Tiemann Memoirs Chapter 6/Yankee Thrift

Following Chapter 6 is an article on “Yankee” thrift opportunities in Cavendish today. To read the prelude and other chapters of Tiemann’s Memoirs go to Coming to Vermont (Cavendish): Memoirs of Philip Tiemann.

Our program of renovation advanced too slowly. During bad weather, of which there were several spells, I worked in the house, but this was far from enough time to complete some important jobs, -especially making the big old kitchen fireplace usable. This was only one step toward making the room livable, as we had regretfully decided that the floor under the dry sink in the pantry would have to be replaced. It, and the beams below, were rotted to the point of being dangerous, but they could not be removed without taking down the partition separating pantry from kitchen. Here I began to learn how one thing generally leads to another, and it is impossible to estimate the time required until after long years of experience.

I at least had the benefit of the advice of my carpenter neighbor; even tho he must have derived much amusement from the way I went about things, he went out of his way to be helpful. And his son went with me into the woods where we felled several suitable hemlock trees, peeled them, cut them to approximate length and hewed them flat on one side, then skidded them to the house behind Dan. They were left then to season a bit, altho being cut in the fall they were not sappy. - While we were about it we also brought up the cut branches with which to bank the foundation of the house,- a practice I abandoned after a couple of years as involving more time than it was worth.

At this point Nature intervened. The summers are shorter here then down in New Jersey, and toward the end of August evenings were getting rather chill_s but we thought little of it. The night before Labor Day was fine and clear_s as still as could be, and with that sort of green­ish tinge around the horizon after the sun went down. Well...next morn­ing we awoke shivering_* to gaze out upon a frost so heavy it resembled snow. Everything was sparkling white. We had never thought to cover the gardens, and still did not realize what a catastrophe had struck. However_s-it was quite evident that we were ill-prepared for winter. What we needed most was the fireplace.

Staying with us just then were a number of "family" including e brother-in-law who enjoyed country living and was of great help to us on a num­ber of occasions. He and I had been planning to take down the partition and I hated to interrupt this, but there was no choice: fireplace first. So while the others were bringing in what could be salvaged. from the garden, we got busy tearing up the boards, which had been used to replace the original hearth, finding all kinds of rubbish beneath.

The mess was cleared away to the brick construction below, which as seen in the cellar was a very strong arch built out over compartments containing shelves. It seemed as tho eventually a brick hearth would be ideal, but there was neither time nor material for that now; so as a temporary expedient I carried innumerable buckets of sand from near Second Brook and filled in the aperture to floor level. This made it possible to have a fire that very evening, and we were rewarded by the pleasure of watching the flames reaching up the wide black throat of the chimney.

A good part of the week_s then, we men were able to spend on the carpentry job,- carefully removing the shelves and wide spruce panels of the partition before ripping out the rotted flooring and prying up the beams.

We discovered that a length of the main transverse sill which had supported the inner end of the beams was "gone" and, being unable to remove it entire, we cut off and replaced a section held up by a stout post, Our recently-cut beams were trimmed to an exact fit, eased into notches, and_. the fist surfaces finished off ready for a temporary floor,- which was finished on Sunday.

While not our original intention, we found that we liked having the room larger, with the additional light from the window to the west end. Also the old pantry shelves against the wall could be used for books. So we delayed replacing the partition, and never have done so: its panels have proved useful elsewhere. That end of the room made a con­venient dining space for quite a few years. Covered by a large carpet, the "temporary" floor remained until the entire floor of the room was replaced at a later date.

Having made such good headway, I "took off" part of a day to accompany my brother-in-law to Bridgewater and Plymouth, and so increased my knowledge of our new state. This was pleasant and relaxing. - On a few occasions Isabel and I, or she alone, had been to Brattleboro or Claremont for necessary purchases, but we were far too busy for unnecessary_. trips.

Nor did we really have the time to entertain. But any city dweller who migrates to the country can count on a good many visitors for while. People are curious, some with friendly intent and others who want to find out what you have gotten into. But after a while it boils down to those who are really interested; a number of these, both family and friends, came up and did yeomen service in house and fields, and we enjoyed them sincerely. We have appreciated both their company and their help, and I hope they have liked it here. I'm certain all the children had fun in the brooks !

Thrifting in and around Cavendish

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without,” was the guiding principle for not only the Tiemann’s but for most people in Cavendish during the 1930s. To help our present day residents, the following local “thrifty” resources are provided:

In Person Shopping

• Black River Good Neighbor: Has a thrift store in the old armory building in Ludlow, off of Main Street, as well as a used furniture store on Main Street. Twice a year they hold a large tag sale at Fletcher Farms.

