Farewell!

-----Original Message-----
From: NEH-LC National Digital Newpaper Program - On Behalf Of Tom McMurdo
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2012 11:05 AM
Subject: [NDNP] Farewell!

Hi all,

Today is my final day as Project Librarian for the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project. I am moving just down the road to become Head of Technical Services at the Vermont State Library in Montpelier, VT. For most of the last 12 years I have been part of either the USNP, NDNP, or both. For the last two years I have been here in VT, and before that I was part of the CDNC at Berkeley, and the California Newspaper Project at Berkeley and Riverside. While I will miss my daily encounters with historical newspapers and microfilm, I won’t miss those anxious months between grant applications and approvals. This new position is a great opportunity and I am really looking forward to it. That said, I will miss being part of this dynamic project as part of my day to day work. Fortunately, my new position has a historical role as an adviser for the VTDNP, so I will still have a degree of involvement in the Project.

I have greatly enjoyed being part  of the NDNP community and I look forward to seeing more states join and witnessing the growth of more homegrown state historical newspaper digitization projects.

My best to all of you,

Tom

– 
Tom McMurdo
Project Librarian
Vermont Digital Newspaper Project
Bailey / Howe Library
University of Vermont
538 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05405

In Celebration of Tom McMurdo

The cat’s out of the bag …

Tom McMurdo has accepted a job at the State Library, where he will serve as Collections and Digital Initiatives Librarian. His last day as VTDNP Project Librarian will be November 6, 2012.

 

Tom joined the VTDNP as Project Librarian in January 2011. He quickly brought production online and, under his tenure, the VTDNP contributed nearly 130,000 pages of historical Vermont newspaper content to the Library of Congress’ Chronicling America database in its Phase 1 grant cycle. Other excellent accomplishments include the start-up of this blog, the establishment of the Project website and Facebook presence, the production of a VTDNP video, and numerous outreach efforts in presentations and tutorials about the VTDNP, the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) and Chronicling America.

 

Although we are sad to see Tom leave UVM, the State Library is an institutional partner in the Vermont Digital Newspaper Project (VTDNP). In his new position, Tom will serve as a representative on the state-wide VTDNP Management Group and he will continue to have advisory and collaborative input into the project. We are grateful to both Tom and to Martha Reid, State Librarian, for their ongoing support. We look forward to new beginnings!

 

We’ll be celebrating Tom’s present and future work on Friday, Nov. 2 at 4:30 pm the Farm House “Parlor” (downstairs beer hall) – 160 Bank St., Burlington. All are welcome!

 

There is a nice article and photo of Tom on the UVM Libraries blog:

http://librarydeanslist.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-praise-of-tom-mcmurdo.html

 

Thank you, Tom, and we wish you all the best in your current and future endeavors!

- Birdie MacLennan

Chronicling America Posts 5 Millionth Page

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC) issued a joint press release yesterday to announce a new milestone in Chronicling America: the posting of its 5 millionth page.

“… Launched by the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in 2007, Chronicling America – chroniclingamerica.loc.gov - a free, searchable database of historic U.S. newspapers provides enhanced and permanent access to historically significant newspapers published in the United States between 1836 and 1922. It is a part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), a joint effort between the two agencies and 32 state partners ….”

The press releases can be found at NEH: http://www.neh.gov/news/press-release/2012-10-22 and LC: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2012/12-198.html.  The Vermont newspaper content on the site can be found here: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/newspapers/vermont/.

Enjoy!

Brand new VTDNP video

The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project produced a short video (about 7 minutes) that details the processes and function of our work. The video includes interviews with users and lots of interesting historical newspaper content. Check it out:

We would like to gratefully acknowledge our three interview subjects for “The Vermont Digital Newspaper Project: Making Historical Newspapers Available on the Web”: Justin Baldassare, recent graduate of the UVM History Program, Sylvia Bugbee, researcher, historian, and Reference Specialist at UVM Special Collections, and Abby McGowan, UVM History Professor.

Most of the credit for the video goes to Sally Blanchard, (now former) Digital Support Specialist for the VTDNP. Sally conceived, directed, and assembled the video. Sally spent her last few hours with the VTDNP showing her dedication to the project by putting the finishing touches on the video before she moved on to a position with the Vermont State Archives. UVM Reference Librarian Daisy Benson was a big part of the project, not the least of which was the idea for making a video in the first place! I also had a little part in making the video as well.
I hope you will check it out and share it with friends that may be curious about historical newspapers.

- Tom McMurdo

Sheep Farming in Vermont

The Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival will be held the end of this month at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds. This is an annual event that brings together sheep farmers, wool vendors, crafters, and educators to showcase and discuss spinning, knitting, farming, and all things wool.

Sheep farming has been very important to Vermont’s agriculture for a long time. Sheep were introduced to Vermont in the beginning of the 19^th century, and though the sheep farming boom was eventually replaced by Vermont’s famous dairy industry, sheep farming and the wool and fiber industry remain an important part of today’s Vermont’s agricultural trade. The value of sheep farming can be seen by items in Vermont’s newspapers, particularly through the middle part of the 19th century.

The following is an announcement from a wool manufacturer, simultaneously advertising services and thanking local customers for their loyal business.

