September 2016 Newsletter
The Springfield Art &
Historical Society would like to say thank you to the community for the over-whelming
support of our yard sale Saturday. Basically all of the items in this year’s
sale were donations and we raised over $800 for the Society! This was even
better than last year’s sale. We were also pleased to have the opportunity to
give first time visitors a tour of our new space and we received the same
comment, “I did not realize how much room you have here—this is very nice.” We
also received a few more donations to the historical collection: a Bryant lab
coat, Fellows service pins, and an Avon Theater, WWII Saving Bond Booklet.
October 15, 11 AM to 5
PM, Annual Meeting/Open House
We will be displaying our
quilt collection. And to compliment our current display theme “Agriculture,”
our program, at 2 PM, will be Wolf Peaches, Poisoned Peas, and Madame Pompadour’s
Underwear: The Surprising History of Common Garden Vegetables by Rebecca Rupp.
Common garden vegetables have long and fascinating histories. Science and
history writer Rebecca Rupp will discuss the stories behind many of them
including the much-maligned tomato and potato, the (mostly) popular pumpkin,
and Vermont’s dynamic duo of kale and Gilfeather turnip. Find out why a
lot of us don’t like beets, how a 17th-centry pirate named the bell
pepper, how carrots won the Trojan War, and how George Washington was
nearly assassinated with a plate of poisoned peas.
We will have light
refreshments and our programs are free and open to the public. Donations are
always welcome.
January 21, 2 PM: The WWII Observation Posts in Springfield
For the meeting in January, we are going to gather together
as much information as we can find on these sites. We started off with four
verified observation posts, the Dutton farm, the Whitcomb farm on Highland
Road, the MacKenzie farm on South Street, and the Stevens’ on Skyline Drive.
Also people seem to think there were sites on Craigue Hill, Elm Hill, and Breezy
Hill, but those have not been confirmed yet. We also know there were sites in
Baltimore and Chester. But the other day we received a call from Seattle
Washington regarding another site in Springfield.
David Jenks, who was a young boy during the war, recalls
that his mother would take him to a site that he believed was near where he
lived on Furnace Street. He believed it was there because his mother did not
drive and he does not remember being picked up. He described the site as being
an old school bus chassis but without the cab (the Dutton photograph reminded
him of it). He said there were pictures of airplane silhouettes and a phone—all
the right stuff. But the strangest part of it was that he thought the chassis
was in a tree and they had to go up steps to get into it. Now if anyone remembers
anything about this site, please let Hugh Putnam know (802-886-8430 or putnams@vermontel.net
). Hugh is also reviewing our Springfield Reporter newspaper collection but there
is not a lot written about the sites because it was very hush-hush.
2017 Historical Photograph Calendar
The 2017 Historic Photograph Calendar is almost ready to go
to the printer. We have upgraded the paper and plan to have it available by the
October Open House. We are pleased with the sponsor response. This is an
important fund raiser for the Society, so remember the calendars make nice Christmas
gifts, particularly for people living out of town, and still only $10 a piece. The
calendars will be available for purchase at the Society and the following eight
area businesses: Around the Corner Barber Shop, Bibens Ace Hardware, Riverside
Restaurant, Springfield Co-op, Springfield Town Office, Tina’s Hallmark,
Woodbury Florist, and Young’s Furniture and Appliances Store.
Horace Brown Print
Raffle
While we are on the subject of fundraisers, don’t forget we are
raffling off a large (30” x 30”) print of Horace Brown’s oil painting, The Long
View. Horace Brown was born in 1877 and came to Springfield in 1903 to take
over the family estate, “North Mowin,g” off Fairground Road. He was an
impressionist painter and well known in art circles and active in town affairs.
He died in 1949.
It is a very, attractive, serene painting. The Society’s framed
copy of the print is on display. Tickets are $2 each or 3 from $5. If you would
like, you can send a check and we will put your tickets in the drawing. The
winner will drawn at the Open House in October.
A New Mural
If you have not been to the Society
lately, you have not seen the large 2-piece, mural of Springfield hanging in
the hallway. It measure about 30”H by 14’ 6”L and makes up a panoramic view of
the square, taken about 1915. This is a generous donation from Don Barcome and
it formerly hung in the truck stop at Exit 7. Apparently due to renovations,
they had to find a new home. We are so glad that new home is at the Society.
SHS High School Yearbooks
We are trying to expand our collection
of Springfield High School yearbooks. These are very useful for identifying
people in “old” pictures. If you have one, or come across one, please keep us
in mind. So far we have copies of 1953, 54, 57, 58 (in poor condition), 59, 60,
63, 64, 66, 70, 72, 77, 84, 2007. Some of the copies have a lot of writing, so
if you have a cleaner copy, we would be interested in it.
Think of us when you shop on Amazon.com
An easy way to support SAHS: www.smile.amazon.com AmazonSmile is a
simple and automatic way for you to support SAHS, at no cost to you, every time
you shop at Amazon.com. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact
same low prices, selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com,
with the added bonus that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the
purchase price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to your chosen charity.
From your web browser simply go to smile.amazon.com before you begin shopping
and select a charitable organization (SAHS, we hope) to receive donations from
your eligible purchases.
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