Cavendish Update 1/21/11 News/Events/Shakespeare/Civil War

The 1/21/11 Cavendish Update Contains:
1. Cavendish and Related News
2. Shakespeare Weekend in Proctorsville
3. Gary Grant Kicks Off Black & White Film Series
4. Civil War Sesquicentennial: Cavendish Civil War Nurse
5. Cavendish Events 1/22-1/29/11

1. Cavendish and Related News
Glimmer of Hope in State’s Financial Future: Gov. Shumlin’s and the Legislature’s economists report weak, but visible evidence that Vermont and the nation are beginning to emerge from the Great Recession. Burlington Free Press

VT Drops Fight over Religious License Plate: The state of Vermont has ended a years-long legal dispute with a man who has been fighting for the right to display a reference to one of the Bible's most famous passages on a vanity plate. The state won't ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a federal appeals court decision that said Shawn Byrne of West Rutland must be given the license plate "JN36TN," a reference to John 3:16. Burlington Free Press

VT State Police to Enforce Scrap Metal Laws: Due to an increase in the thefts of catalytic converters and copper, Vermont State Police say they intend to enforce the laws on scrap metal processors and salvage yards accepting the parts and material. Burlington Free Press

VT Fish and Wild Life Seeking Bat Information: VT’s Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking people to report any unusual bat activity this winter. It's part of an effort to study the spread of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated bat populations in the northeastern United States. Citizens are asked to report their observations on-line by visiting the department’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com) and click on Report Sick-acting Bats. Those without internet access, can call 802-786-0055. Press Release

Gill Home administrator suspended and fined
The state has issued a five-year suspension and $5, 000 fine to Gill Home Nursing home administrator Leslie Whittington for unprofessional conduct. In a 28-page decision, http://www.vtprofessionals.org/opr1/oprdocs/all/2008-119.pdf dated Monday and posted to the Secretary of State’s website Friday, the Office of Professional Regulation found that Whittington of the Gill Odd Fellows Home operated outside the scope of her practice, created a hostile work environment, interfered with good nursing care and committed general breach of her duties. Rutland Herald

2. Shakespeare Weekend in Proctorsville: Jamie Ward, New York actor, teacher and lover of Shakespeare is returning to Proctorsville in March to lead a "Playing With Shakespeare" weekend . Last April he led a group of twenty enthusiastic community members through a lively, educational, humorous and fun-filled weekend that culminated in an evening performance of skits, monologues and music. His freewheeling style of teaching has made him popular with school and community groups that learn to appreciate the richness of Shakespeare's language through theater games, music and improvisation.

The weekend is made possible by a generous grant from the Cavendish Community Fund.

The workshop will take place at Gethsemane Episcopal Church on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, March 19-20, with an evening program on the 20th. In order to participate you'll need a sense of humor, willingness to play with language, and desire to learn about Shakespeare's work. No one need be a master of Shakespeare, little or no memorization is required. Anyone age twelve and up may join, but space is limited to twenty participants.

For more information or to sign up call Mary McCallum at 226-7497 or email marmac@tds.net.

3. Gary Grant Kicks Off Black & White Film Series
Arsenic and Old Lace, a fast-paced comedy directed by Frank Capra and starring Cary Grant, will be the first in the line-up of films of the winter Black & White Nights Film Series in Cavendish. In this 1941 classic, Grant plays Mortimer Brewster, a writer and theater critic who discovers that his two maiden aunts have a secret line of charitable work that they run out of his boyhood home in Brooklyn: they invite lonely old gents over for homemade elderberry wine. What they don't tell him is that they lace it with arsenic as a way of ending the unsuspecting men's loneliness and then bury the bodies in the cellar.

Adapted from a successful Broadway play, Arsenic and Old Lace brings to the screen two other Hollywood greats, Peter Lorre and Raymond Massey. Frank Capra's film was released in 1944 at a time when the American public welcomed comic relief after three years involvement in World War II. Considered a dark comedy in that era, the film is nonviolent by today's standards and gives us a glimpse of a grand old Hollywood filmmaking style that is long gone.

Arsenic and Old Lace will be shown on Friday January 28 at 7:00 at Cavendish Elementary School on Route 131 in Proctorsville. Films are free and refreshments will be available.

