Cavendish Update 2/25/11 Town Meeting/News/250th

The 2/25/11 Cavendish Update Contains the Following:
1. Annual Town Meeting Feb. 28 and March 1
2. Cavendish Related News
3. Cavendish Semiquincentennial: First Settlers
4. Cavendish Events 2/25/11-3/1/11

1. Annual Town Meeting Feb. 28 and March 1
Town meeting will take place on Monday, March 28, 7 pm at the Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) in Proctorsville. The Town School Meeting will be conducted first, followed by Town Meeting.

Voting for the school budget will take place on March 1 at CTES. The polls open at 10 am and close at 7 pm. The proposed School budget for FY 2011-2012 is $1,749,085. This reflects a decrease of approximately $30,000 from the FY 10-11 budget, which was $1,779,020.

The Town budget will be voted on at the meeting Monday night. The budget for FY 2011-2012, as proposed by the selectmen, is $1,172,775, which is an increase of close to $20,000 over the 10-11 budget.

On Tuesday, March 1, in addition to the school budget, voting will also include officials to fill town, school and library positions. Nearly all candidates are running unopposed, with the exception of the one-year term for selectmen. Dan Churchill, Edward (Ed) Garrow Jr, Peter Gregg and Scott Ranney are running for two available positions. The following positions have no one registered: Town Agent; Trustee of Public Funds (3 years); Auditor (2 years); Auditor (3 years); and Library Trustee (5 years). A sample ballot is on the last page of this year’s Town Report.

2. Cavendish Related News
Census Estimates 1 in 4 US Counties are Dying: Roughly 760 of the nation's 3,142 counties are fading away, stretching from industrial areas near Pittsburgh and Cleveland to the vineyards outside San Francisco to the rural areas of east Texas and the Great Plains. Once-booming housing areas, such as retirement communities in Florida, have not been immune. West Virginia was the first to experience natural decrease statewide over the last decade, with Maine, Pennsylvania and Vermont close to following suit, according to the latest census figures. As a nation, the U.S. population grew by just 9.7 percent since 2000, the lowest decennial rate since the Great Depression. Common threads among the dying counties are older whites who are no longer having children, and an exodus of young adults who find little promise in the region and seek jobs elsewhere.

Amtrak Slams Vermont Rail Service: The Vermont Agency of Transportation has launched an investigation into Vermont Rail Systems. Vermont Rail Systems maintains the tracks between Rutland and Whitehall, N.Y., which are used by Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express. Amtrak just ranked Vermont Rail Systems as the worst host railroad in the nation for Amtrak passenger service, arguing the on-time arrival of the Ethan Allen Express train is often below 30 percent because of problems with that stretch of track. WCAX

3. Cavendish Semiquincentennial: First Settlers
Below are two accounts of the first settlers in Cavendish:

The first actual settlement in Cavendish was made in June, 1769, when Captain John Coffin located and built a dwelling in the northern part of the town. His hospitable residence during the Revolution afforded thousands of American soldiers shelter and refreshment while passing from Charlestown, NH, to the military posts on Lake Champlain. IN the northwestern part of the town was another stopping place, known as the Twenty-Mile Encampment. Captain Coffin gained his title during the Revolutionary war, being connected with the militia.

The first settlers of Cavendish were mostly from Massachusetts, and in 1771 Noadiah Russell and Thomas Gilbert joined Captain Coffin, sharing with him the hardships and privations attendant on frontier life. The grinding of a grist of corn involved a journey of sixty miles in those days.

The first deed, recorded March 21, 1781, was from Jesse Reed of Lunenburg, Mass, one of the original patentees, to John Coffin. Ebenezer and John Stone and John Russell settled in the town in 1781. …. As seen by the following in the town in early years grew rapidly in population, but has fallen off in this respect in later years 1791 (491 people); 1800 (921); 1830 (1,498); 1850 (1,576) 1870 (1,823), 1880 (1,276). Note that the 2010 Census has a census of 1,367 people. History of Windsor County, Vermont edited by Lewis Cass Aldrich, Frank R. Holmes 1891

On the 10th day of June, 1770 (although some authorities say it was 1769) John Coffeen, with his family, consisting of his wife, eight children, two hired men, )help was plentier than than now), two oxen, two horses and a cow, together with some household effects, arrived in Cavendish and located on what is now E. I. Heald’s farm, on the lot still called the “Coffeen pasture.” The old cellar-hole is still in existence where his first domicile is supposed to have stood. It was some time later that he moved up higher on the hill, nearer the “Ticonderoga Road” to substantially the place where Chas. S. Parker’s house now stands on what is known as the “Gilsonfarm.”

We are told that, owing to high water in the Connecticut river when he arrived at Charlestown, he was compelled to wait some three weeks for the water to subside, but I can not believe that there was a drouth there even then, and I have been much perplexed as to how Coffeen got that wife and eight children across the river. …

For something more than a year Coffeen had no neighbors in town, his nearest neighbors, I think were a family named “Spofford” living near “Greenbush” in Weathersfield, some eight miles distant. It is said that Coffeen, in later years, when joking his wife, who by the way was of very plain features, used to say that “although she was not handsome, still she was once the handsomest woman in town.”

The following year after Coffeen’s coming, Noahdiah Russell settled on what is now known as the “Richard Russell farm” and Thomas Gilbert located on the “Elwin Taylor farm” near Weathersfield line. This brought neighbors within about four and six miles from Coffeen towards Charlestown and life began to be quite social.” “The 150th Anniversary Celebration of Cavendish,” by Chas. R. Cummings; “The Vermonter August-September 1912.

4. Cavendish Events 2/25-3/1/11
February 25 (Friday): School Closed for Winter Recess
• Black and White Film Series, All About Eve, 7 pm at the Cavendish Elementary School in Proctorsville. There are refreshments on hand and the evening is free, though donations are always welcome. In view of the weather, please call 226-7497 to see if this event will take place

February 26 (Saturday): Cavendish Green Mountain Snow Fleas Group Ride 10-4 . FMI: http://cavendishsnowfleas.com/

February 28 (Monday): Town Meeting Day. See Article 1

March 1 (Tuesday): Voting for School Budget and Elected Officials. 10-7 at the Cavendish Town Elementary School in Proctorsville. See Article 1.