Detail from the August 13, 1839 issue of the Rutland Herald

Here is another advertisement, eye-catching and reappearing in many issues of the Burlington Free Press:

Detail from the September 20, 1844 issue of the Burlington Free Press

Though at the midpoint of the 19^th century dairy farming was quickly becoming prominent, sheep were apparently still a source of pride, as can be seen in the announcement below.

Detail from the September 30, 1852 issue of the Vermont Watchman & State Journal

It was not uncommon for there to be discussion in the Vermont newspapers of this century about the tips and techniques of the farming trade. Sheep farming was part of this discussion, as can be seen from the two clippings below:

Detail from the January 30, 1846 issue of the Burlington Free Press

Detail from the June 25, 1875 issue of the Vermont Farmer

Finally, here’s an example of an advertisement for a sheep farm sale. One can only wonder if the farm is still being used today in Vermont’s wool industry.

Detail from the November 21, 1844 issue of the Rutland Herald

- Sally Blanchard

The Circus Comes to Vermont

The circus is an event that has long held the imagination of people. Vermont joined the list of circus greats in more modern times when our own Circus Smirkus was created in 1987, showcasing youths ages 10-18 in a summer tour of performances. This year marked the 25^th anniversary of the circus troupe, and they celebrated by putting a time travel theme on their northeastern tour this summer that ended in mid-August.

In the interest of time travel, this post takes a reflective look at how the circus influenced Vermonters in the 19^th century.  The following images are advertisements for just a few of the various circuses that made their parade through Vermont, including, in its first year, the circus that transformed into the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus. These ads often stretched the height of a page and included details about the strange and amazing acts of the circus. The first example pleads its case by telling the readers that “a brief enumeration of the STARS will satisfy the public of the paramount excellence of the great Pentland Circus.” With a statement like that, how could we resist seeing it?

Detail from the September 11, 1858 issue of the Vermont Phoenix

Detail from the July 21, 1868 issue of the Vermont Transcript

Detail from the August 4, 1882 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

Detail from the September 8, 1898 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

The drama and danger of the circus particularly drew interest and made its way into the papers. The following is part of an account of a lion gone wrong at a circus performance:

Detail from the July 19, 1867 issue of the Vermont Transcript

The allure of the circus made its way into literature as well, as can be seen in this excerpt of a short prose piece by none other than Mr. Charles Dickens:

Detail from the October 14, 1859 issue of the Burlington Free Press

But the circus was not solely entertainment. Real people worked them, just as we can see in Vermont’s own thriving circus of today. The following is part of an obituary printed in the March 10, 1893 issue of the Vermont Phoenix for a Brattleboro man who had several years of circus employment:

The history of the circus is fascinating, and has captivated people for generations. It is alive and thriving today. For more information about Circus Smirkus and next summer’s tour, visit their website. Vermont’s own Shelburne Museum has a very interesting exhibit about circus history, including historical posters and miniature wooden circus parades, located in the Circus Building.

- Sally Blanchard

Bennington Battle Day

This Thursday, August 16^th, marks the 235^th anniversary of the Battle of Bennington, a significant conflict in the American Revolutionary War. The battle actually took place nearby in New York, but was named for the site where weapons and supplies were stored, the very supplies that were being fought over in the battle. The British, led by General John Burgoyne, were reduced in number and deprived of supplies that later forced them to surrender at Saratoga.

Nearly a hundred years after the battle, a group of historians and history enthusiasts wished to commemorate the battle with a monument at the military supply storage site in Bennington. The group began their plans in 1875 and by 1876 an official Bennington Battle Monument Association had been established to develop plans for the monument. The Bennington Battle Monument is the tallest structure in Vermont, and the engineering that it took to build it was nothing short of impressive.

The clipping below shows the importance of the monument not only to Vermont’s history, but to the Northeast and America as a whole. This article from February of 1878 informs us that the governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire were invited to the discussions of the association as well as Vermont’s own governor.

Detail from the February 1, 1878 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

The importance and significance of the monument can be seen in the next clipping’s declaration, that, “in the end, a monument will be erected of which every Vermonter and every citizen of the United States will have reason to be proud”.

Detail from the October 29, 1880 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

The previous clipping and the next both discuss the issues with financing such a large project.

Detail from the October 29, 1880 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

The following clippings outline the design of the monument, as well as illustrate the opinions and disagreements of those in the position to hold design approval.

Detail from the August 22, 1883 issue of the Vermont Watchman

Detail from the June 12, 1885 issue of the Vermont Phoenix

Detail from the September 11, 1885 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

Finally, we begin to see the monument in its final stages, and the preparations for its dedication that coincided with Vermont’s centennial celebration.

Detail from the May 1, 1891 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

But not all citizens of Bennington were pleased with the outcome. Below is an editorial from one of them who seeks to remind fellow townspeople of the true motivations behind such projects.

Detail from the August 28, 1891 issue of the Burlington Weekly Free Press

To read more about the monument or for visitor information, look here, here, or here. Also, be sure to check back later at Chronicling America for upcoming digitized issues of the Bennington Banner, which will be sure to have its own perspective on the history of the monument.

- Sally Blanchard