Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Twenty Mile Stream-Grave Robbery

For Halloween, and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) this year, the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) will be distributing treats (appropriately socially distanced) as well as providing a chance for anyone who wants to pick up a book, puzzle, CD etc. as part of our one night expanded CHS Cares Closet. Hours are 4-7 on Saturday, Oct. 31. If you have questions, call 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com

 


In keeping with Halloween, below is one of the  stories  from “Cemeteries of Cavendish, Vermont 1776-1976 Bicentennial Project” by Mary Churchill. Following the story is more information on the practice of “grave robbing.”

 

Oliver Whitney, Sr., lived on a farm northwest of the so-called Bates Farm on Twenty Mile Steam. Part of the farm was in Ludlow and part was in Cavendish. It is now included in the Bates farm.

 

Sometime in the early 1800’s, perhaps 1820 or so, James Whitney, son of Oliver, was ill from a cause doctors were unable to diagnose. The boy became morbid and seemed to have an overpowering presentiment that “the doctors” as he expressed it, would endeavor to possess his body after his decease because they could not determine the cause of his illness. He knew there was a Medical College in Woodstock and also knew medical students that had to rob graves in order to get their cadavers. He begged his brother, Oliver, Jr, to solemnly promise he’d guard his grave for as long a time as he felt it necessary. Oliver, to allay his brother’s fears, promised, altho’ he hardly believed there was any danger.

 

Whitney Grave

James died on Saturday in July and was buried in the Twenty Mile Stream cemetery near some Whitneys. They were Oliver, who died 10-3-1865 aged 75 years and 11 months, Mehitable d 5-31-1863 aged 75 yrs and Sarah who d 12-9-1843 yrs. Perhaps they were James grandparents. That night his brother, Oliver, accompanied by Robert Barrett, a next door neighbor’s boy who lived on the Ashton Spaulding farm just west of the Bates’ Mansion (now known as Mad Wives Stables)
[today its known as Bates Mansion again]
Twenty Mile Cem.
stationed themselves on the west side of the road from the cemetery (on what is now the Churchill farm) and where they could look across to the top of the hilly part of the cemetery where James was buried. As time passed by, the boys became drowsy and dozed off but were soon awakened by the sound of shovels removing gravel. They could see the outline of two forms near the grave. Quickly they searched for and collected all the cobblestones within their reach and carefully ascended the hill. When nearly to the top, they rushed at the robbers and sent a volley of cobblestones while shouting at the “top of their lungs” at the same time.

 

The grave robbers rushed down the backside of the hill toward the brook. They landed in a jungle of blackberry bushes, coming out into a meadow and soon pitched headlong into a bog hole, filled with slimy water and frog spittle, which from that day to this, has been known as “The Doctors Hole.” It is exactly on the line between the Churchill and Spaulding farm.

 

The robbers had left their horse and carriage near the old cheese factory, which stood a little below William Spaulding’s stone house. (now James Spaulding’s). They finally made their get-away.

 

Going back to the grave, the boys found a rope with a slip-noose, two shovels, a hammer and a key-hole saw. On the handle of the hammer was the name of a well-known physician in Woodstock, who, when the hammer was shown to him, acknowledged it was his, but had no idea how it got there!

 

How did the medical student know the Whitney boy had died? Is seems one of the College students had taught school in an adjoining district and somehow word had been sent to Woodstock.

 

James Whitney’s body was removed from the cemetery and interred near his home just over the town line in Cavendish and some claim his parents were buried beside him and also, some others who had died from the “spotted-fever” epidemic.

 

Woodstock Medical School (1827-1856): Dr Joseph A. Gallup started the Clinical School of Medicine in Woodstock in 1827. The Woodstock Infirmary became a site for bedside teaching, a concept stressed by the school and unique for its time. The infirmary became affiliated with Colby College in Waterville, Me, which granted medical degrees until 1832. Between 1833 and 1837, the school was affiliated with Middlebury College, after which it was chartered as the Vermont Medical College and could confer its own degrees. The History of Surgery in Vermont Arch Surg. 2001;136(4):467-472.

 

While the school was founded in 1827, efforts to secure a charter from the legislature failed in four successive sessions. One factor blocking the charter was the opposition of both the citizens of Woodstock and surrounding towns who feared, and rightfully so, that a medical college in the vicinity could lead to grave robbing. In 1829, the college issued the following notice, “We pledge ourselves to the community that we will not use or suffer to be used as far as may come to our knowledge any human body that may have been disinterred hereabouts. It may appear invidious to set limits but we are willing to say the State of Vermont. We are well assured of securing competency of the means from remote parts and in a manner that ever will be justified by the well informed and judicious part of the community.”

