In the March 30 Cavendish Update, information was provided for two of Cavendish’s Civil War veterans who were awarded the Medal of Honor, William Sperry and Tom Seaver. There was a third, Daniel Davis Wheeler.
A native of Cavendish, Wheeler enlisted at 19 when President Lincoln called for volunteers. He served in many of the major battles of the Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor for “distinguished bravery” at the Battle of Salem Heights. Career military, he retired in 1903.
Recently, the Cavendish Historical Society received a clipping from “The Free Lance-Star” of Fredericksburg, VA. “Daniel Davis Wheeler is hardly a household name. Yet he can be considered a Civil War hero-a fact that had, until recently, largely escaped public notice.
Now, if you visit Wheeler’s resting place in Fredericksbur’s City Cemetery, near a venerable magnolia and the brick wall along Washington Avenue, you’ll spot something shiny and new.
Affixed to Wheeler’s gravestone are two brass plaques. One reads “Medal of Honor.” The others bears his name, unit-the 4th Vermont Infantry Regiment-and birth and death dates. Both feature the distinctive design of the medal awarded as the nation’s highest military honor.
Here in Fredericksburg, Wheeler is something of an odd man out: a Union brigadier general interred in a cemetery known for its Southerns.
Nonetheless, Wheeler is of Fredericksburg. He lived his last 15 years here, having married into one of the area’s most prominent families.
And when his time came, Brig. Gen. Wheeler was laid to rest by his adopted community. At his funeral on July 29,1916, pallbearers included Fredericksburg Mayor J.P . Rowe and Charles Hurkamp, a longtime City Council member.
So how did a son of Cavendish end up marrying a confederate daughter?
During the War, the Phillips family home served as headquarters for Union army commander Ambrose Burnside during the Battle of Fredericksburg. It is possible that Wheeler met his future wife then. More than 30 years later, Wheeler married Nannie, (nee Phillips) who was recently widowed, in Fredericksburg. They then moved to Nebraska where he was stationed.
Retiring in 1903, the Wheelers returned to Fredericksburg. Wheeler is buried in the Phillips family plot. At his funeral, a tribute declared that the city had “lost one of her most distinguished citizens… a natural leader of men. …[B]ehind the apparent sternness of his character, due to his military training, was the possessor of a most kind heart. To those of us who knew him well, his memory will long remain fragrant because of the innumerable acts of courtesy and kindness which he was ever doing.”
Read more: Daniel Davis Wheeler, RIP
Cavendish Historical Society Museum Opens on Sunday
The Cavendish Historical Society Museum opens this coming Sunday, June 2, with two unique exhibits. The first is the town’s 250 year historic timeline. The second features photographs and other items from the floods of 1927 and 2011. Please bring copies of your photographs from Irene so they can be included in the archives for future generations. If you would prefer, you can e-mail them to margoc@tds.net
The Museum is open every Sunday from 2-4 pm until mid October. FMI: margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807
Cavendish Historical Society Museum
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Thursday, May 17, 2012
A New Look at Phineas Gage
LA Times
By Thomas H. Maugh II
May 16, 2012, 2:15 p.m.
The tamping rod that blew through Phineas Gage's brain 163 years ago damaged only a small portion of his brain, but it disrupted a much larger proportion of his neural connections, UCLA researchers reported Wednesday. The finding, based on imaging of Gage's skull, may help explain the behavioral changes he endured following the accident.
Phineas P. Gage was a construction supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad. On Sept. 13, 1848, he was working at a site near Cavendish, Vt. He had drilled a hole in a rock that was to be removed then filled the hole with blasting powder. After instructing an assistant to pour sand on top of the powder to cushion it, he turned away briefly. Unfortunately, the assistant did not follow his directions and when Gage began tamping down the powder with a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch iron rod in the next step of the procedure, the powder exploded, shooting the rod clean through his cheek and brain.
The rod was later found 25 feet away, covered with blood and brain tissue. Surprisingly, Gage, then 25, recovered. But his behavior changed abruptly.
No longer an affable young man, he became fitful, irreverent and profane. Unable to retain his railroad job because of the personality changes, he took a succession of somewhat menial jobs, including as a stagecoach driver in South America. He was eventually reunited with his family in San Francisco, where he died of an epileptic seizure 12 years after the fateful accident.
His skull now resides at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School in Boston. It is too fragile to be imaged again, but UCLA neurologist Jack Van Horn and his colleagues tracked down high-resolution CT images that had been taken at Brigham and Women's Hospital 11 years ago. Those images had been thought to be lost for more than a decade.
The team then imaged the brains of men of about the same size and age as Gage; the men were also all right-handed, like Gage. Using modern computational techniques, the team combined the CT image of Gage's skull with the images of the brains of the modern men to assess what kind of damage had occurred.
