Plainfield Historical Society

PLAINFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY
2008 ANNUAL MEETING PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Having been present at the “re-creation” of the Plainfield Historical Society some six long years ago, I thought it would be useful, as outgoing President, to give a brief summary of the history of the PHS as I know it.

We are the second, and possibly, the third incarnation of local volunteer associations dedicated to the preservation, exploration, and dissemination of Plainfield’s history. Our predecessor organization became inactive in around 1994, within a few months after its chief organizer, Cora Copping, passed away. The dedicated work of this group of people, who came together in 1988 or 1989 around Cora’s leadership, left several important legacies for their would-be successors: first and foremost is the Pictorial History of Plainfield, originally published in 1993; next is the outstanding collection of slides that was assembled and catalogued in the course of researching for the book; and third are thirty-six oral history tapes made between 1989 and 1991, along with transcripts prepared by the late Sylvia Dole.

The Plainfield Historical Society in its current format was reconvened in 2002, by Jane Napier (then, Hosford), the Librarian at the Cutler Library. Jan Danziger, Melinda Vieux, Sue Jamele, Keith Terry, Ben Koenig, Karen Vogel and myself were among those who assembled in the course of the first year, and attended regular meetings.

In 2003, Jane was elected President, Ben, vice-president, Karen, treasurer, and I, secretary. In that year we: incorporated as a non-profit in the State of Vermont, drafted bylaws, staffed a booth at Old Home Day, and began working with the town about installing an historic marker at Washburn Park (something the town was legally required to do under the terms of the donation of the property to the town). We had $400 in our account at the end of the year.

2004 was an auspicious year for several reasons. First, we located the original “plates” (laid-out photo-negatives) of the Pictorial History, which had disappeared when the book’s printer, North Light Studio Press in Barre, went out of business. This meant that the book could be reprinted with no loss of quality from the original. They were owned by Leahy Press, which offered to reprint 400 copies for $10,000. Second, Sylvia Dole, who had been secretary of the previous Society, permitted us to make copies of the oral history tapes which she had preserved, along with her transcriptions, thus adding priceless resources to our archives; Third, at Sue’s suggestion, the Historical Society produced its first annual wall calendar, using materials assembled and annotated by Dick Petit and others for the Pictorial History. The idea was that it would be a way to raise funds to reprint the history book, which had long been out of print. And finally, the Society adopted bylaws at its annual meeting. Officers were: myself – President; Melinda – VP; Sue – Secretary; Karen – Treasurer.

In 2005, we produced another wall calendar and commissioned an etched granite marker to commemorate the old village blacksmith site at Washburn Park. There was no change in officers in 2005. We ended the year with a $3400 balance in our account – the calendar was working!

In 2006, we produced another wall calendar, designed and installed a new sign over the entrance to the Historical Society museum on School Street (Route 2), and held a well-attended unveiling ceremony of the historic marker at Washburn Park as part of Old Home Day activities. We also were awarded a grant by the Vermont Historical Society to work with Mary Whalen, a teacher at Twinfield, to do a local history project. As part of this grant, the Society received a new PC and software to help us inventory our collection of historical documents and artifacts. In terms of personnel, Karen Vogel moved away and Monica Light replaced her as Treasurer.

In 2007, as a result of having several new members — among them Christine Farren, Richard and Bev Thomas, and Peter Cressy, the work of the Society expanded. We had a booth at the Vermont History Expo in Tunbridge for the first time. For this purpose, several Society members researched and prepared a museum-quality display on “Tim Pitkin and Goddard College”, working in association with the archivist at the college. After the Expo, the exhibit moved to the Eliot Pratt Library, where it was on display all summer and was very well-received.

Other public activities included staffing a booth at the Old Home Day celebration in August, and collaboration with the Plainfield Area Community Association (PACA) to support the town’s “Plainfield Area Pathways Project” grant application. The Society’s “Community History Partnership” with Mary Whalen, a Social Studies teacher at Twinfield, made progress in 2007, with the student deciding to focus their attention on the old village blacksmith shop location with documentary and archaeological research. The Society also produced its fourth annual Plainfield Historical Society Wall Calendar, this time with the “in-house” technical expertise of Peter Cressy, who also began working on a website. Advertisers, patrons and consumers of the calendar over the made it possible, in late 2007, for the Society contract to reprint the Pictorial History of Plainfield. Sue Jamele stepped down as Secretary in 2007, and Lisa Ryan took over that responsibility.

That brings us to 2008: We received and began selling the 15th Anniversary paperback reprint of The Plainfield Pictorial History at Town Meeting; we completed our Community History Partnership with Twinfield, which culminated in an archaeological dig at the former blacksmith shop site, for which we benefited greatly from assistance from Graydon Neill, the son of the last blacksmith at that location; we used material from this project to prepare another excellent exhibit for the Vermont History Expo at Tunbridge; we moved ahead on our website (which should be launched before year’s end); and we set up two standing committees — one devoted to planning for the preservation and cataloguing of our collection; and another to the Vermont Historic Barn Census.

As this brief summary shows, we’ve come a long way in a short time and I think it safe to say that local history has a bright future in Plainfield thanks to those who are here tonight and those who have come before.

—David Strong