Cook Memorial Library and the Tamworth History Center will cohost a presentation on “Abnakee” hooked rugs by historian Cynthia Watkins Melendy on Wednesday, June 29 at 7:00 p.m. at the Cook Memorial Library.
Entitled “A Profitable Philanthropy: Helen Albee and the Abnakee Rug Industry of Chocorua Lake, NH” this illustrated talk will tell the story of how artists teamed with workers for the good of all concerned. Melendy will share her research on this turn-of-the-20th-century endeavor that employed local women, and how it relates to the founding of Sandwich Home Industries and the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen. Examples of Abnakee and contemporary hooked rugs will be on display.
Cynthia Watkins Melendy grew up on the shores of Lake Chocorua and has studied literature, environmental history, and cultural history. She is an avid birder, writer and nature lover. Her column “Artistic Journeys” appears weekly in the Conway Daily Sun. You can find her in North Conway Village walking her Shih Tzu Lucy, and at any number of art shows in this busy community. She is working on a catalogue essay for the Jackson Historical Society’s upcoming annual White Mountain Art exhibition ‘The Jackson Five’.