• Cavendish Transfer Station: Check with the attendant before taking something.

• Chester Andover Family Center-Thrift Shop (close to GMUHS at 908 Main St. Chester): Follow their Facebook page as it includes up to date items in their thrift shop.  

• SEVCA Good Buy Store: 23-25 Main St, Springfield Note that SEVCA also has stores in Bellows Falls and Brattleboro.

• Myrtle’s Closet: Springfield, benefits the Springfield Area Parent Child Center. Features clothing. 

• Other thrift stores near by: Use the National Thrift Store Directory, which includes recommendations, addresses and store hours. 

• Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale: Takes place the last Saturday in July. This year it will be on July 25. Learn more at the 5^th Annual Tag Sale website. Cavendish Connects sponsors this event.

• Abundance Swap: Sponsored by Cavendish Connects, this takes place the first Saturday in December. This year it will be Dec. 6 at the Cavendish Town Elementary School.

On-line Resources

• Cavendish Community Garage Sale Facebook page  You will need to be a Facebook member to participate in this group.

• Springfield VT Freecycle: The Springfield, VERMONT Freecycle Group is open to those in this area, and within a 30 mile radius, who want to recycle that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it's a chair, canning jar, piano or old door, or you name it: feel free to post it.

• Craigslist Vermont: Note that there is a “free section.” 

• Yankee Thrift: The Pinterest board operated by Cavendish Connects. Lots of wonderful ways to help you save money. 

Chapter 5: Memoirs/”Home Dem”

Following Chapter 5 is information about the “home dem” and Vermont Extension programs that have helped Cavendish farm families from 1913 right up to present day. To read the prelude and other chapters of Tiemann’s Memoirs go to Coming to Vermont(Cavendish): Memoirs of Philip Tiemann.

To get back to our first summer: Then we began to get fresh green peas from the garden we felt as if we had struck it rich. I can't think of anything nicer. They were always easy to sell, too, when there was a surplus. As other vegetables became available it increased the variety of our table in a most welcome manner. Disappointingly, there wee very little sweet corn that year. We tried eating field corn but even when young it was tough and of poor flavor. There was a large planting of Potatoes and we began to dig them while still on the small side but delicious. We supposed they were intended as a "money" crop and only later learned that they were an important staple of diet with all the farm people (probably accounting for some common ills.)

The children brought in the first early apples in mid-August_:- not very good. There were numerous trees on the place_: some a vestige of bygone orchards and occasionally prolific_: but following long neglect the fruit was small and poor (yet most attractive to deer and bear.) A few trees were worth some trouble and these I worked on enough so that we enjoyed a good supply most winters (all tree fruit has "off" years.). An old Snow Apple south of the house still provides the best apples for cooking_: altho a good Macintosh graft on another tree out back is still bearing_s and there is an excellent semi-dwarf Mac which I planted on the side terrace.

A few scrubby plum trees behind the house were the only other cultivated fruit. However we soon learned that near our eastern boundary (another road) there was a very fine blackberry patch. The bushes had come in densely on the site of a former maple grove. The trees had been cut and the logs sold to a mill then in the village - to make bobbins and tool handles, I think-after (perhaps because) the sugarhouse burned. Until overshadowed by new growth the berries were prolific). A woods road leading to it from the pasture was easy to follow_: and when the berries ripened we all went over there and picked. Animals . including our cow - had broken trails thru the tall and thorny bushes, and for a number of years we were able to gather a good supply for eating and jam.

 

As a matter of necessity we had to "put up" as much garden surplus ;^-,s possible_: and this kept Isabel and the children busy picking and cann­ing. This was long before the freezing process had been developed, and many vegetables were preserved 'in glass jars requiring laborious pre­paration and cooking.

Carrots and other root crops could be stored in with hard shells, and pumpkins, lasted pretty well on shelves. Cucum­ber pickles were made in vinegar in large crocks. Apples were left in the bushel baskets into which they had been picked. All this produce had to be checked from time to time for spoilage, of which there was an increasing amount after the first of the new year. This was why the so-called canned goods were very important, as they generally would keep well much longer, perhaps two or three years.

Of other products only potatoes could be depended upon to last into and beyond March, as they could be used even after they' had sprouted. A not unusual hazard was freezing, and I remember carrying pails of hot coals taken from the stoves to set beside the bins. You knew the cellar was dangerously cold when frost began to sparkle on the interior walls. - Incidentally, the sprouts from the potatoes were supposed to be bad for the animals; we never experimented, so I can't say for sure.

