The Bennington Battle Monument

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On ImageAugust 16, Vermont celebrates a unique holiday: Bennington Battle Day. The holiday marks an important American victory during the Revolutionary War, when American forces prevented the British from seizing desperately needed supplies stored in Bennington.

In 1876,  the Bennington Battle Monument Association was established to create a memorial  at the location of the storehouse.  The Bennington Banner frequently reported on the monument’s progress from 1887, when the cornerstone was laid, until 1889, when the capstone was put in place. The November 25, 1889 issue devoted six columns to an account of the capstone installation and a description of the 306-foot dolomite obelisk, “a fitting memorial of the stirring revolutionary event it commemorates.”

The monument was formally dedicated in August 1891, when Vermont celebrated the centennial of statehood. The paper issued a special daily edition during the week-long extravaganza, the Daily Banner. The paper announced the special edition the week before the event, and promised that it would be an accurate and comprehensive description of the grandest historical celebration ever witnessed in the state. The announcement urged every true Vermonter–wherever they lived–to buy the Daily Banner, read it, and preserve it.

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VTDNP staff to present and attend IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2013

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VTDNP staff to present and attend IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2013

VTDNP Project Director, Birdie MacLennan and Project Librarian, Erenst Anip will continue extend their time in Singapore to attend IFLA World Library and Information Congress,79th IFLA General Conference and Assembly from 17-23 August.

Erenst will also be presenting his paper “Bringing the past to the people: outreach efforts and value-added content for chronicling America in Hawaii and Vermont” in session 153 on August 20th, 2013.

Birdie will begin a four year appointment (2013-2017) from the IFLA Governing Board as a member of the Newspapers Section Standing Committee and will be attending related meetings and forums. You can read more about the Newspapers Section here: https://www.ifla.org/about-the-newspapers-section

“Responsible for A Good Paper”

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In the spring of 1919, William Dudley Pelley, the owner and editor of St. Johnsbury’s Evening Caledonian, took the unusual step of listing all of the paper’s staff on the masthead, under the heading “Responsible for a good newspaper in St. Johnsbury.”

ImagePelley was a successful short story writer, and we learn more about the Caledonian staff from  one of his stories that appeared in the November 1919 issue of American Magazine. A photograph of the Caledonian staff accompanies “Human Nature–As the Country Editor Knows It.” Pelley provided a lengthy caption that describes what he saw as the duties and talents of the five women and five men standing in front of the paper’s office on Eastern Avenue.

ImageFrom left to right, some highlights from Pelley’s caption:

  • Robert MacKinnon, “who keeps the creditors sweet” and “sees that the books show a profit.”
  • Miles S. Gilman, “who joshes the typesetting machines into getting out the news.”
  • Mrs. Alice Massey, “our little lady reporter, who knows everybody in town and everything that happens in the community.”
  • Miss Margaret Robie, “society editor, proof reader, and trouble-fixer.”
  • Miss Florence Rouse, “the girl who is never in a hurry, but does more work than all the rest of the office put together” and “general all-around assistant to the Boss.
  • The Boss (Pelley).
  • Miss Ruth Impey, “who operates another one of the typesetting machines” and “whose proof is as pure as a baby’s smile.”
  • Arthur Boucher, who “sees that the paper is printed on the big Duplex in such shape that the town can read it without having to go and wash its fingers afterward.”
  • Mrs. A.M. Moran, “who never took a back seat when it came to setting ads that made the lives of the local merchants a pleasure and a joy.”
  • Ray Packard, “the man who bosses the whole push.”

They were, Pelley concluded, “a happy bunch who never speak a cross word to one another.”

Issues of the weekly Caledonian from 1837 to 1884 are available now on Chronicling America, and more years of the weekly and the daily Evening Caledonian will be added soon.

Four new NDNP Partners announced for 2013-15 cycle

Chronicling AmericaFrom the National Endowment for the Humanities:

The NEH has issued a press release announcing new awards (see https://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2013-07-25), including four cooperative agreements to state projects joining the NDNP this year.  We will be welcoming representatives from the following new partners at the September 11-13 meeting in DC: Connecticut, Florida and Puerto Rico, Idaho, and Mississippi.

In addition, we are making NDNP supplement awards to ten current projects for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Congratulations (and welcome) to new and old partners!