The Maynard Historical Society promotes the need to remember the history of Maynard and history in general.  Our meetings and programs are open to the public and we encourage you to join the Historical Society so we can preserve historical artifacts and provide interesting programs.

Society members receive a courtesy copy of Maynard Memories, our bi-monthly newsletter.

The Maynard Historical Society's collection of over 4,000 documents and artifacts is currently not available to the public. We are actively seeking a location for a museum so that students, researchers, and the general public can see first-hand artifacts and documents of our shared history.

As part of the survey, cataloging, and digitzation of the Collection we are making certain key objects available online. Visit the Maynard Historical Society Collection page for great finds in our Collection.

NEW! Follow our progress as we catalog and conserve Maynard's history via our Maynard History Blog.

Help Save Maynard's History - Join the Society Today
Click here for a printable membership form.

Current Programs - 2010

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Our meeting location has returned to the lower level of the Maynard Town Hall. After a year of moving around during the town hall renovations it is good to be back home.

Many of our programs are videotaped and shown on Maynard's cable access station, WAVM, TV-8 / TV-10. Check the WAVM schedule for program times.

February 22	The Maynard Dramatic Club - Roy Helander will talk about this popular Maynard theatrical troup which staged shows in Maynard (and Stow) from 1936 to the 1970s.
March 22	Clubs in Maynard -- Over the decades Maynard has had its share of unique and memorable clubs, societies, and other social organizations. The Twilight Club, the D.Y.W.Y.K. Club, the Maynard Cricket Club, Knights of Pythias, Eagles, and the Caledonian Club to name just a few. Paul Boothroyd and Dave Griffin will explore the histories of a number of these organizations, many now long-gone, some still active today.
April 26	Program TBD
May	Probably no meeting in May -- conflct with Maynard's Annual Town Meeting

Historical Collection Podcast

We are producing a series of podcasts (internet "radio/tv") featuring items from the Historical Society collection and our process of cataloging and conserving Maynard's historical treasures.

You don't need an iPod to listen to a podcast! You can listen to them on your computer or portable music device (MP3 player). Don't want to keep checking here? You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

• Podcast # 10 - "A Brief History of Maynard - 1921 Book" - 13-Feb-2009 - We announce the availability of a key book documenting the history of Maynard.
• Podcast #9 - "1931 Appraisal of American Woolen Company Properties" - 3-Feb-2009 - We discuss a remarkable that looks at a "company town" in the early 1930's.
• Podcast #8 - "Maynard Stories with Ralph Sheridan - Part 3" - 25-Jan-2009 - The final installment of a 3-part interview with Ralph Sheridan. Part 1 was podcast #5, part 2 was podcast #7.
• Podcast #7 - "Maynard Stories with Ralph Sheridan - Part 2" - 11-Jan-2009 - The second part of a 3-part interview with Ralph Sheridan. Part 1 was Podcast #5.
• Podcast #6 - "Priorities" - 2-Jan-2009 - Dave Griffin discusses how we will be deciding which of the thousands of items in the collection to catalog first. An example using two recently boxes found in the filing cabinets show the challenges ahead. Photos available in the Maynard History Blog.
• Podcast #5 - "Maynard Stories with Ralph Sheridan - Part 1" - 26-Dec-2008 - Ralph Sheridan tells stories about life in Maynard in the early 20th century. The first in a series of stories told by Ralph. Recorded in 1994. Audio only podcast.
• Podcast #4 - "Maynard's Christmas Parade" - 7-Dec-2008 - Dave Griffin provides a brief history of Maynard's Annual Christmas Parade - recorded on the evening of the 42nd anniversary of this town tradition. Audio only podcast. Photos available in the Maynard History Blog.
• Podcast #3 - "Genealogical Goldmine" - 29-Nov-2008 - Dave Griffin provides a quick update on the collection cataloging project and talks a bit about three funeral record books that will provide a wealth of information for people researching their family histories. Audio only podcast. Photos available in the Maynard History Blog.
• Podcast #2 - "An Evening with Frank Mark and Roy Helander" - 18-Nov-2008 - This is a recording in our collection of a Historical Society program from November 1988 -- yes, 20 years ago. Roy interviews Frank Mark, who immigrated to Maynard from Finland in 1916. At the time Mr. Mark was 85 years old. Roy also reads letters from his uncle, Ed Helander, who was 95 at the time and couldn't make the meeting due to bad weather. Good news: This is an audio-only podcast and should be playable by just about any computer. Bad new: No pictures.
• Podcast #1 - "Two Drawers" - 12-Nov-2008 - Dave Griffin discusses the challenges facing the collection inventory and preservation process by opening a couple of file cabinet drawers and seeing what's in there. If you have trouble with the above link for this podcast, please try this instead, the Podcast #1 Audio Only version.

Society Information

The Maynard Historical Society is a non-profilt (501(c)) organization. Donations to the Society are tax-deductible. The Annual Meeting of the Society is conducted in March of each year with elections of trustees and a business report.

Board of Trustees - 2008

• Dave Griffin - President
• Roy Helander - Vice President
• Don Wasiuk - Treasurer
• (open) - Secretary
• Paul Boothroyd
• Peggy Brown
• Nancy Wasiuk (newsletter editor)
• Susan Alatalo (publicity)

Contact Information

Maynard Historical Society
195 Main Street
Maynard, MA 01754

For urgent matters you can contact Dave Griffin at 978-394-2375 or email him at davebets@mac.com

Feel free to send membership address changes to Dave at davebets@mac.com