Remembering Our Loved Ones at Christmas, with the Historic Lower Waterford Congregational Church

The Lower Waterford Community Church with its Memory Tree lit.

Memory Tree Ceremony Start of Historic Birthday

WATERFORD – Members of the Congregational Church invite the public to help kick off the 160^th birthday of its historic edifice during the annual Memory Tree Lighting Ceremony Sunday, December 2 at 6 p.m.

            Under the direction of Rev. Ann Hockridge, the annual observance heralds the start of the Christmas season in the historic village of Lower Waterford. This year it also includes an unveiling of planned events to celebrate the iconic building whose image has appeared on countless postcards, greeting cards, paintings, and even in a national TV advertisement.  

            “Faith is a continual act of renewal,” Hockridge noted. “The acts of members to preserve this structure as a community resource for future generations are a constant inspiration.”

Inside the church, at Christmas.

The symbolic tree lights honor the memories of people who made a difference in the lives of those around them. The church will print a commemorative program with their names for sharing with those who attend the ceremony.

Immediately following the observance, guests will socialize in the sanctuary with warm refreshments and music of the season. They will also hear of plans to commemorate the church building’s construction that took place in the second half of 1859 after a disastrous fire leveled the property at the corner of Lower Waterford Road and Maple Street.

Under the direction of then deacon and master joiner Francis Rice Carpenter, church members constructed an edifice in the Greek Revival style with such design elements as square-head openings over doors and windows and capped with pediment tops.

The Lower Waterford church was largely built by repurposing 1818 timbers from an original meetinghouse on Old County Road South near Mad Brook. Deacon Abial Richardson, one of Waterford’s original settlers, oversaw that construction on his property.

His portrait hangs in the church foyer along with other significant Waterford artifacts made by church members. Two of William “Red” Morrison miniatures of the church and of a Victorian house, previously exhibited at the Fairbanks Museum, and Windsor chairs made by Passumpsic farmer Charles D. Harris, father of Dr. Charles E. Harris, author of the only history book on Lower Waterford to date, are on display, along with painted pews from Richardson’s meetinghouse.

The new church was officially consecrated on January 11, 1860. Today, the Lower Waterford congregation is yoked with Third Congregational Church in East Saint Johnsbury. Rev. Hockridge pastors both with services alternating between the two locations.

A long-standing village tradition, the Memory Tree is an opportunity to reminisce about those who made a positive impact. Individuals who want to participate in this ceremony may submit names “In Memory of,” “In honor of,” or privately as “Loved ones.”

The deadline for receiving names for the remembrance program is Friday, Nov. 30. Donations are welcome. Please mail submissions to: Congregational Church, P.O. Box 111, Lower Waterford, VT 05848.

[Photos and text by Helen C. Pike]

 

Left to right: Carol Bonnett, Dot Willson, and Norma Switzer, at the Lower Waterford Community Church.

National Register Farm in Waterford: The Barn Story

The Caledonian-Record today (October 27, 2018) printed a column by Peggy Pearl that looks at the construction of this Waterford barn from fresh angles. It's called West View Farm in its National Register listing and our town barn census. Here is Peggy Pearl's commentary:

Voices from an Earlier Time in Waterford, Vermont: Dorothy Morrison, Gordon Fleming

This was once the Fleming home, on their dairy farm.

Dorothy Morrison. Gordon Fleming. If you're a Waterford long-time resident, you may have heard their names; if this is your first time noticing them, welcome to the pleasures of local history, where treasures emerge unexpectedly and there's often someone around to add a good story!

This week, on Wed. October 24, the Waterford Historical Society is excited to share newly rediscovered recordings from Mrs. Morrison and Mr. Fleming, thanks to both Diane Willson and Helen Chantal Pike.

Mrs. Morrison was a long-time postmaster, running the post office on Maple Street. You can read more about her post office here. Her parents were Bertha and Lester Pease, and she was born in Center Strafford, New Hampshire, in 1911. She died at home in 2003.

Mr. Fleming, a farmer and dairyman, owned and operated the Fleming Dairy, from the farm more recently known at the Turek home. He was born in the same year as Mrs. Morrison, 1911, in St. Johnsbury Center, to Matthew and Jessie Fleming; he died in 1989. Read more about the homestead that became the Fleming farm, here.

