Waterford's Vietnam Veterans: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

Nola Forbes presents the Vietnam veterans of Waterford, Vermont. She writes: "Here is my submission related to archives at my house.  As a DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) member, we have partnered with the Dept of Defense to distribute materials related to the 50th Anniversary Commemoration of the Vietnam War.  So I have tried to reach as many Waterford vets as possible in the past few years.  The Commemoration will still be going a few more years."

Click here to watch the short video.

The Travels of "Red" Morrison's Model: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

One of the historians of Waterford, Vermont, was Dr. C. E. Harris, who wrote A Vermont Village to sum up his own recollections and research. The search for a missing "Red" Morrison model led to Dr. Harris's late-in-life residence. Dave Morrison tells the story.

Click here for the short video in which Dave explains.

Who Made These Waterford Models?: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

One of four Morrison models that Waterford treasures.

Dave Morrison's grandfather William John Morrison preserved Waterford, Vermont, history through making models of local structures, and unusual and wonderful form of archiving knowledge and understanding. Dave explains the details of his grandfather's life.

Click here for this short video and discover another time.

The History of Waterford's Covered Bridge: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

Waterford's covered bridge at the foot of Maple Street once linked Lower Waterford to Littleton, New Hampshire.

Although you may think of "archives" as made up of pieces of paper, the Waterford Historical Society's mission to preserve our history and stories also involves listening to and valuing people's memories and research. Dave Morrison explains his grandfather's handmade model of this Vermont town's long-vanished covered bridge.

Click here to watch the short video and savor your own discoveries.

Tools from the Barn at Ray-Don Rag Cow Apple Farm: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

One of the oldest barns standing in Waterford, Vermont, today.

"Archives" usually refers to documents, but history is also maintained through talking about objects. Here Donna Rae Heath of Waterford, Vermont, presents the remaining barn from her family's farm and some of the tools she saved from its years of active use. Notice how "farming" extends also to logging on a Vermont homestead.

Click on this short video here.

More Local Waterford Vermont History from Donna Heath: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

This photo's importance came from the truck way in the background!

Even though Donna Rae Heath created her family farm notebook to capture the history of the farm, there's a lot more to discover from her images and stories. School trips, logging, fun!

Check out this short video and enjoy two minutes of details and insight.

Donna Heath's Family Farm Notebook: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

Photo of Donna Rae Heath's parents, in her farm notebook.

Donna Rae Heath created a notebook of photos and documents that show her family's farm, where she grew up and still resides. This is a great example of a "family archive," which can be put together easily to save and treasure history and memories.

Click here to watch this short video and enjoy stories of Waterford, Vermont, from Donna. (Video by Helen Chantal Pike.)

Waterford's Winston Pote Image in the Town Office: A Vermont Archives Month Presentation

Dave Morrison and the Winston Pote photo of Lower Waterford.

When you visit the town office in Waterford, Vermont, you enter from Maple Street. You are standing in a hallway that has doors to the town office and the post office, and a stairway up to the library. Dave Morrison, filmed in this video, describes the wall-size image of Lower Waterford mounted in the hallway, created from a photo by Winston Pote.

Click here to watch this short video and enjoy learning about this Connecticut River Valley town.

Waterford Archive Videos: Helen Pike Demonstrates the Waterford Vermont Archives

left to right: Harley Pike, Helen Pike, Robert Pike.

The Waterford Historical Society helps preserve local history through its archives. Here, Helen Chantal Pike explains how this works, and shares a treasure from her own family's past. Her father, Robert E. Pike, wrote Tall Trees and Tough Men and Spiked Boots, and other books that document and celebrate Vermont and New England history.

To watch Helen present the WHS archives, click on this short video.

Waterford Archive Videos to Mark Vermont Archives Month

It's getting a bit chilly to meet outside in person, so our October meeting for Waterford Historical Society is a virtual version. Do you have an item in your family "archives" that you'd like to show and talk briefly about? Here's how to do it:

Beth Kanell says:

I used Zoom to make mine -- and here's how. You need Zoom on your device (computer or phone). Line up your item(s) that you want to talk about. Open Zoom and click on "New Meeting." Then click on "Record" and start talking! Try to end within 3 minutes, and press "Leave Meeting." The program will close the meeting and "convert" your meeting into an MP4 file, which is a movie file. Then you send that to me.

