a trove of new sources including undiscovered audio interviews, The Aviator and the Showman is a gripping and passionate tale of adventure, colorful characters, hubris, and a complex and a vivid portrait of a marriage that shaped the trajectory of an iconic life.

APRIL
Clippership Connector
Speaker: Amber Christoffersen, Greenways Planner/Designer, Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
Thursday, April 9, at 7:00 p.m., Charlotte and William Bloomberg
Medford Public Library, 111 High Street. (Register)

Learn about the Mystic River Plan from 2009, the larger Mystic River Greenway, the community-driven effort to initiate the project, and the design, permitting and construction process that led to what we see today. The Clippership Connector is a new, half-mile multi-use path in Medford, that connects Medford Square to Riverbend Park and the existing Mystic River Greenway system. It provides a safe and scenic off-street route for pedestrians and cyclists, linking over 10 miles of contiguous paths between the square, Anderw/McGlynn Schools, and the parks along the Mystic River. The project is a collaboration between the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and the City of Medford.