Although this seems like "recent history," times have changed dramatically since 1911. Listen to these two Waterford residents tell about their lives from recordings, and enjoy the insights of other community members, at the Davies Memorial Library in Lower Waterford on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Accessible entry; some stairs to restroom. Refreshments will be served.

Google Earth aerial photo of Lower Waterford, Vermont. Can you locate the post office - today's, and the one that Dorothy Morrison ran for so many years?

The Slade and Fleming and Turek Home, Waterford, Vermont

The North Star Monthly published in 2016 this article on the home built by Waterford settler Benton Slade, and since the Waterford Historical Society presents this week the recorded voice of dairy farmer Gordon Fleming, who also lived there, it might be nice to look back at the article. Many thanks to the North Star Monthly, which allows this kind of use. (Consider a subscription to see more articles as they are published!)

Waterford's Graves School, 1914–1924, via Albert and Andy Dussault

We appreciate very much these photos sent by Andy Dussault, now of St. Johnsbury. Andy's father Albert Peter Dussault (1909-1985) is one of the students in these photos of the Graves School, during the period 1914-1924 when he attended there.

Who are the other students? It would be terrific to figure this out!

The Graves School is no longer standing:  It was Waterford's District #6 school and stood about where Vermont Highway 18 now crosses Interstate 93 (southbound ramp), and was probably removed during the interstate highway construction.

In 1924, Albert Dussault began to attend St. Gabriel's School in St. Johnsbury. After driving horses and oxen and working in the woods as a youth, Albert discovered his heart's desire, driving trucks, which he continued in various ways until retirement. His autobiography tells of the many jobs and employers he worked with.

But for today -- consider the Graves School, where Lottie Hill taught. She was almost surely of the Hill family that had the nearby lands now part of the Gingue farm. Check back for more details as we put them together. And if you have even a guess at some of the other students, the Waterford Historical Society would really like to hear from you.

Waterford's Northeastern Speedway and Paul Bellefeuille

Waterford history made the front page of the Caledonian-Record, our regional newspaper, on October 12, 2018, as the rebuilt site was adopted onto Vermont's State Registry of Historic Places.

Digging into History, with Waterford's Kids and Coaches

Surveying the barnyard.

Waterford Historical Society Kids’ Presentation 
Wednesday, September 26, 6:30 pm
Community Room, downstairs in the Lower Waterford Congregational Church (next to the library and across from the Rabbit Hill Inn)
Lower Waterford, Vermont
*Free*

A week-long coached "dig" by kids in the barnyard of a historic barn yielded evidence of the farm's past uses, and lit interest in archaeology for grades 4-8 students in Waterford. See their discoveries and hear about this community collaboration.

Learning about Waterford's past.

This presentation the regularly scheduled Waterford Historical Society meeting, and also part of Vermont Archaeology Month.

How do archaeologists do this part?

Are you curious about what the students found? It was part of the local school's summer adventure camp, and was a big success! Each day the students gathered at "Base Camp" in the community room of the Lower Waterford Congregational Church, did some thinking and brainstorming with coaches like Helen Chantal Pike, Craig Brown, and Donna Heath, then walked the mile down the road to the farm.

Sifting the soil and hay -- what's in there?

Base Camp!

[Photos courtesy of Donna Heath and Helen Pike -- thank you!]

A Waterford VT and Monroe NH Farm Business: Pete and Gerry's Eggs

In the Caledonian-Record of August 4, 2018, this supplement was included -- and astute history readers will notice a brief history of Pete and Gerry's Eggs on the page. To be protective of the chickens, as well as to encourage use in other regions, the Monroe NH family-run company hosts poultry barns in many locations.

Monroe is one of two New Hampshire towns that border Waterford, VT (the other is Littleton). The region's shared history continues to be important!

Grape-Nuts Cereal Commercial Featuring Lower Waterford

Image courtesy of ThrowAway History.

Talking about the Rabbit Hill Inn and its history always rambles around to the February 1975 commercial for Grape-Nuts cereal, where part of the filming angle is from the grounds of the inn. The cereal was considered a health food at the time, so the spokesman for the product here is Euell Gibbons, noted for his book Stalking the Wild Asparagus and other publications.

Click on this YouTube link to watch the ad! Anyone recall being an extra during the filming? (There are other Grape-Nuts ads with Mr. Gibbons on YouTube, but this is the only one set in Lower Waterford, Vermont.) All of the children of the Carroll family, the innkeepers at the time, took part.

