The Great Depression
I think most of us will know about the Great Depression of the 1930s. Living in the country had advantages over living in the city. If you lived in Vermont in the 1930s, you might have lost your savings or … Continued
Ron Patch
Deck the hall…
The restoration of Chester Town Hall is moving along rapidly. In the next few weeks the new floor will be completed. It really looks nice upstairs. The interior window casings are painted a darker color making them jump out from … Continued
It’s a small world
DALLAS – Ron Patch’s son, Shawn Patch, is an archaeologist with New South Associates in Greensboro, N.C. Last week in Dallas, Texas, there was held The Society for American Military Engineers Small Business Conference. This was a show where vendors … Continued
Vermont Big Game Records
Well, here we are again, deer season. While I no longer hunt, I do keep my rifle ready. I do see deer in the field, but nothing yet with horns. The deprivation continues. A few years ago, I was contacted … Continued
The migraine
The Chester Historical Society has been gifted Bud Nadeau’s collection of Bartonsville diaries and photos. The diaries date from 1884 to 1915. While not a complete run, it is substantial. I’ve had migraine headaches for years. The pounding headache and … Continued
Why we collect
I think most Americans have a need to collect things. What we collect depends on our life experiences, knowledge, and our interests. The photo with this article is of two hand-blown glass eggs in my collection. In the old days, … Continued
The 1898 blizzard
Last week, I wrote about the Willard snowplow and the 1898 blizzard. Some of that history came from Mary Harris. Mary kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings she found interesting. She has four pages of clippings concerning the blizzard. Not … Continued
The snowplow
Ted Spaulding’s father Ed was an auctioneer while running the Town Farm and his Star Route Mail contract. Ed sold out many area homes in the 1940s into the early 1960s. Along the way, Ed picked up a few antiques … Continued
Al’s IGA
From about 1940 through the early 1970s, Al’s IGA was a busy store in downtown Chester. Al Cross took over what had been the Grand Union. In the 1800s into the early 1900s, it was known as the Fletcher Block. … Continued
Star Route Mail
In the 1900s, Star Route Mail was transported by bonded non-postal contractors. Star Route mail was mail delivered between towns by these contractors. This would be similar to box trucks you see coming and going at your local post office … Continued