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Tuesday, May 20 ~ Shipwrecks of Lake Champlain. Learn about Lake Champlain's most harrowing shipwreck stories from the Revolutionary War to the present day with Lake Champlain Maritime Museum archaeologist Adam Kane. With over 300 wrecks in its dark, cold waters, Lake Champlain has witnessed feats of heroism and terrible tragedies. Take a memorable tour through slides, drawings, and video of what lies beneath the waves. Colchester, Burnham Memorial Library, 7:00 p.m. Call Ginger Gellman, (802) 879-7576.
Wednesday, May 21 ~ Sprightly Steps: Vermont's Contra and Square Dancing Tradition. Early settlers may have frowned upon the merriment of dancing as the work of the Devil, but the tradition found its way to the Green Mountains nevertheless. From fancy balls or cotillions to kitchen junkets or tunks, people of all ages and backgrounds fell under the spell of the fiddle. Changes of musical styles and culture have made old-time dancing nearly extinct, but some practitioners keep the old styles alive. Presented by Adam Boyce. Chester, Whiting Library, 7:00 p.m. Call Ruthanne Batchelder, (802) 875-6315.
~~~~~~~~~~ June ~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, June 11 ~ Meet Eleanor Roosevelt: Private Citizen and First Lady of the World. Elena Dodd presents a one-woman drama and historical interpretation of Eleanor Roosevelt after the death of FDR, when she came into her own as an effective participant in international affairs, human rights, and national politics. Bennington Senior Center, 1:00 p.m. Call Diana Stager, (802) 442-1052.
Sunday, June 29 ~ Civil War Sites in Vermont. The Civil War affected everyone, not just those who carried a gun. In researching a new book on Civil War home sites, historian and author Howard Coffin has found some fascinating places right here in Vermont, including a cave where a man lived for years to avoid the draft, a home where a woman sequestered herself after hearing of her fiancé's death, and an isolated house where soldiers returning with syphilis were quarantined. Come hear about these places and share your stories of Civil War sites in your community. Braintree Hill Meetinghouse, 4:00 p.m. Call Phyllis Hawley, (802) 728-5272. ~~~~~~~~~~ July ~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, July 17 ~ Agatha Christie: Creator of Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. In this living history performance by Helene Lang, Ms. Christie tells you how a typewriter in Torguay spawned over 80 mysteries and created Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot. Learn about her life and walk in her footsteps in England. Discover why she was so knowledgeable about the poisons used in her stories; what influences in her life informed the creation of her famous leading detectives; some personal information about her family; and why she went to Yorkshire under an assumed name. Shaftsbury, First United Methodist Church, 7:00 p.m. Call Anne Bugbee, (802) 447-7815.
Wednesday, July 23 ~ Spiritualism in Vermont: Religion, Politics, and the Preternatural. This illustrated lecture reconstructs Vermont's role in the heyday of American Spiritualism, an influential but misunderstood nineteenth-century religious, political, and mystical movement that eventually spread worldwide. Using pictures and little known information about Vermont practitioners, Joe Citro illustrates how, among other things, the movement inspired women to speak out on such issues as abolition and women's rights. At its peak it was magic—spirits walked, the dead spoke, and the infinite seemed close enough to touch. Spiritualism accelerated profound social change and its influence can be seen today. Manchester, Burr & Burton Academy, 7:00 p.m. Call Sally Handy, (802) 824-3737.
Sunday, July 27 ~ Rebels in Vermont! The St. Albans Raid. On October 19, 1864, twenty-two Confederate soldiers under the command of Bennett H. Young attacked the village of St. Albans. They robbed the banks in town, tried to set fire to the downtown commercial district, shot and killed one person, and then fled north to Canada with $227,000 in their saddlebags. The St. Albans Raid sent shock waves throughout Vermont and the rest of the United States. A fraction of the stolen money made its way back to St. Albans, but a series of Canadian trials ended in the dismissal of all charges against Young and his men. Kevin Graffagnino's presentation details the events of the raid and also looks at the lives and careers of the Confederate participants, providing more of a Southern perspective than most Vermont versions of the story. Weston, Old Parish Church Route 100, 1:30 p.m. Call Robert Brandt, (802) 824-5486.
~~~~~~~~~~ August ~~~~~~~~~~ Saturday, August 2 ~ Vermont’s Flood of 1927: A New Look. The flood is remembered as the greatest natural disaster ever to strike Vermont, and stories of loss, tragedy, and heroism abound. Yet it is far more than an episode restricted to the history of a single state. An examination of the flood and reconstruction, helps shed light on important facets of our national history, and helps us understand better America's passage through the often anxious and difficult years of the 1920s. The speakers are historians Deborah and Nicholas Clifford. Plymouth, President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, Union Christian Church, 11:00 a.m. Call Cynthia Bittinger, (802) 672-3389.
Saturday, August 2 ~ Old-Time Rules Will Prevail: The Fiddle Contest in Vermont. Fiddle contests evolved from being endurance events to demonstrations of a set number of tunes judged by certain criteria. All tried to determine who was best. These events helped raise money for local organizations of every description, as well as preserve old-time fiddling. In recent years, the fiddle contest has declined significantly, due to the waning interest of competitors and spectators, as well as diminished financial viability. This program will include listening to rare recordings of live competitions illustrating different playing styles of the past as well as some live fiddling by the presenter, Adam Boyce. Plymouth, Union Christian Church, 3:00 p.m. Call William Jenney, (802) 672-3773.
Wednesday, August 6 ~ “I Have Doctored Myself as Well as I Could”: Laywoman as Medical Practitioner on the Western Frontier. Whether using wet sheets to break a threatening fever, enticing a very long tape worm from a toddler's bowels, midwifing the birth of a neighbor's child, nursing a baby through dysentery, or using herbs to combat their own bouts of depression, frontierswomen practiced a folk medicine—and a folk wisdom—that served themselves, their families, and their communities well. Linda Peavy and Ursula Smith place these women within the context of nineteenth-century medical practice and invite discussion of parallels between folk remedies of yesteryear and alternative medicine practices of today. Shoreham Historical Society, 7:00 p.m. Call Susan Peden, (802) 897-2001. |
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Speakers Bureau Schedule |
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Office in Montpelier
11 Loomis Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602 802.262.2626 Fax: 802.262.2620 E-mail: info@vermonthumanities.org |
