Click on the links below to see video recordings of the meetings.

2024

Sugar-on-Snow at the Calais Town Hall Monday, March 18

Join the Calais and East Montpelier Historical Societies for sugar-on-snow, a potluck and speaker Henry Marckres, retired Vermont Agriculture maple specialist, on Monday, March 18.  Potluck at 6:00 p.m., sugar-on-snow and discussion with Henry after the potluck. Come for all or part of the evening, Calais Town Hall, 1662 Kent Hill Road, Calais. For the potluck, please bring your own plates and utensils. Coffee, tea – and snow, maple syrup, pickles, and donuts – will be provided. Donations will be accepted to help cover the cost. For over 30 years, Henry Marckres was the “go to” person for maple syrup related questions at the Vermont Agriculture Department with the title of Consumer Protection Chief/Maple Specialist. Henry promoted best practices to keep maple the premier product of Vermont. Internationally recognized, Henry is considered one of the world’s leading maple experts, and he was raised right here in Vermont. Bring your questions about maple:  Why was the maple syrup grading system changed? Does maple syrup flavor vary among states and Canada? How is the flavor protected from “off flavors” from packaging containers? What is the future of sugaring in Vermont?

2023

Full Season’s schedule chart below.

Our November program is being shared with the Women’s Group of the Unitarian Church in Montpelier which has restored its spaces after the flood.  We will all host Linda Radtke who will share her program from the VT Humanities Council called “Songs of the Suffragettes.”  It will be on Monday, November 20 on the main floor of the Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier.  Ground floor access from School Street.  All are welcome, and donations will be happily accepted to help defray the cost of the program.

The E. Montpelier and Calais Historical Societies will meet on Monday, October 16, at 6:00 p.m. in the Old Brick Church in E. Montpelier Village just off Rte. 14.  We will have a potluck supper.  Please bring your own place setting and a dish to share.  Beverages will be provided.  Our program will be Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, well known Times Argus photographer, sharing a series of his images.   It will start by 7:00 p.m. We don’t know if there will be a special theme to his talk.  Business meetings will take place after the program to consider officers, etc. for 2024.  Bring ideas for next year’s programs as well.  This event is free and open to the public and is easily accessible.

The Robinson Sawmill group is hosting an intriguing talk about the Hurricane of ’38 by Steven Long.  It will be on Saturday, September 9, from 12-3 at the Maple Corner Community Center.  I would suggest contacting Reed Cherington rcher@sover.net  for details and possibly to RSVP.

We are collaborating with the Williamstown Historical Society to offer an evening program (no potluck dinner) on Friday, August 18, at 7:00 p.m. at the Old Brick Church in East Montpelier Village.  We will be hosting Carleton Young, the author of a well-researched book called Voices in the Attic: The Williamstown Boys in the Civil War.  A summary of how he came to write this book is below.  All are welcome to attend.  To help defray expenses for the evening, donations will be gratefully received.  Carleton will speak and show some images to share his story.  Please reply just to sandal.cate@gmail.com for any questions.  We hope to see you there!

CANCELLED Monday, July 17, 5:00 p.m. Old West Church – The E. Montpelier and Calais Historical Societies will meet at the Old West Church for a brown bag picnic followed by a discussion and tour of the Calais Poor Farm house and nearby Town Forest.  Bring a lawn chair and walking shoes suggested.  Rainy weather alternative will be shared if needed via email/FPF, though we will be able to assemble in the Old West Church as needed.  This is free and open to the public.

Jul 22, 2023, 12 to 2:30 PM  Town Hall in Gospel Hollow

The Robinson Sawmill’s Annual Meeting will take place on Saturday, July 22 at the Town Hall. The meeting gets underway at noon with food, followed by a report on activity at the mill and the election of a new member of the Board of Trustees. We will then have a presentation by Stephen Long of Corinth, Vermont about his book Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane that Transformed New England.

A hurricane will never surprise us again. But that’s what happened to the people of New England on September 21, 1938. Without any warning, the most destructive weather event ever to hit the Northeast pummeled the coast and blasted its way to Vermont and New Hampshire with torrential rain, flooding, and sustained winds of 100 miles per hour.

 In his book Mr. Long tells the story of New England’s equivalent to “Katrina”. A journalist and co-founder of Northern Woodlands magazine, Long focuses on the devastation to the region’s forests and the daunting challenge facing New Englanders still in the throes of the Great Depression. His presentation is richly illustrated with archival photos of storm damage and the unprecedented recovery operation.

Long is the former editor and publisher of Northern Woodlands magazine and has been a Charles Bullard Fellow at Harvard Forest. Originally trained as a journalist and writer, he developed expertise in forestry, silviculture, conservation policy, and the natural history of New England after moving to Vermont in 1989. He founded the magazine Vermont Woodlands in 1994, which quickly grew and became Northern Woodlands, covering New York and New England. Long served as both an editor and contributor for seventeen years, before leaving to pursue his own research and writing. He is the author of More Than a Woodlot: Getting the Most from Your Family Forest. He lives in Corinth, VT.

