Today’s life expectancy in the United Sates is around 80 years of age. In the late 1700’s it was close to 35. Yet the founding couples of Cavendish, all managed to equal or exceed 21st century life expectancy, with the one exception of Capt. John Coffeen, who died at 75. His wife Susanna died at 94, while Salmon Dutton was 80, his wife Sarah was 83 and the Proctors were 93, Leonard, and 84 respectively. There wasn’t a doctor available in town until 1787, which was 18 years after the Coffeens arrived in Cavendish, health matters were primarily handled by the women. Considering that medicine of that era was based on the “four humors” and blood letting was common practice, not having a doctor may have been a good thing.
On Sunday, July 15, the Cavendish Historical Society will have a presentation “Lotions, Potions and Notions, “which explores not only health cures of the late 1700’s through the Civil War era, but also other possible reasons that could have contributed to the long lives of our founding couples. The program begins at 2 pm at the Museum. The speaker is Margo Caulfield, coordinator of CHS and co-director of Chronic Conditions Information Network. She has recently written an article “Healthy Communities Promote Longer Lives: One explanation for Life Expectancy Among Early Settlers,” which is available on-line.
Be advised that the Rutland Herald, in their article on Phineas Gage, gave the wrong date for that program. That will be on August 12 (Sunday), 2 pm at the CHS Museum.
FMI: margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Healthy Communities Promote Longer Lives: One explanation for Life Expectancy Among Early Settlers.
It’s rare that I write an article that I can post on both Healing Whole and the Cavendish Historical Society blogs, but this is one that I think has broad appeal.
In preparing for a workshop I’m running on July 15 called, Lotions, Potions and Notions: 18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures, I was impressed to find that of Cavendish’s founding couples, only one died in their mid 70’s and all the rest in the their 80’s and 90’s. John Coffeen died at 75 and his wife Susanna at 94. Salmon Dutton was 80 and his wife Sarah was 83. Rounding out the group was Leonard Proctor who was 93 and his wife was 84 at the time of their passing. Interestingly, there was no doctor to treat the family, so what was their secret?
Was it something they grew in their garden? Could it have been all the apple products that were part of their life? Was it their lifestyle? Genetics?
According to Linda Welch, the author of “Families of Cavendish, Vol 1”, Early Cavendish people, though, were farmers-pure and simple and self sufficient. They planted their own crops, raised their own livestock and lived independently from the food they produced from their own labor. “
So while a variety of aspects may have played a role in their longevity, I decided to look at how well they might have followed the nine principles of the “Blue Zones,” those parts of the world with the longest living people. Called the Power 9 , here’s how my town’s settlers would have stacked up:
1. Move Naturally: The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.
The settlers’ life would have required them to be moving throughout their day.
2. Purpose Now: Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy. The Okinawans call it “ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.”
From surviving letters and stories, the original settlers understood very clearly the role they played in their community. During the Revolutionary war, Capt. Coffeen described his wife Susanna as the prettiest woman in town. Although not that attractive, she was the only woman in town during that period. In recognition of her efforts during this time, she was given land in her own name. Dutton established what is now the village of Cavendish, while Proctor created what is still known as the village of Proctorsville. Coffeen was the county’s representative to form a Constitution for the new State of Vermont.
3. Down Shift: Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, which is associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.
Long winters, Sunday worship, quilting bees etc. were built in times of rest for the people of this era.
4. Eat Wisely-80% Rule: America has been eating its way well beyond health. Our strategy focuses on taking things out — instead of putting more things in — our diet. “Hara hachi bu” – the Okianawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomach is 80 percent full.
Given that food had to be grown or killed, there were bound to be times that even 80% full would have felt like a luxury.
5. Plant Slant: Go ahead and eat meat if you want. But consider it a condiment and try the leanest, finest meat you can afford.
Gardens were key to these Northern New Englanders. Many times supper was beans with a bit of salt pork for flavoring.
6. Wine @ 5: Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 drinks per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all weekend and have 14 drinks on Saturday.
I’m not sure about the drinking habits of the early settlers. However, I suspect they all made apple jack (hard cider) and drank it from time to time. Did they do it every day? Probably not. However, one of the first things that John Coffeen did was to establish a Tavern.
7. Belong: Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
The first church was established in Cavendish in the late 1700’s and was shared by several different denominations. However, not all attended church and in the early years, there wasn’t a sufficient number of people to form a congregation. According to genealogist Linda Welch, “Religion, worship and piety was a part of daily life of early American society so it was not surprising Cavendish, Vermont established its first organized church at Cavendish Center prior to 1800.”
8. Loved Ones First: Successful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their families first. This means keeping your aging parents and grandparents near by or in your home. (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.) Work on being in a positive, committed relationship (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in your children with time and love. (They’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes.)
Family was key for these settlers. As Linda Welch notes in “Families of Cavendish, Vol 1, “It was essential in this back country that a man’s family be large to provide for the unending need of spare hands to complete the tasks necessary for daily living. It has been said that in those early days, a man’s worth was assessed by counting the numbers of boys he had to work and the girls he had to sew and cook, as well as counting the tools he had and the acreage he owned. … A family needed a strong paternal and maternal involvement for survival which tells us why so many widows and widowers remarried within months of losing their spouses.”