If this makes you nostalgic or curious -- please join us Wed. July 25 at 6:30 pm, in the Community Room of the white church shown here (Lower Waterford Congregational Church), for the first ever Rabbit Hill Reminiscence Reunion, sponsored by the Waterford Historical Society.

The Hull Family at the Rabbit Hill Motor Lodge

Judy Hull Groskopf provided these wonderful photos from the late 1950s or early 1960s, while her father Alden "Tony" Hull managed the Rabbit Hill Motor Lodge in Lower Waterford, Vermont, along with the St. Johnsbury House. Here he is, on the porch with Judy -- and here's his wife Margaret, enjoying a break from raising three daughters with Tony.

Do you have photos of the Rabbit Hill Inn from another time period? It would be wonderful to see them. Join us at the Rabbit Hill Reminiscence Reunion, on Wed. July 25th at 6:30 pm, across the road from the inn, in the church Community Room. Refreshments and good memories to share.

Rabbit Hill House, 1952: The Well

This 1952 photo, taken at what was then Rabbit Hill House where Mrs. John W. Davies resided, was provided this week by Speedie Morey, whose mother worked for Mrs. Davies. (Mr. Davies "created" the White Village when he purchased many of the structures in Lower Waterford, Vermont, and had them painted similarly.) Thank you so much for sharing the image!

What memories does it bring back for others? Share yours at the July 25 gathering in Lower Waterford. (See posts below.)

The Rabbit Hill Inn: Some History of the Main Building

The Rabbit Hill Inn as Rabbit Hill House, home of the Davies family. Photo taken by Arthur Morrison in 1937, from the roof of the Lower Waterford Congregational Church.

When the Rabbit Hill Inn was owned by the Bowman family, under the name The Valley House: "Mr. Bowman is holding the horse and Mrs. Bowman is standing behind the seated lady, whose identity is not known. The side door was used as the entrance to the Post Office. The barn seen over the roof of the ell was used to stable the horses of travellers." (Eugenia Powers, writing for the 1965 town report)

Thanks to Eugenia Powers, who gathered Waterford history from both documents and those with long memories in the 1960s, we have these wonderful photos of the Rabbit Hill Inn before it bore that name.

The Vermont historical survey of Waterford's structures, written by Allen Hodgdon, dates the main structure of the inn to 1795, without more detail on that time period. Hodgdon then says, "A part of the main building was erected around 1830 by Jonathan Cummings, who used part of it for manufacturing sleighs and window mills." Eugenia Powers corrects that by saying he built winnowing machines, and windmills for grinding corn, and that the building was only one room deep then.) Nathaniel Bishop, she wrote, bought it and ran a store and a tavern there.
 
The next information comes from another history gatherer, Dr. C. E. Davis, who wrote Waterford's story in A Vermont Village. Dr. Davis wrote that Jonathan Cummings (but perhaps this should be Nathaniel Bishop) sold this building to O. G. Hale and F. A. Cross, who in 1840 enlarged the building to its "present size." Around 1859 (date from Eugenia Powers), they added two front "piazzas" with an alcove in the peak, supported by four enormous Doric columns, each made from a pine tree cut across the river in New Hampshire. According to local memory, these massive trees were dragged by oxen across the Connecticut River when it was frozen, and then shaped by hand.

The building then served the very active Burlington-to-Portland stage route as an inn, and stayed in business until 1912. Among its names were Fred Cross's Churn, then for a long time The Traveller's Home; the Bowman family (according to Eugenia Powers) renamed it The Valley House, and Bowman's Hotel.  Other innkeepers included J. Hosmer, Russell Armington, William Goss, Walter Buck, and O. D. Hurlburt; Mrs. Hurlburt, as a widow, sold the place to the Ed Bowman family, who rain it as a hotel until 1912 and continued living there until 1919.

This photo of Eugenia Powers's report on the inn includes some local color:

At that time, Lower Waterford had become a sleepy little village with many part-time residents, and the need for its dozens of small horse barns faded with the advent of automobiles. John W. Davies purchased the inn and many nearby properties, and he and his wife lived there until his death in 1936. Then Mrs. Davies used the inn as her summer residence.

When Mrs. Davies died, the inn was called back into service: The St. Johnsbury House, Inc., acquired it, in 1957, and converted the attached ballroom and carriage stalls into guest quarters. Manager Alden "Tony" Hull and his family became part of Waterford life then. And the names continued to change a bit: from Rabbit Hill House, which Mrs. Davies had called the place, to Rabbit Hill Motor Inn and Rabbit Hill Inn.

