Salons at Stowe Returns!

For immediate release:

December 4, 2023

Salons at Stowe Returns!

Second and Fourth Wednesday Evenings

Held in the Katharine Seymour Day House parlor
Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Light refreshments will be provided

HARTFORD (CT) – The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is excited to announce the return of recurring Salons at Stowe conversations. Held in the Day House, guests will sit in the parlor to discuss relevant and current topics that are happening in the world around us. Conversations will be from 6:00 – 7:00 pm and light refreshments will be provided. Sessions are free to attend each week, however a donation of canned goods or toiletries is welcome to contribute to our Little Free Pantry and Library. Historically, these well-attended sessions created an atmosphere of vulnerability and allowed participants to explore deep topics and fully learn in a space of open dialogue. Beginning in December 2023 and continuing through 2024, every second and fourth Wednesday of each month guests will convene in the Day House parlor to discuss a contemporary and relevant topic to the world around us. The list of Salons at Stowe topics are available on our website Calendar.

“Salons at Stowe harken back to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s time in the 19^th century, where family, friends, neighbors gathered to read aloud newspaper articles and engage in earnest discourse,” said Karen Fisk, Executive Director of the Stowe Center. “Visitors will step into a space that sparks courageous conversations that inspire change for good.”

Facilitating the two upcoming programs in December is Cat White, the Director of Public Programs; she remarks that “our topics are relevant conversations such as race, class, gender, education, social justice, and literary activism. These Salons provide a forum for lively discussion on contemporary topics that connect to 19th century issues.”

Upcoming in December, the Stowe Center will offer two programs influenced by recent online topics:

December 13th – Author and scholar Dr. Ruha Benjamin’s recent TED Talk asks us to consider humanity’s relationship to technology. Using this talk as a springboard, we will explore the benefits and pitfalls of our growing technological age and discuss the possibilities that we envision for society. Listen here.

December 27th – This week we consider our relationship with food, those who grow it, and the little understood Farm Bill. The literary magazine, The Common, has an issue dedicated to short fiction, essays, and poetry written by farmworkers. Using these pieces, as well as the history of and current debates around the Farm Bill, we will discuss food justice, sustainability, and access. Read here.

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The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is a museum, research library, and program center in Hartford, Connecticut. The Stowe Center’s mission is to preserve and interpret Stowe’s Hartford home and the Center’s historic collections, promote vibrant discussion of her life and work, and inspire commitment to social justice and positive change. For general information and updates, visit www.HarrietBeecherStoweCenter.org.

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CONTACT: Christina Tom

Harriet Beecher Stowe Center

860.522.9258 x305 | ctom@stowecenter.org

School Group Interest Form

School Group Interest Form 2024

Thank you so much for your interest in a group tour at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center! Please help us schedule your visit by answering the questions below.

School name:

Please suggest three dates and times when your group would like to visit. (Note: the Stowe Center is closed on Sunday and Tuesday.)

Contact Teacher Name:

Contact Teacher Email:(Required)

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Number of students expected to attend:(Required)

Please enter a number from 8 to 40.

Please identify the grade level(s) of attending students:(Required)

Likely number of chaperones (including other teachers):

The Stowe Center requires one adult per every 10 students.

Are there special student, teacher, or chaperone accommodations that can help us serve you best?

Do you plan to have lunch on site?

Yes, please.

No, thank you.

Are you interested in scheduling a joint visit with our neighbor, The Mark Twain House and Museum?

Yes, please

No, thank you.

If yes, have you already contacted The Mark Twain House?

Yes

Isabella Beecher Hooker

Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker (1822-1907)
An ardent member of the woman’s suffrage movement, Isabella Holmes Beecher Hooker joined in the cause along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.

Isabella was the first child of Lyman Beecher and his second wife, Harriet Porter Beecher.

Isabella began her education at Catharine Beecher’s Hartford Female Seminary and lived with her sister Mary Perkins. In 1841 she married John Hooker, a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford. John Hooker was a lawyer and an abolitionist.

In the early 1860s Isabella got involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Isabella joined Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony as a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in 1869. She was a founding member of the Connecticut Woman’s Suffrage Association. Isabella’s ideas of equality were influenced by John Stuart Mills’ On Liberty and the Subjection of Women.

In 1871, Isabella organized the annual convention of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association in Washington D.C. and presented her argument before the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Her husband, John Hooker, believed in his wife and supported her activities. He helped Isabella draft a bill to the Connecticut Legislature giving married women the same property rights as their husbands. The bill passed in 1877. Isabella annually submitted a bill granting women the right to vote, but it did not pass in her lifetime.

Salons at Stowe Returns!

Second and Fourth Wednesday Evenings

Held in the Katharine Seymour Day House parlor

Wednesday evenings from 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Light refreshments will be provided