Truro Historical Society

Reflections on the Pandemic: Truro 2020

History is happening in Truro and all over the world.

The Truro Historical Society (THS) asks for your help in chronicling
the extraordinary circumstances we are living through as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic. We are launching a project we are calling
Reflections on the Pandemic: Truro 2020.

Please send personal reflections, stories, and photos that express your response to the current crisis. We also welcome reminiscences about other periods of time you have lived through when the world seemed to change overnight as it is currently, both locally and worldwide. The THS will collect, compile, and preserve these submissions, as part of our mandate to chronicle and provide historical information and insight as it relates to Truro and Cape Cod.

Your contributions will become a “scrapbook” for this period in history and will join the wealth of materials we maintain at the Cobb Archive to preserve the history of Truro and the Outer Cape. We also will feature some of your submissions on our website (www.trurohistoricalsociety.org) and on social media, (Highland House Museum on facebook and trurohistory on Instagram).

Sharing our activities, thoughts, and feelings about this troubling time will bring us all together in our common experience and will provide meaningful insight to future generations.

Submission guidelines:

*Please send submissions to: [email protected] or to Truro Historical Society, PO Box 486, Truro, MA 02666.
*Include your name, your town and how long you’ve lived there.
* It is preferable that submissions be included as an attachment to your email as a Word document (.doc or .docx)
* For a photo, use .jpg and include either a caption or a description.
* There is no minimum nor maximum word count.  Your submission may be excerpted or edited, as deemed appropriate for project purposes.
* In line with the goals of the project, by making a submission, you are granting permission for distribution and/or publication by Truro Historical Society.
*Each submission will receive an acknowledgment from the project coordinator, Barbara Anne Kearney.

1918: The End of WWI and the Onset of the Spanish Flu Epidemic

The Friends of the Truro Meeting House fall, 2018 newsletter has a wonderful article about the end of World War I and the onset of the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918. As reported by Carlotta Dyer Zilliax,

In recognition of the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower, many Cape Cod communities will be sponsoring special programs throughout 2020 that address this landmark historic event. Several Truro organizations will mark this event throughout the coming year.

Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill and the Highland House Museum are collaborating on an exhibition of public artworks that will embody the spirit of the event. These works will be installed at Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill, Edgewood Farms, the Highland House Museum, and the Cobb Archive throughout the summer.

We are seeking three-dimensional artwork that can be installed outdoors. Work may be made of wood, metal, and other materials that will withstand the elements for several months. We’re looking for sculptural pieces that express a response to this historic time and its aftermath. Work does not need to reference specific historic details.
Click here for more information and how to submit your sculpture