They reported in the journal PLoS One that the rod damaged only 4% of Gage's cortex, but that it destroyed about 11% of neural connections in the white matter of the brain. Thus, even though the physical damage was restricted to the left frontal lobe, the damage to the white matter affected neural connections throughout the brain. "Connections were lost between the left frontal, left temporal and right frontal cortices, and the left limbic structures of his brain," Van Horn said, and that "was a major contributor to the behavioral changes he experienced."
Van Horn is a member of UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, which is part of an ambitious effort, along with Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health, to map the trillions of microscopic links that connect the brain's 100 billion neurons -- an effort that will produce what is known as a "connectome." Researchers hope that mapping the connectome will lead to new answers about mental disorders related to the breakdown of these links and about damages due to brain injury.
By Thomas H. Maugh II
May 16, 2012, 2:15 p.m.
The tamping rod that blew through Phineas Gage's brain 163 years ago damaged only a small portion of his brain, but it disrupted a much larger proportion of his neural connections, UCLA researchers reported Wednesday. The finding, based on imaging of Gage's skull, may help explain the behavioral changes he endured following the accident.
Phineas P. Gage was a construction supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad. On Sept. 13, 1848, he was working at a site near Cavendish, Vt. He had drilled a hole in a rock that was to be removed then filled the hole with blasting powder. After instructing an assistant to pour sand on top of the powder to cushion it, he turned away briefly. Unfortunately, the assistant did not follow his directions and when Gage began tamping down the powder with a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch iron rod in the next step of the procedure, the powder exploded, shooting the rod clean through his cheek and brain.
The rod was later found 25 feet away, covered with blood and brain tissue. Surprisingly, Gage, then 25, recovered. But his behavior changed abruptly.
No longer an affable young man, he became fitful, irreverent and profane. Unable to retain his railroad job because of the personality changes, he took a succession of somewhat menial jobs, including as a stagecoach driver in South America. He was eventually reunited with his family in San Francisco, where he died of an epileptic seizure 12 years after the fateful accident.
His skull now resides at the Warren Anatomical Museum at Harvard Medical School in Boston. It is too fragile to be imaged again, but UCLA neurologist Jack Van Horn and his colleagues tracked down high-resolution CT images that had been taken at Brigham and Women's Hospital 11 years ago. Those images had been thought to be lost for more than a decade.
The team then imaged the brains of men of about the same size and age as Gage; the men were also all right-handed, like Gage. Using modern computational techniques, the team combined the CT image of Gage's skull with the images of the brains of the modern men to assess what kind of damage had occurred.
They reported in the journal PLoS One that the rod damaged only 4% of Gage's cortex, but that it destroyed about 11% of neural connections in the white matter of the brain. Thus, even though the physical damage was restricted to the left frontal lobe, the damage to the white matter affected neural connections throughout the brain. "Connections were lost between the left frontal, left temporal and right frontal cortices, and the left limbic structures of his brain," Van Horn said, and that "was a major contributor to the behavioral changes he experienced."
Van Horn is a member of UCLA's Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, which is part of an ambitious effort, along with Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health, to map the trillions of microscopic links that connect the brain's 100 billion neurons -- an effort that will produce what is known as a "connectome." Researchers hope that mapping the connectome will lead to new answers about mental disorders related to the breakdown of these links and about damages due to brain injury.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Help Support The Cavendish Historical Society
At the June 30 Summer Fest, the Cavendish Historical Society will be holding a silent and live auction. We need donations of:
• gift certificates to restaurants, stores etc.
• certificates of service, such as ski tuning, gardening, dinner in your home, childcare, business service, lawn care etc.
• items, such as art work, furniture etc. Items need to be in good shape-new, gently used or actual antiques
You can send certificates to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142 If you have items that you need to be picked up or dropped off, please contact the numbers below. After June 2, you will be able to drop them off at the Museum on Sundays from 2-4 pm.
If you have a service you would like to donate, please e-mail the following information to margoc@tds.net and we’ll create a certificate for you:
• Service to be donated (be clear about what you will offer, such as 3 hours of gardening, dinner for 4 in your home, and if there is a time limit, e.g. redeemable by January 1, 2012)
• Estimated Value
• Person/organization making the donation
Thank you for your support of the Cavendish Historical Society.
Margo Caulfield
Coordinator
Cavendish Historical Society
PO Box 472
Cavendish, VT 05142
802-227-7807
www.cavendishhistory.org
www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com
margoc@tds.net
• gift certificates to restaurants, stores etc.
• certificates of service, such as ski tuning, gardening, dinner in your home, childcare, business service, lawn care etc.
• items, such as art work, furniture etc. Items need to be in good shape-new, gently used or actual antiques
You can send certificates to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142 If you have items that you need to be picked up or dropped off, please contact the numbers below. After June 2, you will be able to drop them off at the Museum on Sundays from 2-4 pm.