4. Civil War Sesquicentennial: Cavendish Civil War Nurse
Born Eliza Atherton in Auburn, NY, Lizzie Aiken moved to Cavendish in 1826 at the age of nine. She came to live at her paternal grandfather’s, Jonathan Atherton, farm.. When Lizzie was 16, her mother became ill and she spent the next four years caring for her family. When her mother’s health improved, she attended the New England Academy in Cavendish for one term.

At the age of 20, she married Cyrus Aiken and they relocated to Illinois. Tragedy struck when she lost all of her sons to cholera, which was followed by the death of her sister from the same disease. Not long after, her home was destroyed by lighting. When her husband became ill, and her father died, she became a domestic nurse to help defray expenses and to support her mother, who was still in Cavendish.

With the onset of the Civil War, Lizzie nursed soldiers in the sick tents near Peoria, Il. In Nov. 1861, Aiken accompanied the 6th Illinois Cavalry to Shwaneetown on the Ohio River. Her comfort and care resulted in the nickname “Aunt Lizzie.” At first she worked for no pay but eventually received $12 per month from the army.

In 1862, she wrote a friend, “Twenty four nights in succession I have sat up until three in the morning dealing out medicine. I cannot think of leaving these poor fellows if there is any chance of their living. Dr. Niglas tells me I have saved the lives of over 400 men. I am afraid I hardly deserve that compliment. I cannot tell you how well this work suits this restless heart of mine.”

In 1864, the ladies of the Peoria Loyal League raised the money so she could visit her mother in Cavendish for three weeks. With the end of the war, Aunt Lizzie was sick and returned to Peoria where she was nursed back to health. In 1867, she joined the Second Baptist Church and worked as missionary until her death in January 1906. She was 88 years old.

5. Cavendish Events 1/22-1/29/11
January 22 (Saturday): Drawing in Perspective class with Donald Hofer at the Fletcher Farm School. Classes are half price to Cavendish residents. FMI: 228-8770 or fletcherfarm.org/schedule.asp
• Knit a pair of mittens at Six Loose Ladies, 11;30-2:30 pm. Learn the basics of knitting a pair of mittens including shaping a thumb gusset with right and left leaning increases. Finish the top of your mitten by learning right and left decreases. Instructor: Perry Hudkins. FAVT members $30, non members $35. FMI: 802-226-7373 or SixLooseLadies.com.

January 23 (Sunday): Drawing in Perspective class with Donald Hofer at the Fletcher Farm School. Classes are half price to Cavendish residents. FMI: 228-8770 or fletcherfarm.org/schedule.asp

January 24 (Monday): Last day to file petitions for elected Town office positions. All petitions must be submitted to the Town Clerk by 5 pm.
• Schools Closed for District Inservice

January 25 (Tuesday): Fletcher Library in Ludlow will be screening the documentary Vermont Resettlement Program. 7 Pm in the Community Room
• Bone Builders Class at the Cavendish Baptist-- Class from 10:15-11:45. FMI: Linda at Green Mountain RSVP & Volunteer Center of Windsor County at (802) 885-2083, or Anne Oakes or Andrew Ohotnicky at (802) 228-5236, or Dot Ramsdell at (802) 226-7870

January 27 (Thursday): Bone Builders Class at the Cavendish Baptist-- Class from 10:15-11:45. FMI: Linda at Green Mountain RSVP & Volunteer Center of Windsor County at (802) 885-2083, or Anne Oakes or Andrew Ohotnicky at (802) 228-5236, or Dot Ramsdell at (802) 226-7870
• Sit & Knit" at the Six Loose Ladies yarn shop, Pollard Building, Proctorsville Green, 2:00 -9:00 PM. Open to knitters, spinners, crocheters, hookers. Free. FMI: 226-7373

January 28 (Friday): The Black & White Film Series returns with Arsenic and Old Lace. The film will be shown at 7 pm at the Cavendish Elementary School on Route 131 in Proctorsville. Films are free. Refreshments will be available.

January 29 (Saturday): Rigid Heddle Weaving Class at Six Loose Ladies, 9-4. Weave a scarf while learning the fundamentals of rigid heddle weaving. A rigid heddle loom is a simple loom with alternating slots and holes through which a warp is threaded so it can be woven into cloth. The looms are foldable, affordable and easy to use. It is easily portable even with weaving in place. Looms are available at Six Loose Ladies. Instructor: Phyllis Bont. Materials needed: 600 yards of either Cascade 220 or Brown Sheep Nature Spun. FAVT members $50, non members $55 (no cost if purchasing g a loom from SLL). FMI: 802-226-7373 or visit SixLooseLadies.com.