Historical events
Creating the Brattleboro Words Trail Goals and Methodology Learn how you can be part of the broad community effort to unlock the secrets of our storied past with Project Director, Lissa Weinmann Thursday, November 15, 2018 / 6:00 to 7:00 pm Brooks Memorial Library Free and Open to the Public / Refreshments Served
Historical & Archival Treasures A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION ROUNDTABLE SPOTLIGHTS WINDHAM COUNTY’S HISTORICAL AND ARCHIVAL TREASURES FOR ‘NATIONAL ARCHIVES MONTH’ Unique, rare, important and humorous historical treasures and archival collections reside within Windham County’s numerous historical societies, public libraries and museums. The Brattleboro Words Project’s Thursday, October 18, 2018 Roundtable Discussion will gather representatives who work with these treasures in recognition of National Archives Month in October. The discussion will take place at 6:00 pm at 118 Elliot, 118 Elliot Street, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301. “Windham County has more than 45 historical societies, libraries and museums, many of which hold local historical photos, artifacts, diaries, personal papers, business documents and much more that tell part of the rich history of Windham County from its earliest years through the twentieth century,” Mary Ide, archivist and member of the Brattleboro Words Project Leadership Team who produced this Roundtable said. Representatives from institutions will speak and show slides and some […]
Royall Tyler: Author, Wit and Judge, of Early Brattleboro.
September 13, 2018
Brooks Memorial Library
NAULAKHA, DUMMERSTON “Rudyard Kipling’s American years were the happiest, most inspired and productive time of his life,” Professor Fish said, before a dispute with his brother-in-law turned ugly. In this period he composed the two Jungle Books (1894, 1895), the first three Just So Stories (1897), and began thinking about his masterpiece Kim (1901). He also wrote the poems collected in The Seven Seas (1896), the short stories collected in The Day’s Work (1898), and much of his classic sea story Captains Courageous (1897). During a trip to England in 1894, Kipling wrote longingly of ‘a bottle of lager in the basement of Brooks House … There’s one Britisher at least homesick for a section of your depraved old land’. “Kipling remains one of the world’s most famous authors. Fans come from all over the world to stay at Naulakha, to sit at Kipling’s desk,” Carlin said, adding that the house is being used increasingly […]
Watch Dennis Waring’s full presentation on the impact of Estey Organ Company’s effect on American consumer culture.
Words & Abenaki History A ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION Brattleboro Historical SocietyWords Project Roundtable: The Abenaki and Early European Contact This month, Leadership Team members Rich Holschuh (Vermont Commission for Native American Affairs) and Joe Rivers (Brattleboro Historical Society) will give a presentation and lead a discussion exploring indigenous Abenaki sites, experience, and use of their 12,000 year-old Algonquian dialect in the context of first contact with Europeans in the Brattleboro area, which they call Wantastegok. Roundtable participants are invited to share their knowledge of Wantastegok, Abenaki history, and Algonquian language and enjoy native-inspired refreshments during this free program. Rich Holschuh & Joe Rivers will lead the discussion as we explore language and how it had an impact on the early relations between the Abenaki of the region and the encroaching Europeans. Roundtable Speakers Joe Rivers & Rich Holschuh Joe Rivers is the President of the Brattleboro Historical Society. He is also a social studies teacher at […]
BRATTLEBORO—The Brattleboro Words Project’s next monthly Roundtable Discussion will examine the history of Jacob Estey and how the famous Estey Organ Company helped shape American consumer culture and promote Brattleboro internationally. Dennis Waring, author of Manufacturing the Muse: Estey Organs and Consumer Culture in Victorian America, will lead the discussion. It will be held at the Estey Organ Museum, 108 Birge Street, on Thursday, June 14, at 6 p.m. Although there were many manufacturers of reed organs, Estey’s dominance in the market was due in large part to the company’s innovations in both design and marketing. Estey organs accompanied Christian missionaries throughout the world and spread the Brattleboro name far and wide. Although there were many manufacturers of reed organs… Read the full article at CommonsNews.org
The Brattleboro Words Project’s monthly Roundtable Discussion will examine the history of the famous Estey Organ Company and how it helped shape American consumer culture and put Brattleboro on the global map through its innovative advertising and marketing style. Dennis Waring, Author “Manufacturing the Muse: Estey Organs and Consumer Culture in Victorian America” (Wesleyan University Press, 2002) will lead the Thursday, June 14, 6:00 pm discussion at the venerable Estey Organ Museum, 108 Birge Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Refreshments will be served. All Brattleboro Words Project events are free and open to the public. Although there were many manufacturers of reed organs, Estey’s dominance in the market was due largely to the company’s innovations in both design and marketing. Estey organs accompanied Christian missionaries throughout world and spread the Brattleboro name far and wide. “Though it is obvious that Jacob Estey’s use of period imagery was the most influential element in his advertising, his exploitation […]
Brattleboro’s publishing and printing companies have been recognized internationally for the high quality of their work. In the 1950s and 60s, about 10% of the town’s population was employed in that industry, the highest per capita rate in the nation. A new exhibit illuminates this history; Brattleboro’s Printing and Publishing Heyday-1900-1970 opens on Wednesday, May 9, at 7:00 pm at Brooks Memorial Library in downtown Brattleboro with a Q&A and refreshments. The exhibit, which features rare images, books and ephemera, highlights some of the major printers and publishers of that era including the Vermont Printing Company, The Brattleboro Reformer, E.L. Hildreth Company, The Stephen Daye Press, The Stephen Greene Press, and The Book Press as well as local book designers. The exhibit is curated by Stephanie Greene, the daughter of Stephen Greene, of the Stephen Greene Press, Bill Soucy, consultant to the Museum of Print and a printer for 50 years, and Mary Ide, archivist […]
Words is hosting the first monthly roundtable discussion on the greatness in our midst with Reg Martell & Lissa Weinmann lead a presentation and discussion on the popular water cures of the mid- to late-1800s and their connection to our literary history. Writers Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, among others, traveled to Brattleboro’s natural water springs for their therapeutic effects. This is the first in a monthly series in which The Words Project will present their research and open a discussion on a different, “words-related” site in the Brattleboro area. Please come share your stories and thoughts with our research teams and scholars. Free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. An opportunity for all to participate in creating the audio tours of the Brattleboro area the Words Project is all about.
January 31, 7 p.m. Elemental Bookbinding & Survival Book Repair As part of the WORDS project, Marshall Brooks will present ELEMENTAL BOOKBINDING AND SURVIVAL BOOK REPAIR, a talk at the Brooks Memorial Library, Wednesday, January 31 at 7PM. Attendees will leave this illuminating presentation with a comprehensive resource list and a good idea of how to proceed in mending their books.
In-Service day fun! On Tuesday, January 23rd, from 10:30 am-noon, the “Peoples, Places and the History of Words in Brattleboro, Vermont” events continue with a hands-on printing workshop designed for children 6 and up, as well as the young at heart 🙂 Master Printer Bill Soucy will lead this fun exploration of the art of Printmaking!