If you have a service you would like to donate, please e-mail the following information to margoc@tds.net and we’ll create a certificate for you:
• Service to be donated (be clear about what you will offer, such as 3 hours of gardening, dinner for 4 in your home, and if there is a time limit, e.g. redeemable by January 1, 2012)
• Estimated Value
• Person/organization making the donation
Thank you for your support of the Cavendish Historical Society.
Margo Caulfield
Coordinator
Cavendish Historical Society
PO Box 472
Cavendish, VT 05142
802-227-7807
www.cavendishhistory.org
www.cavendishhistoricalsocietynews.blogspot.com
margoc@tds.net
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Civil War History: How did they brush their teeth?
In order to enlist into the Union Army, recruits underwent a physical, which included an examination to determine “whether he had sufficient number of teeth in good condition to masticate his food properly to tear his cartridge quickly and with ease.” As regulations were revised, guidelines became more specific, “total loss of all the front teeth, the eye-teeth, and first molar even if only of one jaw” was cause for rejection.
While many wanted to serve in the military, others saw the “teeth requirement,” as a way out. As Dr. David Noble noted, “one man exhibited twelve sound teeth that had been recently extracted, thus settling the question that a man may stand the steel, but fear the powder and lead.”
Interestingly, the dental health of Americans in the Civil War era was not good, which was attributed to increased use of refined sugar in foods and a greater consumption of fresh, rather than salted meats.
While it would seem that because good teeth were important for a soldier, yet “not only did the US Army enter the war without dental surgeons, but the federal government did not supply toothbrushes for its troops. Dentists hoped the new call to arms would make the military aware of its dental shortcomings.
Any dental care the soldier received once in the Army was either paid for by the individual or received from an Army surgeon, hospital steward, or a trained dentist serving in another capacity in the same unit. The Civil War: Dental Care in the Union Army, 1861-1865
Interestingly, Dr. Samuel Stockton White, inventor of SS White Tooth Powder, which some soldiers carried in their packs, met with Abraham Lincoln, in his capacity to provide dental services to the Union soldiers. Even though he was head of the American Dental Association, nothing came of it.
If a toothbrush was available, and it seems the confederate side was a bit more concerned about dental hygiene, it was most likely handmade. Mass production of toothbrushes didn’t occur in the US until 1885. A toothbrush found at an archeological dig site in Johnson Island, Ohio was described as follows, “Every feature of the toothbrush had been made by hand, from the carving of the handle to the drilling of no fewer than 88 holes for the boar bristles, which were secured to the base with linen thread. Brushing teeth was not common during the mid-nineteenth century, and only elite members of society typically used toothbrushes. Such a fine example reflects the high status of the Confederate officer who owned it. http://www.archaeology.org/0801/etc/artifact.html
So what did the soldiers do to clean their teeth? Without a toothbrush, they would have used what ever was handy-rags, salt, a finger, leaves and probably a “chewing stick.”
A chewing stick has been used for tooth brushing for many centuries and continues to this day in some parts of the world. A green twig from a tree or bush would be broken off and the soldier would chew until the fibers became soft and spread. Watch a demonstration on-line. They would then use it much as they would have used a toothbrush. It was only good for one use though.
Many trees, such as dogwood, olive, and walnut do have medicinal properties. Other trees they might have used would have included cherry, apple and even birch.
While many wanted to serve in the military, others saw the “teeth requirement,” as a way out. As Dr. David Noble noted, “one man exhibited twelve sound teeth that had been recently extracted, thus settling the question that a man may stand the steel, but fear the powder and lead.”
Interestingly, the dental health of Americans in the Civil War era was not good, which was attributed to increased use of refined sugar in foods and a greater consumption of fresh, rather than salted meats.
While it would seem that because good teeth were important for a soldier, yet “not only did the US Army enter the war without dental surgeons, but the federal government did not supply toothbrushes for its troops. Dentists hoped the new call to arms would make the military aware of its dental shortcomings.
Any dental care the soldier received once in the Army was either paid for by the individual or received from an Army surgeon, hospital steward, or a trained dentist serving in another capacity in the same unit. The Civil War: Dental Care in the Union Army, 1861-1865
Interestingly, Dr. Samuel Stockton White, inventor of SS White Tooth Powder, which some soldiers carried in their packs, met with Abraham Lincoln, in his capacity to provide dental services to the Union soldiers. Even though he was head of the American Dental Association, nothing came of it.
If a toothbrush was available, and it seems the confederate side was a bit more concerned about dental hygiene, it was most likely handmade. Mass production of toothbrushes didn’t occur in the US until 1885. A toothbrush found at an archeological dig site in Johnson Island, Ohio was described as follows, “Every feature of the toothbrush had been made by hand, from the carving of the handle to the drilling of no fewer than 88 holes for the boar bristles, which were secured to the base with linen thread. Brushing teeth was not common during the mid-nineteenth century, and only elite members of society typically used toothbrushes. Such a fine example reflects the high status of the Confederate officer who owned it. http://www.archaeology.org/0801/etc/artifact.html
So what did the soldiers do to clean their teeth? Without a toothbrush, they would have used what ever was handy-rags, salt, a finger, leaves and probably a “chewing stick.”
