1 June 2012 Civil War Lecture Series an Enriching Experience As each state joined, Mr. Meyer presented maps to show how the balance between north vs. south was carefully weighted out each time. And he led us through the various compromises and cases that helped us better understand the final events that sparked the breakout of war. As an added feature, Mr. Meyer also brought along from his collection a Civil War-era rifle for all to see. The Society would like to thank Mr. Meyer for kicking off our series with his wonderfully presented program. The May Lecture, “Words of Granby’s Civil War Soldiers and Families,” drew a standing-room-only crowd. We heard letters written home from Col. Holcomb; and we learned of his daughter Mary’s determined efforts to have her father’s war service properly recognized and honored. We become part of the day-to-day life, as we alternated between hearing letters written home from Henry and Lewis to Addie, and Addie’s diary entries ranging from simple recounts of chores accomplished to her strong political opinions and always By Heather Tomasetti We hope everyone who attended our Civil War lecture series found it enlightening and entertaining. In April we heard from Mr. Richard Meyer on the early causes of the Civil War. In his lecture he explained how some of the underlying conflicts were established when the country was still an English colony. The economies of the southern vs. northern colonies strongly influenced the establishment of the new government as well as how new states were admitted to the Union. (Story continued on page 6)
Transcript
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June 2012
Civil War Lecture Series an Enriching Experience
As each state joined, Mr. Meyer presented maps to show how the balance between north vs. south was carefully weighted out each time. And he led us through the various compromises and cases that helped us better understand the final events that sparked the breakout of war. As an added feature, Mr. Meyer also brought along from his collection a Civil War-era rifle for all to see. The Society would like to thank Mr. Meyer for kicking off our series with his wonderfully presented program.
The May Lecture, “Words of Granby’s Civil War Soldiers and Families,” drew a standing-room-only crowd. We heard letters written home from Col. Holcomb; and we learned of his daughter Mary’s determined efforts to have her father’s war service properly recognized and honored. We become part of the day-to-day life, as we alternated between hearing letters written home from Henry and Lewis to Addie, and Addie’s diary entries ranging from simple recounts of chores accomplished to her strong political opinions and always indicating the day one of those letters from Henry or Lewis arrived. And last, we came face to face with life in Andersonville Prison from Leland’s diary which seems to be one of the few things that was able to survive such dreadful conditions. It included accounts of prisoners selling their clothes for money; descriptions of a day’s meal which might consist of just an onion; and how one avoided being sent to the “hospital” as that was a sure sign of death.
By Heather Tomasetti
We hope everyone who attended our Civil War lecture series found it enlightening and entertaining.
In April we heard from Mr. Richard Meyer on the early causes of the Civil War. In his lecture he explained how some of the underlying conflicts were established when the country was still an English colony. The economies of the southern vs. northern colonies strongly influenced the establishment of the new government as well as how new states were admitted to the Union.
(Story continued on page 6)
Have You Renewed Your Membership?This is a reminder to renew your membership in the Salmon Brook Historical Society for the calendar year 2012 if you haven’t already done so.To jog your memory, please look at the address label on this copy of the newsletter. We have printed the last date each member paid dues (or the status of membership, such as Life Member) on the upper right corner of the address label. If you haven’t renewed for this year or owe back dues, please send us a check. We have attempted to keep dues at a reasonable level, but we need the income to help support our programs. Your continued support is welcome and appreciated. If you have already paid your dues, many thanks.Remember to check the dues information on this newsletter’s address label!Student: $3Individual: $15Family/Group $20Sustaining $30Life Membership $300
Include your name and address with a check payable to: Salmon Brook Historical Society. Send to the society at 208 Salmon Brook Street, P.O. Box
840, Granby, CT, 06035. 2
The Society’s annual Spring Flea Market, held May 12 on our Salmon Brook Street campus, was a big success by many measures.The weather was perfect. Forty vendors – approximately five more than last spring – displayed their wares. The number of volunteers who helped out – 55 – was ten more than those who staffed the same event a year ago.The public’s enthusiasm was up, too, if judged by the approximately $4,000 profit – proclaimed “excellent” by society treasurer Roger Hayes and Todd Vibert, the SBHS board member who managed the event.Todd had the volunteer operation running smoothly, as usual. He pointed out as the 2012 Spring Flea Market’s “unsung hero,” Heather Tomasetti, “for her splendid job with publicizing the Flea Market in the Granby Drummer, the Granby News, the Granby Patch and also had notes of it in the ‘Cal’ section of The Hartford Courant.”With all the advertising, it appeared “we were the only game in town,” Todd said. Congratulations to all the volunteers for jobs well done.
