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September 18, 2025 - Richard Smith as Henry David Thoreau, MIT's Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, and a fall TV guide
For more than a quarter century, Richard Smith embodied Henry David Thoreau—donning the waistcoat and straw hat, walking the paths of Concord, and giving voice to one of New England’s most enduring thinkers. Now, after 26 years of living deliberately in another man’s shoes, Smith is stepping away from the role. Closing a chapter that made Thoreau’s world vividly real for thousands who visited Walden Pond.
From there, If you think carving a pumpkin takes skill, imagine shaping one in glass heated to nearly 2,000 degrees. At MIT’s Glass Lab—a place where art meets science—students, faculty, and…
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