Museum of Work & Culture’s Valley Talks Series Returns in 2025
(WOONSOCKET, R.I.) – The Museum of Work & Culture, a division of the Rhode Island Historical Society, will host its annual Valley Talks series featuring six free lectures celebrating the Blackstone Valley’s history beginning Sunday, January 12 at 1:30 pm. This year, all Valley Talks will be presented in a hybrid format, meaning guests can join the speaker in person at the Museum or online through Zoom. Talks will include:
Sunday, January 12, 1:30 pm – The Photo Angel Project with Kate Kelley– It all began with a pile of labeled photos of non-relatives that were mixed in with Kate Kelley’s grandparents’ old family pictures. Were they friends? Classmates? War buddies? Neighbors? After poking around genealogy websites, Kelley was able to begin connecting with relatives of those in the photographs, and the Photo Angel project was born. Join Kelley (a.k.a The Photo Angel) as she shares stories from her quest to reunite labeled photos from antique stores with family members and get inspired to dig out your dusty attic boxes and join the fun!
Sunday, January 26, 1:30 p.m. – Fleeced, with author Madalyn Shaw – Not all about wool is warm and fuzzy. . . Fleeced explores how, throughout history, the demand for wool in wartime existed in a vortex of negotiation, intrigue, and anxiety. It analyzes the concurrent rise of industrial production of woolen fabrics and Southern Hemisphere sheep culture in the 19th century and their influence on the enormous increase in the size of armies in the 20th century. While warring nations jockeyed for access to the same resource, they simultaneously searched for its elusive replacement – leading to the decisive rise of fully synthetic fibers after World War II. Fleeced is the culmination of a ten-year research journey by co-authors Madelyn Shaw and Trish FitzSimons.
Sunday, February 9, 1:30 p.m. – The Birth and Death of a Textile Mill with Bonnie Wade Mucia – Industrial mills once dotted the landscape in New England, particularly along the Blackstone River Valley, which extends from Worcester, Massachusetts, to Providence, Rhode Island. These mills are gradually disappearing because they fall into disrepair, require too much maintenance, and are filled with hazardous materials like asbestos. Therefore, tearing them down is more cost-effective. Join genealogist Bonnie Wade Mucia as she explores the history of the Bonin Spinning Company Mill in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, which met this fate in 2022, just before its hundredth anniversary.
Sunday, February 23, 1:30 p.m. – Steve Dunwell: With These Hands – Woven fabric made New England a success. Textile workers made that fabric. Dominating New England for over a century, textile work peaked in 1920. Half a century later, Steve Dunwell photographed mill workers to capture a fading industry. When Dunwell took the photographs, six out of seven jobs were gone. Yet thousands of mill workers remained in the 1970s, keeping the machines running. Their jobs were sometimes difficult, often dangerous, and always noisy. Each had an immigration story to tell. Like the textile industry, this project began in Rhode Island before expanding across New England. Join Dunwell as he discusses the exhibit With These Hands, which will be on display in the Museum’s changing gallery from Friday, February 21st until Saturday, April 26th, and how it captures a special time in a unique environment, now almost, but not entirely, gone.
Sunday, March 9, 1:30 p.m. – French-Canadian Quilts in Rhode Island with Professor Linda Welters – Join University of Rhode Island Professor Linda Welters for a talk exploring the quilting culture of French-Canadians who left Canada to live and work in Rhode Island. The presentation will be drawn from a book co-edited with Margaret Ordoñez, Down by the Old Mill Stream: Quilts in Rhode Island, and exhibitions of French-Canadian quilts Welters and Ordoñez co-curated. Quilts made by French-Canadians in Rhode Island will be featured.
Sunday, March 23, 1:30 p.m. – St. Ann’s: Towers of Faith of Family with Paul Bourget– St. Ann’s Church has been called “America’s Sistine Chapel,” with over 20,000 square feet of magnificent fresco paintings that rival the artistry of Michelangelo and Raphael. Paul Bourget, co-author of Towers of Faith and Family, St. Ann’s Church 100th anniversary book, will share what he learned in researching the frescoes, focusing on the subject matter of the frescoes and the artistry of its creative genius, Guido Nincheri. As part of the presentation, Bourget will relate personal stories of the people who lived, worshiped, and became part of the artistry of St. Ann’s Church.
Admission to Valley Talks is free, but registration is required. Guests can register online at rihs.simpletix.com.
The Museum’s 2025 Valley Talks series is presented by the Museum of Work & Culture Preservation Foundation and the RI AFL-CIO.
About the Rhode Island Historical Society The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state’s oldest and only state-wide historical organization, welcomes everyone to engage with Rhode Island’s complex and significant past through its collections, museums, and educational initiatives. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st-century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, and the Aldrich House.
The headquarters of the Rhode Island Historical Society are located at 110 Benevolent Street, Providence, RI 02906. Information: (401) 331-8575. Website: rihs.org. Follow the RIHS on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