 

Given the dates for the Woodstock Medical School, the events described by Churchill would have taken place in the early 1830s.

 

Anatomical Material for Dissection: Obtaining anatomical material was always a concern for professors and students. It is likely that few students chose to do their own dissections. At the University of Vermont, cadavers were most often procured from out of state, although grave robbing was not uncommon. It was even rumored that Ethan Allen's body was taken for anatomical study. Angry farmers from Hubbardton raided Castleton Medical College to retrieve the body of the wife of one of the town's citizens. During its early years, the school at Woodstock had to promise not to use bodies from Vermont graves. Considering the proximity of the New Hampshire border to Woodstock, one need only use a bit of imagination to determine the likely source of cadavers. The History of Surgery in Vermont Arch Surg. 2001;136(4):467-472.

 

At the time this story took place, the only way it was legal to obtain a cadaver for study was if a judge ordered that a condemned criminal’s body be given to doctor’s for dissection. Given that New England had few executions, other means of securing a body were needed.

 

In the late 1700s, the general public became aware of the practice of grave robbing for study by medical students. When Dartmouth announced they were opening a school of medicine, the NH legislature passed a law banning grave robbing.  The same year the University of Vermont opened it’s medical school, 1804, the VT legislature banned grave robbing.

 

The early laws imposed three types of penalties for such action-fines, imprisonment and public whipping. As it turned out, the vast majority of illegal body removals were not discovered and those that were rarely were apprehended.

 

Grave robbing was a felony in Vermont. From 1820 to 1840 there were only seven indictments for “disinterring the body of the dead.” Frederick C. Waite, in his article Grave Robbing in New England, estimates that 400 bodies would have been needed during this 20 year period to accommodate the dissection need of the three medical schools operating in the state.

 

Grave Robbing, Body Snatching, Resurrectionist: All three terms were used, with the doctors more likely referring to those who plied this trade as “resurrectionists.”

 

Grave robbing for medical colleges generally occurred when school was in session. In the case of Woodstock Medical School, instruction was held in the spring.

 

Graves were robbed not more than twenty miles from the medical college to which the body was to be taken, a distance the could be driven with a span of horse in time to return before daylight so the early risers should not see suspicious activities around a medical college building in the early dawn. Disinterments were made in the early hours of the night to give time for this arrival. Grave Robbing in New England

 

Graves were opened  as soon as possible, often in the first night following burial. It was less likely to notice foot prints since the ground would already be disturbed from the funeral. Dissections were immediately carried out as embalming was not available.

 

A successful resurrectionist understood the need to be meticulous in their routine. Posing as a hunter, he would case out the grave, noting its relationship to the entrance of the cemetery and to an observable landmark that could be seen in the dark.

 

Three men were needed for this task. The driver of the wagon, who would drop off the other two and relocate to a position where he would not be seen. The others would carefully examine the grave, using a shaded lantern. Family or friends of the deceased would arrange on the closed grave a careful pattern of stones, shells etc. to detect disturbance.

 

A large tarp was laid out to hold the dirt being removed. Soil would be neatly replaced leaving no tell-tale signs. Next a three foot square was made at the head end of the grave. Going down four feet or less, once the coffin was reached an auger was used to bore a row of holes. Saws, axes and hatchets were not used due to noise.

 


The next step was withdrawal of the body, usually done with what was called “the hook,” a strong iron bar five feet in length; one end was turned up into a blunt hook of about two inches, which the other end had a cross bard handle. The hooked end was placed under the chin of the body and two able bodied men could draw the body from the coffin onto the second tarpaulin previously laid at the head of the grave.

 

Once on the tarp, clothing was removed and tossed in the grave in order to reduce identification.

 

Two able bodied men were needed to make the disinterment. Then the body was closely wrapped and tied or strapped in the tarpaulin. Failure to observe this step of the technique often resulted in something from the body, its apparel or ornaments being left near the grave and when found giving positive evidence that the grave had been disturbed. …Two able bodied men could complete a disinterment in an hour from the time they entered the cemetery and be on their way. Grave Robbing in New England

 

Preventing Disinterment: The efforts taken to prevent body snatching began with simple measures-insert bundles of straw, stones, slabs and other material to fill the grave making excavation difficult. This only delayed the removal. However, when heavy planks were placed lengthwise of the grave, it became necessary to excavate the entire grave, something rarely done.

