Friday, November 4, 2016
Looking for Cafeteria Trays
CHS is working with the South Champlain Historical Ecology Project (SCHEP) The archaeologists have been so helpful in working with our Cavendish Town Elementary School students and we'd like to be able to help them out.
They're in need of cafeteria style trays-you know the kind you'd sneak out to slide down the hill when it snowed-to help with the cleaning of artifacts. If you have some you could donate, that would be incredibly helpful. You can contact CHS at 802-226-7807 or margocaulfield@icloud.com for more information.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
CHS Briefs: November 1, 2016
WHAT WE’VE BEEN DOING
Young Historians: It’s been an incredible month
 |
| Screening for artifacts |
• The 4th
graders had a chance to visit the archaeological dig site in West Haven, VT and
screen for artifacts. This site contains evidence of use from the Paleo-Indian
period (more than 11,000 years ago) right up to present day. Their eyes are very
keen at this age, so no surprise that all of the kids found something. Thank
you to the archaeologists Matt and Elly Moriatrity, the South ChamplainHistorical Ecology Project (SCHEP) and to our volunteers Carolyn Solzhenitsyn and Pang Ting.
 |
| 6th graders at Sturbridge |
• The 6th graders visited Sturbridge
Village. Thank you to the McEnaney’s Blueberry Fund (and all of those who
picked) and our volunteers Pang Ting, Bruce McEnaney and Jess and Craig Goodman
for driving and serving as tour guides.
 |
| Learning about Robert and other spirits from the owner of the Golden Stage Inn |
• The 5th
and 6th graders participated in the “Proctorsville Ghost Walk.” CHS
has been collecting stories as have the students. It may have been “spitting
snow” throughout the walk, but we managed to visit seven places and learned
about a wide variety of spirits and strange things that do more than go bump in
the night.
Cavendish Ghost Story: Charlie:
Read about some of the Cavendish spirits that liven up our town, particularly
Charlie and his pennies, at the CHS blog.
Museum: Now closed, on the last day, Oct. 9, we had a fun afternoon telling
Cavendish ghost stories. The new doors for the Museum have been primed, painted
and are being housed there this winter to acclimate. Installation will take
place in the spring. Thank you Dave Stern and Kem Phillips. Be sure to check
out the planter in front of the Museum, which Svetlana and Kem Phillips have
filled with fall plantings.
Stone Church: We finally found a timber framer and work is
underway on the belfry. However, the outdoor painting, roof flashing etc. will
take place in the spring. We need to raise more money for this project, so if
anyone feels like undertaking a fundraiser..... The goal for 2017 is to create
the permanent home of the Solzhenitsyn exhibit at the Stone Church.
Solzhenitsyn Project: We had a group of Chinese dissidents visit
in October. Look for some of their comments in the fall issue of the Scribbler
II. Special thanks to Kang Wang for his donation, which is being used to help
with the belfry repairs.
This is a good time
to order copies of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Writer Who Changed History for your holiday gift list.
They also make a nice hostess gift. Books can be purchased from CHS for $15 a
copy plus $2 shipping in the United States. We’re happy to autograph them, and
until Dec. 15, we’ll even include gift-wrapping. The book can also be ordered
from Create Space and Amazon.com. Note that CHS makes the most money by
ordering directly from us or from Create Space. All proceeds from the book go
to the Solzhenitsyn project.
Various speaking
engagements are being arranged now that the Museum is closed for the season. To
schedule a talk or order a book, please use the contact information at the end of this post.
CHS Blog: Check out new items posted to the blog
Nov. 1: Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) CTES 5th
graders will be making a variety of items that are common to this celebration
in Mexico and Latin America including papel picado (paper cuts); paper flowers; and the
decoration of sugar skulls.
Nov. 3: Fitton Mill tour for 6th graders
Nov. 7: Veterans Day program for 6th
graders.
Nov. 14: Speaking engagement Okemo Valley Women’s
Club
Nov. 19: Speaking Engagement Varnum Memorial Library,
Jeffersonville, VT
CAN YOU HELP?
For any of the items
below, please e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com or call 802-226-7807.
• Fundraising: All ideas and suggestions are most welcome.
• Board Members/Volunteers: Want to have a more active role in CHS?
Become a board member. There are also numerous volunteer opportunities.
