I am looking for information on a marker on River Road that describes a former fort being on that site. I was wondering if anyone had information about it. Thanks.

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An Interview with Francis Temple
by PCS Forest Crew

The sixth grade forest crew recently interviewed Francis Temple. Francis is a well known area plumber. Some people may not know that Francis was also a logger, sugarer, and a farmer. One of his hobbies is making his wood pile straight. Another hobby of his is restoring Model A cars. We wanted to find out about his logging experience when he was younger. He told us some interesting stories about sugaring, his first pair of horses and saw mills as well as logging.

An Interview with Anne Fines
by PCS Forest Crew

Anne Fines has been involved with the Forest Committee since 2000. Many years before that she was a 4th grade teacher at Putney Central School. She taught there in 1965, and with the help of a county forester, made a trail with her fourth grade class. For several years now, she has led groups of kids into the Putney Central School’s forest. We interviewed her on March 27, 2008, because we were interested in learning more about the history of our forest.

The sixth grade forest crew recently interviewed Francis Temple, one of Putney’s former farmers. Here’s some information he shared with us about sugaring in the late 1930s and 1940s.

"All farmers sugared as an extension to their income and so everyone lost out at least a little by the hurricane blowing down at least a part of their sugar orchards. Today there are those not too far from here who do it for a living. That’s all they do for the year.

The Putney Stories Project recently received a $300 grant from the Chittenden Bank, Putney Branch. The Putney Historical Society also contributed, making it possible for the project to purchase needed digital recording equipment.

The vision for the Putney Stories Project is to collect on a regular basis the stories that capture the history of Putney, and to present and otherwise make these stories available to the Putney community.

Dear Putney folks,
The following Civil War letter from Doug Houghton to Laura Houghton was recently transcribed by Marje Prentiss. Thanks, Marje.
Enjoy!
Stuart Strothman

Headquarters, Fort Macon, N.C.
Adjutant's Office Oct. 3d, 1864

My dear Aunt Laura:

Your kind letter of 26th ultime was so welcome and unexpected that I avail myself of the first opportunity to reply to it.

On June 6, 7pm, the Putney Stories Project presents David Holzapfel and Jean Boardman of Marlboro, Vermont who will talk about how their town is collecting interviews of town residents, and what they are learning from this project. Organizers of The Putney Stories Project will also talk about their plans to train Putney residents to interview local villagers in an effort to capture anecdotes of Putney’s intriguing history. The event takes place at the Putney Library, and is open to the public.

Interested in conversation and local history?

Come hear how one small community is combining interviews and historical records to explore what people do for work and how work has changed over time.

You can find a timeline of Putney History: 1500's - 2003 at http://www.putneyhistory.us/2008/09/04/putney-historical-timeline-1500s-2003/.

The Putney Historical Society created this timeline.

(Photo by Jonathan Flaccus)

Ellie Lascore, Waitress at the Putney Diner
Her Style and Humor on the Job
Interview: April 2007
Interview by Paul LeVasseur

A lot of times I say things and they laugh it off, and I hope they don’t think I’m being mean, because I’m not. It’s just me. But they seem to like it, and, like I say, I’m lucky. I get away with a lot more than a lot of other people do. They’re good customers, that’s why. It makes a big difference.

I’ve had it all my life. I just remember things. I could have twenty people at a table and not write down an order and [still be able to] give it to ‘em.

(From the Putney Central School website: http://www.sover.net/%7Eputneyc/pcf_history.htm)

The School Forest owes its existence to the foresight, back in 1957, of a School Board which decided to purchase not just the 12 acres needed as a site for the new local school, but also the additional 164 tract that included both the Sacketts Brook floodplain behind the school and the wooded hillside beyond the brook, all the way to the Bare Hill ridge. The Forest was partially logged in the early 1980’s and the logging roads began to be used by mountain bikes and various kinds of motorized vehicles. However, because of inadequate foot access over Sacketts Brook, for many years neither students nor townspeople made much use of the recreational and educational potential of this extensive and beautiful woodland.