 

While the United States did not adopt the English practice of “mort-safes,” they did adopt the construction of public vaults of heavy blocks of stone and iron doors which could be securely locked. The deceased would be placed in a vault for a period of time and then buried. This delay in burial made the body unfit for dissection.

 

A new occupation was created, “grave watcher.”

 

In many a town was a recognized person who could be employed to sit beside a grave from dusk to dawn with a shotgun across his knees, to repel grave robbers. This service was commonly continued for ten nights, at the end of which period it was believed that no one would want the body dissection. The efficacy of grave watching was often circumvented. An agent of those who planned a disinterment plied the watcher with whisky late in the afternoon to such extent that he failed to arrive at the grave side, or arriving, slept soundly at his post. The fee charged by grave watchers was so large only the well to do could afford them.

 

Temporary burial became a common practice, where the deceased would be buried close to a dwelling and then removed for final burial at a town cemetery.

 

 

Sunday, October 25, 2020

CGYHU for November 2020


Below is the Carmine Guica Young Historians Update for the upcoming month.

 

The CHS Cabinet currently contains various plaster items pertaining to Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and Thanksgiving which can be painted, colored or decorated. If you need more, don’t hesitate to call (802-226-7807) or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com

 

For Halloween, the CHS Museum, located at 1958 Main St (Route 131) will be celebrating from 4-7 pm. The Cabinet will be expanded and open with lots of books for kids and adults; games etc. Treats are available. Masks and social distancing required.

Our understanding of history changes over time simply because new evidence makes it possible to reinterpret events. It’s helpful for students to be aware of the following:

• What we know today can change and be modified based on research and new discoveries. It’s shifting sand so don’t be afraid of change as it’s going to happen.

• The past is a foreign country. Things were done differently and to judge behavior by today’s standards can be problematic.

• Dig deep and don’t rely on one source. If it doesn’t make sense, ask the question a different way, try another source.

 

Thanks to the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI)National Museum of African American History & Culture and the Latino Center, all of the Smithsonian, we are seeing how diverse our history is along with its complexity and inconsistency. As the Director of NMAI, Kevin Gover notes, “it’s all our inherited history” and we get to determine what we pass on for future generations.

 

October and November are associated with many myths and half-truths pertaining to Columbus, the landing of the Mayflower, and Thanksgiving. They also are a reminder of  atrocities associated with the colonization of the Americas. Having spent four months intently studying and researching this period of American history, I found myself incredibly discouraged until I started following the work of Paul Chatt Smith (Comanche) and Kevin Gover (Pawnee). Gover is the director of the NAMI while Smith is one of the leading art curators in the world and curates for the NAMI.

 

Gover’s TED Talk is an excellent 15 minute insight into how and why it’s important to recognize our inherited history, the need to embrace it and understand that each generation decides what to remember and what to let go of. The talk is geared for adults but junior high students and up will gain from watching it. 

 


 

 

Smith’s take on history, in general and Indians in particular, is insightful. He points out that America’s history is basically no better or worse than any other countries but like Gover stresses the importance of knowing the facts and letting go of emotional myths.  History is harsh and it spares no one. Human beings throughout time and across the world demonstrate pretty much the same measure of brutality and grace. Talking about this part of our histories is a price of seeing Indians as fully human, not New Age forest bunnies. I see it as a powerful blow against white supremacy to insist that vast amounts of post-contact Native history is not a binary struggle between settler and the indigenous. That history is complicated and scary and dense, precisely because it centers around political agendas of Indian peoples rather than a neatly constructed 21st-century fantasy that everything that ever happened to us is about the white man. It wasn’t. It isn’t.

 

November 2020 Native American History Month

• Nov 1-2: Dia de los Meurtos (Day of the Dead) Covered in previous CGYHU

• Nov. 9-10 (1938): Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) occurred in Germany as Nazi mobs burned synagogues and vandalized Jewish shops and homes.

