Cavendish Update 5/27/11 News/Events/Cemeteries

The 5/27/11 Cavendish Update Contains
1. Cavendish Related News
2. Cavendish Old Home Day: Booth Space/Activities
3. Family Fun Run and Walk in Proctorsville, VT
4. Memorial Weekend: Cleaning Grave Stones
5. Cavendish Semiquincentennial: Cavendish Cemeteries
6. Cavendish Events 5/27-5/31

1. Cavendish Related News
Vermont Wants to Regulate Internet Phone Calls: Vermont is at the vanguard of states trying to regulate phone calls carried over the Internet. State regulation would first target a popular digital phone service sold by Comcast Cable. VPR

Chester Struggles During Bridge Repairs; The Route 103 bridge repairs are under way and local businesses say they are feeling the pinch in their bottom lines. Rutland Herald

Shumlin Signs Renewable Energy Bill: The new law will: Strengthen the Clean Energy Development Fund. This solar project benefited from both a grant and a low interest loan from the fund; Improve the net metering program. The bill makes it easier for Vermonters to group together to capture the benefits of clean energy with net metering and doubling the cap and size of allowed net meter systems; Requires Efficiency Vermont and the Department of Public Service to create an incentive for biomass heating systems; Expands efficiency measures by, for example, requiring each electric utility to put in a rate schedule for efficient street lighting for communities; Strengthen and update the PACE program – Vermont’s Property Assessed Clean Energy districts (PACE) Program, which allows homeowners to finance clean energy and efficiency over time – so that the upfront costs are less daunting and the payoff better realized.; Move the CEDF under the purview of the Department of Public Service; provide bridge funding for CEDF programs though an innovative grant in-lieu of tax credit program that should cause almost $3million dollars to be invested into growing jobs in our green energy sector this year, and more. Press Release

Face of VT Families is Changing Census Shows: In six of Vermont’s 14 counties, the percentage of households with seniors present is greater than the share with children present. Across the state, the number of husband-wife families living with their children fell almost 20 percent, plummeting from almost 56,000 in 2000 to just over 45,000 last year. Vermont is graying, even more so than the rest of the nation, due to a low birth rate, a relatively modest number of young people moving in and the aging of the Baby Boomer population. Only Maine has a higher median age than Vermont’s, which has reached 41.5. Burlington Free Press

Shumlin Signs Historic Health Care Reform Bill: Gov. Peter Shumlin has signed into law a bill designed to control escalating health care costs, expand quality coverage to more Vermonters and set the state on the path to crafting the first single payer insurance system in the nation. The new law lays out three tasks: immediate efforts to control health care costs, creation of a Health Insurance Exchange, and detailed planning to implement a single payer. The new board, which will be appointed and in place by October, will work with health care providers to move away from fee-for-service medicine, put them on a sustainable budget, reward them for efficiency and for keeping people healthy, and reduce administrative burden and waste. In addition, Vermont will create a health insurance Exchange to vastly simplify insurance purchasing for all Vermonters, regardless of how we pay for it. Finally, the law requires detailed planning for a single payer health care system, which will maximize savings and take health insurance off the backs of employers Press Release

2. Cavendish Old Home Day: Booth Space/Activities
July 2 is Cavendish Old Home Day, which will be a special event as it kicks off the town’s celebration of its 250th anniversary. Free booth space on the Cavendish Green is available to residents, second homeowners, local businesses and those organizations that serve the town. If you are interested in booth space, please e-mail margoc@tds.net or call 802-226-7807. We do have a special area for children and invite budding craftsmen and artists.

This year, in addition to the annual plant sale in front of the Museum, the Cavendish Historical Society CHS) will have on display at the Museum, an historic timeline of Cavendish’s history. Starting with the opening of the Cavendish Green activities at 9:30, there will be a silent auction until 12:45. At 1 pm there will be a live auction. Both of these events benefit CHS.
Many vendors will be returning, including Moonlite Meadows grass fed beef and lamb, and the Cavendish Fire Department’s Chicken BBQ.

You can follow along on the preparations for Old Home Day, as well as Cavendish 250th Anniversary activities at the Cavendish Vermont Facebook page FMI: margoc@tds.net 802-226-7807

3. Family Fun Run and Walk in Proctorsville, VT
Stepping Stones Preschool's first Family Fun Run will begin at 9:00 am on June 11 at Greven Field in Proctorsville, VT. Registration opens at 8:00am. In addition to the 5K walk and run, there will also be door prizes and many children's activities – including an obstacle course, bounce house, face painting and free books! Stepping Stones is a non-profit preschool serving families in Cavendish, Ludlow and surrounding communities. All proceeds from this event will benefit the school's playground improvement project. The registration fee for adults is $20 and for children is $5. To register, call Lori at (603) 401-8123 or Stepping Stones at (802) 226-7760. More information and registration forms are available at www.SteppingStonesVT.com.