A chewing stick has been used for tooth brushing for many centuries and continues to this day in some parts of the world. A green twig from a tree or bush would be broken off and the soldier would chew until the fibers became soft and spread. Watch a demonstration on-line. They would then use it much as they would have used a toothbrush. It was only good for one use though.
Many trees, such as dogwood, olive, and walnut do have medicinal properties. Other trees they might have used would have included cherry, apple and even birch.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Edith Hunter
It is with sadness that we report the passing of Edith Hunter, a member of the Cavendish Historical Society, past president of the Weathersfield Historical Society and commentator for Vermont Public Radio. She is also the mother of Cavendish's Town Moderator Will Hunter. Learn more about Edith's remarkable life at Vermont Public Radio.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Scribbler II: Spring 2012
Spring arrived quite early this year, with temperatures in March that toped 80 degrees. It certainly helped CHS board think about the summer and a variety of activities being planned.
For the last five years, CHS has hosted "Cavendish Old Home Day" at the Cavendish Green and at the Museum. This year, the board has voted to return to the original format used by CHS for many years- a summer fest with all activities taking place on the Museum grounds. There will be a live and silent auction, plant sale, museum tours, as well as vendor space. There will be a $15 booth fee (10 x 10 space). If this is something you or your organization would be interested in, please e-mail margoc@tds.net or call 802-226-7807 and reserve your space. Please note that the tree is no longer available to provide shade, so it is important to have a tent.
We know many will miss the tree, but it was very old and was loosing limbs with each strong wind and storm. Before it caused major damage to the Museum or another building, it was thought best to remove it.
Upcoming Events
June 2 (Saturday): Reception for the opening of the Cavendish Floods Exhibit.
June 3 (Saturday): CHS Museum opens for the season, 2-4 pm.
June 30 (Saturday): CHS Summer Fest, featuring annual plant sale, live and silent auction and local vendors. This event will be held on the grounds of the Museum.
July 15 (Sunday): “Lotions, Potions and Notion-18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures.” 2-4 pm at the Museum.
July 28: 2nd Annual Town Wide Tag Sale.
Why is it called Greven Field?
At the Ignat Solzhenitsyn benefit concert for Greven Field on Friday, April 6, among the many positive comments about Ignat’s performance was sprinkled the question, why is it called Greven Field?
In 1948, Dr. H. J. Greven deeded his eight-acre field to the Proctorsville Fire Department. The volunteer firemen and the Auxiliary raised money and worked hard to put in a baseball diamond, bleachers, and other recreational items for the community. For many years, this was the site of Cavendish’s Old Home Day celebration.
Dr. Greven came to Proctorsville around 1925, to join Dr. Buxton in meeting the medical needs of Proctorsville. For many years, the local baseball players used the field behind his home, while the Cavendish players used the area between Olin Gay’s house (now Bonts) and the cemetery.
Dr. Greven died in 1956 at the age of 70.
Was Cavendish Part of the Underground Railroad?
If you ask many in town about whether the Underground Railroad (UGRR) went through Cavendish, you will hear stories of various houses on Tarbell Hill Rd., and Twenty Mile Stream as well as the Golden Stage Inn that had special hiding places for fugitive slaves. However, there is no documented proof of UGRR activities in this part of Vermont and in fact, according to “The Vermont Underground Railroad Survey Report,” by Ray Zirblis, because Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery, 50% of the documented escaped slaves spent a great deal of time in VT. They could safely live openly and many were brought here to work on farms.
So what about those rooms, secret tunnels and odd spaces in chimneys? Interestingly, Vermont has a very long history of smuggling, as early as 1812. Whether it was sneaking food to Canada or “rum running,” Vermonters had a variety of reasons for secret rooms. In Cavendish, there is documented proof that Glimmerstone was used in rum running during prohibition. Other spaces, such as the hidden chambers within hearths, had a specific purpose-smoking meats. A tunnel from a stream to a cellar, was very possible for operating a still, since VT had prohibition long before the rest of the country.
Cavendish has a very strong history of being anti slavery. While maybe not part of the UGRR, Cavendish and Vermont were definitely part of the “above ground” railroad. Many prominent Cavendish citizens, including Governor Ryland Fletcher, were staunch abolitionists. In fact the support was so strong for the abolitionist movement that the leading abolitionist of the day, John Brown, stayed in Proctorsville as he tried to raise money for his efforts in Kansas. Henry Bridge Atherton, a lawyer from Cavendish wrote to John Redparth, a biographer of John Brown of that visit, which appears on-line.