All three families had strong intergenerational relationships, with the children remaining in town, starting businesses etc. However, the westward expansions in the 1800’s did attract many of the early settlers children and grand children.
9. Right Tribe: The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies show that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness is contagious. Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else.
Many of the behaviors that plague modern America weren’t issues for the settlers. Smoking would have been a luxury item and their daily life didn’t lend itself to people becoming obese. However, death from disease and accidents were quite common. In many cases, two or three or more children lost in a family over a 12 to 15 year period was the rule rather an exception.
Maybe the best example of how the settlers lived the 9 Principles of a Blue zone can be found in the Coffeen Cemetery, which is not far from the front door of the house, which was located on the Cavendish Reading Road, close to Brook Road.
Not long after Coffeen settled in Cavendish, he and his wife set out for Charlestown, NH for supplies and grinding their grist. Due to a snowstorm, the parents did not return for six weeks. During this time, one of the Coffeen children became ill and died. The other children kept the body in the house until the parents returned, at which time, due to heavy snow, the body was buried across the road from the house. Coffeen decided that this would be the family’s cemetery.
As you read the gravestones, you’ll find not only Coffeen family, but also close friends of theirs, as well as four Revolutionary soldiers. This small cemetery , tucked into the Green Mountains, tells the story of a large family, who had strong faith, loved their country and community and set out to create a better life for themselves, resulting not only in the shaping of a new town but also the creation of a new state.
While we can’t be sure that all nine principles of the Blue zones were met, I think they came pretty close. This then brings up the question, which I think is very relevent to our on going national discussion about healthcare and insurance-is a healthy community as important or more important than high end medical care? My money is on the healthy community.
The program Lotions, Potions and Notions: 18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures will be held at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum on July 15, 2 pm. This is a free event. For more information margoc@tds.net
In preparing for a workshop I’m running on July 15 called, Lotions, Potions and Notions: 18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures, I was impressed to find that of Cavendish’s founding couples, only one died in their mid 70’s and all the rest in the their 80’s and 90’s. John Coffeen died at 75 and his wife Susanna at 94. Salmon Dutton was 80 and his wife Sarah was 83. Rounding out the group was Leonard Proctor who was 93 and his wife was 84 at the time of their passing. Interestingly, there was no doctor to treat the family, so what was their secret?
Was it something they grew in their garden? Could it have been all the apple products that were part of their life? Was it their lifestyle? Genetics?
According to Linda Welch, the author of “Families of Cavendish, Vol 1”, Early Cavendish people, though, were farmers-pure and simple and self sufficient. They planted their own crops, raised their own livestock and lived independently from the food they produced from their own labor. “
So while a variety of aspects may have played a role in their longevity, I decided to look at how well they might have followed the nine principles of the “Blue Zones,” those parts of the world with the longest living people. Called the Power 9 , here’s how my town’s settlers would have stacked up:
1. Move Naturally: The world’s longest-lived people don’t pump iron, run marathons or join gyms. Instead, they live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving without thinking about it.
The settlers’ life would have required them to be moving throughout their day.
2. Purpose Now: Knowing your sense of purpose is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy. The Okinawans call it “ikigai” and the Nicoyans call it “plan de vida;” for both it translates to “why I wake up in the morning.”
From surviving letters and stories, the original settlers understood very clearly the role they played in their community. During the Revolutionary war, Capt. Coffeen described his wife Susanna as the prettiest woman in town. Although not that attractive, she was the only woman in town during that period. In recognition of her efforts during this time, she was given land in her own name. Dutton established what is now the village of Cavendish, while Proctor created what is still known as the village of Proctorsville. Coffeen was the county’s representative to form a Constitution for the new State of Vermont.
3. Down Shift: Even people in the Blue Zones experience stress. Stress leads to chronic inflammation, which is associated with every major age-related disease. What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress. Okinawans take a few moments each day to remember their ancestors, Adventists pray, Ikarians take a nap and Sardinians do happy hour.
Long winters, Sunday worship, quilting bees etc. were built in times of rest for the people of this era.
4. Eat Wisely-80% Rule: America has been eating its way well beyond health. Our strategy focuses on taking things out — instead of putting more things in — our diet. “Hara hachi bu” – the Okianawan, 2500-year old Confucian mantra said before meals reminds them to stop eating when their stomach is 80 percent full.
Given that food had to be grown or killed, there were bound to be times that even 80% full would have felt like a luxury.
5. Plant Slant: Go ahead and eat meat if you want. But consider it a condiment and try the leanest, finest meat you can afford.
Gardens were key to these Northern New Englanders. Many times supper was beans with a bit of salt pork for flavoring.
6. Wine @ 5: Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers. The trick is to drink 1-2 drinks per day (preferably Sardinian Cannonau wine), with friends and/or with food. And no, you can’t save up all weekend and have 14 drinks on Saturday.
