Don't Touch the Shovel -- There Are More Ways to Dig!

Tony Booth is a historical archaeologist, an investigator of the evidence that vanished cultures leave behind -- especially in New England. Here's what he says:

I grew up in Barre, (have you heard of Booth Bros. Milk?--my relatives) and still consider myself a Vermonter. I live in NH but work in VT, NH and Maine. I have been doing archaeology since 1998 when I volunteered at a museum in Portsmouth, NH, while attending UNH. I worked in contract archaeology after college, went to grad school at the University of Maine, and then got back into contract work, first with my former company, and then on my own beginning last year. I worked at the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington last Spring. We excavated test pits in advance of building restoration and combined it with two school field trips so that Elementary school students could learn about archaeology and get their hands dirty under my supervision. It was fun and I think everyone learned something.

He'll fill you in on why the shovel is the last resort of today's history detectives. And he'll share with you what's going on -- and how you can take part.

Historic and Hidden -- & Contemporary and in Music Scene: Julia Lewandoski

Julia Lewandoski is a tireless researcher, which is a good thing -- because in order to unearth the stories of five Vermont women with connections to Lake Champlain and the early French and Native history of Vermont, she had to dig a LOT. Why was it so tough? She'll sort it out with participants and give a tour of the Vermont Women's History Project web site, so you can get to significant stories on your own. Meanwhile, want to see what Julia does with the other part of her life? Check out the article in Seven Days that goes with this photo, by clicking here. I bet you can tell which person in the photo is Julia!

How to Get a Woman to Reveal Herself: Poet Peggy Sapphire Shares the Art of Interviewing

You just found out that the silver-haired woman who lives close to your home used to be a famous actress and you want to know her story -- including some of the miraculous, funny, or tragic things that happened to her on the way to being famous. What questions will get you those fabulous details? Or, a friend of a friend of your brother was one of the women that President Obama invited to his inauguration. How can you get her to tell you about the details that made it so exciting? In fact, how can you get your own best friend to share with you her faith in life that makes her such a great friend? All this can come your way if you know how to interview a woman with an eye and ear open to the interaction of her life and the history of her time -- past or present. Published poet Peggy Sapphire (the cover of her book of poetry is shown here) shares some of the interviews she's done with other people, and gets you going to try the skills yourself. Expect some surprise guests at the workshop, so you can practice discovering the surprises of their lives.

Schools Registration Form, Due MARCH 10 With Estimated Numbers, Please

FLASH NEWS! Registration's extended to March 10, to make it easier for those who have school vacations just now.

If you are a high-tech person who doesn't mind fiddling with the Net AND if you have Flash on your computer, you can CLICK HERE for printable version of Program PLUS Registration Form (when you see the dark red title MSM Prog & Regist, click on it, then use the iPaper button to get "Print").

OR ask Renee to send you the registration form via e-mail: Renee.Kelly@lsc.vsc.edu.

OR copy and paste the following:

For Schools Participating in MY STORY MATTERS, April 8, 2009

Please fill in your information and copy JUST THIS PAGE into an e-mail to return to Renee Kelly: Renee.Kelly@lsc.vsc.edu – and we will follow up with a mailing that lets your students choose which events they want to attend. We need THIS PAGE right away, please – thank you!

Welcome! We’re excited to have your students and teachers (with an invitation, too, to your library staff) taking part in MY STORY MATTERS, A History Conference for High School Students in the Northeast Kingdom.

Please let us know the following:

Number of classes attending:

Grade levels in your group:

Approximate number of students attending:

Approximate number of staff attending:

Do you need a bus transportation subsidy? Yes No Amount needed

Contact person, with e-mail and phone number:




Do your students or staff members have any special needs that you’d like us to know about?





You can update your numbers with us, by e-mailing Renee Kelly, administrator, at renee.kelly@lsc.vsc.edu. You’ll receive a signup sheet for specific sessions within a week. Questions about the program components should be sent to Beth Kanell at BethPoet@aol.com (802-751-8374). Thanks!

A Terrific Conference Partner: The Vermont Humanities Council

There's a lot of buzz around the state for My Story Matters! The Vermont Commission on Women and the Women's History Project have been passing along news, and so is our partner and supporter, the Vermont Humanities Council. In fact, Mark Fitzsimmons at the council just told us:

'We’re proud to be supporting the Vermont Women’s History Project on this conference. It’s really an impressive grass roots effort, with a diverse group of people recognizing a need, coalescing around a good idea, and assembling the horse power from disparate sources to make it happen. I particularly like the fact that it breaks the confines of the classroom for young readers and potential historians, and grounds history in their very own lives, and in the lives of others that they can talk and relate to. This conference is a great case in point for why most of us live in Vermont.'

Mark Fitzsimmons
Director of Community Programs

Vermont Humanities Council
Sharing Our Past … Shaping Our Future
11 Loomis Street
Montpelier, Vermont 05602
Phone: 802.262.2626 x 306
Fax: 802.262.2620
www.vermonthumanities.org