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Title
A name given to the resource
Oral history interviews
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of excerpts from oral history interviews conducted by Brown University students in the class Oral History and Community Memory during the fall of 2011. We interviewed past and present residents of the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood and others with connections to Mashapaug Pond and the Gorham Manufacturing Company site.
Please check back often, since we will continue to add new clips to the site.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Lucy Boltz
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Ana Quezada
Location
The location of the interview.
J. Walter Wilson Building, Brown University, Providence, RI
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
Ana Quezada: Because we live -- the lake is in the back of my yard. People used to use it in the neighborhood for the children. They used to use it and go and have picnic and the children used to swim in there. That was many years ago. Since the company was there people noticed that they were throwing waste into the lake. Then that's why people stopped using it. There's still some neighbors that use it. They know about the problem they say that (sic) if you take a bath right away nothing will happen to you, but I only see one family using it. Most of the people in the neighborhood don't use the lake.
And when Textron had the company in there. Many years ago that company was there for 100 years in that place where the Stop and Shop is now. Then the city was building a school in there. Well they did build the school and most of the neighborhood was against it to build the school because they said that that land was so bad the children in there can have problems to grow and the teachers. And they build it anyway. They said they have a system that supposed to have an alarm.
Many of the children in the school are Latino, not necessarily from the neighborhood. And we think the school should do more for the people to know what's going on, but the school department for whatever reason, they're keeping it as a secret. Not even the teachers know what the problem in that school is and that's really maddening most.
I'm now a part of the board for the Environmental Justice League. And to talk about those issues. A few times- many people go to my house, I do a lot of meetings in my house.
We meet with the environmental, with the city of Providence, with Textron and us, the people from the neighborhood every three months. Because they are going to start cleaning. And the reason they're doing it is because the community is getting more and more involved in this.
And my husband would like to be in the back of the yard a lot. Now, he's doing his GED and now he's sitting there and he studies. And he likes that part of the lake.
Because I'm coming from a country. We don't pay a lot of attention to contamination or they don't believe in that because of the poor education. And everybody need to do a little bit. See, we all do a little things, this world would be different.
Well, one time I talked to one of the neighbors and she's been living there for the last 20 years. And she's been very disappointed with the whole thing. And she said to me "You'll be out of the community before they do something with that land." And I said to her, "I don't think so." When I do something. When I believe in a project I will continue to the end.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Ana Quezada
Description
An account of the resource
Ana Quezada is a board member of the Environmental Justice League of RI, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic and a resident of the Mashapaug Pond area. She describes some of her perceptions of the community’s connection to the pond and contaminated land near a high school, the process of pressing Textron to clean up the Pond and the land that is contaminated, and conducting community meetings as well as meetings with the city of Providence. She reflects on immigrants’ (from Third World countries) relationship with environmentalism as well as her own motivation to keep on working on remediation efforts.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
October 29, 2011
Alvarez High School
City of Providence
environmental activism
Environmental Justice League
Mashapaug Pond
Textron
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https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2346/archive/files/c4eca9210319e9862a8764bcafbf24c2.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=niIDO%7ELIDQsrmcHh%7E0%7EjlHkvEnhFEGHnYMGQ8MW6fqfXsfiUNlQQBXzYgpcSAVHKYdBLwvMqReQQuyCDTX5EEJQrm-YgUn35en9vXbBcDcNVFvqheXqL3poWDaGgAVMl7-1eTT-xYBAdNJLNj7MoL7KCHERvHx5blUbmQuW7EfXZb841FljknOMUVUmbE59cO84nOCmaLS7BJcMCd8PiuJqmg5g-x3lmgZSqEGhvs6CuRw6MKxN6ne6U-XGAhEdzJbNZ-sexCNFz42ForYbNuBWhdR3KiI4sQq6yCCoR%7EYWiG43-wjbYu185QIFhKNkCuaXFw9sxW%7EaKjq-uj6jKFA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
ca482a457832a214d5bc23701ec01e08
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Research papers
Description
An account of the resource
Students researched and wrote assignments on various topics related to Mashapaug Pond, the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lucy Boltz
Ora Star Boncore
Hannah Burn
Ria Fulton
Adriana Isaza
Lizzy Landau
Jen Lawrence
Chang Lu
Katharine Mead
Araceli Mendez
Aditi Pinto
Julie Pittman
Maria Quintero
Anya Ventura
Anna Wada
Nate Weisenberg
Sarah Yahm
Document
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Senate Bill June 2011
Approved and amended to Industrial Property Remediation and Reuse Act. RI. Senator Juan M. Pichardo sponsored legislation to make it more difficult for contaminated sites to be used for the construction of school buildings.
