Vermonters on Vacation: When the leisure industry was young

August is traditionally vacation month, but many of us will not be traveling this year. The following article explores how Vermonters of the 19th and early 20th centuries traveled to places far and near and is based on the archival collections found in the Sheldon Museum’s Stewart-Swift Research Center. ———— “Are your vacation plans complete?” asks the “1929 Guide to Select Hotels and Motor Routes, The Adirondacks, New England and Quebec.” These days, probably not, since few of us will be going anywhere. Fo … (read more)

In early May, the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History invited people to share their personal stories, pictures, and video clips of how they are dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Students from Brandon answered the call. Neshobe Elementary School art … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Braeden James Waldie — 6th grade I am in sixth grade and would normally be caught up in field trips, p … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Solon Jude Berry-Barrett — Age 9 Because of social distancing I had to do school time at home. The sch … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Rylee Hall — Age 8 Since I have been staying home all the time I have a lot of free time and it was re … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Jordan Hemple — Grade 4 I have been in a quarantine so I have been doing school work from home. I have … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Jacob Therrien — Age 7   My name is Jacob. I am 7 years old. During this time in my life I have been g … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Sienna Many   What has changed for me is without a desk at school we had to come up with a new workspa … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Sigourney Brodowski — Age 7 This picture shows me and a mural on the wall of our porch. I designed it … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Odin Waldie (Braeden’s little brother) I am 7 years old and I have gone to Leicester School for three … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories and photos by Neshobe Elementary School students in reaction to their spring spent distance learning. Silas Waldie (Braeden’s other little brother) I just turned 6 and finished kindergarten at home becaus … (read more)

MIDDLEBURY — It’s picnic season in Vermont, and Middlebury’s Sheldon Museum of Vermont History is raffling seven picnic baskets painted by local artists. The museum’s annual Picnic Basket Raffle fundraiser traditionally takes place at its popular Independ … (read more)

Of the various reform causes that Addison County women supported in the first half of the nineteenth century, there was one that became almost solely a women’s cause. Though moral reform is little known today, compared to temperance and antislavery, it wa … (read more)

Deborah Clifford had a passionate interest in 19th Century American history and, soon after she and her family moved to Cornwall in 1966, she began graduate study of Vermont history at UVM with Professor Sam Hand. She quickly became an enthusiastic and ti … (read more)

Jessica Stewart was born a child of privilege in Middlebury and used that privilege to greatly enrich her home community. In her long life she brought together some of the most prominent family lineages in Middlebury history — Seymours, Battells, Stewarts … (read more)