Spring Flea Market 2012:Great Weather, Bigger Crowd, More
Volunteers
The SBHS is planning to have another show this year on Saturday, Oct.6 – weather permitting. A variety of old hit & miss engines will be on display along with old tractors and other old farm machinery. The show opens at 9:30 am and closes when the spectators stop coming or 3:00 pm which ever happens first.Admission and parking are free and our food tent will sell our usual hotdogs, soda, coffee and doughnuts. If you have any old mechanical devices that you like to display, call Dave Laun at 860-653-3965 for times and details for displaying.Everyone can come and enjoy the sights and sounds of yesteryear’s technology. Bring the kids and grandkids also.
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Sat. October 16 2012 (Weather Permitting)
9:30 am – 3:00 pmContact: D. Laun (860) 653-
3965
by Jean Potetz
The Textile Committee has been very busy this spring. While planning this season’s temporary exhibit, we were also planning our third quilt airing and a special exhibit for a visiting needlework group.
This season’s temporary exhibit includes a display of lace, embroidery and other handwork. We also have three vintage gowns on display, two of which are wedding gowns worn by Granby brides Clara Whiton for her marriage to Selden Hayes in 1901, and Lois Wilcox for her wedding to Ralph Hastings in 1936. Lois Wilcox Hastings’ gown is a recent acquisition and has never been exhibited. It is simply beautiful. Special thanks go to Audrey Foster for her excellent restoration work on Clara Whiton’s bridal veil – Clara’s gown looks lovely exhibited with its veil and headpiece. Estelle H. Holcomb’s Stars and Stripes Quilt, circa 1861, will be on display beginning July 1. Estelle was 17 years old when she made this quilt out of love for her country. This patriotic quilt holds a lot of history within its tiny stitches. You won’t want to miss it. After Sept. 30, these items will be stored away. Stop by on a Sunday afternoon soon and see them.
On April 14 we presented our third Quilt Airing. Fifteen quilts from the Society’s quilt collection were presented. The theme was 1876-1936: Sixty Years of Quilts from the United States Centennial to the Great Depression. Over 30 people attended, enjoyed a lovely tea in the Victorian Parlor and took a tour of our buildings. Once again we were pleased that quilter, collector and past SBHS president, Polly Hall, joined us for all three sessions of the Airing. In 2006 Polly donated many of her quilts to the Society. Her participation is a treat for everyone. A lot of work goes into this event both in preparation and during the actual Airing. My sincere thanks to Bert & Peter Dinella, Cynthia Glenney, Betsy Henebry, Carol Laun, Lucille Ladden, Sally Markey, Pam Palmer, Patty Sansone, Heather Tomasetti and Ginny Wutka for their help with this program.
What’s Happening In Textiles
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Also in April members of the Connecticut River Valley Chapter of The Embroiderers’ Guild of America toured our houses as part of the program for their annual meeting. A special exhibit of embroidered items and other fine handwork was prepared for them. The group was very impressed by the quality of our Textile collection, the dedication of the Textile Committee and the commitment of the Salmon Brook Historical Society to preserving these historic items. They understood the many problems involved with preserving textiles and were interested in discussing these difficult issues. We enjoyed their visit very much. Again, many thanks to Bert Dinella, Lucille Ladden, Carol Laun, Sally Markey, Patty Sansone and Ginny Wutka. The summer and fall will find us back at work in the Preservation Barn storing the Collection in the Textile Storage Room.