I’m not sure about the drinking habits of the early settlers. However, I suspect they all made apple jack (hard cider) and drank it from time to time. Did they do it every day? Probably not. However, one of the first things that John Coffeen did was to establish a Tavern.
7. Belong: Research shows that attending faith-based services four times per month will add 4-14 years of life expectancy.
The first church was established in Cavendish in the late 1700’s and was shared by several different denominations. However, not all attended church and in the early years, there wasn’t a sufficient number of people to form a congregation. According to genealogist Linda Welch, “Religion, worship and piety was a part of daily life of early American society so it was not surprising Cavendish, Vermont established its first organized church at Cavendish Center prior to 1800.”
8. Loved Ones First: Successful centenarians in the Blue Zones put their families first. This means keeping your aging parents and grandparents near by or in your home. (It lowers disease and mortality rates of children in the home too.) Work on being in a positive, committed relationship (which can add up to 3 years of life expectancy) and invest in your children with time and love. (They’ll be more likely to care for you when the time comes.)
Family was key for these settlers. As Linda Welch notes in “Families of Cavendish, Vol 1, “It was essential in this back country that a man’s family be large to provide for the unending need of spare hands to complete the tasks necessary for daily living. It has been said that in those early days, a man’s worth was assessed by counting the numbers of boys he had to work and the girls he had to sew and cook, as well as counting the tools he had and the acreage he owned. … A family needed a strong paternal and maternal involvement for survival which tells us why so many widows and widowers remarried within months of losing their spouses.”
All three families had strong intergenerational relationships, with the children remaining in town, starting businesses etc. However, the westward expansions in the 1800’s did attract many of the early settlers children and grand children.
9. Right Tribe: The world’s longest lived people chose–or were born into–social circles that supported healthy behaviors, Okinawans created ”moais”–groups of five friends that committed to each other for life. Research from the Framingham Studies show that smoking, obesity, happiness, and even loneliness is contagious. Assessing who you hang out with, and then proactively surrounding yourself with the right friends, will do more to add years to your life than just about anything else.
Many of the behaviors that plague modern America weren’t issues for the settlers. Smoking would have been a luxury item and their daily life didn’t lend itself to people becoming obese. However, death from disease and accidents were quite common. In many cases, two or three or more children lost in a family over a 12 to 15 year period was the rule rather an exception.
Maybe the best example of how the settlers lived the 9 Principles of a Blue zone can be found in the Coffeen Cemetery, which is not far from the front door of the house, which was located on the Cavendish Reading Road, close to Brook Road.
Not long after Coffeen settled in Cavendish, he and his wife set out for Charlestown, NH for supplies and grinding their grist. Due to a snowstorm, the parents did not return for six weeks. During this time, one of the Coffeen children became ill and died. The other children kept the body in the house until the parents returned, at which time, due to heavy snow, the body was buried across the road from the house. Coffeen decided that this would be the family’s cemetery.
As you read the gravestones, you’ll find not only Coffeen family, but also close friends of theirs, as well as four Revolutionary soldiers. This small cemetery , tucked into the Green Mountains, tells the story of a large family, who had strong faith, loved their country and community and set out to create a better life for themselves, resulting not only in the shaping of a new town but also the creation of a new state.
While we can’t be sure that all nine principles of the Blue zones were met, I think they came pretty close. This then brings up the question, which I think is very relevent to our on going national discussion about healthcare and insurance-is a healthy community as important or more important than high end medical care? My money is on the healthy community.
The program Lotions, Potions and Notions: 18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures will be held at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum on July 15, 2 pm. This is a free event. For more information margoc@tds.net
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Cavendish Civil War and WWII Writings (Adams/Baxendale)
It interesting to read the writings from Cavendish enlisted personal who served in the Civil War and WWII. Jesse Adams was born in Cavendish and joined as a private in Co. “F:, 3rd Reg’t Vermont Volunteers, also known as the Hartford, VT Company. Under 18 years old when he enlisted, his father had to provide written permission. His first experience outside of his hometown, was being sent to Camp Baxter, a union training camp near St. Johnsbury. Ultimately, he died of disease at Camp Griffith, VA at the age of 19. His letters home were kept by his mother and some are available on-line.
Dear Father: I now take my pen in hand to let you know I get along. I arrived here safe and sound. We had not gone more than five miles before there was a row started by a fellow by the name of Miles, a member of our company. It began in fun in the first place. Miles and Jim Welch got to sparing and Jim gave him the worst of it and he quit and pitched on to Dick Abbott and they were clipping away smartly when the Capt. stepped between them and Miles pitched on to Capt. Tom [Seaver] and there was some smart work for about a minute when the Capt. caught him by the throat and brought him into a seat in a great hurry. ... When Ayers our drill master came up and tried to quiet him, it could not be done. He [Miles] told Ayers to kiss his damned ass, but instead he hit him in the eye and it stilled him for a minute.
