If
you don’t live in Cavendish, you may not be aware that we had quite the
snowstorm at the end of November, where more than half the town was without
power. In some places, it took almost a week for it to be restored. Without belaboring it, a lot of things were
impacted, including getting out the December edition of the Cavendish
Historical Society’s “Briefs.”
We
know with holidays rapidly approaching you have lots going on, so we’ll make
this a “quick read.” We have included both information about our annual appeal
campaign as well as the letter from the people of Cavendish to the people of
Russia in honor of Solzhenitsyn’s 100th birthday.
WHAT
WE’RE DOING
Carmine Guica Young
Historians: As
part of our annual Cavendish Town Elementary School program, where we teach the students about the people
and cultures who helped to shape Cavendish, we will have our day long series of
workshops and “a taste of” on Dec. 19. This year our focus is Scandinavia
(Denmark, Norway and Sweden).
In
order to facilitate discussion by students, teachers, families and community, we have a special “A
Cavendish Christmas,” short story you can read on-line. Lots of resource information is included, and the story itself is based in
fact.
A
special thanks to Stein van Schaik and the McEnaney’s Blueberry Fund for
helping to underwrite these programs.
 |
| Watching video at Cavendish Baptist Church |
Solzhenitsyn: In spite of incredibly
awful weather, we went ahead with our 100th birthday for Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn on December 2. We showed his farewell address to Cavendish, followed
by discussion and a potluck supper. Thanks to Svetlana Phillips, there was
plenty of wonderful Russian food followed by cake (made by members of the
Solzhenitsyn family) and ice cream.
 |
| Sharing wonderful food. |
On
Nov. 15, Margo Caulfield of CHS spoke about
Solzhenitsyn’s Life in Cavendish as part of the third Thursday series of the VT
Historical Society (VHS). This was our first experience with Facebook Live. You
can watch the presentation at the VHS Facebook page. Note that you do
not need to be a Facebook subscriber to view the video. You may have to scroll
down a bit to get to the presentation.
Letter to the Russian
People:
This letter will be read at the Russian conference in Moscow in honor of
Solzhenitsyn’s 100th birthday on Dec. 11.
November 13, 2018
To the People of Russia:
For 18 of the 20 years he was exiled from Russia, Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn and his family lived with us in Cavendish, Vermont. The
Solzhenitsyns were then, as they are now, good neighbors, respected and valued
members of our community.
While we are sad when residents choose to leave, we were
glad that Solzhenitsyn was able to return to his “motherland,” as he predicted
he would at our 1977 Cavendish Town Meeting. No matter how much our countryside
may have reminded him of Russia, and allowed him the time to write, it would
never compensate for the country he cared so deeply about.
Solzhenitsyn’s values were a good match for our Yankee way
of life-hard work and the ability to speak freely and openly, yet also
respectful of others and their privacy. While he learned from us how
grass-roots democracy works, we in turn were reminded of the importance of
providing sanctuary to those in need and the value of having courage and strong
beliefs.
Upon his departure, Solzhenitsyn left the town not only
autographed copies of his books, but more importantly, a homestead, which
allows his children to remain an integral and important part of our community.
The lessons he instilled in his sons are shared with us as we work together to
resolve the thorny issues of 21st-century life.
Every town needs a secret, such as the one we kept: “No
directions to the Solzhenitsyn’s home,” as it united us for a common good. We
still do not give out directions, but we do welcome visitors from around the
world.
On this the 100th birthday of Solzhenitsyn, the people of Cavendish extend our best
wishes to the people of his homeland.
On behalf of the people of Cavendish,
Margo Caulfield
Director, Cavendish Historical Society
Brendan McNamara
Cavendish Town Manager
ANNUAL APPEAL
November 23, 2018
Dear Friend:
What a year! We have greeted people from all over the
world at the Museum, while at the same time participating in international
conferences and responding to countless e-mails and calls relating to two
important anniversaries- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s100 birthday and 170 years
since Phineas Gage’s accident.
As wonderful as all of this has been, we’re
particularly pleased to let people know that the Carmine Guica Young Historians
(CGYH) program is having an amazing effect. Not only does Cavendish have little
to no vandalism from teens, but we’re seeing real improvement in areas of town
where we’ve had students working. We’ve added new programs thanks to donors
support and we are now receiving requests for program expansion to match the
new formation of the Green Mountain Unified School District. This will be our goal
for the coming year.
We can’t do this without your help. You can play
an integral part by
• Donating to the annual appeal
campaign, specifying how you want your contribution to be used.
• Renewing your annual
membership.
• Volunteering to help with
our various programs, including CGYH
Wishing you a joyous holiday season, and a happy New
Year.
Sincerely,
Dan Churchill, President
Please send your tax-deductible donations to CHS, PO
Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142.
If
you have questions or wish to volunteer with CHS, please call 802-226-7807,
e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com
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