Carol Brown
The town of Putney has long enjoyed fame as a center of educational institutions. Beginning in the 1930's, there were the Experiment in International Living, the Putney School, the Putney Graduate School of Teacher Education, Windham College, Landmark College, the Greenwood School and The Grammar School -- all started in Putney. That list, however, leaves out Carol Brown, who was certainly a Putney educational institution though she never, so far as is known, taught in any classroom setting.
She was an opinionated lady who first came to Putney in 1937, bringing with her a business in Irish woolen imports and a nephew, Lawrie Brown, whom she sent to the Putney School and who later joined her in her business. Her shop was in her new house on Signal Pine Road, visible from the top of Kimball Hill. She had fallen in love with Irish woolens on a 16oo-mile bicycle trip around Ireland in 1926 with some former Smith College classmates. She became friends with an Irish family of three sisters and a brother who, with others, had started Avoca Handweavers. At this time when Ireland was suffering a very depressed economy, Carol started importing their wares and sold them in Boston and later in Bedford. It was that business she moved to her shop/home in Putney. Carol's love for those wares-- tweed bolt goods, colorful woolen blankets, rugs, caps, scarves, as well as handknit sweaters -- soon attracted many visitors who became enthusiasts also. She shared her feeling for natural fabrics and had nothing good to say about synthetics. Over the years she extended her range of offerings to natural fabrics from around the world, including silks from Thailand, and Dutch, Swiss, and Indian cottons, including ready-made wares from those countries.
In 1944, when the war in Europe made shipments from Ireland impossible, she took a three-month course at an agricultural school in Framingham, MA, for women who wanted to learn how to harvest crops. She then picked apples in Putney. for the rest of the war. During that time of fuel shortages, she interested several Putney friends in starting a cooperative for buying foods in bulk. The resulting economies and control of quality, plus the warmth of personal involvements, convinced others of the value of cooperatives and a store resulted that, in its new, expanded version, flourishes in Putney to this day. Look for the street named for her-- "Carol Brown Way"-- nearby.
Another cooperative, the Putney Credit Union, was another institution started by Carol, Bob and Julie Rosegrant, and others. It became so popular with individuals and area businesses that several years ago it expanded into larger quarters in Brattleboro.
Another lesson preached by Carol was the importance for our health of eating natural foods. She knew about nutrition and always stressed the importance of care in selecting and preparing the foods we depend on for health. No junk foods for her! Connected with this was the importance she stressed of organic gardening. She was a pioneer, a very vocal one, of not spoiling the soil--and thus our bodies--by using harmful sprays and chemicals in growing our food.
Carol was also a patron of the arts: teaching by example the importance of valuing and supporting them. She is reputed to have never missed a concert until her later years, and she helped support the Brattleboro Music Center and Art Museum, the Yellow Barn Music Festival, as well as drama productions in Putney and Brattleboro. Community causes like the Putney Community Center and Putney Cares, as well as many others, were among her interests.
In 1989, Carol's 100th birthday was celebrated at a ceremony at Smith College, and a new ornamental flower and herb garden created in her honor was dedicated. One of the many people present was National Public Radio Host Robert J. Lurtsema, who spoke and led the group in singing "Happy Birthday." He said that one of the first letters he got from his listeners was from Carol Brown, who advised him to "Speak up!" That was the start of their long friendship, he said. She was a wise and caring teacher.
Carol Brown was born Lucy Caroline Brown at Concord, MA, on August 30, 1889. She died at Thompson House in Brattleboro on July 9, 1990.