That is the time period we'll explore on Wednesday July 25, 6:30 pm at the Community Room of the church across the road from the Rabbit Hill Inn -- if you have memories to share of working at the inn, staying there, getting married there, having a special meal, and so on, please do come join the Waterford Historical Society and share your story (free event; refreshments provided; some handicap access).

[Many thanks to Dave Morrison for sharing his copy of the 1965 town report, which contained the two photos and a long history of the Rabbit Hill Inn by Eugenia Powers.]

The Rabbit Hill Inn: First Structure, "The Beye-way"

Here is a photo "today" of the western-most part of the Rabbit Hill Inn -- the part that older local residents still call the Beye-way.

This structure was built in 1795 as a store, according to its recorded history in the Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey. The store name, in the early days of the Rabbit Hill Inn, was The Briar Patch (now it is rooms for the inn, instead). Inn legend says that Samuel Hodby built it as both a tavern and general store, where dry goods and notions were sold. In the early years, people called it the Brick Front Store because of its ground floor front of local brick, made at a nearby clay pit. The two front piazzas are supported by four log pillars.

Subsequent storekeepers are said to have included Mr. Stoddard, two sisters named Winch and Wilbur, the Bowman boys, M. A. Farr (1842), and Solomon Wood (1844). For another period, "Mr. Hunt" used it for a workshop.

After 1922, the structure was owned and occupied by a sister of Mrs. John W. Davies (Mr. Davies owned many structures in the village at that time, creating the White Village). This sister's name was Miss Beye, which led to the building's next name, the Beye-way. Also in this building, for a few years, was the town's library, operated by Mrs. Davies; she eventually moved the library across the street into the former Goss store, now called the Davies Memorial Library.

The next set of photos will show what became the main building of the inn -- also assigned a construction date of 1795.

Please do mark your calendar for the Rabbit Hill Reminiscence Reunion, a special evening of memories of the inn over the past three generations, in the Community Room (downstairs of the church) across the road from the inn, on Wednesday July 25, 2018, at 6:30 pm (free event; refreshments provided; some handicap access).

A Century of Good Food and Cuisine at the Rabbit Hill Inn: Let's Talk About It, July 25

Now that the Fourth of July is over, it's time to focus on the excitement of the Rabbit Hill Reminiscence Reunion -- on Wednesday July 25 at 6:30 pm, in Lower Waterford across the road from the Rabbit Hill Inn.

Did you work there? Have a strong connection because of a wedding or other special event? Do you have one of the inn's old signs or perhaps the mysteriously vanished white rabbits (non-living!) that used to be given to the innkeepers by many guests? Or just curious about the stories and history of Waterford, Vermont's outstanding focus for so many years? Come join us! We'll provide the snacks; you provide the conversation.

Speaking of snacks ... today's delicious recipe taken from the Rabbit Hill Inn's "recipe file" online is for Soba Noodle Summer Vegetable Salad. And check out more of the inn's recipes here, including its traditional oatmeal bread.

Here, from one of the community members who may be telling some tales of earlier years at the July 25 event, are two recipes from John and Ruth Carroll, innkeepers at the Rabbit Hill in 1968. (Come tell us more details ...)

Interested in more about Lower Waterford, the inn, and local history? Here are some other "reports" from the Waterford Historical Society.

July 2018: Mark the Calendar for Waterford Events!

The Vermont Historical Society is promoting the July 14 reunion at the reconstructed Northeastern Speedway on Route 18 in Waterford:

Northeastern Speedway may be gone, but is not forgotten.  Join us at the historic track in Waterford, VT on Saturday, July 14th from 9:00am to 2:00 pm for their annual reunion event. We'll be there with our popular auto racing trivia and info on our Anything for Speed exhibit, on view now at the Vermont History Center in Barre.  We hope to see you there!

Tori Hart
Development Manager

Northeastern Speedway Annual Reunion

Saturday, July 14, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm
Northeastern Speedway, Waterford, VT
Join us at the former site of Northeastern Speedway for their annual reunion event, a guided walk around the track, play auto racing trivia, and more at this special get together featuring vintage racing cars from the 1950s and 60s.