4. Memorial Weekend: Cleaning Grave Stones
With the arrival of Memorial Day, many families lay a wreath or set up flowers to remember loved ones. This year, clean the gravestone before you put your flowers on it. Both Hillcrest and Cavendish High Street Cemeteries have running water. The following simple tips can be followed by anyone interested in cleaning a gravestone.
- Do no harm. Don’t do anything that will remove or damage the original surface of the stone.
- Start from the bottom up and work up, as this avoids streaking.
- Keep the stone very wet.
- Use a soft brush (nylon or natural)-do not use wire brushes. Brush in a random circular motion. Clean with fresh water as you go. Test a small patch at the bottom of the stone to make sure you wont damage the stone.
- For lichen-soak with water and scrape with a wooden or plastic scraper (no metal)
- Lots and lots of water. Hoses are fine, but no power washing.
- NO BLEACH Stones are composed of minerals and salts. Adding bleach or other corrosive solvents may make the stone look white, but will shorten the life of the marker considerably. You can get a lot done with just water. If you want to use a cleaner, use a non-ionic one.
- If you are cleaning a modern stone, check with the company for cleaning instructions.

CHS’s “Monument Cleaning” handout is available at the Cavendish Library, the Cavendish Historical Society Museum in Cavendish, at the Cavendish Town Office and PDF file by e-mailing margoc@tds.net
If you would like more information about caring for gravestones, contact the Cavendish Historical Society margoc@tds.net or 802-226-7807.

5. Cavendish Semiquincentennial: Cavendish Cemeteries
Below is information about the Cavendish cemeteries, which the town maintains:

Coffeen (S. Reading Road): Not long after John Coffeen settled in Cavendish, he and his wife set out for Charlestown, NH for supplies and grinding their grist. Due to a snowstorm, the parents did not return for six weeks. During this time, one of the Coffeen children became ill and died. The other children kept the body in the house until the parent’s return, at which time, due to heavy snow, the body was buried across the road from the house. Coffeen decided that this would be the family’s cemetery. Coffeens, Baldwins and at least four Revolutionary soldiers are buried there.

Old Revolutionary Cemetery (off of Brook Rd): 1778- The earliest burial in town was that of Henry Proctor in the Old Revolutionary Cemetery, located off of Brook Rd in Cavendish. The 1760 Crown Point Road passes to the right (north) of this cemetery.

Cavendish Cemetery (High Street): 1790- First burial in the Cavendish Village cemetery on High Street. The land originally belonged to Salmon Dutton, but the town bought the land from several local people.

Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery: 1793-Samuel Hutchinson Sr, who gave the land for The Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery in Proctorsville, buried the first person there, his wife Abigail.

Pest Cemetery: 1811-1815-Spotted fever epidemic. Many of the early settlers died, particularly the young and the old. The Pesthouse Cemetery, located on the upper end of Town-Farm Road was a place to bury those who died from contagious disease such as small pox. The only marker in this cemetery is for Jotham Wheelock b 8-26-1763 d 4-27-1831.

Mt. Union Cemetery (Center Road): 1805-First burial occurs. The land was obtained from several local citizens.

Proctor Cemetery (Main Street Proctorsville): 1816-First burial occurs. The land was donated by the Proctors and contains the graves of this family.

Hillcrest Cemetery (Proctorsville, off of 103 on Bailey Hill RD): 1828-First Burial. The land was obtained from the Proctors. The tomb was built in 1897. Just before entering the Hillcrest Cemetery, there used to be a “potter’s field.” During the Depression (1930’s), this area was plowed and used for planting potatoes. Only three graves remain in this area of the cemetery.

For information about who is buried in Cavendish cemeteries, the Cavendish Historical Society’s Cemeteries of Cavendish: 1776-1976 Bicentennial Project is available for sale at the Cavendish Town Office and at the Museum. It can also be ordered by sending a check to CHS for $5 to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish VT 05142.

6. Cavendish Events 5/27-5/31
May 27 (Friday): Ludlow Farmer’s Market Opens. On the campus of Okemo Mountain School, 53 Main Street, 4-7 pm FMI: www.ludlowfarmersmarket.org

May 28 (Saturday): Vermont Open Studio Weekend. Visit the studios of Vermont artists. Six Loose Ladies and Fletcher Farm will both be on the tour. For a full list of participating artists, go to vermontcrafts.com or call 802/223-3380

May 29 (Sunday): Introduction to Knitting Class, 1-3 pm at Six Loose Ladies in Proctorsville. Learn the basic of casting on and the knit stitch. Materials needed: any size needles and some yarn, if you don't have any the instructor can supply you with some for the lesson. Instructor: Perry Hudkins. Free FMI 802-226-7373 or visit www.fiberartsinvermont.org
• Vermont Open Studio Weekend. Visit the studios of Vermont artists. Six Loose Ladies and Fletcher Farm will both be on the tour. For a full list of participating artists, go to vermontcrafts.com or call 802/223-3380
• From 4-5 Facilitated Meditation - Opening the Heart - call Robin for more information at 226-7736

May 30 (Monday): Memorial Day. Holiday. Town Office, Schools, Library and Banks Closed

May 31 (Tuesday): Memorial Day Program at CTES 10:30 am. The parade will start at 10:45 at the town’s highway department building and will proceed to the Cavendish Cemetery on High Street.
• 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
• Calvary Church, Route 103, Prayer service for global, national, state, community, church, and personal needs! While it starts at 7pm and ends at 8pm, folks are welcome to come and go as they please. FMI: 226-7607