High Quality
Open the downloaded document, and select print from the file menu (PDF reader required).
Preservation Across Massachusetts
August 2009
Board of Directors/Staff
Drumming up Rural Industries inMassachusetts
Most Endangered Updates
Announcements
Corporate SponsorsPlatinum / $25,000
Winn Development
Gold / $10,000
Boston Red Sox
Benefactor / $5,000
Bank of America BayNorth Capital
Consigli Construction Co., Inc.
First Resource Development Holland + Knight
Keith Construction Ltd. Mira Development
Murtha Cullina LLPWessling Architects Inc.
Greetings!
As we approach mid-August and realize that summer is winding down, staff at PM has beenworking on a number of exciting projects all with a view toward this upcoming year. Our MostEndangered nominations, membership renewals and advocacy calls keep us busy across the state.We can hardly believe that PM will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary in 2010! I'm especially
excited about the new
Profiles in Preservation
program, which we believe is a great way torecognize and celebrate the achievements of so many individuals who have made a difference in
the landscape of historic preservation across Massachusetts. It is our intention to recognize andhonor these amazing individuals as we celebrate our 25th Anniversary at our Annual Dinner at theFairmont Copley Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, May 5th 2010. It is our fondest hope that you willnominate an individual or individuals who you believe should be recognized for their good work.Read on and learn a little more.-Jim
Profiling Preservation in Massachusetts
2010 marks Preservation Massachusetts' 25th Anniversary as the statewide non-profit promotingthe preservation of our Commonwealth. In celebrating this milestone event, we wish to
acknowledge those individuals who have made a difference in the landscape of historicpreservation in Massachusetts. PM wanted to find a way to share the stories, successes (andlosses) that made the Massachusetts preservation community what it is today.
Profiles in Preservation
is a way to recognize the amazing achievements of so many individuals.
From the founders of some of our state's strongest non-profits and local preservation advocates topro-active legislators and developers adaptively re-using historic structures, their instrumental
contributions have made Massachusetts' preservation what it is today.As PM envisions it,
Profiles in Preservation
will be a chronology of the preservation, told throughthe people who founded the non-profits, saved the homes, championed legislation, rehabbed themills. From the often unsung local advocates to the innovative developers to legislators, each
story and effort has advanced preservation from an idea to a broader ethic, bridging economicsand sustainable building. Those individuals included in
Profiles in Preservation
will be honored
at
Preservation Massachusetts' 25th Anniversary Dinner on May 5, 2010
at the FairmontCopley Plaza in Boston.The
Profiles
will be selected through a nomination process. Nomination forms are available on
PM's website, www.preservationmass.org or call 617-723-3383 for a hard copy or with questions.Deadline for submission is October 2, 2009.Make your nomination to Profiles in Preservation today!
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.
Patron / $2,000 - $2,500
DAIQ/D'Agostino Izzo Quirk
Nixon Peabody LLP The Architectural Team
********************
Board of Directors
Claudia S. Wu - ChairJack Hodgkins -Vice ChairDouglas Kelleher - ClerkPhilip A. Madonia- TreasurerJames G. Alexander, FAIAPamela BaileyDaniel R. BenoitThomas F. BirminghamJean Carroon, FAIAKara CicchettiStuart GregermanFrank T. KeefeDaniel KolodnerTodd McCabeJames McDermottMichael H. RosenbergYanni TsipisRita WalshFran Weld
Staff
James W. IgoePresidentErin D. A. KellyAssistant DirectorAnulfo G. BaezOffice ManagerElsa FitzgeraldSpecial Projects Manager
Drumming up Rural Industries Preservation
As I ride the circuit through central and western Massachusetts, it'salways fun to discover sites that embody a family tradition ofpreservation, whether it's an 18th-century family farm or a businesshanded down for generations. The Noble & Cooley Drum Company(http://www.noblecooley.com) in Granville is a perfect example. Thisfamily-owned and managed industrial plant has operated in the samehistoric buildings for more than 100 years. Noble & Cooley's ownershave a long legacy of preserving buildings, equipment, documents,artifacts, images, industrial processes, and the stories that surround
them. The current generation has become stewards, not only of theirfamily business, but also of their community's industrial heritage.In the small rural town of Granville, Noble & Cooley Co. has made drums for more than 150 years.Established in 1854 by Silas Noble and James P. Cooley, the firm grew from a cottage industry to a
major manufacturer within less than two decades. By 1873, the company produced 100,000 drumsa year, from toys to military instruments. Noble & Cooley became such an important business inGranville that its factory is on the town seal.Jonathan ("Jay") Jones, the company's current president and the great-great-great grandson ofJames P Cooley, is the sixth generation of Cooley descendants to operate the factory. Jay jokes
that he spent much of his after-school time "being a general nuisance around the factory." In 1973,Jay began working at the factory full-time, and has been there ever since. When Jay married, his
wife Carol also became involved in the business. Their son Nick will be the seventh generationinvolved in the family business.At the company's peak of operation in the1970s, the factory ran two shifts, with sixtyworkers on the day shift and thirty to forty onthe night shift. In 1984, Noble & Cooley addedthe manufacture of high-end performance
snare drums and drum sets to its productionline. It turned out to be a wise decision. In2002, when pressure from cheap importspushed Noble & Cooley out of the toy drummarket, the company shifted entirely tocustom-manufacturing high-end professional
instruments. Striving to create a 100%American-made product, Jay uses locallyharvested oak, cherry, and maple, with eachwood giving a different resonance to the instrument. Precision woodworking and metalworking andquality craftsmanship have made Noble & Cooley drums the choice of performers like Phil Collinsand drummers for Paul McCartney, John Mellancamp, Green Day, and the Woody Herman Band.The family has managed to keep the business flexible enough to change with the times withoutlosing sight of its history. "The historical aspect [of the business] has always been key," according
to Jay's sister Liz. Jay and Liz's grandmother and mother became company and family historians,giving presentations on Noble & Cooley's history to a wide range of audiences and welcominggroups to the plant for tours. The family has preserved James Cooley's 19th-century diaries,
historic business records, and a collection of company products and equipment, including an
innovative eight-color printing machine and an 1870s steam-bending machine (still used in thebusiness today) for curving the wood for drum shells from 6" to 20" in diameter. Much of the 19thand 20th-century drum-making equipment is still operational, and is used for demonstrations at
Interns
Patrick CondonJohn HarrisonCourtney Whelan
Circuit Riders
In Parnership withthe National Trust for HistoricPreservationMichele P. BarkerDorr FoxSteve Moga
Support PreservationMassachusetts!