• Nov. 11: Veteran’s Day: Dedication of the National Native American Veterans Memorial at the NMAI. Learn more about participating in this event 

• Nov. 19 (1863): Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg address

-       400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower

• Nov. 22 (1963): President Kennedy’s assassination

• Nov. 26 (1922): Thanksgiving

-       King Tutankhamen tomb discovered and exploration begun

 

 

RESOURCES

Native American History

Vermont Native American Timelin

SusannahJohnson/Indian Stones/Captive Johnsons Cavendish birth

NativeKnowledge 360 from the National Museum of the American Indian: Excellent teaching resources
• Abenaki: Knowing Ways of Water (includes the story of Champ)


 

Thanksgiving

• The Invention of Thanksgiving: Features Paul Chatt Smith 


American Indian Perspective on Thanksgiving contains a teaching poster designed for educators and students 4-8 examines the deeper meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday for American Indians through the themes of environment, community, encounters, and innovations. Appropriate for use at any time during the year, the poster includes information that is essential to understanding and teaching about American Indians along with compelling images and ideas for classroom activities.

Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth A Study Guide from NMAI will be very helpful and can be used for both Thanksgiving but also in understanding the Mayflower’s arrival. The classroom discussion topics are appropriate for all ages. 

Fall CHS Newsletter that explores Thanksgiving origin story

The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue from Smithsonian Magazine

 

Mayflower

Plimoth Plantation 

General Society of Mayflower Descendants 

 

Kristallnacht

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 

 

Gettysburg Address

 

King Tutankhamun  

 

Monday, October 19, 2020

Fall 2020 Scribbler

 

NEW PROJECTS

 


To support our community, as well as exploring new ways to share our history in the time of COVID, the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) has started several new projects.

 

Cares Cabinet: With special thanks to Dave Gallagher and Ana, they have built a cabinet from recycled objects. Open the doors and pick up a mask (cloth or surgical), books (children and adult), DVDs, CDs and information. Lift the chest lid for puzzles, games, hands on history projects, craft supplies, toys and more. Installed next to the steps of the Museum, everything is free for the taking. A few ground rules:  Please close all doors and the lid of the chest after use. Do not leave anything there. If you have something you wish to donate, please e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807. Be Covid smart and use hand sanitizer before and after using the Cabinet.

 

Hands on History Kits: CHS is working closely with both in-school and home learners. Depending on the time of year, CHS is preparing “hands on history kits,” which people can order and pick up from the Cabinet. October’s kit includes lots of ways to celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

 



BETWEEN TWO MILLSTONES: BOOK 2

 

Many residents, as well as those who visit the Museum, wonder what the Russian novelist and Nobel Prize winner thought of Cavendish and/or how he spent his time while here (1976-1994). His memoir Between Two Millstones, Book 2: Exile in America 1978-1994 has been translated into English and will be published on Nov. 15. It can be purchased from Amazon. Below is an excerpt,

 

 In June 1976, I found my way to the freely chosen solitude I desired, this time in Vermont. And I never ceased to be surprised and grateful…Now I was no longer compelled to write in code, hide things, distribute pieces of writing among my friends. I could keep all my materials open to view, all in one place, and all my manuscripts out on capacious tables.

 

I seem to have no sense of the passage of time: I’ve now already spent over 2,000 days following the same regimen, always in profound tranquility—something I’d feverishly dreamed of throughout my Soviet life. There’s no telephone in the house where I work, no television, I’m always in fresh air (following the Swiss custom, the bedroom windows are kept open, even in freezing weather), living on healthy American provincial food, never once having been to the doctor for anything serious, plunging headfirst into the icy pond at the age of 63.

 

For six months, I revel in my work in a spacious, high-ceilinged office with “arrow” beams—cold in winter, it’s true—with big windows, skylights, and ample tables where I spread out my quantities of little notes. But for the other half of the year, the summer months, I decamp to the little house by the pond and derive a new rush of energy from this change of workplace: Something new flows into me, some kind of expanded creative capacity.

 

Here, nature is so close all around us that it even becomes a curse: Chipmunks dart in and out under your feet, several of them at a time, little snakes occasionally slip past you through the grass and a raccoon rustles along, heaving a sigh, beneath our floorboards; at dawn every day, squirrels bombard our metal roof with the pine-cones they’ve picked, and red flying squirrels with wings like bats move into the attic of the big house for the winter, and start romping around there at random times of the day and night. But the ones I dearly love are the coyotes: In the winter, they often roam our land, coming right up to the house and emitting their intricate, inimitable cry. I won’t attempt to describe it, but I am very fond of it.

