Gov. Maura Healey’s partner Joanna Lydgate takes on traditional role

BOSTON — First Partner Joanna Lydgate gently wrapped her arm around Gov. Maura Healey’s waist for a moment as the pair marveled at the murals adorning Nurses Hall and read a plaque on Monday morning in a State House hallway.

The stop marked one of the last points of interest on their State House tour, which was filled with bursts of giggles as Healey and Lydgate quietly admired the capitol’s artwork and learned Massachusetts trivia from Lynn Grilli, a member of the Doric Docents.

Later Monday, just days into Pride Month, Lydgate assumed her role as the honorary president of the Doric Docents, as the first partner takes on a more public role alongside the state’s first openly gay governor. Her entrance into the public eye inched forward in December, when Lydgate read “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” to children during a celebration for Massachusetts Gold Star families.

Healey, speaking to reporters after the roughly 45-minute tour concluded, called Lydgate’s new role “wonderful.”

“I know she’s honored to do it -- very honored to do it,” Healey said on behalf of Lydgate, who did not participate in a post-tour media scrum due to a meeting, according to the governor.

Healey and Lydgate started their tour in Doric Hall, making their way through key landmarks throughout the building, including Nurses Hall, Bartlett Hall, the Great Hall, the Grand Staircase, the State Library, and the House and Senate chambers. As they ventured onto the chamber floors, Healey asked several court officers, “Do you know Joanna?”, as she launched into introductions.

After an annual meeting and luncheon for the Doric Docents, Lydgate, the founder and CEO of the nonpartisan organization States United Democracy Center, said she was “thrilled” about the honorary position.

“The work that the docents do is critical, educating the public, educating the next generation, being able to share the history of this beautiful space and the importance of it,” Lydgate later told the News Service, which caught up with her in the Great Hall. “And as I said today, this is also the birthplace of American democracy, and so I think helping to teach, especially the next generation, about why this space matters, how hard fought our freedoms were in this country, is a really important thing.”

By tradition, the governor’s spouse is installed as president of the Doric Docents. The organization was founded in 1969 by First Lady Jessie Fay Sargent, during the first year in office of her husband, Gov. Francis Sargent. It was known until 2005 as the Doric Dames.

The Doric Docents describe themselves as a “non-political and non-profit organization operating with the cooperation of the Secretary of State’s Office and supported by the State House Archives Division.” The group’s “primary purpose is to provide and support highly trained volunteer guides acting in the capacity of docents who regularly conduct historical and informational tours.”

The organization was named after Doric Hall, the central room in the original 1798 Bulfinch State House, where the guides maintain their headquarters.

First Lady Lauren Baker served as the group’s ninth president, and in 2016 she held a gathering to celebrate the Docents during the 100th anniversary year of Sargent’s birth.

Lydgate joked that she doesn’t think she is qualified to lead tours of the State House. But Lydgate pledged to bring her middle-school-aged son and daughter for a tour, saying it would happen “hopefully this summer.”

In Doric Hall, Lydgate playfully patted Healey’s shoulder, as Grilli explained the special situations in which the front doors of the State House are opened and used, including when a governor leaves office.

In the Great Hall, where nearly all 351 cities and towns have flags on display, Lydgate navigated a touch screen to help find the location of the flag for Arlington, where she lives with her children. Healey moved in last year, after living in Cambridge.

“I love it, that’s great,” Healey said, after Lydgate had to press the touch screen several times before getting it to cooperate. The pair then peered upward, eager to use the new information to pinpoint the Arlington flag.

Healey and Lydgate both described the State Library as “beautiful,” as they looked up at the elaborate ceiling before peering at a display of books from Massachusetts authors. Lydgate quietly told Grilli about the fiction genres that her son and daughter enjoy, as she praised the Arlington library.

The pair laughed inside the Senate Reading Room, as Grilli directed their attention to the sculpture of a bird on a historical clock on the wall, above a scroll that unfurls the words “E pluribus unum.” Grilli shared a popular, though possibly apocryphal, anecdote that the bird is a “teagle,” or combination of a turkey and an eagle, from the days when the new country had not yet settled on a national avian emblem.

“Is that for real?” Lydgate asked.

Lydgate said she and Healey learned something new wherever they turned in the capitol. But for the first partner, one tidbit in particular struck her from their time in Doric Hall, where a massive portrait of Abraham Lincoln captures the president with one arm behind his back.

“Probably the thing that stood out to me most was learning the origin of the phrase, ‘an arm and a leg,’” Lydgate said. “I think it’s actually cheaper if you don’t paint all four limbs. That was an interesting fun fact, so I think lots that’s really appealing, especially for younger people, just because the docents can point out fun, cool, weird things. We had a blast, so we’ll be back for sure.”

Healey, asked about her takeaways from the tour, said Bay Staters “are so lucky” to have a public building like the State House.

“It’s a wonderful building. It’s full of history,” the governor said, as she expressed appreciation for their docent. “It was great even learning more about things that I just didn’t even know. So it’s a real gift to the people of the commonwealth. It’s living history, too, as you can see because matters are in session right now.”

[Sam Doran contributed to this story.]

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group