Earl Taylor and his colleagues are bringing new life to the telling of Dorchester's history.

For three years now, the Dorchester Historical Society president has been making almost daily use of the digital world to connect with society members and anyone else interested in the history of our town. For many months, Taylor has sent an email with a "Dorchester Illustration of the Day," drawn largely from his own personal collection of Dorchester postcards printed around the turn of the last century. Every weekday, subscribers have looked forward to finding another artifact image, along with a brief history lesson sitting right in their computer's inbox.

Last May, Taylor suspended the free service to regroup for the summer, and this week a new series began.

" The Dorchester Illustration of the Day returns," Taylor wrote on Tuesday. "Rules are the same. I choose what I happen to be interested in even if it's a repeat of something we have seen before. You can unsubscribe at any time by e-mailing me.

"Today's image: The Mason Regulator Co. was located on Adams Street at the corner of Medway Street in the building now used by Standish Village. The company manufactured pressure regulating devices for locomotives and other machines. Apparently Charles Chase owned the property in 1889, but advertisements in the 1888 and 1889 Boston directories show the building was occupied by the Mason Regulator Co.

"William B. Mason, the head of the company, lived in the shingle-style house at the crest of the hill at 15-17 Medway Street next to the factory. Queen Ann factory building with corner tower and false gable ends probably built in the 1880s, joined on the south side to a 3-story wing built in 1929."

Anyone with a computer can avail of this wonderful series; to connect with Taylor, simply send an email to Ermmwwt@aol.com.

Meanwhile, an archival web site has been developed to make the images and the information available more broadly. Point your web browser to dorchesteratheneum.org; the web site offers a simple explanation of its purpose:

"The Dorchester Atheneum exists only as a web site devoted to the history of Dorchester, Massachusetts. The original Dorchester Atheneum was a private subscription library for Dorchester residents. The site is devoted to Dorchester's history and to the shameless promotion of Dorchester's wonderful features: its people, its architecture, its businesses, its institutions."

The work that Earl Taylor and his collaborators are doing to educate about our town's history is an invaluable and very welcome addition to our community. Check them out online, and learn something you may not know about Dorchester.

-Ed Forry