Her memories are clear and warm &emdash; like the tea we shared at my kitchen table on a cold January day. Born in Harlem and raised in Brooklyn, Framingham’s Edwina Weston-Dyer fondly remembers her rich family legacy. Her father was a World War II Army veteran who served in Europe and her mother came from a long line of strong, respected women who "started from scratch" and made something of themselves. Edwina’s great-grandmother was a mid-wife, her grandmother was a seamstress, and her mother, a social worker for the City of New York - educated at Hunter College. They were strong women - women who accomplished a great deal in their lives and passed it on. Her father was a solid family man and average guy. Edwina is thankful.

She fondly remembers New York City’s Shoenburg Library on 136^th street, where she went for information as a child and where she and other historians still go for information about African American history today. Early exposure to two historians from Harlem and Brooklyn, who lived in fascinating houses full of books and research papers, led to her present interest in history. Initially educated as a commercial artist at the Pratt Institute, Edwina felt further drawn to history when she started wondering just "who is this or that artist, and why did he or she do this kind of art?" A graduate of Vermont College with two masters degrees from Harvard, Edwina describes her interests as having flowed from art to social concerns to ministry and history as she becomes more involved in community service.

In March 1998, the Framingham Historical Society formed the African American Heritage Committee in recognition of the contribution of Framingham’s three hundred year old history of African slaves and African Americans. Edwina Weston-Dyer, representing a committee which includes her husband Charles Dyer, Brenda Caldwell, Gene Grant, and Marvin Karp, sits on the Framingham Historical Society’s Board of Directors. In her application for a Framingham Cultural Council grant in the fall of 1998, Edwina wrote about a "sense of urgency to gather the facts, the primary sources for telling this story, and a need to make the three hundred year celebration of the founding of Framingham fully inclusive of its remarkable African American history." Toward that end, the committee’s proposed lecture series will fund quarterly lectures in 1999 under the heading, "Historians, Authors, and Interpreters: An African American Cultural Lecture Series in the Town of Framingham."

Edwina speaks excitedly about her greater purpose &emdash; to expand the base of Framingham’s African American history within the context of the national African American story. Toward this end, she is doing extensive research at the Framingham Historical Society, Framingham State College, Harvard University, Massachusetts Historical Society, and the Antiquarian Society. She adds that Framingham is unique in that "both Peter Salem and Crispus Attucks, both Framingham residents, played pivotal roles in the rush for freedom in colonial America." Peter Salem won his freedom by volunteering to fight in the Revolutionary War, and Crispus Attucks ran away in his search for personal freedom and later died in the Boston Massacre. Edwina describes both men as having "understood the importance of the fight for freedom in spite of the fact that they each did not have it for themselves." Eventually her committee will make decisions in conjunction with the Framingham Historical Commission to place site markers in Framingham to celebrate the town’s African American history.

In an attempt to weave Framingham’s past into the year 2001, Edwina and her committee are planning a "Harmony Grove Historical Summer Week-end Fair" at Farm Pond. The fair will highlight some of the more famous African American and European American Abolitionists who appeared at Harmony Grove during the nineteenth century with interpreters representing Sojourner Truth and others. The plan, supported enthusiastically by the Framingham Historical Society Board, also calls for boating on Farm Pond and a week-end of fun.

Our conversation continued &emdash; our tea cups once again full. Talk drifted to my trip to Boston to see the play, Ragtime, and how much I was moved by it. Charles and Edwina’s son, Adam Dyer, a graduate of Princeton, performed in the Ragtime ensemble, the first black ensemble on Broadway. Their second son Hakim (Chris) Dyer, a graduate of Dartmouth, is a banker. Both sons are proud graduates of Framingham South. Adam performed both on Broadway and in Europe, performing in up to eight shows a week. Edwina shared that at the opening in Toronto, the audience was so moved by the play that no one spoke as they left the theatre. The play, she added, "weaves so well the African American experience and immigrant history in New York City at the turn of the century." Today, Edwina researches and weaves her own story &emdash; a story of African Americans in Framingham. A story that needs to be told.

Tune in Cable Channel 17 on Tuesday, February 16, 1999 from7-8 pm. Host William F. Dyan, host of "Framingham Trivia" will host a live show and panel discussion, "How To Get Your Heirlooms & Attic Treasures Appraised" Call in questions that evening to 875-5434.

Framingham Historical Society Museum is in the Old Academy at the corner of Vernon and Grove Streets. Hours are Wednesday, Thursday 10am to 4pm, and Saturday 10am to 1pm. Admission $2, under 12 FREE.

For questions or information about becoming a member, call 872-3780.

Elsa Hornfischer (508) 620-6440, (e-mail) elsadave@ultranet.com