Franklin Matters: September at the Franklin Historical Museum

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

September at the Franklin Historical Museum - Hats From the Attic!

The Franklin Historical Museum will feature a collection of hats that belonged to long time Franklin Resident Mary Molla Diorio. When a new family moved into the Diorio home on Squire Street, they found, tucked away in a corner of the attic a large black hat box, with 7 vintage ladies hats lovingly packed inside. They donated their find to the museum with the hope that the hats could find new life.

Through the magic of social media, we were able to determine who lived in the house and a description of the person who owned and wore the hats. Mary Diorio, who worked in the Franklin Schools for 50 years, was well loved and respected by her colleagues, neighbors and family alike. We’re thrilled to have these beautiful hats to share for all to see.

The hats will be on display starting Sunday September 10 through at least the end of September. In addition, the display will include information on the early days of the straw hat industry in Franklin, and a look at the history of hat fashions.

On September 17 Joe Landry returns to the museum for the first in his Fall series of talks on Franklin’s past. Joe’s September talk will cover the businesses, store fronts and restaurants that occupied East Central Street from Ruggles to the Bridge. His presentation includes slides with many photos of our town from yesteryear! These talks have been well attended and enjoyed, with much audience participation. Come join us for Joe’s walk down memory lane.

The Franklin Library will hold its Genealogy Club meeting at the Museum on Thursday evening September 21 at 6:30PM. The topic this month is DNA research. The meetings are free and open to the public.

The museum is located at 80 West Central Street. Admission is always free and we are wheelchair accessible. Operating hours are Saturday mornings from 10AM-1PM, Sunday afternoons from 1PM-4PM and Thursday evenings (May-Dec) 5:00PM-8:00PM. Stop by and discover a bit of Franklin’s History.