There were former slaves that lived in Cavendish. According to Linda Welch, CHS genealogist and author of “Families of Cavendish,” who has the letters and correspondence of both Captains French and Atherton, these men brought slaves back to Cavendish as a result of the Civil War. A probate guardianship paper dated at Cavendish, 19 July, 1864, signed by Gilbert A. Davis, Register gives George B. French guardianship of “Arthur Lewis, a colored boy, apparently about fifteen years of age now residing in said Cavendish.” Lewis was rescued by George French in Virginia during the early years of the Civil War, and stayed with him at different headquarter stations as George’s Regiment fought the war. Lewis lived with the French family for many years, where he was taught to read and write. Excelling in the raising of thoroughbreds, he was a valued member of the family, paid for his work with wages, board and room. He married in Woodstock and had at least two children. Lewis did not join the French family when they moved to Nebraska, instead he remained in Woodstock.
Civil War: Disease the Primary Killer
Among Cavendish’s Civil War soldiers (173), the fatalities were more often caused by disease than the battle itself. Ten died in battle, but 18 more died as follows: 4 in prison, 9 while in service from disease like typhoid and 5 from wounds received in battle. One soldier was lost at sea on his way home from Andersonville Prison.
The single biggest killer in the Civil War was not the battlefield but rather disease. In the Union Army 4 men died from sickness for every 1 man killed in battle, and deaths from disease were twice those resulting from all other causes. On the whole, the heaviest incidence of disease occurred early in the war. Because there were no cures or vaccines for the most common ailments (dysentery, typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, measles), you either got well or died.
Vermonters were frequently sicker than their counterparts from other states. In fact, the incident of disease was so high among the Vermont “mustering” camps, that in January 1862, US Surgeon General Charles Tripler issued a special report on the health of Vermont soldiers. In December 1861, Dr. Edward Phelps reported that a quarter of Vermont soldiers were sick. The January report found an overall sickness rate of 18.42%, despite the fact that the rates for the Second and Third regiments had improved considerably since December.
Dr. Tripler concluded that a "nostalgic element" affected the Vermonters more severely than others, causing depression among the troops and, he implied, feeding into a vicious cycle of poor health. However, there is one major reason why Vermonters were more likely to become ill in the camps. Unique to Vermont was that the majority of volunteers came from rural areas and so had limited exposure to childhood diseases. Consequently, they were highly susceptible to measles, mumps and other diseases.
Cavendish Historic Timeline 1961-1990
Other portions of the Timeline are in the 2011 and 2012 issues of the Scribbler II, all of which are on-line at the CHS blog.
1961: The town celebrates its 200th anniversary.
1962: Mack Molding opens in the Gay’s Brother Mill complex.
1963-1973: Vietnam War Era. Sixty-four men and three women (Harriet Dockum, Linda Tyrell and Rachel Strong) served in this conflict.
1967: On December 12, the voters of the Cavendish Town School District approved, by a margin of 122 to 73, the formation of a union high school district, grades 7-12, with the town School Districts of Andover and Chester and the Duttonsville Independent School District.
1970: The Cavendish Historical Society leases the old town hall building for its Museum. Shortly thereafter, the Old Stone Church (Universalist Church) is leased to the Historical Society for preservation.
- Cavendish population 1,264
- Vermont passes Act 250, known as the Land Use and Development Act, as a result of the increasing development of resort and second home housing. This expansion was putting a heavy burden on small towns, particularly in the southern part of the state, which would need to significantly expand infrastructures to meet the expansion. One of the first projects was the Black River Estates off of Pratt Hill in Proctorsville. In subsequent years, this law is used to stop development thought to be inappropriate for Cavendish.
1973: Major flood, which washed out many roads and bridges.
1976: Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Prize winner and Soviet dissident, settles in Cavendish with his wife, children and mother-in-law. His home becomes a place of refuge for other Soviet dissidents.
- Green Mountain Union High School opens in Chester.
1977: Cavendish and Weathersfield residents learn that Springfield is planning to build a hydroelectric plant on the Black River from the media. Concerned Citizens of the Black River Valley (CCBRV) is formed to keep Springfield from building the generating project. Six units were proposed, the largest of which was Hawks Mountain Dam located on the Cavendish/Weathersfield town line. This dam would have been of earth fill construction, 165 feet in height and 900 feet in length at the crest and would have flooded five miles in Cavendish. CCBRV included citizens of the Towns of Cavendish, Weathersfield, and Springfield. Their slogan was “Save the Valley.”
- Stepping Stones Preschool opens in Ludlow to serve area children. The school will eventually move to a building on the border of Cavendish and Ludlow and today primarily serves Cavendish.
1978: Singleton’s general store opens on Main Street in Proctorsville. This marks the beginning of the Proctorsville revitalization effort.
