Here is what we did in 2019.Watch this page for information about the exciting things we are planning for the 75th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War. 
August 10 & August 11, 2019 Charlestown Navy Yard Join us for this two day event commemorating the "Greatest Generation" during the tumultous war years.Weekend activities will include tours and special exhibits, the Homefront Speaker Series, hands on history activities, a Big Band Concert, and a Sunset Swing Dance. See a Victory Garden, tour Rosie's Navy Yard, view vintage vehicles, and explore the World War II destroyer USS Cassin Young. 
Photo by Matt Teuten. Courtesy NPS Swing, Music, & Dance
Hands-on History:
Pop-up Exhibits:
Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Navy Yard Visitor Center A new exhibit that shares the role, accomplishments, and personal memories of the over 8,000 women who lent a hand in the national war effort here at the Navy Yard during World War II.
Special Tours & Presentations:
Over 8,000 women joined the workforce at the Boston Naval Shipyard to help win World War II. Join this free walking tour to explore their stories.
Rationing during World War II led to the creation of victory gardens to help support families on the home front. The National Park Service has replicated a victory garden on the grounds of the Commandant's House in order to demonstrate the sacrifices made at home during wartime.
See how these ships were built and learn about the men who served on board. FREE tickets are available first-come, first-served, aboard the ship. Visitors must be over 42” in height to participate in this tour. *Note: Ship activities may be canceled or modified due to weather and/or tidal conditions.
What to wear? How did WWII government regulation L85 change clothing options? With limits on fashion resources, people found creative solutions to style. Reduce, reuse, recycle: refashion.
World War II is now an historical event that ended almost 75 years ago. Nevertheless, there are people among us who lived on the Boston home front through this 4-year state of emergency. You are invited to explore Boston's home front and judge for yourself whether that world has a connection with today's city or whether it was a very different universe, specific to its time.
At the onset of World War II, women in Lowell seized their chance to take higher paid, challenging work for the war effort. This talk will explore some of their stories.
The Beantown Girls is based on the true stories of the Red Cross Clubmobile girls in the European theater of operations in WWII. In her talk, Healy will discuss the history of the Red Cross Clubmobile program in WWII, and how she wove that history into what ultimately became The Beantown Girls novel.
Thomas Daly, Curator of Education, Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge
Sunday, 1:30 p.m., Navy Yard Visitor Center Theater
Norman Rockwell put a human face on daily life with iconic paintings: "Four Freedoms", "Rosie the Riveter", "The Homecoming", "Home on Leave" and "Back to Civvies". Norman Rockwell Museum Curator of Education, Tom Daly, will speak about Rockwell's life and art.
David Kruh, Author of Always Something Doing: Boston's Infamous Scollay Square
Sunday, 2:30 p.m., Navy Yard Visitor Center Theater
Burlesque! Tassel Twirlers! Hot Dogs! David Kruh's talk is a rollicking look back at Scollay Square, the first destination of the sailors whose ships docked at the Charlestown Navy Yard.
Dr. Jon Middaugh, Naval History and Heritage Command, Washington Navy Yard
Sunday, 3:30, Navy Yard Visitor Center Theater
Dr. Middaugh will discuss the Boston Navy Yard's involvement in the war effort on the home front. |