Upcoming CHS Events
• February 28
(Saturday): Annual Meeting, 5 pm at the Gethsemane Episcopal Church Parish
Hall, located off of Depot Street in Proctorsville. Please bring a dish for a
potluck supper. Following the dinner and a short meeting, there will be a Hands
on History community workshop on the Irish in Cavendish. The workshop will
include making a St. Brigid’s cross, a traditional activity that takes place
among the Irish in February, as well as learning to draw and make various
Celtic knots. This event is free and open to the public.
• May 31
(Sunday): Opening day of the Cavendish Historical Society Museum. The
museum will be open every Sunday from 2-4 pm until Columbus weekend.
• June 27
(Saturday): Annual plant sale at the Museum grounds.
• July 25
(Saturday): Fifth Annual
Cavendish Town Wide Tag Sale
• Sept. 13 (Sunday):
Annual Phineas Gage Talk and Walk, 2 pm at the CHS Museum.
For more information about these and other events, please
use the contact information listed above.
Dating Your Cavendish Photographs
Have a picture of Cavendish and not sure about the date?
Here are some tips to help get you started:
• The type of photography used can help to date a
photograph. For example, Daguerreotypes were common between 1839-1870, while
cabinet cards were popular from 1866 to 1906 and the Tintype was used from 1856
to the WWWII era. Check the Internet to learn more about dating your
photograph.
• Check the back and front of your photograph for
the photographer’s imprint, which will often list the location of their studio.
Check on line for the various lists of Photographers, which will give you the
years the studio was operational.
• Check the setting of the photograph. If it was
taken in one of the villages, electric poles were installed in 1909 in
Cavendish village and Whitesville. Route 131 in Cavendish was paved in
the 1930s and by 1940 it was possible to drive to Springfield on paved surface.
However, areas east of Cavendish on 131 were not paved until the 1950s. If your
photograph has a car or two in it, and you don’t know the year, check on-line.
Look for household items, street signs etc. The Cavendish Historic timeline is
available on line at our blog and can offer other information to help with
identification.
• Photographs from the 19th century
were formal affairs, so hairstyles and clothing can provide important clues.
Pay attention to waist size and styles, necklines, skirt lengths and widths,
dress sleeves and fabric choices. Keep in mind that while people wanted to look
their best, Cavendish was not a wealthy town so styles would not have changed
as rapidly as they would have in cities. There are a variety of websites that
provide information and photographs of fashion by decade.
Preserving Your
Photographs for Future Generations
CHS receives photographs all the time. Those without
identifying information are just not useful. This is particularly true for many
portraits. Help future historians and genealogists by labeling your photographs
today.
Step I: Label all your photographs, print or
otherwise. Identify who the people are in the photograph; when, where and why
it was taken and other information about the event. If you have prints, store
them in archival quality sleeves and books. These materials are easily
available on-line and in stores.
Step 2: Identify where you are keeping all your
digital photographs- camera, computers, websites and movable items such as
CDs and memory cards. Make sure all of these pictures are labeled as noted in
step 1.
Step 3.
Edit-which photos are the most important and best capture a person, place or
event. No one is going to appreciate sifting through 100 photographs that look
pretty much the same.
Step 4:
Organize the photographs by giving descriptive file names.
Create a directory/folder on your computer and store photographs there. Be sure
to follow Step 1.
Step 5:
Make copies and store in several locations. While a copy can remain on your
computer, tablet or laptop, back up with DVDs, CDs, portable hard drives, thumb
drives or Internet storage. Store copies in different locations, including
where you keep your important papers. Check photographs at least once a year.
Step 6:
Every five years, upgrade photographs to current digital technology. The eventual replacement of technology is
inevitable. Just as one would have difficulty finding the equipment to play a
wax cylinder from the late 1800s, so too will your descendants find it
difficult to deal with a CD, which is already being replaced with iCloud.
President’s
Report for 2014
The Roman statesman Cicero summed up the importance of
why we study history and the need for organizations like the Cavendish
Historical Society (CHS) when he wrote, “History is the witness that
testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality; vitalizes memory;
provides guidance in daily life and brings us tidings of antiquity.”
Through community support, grants and volunteers, CHS
continues to serve as the keeper of town history by providing
the following:
• Maintain a half million dollars worth of town
property (Museum and Stone Church) including interior, exterior and grounds.
These two properties are among the oldest buildings in town.
• On going restoration of gravestones in
Cavendish Cemeteries. This past year summer the Revolutionary Cemetery was
cleaned. The sixth grade students participate in this program, which we believe
helps to reduce the type of cemetery vandalism that occurs in other towns.
• Workshops and programs for every student at the
Cavendish Town Elementary School throughout the school year, with the goal that
by the time students graduate, they know their town’s history and have a sense
of stewardship. In December, every grade participated in Russian Christmas,
where students learned about early immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe
who came to work in the Gay Brothers Mill.
• Websites that are used by people all over the
world. Almost 27,000 users have logged onto the CHS blog, with the areas of
most interest being the Civil War era, Phineas Gage and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
The new Pinterest website on Historical Cavendish http://www.pinterest.com/cavendishvt/historical-cavendish/
and Researching Your Cavendish Roots http://www.pinterest.com/cavendishvt/researching-your-cavendish-roots/
are also very popular. We continue to post photographs of Cavendish on
Facebook, www.facebook.com/cavendishvt not only to learn more town history, but
also as a way to keep those who have left, for college and jobs, connected.
• An increase in tourism. This past year we had
visitors from France, Russia and Canada to see the Solzhenitsyn exhibit and
many come from surrounding states for the annual Phineas Gage walk.
• Changing exhibits and programs at the CHS
Museum, which is open from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus weekend.
• Continuing source of information- genealogy as well
as historical- for residents, business and those interested in various aspects
of Cavendish history.
Cavendish
Historical Society Board
Dan Churchill
Jen
Harper
Bruce
McEnaney
Kem
Phillips
Gail
Woods
Margo
Caulfield Coordinator
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+ $5 ___ 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
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