Field crops consisted of about an acre each of corn, oats, and millet, not a great deal, actually, but to me it looked like a lot to harvest. To mow the oats I had a horse-drawn machine, which required a team, so I borrowed a little brown mare from next door to go with my big white Dan, an odd-looking combination if ever there was one. But they got along fairly well once they were hitched, which sometimes required per­suasion.

The oats were nicely headed out, and when I got the feel of it, it was a pleasure to ride back and forth laying down a broad yellow swath each way. One or two places gave trouble where the thick growth had "lodged," that is, been flattened and tangled by wind and rain, and these areas needed to be gone over with a scythe. Oats are heavier than hay, and the following afternoon I had to shake out the rows with a fork so the straw would be well dried by sun and breeze.

Next morning there was no sun and I was worried, for oats rained on at this point would be in poor shape. Fortunately it cleared, and I then used the horse (or "dump") rake (only one horse for this) and forked the raked rows into tumbles. When after lunch I said "Come on, Wy" and we hitched up the lumber wagon and got the oats to the barn in several loads. They had to go up on the high scaffolds above) the hay, so it was late when we finished, but you stay with this kind of job as long as you can see. - Hot end dusty, we then had the compensation of ducking in the brook, the refreshing qualities of which must be enjoyed to be appreciated.

The corn came next, Some of it I traded in payment for wood, but kept enough to feed the cow for a while is chopped fodder. We had inherited a hand-chopper (a waist-high wooden stand with a square iron form and a heavy knife,- a small bundle of stalks was pushed thru the form and sliced into about two-inch lengths.) Field corn is harvested later than sweet corn; it takes longer to mature. The ears will keep only if the kernels have hardened. The farmer will often take the risk of the stalks being frozen in order to have better ears, and it not infrequently happens,- perhaps due to the short growing season but more apt to be because of late planting. ("Plant corn when the maple sprouts are the size of a mouse’s ear", and it should be "knee high by the Fourth of July.") - Of course if there is a silo, which I did not have, corn may be harvested without regard for ripeness, whenever convenient. Our method was old-fashioned and, like other things about which I write, has been superseded by far better practices.

My own corn that year I got in only slightly frosted. Crouching along the rows I slashed off the clusters of stalks close to the ground with a corn knife (somewhat like a sickle but with an almost-straight blade) and left them lying in small convenient piles. These were then bound with heavy twine and then stacked against each other in "stooks." Later as I had time these were carted down to the buildings and put under cover. I picked the ears and stored them in bins, but not before the energetic mice had worked them. Unfortunately, some of the ears not, being thoroly [Tiemann’s spelling] dry became moldy. I filled a number of grain bags with good ears and carted them down to the local grist mill (two miles on the way to the village) where they were ground into corn-and-cob meal, a fairish feed. The stalks I put thin the chopper as needed.

I was glad to have a neighbor take the millet standing, in exchange for labor, but^. felt badly as he had a miserable time getting it in,-slightly frosted and then some of it rained on, and it took forever to cure.

A few days were spent helping another neighbor get in his corn. He had a big silo. We cut the stalks by hand_s but instead of being tied in bundles they were loaded loose into a wagon_s driven to the barn, and fed into a machine which chopped them into short lengths and blew the so-called ensilage thru a long upright pipe into the top of the silo. Being green and heavy, this product settled (with the aid of some tramping down as the silo got full) into a dense mass. The sides of the silo were narrow tightly fitted vertical boards bound with iron straps, which could be taken up with a turn-buckle to keep the boards tight, On top of the ensilage was placed

tarp_s weighted with boards; the theory being that the green feed would keep without spoilage until shoveled out of the bottom for the cows' daily ration. It worked well, but when it had settled down in the spring to the last few feet it got pretty potent: from fermentation.

Digging the potatoes seemed an endless job_s with little incentive. They had been, planted in the damp area north of the barn_s between the vegetable garden and the back swamp_s and had not done too well. Usually in nice loamy soil potatoes can easily be tumbled out of their hills with a potato fork, which is like a bent-over spading fork. Not so with these. Most had really to be dug, and then put under shelter to dry off, - it was a wearisome effort. With a bushel of potatoes bringing 75c in the village (if they could be sold at all) it seemed like love's labor lost. Later they were only $1. for a 100-pound bag. As we were not, great potato eaters, after filling the bin in the cellar I managed to dispose of a few hundred pounds by taking groceries in trade.

