CHS Briefs: October 2025

The Cavendish Historical Society is the beneficiary of Shaw’s October Give Back Where it Counts Reusable Bag Program. CHS receives a $1 donation for every $3 Give Back Where it Counts Reusable bag sold. Money raised will be used to help with the Young Historians program and for the 250^th Anniversary programs honoring the start of the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS: Note that all events are free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. For more information, and where registration is required, please e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807.

Oct. 7 (Tuesday): RiverSweep with CTES 5^th and 6^th grades

Oct. 11 (Saturday): Tea Blending workshop with Dr. Charis Boke. This will be held at 2 pm at Togather (Super Roasted Coffee) 73 Depot Street, Proctorsville. Please use the contact information above to register for this workshop.

Oct. 12 (Sunday): Last day the Museum is open for the season. 

Oct. 20 (Monday): Archeology program with CTES 6^th grade at Castleton University

Oct. 31 (Friday): Happy Halloween! Proctorsville Ghost Walk with CTES 5^th Grade.

November 1 (Saturday): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), workshop at Togather, 73 Depot St., Proctorsville 3-5 pm. 

November 9 (Sunday) : Proctorsville Ghost Walk. Meet at the Proctorsville War Memorial at 2 pm. Wear comfortable walking shoes. This walk includes the Proctor Cemetery. We will be giving away free Cemetery Guides. 

 

TEA BLENDING WORKSHOP: As we continue to honor the historic 250th anniversaries of the start of the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Cavendish. Historical Society (CHS) has been looking at colonial life. Tea was the beverage of choice until the Boston Tea Party. According to the US. Census, Although tea was a popular beverage in the United States, Americans began drinking more coffee than tea as a direct result of the Tea Act of 1773, the Boston Tea Party and the American Revolution … Boston-area merchants like John Hancock were so enraged by the 3-cents-per-pound tax on tea arriving in colonial ports that he declared that anyone who drank the ‘baneful weed’ and paid the tea tax was an ‘Enemy of America’."

 

Vermonters, like other patriotic colonists, started brewing “liberty teas,” using herbal infusions from local plants. They would have used ingredients like chamomile, red clover, and winter green. Herbal teas played an important role in medicinal care. 

 

CHS is hosting a tea blending workshop with Dr. Charis Boke, a research scientist at Dartmouth, with a specialty in Medical and /Environmental anthropology, and a focus on herbalism and alternative medicine. This is a hands-on class where you will learn about teas, herbs, and spices, their history and how to blend them for maximum taste and effect.  Participants will take home a tea they’ve blended for their personal use.

 

The workshop takes place at 2 pm on Saturday, October 11 at ToGather (home of SuperRoasted), 73 Depot Street, Proctorsville. While this is a free workshop, registration is required, which can be done by e-mailing margocaulfield@icloud.com or calling 802-226-7807. 

 

Shaw’s Selects the Cavendish Historical Society as October’s “Give Back” Nonprofit The Cavendish Historical Society has been honoring the 250^th anniversary of the start of the American Revolutionary War this year with a “taste of history.” It’s therefore both fitting and a priviledge to be the recipient of the Ludlow Shaw’s Give Back Where it Counts Reusable Bag Program for the month of October. 

 

During the Revolutionary era, frugal, thrift, and repurposing were key to the war effort. These activities are just as important today as they were back then. The Shaw’s Give Back Program is an easy way for the community to support CHS’s efforts to recognize this time period as they regularly shop at Shaw’s. For every bag purchased, a portion is donated to CHS, who will use the funds to offer workshops in the coming months as we begin celebrations for the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We hope you’ll support us in October by purchasing one – or two! – Give Back Where It Counts bags at the Ludlow Shaw’s!”

 

For more information about the Shaw’s “Give Back Where It Counts” Reusable Bag Program, please visit www.shaws.bags4mycause.com.

 

Donations for CHS can be sent to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. Checks should be payable to the Cavendish Historical Society.