Also, watch for more news about the Rabbit Hill Inn Reminiscence Reunion, across the road from the inn, on July 25 at 6:30 p.m., brought to you by the Waterford Historical Society. Hope you can make it to both events!

Waterford Essays, 1990: Sent by Edward B. Lee Jr. to Jack Hird

The Waterford Historical Society was very pleased to receive this envelope with its two typed essays, sent by Edward B. Lee Jr. of the Lee Farm (mail via St. Johnsbury, but the main farm is in Waterford) to Jack Hird.

Waterford's Proud Tradition of Professional Firefighting Continues

Waterford's fire department is relatively young, despite the town's long history -- for many years our rural enclave relied on assistance from other towns with established fire departments. Now that we have our own firefighting team of highly trained volunteers, we still depend on other towns' firefighters, and support them in this vital work.

Here's a clipping from today's Caledonian-Record, saluting the achievement of Ryan Aremburg, whose family plays a large role in the town's current fire department.

Mark your calendar for June 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Lower Waterford's Davies Memorial Library, to hear veteran firefighter Clarence Priest, Jr., talk about his archives of the town's firefighting history at the regular meeting of the Waterford Historical Society -- free and open to the public.

Waterford's Historical Society and Church Collaborate: Yummy Benefit Event June 16

Here are the details from author Helen Pike, who's also a member of the Lower Waterford Congregational Church and president of the Waterford Historical Society:

Rhubarbecue, History Trivia: Perfect Together

WATERFORD - The Waterford Historical Society and the Congregational Church are finalizing plans for their annual joint benefit in June that celebrates rhubarb with a twist.

The centerpiece is an all-you-can-eat rhubarbecue buffet dinner with a culinary theme that extends through a choice of rhubarb-flavored desserts and includes rhubarb switchel as one of the drink options.

Helming the main course of pork and chicken choices is award-winning chef Brill Williams, who moved to this Connecticut River community after an illustrious 42-year career as the chef and co-owner with his parents of the Inn at Sawmill Farm in West Dover. Now enjoying a life of mostly leisure, Williams is the breakfast chef for the Rabbit Hill Inn across from the church.

“Cooking is part of my family heritage,” said William,s who still bakes with his mother, who is in her 90s. He is also contributing a salad of European cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and feta cheese to the buffet dinner.

Sides by Waterford’s amateur, but avid cooks include farm-made baked beans, freshly sliced cole slaw, a simple green salad, and homemade rolls.

This annual event follows a long-time tradition in Waterford, said Norrine Abbott Williams, who serves the church as both a trustee and a deacon, but is no relation to the chef. Starting in the 1950s, the Ladies Social Circle hosted hugely successful lobster salad suppers followed by homemade strawberry shortcake with fruit grown in their gardens. Now, as then, the monies go to maintaining the historic building built in 1859.

“We’re five years into establishing a new tradition that highlights old-growth rhubarb found on the remaining farms here in town,” she added. “We couldn’t be happier to share this bounty with everyone.”

In 2014 the two community groups produced their first food-centric fund raiser that drew on recipes found in a 1955 church cookbook, including the late Irene Nutter’s rhubarb custard pie.

“We’ve updated those recipes and added to our collection of what you can make with rhubarb,” said WHS treasurer Roberta Smith who has been coordinating recipes and bakers since 2014. Besides pies in which different fruits will be combined to sweeten the tart rhubarb taste, other rhubarb-based dessert dishes are cookies, one-person tarts, and at least one cake.

Open to the public on both sides of the Connecticut, the evening’s second feature is what planners are hoping will be a spirited round of the Vermont Historical Society’s trivia game which is in the final stages of development.

“As a member organization in the VHS, we’re excited Waterford is a beta site for this work-in-progress,” said WHS president Helen Pike. “We’re working on a bonus round of 10 questions just about Waterford history that’s surprising even us!”

In addition to VHS rewards, planners are rounding up locally sourced prizes for top point winners. So far they include a jar of Williams’s signature homemade chocolate butternut sauce, a pint of syrup from Tom’s Maple, a signed copy of The Countryman Press edition of “Spiked Boots: Sketches of the North Country” by late Waterford author Robert E. Pike, and a signed copy of “The Darkness Under the Water” by today’s Waterford author Beth Kanell.

The WHS plans to use its portion of the proceeds to continue its oral history project and buy supplies for its ever-expanding paper and photographic archive.