Imogene Baxendale, born Imogene Demarius Morse, entered the war for a very different reason than Adams. As she writes in her diary, “I had wanted to serve Armed Forces from the first, but knowing Bob [her husband Robert Baxendale] could never get in, and Mother in failing health, I felt I was needed at home. But after our unexpected break [she and Baxendale divorced] came and I had tried every way I knew to bring us back together, loneliness drove me to it. “
Baxendale became a Red Cross Nurse, Nov 1, 1944 at Headquarters Mass Ave. Boston. She was sent to the Pacific theater in places such as Manilla, Okinawa, Nagasaki, Okazki, and Toyoko. As she writes in her diary, Nov.15-17, 1945-Went through final separation channels and at 6 pm on eve of my 38 birthday I saw last of duty for Uncle Sam and Al & I started for 208 W. Wilson Ave. Bellmore. I arrive home Thanksgiving eve by way of Boston. And Dec. 3 my Terminal Leave was over and I once more became a civilian with some Hard Knocks to show for my experience but something I wouldn’t missed for world.” Her arrival back in Cavendish must have created quite a stir. She writes, Said goodbye to folks Boston & returned to my own little nest in VT hills on Thanksgiving eve. Mother God bless her not knowing what day or what train I was coming on met every train. Erminie Pollard was on same train so took me home so mother didn’t know I had arrived so I put my bags on porch & went up street to meet her. I thought she was going to collapse on me when I walked up to her in dark & took her in my arms.
My next few weeks were spent not far from the fire side or Mother’s sight. My trunks & baggage finally all arrived and Dec 3 my terminal leave was over & I once more became and every day civilian. Never realized has so many friends. The Wallace McNulty Hoyle Legion Post # 4 have all ready made me a member before I returned.
She had a very interesting footnote to the diary, “I suppose anyone reading these pages will notice I have mentioned very little about and of it. Well we have actually done very little of it since leaving the States. As there were nurses to care for wounded & we were sent over to take care of the capagnes which never came to pass because unconditional surrender of the Japs.
So as it turned out we have sight seeing tour at Uncle Sam’s expense. But we were ready and willing. And because we wasn’t called on was beyond our control. So comes to close my Army days C many new friends made, a lot experiences only Army could give & a lot fond memories, but don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t a bed of roses. We have our battle scars to show for it for the rest of our lives.
Baxendale lived to be 84, dying from complications of pneumonia and heart failure at the Springfield Convalescent Center in Springfield, VT on 3 Nov., 1992. Her diary is now at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum, along with a transcript of the text completed by Sandra Stearns
In Baxendale’s diary, she included “Mother’s Favorite Poem,” which probably had as much meaning for Jesse Adam’s mother as it did for Mrs. Morse, and for all those today whose sons and daughters serve in the military.
Lonesome for Someone
The days have been dreary,
As I sit by the window alone,
I’m blue and so sad, in my heart there’s no song-
For there’s someone gone from our home.
Since she went away, it seems ages ago
That she left and told us goodbye,
Now all we have left
Is a picture or so;
In our hearts there’s a longing to cry.
Though she is far away, we feel she is still near;
It seems we can see her dear face,
The smile that we loved has left us here,
With heartache we cannot erase.
The sound of her footsteps each night on the stairs,
As she softly slipped up to our room.
When God sent us her we got more than our share;
We hope we can have her back soon.
The days se was with us are memories so dear.
There’s no one can take them away.
To see her again would fill us with cheer;
We patiently waiting that day.
Each morning and evening
We sent off a prayer;
Please God guide her safe back home.
Send her back to the ones who waiting here-we’ve grown tired and weary alone.
Dear Father: I now take my pen in hand to let you know I get along. I arrived here safe and sound. We had not gone more than five miles before there was a row started by a fellow by the name of Miles, a member of our company. It began in fun in the first place. Miles and Jim Welch got to sparing and Jim gave him the worst of it and he quit and pitched on to Dick Abbott and they were clipping away smartly when the Capt. stepped between them and Miles pitched on to Capt. Tom [Seaver] and there was some smart work for about a minute when the Capt. caught him by the throat and brought him into a seat in a great hurry. ... When Ayers our drill master came up and tried to quiet him, it could not be done. He [Miles] told Ayers to kiss his damned ass, but instead he hit him in the eye and it stilled him for a minute.
Imogene Baxendale, born Imogene Demarius Morse, entered the war for a very different reason than Adams. As she writes in her diary, “I had wanted to serve Armed Forces from the first, but knowing Bob [her husband Robert Baxendale] could never get in, and Mother in failing health, I felt I was needed at home. But after our unexpected break [she and Baxendale divorced] came and I had tried every way I knew to bring us back together, loneliness drove me to it. “
Baxendale became a Red Cross Nurse, Nov 1, 1944 at Headquarters Mass Ave. Boston. She was sent to the Pacific theater in places such as Manilla, Okinawa, Nagasaki, Okazki, and Toyoko. As she writes in her diary, Nov.15-17, 1945-Went through final separation channels and at 6 pm on eve of my 38 birthday I saw last of duty for Uncle Sam and Al & I started for 208 W. Wilson Ave. Bellmore. I arrive home Thanksgiving eve by way of Boston. And Dec. 3 my Terminal Leave was over and I once more became a civilian with some Hard Knocks to show for my experience but something I wouldn’t missed for world.” Her arrival back in Cavendish must have created quite a stir. She writes, Said goodbye to folks Boston & returned to my own little nest in VT hills on Thanksgiving eve. Mother God bless her not knowing what day or what train I was coming on met every train. Erminie Pollard was on same train so took me home so mother didn’t know I had arrived so I put my bags on porch & went up street to meet her. I thought she was going to collapse on me when I walked up to her in dark & took her in my arms.