1979: Alexander Ginsburg joins Alexander Solzhenitsyn in Cavendish. He was one of the architects of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. A constant irritant to the KGB and its political masters, Ginsburg served three terms of imprisonment for his activities. From 1960 to 1962 he was incarcerated in a labor camp. He was again arrested in 1967, and sentenced to five years. In 1977, after 17 months of interrogation, he was tried and convicted of “anti-Soviet agitation”, and sentenced to eight years. However, he and four fellow-dissidents were exchanged in New York for two Soviet citizens who had been jailed in America for spying.
1980: Cavendish population 1,355
1981: Lisa Ballantine becomes the first female fire fighter for the Cavendish Fire Department (District #2).
- The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District is formed in order to provide solid waste management authority, services, and planning to its member towns, one of which is Cavendish.
1982: The Mueller’s purchase the Okemo Ski area in Ludlow and begin to turn it into a resort. This will have a significant impact on Cavendish in subsequent years. The 1980s saw a new potential economy, tourism, as Okemo Mountain became a prominent ski area. Increasingly, people looked to Cavendish for vacation and seasonal housing. Today, non-residents own 60% of the town’s property.
- Acousti-Phase, the old mill building on what is now the Proctorsville Green, burns down.
1985: Donna Blanchard is the first female fire fighter for the Proctorsville Fire Department. Her sister Amy was the second female fire fighter and in 2011 there are three women serving in this capacity.
1986: Proctorsville ceases to be an incorporated village and comes under the town of Cavendish.
1988: Dr. Bont and his wife Phyllis Bont, a nurse practitioner, leave Black River Health Center to work at Albany Medical Center. In the coming years, various medical groups try to establish a health center but are short lived. The longest standing occupant since the Bonts left has been Opportunities in Learning (OIL) a school for students who do not function well in a regular classroom. In 2010, several mental health counselors set up their practices in the building. Many people receive care via the Springfield Medical Care Systems, which includes a federally qualified health care system at the Ludlow Health Center and various offices in Springfield.
- Richard Svec becomes town manager, a position that he continues to hold. He has now served longer than any other town manager in Cavendish history.
1989: Proctorsville’s water system has to be abandoned due to contamination from road salt. Combined with the Cavendish Municipal Water system.
1989-1990: Twenty-eight Cavendish residents served in the Lebanon and Granada conflicts. This included five women-Amy and Donna Blanchard, Valerie Scales, Norma Westcott and Nicola Woodell.
1990: Cavendish population 1,323
Cavendish Historical Society Board
Dan Churchill
Jen Harper
Gloria Leven
Marc Miele
Bruce McEnaney
Joseph Pasquerello
Mike Pember
Gail Woods
BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE
If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible.
Name: _______________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________
Phone Number: _____________________ E-Mail: ____________________________
Membership Level
__ Individual Member $10 ___ Senior Member 65+ $ ___ Sustaining Member $500
__ Household Member $15 ___ Contributing Member $250
Volunteer
___ I would be interested in serving, as a volunteer .I would be interested in serving on the following committee(s):
__ Program Planning __ Fundraising __ Building (Museum)
__Archives _ Budget --–– Cemetery __ Hands on History
Donations are always welcome and can be designated as follows:
__ For general purposes __ Educational Programs __Publications
__ Archeological Activities __ Museum & Archival __ Special Events
__ Rankin Fund __ Williams Fund __ Hands on History
__ Other (please specify) __ Cemetery Restoration
For the last five years, CHS has hosted "Cavendish Old Home Day" at the Cavendish Green and at the Museum. This year, the board has voted to return to the original format used by CHS for many years- a summer fest with all activities taking place on the Museum grounds. There will be a live and silent auction, plant sale, museum tours, as well as vendor space. There will be a $15 booth fee (10 x 10 space). If this is something you or your organization would be interested in, please e-mail margoc@tds.net or call 802-226-7807 and reserve your space. Please note that the tree is no longer available to provide shade, so it is important to have a tent.
We know many will miss the tree, but it was very old and was loosing limbs with each strong wind and storm. Before it caused major damage to the Museum or another building, it was thought best to remove it.
Upcoming Events
June 2 (Saturday): Reception for the opening of the Cavendish Floods Exhibit.
June 3 (Saturday): CHS Museum opens for the season, 2-4 pm.
June 30 (Saturday): CHS Summer Fest, featuring annual plant sale, live and silent auction and local vendors. This event will be held on the grounds of the Museum.
July 15 (Sunday): “Lotions, Potions and Notion-18th through mid 19th Century Folk Cures.” 2-4 pm at the Museum.
July 28: 2nd Annual Town Wide Tag Sale.
Why is it called Greven Field?
At the Ignat Solzhenitsyn benefit concert for Greven Field on Friday, April 6, among the many positive comments about Ignat’s performance was sprinkled the question, why is it called Greven Field?
