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03/20/2024 08:30 AMFrom East Haven to Salem, Massachusetts to Egypt millennia ago, Michelle Piercey is fascinated by all avenues of human history. Fortunately, Michelle has found the perfect position to suit that interest in her role as president of the East Haven Historical Society.
“I’m a lover of history,” Michelle says. “I've been, thankfully, very honored to be president going into my second year.”
Michelle is looking to bring more of East Haven’s history to the town while serving as president of the historical society. One of the ways she wants to accomplish this is through collaborations with schools that represent students of all grades.
“Any kind of program, even with the elementary school, especially to elementary school. The kids like seeing stuff like that a little bit more. And middle school,” says Michelle. “It doesn't matter any of the grades. We would love to be more involved there.”
The historical society is also looking to plant more trees at the East Haven Town Green and see the reopening of its new museum location at the former Vernon Hays School. Michelle’s goal is for the building to function like “a museum/research center, so if anyone wants to research anything, they could just go there.”
For anyone who has a question about the history of East Haven, is seeking a photograph of the town from many moons ago, or wants to gather more information on the historical society, Michelle is there to answer those inquiries.
“We have our meetings to try to inform the town what's going on, hopefully get more volunteers,” she says. “Anybody that wants to come and just research any little thing or come volunteer and help for anything. It doesn't matter what it is.”
As a lover of history, Michelle regularly watches historical documentaries, mostly those that focus on ancient history, religious practices of various cultures of antiquity, and “how it used to be back then.”
“I like Roman times, Egypt, all of that,” she says. “My daughters call me a nerd because I’ll be sitting here watching [documentaries]. Right now, I'm watching a series on Alexander the Great. That stuff intrigues me.”
To this day, questions about how the Great Pyramids of Giza were constructed remain unanswered by historians. Michelle and other history buffs are boggled about how it was possible, over 4,600 years ago, for the builders of the 454-foot high tomb to construct one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World without the luxury of electricity or smart technology.
“Egypt alone, we can't compare to, we can’t even touch it. The things they did there were there nowadays can't even be done the same way, so you just wonder, how?” Michelle says. “It’s a cool mystery I think to try to just be involved in and try to learn about. You have some people stating that it’s from a higher power somewhere else, somewhere else in the universe, or they just don't know.”
Michelle also points to Stonehenge as another example of a remarkable feat in ancient construction that is difficult to fathom.
“How did they make it? The stone itself came from miles and miles away,” she said.
Beyond East Haven and compared to other states, Michelle says that, “Connecticut alone is just pouring history.” She mentions that the state was the location of the first large-scale witch trials in Colonial American history, predating the more well-known witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.
Michelle is also the founder and president of the Black Hat Society of Connecticut, which in 2023 was successful in having the State of Connecticut expunge the crimes committed by those who were believed to be witches, some 370 years after the trials. As a result, 12 men and women, including 11 who were executed, were absolved from their crimes, finally bringing comfort for their ancestors.
“There’s a lot of people that are descendants of that situation,” says Michelle. “So, just to make the family feel better in that way and give them the respect that they deserve.”
In addition to leading the historical society and Black Hat Society, Michelle works at ACES Mill Road School in North Haven and is also active in other organizations. Michelle is a part of Clean Up East Haven and is also a former vice president of the East Haven PTO.
The East Haven Historical Society’s Facebook page can be accessed at www.facebook.com/easthavenhistoricalsociety.