I freely admit that I am not social media savvy—I know the basics—sort of—and that is well enough for me. But I have become a firm believer—a convert, I suppose—of the benefits of social media, especially so when used for research purposes or, in this instance, to build library holdings.
Case in point:
A message on the FRHS’s Facebook page in response to my last posting on the subject of the FRHS’s “want list” of eight editions of the Durfee Record:
“I have 1941 in perfect condition with the Class Day Program. Please PM me.”
We did.
And just like that, the Durfee Record “want list” went from eight volumes to seven.
The donor—a Rhode Island native, with Fall River ancestry—read my blog posting via Facebook, thought about the sought-after volumes a bit, and checked her bookcase.
Voilà.
There it was: Her late father-in-law’s 1941 edition of the Durfee Record. A Fall River native, he moved to Tiverton, Rhode Island, in 1947, and his year book went with him.
Yesterday there was a follow-up telephone call—very interesting conversation, though I fear I rambled—and this afternoon the 1941 was added to the FRHS’s collection.
Thank you to the donor and her husband.
Amazing, how one thing leads to another. The donor’s grandfather worked in the men’s department at Fall River’s iconic R. A. McWhirr Company department store, her mother and her aunt were employed there, and she, of course, was a customer.
With the FRHS currently in the process of documenting the history of McWhirr’s for exhibition and publication purposes, her personal and familial recollections of the store should make for a very interesting interview.
And all this due to social media.
So, regarding the Durfee Record, we are now down to seven: 1913; 1914; 1951; 1952; 1953; 1954; and 1976.
If you are reading this, have a Fall River/B.M.C. Durfee High School connection, and are a person who saves things, I have a suggestion—please check your bookcase(s) or wherever else you keep old books and/or things saved by family members.
One never knows.
One of the sought-after-seven may be sitting there, waiting for a new home.
