Did You Know? - Deer Hunting
Although not as central as it once was, hunting remains an important part of Vermont culture, whether out of necessity, for enjoyment of the outdoors or both. In this installment of DYK?, we'll hear from two different long-time hunters: Prentiss Dwinell of Marshfield, VT, and Doug Lawrence of Braintree, VT.
Did You Know? - Music for Social Dancing
In this month's “Did You Know?” we share archival recordings of four different musicians who provided music for social dancing here in Vermont across the 20th century.
Did You Know? - Music of Childhood
In the latest installment of our Did You Know? series about music in the Vermont Folklife Archive, we feature songs and music for children. Across cultures, we use music with children to soothe, to celebrate, to instruct, or to just have fun. This month, we’ll hear a lullaby from China, songs that a Sudanese family sings to their infant son, and Tibetan music that accompanies children’s games.
Did You Know? Communities of Song
In this month’s Did You Know? we continue exploring music in the Archive with a feature on "Community of Song." There are so many reasons people come together and sing–whether for celebrations, spiritual purposes, companionship in adversity, or just to express joy. In this blog post, we hear from three groups of people who join together in song: Jamaican apple pickers in Shoreham, pub singers in Brattleboro, and a Burundian women’s chorus in Burlington.
Did You Know? Music in Vermont: Songs of loss and longing
While interviews make up the vast majority of the audio and video recordings in the Archive, the collection includes a great deal of music as well. This month we feature songs of loss and longing, including hearing from Franco-American singers, Carmen Beaudoin Bombardier and Kim Chase
Did You Know: Getting Around in Winter, Part III - The Ice Industry
In this month’s Did You Know? we look at the once-thriving business of cutting, harvesting, storing, and selling ice through the experiences of Albert Morelli. As a boy in the 1920s and 1930s, Albert worked with his father, Frank Morelli, who had an ice business based in Rouses Point, NY, serving New York state towns on Lake Champlain as well as towns in Québec. His stories come from a 1994 interview with Vermont Folklife's Greg Sharrow as part of a collection of interviews about life around Lake Champlain.
Did You Know: Getting Around in Winter, Part II
In this month’s Did You Know we share winter travel stories from Alden Bettis of Waitsfield, Vermont. Alden was born during World War I, and grew up during the Depression. He shares about sledding to school, getting his milk truck out of the ditch using only a piece of rope, and riding an empty gas tank down the slopes at Mad River Glen!
Did You Know: Getting Around in Winter
Whether crossing a frozen body of water, or traveling hilly rural roads, Vermonters have had to come up with some particularly ingenious ways to get around in winter. In this month's "Did You Know?", we hear from four people who describe clever–and sometimes humorous–ways they and their friends managed to get from place to place in a world beset by ice and snow.
Did You Know? Ticonderoga Part 5: The Ticonderoga in Winter
The VT Folklife Archive is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you.
Well, last month we thought we were concluding our four-part series on the Ticonderoga, but there were just too many good stories about the Ti left untold. So this month with cold weather setting in here in Vermont, we're adding one more set of stories about the Ticonderoga in winter–a time when the work changed to fit the needs of the season.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Part 4: Life at Shelburne Museum
This month, we continue with the fourth and final article in our four-part series on the steamship Ticonderoga. In this month's article, we hear recollections from Lynn Bottom–a former captain on the Hudson River Dayline, but with a long history with Lake Champlain–about how the Ti was moved from the lake to its current location on land at the museum. Then we hear from Chip Stulin, the project manager who oversaw the restoration of the Ti in the 1990s. Both are recorded in interviews with VT Folklife founder Jane Beck in the mid 1990's.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Part 3: Favorite Stories
Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Steamboat Ticonderoga during its 47-year life on Lake Champlain between 1906 and 1953. Running a large steamship required finely-tuned systems, and many of the interviewees talk about these systems, which they used to operate the ship. This month we feature the voices of Jerry Aske, Dick Derry, and Dick Adams, recorded in interviews with VT Folklife founder Jane Beck in the late 1990s.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Part 2: “Pulling the Fires” and other work onboard
Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Steamboat Ticonderoga during its 47-year life on Lake Champlain between 1906 and 1953. Running a large steamship required finely-tuned systems, and many of the interviewees talk about these systems, which they used to operate the ship. This month we feature the voices of Jerry Aske, Dick Derry, and Dick Adams, recorded in interviews with VT Folklife founder Jane Beck in the late 1990s.
Did You Know? - Ticonderoga Steamship Part 1: Teenage Deckhands
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. The steamboat Ticonderoga is a National Historic Landmark that lives on the grounds of the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT, where it portrays life onboard in 1923. This year, then, a trip aboard the “Ti” is a trip 100 years back in time. Vermont Folklife is proud to have a collection of interviews of many of the people who lived and worked on the Ticonderoga during that time.
Did You Know? - Hastings Store in West Danville, VT
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. Continuing with our focus on Vermont general stores, this month we look at Hastings Store, a family-run general store in West Danville. Hastings has been owned by the same family since 1913, when it was purchased by Gilbert and Jenny Hastings. Their great-granddaughter Jenny Rafuse runs the store today.
Did You Know? - F.H. Gillingham and Sons General Store
The VFC Archives is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. In this feature, we share these stories with you. In the early 1990's, Vermont Folklife founder Jane Beck met with Jireh Billings and Frank Billings–the 4th generation to run the store–to talk about its history, their involvement, and how the family kept their general store thriving through changing times.
Did You Know? - A Stop at H.N. Williams Store
Our associate archivist, Susan Creighton loves to explore Vermont, and following a recent recommendation she set out to visit the H.N. Williams Store in Dorset. She loved it, and afterwards she discovered something terrific: we have interviews about this selfsame store in our archive!
Did You Know? - Visitn’ with Hollis Squier
The VT Folklife Archive is full of amazing first-person accounts of everyday life in Vermont and New England–past and present. One of these interviews was with Hollis Squier of Tinmouth, VT. Hollis's family moved to Vermont in the early 1950's from upstate New York and took up farming in Tinmouth. Hollis took to small-town life, and from a young age got involved in town government. One of Hollis's early town positions was as the road commissioner - a role he took on as a young man in his early twenties.
Did You Know? The Snelling Collection - Part 2
Between 2002 and 2004, on behalf of the Snelling Center for Government, VFC founder Jane Beck interviewed 35 current and former Vermont legislators to explore the culture of Vermont’s citizen legislature and the personal relationships from which this culture emerges.
Did You Know? The Snelling Collection - Part 1
Between 2002 and 2004, on behalf of the Snelling Center for Government, VFC founder Jane Beck interviewed 35 current and former Vermont legislators to explore the culture of Vermont’s citizen legislature and the personal relationships from which this culture emerges.