Another simple way: Use your cellphone to record yourself (by taking a photo with the Video option), and send me the recording.

Even simpler: Tag one of us to do this for you.

Here's my short video: https://youtu.be/r0ITM6hEfcg

 

Bruce Brink and His Horse-Drawn Sleigh Rides, 1985, Waterford

This Caledonian-Record newspaper article from February 2, 1985, by Patricia Viles (married to Perry; see White Birch Farm owners of the past), speaks for itself in terms of the joy of Waterford's winter activities of the past. (Missing words for the bottom of second column: are open, by design. A clos-) The clipped-out article was found during the January 2020 archives work session.

Lower Waterford School, 1909: Families of the Village

What could you donate to the Waterford Historical Society that would help describe Waterford a century ago -- or today? This item was found during the January 2020 archives work session (click on the photo to see it clearly):

Bullock, Dodge, Goss, Hale, Hemingway,  Morrison, Ross, Smith, Wright -- most of these are still names you may come across in Lower Waterford families today. This is a colorful "souvenir" of the summer term that ended July 1, 1909, a good reminder that school terms were far different when they needed to allow for agriculture.

Waterford Images from the Archives: 1

Top to bottom:

Ivy, John, and Erin Bean, January 2, 1941.

John Bean with snowplow in Waterford, 1938.

Ervin Bean, Nina Watson, Ivy Bean, John Fitchett, Wesley Fitchett.

Vida Watson.

Top to bottom:

Ervin (2), Ivy (1), John (3) Bean, Nina Watson, Vida Watson with cake, Steve and Wesley Fitchett.

Woods School 1939 or 1940, June: Franconia Notch, N.H., last day of school outing. Front: Audrie Powers, Thelma and Wayne Wright, Les Young, Ellen Powers. Back: Clara Morrison (teacher), Alice and Rolla (Jr.) Wright, Russell and Willard Powers.

Sunday School at Lower Waterford, June 1936, the Beye House (now part of Rabbit Hill Inn) in background.

The Wood Farm. Originally Leon Johnson's uncle had it built. Later Colby, Fitchett, and Earles. Ed Roberts, Ells Wright, Merle Milliken.

Clara Morrison.

Waterford residents at Valley View Farm, Upper Waterford (originally called Highland View Farm): left to right, Leo Williams, Velma's husband XXX Peabody, Leo's wife Bertha, XXX Williams, Louise (?) Williams, Velma's little girl, ?.

Vacation Bible School at Lower Waterford, about 1948.

Annie, Mildred, and Mary Morrison, 1953.

Eva (Page) and Glenn G. Powers, 50th wedding anniversary, March 11, 1969.

Three photos at Davies Memorial Library, Lower Waterford, May 1, 1996: Top, Dorothy (Pease) Morrison entering on her 85th birthday (at left Richard Hurley). Center: Cynthia (Powers) Davis at the refreshment table; far left, Frank and Pauline Hubbard of St Johnsbury, Sandy B. Crepault turning to talk to ?, and Russell Powers standing in background. Bottom: George Bullock presenting plaque to Dorothy Morrison, honoring her faithful services to the Town of Waterford (far right Yolanda Bates, far left Charlotte Blodgett, back right Joanne Jurentkuff town clerk).

Clarence Priest Donates Fire Department Albums to Historical Archives

On September 26, Clarence Priest, Jr., left, of the Waterford Fire Department, donated the albums he has maintained of the volunteer fire company's history from 1985 to 2015, to the Waterford Historical Society.

The Waterford Historical Society Board of Directors (from left, Clarence Priest, Jr., and then the WHS Board: Helen Pike, Tanya Powers, president Donna Heath, Craig Brown, and front, Lynn Troy; not present, Roberta Smith) is storing the albums in the town vault. This winter during its "work meetings" the historical society will merge what it already had with what Priest personally maintained for 30 years before his retirement.