 

THANKSGIVING ORIGIN STORIES


As we continue to work with many students through CHS’s Carmine Guica Young Historian’s Program (CGYHP), we are preparing a variety of seasonal resources. One question that has been asked is what are the origins of the American Thanksgiving? Was there really a feast?

 

Since 2020 is the 400th anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower, we thought this was a good time to answer these questions.  

 

The “first Thanksgiving” supposedly took place in 1621, making this year the 399th anniversary of that tradition, or is it?   Is this the reason President Abraham Lincoln called for an official Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 26, 1863?

 


For starters, there are at least four other states that claim bragging rights for the first Thanksgiving. Florida, Texas, Maine and Virginia each declare itself the site of the First Thanksgiving and historical documents support the various claims. Spanish explorers and other English Colonists celebrated religious services of thanksgiving years before Mayflower arrived. However, few people knew about these events until the 20th century. They were isolated celebrations, forgotten long before the establishment of the American holiday, and they played no role in the evolution of Thanksgiving. Plimoth Plantation

 

The reason Lincoln called for a national day of Thanksgiving was two-fold. First he was expressing gratitude for a pivotal win of the Union Army at Gettysburg. The speech, written by Secretary of State William Seward, declared the 4th Thursday of every November thereafter to be the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving.  The proclamation encouraged all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

 

This was not the first administration to honor such a holiday as George Washington in his first term called for an official “day of public thanksgiving and prayer.” However, President Thomas Jefferson, thought it inappropriate given that the nation was based in part on the separation of church and state. Presidents that followed agreed with him, until Lincoln.

 

Neither Lincoln nor his successors, however, made the holiday a fixed annual event. A President still had to proclaim Thanksgiving each year, and the last Thursday in November became the customary date. In 1939, with an eye towards adding Christmas shopping days, and improving the economy battling the Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt, moved the holiday to the third Thursday of November. However, this was overruled by Congress in 1941 and ever since Thanksgiving has remained on the 4th Thursday.

 

And the second reason? Sarah Josepha Hale, the author of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and editor of Godey’s Lady Book, one of the most influential periodicals in the country. Born in New Hampshire, Hale grew up celebrating an annual Thanksgiving Holiday, as was popular in many parts of the country. In 1827, she published Northwood: A Tale of New England, that included a chapter about the fall tradition. Believing that Thanksgiving could be a unifying measure for a divided country, she lobbied state and federal officials to pass legislation for a fixed national day of thanks. By 1854, more than 30 states and US territories had a Thanksgiving celebration.

 

During the Civil War, both sides called for Thanksgivings as a way to celebrate battle victories. However, it was celebrated long before the war started. In 1841, The North American and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia, PA), noted on Dec. 10, Thanksgiving was held in New York and New Jersey yesterday. It has been celebrated all over New England. Even Savannah, this year, held this public festival. We do not understand why Pennsylvania should decline this religious and social holiday. Surely the people have the same causes for gratitude, and the motives for its exercise exist with the same force here as elsewhere. In fact, there is such an infusion of eastern population into every profession and employment and order of society here, that it is matter of surprise the custom should not have secured a foothold long since in Pennsylvania.


Thanksgiving in the 1800s was about church and food. In 1858, a statistician decided to figure out the costs of Thanksgiving for the 23 States that celebrated it. One million turkeys, 12,000,000 chickens, 30,000,000 pounds of pork, 30,000,000 pounds of beef, 6,000,000 pounds of raisins, 30,000,000 pounds of flour, 30,000,000 pounds of sugar, &c. The turkeys placed three feet apart in a straight line would reach from Massachusetts to Indiana. The chickens, one foot apart, would reach from New York to California. The pies, side by side, would reach across the Atlantic Ocean. It would require 25,000 cattle and 50,000 swine to furnish the beef and pork. The raisins would cost nearly a million of dollars, and the flour quite that sum. The sugar would cost about three millions, and the whole value of the items we have named would exceed $18,000,000! Our estimate gives one turkey to three families, four chickens to each family, also ten pies, ten pounds each of pork and beef, two pounds of raisins, ten pounds of flour and ten of sugar. The eggs, spices, lard, butter and ‘fixins’ generally, of which we have made no account, would raise the sum total to nearly twenty-five millions of dollars. Lowell Daily Citizen and News (Lowell, MA), December 4, 1858

 

So where do the Pilgrims/Indians fit into this? Why did they become central to this story?

