Saturday, April 13, 2019

Remembering Dr. Eugene Bont

--> It is with deep sadness that we note the passing of Dr. Eugene Bont on April 13, 2019.

Born in 1930 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Dr. Eugene Merlin Bont attended Northwestern Medical School. He married Phyllis Flint, whom he met in kindergarten. Phyllis, a nurse, became one of the first nurse practitioners in Vermont. Together they would come to Cavendish to provide medical care and to raise their family

Gene loved to tell the story of how he came to Cavendish.

 Prior to his arrival, the physician serving the town died. Two fatal car accidents occurred and Cavendish found they could not rely on Ludlow for medical coverage. Community leaders meet with the University of Vermont Medical School and were advised to equip a medical office and then recruit a physician. Kenwood Mills, who purchased Gay Brothers Mills and its holdings in 1951, donated the stone building to help form the new Black River Health Center (BRHC).

On his first visit, they drove him along the Cavendish Reading Road and he was sold. As much as he wanted to live there, he settled on the large white house that overlooked Cavendish Village and was built by Olin Gay. Here, he and Phyllis raised seven children and entertained many of the neighborhood kids.

In addition to being a country doctor and starting a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), he pioneered the use of physician extenders as a way to support the growing health needs in rural America. 

As if running the BRHC and providing primary care to Cavendish and the surrounding area wasn’t enough, he also served on the Duttonsville School Board, the independent school district for Cavendish village, for many years. Through his leadership, in 1967, he helped to craft a union high school district (Green Mountain Union High School) for grades 7-12 that consisted of the towns of Cavendish, Andover, Chester and Duttonsville.  The latter school would be merged in 1972 with the Proctorsville School, creating the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES).

 In 1988, Dr. Bont not only received the Physician of the Year Award from the Vermont Medical Society but he left Cavendish for Albany Medical Center’s Department of Family Medicine. Here he would not only continue to practice but he was actively involved in training students and residents, as well as helping to chart new directions in Family Medicine. 

Upon retiring in 1999, Dr. Bont returned to Cavendish full time. Shortly thereafter, his combined love of children and education, led him to become a member of the CTES board, often serving as chair, until the board was dissolved in June 2018. In recent years, he was also on the GMUHS Board.

Loving the outdoors, it was no surprise that he became a Master Gardener in retirement. Dr. Bont was also a volunteer for his grandsons’ Boy Scout Troop as well as helping out with the sixth grade annual Camp Keewadin trip.

He was a runner and hiker and at 80 years of age, he participated in the Cavendish Historical Society’s hike over Hawks Mountain to look for the fabled cannon. 

In 2015, he received the George F. Leland Award, which recognizes an individual who exemplifies the highest ideals of community health care. Named in honor of the first president of Springfield Hospital, it was given to Dr. Bont in recognition for his leadership of the Black River Health Center, which served Ludlow, Proctorsville, and Cavendish, and his ground breaking work to create a way for Physician Assistants to become an important part of Springfield Hospital and health care in general. All Physician Assistants practice today based on the methodology developed under Dr. Bont’s leadership.

To show their appreciation of his dedication to the education of children, members of the CTES community dedicated a bench in his honor in the fall of 2018. 
Phyllis and Gene surrounded by school children at the Bench dedication
Dr. Bont is survived by his wife Phyllis and six children: Sharon Jackson of San Antonio, Texas, Carole Bont and Donald LoCascio of Woodsville, N.H., Mary Stillwell of Sunapee, N.H., Geno and Tina Bont of Worcester, Mass., Beth and Bruce LaBarge of Springfield, VT and Erik deNeergaard of Merrimack, N.H. A daughter, Robin Lee Crowell/Kendall/Scannell predeceased him. In addition, he is survived by numerous grandchildren, including Rachel Stillwell who helped to care for him in his final illness, and great grandchildren.

Monday, April 1, 2019

CHS Briefs April 1, 2019


Please also check the Cavendish VT Facebook page for photo albums of various CHS activities.

RESEARCHING AND WRITING
March was Women’s History Month. If you missed our weekly posts on Cavendish Women You Should Know, you can check them out as follows:


 WHAT WE’RE DOING
Tim O'Donaghue speaking
Annual Meeting: CHS held their annual on March 31. The film “Alone in the Wilderness” was a big hit as well as the presentation by Proctorsville resident Tim O’Donaghue, who shared his photographs and stories about being at Twin Lakes in June 2018. Based on expressed interest, we will be looking to show Part II in the series later this summer.

Carmine Guica Young Historians: St. Patrick’s Day was once again a fun day of activities with students in grades 3, 5th & 6th. As always the Irish Soda Bread (recipe from County Cork) was a big hit. This year the 6th grade learned how to make labyrinths while the 5th graders, who are studying the Colonial period, focused on the first Irish who came to America and their role in the Revolutionary War.

As we move into the warmer months, lots of new school programming this year. On April 4, we will be teaching the first graders how to make felt balls from sheep wool. On April 8, they will learn the types of games that were played by early settlers as well as Native Americans.

Solzhenitsyn: The Cavendish Select Board has given approval for the Vermont Historic Road Marker for Solzhenitsyn. We plan on submitting the application in the next few weeks.

SAVE THE DATE
Craig's old plant sale list
May 25 (Saturday): CHS Annual Plant Sale. NOTE CHANGE OF DATE. We will have a list of items for sale in the May 1 Briefs. This change was made as the Museum no longer has water due to the damage from the Town Garage fire and eventual demolition. Consequently, it’s difficult to do the plant sale close to July 4 as it’s a challenge in keeping plants hydrated when it’s hotter.

May 26 (Sunday): The Museum season begins. Hours are 2-4 pm, every Sunday Memorial Day through Columbus weekend. The Museum can be opened at other times by request at the numbers below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Anyone who would like to volunteer to paint at the Museum and/or the Stone Church, please contact CHS at the numbers below.

If you have questions or wish to volunteer with CHS, please call 802-226-7807, e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com