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08 | 01907But religion?"I don't think you can study thehistory of the United States withoutlooking at religion," said Schultz, whoseessay on how a house in Swampscottmade it into The Green Book of literaryand cinema fame accompanies thisarticle. "One of the more importantcomponents of our history, startingabout 400 years ago, was fleeing religiouspersecution."She notes the irony of early settlerscoming in from the Mayflower (the400th anniversary of the landing onPlymouth Rock is Dec. 18) and settingup their own restrictive, Puritanicalsocieties.The Green Book was an annualdirectory of homes in the U.S. thatwelcomed traveling Black Americans. Itflourished during the Jim Crow era.The movie, written by Lynn nativeBrian Hayes Currie, was named bestpicture in 2018 and almost immediately,there were rumblings about howhistorically accurate it really was. Thatmakes Schultz bristle a little.First, of all, Currie is a friend of hers.And second, she's fully aware that theprimary purpose of film is to entertain,except when it is clearly presented assomething else."I was aware of the development ofthe movie," said Schultz. "Regardlessof what people thought about themovie, and the controversy around it,it succeeded in bringing awareness ofthe situation. We know about this erabecause of the movie."I don't know why Hollywoodmovies that are declaring themselves asHollywood movies have to be accuratehistory," she said. "A Hollywood movieis based on what's going to make a goodmovie. I would distinguish between thatand a documentary. A movie is designedto tell a good story."Schultz's official capacity with thetown is as the secretary of the historicalsociety. And the commission was behindthe research project on the BoyntonStreet house. She just wrote the essay.She said she began hearing aboutBoynton Street when a friend of herssent her information. Currie had spokenat Salem State, which sponsored severalevents around his appearance there.At the same time, Jay Duffy, owner of3 Boynton Street now, got in touchwith Justina Oliver, chairwoman of thehistorical commission."He said he had seen the listing of theThree Boynton Street was a mid-20th century stayover spot for Black Americans.house in an exhibition about The GreenBook at the Smithsonian," Schultz said."He was in touch with Justina to discussit. It's really sort of synchronicity in a lotof ways how this all came together."Beyond the usual research thehistorical commission might do on asubject such as this, "we went further anddid a little deep digging into a couple ofthe owners."What the commission's researchfound was that there was a Black couplewho lived at the address for 30 yearstoward the turn of the 20th century. Thenext owners were interracial, she said."I feel this is important to focus on,given the history of the house," she said.The Green Book lists the house as atourist home from 1939 through 1954,and it is the only house on the NorthShore where Black tourists could bewelcome, Schultz said. During thattime, both owners were profiled in thedirectory."That was certainly very unusual forthat particular time and place," she said.The house was built in 1870and "what I tried to do was draw aconnection between that era, and all thegreat estates in Swampscott from 1870through 1940."That was the town's heyday," shesaid. "You had the Elihu Thomson house,the train station, and so many others.They all stem from the era of greatestates. Here, this history was being livedat the same time, on the other side oftown. And it gets overlooked."Regular people lived here too,"she said. "They weren't all founders ofGeneral Electric or captains of industry."Her mention of General Electricbrings her back to her childhood inPittsfield, Mass."It was a challenging place," she said."When I was younger, everyone workedfor GE, including my father. As GE gotsmaller and smaller, it became difficult.The GE employment supported a verybustling town. But it has struggled."Her route from west to east followeda conventional path. Her first stop, aftergraduating from Mrs. Hall's School, wasCollege of the Holy Cross and when
This Holiday season is the perfect time to reflecton our blessings! Let us do the cooking !Call us to plan your take-out cateringneeds today! 781-581-755215 Railroad Ave., Swampscott • 781-581-7552www.paradisoristorante.netDINING: Monday to Thursday 5:00pm to 9:30pmSaturday 5:00pm - 10:00pmOur Giſt to you...Purchase a $100.00 giſt card inDecember we will giſt you a $20.00 giſt card.offer expires 12/31/2020she was done there, she kept going east,finally achieving her doctorate at BostonCollege and acquiring a professorship atSalem State.Teaching "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to aclass at Salem State, she encounteredone student to whom Harriet BeecherStowe's humor was lost. The studentwas distressed at the book's "insensitive"portrayal of Black people.Then, she went to Krakow, Poland,to lecture there, and was struck by thesimilarities between the portrayal ofBlacks in the book and the way Jewswere perceived in the years leading up toWorld War II and the Holocaust."Teaching the book in Polandchanged my perspective in ways I hadn’tanticipated and made me rethink what itmeans to know a book well," she wrotein the award-winning essay.In that vein, she has researched andwrote on the Salem witch trials, anotherpassion of hers, which took place only 72years after the Mayflower landing."That," she says, "is another story, foranother day."201 Essex St.SwampscottMay your holidaysbe shiny and bright......With much appreciation, we wish youa happy holiday season!781-595-5300swampscottcollision.com218 Beacon St.Marblehead781-631-2218marbleheadcollision.com
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