 

The only proof of an event between the English settlers and the Wampanoag Indians in November of 1621 are pretty sketchy and come from a letter from Edward Winslow who wrote about a week long harvest celebration that included a three day celebration with Massasoit and 90 Wampanoag men, “so we might after a more special manner rejoice together.” Note the emphasis on men.

 

It’s estimated that just over 50 colonists attended the event-22 men, 4 married women and more than 25 children and teenagers. Close to 78% of the women who arrived on the Mayflower died during the first winter. The Wompanoag outnumbered the settlers, potentially by as much as 2 to 1.

 

Giving thanks was part of both cultures. For the Indians it was a routine part of daily life. Every time anybody went hunting or fishing or picked a plant, they would offer a prayer or acknowledgment. The settlers gave thanks daily before and after each meal.

 

There is no information that any type of harvest gathering continued. In 1841, the writer Alexander Young discovered Winslow’s letter and made it famous in his 1841 book, Chronicles of the Pilgrim Fathers.

 

In addition to Winslow’s letter, William Bradford, Plymouth’s governor in 1621, wrote briefly of the event in Of Plymouth Plantation, approximately 20 years after the feast.

 

The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag were not particularly identified with Thanksgiving until about 1900. Starting in 1890, there was considerable anxiety over immigration, with white protestants fearful of the influx of European Catholics and Jews. This mythmaking was also impacted by the racial politics of the late 19th century. The Indian Wars were coming to a close and that was an opportune time to have Indians included in a national founding myth. You couldn’t have done that when people were reading newspaper accounts on a regular basis of atrocious violence between white Americans and Native people in the West. What’s more, during Reconstruction, that Thanksgiving myth allowed New Englanders to create this idea that bloodless colonialism in their region was the origin of the country, having nothing to do with the Indian Wars and slavery. Americans could feel good about their colonial past without having to confront the really dark characteristics of it. The Myths of the Thanksgiving Story and the Lasting Damage They Imbue Smithsonian Magazine 11/26/19

 

Today’s Thanksgiving is uniquely American, combining Native foods along with European “Harvest Home” traditions.

 


THE ACADEMCY BUILDING

 

Recently we came across a copy of the Vermont Tribune from January 14, 1965, which featured the article, “Former Cavendish Academy, Vermont Educational Landmark, Overlooks Cavendish Park.” The building was almost torn down in 1965 when majority voters from Proctorsville turned down a proposal to buy the building for removal for a parking lot, the and one half story Cavendish Academy building is for sale for $2500. It is the fifth oldest academy in the state of Vermont having been incorporated October 26, 1792 at a session of the Vermont Legislature in Rutland. It is also the 24th oldest academy in New England. …The students roomed in the area…..Four terms were scheduled during the year, the Winter Term commencing on the second Wednesday of December; the Spring Term on the second Wednesday of March; Summer term, second Wednesday of June and the Fall Term, second Wednesday of September.

 

The Vermont Historical Society provided a catalogue of classes for the fall term of 1833. The courses of study contrast sharply with the current college preparatory programs at area high school. The catalogue says ‘The course of study adopted in this Institution is designed to be both liberal and thorough. Students wishing to prepare for College, for teaching, or for business, may expect to find here every facility for prosecuting their studies, afforded by any similar institution. In addition English education courses such as Latin and Greek, instruction was also provided in Mathematics, Bookkeeping,  botany, geology, moral and intellectual philosophy, drawing, painting and calisthenics, French, Spanish and Italian.

 

In 1834, the enrollment at the Academy was 91 gentlemen and 56 ladies. However the school was closed in the 1850s and has served multiple purposes throughout the years including as a drill hall during the Civil War, Perkin’s Store, Masonic Lodge, the Cavendish Partnership (architectural firm) and RB Marketing. 

 

It’s been a gorgeous fall in Cavendish, and we like the view of the Museum from Bonts Hill.

 

 

 

BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE

 

If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible.

 

Name: _______________________________________

 

Address: _______________________________________________

 

 

Phone Number: _____________________          E-Mail: ____________________________

Membership Level

__ Individual Member $10       __ Senior Member 65+ $5       __ Sustaining Member $500

__ Household Member $15                ___ Contributing Member $250                               

 

Volunteer

___ I would be interested in serving, as a volunteer .I would be interested in serving on the following committee(s):__ Program Planning       __ Fundraising  __ Building (Museum)

__Archives                      _ Budget          ­­–– Cemetery    __ Carmine Guica Young Historians

 

Donations are always welcome and can be designated as follows:

__ For general purposes               __ Young Historians                  __Publications

__ Archaeological Activities                _ Museum & Archival             __ Special Events

__ Rankin Fund                            __  Williams Fund                    __ Solzhenitsyn Project

__ Other (please specify)              __ Cemetery Restoration           __ Preservation Projects

Thursday, October 1, 2020

CHS Briefs October 1, 2020

UPCOMING EVENTS: Note all in person events require attendees to wear a mask and practice social distancing. All Sunday events begin at 2 pm.FMI: margocaulfield@icloud.com or 802-226-7807.

