Tracy Gillespie, owner of Miss Sweet’s in Westfield, fills out a raffle ticket for the Gene Matras lithograph on display at Miss Sweet’s. Proceeds from the raffle will benefit Westfield Museum Inc. (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD – Westfield Museum Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to commemorating Westfield’s significant contribution to the U.S. Industrial Revolution. It is the result of a merger of two groups: Westfield Museum Inc. (WMI), established in 2007 to acquire a facility to house a museum featuring Westfield artifacts and memorabilia and Westfield Historic Industries Preservation Project (WHIPP), a group formed to establish a working museum at 360 Elm Street, the site of Westfield’s one remaining whip manufacturing facility. The 360 Elm Street building and its contents, including vintage whipmaking machinery and complete business records dating from the early 1900’s, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
TheWMI/WHIPP merger was effective as of July 1, 2012; Board members include Peter H. Martin, Robert G. Dewey, Denise M. Quinn, John M. Knapik, Brent B. Bean, Robert A. Plasse, Dawn Carignan Thomas, Ellen A. Endter and Guy A. McLain. Carol Martin serves as project coordinator.
Plans call for the restoration of the 360 Elm Street building exterior and interior modifications necessary to effectuate the operation of a museum which will include an education center and community space as well as The Westfield Room – a state-of-the-art gallery space to mount appropriate displays changing quarterly – on the first floor. The manufacturing operation will be consolidated on the second floor and will serve as an interactive display where visitors will be able to experience first hand the operation of the cutting edge 19th century technology which gave the City of Westfield its enduring nickname – The Whip City. A grant from the Westfield Bank Future Fund has allowed WMI to engage the firm of Architecture EL for design services.
Although fundraising has not yet begun in earnest, WMI is now engaged in its second annual raffle. This year’s item is a Gene Matras lithograph, beautifully framed by Walter’s Fin Frames. It depicts a rustic New England early winter scene, appropriately featuring a horse and sleigh. The artist, who came to the United States from Poland as a child, works primarily in pen and ink, producing stark images remarkable in their clarity and detail.
Mr. Matras’s lithograph was displayed and raffle tickets were sold at Colonial Harvest Day on Saturday, September 29. It will be on display (and tickets can be purchased) at Miss Sweet’s, 4 Russell Road, Westfield, weekdays from November 27 through December 14. In addition, as part of the Westfield on Weekends Dickens Days festivities, it can be seen and tickets purchased at the Elm Street Diner, 266 Elm Street on Saturday, December 8 and at Pilgrim Candle Marketplace and Soup’s On December 15. The winning ticket will be drawn at the screening of Joyeux Noel, the holiday selection of the Westfield Athenaeum’s Foreign Film Fest, on December 17. The purchaser of the winning ticket, if not present, will be contacted by telephone.
For further information about WMI or the raffle, contact Carol Martin, 413-568-8244.
