HISTORY FEEDBACK

Strawbery Banke Museum is reviving a piece of Portsmouth's past to help lead the way into a more sustainable future - and the public can help by sharing their family photos and memories. Now is the time to bring back the savings, green culture and community action of these practical practices.

Strawbery Banke
February 2009

Your garden counts more than ever

In 2008, less than 6% of the agricultural products consumed in New Hampshire were grown within the state. Concerned as we are with rising food costs, the use of fossil fuel to ship food long distances, and the enhanced security of having food sources in our own region, Americans are seeking ideas from the past to revive local gardening on a scale even a small household can manage. The Victory Garden movement can provide an inspirational example.

To create new victory garden exhibits -- and connect them with the real, personal stories of Seacoast life during wartime -- Strawbery Banke is seeking stories, photos, letters, and other memorabilia related to the Victory Garden era as people on the Seacoast experienced it.

 John Forti, curator of Historic Landscape at Strawbery Banke Museum says that "Today, the museum is in a unique position to teach about the past in order to create a more sustainable future. At a time when produce is shipped an average of 3,500 miles, a new generation of victory or peace gardens can remind us how to reduce our carbon footprint, while teaching valuable lessons in backyard gardening and home economy to American families today". As one of the only recreated WWII Victory Gardens in the nation, this project will help the museum lead discussions about localism movements, community and organic gardening in history and today, ways to get kids engaged in outdoor life, and solutions that, now and in the past, can help Americans make wise use of our abundant resources.  

The timely restoration of the Strawbery Banke Victory Garden will begin to share that knowledge once again. Programs and exhibits in and around the garden will engage visitors in the processes of gardening, composting, heirloom seed saving, canning, and preservation. Changes to the garden will highlight and beautify the museum's only large-scale food production garden and foster an intergenerational understanding of history by connecting shared experiences in the garden with family lore and memories. A new costumed historic role-player and updated exhibits will involve visitors in hands-on work, helping to illustrate that creating a new generation of backyard gardens can make a difference -- keeping local land productive and children engaged in meaningful outdoor activity. 

If you have any family memories, pictures or other items from a Seacoast Victory garden that you think might help bring these exhibits to life, or if there are other ways you would like to contribute to the success of this new program, please contact John Forti at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or at the museum, PO Box 300, Portsmouth NH 03802.

About Strawbery Banke Museum

Connect with the Past! Step into 400 years of living in the Puddle Dock neighborhood. Strawbery Banke provides the opportunity to see how people lived for four centuries of New England history. Through restored furnished houses, exhibits, historic landscapes and gardens, and costumed role players, Strawbery Banke interprets the living history of generations who settled in Portsmouth, NH, from the late 17th century to the mid-20th century. 

Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, NH, is open May 1 through October 31, 10 to 5 daily; and November through December for guided walking tours and special events. Call 603-433-1100 for more information on admission or visit strawberybanke.org.