My next few weeks were spent not far from the fire side or Mother’s sight. My trunks & baggage finally all arrived and Dec 3 my terminal leave was over & I once more became and every day civilian. Never realized has so many friends. The Wallace McNulty Hoyle Legion Post # 4 have all ready made me a member before I returned.
She had a very interesting footnote to the diary, “I suppose anyone reading these pages will notice I have mentioned very little about and of it. Well we have actually done very little of it since leaving the States. As there were nurses to care for wounded & we were sent over to take care of the capagnes which never came to pass because unconditional surrender of the Japs.
So as it turned out we have sight seeing tour at Uncle Sam’s expense. But we were ready and willing. And because we wasn’t called on was beyond our control. So comes to close my Army days C many new friends made, a lot experiences only Army could give & a lot fond memories, but don’t get me wrong. It wasn’t a bed of roses. We have our battle scars to show for it for the rest of our lives.
Baxendale lived to be 84, dying from complications of pneumonia and heart failure at the Springfield Convalescent Center in Springfield, VT on 3 Nov., 1992. Her diary is now at the Cavendish Historical Society Museum, along with a transcript of the text completed by Sandra Stearns
In Baxendale’s diary, she included “Mother’s Favorite Poem,” which probably had as much meaning for Jesse Adam’s mother as it did for Mrs. Morse, and for all those today whose sons and daughters serve in the military.
Lonesome for Someone
The days have been dreary,
As I sit by the window alone,
I’m blue and so sad, in my heart there’s no song-
For there’s someone gone from our home.
Since she went away, it seems ages ago
That she left and told us goodbye,
Now all we have left
Is a picture or so;
In our hearts there’s a longing to cry.
Though she is far away, we feel she is still near;
It seems we can see her dear face,
The smile that we loved has left us here,
With heartache we cannot erase.
The sound of her footsteps each night on the stairs,
As she softly slipped up to our room.
When God sent us her we got more than our share;
We hope we can have her back soon.
The days se was with us are memories so dear.
There’s no one can take them away.
To see her again would fill us with cheer;
We patiently waiting that day.
Each morning and evening
We sent off a prayer;
Please God guide her safe back home.
Send her back to the ones who waiting here-we’ve grown tired and weary alone.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Summer Fest Activities June 30
WSummer Fest Events
Located on the Cavendish Historical Society Museum grounds, Summer Fest –June 30th (Saturday)-will feature the following:
• Plant Sale
• “Indian Books,” owned by the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library will be on display inside the Museum McKenney & Hall: History of the Indian Tribes of North America is a collection of 125 images of lithographic and chromolithographic plates. Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785-1859) served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1824 to 1830. In that capacity he commissioned and collected portraits of Native Americans for his Gallery in the War Department. McKenney's goal was to publish a record of vanishing peoples: portraits, biographical sketches and a history of North American Indians. He accomplished this in the first issue of the History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published in three volumes between 1838 and 1844. James Hall (1793-1868) provided the text.
• Museum Tours: Exhibits include 250 Years- Cavendish Historical Timeline. Flood exhibit. Be sure to bring pictures and other items you would like to include in the Historical Society archives for future generations.
• Food: Ting BBQ (lamb kabobs and hamburgers from their farm on East Hill Rd in Cavendish
- Pie for Breakfast (and other delicious items)
- Crepes and drinks
- Farmstead Cheese
- Chicken BBQ by the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department at the Fire House
• Activities for Kids
- Fabulous Jessie’s Face Painting (Calvary Church)
- Bouncy House (Cavendish Baptist Church)
- Museum
• Silent Auction (Closes at 12:45)
• Live Auction (1 pm)
• 250th Banners are on sale-$150 for double sided banner; $80 for single sided.
• Voting closes at 2 pm for the Community Calendar photography contest . The three winners of the judged contest will also be announced. Photos are on display at the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association's display table.
• Register to vote at the Democratic Party booth. The Republican party will also be present.
• Register your home for the 2nd Annual Town Wide Tag Sale (July 28, 9-3 pm) if you want to be on the map or reserve a space for Proctorsville or Cavendish Green.
• Other vendors including jewelry, crafts, antiques and more.
Events begin at 9 am and end shortly after the live auction. Parking is at the Mac Molding Parking Lot, located in easy walking distance between the Museum and the Fire House.
FMI: 226-7807 or margoc@tds.net
Located on the Cavendish Historical Society Museum grounds, Summer Fest –June 30th (Saturday)-will feature the following:
• Plant Sale
• “Indian Books,” owned by the Cavendish Fletcher Community Library will be on display inside the Museum McKenney & Hall: History of the Indian Tribes of North America is a collection of 125 images of lithographic and chromolithographic plates. Thomas Loraine McKenney (1785-1859) served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs from 1824 to 1830. In that capacity he commissioned and collected portraits of Native Americans for his Gallery in the War Department. McKenney's goal was to publish a record of vanishing peoples: portraits, biographical sketches and a history of North American Indians. He accomplished this in the first issue of the History of the Indian Tribes of North America, published in three volumes between 1838 and 1844. James Hall (1793-1868) provided the text.