“Home Dem”: With the decline of the Grange movement during the early part of the twentieth century, new ways were needed to sustain the vitality of Vermont’s agricultural community. Chief among these was the University of Vermont Extension, that started on February 15, 1913, when the Vermont Legislature passed an act that appropriated funds "solely for the work in agricultural extension." Monies were channeled into three broad program areas, each to be administered by the Extension Service:

• Promote extensive agricultural experimentation

• Sponsor “home demonstrations” across the state to acquaint farm families with innovations in “scientific” farming

• Organize boys’ and girls’ clubs to “teach them how to manage, grow, and prepare market crops and animals and to demonstrate how to save surplus products by home canning.”  (4-H head, heart, health and hands)

Interestingly, while Granges were slowing down in other parts of the state, Cavendish’s Grange purchased its own building in 1931 (corner of Twenty Mile Stream and Route 131), which survived into the first decade of the 21^st century.

Home demonstrations, or “Home Dem” parties as they were more apt to be called, were great ways for farm families to not only socialize but to learn new skills. Popular programs for farmer’s wives would have included cooking, canning and sewing. In 1935, a statewide manure conservation program taught farmers how to make the most of their manure. During WWII, there were a variety of “home dem” programs to help with the war effort.

Crystal Radio Kit

The radio ushered in a new way to reach farm families. In 1927, radio became available in Cavendish, when WLAK started broadcasting from Bellows Falls. Many farmers made their own “crystal radios, and would use their car batteries to power them. Morning, when a farmer often listened to his radio during milking, was prime time for farm radio programs. 

With the arrival of the television age, Across the Fence, a 15 minute program produced by the Extension Service was started. It is the longest running daily farm and home television program in the country and can be seen weekdays at 12:10 pm on WCAX TV or on-line. Programs change daily.

The Cavendish Home Workers Club, which hosted “home dem” parties that farmer’s wives like Mrs. Tiemann would have attended, still exists.

The Tiemanns and their neighbors lived by the motto of “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” To help present day Cavendish residents “live within their means,” Cavendish Connects has launched the Pinterest board Yankee Thrift,  that includes a variety of ways to help save money as well as be a friend to the environment.


For more information about the history of the VT Extension service, check out 100 Years of UVM Extension 1913-2013 

T/5 Herbert Spaulding: WWII 10th Mt Division

In a photo probably taken within six months of his death, 30 year-old father of four Herbert Spaulding’s pose does not disclose the inner strength he exhibited in combat when he later purposely sacrificed his life to save his comrades. Note the Marksmanship badges on his tunic. (Photo: Family photo via Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum)

The following article is from the Burlington FreePress about the 10^th Mt Division in WWII. 

After America’s ski troops successfully assaulted and captured Italy Riva Ridge in February of 1945, the 10^th Mountain Division continued its march north up the spine of Italy’s mountains.

Day after day they attacked German forces who were entrenched high in the hills and mountains well above the Americans. The 10th was the only American division trained to fight in mountains and they quickly proved their worth. By March 3, 1945, the 10th had pushed north along the top of a mountain range and was attacking Mount della Torraccia. It was here the next of six Vermont ski troopers was killed in action.

One of those killed was Cavendish’s Wilbur Allen Spaulding.

The last Vermonter to lose his life serving in the ski troops during World War II was considered an "Old Man." At age 30, T/5 Herbert Wilbur Allen Spaulding of Cavendish was far older than his fellow soldiers and also married with four children. Given these circumstances one should wonder why was he in the front lines? Add in the fact his rank was "T/5." He was a baker and a cook.

The 10th was taking a brutal number of casualties as they continually attacked the Germans entrenched on the mountains. Somebody had to fill in the ranks and on the night of April 20, 1945, anyone who could fight was sent forward — about two weeks before the end of the war. It was well after dark when Spaulding arrived in the front lines and probably didn't know anyone around him. He wasn't a combat soldier; he had spent the war cooking far away from any combat. His posthumous citation for the Silver Star tells in detail how this Vermonter demonstrated incredible inner strength that cost him his life the next morning.

"When a rifle squad, acting as the point for a battalion advance, was pinned down by intense machine gun, grenade, and small arms fire from [an] enemy held building less than one hundred yards away, Technician Fifth Grade SPAULDING crawled forward alone to an exposed position, and opened fire on the hostile position, covering the withdrawal of his comrades, and the flanking movement of his company. For twenty minutes he engaged the enemy alone, giving the company time to work around the flank of the buildings, and storm the position, capturing sixty-seven prisoners….By his gallant deeds, he has added luster to the finest traditions of the United States Army."

"Allen" Spaulding's young family lost him in an instant when he died from a shrapnel fragment striking his head. He is buried in Proctorsville.

The stories of the six Vermonters who died as ski troops in the 10th Mountain Division are carefully documented in the files of the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum in Stowe, which maintains a permanent display in honor of the 10th. Most of these soldiers still have close family members living in Vermont — including their orphaned children.