Trailing Thaddeus Stevens
By Sharon Lakey, Director of the Danville Historical Society
Mary Prior was in the Diamond Hill Store, and a man walked in with a tee-shirt proclaiming he was a member of the Thaddeus Stevens Society. Mary, who had been tracking down what she called the “Thaddeus Stevens Trail” for the Danville Historical Society, introduced herself. They had a nice conversation about Danville being his birthplace.
She had already driven a reporter from Burlington’s Seven Days and Howard Coffin around the area, showing them where she thought his birthplace might be. Later, she directed an auto tour with several members of the Society to points of interest in Danville and Peacham to share what she had uncovered. So it was of interest to us last June when Ross Hetrick (the man wearing the tee-shirt) called and introduced himself as the President of the Thaddeus Stevens Society. He wanted to drive to Danville from his home in Pennsylvania with intentions of putting together a video of Thaddeus’s birthplace. With Mary’s preparation, we felt ready for the event. One fine morning we met at the Historical House, ready to follow the footsteps of our most illustrious native son.
News from the Civil War: The Spigot Starts to Open
By Gary Farrow, Member of the Danville Historical Society
Prior to the Civil War, revolutionary technology remade the newspaper business so that information could be delivered from faraway places faster and cheaper than ever before. The October ‘61 editions of the North Star brought home opinion from a Boston Journal correspondent, the sentiments of a Danville soldier at the Virginia front, and news of military activities on the Gulf Coast,
North Star October 5, 1861
Why McClellan Holds On
The Washington Correspondent of the Boston Journal writes… It has been two months since the advance of the Federal troops from Bull Run to Washington.…the people are anxious to have something done by the large army to blot out the disagreeable part of that affair…
…It was supposed that everything would be in readiness by the first of September and that by the present time we should have made a triumphant march towards the very heart of secession, but instead here we are throwing up entrenchments with rebels flaunting their hateful burning in our face with the great dome of the capital in full view of their work at Munson’s. It is provoking to the blood…
…But the beauty of his [McClellan’s] hanging on… He has, by remaining quiet completely frustrated the plans of the rebels. They intend to attack us, but found we are getting very strong… They have conquered all in vain… When he sees that the proper time has come to let go, I am confident that he will do it in a manner that will win admiration.
Thaddeus Stevens: “Old Commoner”
By Paul Chouinard, President of the Danville Historical Society
On Sunday October 30, The Danville Historical Society and the Danville Chamber of Commerce will honor Thaddeus Stevens in a ceremony for the unveiling of an etching of his portrait that is being presented to the Vermont Statehouse. The ceremony will be held at the Danville Congregational Church and begin at 2:00 PM to be followed by a reception in the Church dining room.
January 10, 2010, Vermont Civil War Historian, Howard Coffin, addressed the Danville Historical Society at its Annual Meeting, focusing on Danville’s involvement in the Civil War. Following delivery of his address, Mr. Coffin suggested that he felt it would be a most appropriate sesquicentennial project for the Danville Historical Society to coordinate an effort to raise funds for commissioning a portrait of Thaddeus Stevens to be presented to the Statehouse for inclusion in its collection of portraits of prominent Vermonters.
It is ironic that in the 219 years since the birth of Thaddeus Stevens that the only memorial in Vermont to his legacy as one of America’s great civil rights advocates is a State Department of Historic Sites marker on Danville Green indicating Danville as the place of his birth. There has never been any public portrait or piece of sculpture honoring the enormous contributions he made on the national level to affect the emancipation of the slaves and to grant them civil rights.
Janet’s new calendar
A Local's Perspective By Sharon Lakey Last year, Janet Carson, one of Danville's excellent photographers, put out her first calendar. For everyone that was lucky enough to get one, they…
Worth the Wait?
Route 2: Pain now–Payback later
By Sharon Lakey
Senator Jane Kitchel was quoted in the Caledonian-Record on July 1, 2011, at a meeting between the Vermont Agency of Transportation and Danville residents and business owners. “Maybe this project is a lot like having a baby. When we get done we’ll be pleased with what we have, hopefully.”
There’s no doubt about the pain. Anyone trying to make it through and around Danville this summer has experienced it. Frustration has sometimes been high, but lately it seems people, at least locally, are waiting for the baby with more stoicism. And while wel’re waiting, there is renewed interest in what the final product is going to look like. Over the past 20-plus years, the collective memory of how this project evolved has dimmed; perhaps a review of how we got here from there is useful. So, a little history…
The Secret Room
A new Northeast Kingdom adventure book
By Sharon Lakey“Shawna and Thea are working together on a math project for their eighth-grade class. But the numbers don’t add up, and they make a startling discovery—the secret room in the basement of Thea’s house, an old Vermont inn.
The code on the walls makes the girls—and everyone in town—wonder why there was a secret room. Was it part of the Underground Railroad, or perhaps something less, well, heroic? Discovering the truth is harder than they would have thought, especially when the truth is not what you want to hear.”
On September 10, 2011, Northeast Kingdom author, Beth Kanell, will officially have her second novel released by her new publisher, St. Johnsbury-based Brigantine Media. When she told me about the release date, she looked at me mischievously and said, “9 10 11. Wouldn’t Shawna and Thea love that?”
Ahh, that’s right. Shawna and Thea, the two main characters in the story, do love numbers.
After reading a preliminary copy of the book, Beth and I arranged for an interview to begin in North Danville, the town that served as a muse for The Secret Room, which she sets in fictional North Upton. Beth shared that it was a request by her friend, Mary Prior, to set a novel there. Mary, who had grown up in the center of the village, recommended its strong spirit of place as a perfect setting to help work the magic of story.
Romance and Reality, Dissension and Dollars: The War News Trickles In
September of 1861, the Civil War was page two. It wasn’t all that unusual for the North Star to have no Civil War headlines on the front page.
There was one item with political repercussions nationally. A Union General had taken it upon himself to issue a proclamation about slavery. There was also a letter by a Vermont POW and a report about the Danville Company. That month, the reader could also learn about what volunteers were getting for pay.
North Star September 7, 1861The Vermont Prisoners at Richmond
Letter from Captain Drew Richmond, VA Aug 19, 1861 Editors of the Free Press:I am permitted by General Winders, the humane and obliging commander of this post to write you, giving a list of Vt boys confined here, and some information as to our capture. For several days before the battle, I had been sick and on “Sunday the 21st” [A reference to the Battle of Bull Run and its date July 21] was hardly able to move.