Tuesday 27 Oct 2026, 7pm

at the Congregational Church of Harvard, 5 Stillwater Rd., Harvard MA

Award winning educator and historian Michele Gabrielson and Civil War period reenactor and educator Marie Porteus promise a lively and informative presentation on how spinning, weaving, and wearing became acts of resistance in the 18th and 19th centuries. From homespun cloth and boycotts to the garments people chose to wear, everyday textiles carried (and continue to carry) powerful political meanings. This lecture considers how textile-making and dress challenged authority, expressed identity, and helped communities shape their place in a changing world.

Michele Gabrielson is an award winning history teacher and historic interpreter of the 18th century. She specializes in interpreting the history of colonial women printers, 18th century chocolate, and revolutionary playwright and poet Mercy Otis Warren. Gabrielson additionally serves as the secretary for the nonprofit Mercy Otis Warren Society, and is on the Friends Board for Minuteman National Historic Park. She was awarded a 2024 Rising Star Award for Public History by the Massachusetts History Alliance for her programming titled, “The Revolutionary Classroom,” and named a finalist for the 2024 Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year. Gabrielson was the Massachusetts Daughters of the American Revolution’s Outstanding History Teacher of the Year for 2025 and the 2025 winner of the Fred Graham Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

Marie Porteus is a Civil War living historian for over 25 years and has focused her learning on the experiences of women and families in the South. This study has incorporated the narratives of women living through the war, the material culture, and the everyday domestic skills practiced through this time period. Women’s ingenuity in supporting the war efforts as well as maintaining their households in the face of deprivation is of particular interest. Marie began incorporating weaving at events over the last few years, teaching about both the political and practical aspects of Southern Homespun cloth and about various woven textiles used.

Guests are welcome.
7 p.m. – social time, library open
7:30 presentation starts