WHEN WE WERE NORMAL
A Historical Augmented Reality Walking Tour
ABOUT THE PROJECT
When We Were Normal began as a passing conversation between Professor Elise Takehana and university archivist, Asher Jackson in 2015. It started as “wouldn’t it be nice to have an augmented reality tour for Robert Cormier’s Leominster and Fitchburg?” However, after three years of coming in and out of the university archive’s Robert Cormier collection, Elise had heard so many stories of the campus from Asher. From a Supreme Court case on free speech in student papers to launching the first Special Education program in Massachusetts, Fitchburg State had entirely too many good stories that deserved telling.
By 2017 it seemed impossible to leave all those stories behind in the windowless basement archive to chill. Students in Elise's Fall 2017 Experimental Writing and Media Conscious Storytelling courses conducted the initial research and Faith Chesbrough, Dan Hein, Trevor Murphy, Aaron Canterbury, and Elise Takehana completed the research and wrote the original 35 stories included here.
While researching for When We Were Normal they found that Fitchburg Normal School students and their pupils at the elementary and middle practice schools applied their learning to developing the school’s infrastructure, revenue models, and marketing. They thought of our work as part of that legacy. To spread the joy, they asked Professor Stephen Goldstein and his students in Publication Design to help too by designing a brochure and this website.
Ultimately, the more we know of Fitchburg State’s past the more connected we feel to its collective future. We are the product of these principles and its history lives on in us. Bringing that history above ground makes those stories that much more a part of our everyday lives on campus.
CREDITS
Current Project Lead:
J.J. Sylvia IV, Associate Professor of Communications at Fitchburg State University. He co-founded the undergraduate major in Digital Media Innovation and the Master's degree in Digital Media. He research and write about philosophy of communication.
Project Creator:
Elise Takehana, Associate Professor of English Studies at Fitchburg State University. She teaches writing and rhetoric and researches digital text production, media studies, and electronic and contemporary literature.
Faculty Advisor on Design:
Stephen Goldstein, Professor of Communications Media, Graphic Design concentration
Writers:
Jarrod Howard is a 2025 Digital Media Innovation graduate, who conducted research and digitaized materials as part of his capstone project.
Faith Chesbrough is a 2018 Professional Writing graduate from Leominster, MA. This project embodies her passion for writing and researching and also gave her a new favorite pastime — reading dusty old books in dimly lit archives.
Dan Hein is a 2018 Professional Writing graduate from Billerica, MA. He knew he enjoyed writing, sleeping, and eating, but discovered a love for research and Fitchburg's history with this project.
Trevor Murphy is an English Literature major and Music minor from Ashby, MA. He is passionate about playing guitar, hiking, and golfing and has grown to appreciate Fitchburg’s distinguished history and the research skills he’s gained from this project.
Aaron Canterbury is a literature major who plans to teach in Fitchburg public schools upon graduation where he hopes to continue this project with his students. Though originally from Kentucky, Aaron’s pride for Fitchburg and its community is strong.
Research Support:
Asher Jackson, Fitchburg State University Archivist and Reference and Instructional Librarian
Shirley Wagner, PhD, Fitchburg State University faculty emerita and retired Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and volunteer at the Fitchburg Historical Society
Susan Navarre, Director of the Fitchburg Historical Society
Brochure Design:
Aaron Hatch, Communications Media, Graphic Design Concentration
Website Design:
Ian Lawrence, Communications Media, Graphic Design Concentration
Chris Gordon, Communications Media, Graphic Design Concentration
Amber Palizzollo, Communications Media, Graphic Design Concentration