• Museum Tours: Exhibits include 250 Years- Cavendish Historical Timeline. Flood exhibit. Be sure to bring pictures and other items you would like to include in the Historical Society archives for future generations.
• Food: Ting BBQ (lamb kabobs and hamburgers from their farm on East Hill Rd in Cavendish
- Pie for Breakfast (and other delicious items)
- Crepes and drinks
- Farmstead Cheese
- Chicken BBQ by the Cavendish Volunteer Fire Department at the Fire House
• Activities for Kids
- Fabulous Jessie’s Face Painting (Calvary Church)
- Bouncy House (Cavendish Baptist Church)
- Museum
• Silent Auction (Closes at 12:45)
• Live Auction (1 pm)
• 250th Banners are on sale-$150 for double sided banner; $80 for single sided.
• Voting closes at 2 pm for the Community Calendar photography contest . The three winners of the judged contest will also be announced. Photos are on display at the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association's display table.
• Register to vote at the Democratic Party booth. The Republican party will also be present.
• Register your home for the 2nd Annual Town Wide Tag Sale (July 28, 9-3 pm) if you want to be on the map or reserve a space for Proctorsville or Cavendish Green.
• Other vendors including jewelry, crafts, antiques and more.
Events begin at 9 am and end shortly after the live auction. Parking is at the Mac Molding Parking Lot, located in easy walking distance between the Museum and the Fire House.
FMI: 226-7807 or margoc@tds.net
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
History of the Black River Health Center Building
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| 2013 Memorial Day Parade passing in front of BRHC |
To answer these questions, and help people understand the history of the building in view of the current discussions about whether the BRHC building should be tax exempt or be given to the town, the Cavendish Historical Society has prepared the following timeline:
1839: Building erected as a store by Daniel Wheeler and George Davis
1870’s Drug Store run by Walker Bent
1891 Old Stone store sold to George Mandigo and his wife for $1,500, with “the express understanding that said premises are to be fitted up immediately for hotel purposes.” Large porches were added along with a livery stable. It was named the Hotel Elliott in 1902.
1908 Hotel Elliot burns
1912 Elliott building was for sale. Run as a boarding house by H.D. Sanders
1917 Gay Brothers buy the building, used first for storage and then as a hotel.
1928 Leased as the Cavendish Inn. Operated for the next 20 years catering to Mill workers and teachers.
1956 Physician serving the Cavendish/Proctorsville area dies. Two fatal car accidents occurred and Cavendish found they could not rely on Ludlow for medical coverage. Community leaders meet with the University of Vermont Medical School about the situation. They were advised to equip a medical office and then solicit a physician. Kenwood Mills, who purchased Gay Brothers Mills and its holdings in 1951, donated the stone building to help form the new Black River Health Center. Members of the community donated their time to renovate the building. Workers at Kenwood Mills had $1 a week withheld from their pay to help for the establishment of the Health Center.
1957: Dr. Eugene (Gene) Bont and Dr. Lawrence Bixby set up their practice in the building.
1970's: A non profit status [501-©-3] was obtained in order to seek Rural Health Initiative funds and designation. Thanks to the federal program, BRHC was able to run a satellite office in Ludlow, which had a strong prevention focus.
1988: Dr. Bont and his wife Phyllis Bont, a nurse practitioner, leave BRHC to work at Albany Medical Center.
Over the ensuing years, various medical groups tried to maintain a health center but were not successful. The Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) was housed there for a short while. The longest standing occupant since the Bonts left was Opportunities in Learning (OIL), a school for students whose needs were better met outside the traditional classroom. The facility currently houses three mental health counselors.
The delivery of healthcare has changed considerably since the arrival of the Bonts in 1957. However, the Ludlow Health Center (LHC), which is part of Springfield Hospital’s Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) designation, provides care to many in the community in a manner similar to what the Bonts provided. FQHCs are open to everyone. The centers care for patients covered by Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance, as well as those who have no insurance. Payments are on a sliding scale, so people with low or moderate incomes can afford the services.
As for Phineas Gage, he was taken to his "boarding house," which by all accounts was directly across the street from the current War Memorial. Stop by the Museum on Sundays in the summer, from 2 -4 pm, to pick up a copy of the Phineas Gage Walking Tour or down load it from the Cavendish Historical Society's blog.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Civil War: Daniel Wheeler/Museum Opens Sunday
In the March 30 Cavendish Update, information was provided for two of Cavendish’s Civil War veterans who were awarded the Medal of Honor, William Sperry and Tom Seaver. There was a third, Daniel Davis Wheeler.
A native of Cavendish, Wheeler enlisted at 19 when President Lincoln called for volunteers. He served in many of the major battles of the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for “distinguished bravery” at the Battle of Salem Heights. Career military, he retired in 1903.
