Photo of Marion Bartlett by Harriet L. P. Rice.Greetings from the Worthington Historical Society,
We’re excited to host Worthington’s Founders’ Day celebration for the second consecutive year on Saturday, July 1. Festivities will begin at 3:30 with lawn games and other family activities, followed by a potluck dinner at 6:30 (setup starting at 5:30), libations from Sena Farm Brewery, and an encore performance by saxophonist Aedan Madden’s jazz combo. All free, of course.
But that’s not all. Inside the WHS building we’ll officially launch our new exhibit Harriett Langdon Pruyn Rice (1868-1935): Seeing Worthington Through A Different Lens, with approximately 50 photographs taken by this remarkable amateur photographer from about 1892 through 1906.
Harriet L. P. Rice was an Albany, New York, resident and daughter-in-law of Worthington native William A. Rice, Sr. Her photos of Town residents – taken free of charge in their homes, fields, pastures, and door-yards – are informal, candid and utterly natural, without lighting props, costumes or enhancements. Along with her extensive journal entries and photo labels, the images capture with singular clarity the texture of everyday life in Worthington as it evolved from a remote, agrarian community to a town slowly coming to grips with the Industrial Age.
Harriet L. P. Rice photo of William G. Rice.
Rice’s considerable photographic output in Worthington was achieved with a tripod-mounted box camera and glass negatives that were transported by horse-drawn carriage back to Albany for development. The photos are magnificent depictions of New England’s hardscrabble residents in their familiar and well-worn environs, proudly greeting the camera’s eye.
The exhibit also includes photos of Rice’s husband, child, and Worthington residence. These photos were used to illustrate a re-printed edition of Snow-bound: A Winter Idyl, an extraordinarily popular poem published in 1866 by John Greenleaf Whittier. Snow-bound celebrated the New England farmhouse values of simplicity and goodness, commemorating an idealized version of the nation before the ravages of the Civil War. During the conflict, Rice’s husband’s uncle, Brigadier General James Clay Rice, died heroically at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia. Perhaps Harriet L. P. Rice provided photographic illustrations for Snow-bound to pay tribute to his sacrifice, while honoring the rustic lives enjoyed by her adopted Worthington community.
Admission to the exhibit is free (donations gratefully accepted) and our building is at 6 Williamsburg Road, by the roundabout and across from the Corners Grocery. This exhibit is supported in part by a grant from the Worthington Cultural Council, a local agency supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
See you July 1 for Founders’ Day – more information to come!
~The Worthington Historical Society
Photo by Harriet L. P. Rice.Copyright © 2023 Worthington Historical Society, All rights reserved.
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It looks like libations are free – is that correct?