You’re invited to an evening of poetry at the North Andover Historical Society on Saturday January 18, 2025 at 6:00PM.

 Merrimack Valley is known as “Valley of the Poets” because of the  great poets who made this area their home: Anne Bradstreet (North Andover), John Greenleaf Whittier (Haverhill and Amesbury), Robert Frost (Lawrence), Jack Kerouac(Lowell), and others. 

Poetry tells the story of life through the centuries in the Merrimack Valley. It also tells the story of today. In addition to celebrating the greats from history, this evening will feature poets living and writing in the Merrimack Valley today.

The event will be hosted by Mark Bohrer, past Poet Laureate of North Andover.

 The feature poet of the evening will be Matt Miller, born and raised in Lowell, author of the award winning "Tender the River" and other notable and award-winning books of poetry.

Also taking part in this special event will be poet Kate Hanson Foster, originally from Andover and who now lives in Groton.  Other local poets also will be performing their poems about Merrimack Valley and New England.

Join us for our first regular yarn crafting program!
This cozy and informal group will serve as a classroom and gathering spot for local yarn workers.

RISING FROM THE RAILS: THE STORY OF THE PULLMAN PORTER, a documentary based on the best-selling book by Larry Tye, chronicles the relatively unheralded Pullman Porters, generations of African American men who served as caretakers to wealthy white passengers on luxury trains that traversed the nation during the golden age of rail. Unbeknownst to most of their white passengers, porters played critical political and cultural roles, becoming trailblazers in the struggle for African American dignity and self-sufficiency, patriarchs of black labor unions, and helping give birth to the Civil Rights Movement. Ultimately, however, their greatest legacy is that which they left to future generations.

Felting class returns for the new year with Valentine gifts for your special someone.

Learn how to make a coaster, trivet, mat, or rug with this simple but deep folk craft.

The remarkable story of Harvard Shortstop  William Clarence Matthews, who nearly broke MLB's Color Line 40 years before Jackie Robinson

William Clarence Matthews, was a terrific baseball player for Phillips Andover and then Harvard at the turn of the 20th century. As Harvard's shortstop, he was the best player on arguably the best college team in the country when baseball fever swept the land. In the summer of 1905, the Boston Traveler announced that he would soon be joining Fred Tenney’s Boston Nationals, breaching the color barrier in Major League Baseball, forty years before Jackie Robinson. He did not make history: the rumor of his breakthrough proved to be false. Matthews, however, deserves to be more than this baseball footnote. His remarkable life reflected the special tensions and tentative opportunities of Black Americans during the 50 years of his lifetime, 1877-1928.