October 2022
4th Quarter Number 72 |
Artifacts
& Fiction The Quarterly Newsletter of the Montgomery Historical Society P.O. Box 47 Montgomery, VT 05471 e-mail pratthall@gmail.com www.montgomeryhistoricalsociety.org Click here for a printer friendly pdf version |
 Drone view of Pratt Hall by Cedric Lanphear |
| Scott
Perry,Chair/Editor John Kuryloski,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 or Zoom online in the Winter. Recent History
Quiz:
a. 1
b. 4
c. 7
d. 9
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Chairman's
Message
Down
the Rabbit Hole...
Later in
this newsletter is an update on our
efforts to evaluate,
accession, and organize our archival holdings. While this
seems
pretty straightforward, the work is not without its peril, sort of an
occupational hazard. I feel a
story coming on....
During one of our sessions with the authors researching the history of the area's mills I saw one of them roll their eyes when one of their collaborators started going off on a tangent, a thought brought on by something we were discussing. The eye roller said this is why it's so hard to make progress, part a leads to part b then part c and before you know it you're "down the rabbit hole" and you've spent an hour on something that is genuinely interesting but not particularly relevant to the task at hand. We also can have the same problem accessioning things. We will pick up an object, a picture, or a news clipping to accession and get so enthralled in the details and associated stories that we find hours passing without as much progress as we would like. It's a good problem to have though and a lot of fun. Come join us sometime. "This Is Our Home" Channel 5 news recorded a segment of their "This Is Our Home" series in Montgomery at the end of August. It focuses on small, sometimes out of the way towns in the region. Much of the filming was done in and on the grounds of the Society. The Montgomery Program aired during their morning news on September 12th and can still be viewed at this link. https://www.mynbc5.com/article/this-is-our-home-montgomery-vermont/41167696 Thanks for your support;
Scott
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MEMBERSHIP DRIVE ALWAYS OPEN
This year's membership drive remains open. Our
numbers have partially rebounded, and new members are up. You
can renew / join online anytime.
THANK
YOU!
 NEW BOOKLET ON MILL RUINS PUBLISHED
The new booklet (above) on the mill ruins of the
Trout
River and Upper Missisquoi watershed was published since the
last
newsletter. The authors donated one copy each to the
Montgomery
Town Library, the Montgomery Elementary School Library and the
Historical Society. Just 25 copies were printed, although
more may
be printed depending on the interest shown. The section on
Montgomery's
mills is the largest.
 2022
FARMERS
MARKET WRAP UP
September 10th saw the conclusion of this season's Farmers Market and also was a point of sale for the Conservation Commission's annual Mum sale. Thanks to all our vendors and customers, and special thanks to Sue Wilson and all the MHS Board volunteers.  Pat and Marijke in action ARCHIVAL
COLLECTION MANAGEMENT UPDATE
We've been working to cull our holdings and better organize them. Pat Farmer designed and implemented the new data base, we purchased new equipment and software, and have been meeting regularly to tackle this herculean task. Nearly 900 items have been labeled, assigned a location, photographed, and placed. That light at the end of the tunnel may not be an oncoming train after all! We've also developed check lists and are eager to train other volunteers. Please let us know if you have some time and are willing to chip in. FORGIVE US IF WE DRONE ON... Couldn't resist a pun... Member Cedric Lanphear recently shared a copy of his September 2021 drone video focused on the Village area. It has some great views of Pratt Hall and the covered bridges, and can be viewed on his YouTube channel.
SPEAKING OF YOUTUBE... ...and accessioning, we recently officially accessioned a video interview, done by supporter and Canadian TV host Don McGowan, with John "Zack" Zachadnyk of the famous "Zack's On The Rocks". It was donated to us for the memorial service we hosted at Pratt Hall in 2011. We've added it to our YouTube channel. The quality is pre-HD but it is still a great record of that part of our history. Our thanks to member Don Bordner for making it available as an .mp4 file.
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 EVENTS FOR REMAINDER OF 2022...
October
22: “We’re Not From Here” by Modern Times Theater. Veteran vaudeville
entertainers
Rose Friedman and Justin Lander will present a brand new show...
a million years in just under 75 minutes. How's
that for
history? Family friendly and free. Donations always welcome.
December 10th MES CRAFT SALE: The Society will have a booth at this year's show. December 17th HOLIDAY HAPPINESS: We're planning to have horse drawn wagon rides and the Hall will be open with a return to traditional activities. That includes Santa if he can fit us into his schedule. December 18th CANDLES AND CAROLS: Traditional caroling and other silliness. Times and additional details here. We will continue to follow COVID developments and make adjustments to our plans as needed but are optimistic we will be able to return to our pre-virus normal. Please feel free to check back with us. MEN WITH TOOLS UPDATE
The front deck of Pratt Hall
received
a fresh coat of stain in September thanks to John Kuryloski and Bob
Cummins. Pat Farmer and Pat Calecas installed a few new brick
pavers too. We now have a new sign light and a dehumidifier
for
the
archive also. Refreshing the paint on our sign and the
exterior
east facing facade of the archival building remain on our to-do list.
PRATT HALL TO HOST OTHER COMMUNITY EVENTS
On October
8th
there will be a memorial service for Baldur
(Val) Schadinger.
On
October 27th the "Friends of the Montgomery Town Library" will hold
their Young Writers competition and celebration.
 PHOTO FROM THE PAST
Do you know what / where this building is?
See the bottom for the answer.
LLHSM
This year's meeting of the League of Local
Historical Societies and Museums will be October 29th in Manchester.
More details are on their web
site.
THIS
QUARTER IN MONTGOMERY AREA HISTORY
October: 1864
St. Albans Raid
November: 1792 Franklin County established December: 1905 School house at four corners (West Hill ) burns down. HISTORY QUIZ ANSWERS
1. c. Seven Franklin County towns
exceeded the overall County turnout of 20%
2. False. Montgomery's turnout was 28%, the highest in the county and was the only town in the county to exceed the State turnout. Richford's was 14%, the lowest' just behind Berkshire and St Albans City which were both 16%. Source: VT Sec. of State. PHOTO FROM THE PAST ANSWER
The building was the Cold Hollow Art Gallery and is still
across the road from the Recreation Center.
THIS IS OUR LAST NEWSLETTER BEFORE OUR 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR  THANK YOU FOR A GREAT FIRST 49 YEARS!! |
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Thanks for your support! Not a member... why not join us? |
