The Vermont Covered Bridge Society (VCBS) is organizing the first ever State "Covered Bridges Week".  Gov. Scott signed a declaration making it August 2nd through the 9th.  VCBS hopes this will become an annual event, spawn a greater awareness of the bridges, and also boost visitors similar to festivals in other states. 

      We contacted the VCBS and offered to help publicize it and have done so in our newsletters and on our web site.  We will also post it on our sandwich board in July and our Facebook page.  The Town website and social media pages should have a blurb too.

      We will present our "History of Montgomery's Covered Bridges"  at 11:00am on both the 2nd and the 9th at Pratt Hall during our Farmer's Market, and hand out our pamphlet/map to the bridges.  The VCBS will also have a booth at our Farmer's Market for at least one of those two days.

      Montgomery had at least 11 of these bridges at one time and as Bill Brantoover was fond of saying we were home to "the most of any town in the country, and the world".  We are the self-proclaimed covered bridge capital of Vermont with five still standing and being used.  A sixth is just over the town line in Enosburg but was built by Montgomery's Jewett brothers.

     This is an opportunity for Montgomery to shine!  Please share/forward and help get the word out.

                                                                         Thank you, Scott

     Also...Did you know the location of the Hectorville covered bridge on the Gibou Road now has a historic marker thanks to the efforts of Lynn and Peter Locher.   Great work, thank you!

    The winner of our annual Dr. Winston Lewis Memorial Scholarship was Chloe Decker.  Chloe attended Enosburg Falls High School and the Cold Hollow Career Center and hopes to attend either Norwich University or Vermont State University and major in Psychology.  We presented Chloe with a certificate, a copy of the Town history, and a $1,000 check.

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    This was the 31st year the MHS has organized and sponsored our annual Memorial Day commemoration.  This year's took place at the Hill West cemetery.  There are 290 veterans buried in Montgomery’s cemeteries.  Fourteen are interred at Hill West and were included in our Roll Call there.  They served during the period spanning the Civil War to Vietnam.

     We also acknowledge any veteran who has died in the last 12 months during the commemoration.  This year we recognized Dale Davidson, who served in the Vietnam War era and Dick Bocian, who served in the Korean War era.  

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      Abby Dixson-Boles has been helping us organize and archive our collection in recent weeks.  She's having so much fun she's agreed to a stint on our Board.   Abby received our 2021 scholarship and graduated from Sarah Lawrence college in New York.  Welcome aboard.

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     Pat Farmer was recognized with an LLHSM Award of Excellence for his longtime support to the MHS at their Annual Meeting in May.  There was lots of interest in his work on our archival data base and we've provided VHS with the software since then.   It may be used by other Societies in the future.  

     Five MHS members attended the meeting.   One theme was tomorrow's history is today, and what should we be doing to preserve those things that the people who follow us would need to know?  Vermont during Covid was an example.  VHS collected oral histories and published a book recently on the topic.   

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       Farmers Market:  Year eight of our Farmer's Market will began June 28th and will run through October 11th every Saturday from 9:30 to 1:00 pm.  We can always use additional vendors so if you are interested in vending please contact Patty Perl (326-2176) or Elsie Saborowski (326-4558).

     MHS Annual Meeting:   June 29, 1:30pm Social Time, 2:00pm Annual Report at Pratt Hall.  For members and guests.  "Just Desserts and Champagne".  Kevin Graffagnino (Ira Allen and Vermontania) will be guest speaker on "Why Vermont History Matters".  We will update you in the October newsletter.  

     VT Covered Bridges Week:  August 2nd through 9th.  Help us celebrate Vermont Covered Bridge Week.  We will be making presentations on the history of Montgomery's covered bridges and why we're the Covered Bridge Town on both the 2nd and 9th at 11:00am.  Free pamphlets with maps provided.  Vermont Covered Bridge Society will have a booth too.

     Friends of the Library Speaker:  September 8th at 6:00pm at Pratt Hall.  Michael Tougias, “Extreme Survival:  Lessons from Those Who Triumphed Against All Odds”

     We hope to add other events and plan to host our holiday events as before.