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Kylee: “I learned about toys and the yoke and how to make waffles, toast or bread. My favorite part about the trip was when we wrote with quills. I’ve never done it before and I never knew it was so hard!” Katarina: “Boys get in trouble when they stick girls’ hair in ink!” Aaron: “I never knew that they had gym which is a pull-up bar for the boys.” Ashlyn: “I learned people trade food for supplies instead of money.” Troy: “I learned how to catch a ring with a stick.” Jack: “I thank you for letting us go to the old house and the floor was creaky.” Laurent: “The coffin door is for getting coffins in and out.”
Lauren: “Their beds are made of feathers! And I learned they make candles for light.” Kayla: “I learned that the family had 11 children and I did not know that.” Bennett: “Also I liked when I saw the biggest dictionary I had ever seen! The kids must have learned a lot!” Jason: “If boys put girls’ pony tails in ink, they had to sit in a backwards timeout chair.” Anna: “My favorite part was when I got to spin the hoop with a stick. It was hard.” James: “I also learned about the blacksmith, that he makes nails.”
Ryan: “My favorite memory was we saw the tiniest book in the town of Granby.” Kaitlyn: “I learned that people used to catch and make their own food like pigs, cows and fruit from a garden.” Katharine: “I learned girls and boys had to go in different doors to get into the room where they had school!” Jacob: “My favorite memory is the outside game station.” Connor: “I liked going down the narrow steps in the house.” Alexa: “My favorite game was toss the hoop.” Matt: “I like the tobacco barn with the huge wheel.”
Ashley: “I thought the tobacco was cool.” Tyler: “It was funny when Troy went into the Dunce chair.” Alexandra: “I went to school and sat in an old desk.” Troy: “I also liked the games. My favorite game was the ring toss.” Liam: “My favorite part was looking at the cool arrowheads. It was one of the best field trips ever!!” Claire: “At recess I dipped a feather in ink. Then I made a heart – it was fun.”
Kate: “You did an excellent job on everything, but I like the school the best.” Haley: “I loved when I got hit by the ruler.” Madelyn: “I like the loud bell in the barn.” Ryan: “My favorite part was the school because they had different size desks. I like the potty chair because it looked like a regular chair.” Ryan: “I hope to return soon with my family.” Katelyn: “I liked playing hoop when you had to roll it with the stick.” Steven: “I learned how they voted and I learned how old the house was, 1732. I learned that tobacco could make farmers rich.” Natalie: “The voting machine was cool. The potty chair was gross.” Joshua: “I liked the red dancing shoes. I liked the big sled.” Will: “The last thing I liked was seeing the potty chair.”
Letters from the 2nd GradersAfter the 2nd graders from
Kearns School toured the historical society, they wrote thank- you letters to the guides. Most of the children mentioned writing with a quill pen and ink, the one room school and playing with toys like hoops, tops, ball in a cup, jump rope and ring toss.
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The 2012 Annual Meeting
A fine time was had by all!
(Story continued on page
(Story continued from page 1)Although the subject matter might have been sobering, the cast was superb.
The Society would like to thank Granby’s Kelly Lane School teacher Jim Whitten, who portrayed Col. Richard E. Holcomb. And the Middle School and Kelly Lane students who appeared: Haley Carney as Mary Holcomb Loomis; Brianna Carney as Addie Holcomb; Owen Plourde as Henry Lee; D. J. Rodriguez and Tristin Courtemanche as Lewis Holcomb and Alek Morawiec as Leland Barlow. The Society would also like to thank our student greeter Amanda Courtemanche; Kate Bernard who found the actors, rehearsal place and costumes; Peter Dinella who put all the old photos together on a CD; Bill Ross for the sound equipment and manning the projector; Carol Laun for selecting from the archives the diaries, stories, and photos presented; and Kelly Lane School (for rehearsal place, actors and costumes). And both lectures were generously hosted by Holcomb Farm.Our third planned lecture will now be part of next Spring’s series as we continue to explore Civil War topics. So our final thank-you is to all of you who attended. We look forward to seeing you next year.
