On Monday, December 9th the Malden Reads organization held their first launch meeting at the Malden Public Library for the Malden Mass. Memories Roadshow event that will be held on May 2nd. At the meeting, various other organizations across Malden were present to discuss more details in regards to the roadshow and volunteering.
The Mass. Memories Roadshow is a community history program that was first launched in 2004 and is coordinated by the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston). Since then, the event has digitized more than 11,000 photographs from across the state. The roadshow will be a capstone event for the 10th year anniversary of Malden Reads.
Carolyn Goldstein, who is a representative from UMass Boston, explained that this event will be a “chance to bring people from all corners of the city together,” as it places an importance on archiving the stories and memories of residents.
Goldstein presented a slideshow to all the organizations including Chinese Culture Connection, Malden Historical Society, and Massachusetts Senior Action Council, where she discussed past roadshows and the significance of it for the city. In addition, Goldstein specifically talked about what will happen on the day of the event.
She described that on the day of the roadshow, the archivists and public historians from UMass Boston will be scanning the photos that people bring in which will be a part of a statewide archive. Attendees will also have the opportunity to further share their stories on video.
Goldstein said that the objective of the first meeting was to “invite individuals and organizations to the planning team” in order to spread more word about the event and start thinking about additional ideas.
She emphasized how it will present Malden with a “number of opportunities to explore and document the city’s multi-layered past,” which assists in residents who partake in the event to also “explore complementary and contrasting perspectives.”
Specifically, it is important to document the life in Malden so that “future generations of residents can learn from the experiences of the past,” Goldstein stated. Doing so, helps to “uncover the less-known aspects” of how people work and live in Malden.
One of the co-facilitators and co-founders of Malden Reads, Jodie Zalk, expressed that the ultimate goal in hosting this Mass. Memories Roadshow is to “draw people together from different backgrounds” and have a diverse event where people’s stories are showcased.
Moreover, she hopes for people to bring in pictures that “share stories about our community” and this will essentially help to act as a time capsule for present and future generations to come which further assists in being able to “learn from and understand each other.”
Adding on to that thought, one of the co-facilitators, Anne D’Urso-Rose believes that this event will fundamentally be a “unique way for the Malden community members” because it encourages members “from all walks of life” to participate in an engaging event that connects people.
Leading up to the Malden Mass. Memories Roadshow, Malden Reads and the organizers from UMass Boston hope to have many participants in attendance where residents can represent a broad and inclusive section of the City of Malden.