Recently, the Cavendish Historical Society received a clipping from “The Free Lance-Star” of Fredericksburg, VA. “Daniel Davis Wheeler is hardly a household name. Yet he can be considered a Civil War hero-a fact that had, until recently, largely escaped public notice.
Now, if you visit Wheeler’s resting place in Fredericksbur’s City Cemetery, near a venerable magnolia and the brick wall along Washington Avenue, you’ll spot something shiny and new.
Affixed to Wheeler’s gravestone are two brass plaques. One reads “Medal of Honor.” The others bears his name, unit-the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment-and birth and death dates. Both feature the distinctive design of the medal awarded as the nation’s highest military honor.
Here in Fredericksburg, Wheeler is something of an odd man out: a Union brigadier general interred in a cemetery known for its Southerns.
Nonetheless, Wheeler is of Fredericksburg. He lived his last 15 years here, having married into one of the area’s most prominent families.
And when his time came, Brig. Gen. Wheeler was laid to rest by his adopted community. At his funeral on July 29,1916, pallbearers included Fredericksburg Mayor J.P . Rowe and Charles Hurkamp, a longtime City Council member.
So how did a son of Cavendish end up marrying a confederate daughter?
During the War, the Phillips family home served as headquarters for Union army commander Ambrose Burnside during the Battle of Fredericksburg. It is possible that Wheeler met his future wife then. More than 30 years later, Wheeler married Nannie, (nee Phillips) who was recently widowed, in Fredericksburg. They then moved to Nebraska where he was stationed.
Retiring in 1903, the Wheelers returned to Fredericksburg. Wheeler is buried in the Phillips family plot. At his funeral, a tribute declared that the city had “lost one of her most distinguished citizens… a natural leader of men. …[B]ehind the apparent sternness of his character, due to his military training, was the possessor of a most kind heart. To those of us who knew him well, his memory will long remain fragrant because of the innumerable acts of courtesy and kindness which he was ever doing.”
Read more: Daniel Davis Wheeler, RIP
Cavendish Historical Society Museum Opens on Sunday
The Cavendish Historical Society Museum opens this coming Sunday, June 2, with two unique exhibits. The first is the town’s 250 year historic timeline. The second features photographs and other items from the floods of 1927 and 2011. Please bring copies of your photographs from Irene so they can be included in the archives for future generations. If you would prefer, you can e-mail them to margoc@tds.net
The Museum is open every Sunday from 2-4 pm until mid October. FMI: margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807
A native of Cavendish, Wheeler enlisted at 19 when President Lincoln called for volunteers. He served in many of the major battles of the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for “distinguished bravery” at the Battle of Salem Heights. Career military, he retired in 1903.
Recently, the Cavendish Historical Society received a clipping from “The Free Lance-Star” of Fredericksburg, VA. “Daniel Davis Wheeler is hardly a household name. Yet he can be considered a Civil War hero-a fact that had, until recently, largely escaped public notice.
Now, if you visit Wheeler’s resting place in Fredericksbur’s City Cemetery, near a venerable magnolia and the brick wall along Washington Avenue, you’ll spot something shiny and new.
Affixed to Wheeler’s gravestone are two brass plaques. One reads “Medal of Honor.” The others bears his name, unit-the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment-and birth and death dates. Both feature the distinctive design of the medal awarded as the nation’s highest military honor.
Here in Fredericksburg, Wheeler is something of an odd man out: a Union brigadier general interred in a cemetery known for its Southerns.
Nonetheless, Wheeler is of Fredericksburg. He lived his last 15 years here, having married into one of the area’s most prominent families.
And when his time came, Brig. Gen. Wheeler was laid to rest by his adopted community. At his funeral on July 29,1916, pallbearers included Fredericksburg Mayor J.P . Rowe and Charles Hurkamp, a longtime City Council member.
So how did a son of Cavendish end up marrying a confederate daughter?
During the War, the Phillips family home served as headquarters for Union army commander Ambrose Burnside during the Battle of Fredericksburg. It is possible that Wheeler met his future wife then. More than 30 years later, Wheeler married Nannie, (nee Phillips) who was recently widowed, in Fredericksburg. They then moved to Nebraska where he was stationed.
Retiring in 1903, the Wheelers returned to Fredericksburg. Wheeler is buried in the Phillips family plot. At his funeral, a tribute declared that the city had “lost one of her most distinguished citizens… a natural leader of men. …[B]ehind the apparent sternness of his character, due to his military training, was the possessor of a most kind heart. To those of us who knew him well, his memory will long remain fragrant because of the innumerable acts of courtesy and kindness which he was ever doing.”
Read more: Daniel Davis Wheeler, RIP
Cavendish Historical Society Museum Opens on Sunday
The Cavendish Historical Society Museum opens this coming Sunday, June 2, with two unique exhibits. The first is the town’s 250 year historic timeline. The second features photographs and other items from the floods of 1927 and 2011. Please bring copies of your photographs from Irene so they can be included in the archives for future generations. If you would prefer, you can e-mail them to margoc@tds.net
The Museum is open every Sunday from 2-4 pm until mid October. FMI: margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A New Look at Phineas Gage
LA Times
By Thomas H. Maugh II
May 16, 2012, 2:15 p.m.
