Joyce (Hiers) Jones, Noble & Cooley Matriarch, 1930-2020

We are deeply saddened to note the passing of Joyce Jones of Granville, Massachusetts on November 26, 2020. 

Joyce was a direct descendant of James Cooley, co-founder of Noble & Cooley where she worked for many years. In her later years Joyce never missed an opportunity to greet visitors to the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation's summer Living History events at the museum. 

Joyce's obituary can be viewed at this link: https://thewestfieldnews.com/joyce-jones/

Donations in Joyce's memory may be made to the Noble & Cooley Center for Historic Preservation, 42 Water St., Granville, MA. or at this link: http://www.ncchp.org/charitable-giving.html  

Noble & Cooley History Featured in Journal of Antiques and Collectibles Article

The latest issue of the Journal of Antiques and Collectibles has an excellent article written by Judy Gonyeau with Jay Jones, sixth-generation owner of Noble & Cooley. The article covers the military history of drums as well as the history of N&C through the present day. It is a fascinating article, well-illustrated with historic images, many from NCCHP's archives collection.

You can read the full article at the Granville History web site (sponsored by NCCHP) by clicking THIS LINK.

Image from article "Noble & Cooley- Marching to the Sound of Their Drums"
Copyright 2020, Journal of Antiques and Collectibles

2020 GRANVILLE HARVEST FAIR CANCELLED

The 2020 Granville Harvest Fair has been cancelled due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

We look forward to once again being part of this wonderful event in 2021!

In the meantime stay safe, stay home, and take all recommended precautions. That's the best way to protect family, friends and strangers, and the fastest way to put the pandemic in the rear view mirror of history.

"AMERICA STRONG" SHIRTS BENEFIT NCCHP AND HOMEWARD VETS

The NCCHP online store is now offering "America Strong" shirts! These quality t-shirts were donated to NCCHP by a friend of the museum and are available in women's and men's sizes, in a variety of attractive colors. Proceeds benefit NCCHP, with a portion going to Homeward Vets, a Massachusetts-based non-profit dedicated to helping local veterans.

You can order your America Strong shirt by going to the NCCHP store. CLICK HERE

COVID-19 UPDATE FOR THE NCCHP MUSEUM

Although the museum is not currently open we have begun to follow the directives set out in Governor Baker's Massachusetts Reopening Plan. Museums are slated to begin opening to the public in Phase Three. The openings will be dependent on the museum formulating a Covid-19 control plan, following reduced admission criteria, employing social distancing, following hygiene protocols and more.

At NCCHP we have started filling out the plan templates and having discussions around what being "Open" will look like to museum visitors in the future. We are looking forward to the day that we can safely welcome our NCCHP friends, members and volunteers to take a step back in time again for the tours and Living History events at the museum. 

In the meantime we are continuing to work on new exhibit space, catalog the Noble & Cooley archives, and make other improvements. NCCHP is also working with the Granville Library Historical Room to continue building the Granville History online site which now has over 2000 images relating to Granville history. You can visit that site and relieve some pandemic boredom by CLICKING HERE.

We hope that you all stay safe and healthy in these challenging times. And remember, there is no better cure for pandemic boredom than finding projects that will exercise your Yankee ingenuity!

2020 MEMBERSHIP DUES UPDATE

Many members have asked about the 2020 membership drive and while May has traditionally been "Membership Month" at NCCHP it didn't feel right to ask people for dues during a pandemic when finances are so tight for so many people.

If you are in a position to donate or pay membership fees at this time it would be greatly appreciated as the museum has had ongoing monthly expenses to "keep the lights on." 

If you need to skip a year we understand. On the other hand if you still can't figure out what to do with your Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) check from Uncle Sam please keep NCCHP in mind!

GRANVILLE HISTORY DIGITIZATION PROJECT RECEIVES EQUIPMENT FROM BOSTON COLLEGE

Thanks to Massachusetts Roving Archivist Sarah-Jane Poindexter the Granville History digital preservation project has received an Atiz BookDrive Pro book scanning setup from Boston College. B.C. had updated their scanning equipment and their Digital Collections and Preservation Librarian, Paige Walker, let it be known that their fully functional older equipment was available "free to a good home," meaning within the non-profit digital preservation community.

Sarah-Jane had recently visited the Granville Library Historical Room and was aware of Granville's digital preservation work, which is supported by NCCHP and the Historical Room so she referred the Boston College lead to us and we were the first to respond to Paige (by a matter of minutes). 

A quick trip to Boston and with much help from Cheryl Ostrowski and Paige everything was packed up and a fully loaded SUV was soon back on the road. Our benefactors were most gracious and on hearing that we would need to find cameras for the set-up they immediately offered the twin Canon units they had used with the Atiz equipment, for which we are tremendously grateful considering our limited budget.

Atiz BookDrive Pro (photo from Atiz web site)

If you're wondering what a "Roving Archivist" is, you can learn more HERE. The Massachusetts SHRAB program has been an invaluable resource for the Granville Library Historical Room and NCCHP for years and we are indebted to Sarah-Jane as well as to her predecessor, Rachel Onuf for their wealth of information and wisdom.

If you're wondering how this Atiz contraption works, click HERE for a video.

If you want to see the latest additions to the Granville History site click HERE.

2020 ICE HARVEST CANCELLED DUE TO HOTNESS!

DUE TO WARM WEATHER AND UNFAVORABLE ICE CONDITIONS THE 2020 ICE HARVEST, WHICH WAS TO TAKE PLACE TODAY, HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

Proposals to substitute a "Polar Bear Plunge" were floated but met with chilly reactions and quickly sank.

The date for the 2021 Ice Harvest is Saturday, Feb 6th