CONNECTING WITH CHS
802-226-7807
margocaulfield@icloud.com
PO Box 472,
Cavendish, VT 05142
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Cavendish Ghost Stories: Charlie
The Cavendish
Historical Society (CHS) has been collecting ghost stories since the summer.
We’ve learned about Homer who has haunted the Proctorsville Fire Department for
years, though he hasn’t been heard from recently. Supposedly there was a murder
in this building, which was once a carriage barn.
Robert, so named
because he looks like Robert Redford from an old western, still makes his
presence known at the Golden Stage Inn along with a “ghost cat” and a strange
mist that photographs quite well in one room. Lots of other eerie things-people
who call your name and talk to you, but when you turn around no one is there. Clearly
this Inn deserves its reputation as one of the most haunted places to stay in
Vermont.
Lena is actually
written into the deed of the house she occupies-she has full access to the
front bedroom and parlor-though she hasn’t been alive for many years. In short,
we have a very long list of ghosts and spirits who seem to like calling
Cavendish home.
Of all the stories,
the one we want to share this Halloween features Charlie and his pennies. Maybe
we liked this one so much because CHS plays a role in it.
In June 2014, CHS
was contacted by a man looking for information about his ancestors and wanting to
know if any possible relatives still lived in town. Though a descendant of the
Dutton and Proctor union, he and his parents visited Proctorsville as a child
to see aunts, uncles and cousins. Falling on hard times, the family ultimately
moved to Florida, where both parents died in 1969.
A few questions
about his Parker line confirmed that he was in fact part of the same family as
CHS board member Gail Woods. As we stood in her kitchen, he
tells Gail his mother's maiden name-Carmine June Cook. "I knew Carmine,”
Gail replies. “ She had a son Greg Roche." To which he excitedly pointed
to himself repeating, "that's me, that’s me!"
As Greg asks about names from his childhood, Gail’s
husband Woodie pieces together that the “Aunt Adie” has a granddaughter-Janet
Pipkin- now living in the old family home on Depot Street.
An e-mail and phone call, resulted in Janet posting
the following to Facebook, What a night... Almost 50 years ago, my
mom's cousin [Carmine June Cook]
disappeared and cut ties with the family. So my mom never knew what happened to
her and her son.
One of my strongest childhood memories is my mom
always looking up their names in phone books whenever we were staying at a
motel in another city. "You never know, they might be in here," she
would say.
 |
| Greg Roche and Ann, Janet's Mom |
Mom was so overjoyed to hear from him. She has
wondered for so long how he was. And on Sunday, she will find out when she gets
to see him again after all this time. Just amazing.
So now for the
ghostly part, which is provided by Janet Pipkin
While driving in
snow on Route 131, Charlie Cook (1882-1923) had an accident. He was taken to
his home at 145 Depot Street in Proctorsville but, unfortunately, due to massive
internal injuries, he died several days later surrounded by his wife and young
daughter.
Janet took residence
in the house in 1991, as she was the granddaughter of Adelaide Cook Brittain,
Charlie’s sister. The house has always been in the family, primarily the
residence of another sister, Grace Cook, who died in the 1980s.
Soon after moving
in, Janet noticed pennies around the house. She thought nothing of it; loose
change did not seem like a big deal, until things became weirder. Having
vacuumed one of the bedrooms, Janet left the room to put the vacuum away.
Returning to the freshly vacuumed room she discovered pennies right in the
middle of the rug. While cleaning a window, a penny fell from above, landing on
the floor by her feet. Not being a real believer of spirits, it struck her as
odd and curious, but defying any logical explanation.
While driving to
Manchester, she remembered in a panic that she had put a potato in the oven
to bake over an hour ago. Fearing fire, she turned around and went home. By now
it had been two hours since she put the potato in the oven. Rushing into the
kitchen, she found the stove turned off and a perfectly cooked potato. This was
illogical. She had only put it in 20 minutes before she left. If she had shut
off the oven, how could it possibly have been fully cooked? And if she didn’t,
why was the oven shut off and the potato not burnt?
The final incident
that pushed Janet from non-believer to believer was breaking glass. Having just
gone to bed, she heard the distinctive sound of breaking glass. Figuring it was
one of the cats breaking something, she ran downstairs and saw her roommate also
rapidly descending the stairs. Searching the house from top to bottom, neither
saw any signs of broken glass.
