As part of the Carmine Guica Young Historians (CGYH) program, the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) provides teachers, students, families and the community with information on town, state and national history for the month ahead.
GENERAL INFORMATION
• If you have questions, want to arrange for a program or need more information, call 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com
• To learn more about the various programs that CHS offers for students and community, as well as opportunities close to Cavendish, go to the Resource Page.
• The CHS Cares Closet, located next to the steps of the Museum is free, open 24/7, and offers a wide array of things to do, read etc. for both children and adults.
WHAT’S HAPPEING: If you would like your home learner to participate in the various school programs and field trips, please contact the teacher for the grade(s) that will be participating.
OCTOBER 3 (MONDAY): Fitton Mill Tour, 6th Grade. 9-11 am
OCTOBER 5 (WEDNESDAY): Archeology Field Trip. Grades 4th and 5th
OCTOBER 9 (SUNDAY): Talk on the “Columbian Exchange,” which refers to the transfer of plants, animals, precious metals, commodities, culture, human populations, technology, disease and ideas between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia. Talk begins at 2 pm. This is the last Sunday the Museum is open. This event is free and open to the public.
OCTOBER 13 (THURSDAY): Brick making workshop, 3rd grade 1-2:10
OCTOBER 27 (THURSDAY): Ghost Walk 5th grade 1-2:30
NOVEMBER 1 (TUESDAY): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) 5th grade, 1-2:15
NOVEMBER 2 (WEDNESDAY): 6TH grade field trip to Sturbridge Village-tennative date
SHARE THE SUSANNAH JOHNSON STORY: Susannah Willard Johnson gave birth to the first child of European descent, Captive,” in Cavendish in 1757, having been kidnapped by Indians from their home just outside Fort # 4 in Charlestown, NH..
She wrote about her experience in, “A Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Johnson,” which can be read online. Johnson erected stones to mark this event, which have been relocated to route 106 in Reading. The birth took place near Knapp Pond Brook.
A timeline of this event is available at the CHS blog. “Calico Captive” by Elizabeth George Speare is a historical fiction children’s book that is based on the diary, which should be available from the Cavendish Library or Fletcher Community Library in Ludlow. If there is interest, we can do a reading group and visit both the site of the stones as well the birth place.
OCTOBER DATES/EVENTS
National Hispanic American Heritage Month (Sept 15-Oct. 15): Honors the cultures and contributions of both Hispanic and Latino Americans
• 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
Oct. 5, 1829: Chester A. Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, was born in Fairfield, Vermont.Arthur was vice-president under President Garfield and became president when Garfield was assassinated in 1881.
Oct. 7, 1827: Abby Maria Hemenway, the compiler of the Vermont Historical Gazetteer, was born in Ludlow. Hemenway had been a schoolteacher, but decided to ask "a reliable person in every town in Vermont" to write down all he or she could about the town's history. She worked for thirty years and finally published four thick volumes. Learn more about Hemenway.
Oct. 11 (Monday): Indigenous Peoples Day in Vermont (formerly Columbus Day)
• “Before Columbus” by Charles Mann. The children’s version of Mann’s award winning book “1491.”Contrary to popular belief, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were large numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) had running water and immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city. Mexican cultures created maze (corn) in a specialized breeding process that it has been called human’s first feat of genetic engineering. Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand.
• What Really Happen: While a cartoon and quite short, it accurately depicts Columbus and his activities. Not appropriate for young students.
• There are four bands of the Abenaki in Vermont. The Elnu is the tribe which covers Cavendish.
• Timeline for first peoples in VT
• Native Knowledge 360 Education Initiative from the National Museum of the American Indian. This is an excellence resource.
Oct. 14 (Wednesday): Cavendish Charter signed by King George in 1761.
Oct. 19, 1864: Civil War comes to VT. A small group of Confederate soldiers brought the Civil War home to Vermont by raiding St. Albans and robbing three banks. After killing one man and wounding others, they escaped into Canada.
Oct. 22, 1790: Should VT become the 14th state? On the motion of Stephen R. Bradley of Westminster, the general assembly calls a convention to decide whether Vermont should ratify the United States Constitution and join the Union as the fourteenth state.
Oct. 31 (Sunday): Halloween & Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos) is a cross quarter day,” marking the midway point between the autumn equinox and winter solstice. Called Samhain (“sow-win”), or summer’s end, in Ireland, this is a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter or the “darker half” of the year.
This is the day that barriers between the physical world and the spirit world break down, allowing more interaction between humans and those who have passed. It was expected that ancestors might cross over during this time as well, and people would dress as animals and monsters so that fairies were not tempted to kidnap them. Eventually, Oct. 31 became known as All Hallows Eve or Halloween, and many of the customs adopted in 19th century America came from Irish immigrants.
Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated throughout South America, though it is most associated with Mexico. The traditions mix Christian influence with ancient Indian (Mayan, Aztecs, Incas, Kichwa ) practices. Like the Irish and other cultures, they believe this is the time when the veil between this world and the next is lowered. Many parts of South America celebrate the day by remembering loved ones who have died by making altars (ofrendas) with special flowers, food and drink, pictures and special objects associated with a departed friend or family member. It is a positive honoring of the dead and it involves going to church, cleaning cemeteries and visiting with friends and family. In Guatemala, giant kites are constructed and flown in the cemeteries.
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