Join us for a celebration of the 200th birthday of Elisha Slade Converse, the first Mayor of Malden, president of the Boston Rubber Shoe Co., and major benefactor to many organizations in the City of Malden. We invite you celebrate Elisha’s 200th birthday with family and friends on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. via zoom. A link to the zoom meeting will be posted on the library’s calendar page one hour prior to the event at https://maldenpubliclibrary.org/browse-mpl/events-programs/
Born in 1820, Elisha Slade and Mary Diana Edmands Converse were the largest benefactors of many of Malden’s most important institutions, including the Malden Public Library (Converse Memorial Building), Pine Banks Park, Fellsmere Pond and Park, the Malden YMCA, the First Baptist Church, the Malden Hospital, the Malden Home for the Aged Persons, the Malden Auditorium, Malden Associated Charities, Malden Industrial Aid Society and the Malden Day Nursery, and many other community organizations. In 1853, Elisha founded the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, which was Malden’s largest employer and the world’s largest producer of fine rubber boots, shoes, and overshoes.
Due to the pandemic, “Converse 2020,” a community-wide celebration and exhibition has been delayed until June 2021.