 


Oct. 11 (Sunday):
From Smallpox to Covid-19: The Impact of Pandemics/Epidemics on the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. This event will be held at the Cavendish Stone Church on Main St (Route 131). Parking is available across the street at the Cavendish Baptist Church. Due to the indoor location, this program is limited to 25 people.

 

Nov. 8 (Sunday): Epidemics/Pandemics & Their Impact on History: The talk, will be done via Zoom in collaboration with Okemo Valley TV. There will be plenty of time for questions & answers.

 

Nov. 15 (Sunday): Book 2 of “Between Two Millstones” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn publication date. In this book, he reflects on life in Cavendish.

 

CARES CLOSET: The CHS Cares closet, next to the steps of the Museum, is being

utilized and definitely meeting a need for the community as books, toys, puzzles etc., along with masks and information, are regularly being taken. If you have something you wish to donate, please e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807. We are not accepting DVDs or CDs at this time due to the approaching cold weather.

 

CGYH UPDATE: CHS has started a new program to support our in school and home learners. However, it is of equal benefit to anyone wanting to know more about Cavendish and history in general.

 

The Carmine Guica Young Historians (CGYH) Update is posted on or about the 25th of each month to support parents, teachers and students with information about upcoming events and dates of historic interest with related activities and resources. If you would like to receive this by e-mail, send an e-mail to margocaulfield@icloud.com with "subscribe CGYH" in the subject heading. The current issue is available at the CHS blog.

 


CARMINE GUICA YOUNG HISTORIANS PROGRAM:
Programs are underway for our in school students and home learners. It was a lot of fun teaching about Cavendish Village’s brick homes by making bricks with students. Thank you Bob Naess for making the molds, Abe Gross for digging up clay, and Bruce McEnaney for helping with the program.

 

Once again our students did an incredible job caring for the Black River by participating in RiverSweep. In the morning, CTES students in grades

5 & 6 tackled Greven Field. Because water levels are so low, they were able to do a good check of the river and banks for items that don't belong there. They then proceeded to tackle the Knot Weed. Greven is particularly prone to flooding, so knot weed can easily be deposited there and it can also be a source for it down the river.

 

In the afternoon, our home learners cleaned the Mill St. Bridge area-found a part of a dumpster, which the town took out the next day, the estuary by the water plant and the most frequented swimming hole, below the power dam. We're thrilled to report that care continues at the popular swimming hole and we have had


very little to clear out of there in the last two years. 

 

Thank you to: Black River Action Team (BRAT), for organizing this event, our teachers, staff and volunteers for helping to do this annual clean; and a special thanks to American Pie for once again providing a delicious lunch of pizza for everyone to enjoy. Last but not least, we want to thank our community for taking the time to keep our streams and rivers clean and safe so they are safe for recreation purposes.

 

On Sept. 17th, we helped the 5th grade celebrate Constitution Day.

 

In October, the 6th graders will once again be in the community out as part of CHS’s Preserve & Serve Program. They will be working in the Proctor Cemetery to provide some much needed cleaning and preparation for the winter ahead.

 

HANDS ON HISTORY KITS: Kits include all directions, materials and information about the project. Unless otherwise arranged, kits can be picked up at the CHS Cabinet, located next to the Museum stair. Please order by sending an e-mail to margocaulfield@icloud.com or calling 802-226-7807, specifying the numbers and types that you would like

 Indigenous Peoples Day- Directions and materials to make a talking stick. Please pre order. Kits will be left in the CHS Cabinet with your name on it.

 

Dia de Muertos: Kit includes a sugar skull to paint and/or decorate (can be female); a simple papel picado (paper cuts), and directions and materials to make a paper flower. If you would like a kit for your family or a number of students, please let me know as soon as possible as sugar skulls are made to order. A handout will be included that provides lots of information from building an altar to customs practiced in other countries.