The dinner is scheduled for Saturday, June 16, in the Community Room located on the lower level of the Lower Waterford church. The Maple Street door opens at 5:30 p.m. and serving starts at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $25. Only 80 will be sold. RSVPs due by Monday, June 11, for food planning purposes. To reserve group seating, call Pike at 802-748-0180.

March 3, 1915, Local News: What Do You See Here?

My husband Dave, an extraordinary researcher, recently gave me this copy of a March 3, 1915, article from the Caledonian-Record, part of its "local news" showing the Lower Waterford section. What surprises you? What connections can you make? It was 103 years ago (and 2 months and 26 days), yet many of the names are still very much present in Waterford today, as well as in memories.

The Innkeeper's Daughters: 2018 Rabbit Hill Inn Reunion, July 25

The Rabbit Hill Motor Inn, circa 1960.

Many people have worked at the Rabbit Hill Inn over the years, in Lower Waterford, Vermont. Did YOU? Or a close family member? The Waterford Historical Society invites you to attend the first ever Rabbit Hill Inn Reminiscence Reunion, on Wednesday July 25 at 6:30 pm in Lower Waterford, across the road from the inn.

Please do mark your calendar! And to get you in the mood, here is the story of Alden "Tony" Hull's daughters:

The Innkeeper's Daughters

That's what Judy, Margot, and Deb Hull were nicknamed by their cousin Susie, because this local trio of sisters grew up with a dad who managed two major Northeast Kingdom inns during the 1950s and 1960s. Their father, Alden "Tony" Hull, ran both the Rabbit Hill Inn in Waterford and the St. Johnsbury House on Main Street in St. Johnsbury.

Alden was the youngest of five children, born in 1907, growing up in Leominster, Mass. He and his brother entered the U.S. military service when they grew up, and when their service years were over, the two found themselves talking in a bar in Massachusetts about what they might do next. A man named George Nicholas overheard them and offered them work. He said he had just purchased a hotel in St. Johnsbury and needed a manager. Tony took him up on the offer. Tony would have liked to purchase a place for his own hotel, and had an eye on a place in Lower Waterford that had been an inn in the past – but at that point was the private home of Mr. and Mrs. John Wesley Davies. Mrs. Davies had named her home Rabbit Hill. Tony couldn’t afford to purchase it, so George Nicholas did, instead! The purchase took place in the mid 1950s and by 1957 to Rabbit Hill Motor Inn had opened. Tony Hull then managed both of these Vermont inns full-time. His brother Raymond, nicknamed Ted, followed a similar path, buying his own inn to run in Colebrook, New Hampshire (Colebrook House).

At home on Cliff Street in St. Johnsbury, his daughters grew up knowing that many family meals would happen at the St. Johnsbury House: their Sunday dinners (after church, at North Congregational), and their birthday dinners as well. Summer dinners might be at the Rabbit Hill for the family, if Tony needed to check on things with Anita Oakes, who rain the day-to-day Rabbit Hill routines. Most especially, the family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners happened at these inns, because Tony Hull had to work then! Judy says this turned out to be mostly very enjoyable for her mother, Margaret. When the girls became teens, they pitched in: Deb worked at whichever inn was short of staff, mostly waiting on tables, and worked two summers at the Rabbit Hill Inn. Judy worked some at the St. Johnsbury House, and maybe twice at the Rabbit Hill Inn, but she also has memories from age five of going with her father and exploring Lower Waterford village while he worked at the inn nearby. As a teen, she spent her working summers in Maine, instead.

The third sister, Margot, became a telephone operator in St. Johnsbury (eventually she would become a nurse), and Deb joined her at the switchboard until finding a career in education. Judy had a very different path ahead: While visiting her sister Deb and Deb’s husband Gary in Ft. Polk, Louisiana, she met Ron Groskopf, and soon the pair married and relocated eventually to Ron's hometown of Sonoma, California, in the famous "wine country." Ron created a business shipping the beverage, and after their three children grew up, Judy joined him in the business -- which they brought to Vermont with them when they decided to change locations to Judy's home region instead, after Tony Hull's death and that of Margaret, who lived her later years in East Burke and then St. Johnsbury again.