***********
Preservation Massachusetts isentirely supported by ourCorporate and IndividualMembers and Foundations.Find out about Corporatebenefits, events, programsand take an active role inpreserving our Commonwealth.Our Fiscal year ends September30, 2009! Join or renew yourmembership today!www.preservationmass.org
******************UpcomingPreservationMasschusetts' Events
Join us on
WednesdayOctober 28, 2009
for the
Massachusetts MostEndangered HistoricResources Fall Event
atNixon Peabody LLP!
More details to follow in the coming months
Mark your calendars and join us on
May 5th, 2010 for the 23rd AnnualAwards Dinner
at theFairmont Copley PlazaHotel!
More details to follow in the coming
Noble & Cooley's 4th of July and Harvest Fair festivities. Jay can whip through the fifteen steps ofcreating a toy drum in an amazing five minutes. New England's visitors-and even someresidents-often don't realize how manyindustries like Noble & Cooley once thrived insmall rural towns. Liz , Jay, and Carolrecognize that Noble & Cooley is just one part
of the larger story of New England'ssometimes forgotten rural manufacturers.Wanting to create a formal organization tocommemorate the rural industries of Granvilleand surrounding towns, in 2007 the familyfounded the Noble & Cooley Center forHistoric Preservation (NCCHP -http://www.ncchp.org/) with the help of adedicated board of directors. At this time, onefloor of the factory has become a museum exhibiting Noble & Cooley products, equipment, images,and documents. Artifacts from other area rural industries will eventually be added to the NCCHP'scollections and exhibits. Special events, like the July 4th and Harvest Fair demonstrations and anice harvest on the millpond, bring the past to life for visitors. But the NCCHP is still in its infancy; it's
a constant challenge to maintain a successful business while trying to get a new nonprofit off theground.
Both the manufacturing operation and the NCCHP currently occupy only one of the complex's threemain buildings. The two vacant buildings need utility services and weatherization before they canbe functional again. If the buildings are rehabilitated, Jay and Carol hope to attract cottage
industries and craftspeople to the site, making it a center to foster rural industries of the future aswell as preserving the history of rural industries of the past.
Michele Barker is the Circuit Rider Western Massachusetts.
The Circuit Rider Program is in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Where Are They Now?
Most Endangered Updates!
are in the spotlight again. Both are in need of preservation-mindeddevelopers. Anyone who is interested in the properties shouldcontact Central/Western Mass. Circuit Rider Michele Barker (671-999-3256, mpbarker@preservationmass.org) for more information.
Abijah Clark House, Hubbardston
- Listed in 2001This circa 1814 Federal-style house on the Hubbardston town common has changed very little
since the 19th century. That's a mixed blessing. The house has retained most of its original interiorand exterior features, but modern utilities were never installed. The building unfortunately shares asite with the Wheeler Brothers Store, creating problems for parking and septic system installation.Things looked hopeful when new owners acquired the Clark House and Wheeler store just after theinitial MER listing. The buyers made wonderful progress rehabilitating the store and its second-floor
living areas, but were not able to begin work on the Clark House. Unfortunately, the owners arereluctantly having to sell the Wheeler Store property that both buildings are on, and are very
concerned that the Clark house will be demolished and lost forever. The Clark House once moreseeks an adventurous owner willing to rehabilitate it. Relocation to another site might be necessary.
Nichewaug Inn, Petersham- Listed in 2003
The Nichewaug Inn is
situated in the PetershamCommon National Register
and Local Historic District, atthe center of a quaint, picture-perfect, New England town. The inn was built in 1899 by Edmund
Willson (of Stone, Carpenter & Willson and formerly of McKim, Meade & White). It's a turn-of-the-century, Shingle Style inn, which was converted into a girls school in the 1950s. The building is
vacant and the town currently owns it. A task force is currently determining the future of thebuilding, and will gladly provide hard facts about the structure and facilities. The task force prefers
Add a Comment