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| Bill Jansak cleaning the Memorial |
The
Civil War Memorial is now clean!!! Under the direction of CHS board member and
Assistant Town Manager, Bruce McEnaney, the Civil War Memorial was
cleaned on Wed., Sept. 28. No one seems to know the last time this was
undertaken. For comparison, the Washington, D.C. Lincoln Memorial is power
washed (no more than 300 psi) twice a year. The goal is to wash the Civil War
Memorial at least every three years, but more if possible, in order to avoid
the build up of mold, lichens etc. As noted in last month’s Briefs, “spalling”
is occurring. Acid
rain” speeds weathering, resulting in stones being permanently damaged, as it
leaves a rough, pitted surface, making writing and art harder to distinguish. Don't expect to see a white monument as to obtain this
you need to use chemicals that could further damage the stone. CHS follows the
National Park Service’s guidelines for cleaning. See the Cavendish Facebook page for more photos.
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| Kem and Svetlana Phillips working on a test patch. |
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING
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| Chalkboards drying after 1st coat of unsanded grout and paint. |
• The
Young Historians program is in full swing, with the CTES 4th graders
participating in a museum “scavenger hunt”, 5th and 6th graders learning
community stewardships by participating in RiverSweep. and the 3rd
graders learning about one-room schoolhouses by reading Sandra Stearns’ book “Field
Hill Farm” and making their own chalkboards. The home school group will be
making a tiny Library
and Pantry. Do you have an old cabinet or something else that would be could be
used for this project? Have carpentry skills that could assist the kids in
building? The pantry will ultimately be housed at the Cavendish Baptist Church
while the Library will be outside the museum.
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| 4th graders treasure hunt inside the Museum |
• The
Phineas Gage Annual Walk & Talk was well attended. This was done twice in
order to accommodate those who weren’t able to walk.
• Kem and Svetlana Phillips have been planting
at the Stone Church, including a lovely mock orange bush that will help to hide
the electric meter.
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| Mock Orange planted at the Stone Church |
• The
Museum doors are finally clean and all the holes filled in. The custom made
latch has arrived and so the next step is painting and working on the casing
that will house the doors. Dave Stern has done an amazing job on these doors
and we hope to have them hung in the spring.
WHAT’S COMING UP
Oct. 3
(Monday): Annual
Fitton Mill tour for the 6th grade.
Oct. 7 (Friday): CTES 4th graders will be taking a
site visit to the archeological dig that CHS continues to provide volunteers
to. Located in West Haven, VT, this is a very rich site containing Paleo-Indian
–European settlement artifacts.
Oct. 9 (Sunday): Cavendish: Creepy, Eerie and Haunted. Since the summer, CHS has been collecting
stories about places that are believed to be haunted and/or have a creepy feel
to them. Who knew that both the Proctorsville Fire Dept. and the Golden Stage
Inn have “visitors” that go by the names of Homer and George respectively?
Various people have described the unseen children that laugh and talk in what
was once a classroom at the Duttonsville School. This is just a few of the
tales we’ve uncovered. On the last day the Museum is open, we will share the
stories we’ve collected and look forward to hearing from members of the audience.
The event takes place from 2-4 pm at the CHS Museum. This is a free event open to the public.
Oct. 17 (Monday): Thanks to Bruce and Betty McEnaney’s
blueberry fundraiser, the 6th graders will be taking a field trip to
Sturbridge Village.
CAN YOU HELP?
• Board Members/Volunteers: Want to have a more active role in CHS?
Become a board member. There are also numerous volunteer opportunities.
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