Altogether, Tony spent 25 years running hotels, a rewarding but very different career from his own father, who'd been a headmaster, an attorney, and then Speaker of the House in Massachusetts. Tony’s college years were spent at Bowdoin College in Maine (his sister and three brothers also pursued more education, including Raymond’s time at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy – when Judy reflects on them, she notes that such ambition and achievement were unusual and even amazing within one family in those years). Her father’s early passing at age 71, in 1979, meant his daughters didn't get to watch him enjoy retirement for very long. (Even in retirement, he kept busy, as a side judge for Caledonia County.) But the three daughters have good memories of their dad’s 25 years of managing the St. Johnsbury House, as well as the years in the 1950s and 1960s as manager of the Rabbit Hill Motor Inn.  Tony’s kitchen was famous for Sunday morning after-Mass popovers, and he was an ardent booster of St. Johnsbury. Regional historian Christopher Ryan (writing from California) recalls a day in 1951 when the St. Johnsbury Academy homemaking students (all girls) were invited to “run” the hotel and learn about the lodging industry; Tony also hosted sports banquets at his St. Johnsbury inn.

The “innkeeper’s daughters” all live in Vermont now -- two within half an hour of each other, and the third a couple of hours away.

Lower Waterford's Church: New Ways to Center the Community

The April 26, 2018, front page of the Caledonian-Record featured ongoing efforts by the Lower Waterford Congregational Church to maintain its historic structure and adapt to new ways of being the center of this Vermont Connecticut River community.

Of course, the church as a structure is the unmistakable focus of Lower Waterford. But it has changed in use since the mid 1800s, when attending church was a "must" for good citizens. This image from 1909 shows the structure when its wooden porch eased the way long-skirted ladies could step down from carriages.


In the second half of the 20th century, although the church congregation slowly reduced in size, keeping up the building continued, as shown here.

Now the church hosts summer and autumn worship services in collaboration with the Third Congregational Church in East St. Johnsbury, and collaborates with the town office, the neighboring Davies Memorial Library, and the Waterford Historical Society to provide meeting space for community events.

A search for grant support to encourage an ongoing role for the structure and its community spirit continues. Watch for updates on this year's campaign to support the village church as an essential component of 21st-century Lower Waterford, and beyond.

Geneva (Powers) Wright: In Our Hearts and Our History

Geneva Powers Wright, photo courtesy of Helen C. Pike, (c) 2017.

With deep regret, the Waterford Historical Society notes the recent death of Geneva (Powers) Wright, whose narratives of Waterford's history and her own life have been such a gift to us. (Here is a link directly to an interview she gave.)

Geneva (Powers) Wright 

[From the Caledonian-Record, April 24, 2018]

Geneva (Powers) Wright, 98, of Waterford, Vt., died on April 20, 2018, at the home of her daughter, Jean Hagan, in Nottingham, N.H. She was born on Sept. 22, 1919, in Littleton, N.H., the first child of Glenn G. and Eva (Page) Powers of Waterford.

She attended Littleton High School and graduated in the Class of 1937. She was married in 1938 to Gilbert A. Wright and became a full-time homemaker. They lived several years in Waterford, then in St. Johnsbury and back to Waterford in 1969 where Geneva has lived ever since.

She enjoyed reading, researching genealogy, gardening, local history, and family get-togethers. She was a long-time member of Union Baptist Church and a member of the Waterford Historical Society.

She is survived by her daughters: Jean (Paul) Hagan of Nottingham, N.H., and Glenna (Daniel) Pasho of Brenham, Texas; son: Merle G. Wright of Portland, Ore.; brother: Willard B. Powers of Waterford; sister-in-law: Patricia W. Powers of Waterford; four grandchildren: Jonathan and David Hagan, Nathan Pasho, Kristina (Quinton) Liccketto; seven great-grandchildren: Miranda (Nick) Puorro, Christopher, Glenn, Zachary and Cassandra Hagan, Maya and Nico Liccketto; as well as many nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her husband: Gilbert in 2000; her parents; her sisters: Theresa Roberts, Audrie Wright, Ellen Roberts; and brothers: Leland and Russell Powers.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Union Baptist Church, 932 US RT 5, Waterford, VT 05891, or to Rockingham VNA & Hospice, 137 Epping Road, Exeter, NH 03833, or to the Waterford Historical Society, P.O. Box 56, Lower Waterford, VT 05848.

A memorial service to celebrate Geneva’s Life will be held at Union Baptist Church in Waterford, Vt., on Saturday, May 19, 2018, at 11 a.m.

Burial will be at Riverside Cemetery in Waterford at the convenience of the family.