In 1948, Dr. H. J. Greven deeded his eight-acre field to the Proctorsville Fire Department. The volunteer firemen and the Auxiliary raised money and worked hard to put in a baseball diamond, bleachers, and other recreational items for the community. For many years, this was the site of Cavendish’s Old Home Day celebration.
Dr. Greven came to Proctorsville around 1925, to join Dr. Buxton in meeting the medical needs of Proctorsville. For many years, the local baseball players used the field behind his home, while the Cavendish players used the area between Olin Gay’s house (now Bonts) and the cemetery.
Dr. Greven died in 1956 at the age of 70.
Was Cavendish Part of the Underground Railroad?
If you ask many in town about whether the Underground Railroad (UGRR) went through Cavendish, you will hear stories of various houses on Tarbell Hill Rd., and Twenty Mile Stream as well as the Golden Stage Inn that had special hiding places for fugitive slaves. However, there is no documented proof of UGRR activities in this part of Vermont and in fact, according to “The Vermont Underground Railroad Survey Report,” by Ray Zirblis, because Vermont was the first state to outlaw slavery, 50% of the documented escaped slaves spent a great deal of time in VT. They could safely live openly and many were brought here to work on farms.
So what about those rooms, secret tunnels and odd spaces in chimneys? Interestingly, Vermont has a very long history of smuggling, as early as 1812. Whether it was sneaking food to Canada or “rum running,” Vermonters had a variety of reasons for secret rooms. In Cavendish, there is documented proof that Glimmerstone was used in rum running during prohibition. Other spaces, such as the hidden chambers within hearths, had a specific purpose-smoking meats. A tunnel from a stream to a cellar, was very possible for operating a still, since VT had prohibition long before the rest of the country.
Cavendish has a very strong history of being anti slavery. While maybe not part of the UGRR, Cavendish and Vermont were definitely part of the “above ground” railroad. Many prominent Cavendish citizens, including Governor Ryland Fletcher, were staunch abolitionists. In fact the support was so strong for the abolitionist movement that the leading abolitionist of the day, John Brown, stayed in Proctorsville as he tried to raise money for his efforts in Kansas. Henry Bridge Atherton, a lawyer from Cavendish wrote to John Redparth, a biographer of John Brown of that visit, which appears on-line.
There were former slaves that lived in Cavendish. According to Linda Welch, CHS genealogist and author of “Families of Cavendish,” who has the letters and correspondence of both Captains French and Atherton, these men brought slaves back to Cavendish as a result of the Civil War. A probate guardianship paper dated at Cavendish, 19 July, 1864, signed by Gilbert A. Davis, Register gives George B. French guardianship of “Arthur Lewis, a colored boy, apparently about fifteen years of age now residing in said Cavendish.” Lewis was rescued by George French in Virginia during the early years of the Civil War, and stayed with him at different headquarter stations as George’s Regiment fought the war. Lewis lived with the French family for many years, where he was taught to read and write. Excelling in the raising of thoroughbreds, he was a valued member of the family, paid for his work with wages, board and room. He married in Woodstock and had at least two children. Lewis did not join the French family when they moved to Nebraska, instead he remained in Woodstock.
Civil War: Disease the Primary Killer
Among Cavendish’s Civil War soldiers (173), the fatalities were more often caused by disease than the battle itself. Ten died in battle, but 18 more died as follows: 4 in prison, 9 while in service from disease like typhoid and 5 from wounds received in battle. One soldier was lost at sea on his way home from Andersonville Prison.
The single biggest killer in the Civil War was not the battlefield but rather disease. In the Union Army 4 men died from sickness for every 1 man killed in battle, and deaths from disease were twice those resulting from all other causes. On the whole, the heaviest incidence of disease occurred early in the war. Because there were no cures or vaccines for the most common ailments (dysentery, typhoid, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria, measles), you either got well or died.
Vermonters were frequently sicker than their counterparts from other states. In fact, the incident of disease was so high among the Vermont “mustering” camps, that in January 1862, US Surgeon General Charles Tripler issued a special report on the health of Vermont soldiers. In December 1861, Dr. Edward Phelps reported that a quarter of Vermont soldiers were sick. The January report found an overall sickness rate of 18.42%, despite the fact that the rates for the Second and Third regiments had improved considerably since December.
Dr. Tripler concluded that a "nostalgic element" affected the Vermonters more severely than others, causing depression among the troops and, he implied, feeding into a vicious cycle of poor health. However, there is one major reason why Vermonters were more likely to become ill in the camps. Unique to Vermont was that the majority of volunteers came from rural areas and so had limited exposure to childhood diseases. Consequently, they were highly susceptible to measles, mumps and other diseases.
Cavendish Historic Timeline 1961-1990
Other portions of the Timeline are in the 2011 and 2012 issues of the Scribbler II, all of which are on-line at the CHS blog.
1961: The town celebrates its 200th anniversary.
1962: Mack Molding opens in the Gay’s Brother Mill complex.
