Dream Kitchen!

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • April 13, 2020

Ms. Florence’s Stove

Soon, we all will be able to have a more in-depth look at the Higginbotham House, owned by the Museum of African American History (MAAH) in Boston. This house is part of the complex on York Street that includes the African Meetinghouse. The MAAH has been working hard to conserve and restore Ms. Florence’s house, as well as the outbuildings associated with the property. On Nantucket today, we have lost most of these outbuildings that were once (and still can be) important components of the running of a household – and sometimes a home-run business or two.


The house may look a bit later nineteenth/early twentieth century but it actually was built sometime not long after 1774 when Seneca Boston purchased it. Seneca had been a slave and purchased this lot long before slavery was abolished in the Commonwealth. He and his wife, Thankful Micah, who was Wampanoag, would raise six children here including the famed Absalom Boston. Absalom would captain the all-black crewed whaleship the Industry and play a leading role in the integration of the island’s schools – and in building the Meetinghouse next door to his birthplace.

Ms. Florence purchased the property in the early twentieth century and would also purchase the Meetinghouse which would help to preserve it. The image you see here is post-restoration work. One room is believed to be largely in its eighteenth century condition but the rest of the house saw a renovation by Ms. Florence as she did take in boarders and wanted to accommodate such an arrangement. MAAH worked to keep the house mainly at Ms. Florence’s inhabitance. And from a preservation standpoint it is important to show the evolution of a house – not to always bring it back to what you “think” it looked like – even if based on testing. (The Mitchell House has a myriad of things that are late nineteenth century and very early twentieth century – before it became a museum and during Maria’s uncle’s family’s inhabitance of the House.)

Front sitting room likely in 18th century condition. Ms. Florence removed the chimney mass to make a full front staircase.


The room I show here is her kitchen – with her original re-built stove (it was in pieces in an outbuilding but she saved it!). My immediate reaction when I saw it – and the entire house –I’m moving in! This is my dream kitchen though my stove is a bit later – think the stove in the Connecticut house in “Christmas in Connecticut” or some of the stoves seen in several early Katherine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy films. The cabinets are wonderful, the sink and counters gorgeous. Now, if they’d let me cook in it and stay awhile.



Congratulations MAAH!


JNLF

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NANTUCKET, MA— Please join us in person at the Maria Mitchell Association’s Research Center, 2 Vestal Street, or online via Zoom, on Wednesday, August 6, 5pm – 7pm, for a very special presentation of this summer’s astronomy research. The MMA’s National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) 2025 interns will present their research on everything from glowing supernovae and mysterious variable stars to ways dust affects the light we see. The MMA’s Maria Mitchell Observatory operates the NSF-REU program each summer and has done so for decades. The program, funded by a generous grant from the National Science Foundation, allows the MMA to bring six top undergraduate students to the MMA each summer who are selected out of a pool of over 250 applicants from around the United States. The NSF-REU interns come to Nantucket for ten to twelve weeks during the summer to participate in astrophysics research projects. While on Nantucket, the NSF-REU interns also participate in the outreach efforts of the Astronomy Department, primarily by hosting public Open Nights at the Loines Observatory. This summer’s five NSF-REU interns and their research presentations are: Madison Gerard (University of Texas at Austin): How Low Can You Glow? Analyzing the Low-Luminosity SN IIP 2024abfl Kaylee Perez (Texas State University): How Dust Changes the Light We See: Exploring the Link Between Dust Extinction and Attenuation with Simulated Data Lauren Barkey (California Poly Pomona): Peek-a-Boo!: Exploring the NEOWISE Lightcurves of R Coronae Borealis Variable Stars Aiden Agostinelli (University of Montana) & Ben Radmore (University of Michigan): When the Dust Settles: Late-Time Infrared Imaging of SN 2011ja This event is free to the public. This presentation is offered both in person and online via Zoom. Pre-registration is required. Register for in person here : https://112458a.blackbaudhosting.com/112458a/Science-Speaker-Series---MMA-x-NSF-REU-Interns-A Register for Zoom here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U5mGYBdESzKI8z_HX835eA The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA), founded in 1902, is a recognized leader in inspiring and training the next generation of astronomers and scientists. Since the Astronomy Department’s inception, hundreds of undergraduate students, the great majority of them women, have discovered the joy of doing astronomical research surrounded by the natural beauty and dark skies of Nantucket Island. Many have gone on to successful careers as astronomers at leading universities, observatories, and other organizations. In fact, it is estimated that one of every twenty American women PhDs in astronomy today acquired their first research experience at the MMA’s Maria Mitchell Observatory. The organization’s success in STEM education was recognized in 2009 with the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama for its half-century long program of mentoring student research in astronomy. Over the years, several MMA NSF-REU interns have won the prestigious Chambliss Astronomy Achievement Student Award, including in each of the past five American Astronomical Society winter meetings, a testament to the quality of the MMA’s astronomy internship program. Approximately 90% of MMA astronomy interns have gone on to astrophysics Ph.D. programs. The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###
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