history | Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP)

We’re nearing the end of newspaper page collation for Phase II. Our final title that our team of Michael Breiner, Mary VanBuren-Swasey, and Karyn Norwood, have been hard at work examining issue by issue on microfilm is the Orleans County Monitor, a weekly published out of Barton, Vermont, serving Orleans County from 1872-1953 (we’re only digitizing up to 1922, as it is the cut-off date for copyright).

While examining a reel from 1910, I stumbled upon a fascinating and innovative marketing campaign by the Orleans County Monitor that by all accounts was a huge success. “Monitor’s Great Popularity and Prize Contest,” was a popularity contest for the ladies of Orleans County–prizes included a grand prize of a $500 Brush automobile, four $50 diamond rings, a couch, dresser, 112-piece dish set, and a center table. The premise of it was very simple: write down the name of a lady that you think should win (and it could be yourself) on a voting certificate and turn it into the Monitor office. The trick of it was, of course, you needed to buy (or get your friends to buy) to a copy (or better yet, a subscription) of the paper to get the certificate to vote. You could, of course, vote as many times as you wanted; men could also certainly vote–but it had to be cast for a woman. The contest went on for seven weeks between September and October 1910.

capitalcar — Click to enlarge image. Published in the September 21, 1910 issue.

Continue reading A Capital Campaign: The Orleans County Monitor Circulation Contest →

I sat down with Brennan Gauthier on a chilly (and snowy) February morning at UVM’s Special Collections in Bailey-Howe Library to discuss his discoveries on Chronicling America. And, goodness, did he ever have some good stories to share!

389182_829376076600_618284781_n — Image of Brennan Gauthier. Photograph courtesy of Brennan Gauthier.

Gauthier is the VTrans Archaeologist for the Vermont Department of Transportation (VTrans), and he was quick (and excited) to reveal that he uses Chronicling America on a daily basis with his work as an archaeologist in the field. For every project that the Department of Transportation undertakes in Vermont, such as building a bridge or expanding a road, Gauthier and his colleagues in the Cultural Resource Team at VTrans must closely inspect and research the site to assess the potential for effects on cultural resources in the area surrounding the site. To this end, therefore, Chronicling America provides an accessible and easily searchable method to research historic activity in the area up to 1922. Continue reading User Spotlight Series: Brennan Gauthier, VTrans Archaeologist →