CGYHU for February 2021

Below is the Carmine Guica Young Historians Update for the upcoming month. For more information or assistance, please e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807.

 

TALK: EPIDEMICS/PANDEMICS: All of this has happened before and will happen again. As noted by Marcus Aurelius,—the same plot from beginning to end, the identical staging. However, when you are in the midst of a pandemic, it feels as if it’s never happened before  (it most likely hasn’t happened to you before) and it provokes fear, civil unrest, as well significant changes following the event.

Okemo Valley TV and the Cavendish Historical Society are jointly sponsoring a zoom talk on Jan. 27 (Wed) at 7 pm, which will cover the origins of pandemics/epidemics, their impact on history, including Vermont’s, common characteristics, and the lasting changes that have occurred with past events. For those interested in signing up for the talk on Jan 27 at 7pm, go to the Okemo Valley (OVTV) TV web link to register and obtain the information needed to join the Zoom talk. It can also be watched at the OVTV uTube page.

 

If you’d like a program for a zoom class, that can easily be arranged. 

 

THE SHORTEST MONTH OF THE YEAR: February is the shortest month of the year, but for some it may seem the longest as we hold our breath for spring.  It’s an interesting month as it honors African American History, Valentine’s Day as well as Presidents Washington and Lincoln.

 

We have plaster hearts for children to decorate (see attached photo) if you’d like some for your students, either contact us at the address above or pick them up at the CHS Cares Cabinet (next to the steps of the Historical Society Museum).

 

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH RESOURCES

The history of African American/Black History Month traces back to 1915, when the “Father of Black History Month,” Dr. Carter G. Woodson, founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, which is now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).  The first Negro History Week in February 1926. Additionally, February was chosen in recognition of the birthdays of two celebrated supporters of African American citizens, Abraham Lincoln – the 16th President of the United States, and Frederick Douglass – an orator, writer, and abolitionist.

 

• African American History Month:  Includes resources from The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Teacher Resources 

• National Museum of African American History & Culture Be sure to check out the events section for Zoom programming. Lots of excellent resources at this site.

• National Museum of African American Music

• Explore Vermont’s African American history.

• VT African American Heritage Trail 

 

Dates of significance in February that pertain to African American history: Frederick Douglas was born in Feb. 1818. The exact date of his birth is unknown.

• Feb. 1, 1960: Lunch counter sit in by four African American students at a lunch counter inside a Woolworth’s store in Greensboro, NC. The scene was repeated over the next few days, with protests spreading to other southern states, resulting in the eventual arrest of over 1,600 persons for participating in sit-ins. The Moment When Four Students Sat Down to Take a Stand

 

• Feb 3, 1870: The 15^th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote, regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Unfortunately, these rights did not extend to women, who gained the right to vote in 1920 when the 20^th Amendment was ratified.

• Feb. 21, 1965: Former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X (1925-1965) was shot and killed while delivering a speech in a ballroom in New York City.

 

• Feb. 22, 1956: In Montgomery, Alabama, 80 participants in the three-month-old bus boycott voluntarily gave themselves up for arrest after an ultimatum from white city leaders. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks were among those arrested. Later in 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court mandated desegregation of the buses. TheMontgomery bus boycott and the women who made it possible. 

 

• Feb. 23, 1868: African American educator and leader W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

 

HISTORICAL DATES FOR FEBRUARY

Feb. 2: Groundhog Day: Since a groundhog (or woodchuck or "whistle pig") hibernates for the winter, its coming out of the ground is a natural sign of spring. In Europe centuries ago, people watched for other hibernating animals, including badgers, bears, and hedgehogs, as signs of winter's end. Germans who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the mid-1800s began keeping an eye on the groundhog, hence Punxsutawney Phil and the annual prediction from Gobbler’s Knob.

 

How often is Punxsutawney Phil accurate? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which analyzed Phil's predictions from 2008 to 2018, he was right only 40% of the time.

 

There’s a grain of truth to this as winter days when you can see your shadow clearly are often especially cold because there are no clouds overhead to insulate the earth.

 

Early February is midway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. In England this date is often referred to as Candlemas Day. Traditionally this was the day candles were brought to church for a blessing. This was thought to ward off plague, illness and famine.

 

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will have another fight

If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,

Winter won’t come again.

 

Feb. 7, 1812: Charles Dickens was born. He examined social inequalities through his works including; David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and Nicholas Nickleby. In 1843, he wrote A Christmas Carol in just a few weeks, an enormously popular work even today.

 

Feb 12, 1809: Lincoln’s Birthday The Miller Center

 

Feb 14: Valentine’s Day

 

Feb 15, 1820: Susan B. Anthony was born. A pioneer in women's rights, she worked tirelessly for woman's suffrage (right to vote) and in 1872 was arrested after voting (illegally) in the presidential election. She was commemorated in 1979 with the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, thus became the first American woman to have her image on a U.S. coin. The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

 

Feb. 22, 1732: Birth of George Washington Mount Vernon Museum and Education Center

 

February 24, 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII corrected mistakes on the Julian calendar by dropping 10 days and directing that the day after October 4, 1582 would be October 15th. The Gregorian, or New Style calendar, was then adopted by Catholic countries, followed gradually by Protestant and other nations.