Red Scare in the Green Mountains: Vermont in the McCarthy Era
Rick Winston explores some forgotten history as we see how a small, rural “rock-ribbed Republican” state with a historically libertarian streak handled the hysteria of the time.
There are many ways to approach Last Night at the Telegraph Club as you explore activities to enrich your community experience. They range from book discussions, online and in-person talks, film screenings, and cooking projects. We are happy to share ideas and help in any way.
We urge you to share your events by submitting them via our online form so we can help spread the word!
Attend a Vermont Reads 2023 Event
To support Vermont Reads 2023 we’ll host a series of public events starting in the fall, featuring in-person and online discussions and presentations related to the themes in Last Night at the Telegraph Club. This will include regular First Wednesdays lectures on these topics through May 2023. Encourage members of your community to attend these events.
View upcoming Vermont Reads events
Virtual Exhibits and Tours
Our Online Materials page includes links to several online exhibits related to the book’s themes, including:
- Pride 1983 online exhibit from Pride Center of Vermont and Vermont Folklife
- Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co. (about drag queens) from Vermont Folklife
- National Museum of American History Illegal to be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall
- National Museum of American History HIV and AIDS Thirty Years Ago
- Chinese Historical Society of America Virtual Exhibits
- NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Virtual Tour
Visit Our Online Materials page
Cooking Demonstrations, Classes, and Cookbooks
Food plays an important part in Lily’s community in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Consider hosting a cooking class or demonstration as part of studying Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Or develop a community cookbook, based around family recipes of area residents!
Author Malinda Lo has written about Chinese Food in 1950s America in her blog.
Music
Music from the 1940s and 1950s is central to the plot in the book. Consider hosting or attending a concert, or simply crank up Malinda Lo’s Spotify playlist!
Host a Concert
Green Mountain Swing is an all-volunteer, 18-piece big band that plays music from the swing era such Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Woody Herman and others.
Learn more about Green Mountain Swing
Host a Movie Night
We recommend previewing all films before sharing with your group.
VIEW OUR LIST OF FILMS, TV SHOWS, AND VIDEOS
Rocket Building
Lily’s aunt Judy works at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Their website provides detailed instructions for such classroom activities as building stomp rockets or soda-straw rockets.
View Rocket-Building Activities
Statewide Events in June and September
June is Pride Month. Here are some events held around Vermont in June, 2023:
- Essex Pride Festival 2023: June 3
- VT Pride Family Potluck with Out in the Open at Winston Prouty Campus in Brattleboro: June 11
- Pride at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center: June 13
- Pride Evening Drag Show at The Depot (21+) in St. Albans: June 16
- Middlebury Pride 2023: June 25
Other Pride events
- Pride Vermont Week in Burlington: September 2-10, 2023
- Pride Parade and Festival in Burlington: September 10, 2023
- National Coming Out Day: October 11, 2023
Oral History Projects
Andrews Inn was a gay disco, bar, hotel, restaurant, co-counseling site, and community space on the Square in downtown Bellows Falls, Vermont from 1973-1984. The Andrews Inn Oral History Project emerged from a rich collaboration between Out in the Open (formerly Green Mountain Crossroads), Marlboro College and Vermont Performance Lab.
Consider creating a project to gather stories in your community as part of your Vermont Reads program.
The Vermont Folklife Center offers workshops for those interested in developing skills in ethnography, oral history and cultural documentation. Through these trainings they provide the theoretical background and technical skills for participants to ethically and respectfully explore the cultural fabrics of their home communities and the broader communities of which we are a part.
Contact them at info@vermontfolklifecenter.org to discuss scheduling workshops for your community or organization.
More about Vermont Folklife Center workshops
Hold Last Night at the Telegraph Club Discussions
We strongly recommend that group discussions of Last Night at the Telegraph Club be led by a trained facilitator from our Reading & Discussion program.
Leading a Book Discussion Page
New this year!
We are offering each Vermont Reads host organization one free discussion of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, led by one of our trained facilitators. Email us at community@vermonthumanities.org for more details.
Host a Book Discussion Series
Our Reading & Discussion program is an easy, inexpensive way for libraries and other nonprofit organizations to host high-quality, facilitated book discussions in their communities. We provide the books, and trained scholars lead each session.
We are offering each Vermont Reads host organization one free discussion series related to the themes in Last Night at the Telegraph Club.
Before July 1, 2023 we’ll post a listing of related Reading and Discussion series.
