October 2018 4th Quarter Number 56 |
Artifacts
& Fiction The Quarterly Newsletter of the Montgomery Historical Society P.O. Box 47 Montgomery, VT 05470 e-mail pratthall@gmail.com www.montgomeryhistoricalsociety.org Click here for a printer friendly pdf version |
 Horses Entering Comstock Bridge |
| Scott
Perry
- Chair/Editor Bill McGroarty - Vice Chair Marijke Dollois - Secretary Pat Farmer - Treasurer
The MHS
Board meets the third Thursday of the
month at 5:00 p.m. Pratt Hall in the summer, Public Safety
Building
Conference Room in the Winter.
History
Quiz:
In
1843 the VT Legislature passed a law to “encourage and
promote agriculture”. County
Societies
would organize and be eligible for state money which was most often
used for
awards called premiums at County Fairs..
The Franklin County Agricultural Society was
organized in 1844. (Agricultural
fairs were first organized and held in Montgomery in 1856 but moved to
Enosburg
in 1859. ) What was the County
premium for best bull calf in 1844?
a. $5 b. $15
c. $25
d.
$35 What was the County
premium for best bull calf in 1845? a. $5 b. $15
c. $25
d.
$35
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Chairman's
Message Your Society has been blessed by a governing Board of Trustee and officer volunteers since our establishment in 1973. These people oversee all of our activities from archival work, to financial management, to cleaning pigeon guano out of the clock tower. They are the people that make things happen and go unsung much of the time. It is with regret I report the departure of Mark Baddorf. Mark and Susan have been members of the Society since 2007. He joined the Board in 2014 and has served as your Treasurer since July of 2015. He kept track of revenues and expenses and provided information for our first ever tax returns required by our successful fund raising during and after the West Wall project. Mark was also a member of the "Men With Tools (MWT)" and lent his expertise, and tools, to almost every self help project we attempted. The new steps at the former Heaton House were his MWT swan song. He and Susan, who was also a frequent volunteer, are returning to the mid-Atlantic to be closer to their granddaughter and other family. We will miss them. Thank you for your love and support over the last decade plus. You made Montgomery history! As one door closes so opens another. I'm pleased to announce your Board elected Pat Farmer as the Society's new Treasurer. Pat and his wife, Carol, have been members since 2002 and he joined the Board in 2006. He is mastering the ins and outs of Quicken and TD Bank's online banking, and provided his first report at our September meeting. He's also creating custom Excel spreadsheets, a truly beautiful thing. I know we are in good hands. And thanks to all of you who have served and are serving now. Your current trustees are: Bill McGroarty, Marijke Dollois, Jo Anne Bennett, Elsie Saborowski, Sue Wilson, John Beaty, Pat Farmer, John Kuryloski, Bob Cummins, Andre LaBier, Patty Perl, and Tim Chapin. We meet monthly and the meetings are open to all. Thanks for your support. Scott |
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Farmer's Market Year 2
Wraps Up
Thanks to
all vendors and customers, and to Sue Wilson and
her crew of Society volunteers for making this such a huge success.
Other Activities
Since the Last NewsletterSue is happy to report all vendors passed the State inspection in September. She is also thinking about starting the market a few weeks later and running later in the Fall next year.
We hosted our yard sale, a library
benefit concert, a wedding,
and by the time you read this will have served as a location for a
music video shoot, and another memorial. The Men With
Tools repaired
some clapboards there too.
Clock
Winder Extraordinaire 
Kevin Scheffler has been our Quasimodo for the
last few years making the weekly trek 65 feet up to the clock to
manually wind the
winch, that raises a several hundred pound weight, that powers the
clock. Kevin took over the job from his son, Luke.
Other members of the MHS Quasimodo Order include George
Roberts, Rocky Elkins, and Pat Farmer. If you are a
clock winding alumni, or know of
any others, please let
us know. Our thanks to all of you.
Back by popular demand... We hope to reprise our
free
Christmas wagon rides, pulled by "Down to Earth Draft Horses'" Belgians
and Percherons, on Saturday Dec 15th
from 11:00 to 1:30.
If it pans out, the Hall will be open for activities and to
warm you, and hot
chocolate and cookies will be served. This is in partnership
with
the Montgomery Town Library and the Northwestern Counseling
and Support Services (Parent and Child Center). Please check
our web site for confirmation.
Candles and Carols will be Sunday the 16th at 5:00 o'clock. Details will be announced on our web site, via email, and in Lois' column. New Digital Piano Graces
Pratt Hall
We were honored recently to receive the gift of a digital piano for Pratt Hall from Sabra Massey. It was used by Andrew in his studio (aka the hut) in the woods behind their home. He used it to score the music for Candles and Carols among other things, so it seemed fitting. Thank you Sabra! |
2018 Membership Report
Our membership numbers have dropped off a bit but we remain
hopeful the community will reward our efforts by joining our
group. Every member makes a difference and lets us know we
are providing a valued service. Remember you can now
join, or renew, via our web site's Membership
link and pay using a
credit card or Paypal. Just click the Donate button. If
you've already
joined - thank you! If not, it's never too late.
Look For Our Booth at
the MES Craft Show and Sale
We will reprise our booth at this show
Dec 8th at the Montgomery Elementary School from 9:00 to 3:00.
Books, cards,
ornaments, hats, T-shirts, engraved brick pavers, and more will be for
sale.
Check out the sale and stop by and say hello.
Can't make the show? You can purchase any of these items by clicking the History for Sale link on our web site. New
Heritage Garden Phase Two
Our new Heritage garden has filled in nicely and the final
power raking and seeding was just finished on the lower area.
The feedback
has been nearly unanimous on the improvement to the property.
Our thanks to Charlie Fichman, Avery Stanley, Steve
Hogan, and "Nature by
Design", and to all the volunteer stone movers, waterers, and tenders
that kept things alive and thriving throughout the Summer and Fall.
 Support the MHS, Use Amazon Smile
As we approach the
holiday season please consider using Amazon Smile
for your Amazon
purchases. You can shop just like you normally would on
Amazon and designate the MHS (in Vermont) as your beneficiary.
Amazon will
donate from their charitable foundation based on
what you
spend on each purchase. It's small but adds up.
Thank you.
October: 1901 Nelson and Hall mill burns
down. It is rebuilt and has electricity!
History Quiz
AnswersNovember: 1812 - VT legislature raises two brigades for the war effort. Border with Canada sealed. December: 1977 - St. Bartholomew's renamed Pratt Hall in honor of Larry Pratt.
1. The 1844 prize for best bull calf
was: D. $35
2. The 1845 prize for best bull calf was: A. $5 : Sources: Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Abby Maria Hemenway Vol 2 1871. Negotiating Community Values: The Franklin County Agricultural Society Premium Lists 1844 -1889, Chris Burns, VHS Quarterly. One reason for the
difference was there were more prize categories so the prize money had
to be spread around more. Ed.
Montgomery's own Tim Murphy will be receiving an Individual
Award
for his years of service to the Society and the community at large.
(these used to be called "lifetime achievement" awards but
some
found the term akin to calling someone an old fart so they changed
it!). Tim
has been involved in our work for over 42 years, and was instrumental
in the preservation work on Pratt Hall starting in 1976. This
is
an honor well deserved.
The award will be presented at the LLHSM's Annual Meeting which is at Woodstock on October 27th. Look for pictures in the January 2019 newsletter.
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