1963-1973: Vietnam War Era. Sixty-four men and three women (Harriet Dockum, Linda Tyrell and Rachel Strong) served in this conflict.
1967: On December 12, the voters of the Cavendish Town School District approved, by a margin of 122 to 73, the formation of a union high school district, grades 7-12, with the town School Districts of Andover and Chester and the Duttonsville Independent School District.
1970: The Cavendish Historical Society leases the old town hall building for its Museum. Shortly thereafter, the Old Stone Church (Universalist Church) is leased to the Historical Society for preservation.
- Cavendish population 1,264
- Vermont passes Act 250, known as the Land Use and Development Act, as a result of the increasing development of resort and second home housing. This expansion was putting a heavy burden on small towns, particularly in the southern part of the state, which would need to significantly expand infrastructures to meet the expansion. One of the first projects was the Black River Estates off of Pratt Hill in Proctorsville. In subsequent years, this law is used to stop development thought to be inappropriate for Cavendish.
1973: Major flood, which washed out many roads and bridges.
1976: Solzhenitsyn, Nobel Prize winner and Soviet dissident, settles in Cavendish with his wife, children and mother-in-law. His home becomes a place of refuge for other Soviet dissidents.
- Green Mountain Union High School opens in Chester.
1977: Cavendish and Weathersfield residents learn that Springfield is planning to build a hydroelectric plant on the Black River from the media. Concerned Citizens of the Black River Valley (CCBRV) is formed to keep Springfield from building the generating project. Six units were proposed, the largest of which was Hawks Mountain Dam located on the Cavendish/Weathersfield town line. This dam would have been of earth fill construction, 165 feet in height and 900 feet in length at the crest and would have flooded five miles in Cavendish. CCBRV included citizens of the Towns of Cavendish, Weathersfield, and Springfield. Their slogan was “Save the Valley.”
- Stepping Stones Preschool opens in Ludlow to serve area children. The school will eventually move to a building on the border of Cavendish and Ludlow and today primarily serves Cavendish.
1978: Singleton’s general store opens on Main Street in Proctorsville. This marks the beginning of the Proctorsville revitalization effort.
1979: Alexander Ginsburg joins Alexander Solzhenitsyn in Cavendish. He was one of the architects of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s. A constant irritant to the KGB and its political masters, Ginsburg served three terms of imprisonment for his activities. From 1960 to 1962 he was incarcerated in a labor camp. He was again arrested in 1967, and sentenced to five years. In 1977, after 17 months of interrogation, he was tried and convicted of “anti-Soviet agitation”, and sentenced to eight years. However, he and four fellow-dissidents were exchanged in New York for two Soviet citizens who had been jailed in America for spying.
1980: Cavendish population 1,355
1981: Lisa Ballantine becomes the first female fire fighter for the Cavendish Fire Department (District #2).
- The Southern Windsor/Windham Counties Solid Waste Management District is formed in order to provide solid waste management authority, services, and planning to its member towns, one of which is Cavendish.
1982: The Mueller’s purchase the Okemo Ski area in Ludlow and begin to turn it into a resort. This will have a significant impact on Cavendish in subsequent years. The 1980s saw a new potential economy, tourism, as Okemo Mountain became a prominent ski area. Increasingly, people looked to Cavendish for vacation and seasonal housing. Today, non-residents own 60% of the town’s property.
- Acousti-Phase, the old mill building on what is now the Proctorsville Green, burns down.
1985: Donna Blanchard is the first female fire fighter for the Proctorsville Fire Department. Her sister Amy was the second female fire fighter and in 2011 there are three women serving in this capacity.
1986: Proctorsville ceases to be an incorporated village and comes under the town of Cavendish.
1988: Dr. Bont and his wife Phyllis Bont, a nurse practitioner, leave Black River Health Center to work at Albany Medical Center. In the coming years, various medical groups try to establish a health center but are short lived. The longest standing occupant since the Bonts left has been Opportunities in Learning (OIL) a school for students who do not function well in a regular classroom. In 2010, several mental health counselors set up their practices in the building. Many people receive care via the Springfield Medical Care Systems, which includes a federally qualified health care system at the Ludlow Health Center and various offices in Springfield.
- Richard Svec becomes town manager, a position that he continues to hold. He has now served longer than any other town manager in Cavendish history.
1989: Proctorsville’s water system has to be abandoned due to contamination from road salt. Combined with the Cavendish Municipal Water system.
1989-1990: Twenty-eight Cavendish residents served in the Lebanon and Granada conflicts. This included five women-Amy and Donna Blanchard, Valerie Scales, Norma Westcott and Nicola Woodell.
1990: Cavendish population 1,323
Cavendish Historical Society Board
Dan Churchill
Jen Harper
Gloria Leven
Marc Miele
Bruce McEnaney
Joseph Pasquerello
Mike Pember
Gail Woods
BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE
If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible.
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