Requires a public hearing when a school is proposed to be built on a former industrial, manufacturing or landfill site.
Quick Facts
Built: 2007
Site: Soil contaminated & industrial pollutants
Architects: Edward Rowse
Sq. Footage: 82,000
Accommodation: 450 students
Cost: $14,500,000
Background
City needed to find a space for 550 high school students immediately. Construction was delayed by court hearings involving Department of Environmental Management approval and by strong opposition from community members. Residents cite traffic, noise, that the entrance is planned for a residential street and contamination as their concerns. Initially, construction was fast-tracked due to immediate need. Tried to approve construction without DEM approval; it was quickly thwarted when DEM issued a cease-and-desist order until a remediation plan was approved.
[see attached file for further research and bibliography]
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Title
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Alvarez High School
Description
An account of the resource
When and why was Alvarez High School built on the site? How did local residents respond to the City’s decision to build on this site and what is the response now?
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Hannah Burn
Alvarez High School
City of Providence
Gorham site
neighbors
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
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3f18307bf6ccedc28029c7e690a2800e
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Research papers
Description
An account of the resource
Students researched and wrote assignments on various topics related to Mashapaug Pond, the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lucy Boltz
Ora Star Boncore
Hannah Burn
Ria Fulton
Adriana Isaza
Lizzy Landau
Jen Lawrence
Chang Lu
Katharine Mead
Araceli Mendez
Aditi Pinto
Julie Pittman
Maria Quintero
Anya Ventura
Anna Wada
Nate Weisenberg
Sarah Yahm
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
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The Official Redevelopment Plan for Mashapaug Pond was approved on December 2, 1960 after several government studies deemed the area “blighted,” and recommended rezoning.
The 1950s were a period of decay in Providence. After World War II, American industry and infrastructure continued to develop and thrive but not in Providence. Industries relocated to the suburbs and other states, aided by the new interstate highway system. As a result, Providence saw a tremendous decrease in population. Emigration to the area did not just slow, it reversed: by the end of 1949 the population reached 257,000; in 1960 207,495; and in 1970 179,116. Between December 1952 and November of 1954, the total employment in Providence declined 7.8%; manufacturing declined almost 10%. [1]
The Federal Urban Renewal Project, administered by the Providence Redevelopment Agency, attempted to reverse the economic decline. They hoped to attract new industries, businesses and residents to the area by demolishing and rebuilding structures and zoning parking areas so the new areas would be more accessible to cars: “if Providence wishes to obtain more jobs to offset recent declines in employment and at the same time wishes to strengthen its tax base, it should consider seriously means for obtaining additional industrial plants.”[2]
[See attached files for more information, a map of proposed land use and the project area, as well as an article about industrial parks and photographs from the site].
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Title
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The Industrial Park
Description
An account of the resource
When and why was the industrial park built on the northwest edge of the pond? What did it replace?
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lizzy Landau
City of Providence
displacement
industrial park
Mashapaug Pond
urban renewal
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https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/2346/archive/files/f53486345cf0681ea9389bedfd695d87.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=Fp9Wh-H1ZkPt7oGrOkVeL5gvCZt1XGXhQQLf-32RXbP9aBgZN8PR85HMC3dBTgikIMcWjErn1IdXI-rbfpRyd2OLnE-l-SPuGgD0wDgddQWNQuAsX-yiKPzvtw7Uo8dHGjnFA2AbMArMLjDe4ivbmWyvdKZgzzQv0ZZLLPb6TIAqqvG3TxnioXpSuUUmKDAP3jbwk3XGI-XT33juF7%7Em5qg4V-gPdXswYATxMnl2r2C0ptRNrz5q-KZ-g%7E1YkTo6p0WGdRQtzhuHCmkuGBzRWRoZvk3rJ-MgP3KCUm3WT3Sv7PawRwCUmpOriHfmeRy%7ETlw74iKOfQ48e0g5kw1u2w__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
4a244c84bd05a07327e962f369efcc42
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Research papers
Description
An account of the resource
Students researched and wrote assignments on various topics related to Mashapaug Pond, the Gorham Manufacturing Company, and the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Lucy Boltz
Ora Star Boncore
Hannah Burn
Ria Fulton
Adriana Isaza
Lizzy Landau
Jen Lawrence
Chang Lu
Katharine Mead
Araceli Mendez
Aditi Pinto
Julie Pittman
Maria Quintero
Anya Ventura
Anna Wada
Nate Weisenberg
Sarah Yahm
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Text
Any textual data included in the document.