The tamping rod that blew through Phineas Gage's brain 163 years ago damaged only a small portion of his brain, but it disrupted a much larger proportion of his neural connections, UCLA researchers reported Wednesday. The finding, based on imaging of Gage's skull, may help explain the behavioral changes he endured following the accident.
Phineas P. Gage was a construction supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad. On Sept. 13, 1848, he was working at a site near Cavendish, Vt. He had drilled a hole in a rock that was to be removed then filled the hole with blasting powder. After instructing an assistant to pour sand on top of the powder to cushion it, he turned away briefly. Unfortunately, the assistant did not follow his directions and when Gage began tamping down the powder with a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch iron rod in the next step of the procedure, the powder exploded, shooting the rod clean through his cheek and brain.
The rod was later found 25 feet away, covered with blood and brain tissue. Surprisingly, Gage, then 25, recovered. But his behavior changed abruptly.
No longer an affable young man, he became fitful, irreverent and profane. Unable to retain his railroad job because of the personality changes, he took a succession of somewhat menial jobs, including as a stagecoach driver in South America. He was eventually reunited with his family in San Francisco, where he died of an epileptic seizure 12 years after the fateful accident.
His skull now resides at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School in Boston. It is too fragile to be imaged again, but UCLA neurologist Jack Van Horn and his colleagues tracked down high-resolution CT images that had been taken at Brigham and Women's Hospital 11 years ago. Those images had been thought to be lost for more than a decade.
The team then imaged the brains of men of about the same size and age as Gage; the men were also all right-handed, like Gage. Using modern computational techniques, the team combined the CT image of Gage's skull with the images of the brains of the modern men to assess what kind of damage had occurred.
They reported in the journal PLoS One that the rod damaged only 4% of Gage's cortex, but that it destroyed about 11% of neural connections in the white matter of the brain. Thus, even though the physical damage was restricted to the left frontal lobe, the damage to the white matter affected neural connections throughout the brain. "Connections were lost between the left frontal, left temporal and right frontal cortices, and the left limbic structures of his brain," Van Horn said, and that "was a major contributor to the behavioral changes he experienced."
Van Horn is a member of UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, which is part of an ambitious effort, along with Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health, to map the trillions of microscopic links that connect the brain's 100 billion neurons -- an effort that will produce what is known as a "connectome." Researchers hope that mapping the connectome will lead to new answers about mental disorders related to the breakdown of these links and about damages due to brain injury.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
May 16, 2012, 2:15 p.m.
The tamping rod that blew through Phineas Gage's brain 163 years ago damaged only a small portion of his brain, but it disrupted a much larger proportion of his neural connections, UCLA researchers reported Wednesday. The finding, based on imaging of Gage's skull, may help explain the behavioral changes he endured following the accident.
Phineas P. Gage was a construction supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad. On Sept. 13, 1848, he was working at a site near Cavendish, Vt. He had drilled a hole in a rock that was to be removed then filled the hole with blasting powder. After instructing an assistant to pour sand on top of the powder to cushion it, he turned away briefly. Unfortunately, the assistant did not follow his directions and when Gage began tamping down the powder with a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch iron rod in the next step of the procedure, the powder exploded, shooting the rod clean through his cheek and brain.
The rod was later found 25 feet away, covered with blood and brain tissue. Surprisingly, Gage, then 25, recovered. But his behavior changed abruptly.
No longer an affable young man, he became fitful, irreverent and profane. Unable to retain his railroad job because of the personality changes, he took a succession of somewhat menial jobs, including as a stagecoach driver in South America. He was eventually reunited with his family in San Francisco, where he died of an epileptic seizure 12 years after the fateful accident.
His skull now resides at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School in Boston. It is too fragile to be imaged again, but UCLA neurologist Jack Van Horn and his colleagues tracked down high-resolution CT images that had been taken at Brigham and Women's Hospital 11 years ago. Those images had been thought to be lost for more than a decade.
The team then imaged the brains of men of about the same size and age as Gage; the men were also all right-handed, like Gage. Using modern computational techniques, the team combined the CT image of Gage's skull with the images of the brains of the modern men to assess what kind of damage had occurred.
They reported in the journal PLoS One that the rod damaged only 4% of Gage's cortex, but that it destroyed about 11% of neural connections in the white matter of the brain. Thus, even though the physical damage was restricted to the left frontal lobe, the damage to the white matter affected neural connections throughout the brain. "Connections were lost between the left frontal, left temporal and right frontal cortices, and the left limbic structures of his brain," Van Horn said, and that "was a major contributor to the behavioral changes he experienced."
Van Horn is a member of UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, which is part of an ambitious effort, along with Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health, to map the trillions of microscopic links that connect the brain's 100 billion neurons -- an effort that will produce what is known as a "connectome." Researchers hope that mapping the connectome will lead to new answers about mental disorders related to the breakdown of these links and about damages due to brain injury.
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