By Pam Pacelli Cooper President, Verissima Productions The ornate silver cup had been given to my husband at his birth, inscribed with his name and birthdate. When our child was born, the same cup was inscribed again with the name and birthdate of our son. We had always been puzzled by the original inscription on[Read More]
Life Preservers Blog
Life Preservers Podcast: Episode 7 – Keeping History Alive: Jan Turnquist, Louisa May Alcott, and Orchard House
Jan Turnquist is a portrayer of Louisa May Alcott and the Executive Director of Orchard House, the Alcott’s home in Concord, MA. She brings both to life in our interview with her for this episode of the podcast.
Small Moments, Lasting Impact
By Pamela Pacelli Cooper with guest blogger Sharon Carey When my colleague Mary-Anne taught a lunchtime class on Gingkoes a few weeks ago, she was surprised at all the memories that the trees elicited from her students. I am sharing one of those memories here. It is a magical moment that remains luminous and meaningful[Read More]
The Stories on Your Bookshelves
By Pam Pacelli Cooper President, Verissima Productions Two weeks ago, I wrote about transporting several bins of family papers from Chicago to Boston. This week, I’m thinking about the books on my shelves, and the story they tell. Soon after we arrived home, we had guests from Tennessee in our Airbnb. I walked in to[Read More]
Life Preservers Podcast: Episode 6 – Amateur Historians Pt. 2
In Part 2 of of our series on “Amateurs”, hear the rest of our interview with Historian John Morrison as he describes how he came upon a fresh and revealing look on Ben Franklin, and his connection to Boston, while doing research as volunteer tour guide for Boston by Foot.
Goodbye Britannica: The Rise of Online Research
The Universal Encyclopedia By Pam Pacelli Cooper President, Verissima Productions All the dishes were washed and put away, and the dining room table was cleared for me to do my homework. That night, it was a report on clocks. I walked down the long hall from the dining room to the foyer where our set[Read More]
History Finds A New Home: The Journey of the Plastic Bins
By Pam Pacelli Cooper President, Verissima Productions My mother lives in a small, one bedroom apartment on Chicago’s North Side. The one big thing about the apartment is the closets. There are three large ones, and they would be the envy of anyone in the Northeast who lives in a 19th century house designed for wardrobes.[Read More]
Life Preservers Podcast: Episode 5 – “Amateur Historian”
Old Houses and Puritan Contentions A special Waltham childhood in an unusual house sparks a love of history and research and…what is the connection between a fiery Puritan and the United States constitution? Hear it all on this month’s “Life Preservers” podcast.
Life Preservers Podcast: Episode 4 – Beach Listening
Hooked on podcasts? So are we. We listen at the gym, while travelling, at home, and even relaxing on the beach. For our summer episode of Life Preservers podcast, we’ve chosen 7 off-the-beaten-path podcasts that entertain us, teach us new and useful things, and pique our desire to learn more . Old movies? Ben Franklin? “Hamilton[Read More]
Brilling and Bedazzled: Creating New Words
By Pam Pacelli Cooper President, Verissima Productions My family of origin adores words. We did crossword puzzles, word games, Boggle and Scrabble when I was growing up. I was lucky enough to meet and marry someone who is also a lexophile. What his family doesn’t do is create words to capture a feeling, an object, or a process[Read More]
