History

A bit of Martin Luther King Jr, on MLK Day:

On Monday, December 11, at 6:30 PM, genealogist Jerry Carbone will discuss the genealogical treasures of the online content of Americanancestors.org, in his talk, “Navigating the Online Portal for New England Genealogical Research, AmericanAncestors.org,” in the Brooks Memorial Library meeting room, beginning at 6:30 PM.

From Today’s History, November 20, 1891:

Plans for a new Brattleboro-Hinsdale Bridge are in the works. Here’s some history on the subject…

For centuries, Brattleboro has enjoyed a love affair with books.

In this episode we tell the history of Brattleboro from day 1, discuss the historiography of Brattleboro from its inception to today, and introduce a few future historians… All 4 minutes.

In 1957 the Celtic legends Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and Sam Jones played in the Brattleboro High School gym. Art Freeman remembers them well, but also remembers unsung hero, power forward Jim Loscutoff. Here’s the story…

The scene is the Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, Tennessee. For those unaware, in addition to its nickname as the birthplace of rock and roll, and being the largest city on the Mississippi River, Memphis is named after another Delta city, the ancient capital of lower Egypt, a mighty dynasty long since vanished into oblivion. Most notably, Memphis is where Martin Luther King was shot. That exact spot being the setting for this encounter. 

The Guilford Street Ski Tow began in 1938. It was one of the 1st three ski tows in New England and led the way as nearly 700 community and neighborhood ski areas sprang to life in Vermont alone. In the intervening years 620 of those once-thriving community ski hills have closed, but the Guilford Street Ski Tow remains.

The upcoming Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesday lecture will discuss how George Washington handled his interactions with Indian peoples. Join us on Wednesday, May 3 at 7 pm at Brooks Memorial Library. Dartmouth College professor Colin Calloway will look at the first president’s relations with Indian peoples and consider how Native American nations and lands shaped the man who shaped the republic. His talk, “The Indian World of George Washington,” is part of the Vermont Humanities Council’s First Wednesdays lecture series and is free and open to the public. 

In 1840 Dr. Robert Wesselhoeft moved to Boston from Germany. He was publicly humiliated by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes and driven from town. Wesselhoeft moved his family to Brattleboro and opened a “Water Cure”…here’s the story…

As a longtime marijuana activist, I took an informal review of the state of marijuana in Vermont when I came to Brattleboro almost ten years ago. Evidently, marijuana was a very popular drug of choice and commonly used. But I never dreamed that down the road four guys would help to create a refuge from the storm of prosecutorial madness for personal-use possession of marijuana.

In 1974 Mary Shiminski broke up with her boyfriend, Bert Salva. What followed inspired poetry, art and song. Here’s the story…

Anna Marsh witnessed the horrors of mental health care in the early 1800’s through the tragic experiences of a friend and a family member.

Here’s the story of the origins of the Brattleboro Retreat as researched by Maggie, a BAMS student…

According to the website Fansided, Vermont’s greatest college quarterback of all time is Brattleboro’s Joe Shield. Here’s his story…

Everyone who moved to southern Vermont in the last few decades was treated to a free calendar. It was sent out each year by Vermont Yankee (and later Entergy) and featured old photos from historical societies in the area.

These calendars contained the required safety information for the nuclear plant about emergency notifications, iodine tablets, special alert radios, evacuating the area, shelters, what to do with pets, siren testing, and a message about how radiation is natural and accidents unlikely.

The final calendar (unless one shows up soon) was sent out in 2016. Sure, it contains mini-calendar in the back for 2017 and 2018, but it was the final full calendar sent.

There are murder mysteries and strange names associated with a few small hollows in our region… here are a couple of stories…

Produced by Joe Rivers and his students at the Brattleboro Area Middle School.
Released January 12, 2017

From Today in History 1894:

Many people will learn with regret that the women in charge of the “Woman’s
Educational and Industrial union” have decided to give up the work and close the room in Ryther building February 1. The union has been very useful in helping women to help themselves.

Looks like the parent organization existed until quite recently in Boston.

http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/ww/weiu.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women’s_Educational_and_Industrial_Union

From today in history, 1885:

The Ceres club will give a “bubble party” next Thursday at Miss Minnie Pettee’s.

Apparently it was quite the fad in the 1870s-80s, among adults more than children!