Janet called her
mother, Ann (Adelaide’s daughter, Charlie’s niece) and told her what happened. Ann
wasn’t surprised. Soon after Grace had died Ann had come to the Depot Street
house to do some packing and cleaning. It was the first night when she heard
the sound of breaking glass. Like Janet, she searched and found no explanation
of the noise.
In discussing the
situation with her Mom, Janet wondered it if could possible be a ghost. Ann
related the story of Charlie’s death. He died in the front bedroom of the
house, and sadly, his wife and young daughter were never the same again. The
daughter ended up living her own tragic life wrapped up in drug and alcohol
abuse and had disappeared in the 1960s.
Janet became use to
the pennies showing up everywhere. She even spoke to Charlie trying to explain
that a penny doesn’t have a lot of value and quarters would be more
appreciated, but no luck. “Off” events or incidents just were attributed to
“that Charlie.” A visitor to the house, upon leaving, touched Janet softly on
the arm saying, “I don’t mean to alarm you but I can feel spirits and I have to
tell you that you have a haunting that seems to originate in your front
bedroom.” Janet replied, “Oh, that’s just Charlie!”
After twenty years
of living in the house, Janet met her long lost cousin Greg, as related above.
Not only did this bring closure to the many years of searching by Janet’s Mom,
but there was another member of the family that needed “closure.” Since Greg
was Charlie’s grandson- Greg mother Carmine, was the daughter of Charlie- he
agreed to go to Janet’s house and have a chat.
Greg told Janet (as
well as Charlie) about his life’s successes as well as what had happened to his
mother. He talked about his wife and children and how content he was with his
life in California as a leather artist.
Since then, Janet
doesn’t see many pennies anymore. She runs across one every now and then and
wonders it is still Charlie. There seem to be no more noises or strange incidents.
Janet wants to believe that Charlie finally managed to get the news he needed
to be at peace. But she still keeps listening for that possible sound of broken
glass.
Check out CHS’s 2015
Halloween Story The Cavendish Witch.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Visiting Historic Cavendish
Whether it’s to see the
site of the famous Phineas Gage accident, the town where Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
lived or to research family genealogy, Cavendish is a small town with a big
history that attracts people from all over the world. To help visitors
interested in Cavendish history, below are resources to assist you in planning
a trip.
Note that the
Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) Museum, 1958 Main Street (route 131), is open from
Memorial weekend to Columbus weekend on Sundays from 2-4 pm and by appointment
at other times. Because the building is unheated during the winter months, we
recommend visiting at other times. If we make arrangements to open the Museum and meet with you, we appreciate notifications if you are going to be delayed.
If you have questions or need more information, call 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com
General Resources
• Visitor’s Guide to Cavendish: Provides
information on places to stay, eat and recreate.
• Cavendish Connects: Includes a calendar of events, the latest news and
other types of information.
Phineas
Gage
Each year, the Sunday closest to Gage’s accident (Sept
13, 1848) is CHS’s annual “Walk and Talk.”
• Self Guided Phineas Gage Walking Tour For best visibility, it is recommended that you visit
in the spring or fall when the leaves do not block views.
Aleksandr
Solzhenitsyn
The Museum has an exhibit as well as the archives of
his time in Cavendish. There is also a selection of videos that can be
screened. Note that the permanent exhibit will be at the Cavendish Stone
Church, which is currently undergoing restoration/preservation. Both the Museum
and Stone Church can be visited. With enough advanced notice, we can arrange
for translators.
In planning your visit, start by checking out the
sidebar of the CHS Blog’s Solzhenitsyn section which includes links to videos, speeches, writings etc.
Other CHS websites on Solzhenitsyn include:
•
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Writer Who Changed History: CHS’s
newest publication, this is a biography of Solzhenitsyn for students in grades
4-7. However, it contains many pictures from the family’s private collection,
some of which have never been seen in the West. www.thewriterwhochangedhistory.com
Please
be advised that we do not give directions to Solzhenitsyn’s home.
Genealogy
• Researching Cavendish Families: Includes a list of CHS publications, links to sites and contact information for genealogist and author of the series "Families of Cavendish."
• Cemeteries of Cavendish Vermont: This is a good resource to find where
ancestors are buried. Note that cemeteries are generally closed for the winter
on Oct. 15 and don’t reopen until May. Dates can vary due to weather. Best to contact CHS if you are unsure of an
ancestor’s burial location and/or if the cemeteries are open.
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