Tunbridge is one of those quintessential Vermont towns, nestled amongst our state’s undulating green hills. Old barns, fields,  cows, and historic homes along a winding narrow road lead to the relatively unchanged historic downtown of Tunbridge, where, in the valley below the town, the Tunbridge World’s Fairgrounds were home to the 2014 Vermont History Expo on June 21 and 22.  Amid idyllic scenery and esteemed fellow exhibitors (all 160 of them!), we hosted an exhibit in Floral Hall.

Over the course of two days, we had the opportunity to meet hundreds of people from Vermont and beyond–many of whom had not yet heard of the project and what we had to offer. It was therefore a weekend full of discoveries!

Particularly helpful was our laptop with Chronicling America set up. Visitors tested out keywords with the guidance of VTDNP team members. There were some amazing newspaper finds, particularly in regard to genealogy. One family discovered an obituary with some confirming information on a relative who moved from Vermont to Kansas in the time of John Brown and Bleeding Kansas.  Stay tuned for more stories! (Read our post on genealogy search strategies.)

Our booth featured an exhibit entitled, Expressions: The Newspaper Masthead in Vermont Newspapers between 1836-1922, which took a particular look at the Cronaca Sovverisiva’s masthead artist, Carlos Abate, and displayed other interesting masthead designs from Vermont newspapers. View mastheads on our Flickr account.

In addition to the main exhibit, we challenged visitors with a guessing game featuring mystery toy advertisements from the turn of the twentieth century.  It was a lot of fun, and every participant received some candy and a bookmark! Think you’d like to give it a try? Try our online version!

Finally, thanks to our volunteers who helped with manning the booth: Tom McMurdo and Mary VanBuren Swasey. We couldn’t have done it without you!! Many thanks to the Vermont Historical Society for organizing such an impressive History Expo. Additional thanks to Karen Lane of the Aldrich Public Library and Paul Heller, local historian and author, for their help with the Cronaca Sovversiva research and images.

It was an incredible weekend of Vermont history; we are so happy to have been a part of it. We can’t wait for the 2016 History Expo!

 

Extra! Extra! Read, watch, and view more about VTDNP at the Expo:

• More photos from the weekend are available on our Flickr account.
• See a short clip of us at the Expo on WCAX.
• Read about our participation in the Expo as a genealogy resource in the Green Mountain Outlook.