Debora Bridges And Anika Lopes To Receive Conch Shell Award From Amherst Historical Society on Saturday, February 12
Five of the six Civil War Tablets from 1883 that commemorate 300 Amherst residents who fought in the Civil War. The tablets have been in storage for about 25 years and are now on display in the Pole Room of the Bangs Center. Photo: Benjamin Breger
After not giving an award due to the pandemic in 2021, the Amherst Historical Society will present its annual Conch Shell Award to Debora Bridges and her daughter, Town Councilor Anika Lopes (District 4), for their efforts in promoting the rehabilitation and public presentation of the town’s marble Civil War tablets. The tablets were commissioned for many state towns by the Grand Army of the Republic in 1893 to honor Massachusetts residents who fought in the Civil War. Bridges’ great-great-great grandfather Christopher, and his brothers John, Henry James, and Charles Thompson are among the more than 300 Amherst residents represented on the five tablets.
The four brothers not only fought in the Civil War, but were among the soldiers who notified the people of Galveston, Texas of the end of the Civil War and, thus slavery, in 1865. Galveston was the last city notified that the Emancipation Proclamation would be enforced. The Juneteenth holiday commemorates this event.
The tablets were moved to a storage facility in North Amherst with the Town Hall renovation in the 1990s. Bridges and Lopes continued the efforts of Bridges’ father, Dudley Bridges, Sr., who died in 2004, to fundraise in order to repair the tablets, and to find a public place to display them. After a successful campaign, the tablets have been on display in the Bang’s Center since July, 2021 with Debora Bridges acting as a docent for public tours.
The Conch Shell award has been given to an Amherst resident to recognize valuable contributions to the preservation and appreciation of Amherst history. The award refers to the conch shell blown to call residents to town meeting in the 18th century. The last recipient was the late Maurianne Adams, who was instrumental in establishing the local historical district. It has been part of the Founders Day Program and annual meeting of the Historical Society. At this year’s meeting, the award will be named after the late Arthur Kinney, who created the award in 2007 and died on Christmas Day in 2021.
The annual meeting and award ceremony will be broadcast on Zoom at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 12. The meeting link is https://amherstma.zoom.us/j/84012266097