The group is very excited and appreciative about this major addition to the archives that record the history of the Waterford community. Thank you, Clarence Priest!

Additions to the Archives of the Waterford Historical Society

This month included the first annual meeting for the Waterford Historical Society, ably chaired by board president Donna R. Heath and well attended in spite of icy roads and heavy rain. Wait til you see all the events planned for the first half of 2016!

Earlier in the month, the archiving team gathered to sort, label, and file -- which always turns out to include mysteries, puzzles, and excitement. This time, a group photo taken at the local VFW (post 4992) needs identification ... if you know who's here, please add a comment to this blog piece; thanks!

Who are they? And did they/do they live in Waterford?

We also welcomed into the archives this month a five-generation genealogy of Geneva Powers Wright and her late husband Gilbert August Wright (1912-2000); the couple were married on March 1, 1938. Mrs. Wright included with the genealogy a photo of her husband's family and their home in Waterford, shown here.

Another arrival in the archives, thanks to the careful eye of Davies Memorial Library director Jen D'Agostino, is the massive family genealogy compiled by town resident and postmaster Amos Bugbee Carpenter, which he had printed in 1898. The book is elegant, and the information inside is wide-ranging and fascinating.

Coming to Town Meeting on March 1 at the Waterford School? A number of historic photos will be on hand, thanks to WHS members; also look at some letters from Amos Carpenter's family (featured earlier in this blog). Hope to see you then.

Waterford Cemeteries: Their Histories

Here's a great document created around the time of the national bicentennial (1976).

Waterford Archives: Action! (Housekeeping in the Good Old Days, by Ella Douse)

The bell perched on the library roof used to remind people that it was time to be working! (see White Village history)

If you think archiving is some sort of dull "filing" task, you've never taken part in the Waterford Historical Society archiving sessions! The next one is Saturday January 30 from 9 to noon, in the hallway of the town office, at 532 Maple Street in Lower Waterford (downstairs from the library). Pull up a chair and explore newspaper clippings that reveal community structure; sort photos, often mysterious; discover how the scraps of written material and images come together to show how families have grown and interacted over the centuries in our Connecticut River town.

Here is a document from the archives, by Ella Douse, who wrote this as part of the town's bicentennial activities. It's a good read!

 

Powers Family History, Waterford, Vermont

Geneva Powers Wright and her family shared these documents earlier this spring. Thank you very much, Mrs. Wright!

More details on the family can be found in the rapidly growing archives of the Waterford Historical Society, searchable by family surname. If you would like to add material to this valued reference collection, please contact Helen Pike (pikeprose (at) gmail dot com).

Creating an Accessible, Useful Archive of Waterford, Vermont, Information

Creating the new archive, Jan 24, 2015.

If you thought archiving was dull or boring, you've never seen the Waterford team in action! What a great session yesterday morning, organized by Helen-Chantal Pike and powered by curiosity and good details from an amazing team.

Sorry you missed this one? Watch for another session ... there's more to explore, and with each "sorting" of those stacks of paper and books that used to be bundled in the cupboard, there's more information about the town and residents to rediscover.

Bell atop the Davies Mem. Library

And if you were there -- thanks! and did you have a good time? I sure did!

Spring!!! Um, Not Really -- But We Can Meet in Waterford, Vermont, Anyway, Right?

Not too springlike yet, hmm?

Calling all Waterford, Vermont, historians! Tomorrow, Sat Jan 24, from 9 a.m. to noon, pitch in at the Davies Memorial Library as we sort, label, and file the wonderful written and photo materials on hand, creating the first organized archive for Waterford history.

A dream archive ... well, everyone needs a goal ...

And consider attending the February "Waterford History Group" meeting on Wed Feb 25, for a packed agenda of excitement: who made the newest nature trail in town and where is it?; a presentation on the history of Waterford Springs and Copenhagen; real butternuts to try cracking; organizing an official Waterford Historical Society; planning a Town Meeting exhibit and presentation; and more. Meet at 6:30 pm at the library -- for about an hour, with "visiting" afterward.