Today, Gorham Manufacturing Company’s Elmwood factory has vanished from the Providence landscape, as its Steeple Street location (now a parking lot)[1] did before it. The Elmwood site is most noteworthy today for the toxic environmental legacy it has left the neighborhoods near Mashapaug Pond. Yet Gorham’s presence in Providence remains strong, from its objects and monuments in silver, bronze, and stained glass to its records and papers in Providence museums and libraries...
[See attached file for more information and a map of locations]
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Gorham Sites in Providence
Description
An account of the resource
Where, in the city of Providence, are objects and papers produced by the Gorham Company? Include libraries, museums, and archival holdings as well as outdoor spaces. Include a map of locations.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Nate Weisenberg
Bronze Division
City of Providence
Gorham
Gorham archive
silver
Stained glass
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Oral history interviews
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of excerpts from oral history interviews conducted by Brown University students in the class Oral History and Community Memory during the fall of 2011. We interviewed past and present residents of the Reservoir Triangle neighborhood and others with connections to Mashapaug Pond and the Gorham Manufacturing Company site.
Please check back often, since we will continue to add new clips to the site.
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview.
Lucy Boltz
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Wilbur Jennings
Location
The location of the interview.
Brown and Waterman Street, J. Walter Wilson Building, 3rd floor, Providence, RI
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound.
Wilbur Jennings: And I've lived in the Triangle for approximately 20 years. I know the neighborhood pretty well. I know every street.
And my mother and father used to tell me that the churches, predominantly minority churches and back then back in the 40s when I was born, they used to baptize people there in Mashapaug Pond.
All us kids used to bunk school sometimes when the summer time come, when the weather was getting warm, we would bunk school, we'd go down there, take our clothes off and go into the water and swim. And that was Mashapaug Pond....
They had a pipe, water coming from the Gorham's going into that water and kind of polluting that water, so we couldn't go swimming in there no more.
We had a Stop and Shop located right in that Gorham site where they were, they closed up and it's still vacant there. But we're trying to find somebody to go in there. I don't know if it's going to be another supermarket or not, but maybe somebody can open a business there which is what we're working on as we speak. We can put people to work. Neighborhood people, by the way, that's what I'm really looking for.
Mainly I try to emphasize that kids go to school because that's the key right now, to go to school and get an education. I was very not fortunate enough to go to school as much as I really wanted to. I come from a family of fourteen kids. I'm the oldest and I didn't go to school too much because I was poor. I wanted to go and work so I could make some money and buy some food to eat.
You can't make it like I made it. The way I made it. I didn't come up with a real good education. I came up, I went to public college, by the way, I don't know if you're familiar with public college. Public college is people--people taught me my education.
I was lucky enough to be able to stick it out and run for office. I ran 12 times in 24 years. I never gave up. And now I serve as an elected official, as a councilman.
I would like to see a YMCA in Providence open up again too. Maybe that's in the future. There was plans for that in the Gorham's site. What we're talking about. Maybe we could still talk about the YMCA in the future. Who knows. That's a possibility. It's right located central in the heart of the area, in the community. And we won't have to go over to Cranston.
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Wilbur Jennings
Description
An account of the resource
Wilbur Jennings, the Councilman for Ward 8 (Elmwood, Reservoir, West End) on the Providence City Council, is a long-time resident of the neighborhoods near Mashapaug Pond. In this excerpt, he shares some of his childhood memories, his thoughts about education, and his hopes for the future of the Gorham site.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
December 3, 2011
City of Providence
education
Gorham
Gorham site
Mashapaug Pond
neighbors
swimming
YMCA