Woodstock Early Birds, Arcadia Publishing, which produces hundreds of book on the local history of small towns, has a motto:
Don’t Lose Your Place in History.
We don’t want Woodstock to lose her place in history. We have just gotten “green-lighted” for a book project with Arcadia Publishing and would like your help.
We have been asked to put together a virtual “yearbook” of Woodstock, Vermont for Arcadia Publishing’s “Legendary Locals” series– photos and anecdotes, stories about people who lived here, both past and present.
The book will be called “Legendary Locals of Woodstock, Vermont.” (What you see here is the cover for the Woodstock, New York book).
In particular, we need great photos of people, families, businesses, workers, public servants, emergency services folks, tradesmen. Individual or group shots of people in front of places, farms, scenes from “the old days” and so forth.
While the Woodstock Historical Society has a wonderful collection of photos and stories from the 1800’s and early 1900’s, we are a bit thin in the 1920’s – Present department. That’s where you come in. This would be a great time to go through your boxes, your attic, your drawers and pull out that one picture of a person that you think should be part of Woodstock’s history.
Or do you just have a story you love to tell over and over about someone who lives here — or lived here?
We will also be tapping the resources of archived Vermont Standard newspapers, but really this is about delving into the unknown or forgotten archives of your life and past here in town.
This book seeks to tell the stories of the people “everyone knows” — whether it’s the Camps, or the Dotens, or YOUR FAMILY, or Vilas Bridge or Rhoda Teagle or Betty Emmons. And yes, if you have a special story about time with the Rockefeller or Billings family.
But, this history told through photographs is meant to be more than just the “usual suspects.” Was your uncle or Dad a particular Woodstock character? Or your Mom? Do you remember a particularly impressive fire that everyone will remember? Did you work at the Woodstock Inn (or did your parents)? What do they remember? Do you have a great pic you would like to be in a book? Do you have a photo with the biggest buck ever? A memorable event or day in Woodstock history?
Woodstock Early Bird’s favorite story from when she was covering news for The Vermont Standard was when local locksmith D.J. Barr — of course in his not-up-to-code Woodstock Volunteer Firefighter shorts — helped rescue that poor pig from the Ottauquechee River near Leonard’s after it got loose during the barn fire out Route 4. For starters, does anyone have a picture of that? Does anyone remember? Little stories like this are what the book is about. We think we remember something about when the Camp boys set a small fire? Hmm…Then there was the time that old so-and-so…
Vilas Bridge: A Painting by Neil Drevitson – Available at Fox Gallery
If you’d like to contribute a name of a person you think should be included in this book or a photo, you can easily contribute, comment or upload to a new Facebook page “Legendary Locals of Woodstock Vermont” OR send an email to earlybirdtips@yahoo.com. If you know someone who has a hand-written story (preferably shorter) or some other photo contribution please send it to:
Woodstock Early Bird
PO Box 659
Woodstock, VT 05091
This project is going to have a quick turn-around — We’re looking to give our publisher a list of names in the next few weeks, followed by the BEST photos and stories within a few months. Let everyone know about “Legendary Locals of Woodstock, Vermont” — this is a great “clean-out” the closet, bring our dusty history out from under the bed! It’s about you, your clubs, your fun, where you or your family worked, business and your life!
For more info on the publisher and the Legendary Locals series:
http://www.arcadiapublishing.com
Also: If you’d just like to list a name or a short story here, use this post’s “comment” section.
If you are already a Facebook user, this link will take you there.
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 