Amherst Railway Society
October 18, 2005
Meeting Announcement

The next meeting of the Amherst Railway Society will be Tuesday, October 18, 2005, 8:00 P.M. at the Amherst Middle School.

Home on the Rails
by Professor Amy Richter

Amy Richter is assistant professor of history at Clark University in Worcester MA. She is the author of Home on the Rails: Women, the Railroad and the Rise of Public Domesticity (University of North Carolina Press, 2005). The dissertation on which this book is based won the 2001 Lerner-Scott Prize from the Organization of American Historians. Professor Richter specializes in 19th and 20th century American social and cultural history, with an emphasis on women’s history.

As much as it changed the American landscape, the coming of the railroad in the 19th century transformed American society. The Victorian “cult of true womanhood” maintained that women should confine themselves to their “natural” and private sphere of home and family. At the same time, the railroad car constituted a public space where unrelated men and women might be confined together for a few hours to a few days. In her dissertation, Richter explores how 19th century American society reconciled its expectation that women confine themselves to the private sphere, while at the same time accommodating their increasing need and desire to venture into the world. Richter examined personal journals and writings of the time, newspapers, and especially the vast amount of 19th century printed material relating to railroad companies and railroad travel. This last included company archives, advertisements, magazines, and popular fiction.

Please check your mailing label to see if your membership is current. If it says 2005, you need to renew now. Dues for 1 year are $15.00, 3Yrs - $40.00, and 5 yrs - $60.00.

Many thanks to our new refreshment committee consisting of Ernie Strong, Ira Laby and Al Wynne.

Reminder: You are invited to bring models, pictures, etc. to share at our meetings. A table is set up in the rear for this purpose.

BIG RAILROAD HOBBY SHOW!! January 28 & 29, 2006

Please consider now whether you can volunteer at our great show.

NAME_____________________________________________________________

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I would like to help at the Big Railroad Hobby Show. (Please indicate approximate times)

THURSDAY__________________________________________________________

FRIDAY___________________________________________________________

SATURDAY___________________________________________________________

SUNDAY______________________________________________________________

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