Read in text form below or click on the arrow above to listen to the audio recording.
NARRATED BY CECILY MILLER
INTERVIEW WITH LIZ SHEPHERD, ARTIST, CO-DESIGNER WITH SUZANNE SHEPHERD OF OUR BANNERS
Welcome to the Protest & Flax banner, which shows flax flowers with their five broad petals surrounding a colonial woman at her spinning wheel, perhaps participating in a spinning bee protest.
Colonial women had limited rights and little voice in official public life. However, rebel leaders welcomed their wives, sisters and daughters to partner in the struggle against tyranny with a visible boycott of British textiles. This is how flax became a hero of the Revolution, and women participated in the rhetoric of liberty and equality!
In the 1760s, the British government had heavy debts from a series of wars. To solve their financial problems, the King and Parliament imposed new taxes on the colonies. In retaliation, the colonies organized voluntary boycotts of British imported goods, especially textiles.
To replace banned textiles, colonial women made homespun linen using locally grown flax. The spinning wheel became a symbol of freedom from royal tyranny. Public Spinning Bee protests became popular throughout the colonies. Women participating felt like patriots, and a Connecticut farm girl reported that she felt “nationly” after spinning. We don’t know how this played out in Menotomy, but we do know that an impressive public Spinning Bee was held in neighboring Lexington. Twenty-nine year old Anna Harrington gathered 45 women on the grass outside her home, and given the connections between the towns it is easy to imagine some Menotomy women joined in to demonstrate solidarity with rebel leaders.
Although not a native plant, flax would have been easy to grow in Menotomy and Lexington. However, preparing the strong stalky fibrous plant for spinning was strenuous and required specialized tools. After dried flax stalks were broken and separated on a flax brake, the fibers were “scutched” or “swingled” to remove remaining bark. Fibers were then pounded and repeatedly “hackled” – pulled through a sharp comb called a hackle – to remove chaff and detangle the fibers until they resembled fine blond hair.
Records of the daily lives of people of African descent in colonial times are scarce but the Lexington Historical Society uncovered a glimpse of a local emancipated couple, Prince and Cate Chessor, who earned extra money using their skills preparing and spinning flax. The town’s minister, Reverend Jonas Clarke, paid them to do this work. He also baptized their daughters, Ruth and Lucy, before the family moved to Boxborough in 1777, where they had five more children, owned land, and prospered.
Now we’ll hear from artist Liz Shepherd, who designed the images for our banners with her collaborator, Suzanne Moseley. Liz and Suzanne are both accomplished artists who exhibit in Greater Boston and internationally. Liz is one of the owners of Shepherd Maudsley Studio, a community printmaking space in Newton.