Sunflowers and Porter Thayer the Town Photographer

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Vermont's Flood of 1927: A New Look

August 11, 7:30 pm, Chittenden Town Hall

A scene in Rutland during the 1927 flood

The flood is remembered as the greatest natural disaster to strike Vermont, and stories of loss, tragedy, and heroism abound. Yet it is far more than an episode restricted to the history of a single state. Historian Nicholas Clifford examines the flood and reconstruction to shed light on facets of our national history, and to help us understand better America's passage through the often anxious and difficult years of the 1920s. Hosted by the Chittenden Historical Society. Chittenden Town Hall, 7:30 pm. Karen Webster, (802) 483-6471.

The Irish "Wave" in the Green Mountains

August 21, 2:00 pm, Warren Public Library

Beginning in the late 1840s and lasting through the 1860s, thousands of Irish immigrants, escaping the potato famine in their homeland, settled in Vermont. They arrived in the Green Mountain State just as Vermont was undergoing a mini industrial revolution -- a revolution based on railroad construction, the quarrying of slate and marble, and on textile production. Vince Feeney, author of the recently published history of the Irish in Vermont, Finnigans, Slaters and Stonepeggers, tells the little-known story of the impact of Irish immigrants on Vermont life in the middle of the nineteenth century. Hosted by the Warren Public Library. Warren Public Library, 42 Cemetary Road, 2:00 pm. Gail Hietzker, (802) 583-1935.

Porter Thayer and the History of the Town Photographer at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

August 26, 6:45 pm, Newfane, Historical Society of Windham County

Porter Thayer, a lifelong resident of Williamsville, immortalized the area in the photographs he took between 1906 and 1920. His horse, Lady, helped transport his camera, tripod, and boxes of glass plates over the twenty-five-mile territory he covered.

His business was so popular that more than 1,000 of his postcards were sold at the Williams store over a six-month period.

Jessica Weitz, in conjunction with the UVM Center for Digital Initiatives, and VHC scholar Forrest Holzapfel will describe the effort to digitize Thayer's 1,300 photographs. Hosted by the Brooks Memorial Library. Newfane, Historical Society of Windham County, 6:45 pm. Jessica Weitz, (802) 254-5290 x101.

This project was funded in part by a VHC grant.

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