SBHS Participates in Granby’s Memorial
Day Parade
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Jim Holcombe of Atlanta, the keeper of the Holcombe website, sent two books with the 1940 Granby Census. Our library has photocopies
of the Granby census from 1790 to 1940.The Maltbie family donated a black buggy from the late 1800s.
It was like the Model T in horse and buggy days – nearly every family had one. The wheels and upholstery need some repair and the folding top is
missing. Bill Haslun was instrumental in obtaining this gift for the Society. The Maltbies also gave a Bermuda Bell from the 1940s, a bicycle lamp and a framed photo of a man with a long white beard, driving a similar horse
and buggy. A wonderful selection of books came in from Marj Davis, for the
Library or the Flea Market. We kept “The History of the Indians of Connecticut” from 1859, “Connecticut Researcher’s Handbook” and “This
Was Connecticut,” a book of photographs. Ruth Weston brought in an interesting quilt, which you will hear more about in future newsletters.
Ann Picard again donated a treasure trove of items once owned by her grandmother, Louisa (Buttles) Segar and her family. There were
kitchenware items – enamelware bowl and ladle with strainer, two scoops, a tin skimmer, a homemade tin biscuit cutter, a large strainer, corkscrew
and three metal pans in graduated sizes. Also a hay bale hook and a Frary’s Improved Spring Balance
scale, a metal lunch box and a school chalk eraser, several puzzles, a pattern from the Ladies’ Home Journal for a boy’s coat, a 1915
dressmaker’s ruler and a pincushion made from a cloven hoof, several small boxes, early sunglasses in a case, a pocket warmer and a cigarette case and
lighter.There were also some archival items from the Picard donation –
four cookbooks, including a Ration cookbook from WWII, a Shaker medical booklet, two booklets on needlework and a WWI humor book.
Most of these items, and more, will be displayed in the Preservation Barn for our 2012 Summer Exhibit called Recent Donations.
Come in any Sunday from 2 to 4 pm (except Labor Day weekend) to see the exhibit. It will also include many toys given during the past year.
On another topic, I would like to thank everyone who sent flowers, cards, e-mails and called to offer help, after my recent emergency surgery and hospitalization. Your thoughts, prayers and good wishes were
much appreciated. I am recovering well and feeling fine.
Recent Donations to the Society
by Carol Laun,
Archivist and Acting Curator
Generous donors continue to add treasures to our library and collections. Bill Haslun donated eight Granby postcards from 1914, framed. We have it on display in the Preservation Barn entry with a note that these cards are for sale in our Museum Store for $5 each.
Karin Peterson, Director of New-Gate Prison, visited to study and copy some of our original New-Gate documents. In return, she donated some original New-Gate tickets and brochures, which were duplicates from the New-Gate collection.
A beautifully framed Lincoln print was given by Ruth Robinson. Fred Griffin donated a piece of Hartford’s original wood water pipe. Clyde Grindal donated some very early English coins and other artifacts discovered in Granby with his metal detector. Kirk Severance brought in a banner from our Bicentennial in 1986. A lovely early creamer was rescued from the Flea Market. Gemma Baker donated an early sugar bowl and lovely large basket.
The Salmon Brook Historical SocietyPO Box 840Granby, Connecticut 06035
June 2012 Edition•SBHS Newsletter Publishing Committee:Leila Hawken, Bob Schrepf•Layout: Ken Kuhl•Photography: Peter Dinella, Ken Kuhl
Calendar of Events Summer Tours Sundays, 2-4
(Except Labor Day Weekend)
Gas Engine & Tractor Show Oct. 6Fall Flea Market Oct. 20House Tour Dec. 1Wassail Party Dec. 2