The meeting is at the Town Hall as opposed to the mill as Mr. Long will be displaying PowerPoint slides as part of his presentation and to do so he will need electric power, which is absent at the mill!

The public is welcome to attend and we hope to see you there!

Croquet Match and Ice Cream Social  Monday, June 19 at 6:00 p.m. at the home of Chris Reed and Teresa Doyle, 1795 VT Rte 214. (If the weather looks dubious, we will send out an email notice of plan changes.)  We hope to muster enough players from both E. Montpelier and Calais to continue our very friendly rivalry.  The location is just along Rte 214 on the right after you have turned onto it from Rte 14 in North Montpelier.  This is for dessert only.  Please bring a lawn chair, bug spray and good sportsmanship!  It’s fun and easy to play if you haven’t done so in a while.  We welcome RSVP’s by Sunday, June 18 to my email address, thank you!
Also attached is our year’s schedule if you have misplaced yours.  We hope to see you at any of these upcoming events!  Shine up your croquet shoes and we’ll see you then!

May 15 2023 Old Brick Church, E Montpelier –  Audrey’s Tales.  Jennifer Boyer interviewed Audrey Lafirira for years during Covid, gathering  small and large memories of her long life in East Montpelier and Calais. She had an amazing memory and sense of humor. The Gray, Daniels, Burnham,  Page and Lafirira families were part of many interesting pieces of local history.

Text and Pictures of Program here

Annual sugar-on-snow meeting of the E. Montpelier and Calais Historical Societies –
Monday, April 17, 6-8 PM, sugar-on-snow gathering in East Calais village.  The Calais and East Montpelier Historical Societies will co-sponsor their annual maple-sugar-on-snow gathering. Sugar-on-snow, and sugaring stories led by Paul Cate and others (bring your own story).   Recreation building (same location as the Post Office)on Moscow Woods Rd. just off Rte. 14.

2022

U.S. Office of War Information visits the Ormsbee Farm, East Montpelier, VT June 13, 1942  – July 18, 2022 . Conrad and Anne Ormsbee share photographs of his farm taken during World War II. The title of their program is

Robinson Sawmill in Kents Corner, Calais. Presentation about the Mill, including past history and current update. Due to technical difficulties a small part of the presentation was not recorded. August 15, 2022 – Guest Speaker – Elliott Morse

Perspectives on Genealogy – March 21, 2022 – Guest Speaker, Andrew Christiansen. To download a PDF of the Powerpoint presentation click here.

1960s Aerial Photos of local farms (Part 2) – February 21, 2022 – Guest Speaker, Nathan Phillips

Calais/East Montpelier Historical Society  Meeting Monday, Oct. 17 @ 6 pm

The Calais-East Montpelier Historical Societies will meet on Monday, Oct. 17 at the East Calais Community Center.  Anson Tebbetts, Secretary of Vermont Agriculture, will talk about the History of Agriculture in Vermont. He grew up on a farm in Cabot, and was Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for a few years prior to 2011 at which time in returned to WCAX as News Director. He has been in his current position since 2017.

Calais/E Montpelier Historical Societies  meet Monday, September 19, 2022    5:00 p.m.

Weather permitting, on Monday, September 19, at 5:00 at the Cate Farm in East Montpelier to tour the Cate Cemetery and to hear a bit of the history of the Cate Farm. Paul Cate and Andy Christiansen will share knowledge of family members buried there. Rain Event two videos – “A Photo Tour through Cemeteries of East Montpelier and Calais” and one about the Robinson Sawmill.

Calais/East Montpelier Historical Meeting- Monday, Aug. 15, ’22

The Calais and East Montpelier Historical Societies will meet at the Robinson Sawmill in Kents Corner, Calais on Monday, Aug. 15 at 5:00 p.m.  The Sawmill was built in 1803 by Joel Robinson, and was operated by water power until the early 1900s. The early settlers were then able to acquire boards to build buildings, i.e., The Old West Church, rather than the log cabins they had been living in. There will be a lot more, including the upgrades during the past few years.

Monday July 18 6 PM Brick Church, E Montpelier

Looks like the forecast is saying rain for Monday, which we need badly.  Luckily, Conrad and Anne Ormsbee are bringing up a presentation about the Ormsbee farm during the WWII days as folks there were interviewed about their efforts to support the war effort.  So, we will still have an ice cream social and this presentation on Monday, July 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the Old Brick Church in East Montpelier Village.

Poplar Hill Cemetery Tour in Calais this Monday, June 20 at 5:00 p.m.  Andy Christiansen used to be on the board of the cemetery when it was a private one, but now the Town of Calais maintains it.

2021

1960s Aerial Photos of local farms – November 15, 2021 – Guest Speaker, Nathan Phillips

Vermont Historical Markers – October 21, 2021 – Guest speaker, Dan Bragg

If you are not on the  email list email Sandal at sandal@sover.net to get the Zoom link for future meetings.