Celebrate The 43 rd Rockingham Old Home Days!

113th Year Celebrating the Pilgrimage at the Rockingham Meeting House Rockingham Old Home Days

Join us as we celebrate Home” and their summer our 43rd year of Rock- group show. The Rock ingham Old Home Days & Hammer celebrates with fireworks, food, mu- their 30th anniversary. sic, games, and lots of The Threaded Trunk Bou- fun hosted by the Great tique & Katie’s Jewelry Falls Regional Chamber and Gifts celebrates their of Commerce before the grand opening. fireworks over the Con- Mary Tolares Noyes necticut River. The event will present her book celebrates and commem- “Sicily, A Heart’s Jour- orates the 113th annual ney” at Village Square pilgrimage to the Rock- Booksellers at 6 p.m. ingham Meeting House. Avoid the traffic and hassle of parking in Bellows Falls and let us take ICE CREAM Face paint, bounce house, and fun Friday, from 6-9 p.m., and all day Saturday. you! Ride the train for the Old Home Days Fireworks show from Chester STOCK PHOTO Friday, 8/2 SOCIAL – to Bellows Falls. Enjoy free parking at the station. Go to www.rails-vt. The United Church of time church members, ROCKINGHAM com/oldhomedays. PHOTO PROVIDED SIDEWALK SALE – Bellows Falls, 8 School Richard and Barbara REC CENTER The Bellows Falls mer- St., will host an Ice Cream Comtois. The event will CARNIVAL – tration at the Waypoint the Connecticut River chants will offer specials Social from 4-8 p.m. As- be held rain or shine. From 6-9 p.m., there Center for the Bring It and sales inside their sorted toppings will be will be a bounce house, Home 5K FOOD VENDORS – stores and on the side- available for vanilla and FARMERS games for prizes, food 8:30 a.m. Bring It Athens Pizza, Ches- walk. Hours vary by busi- chocolate ice cream and MARKET – and drinks, face paint- Home 5K ley’s Fried Dough, Ja- ness. Archbridge Books raspberry sherbet. All Greater Falls Farmers ing, clowns, and lots of 12 p.m. Activities at maican Jewelz, Kona will have free books proceeds are earmarked Market offers local pro- fun for all ages. Waypoint Center begin. Ice, Loyal Order of the outside the store. Canal for the Comtois Family duce and crafts at Hetty Bob Osborne, WOOL Moose, Smokin’ Bowls, Street Gallery will feature Scholarship Fund, estab- Green Park from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, 8/3 Radio, will provide up- Sumkimbop Korean “New Art for your Old lished in memory of long- dates, music, and inter- Food, and Great Falls FIRST FRIDAY Come down to The views throughout the day. Regional Chamber with SUPPER – Waypoint Center, 17 12 p.m. Donut Eating homemade lemonade, First Friday Supper at Depot St., in Bellows Contest with Allen Broth- popcorn, and bottled wa- the First Baptist Church in Falls for an afternoon ers Farm Market ter. Dari Joy Bellows Falls, 9 Church and evening of food, 1 p.m. Pizza Eating St., from 5-7 p.m., will be music, games, and good Contest with Athens Piz- CHILDREN’S a barbecue fundraiser to old-fashioned fun with the za ACTIVITIES – Kids Ice Cream benefit the Evans Family. fireworks over the Con- 1-4 p.m. Cheryl the The Roaming Railroad; Bring the family out for necticut River at dusk. Clown bounce house; water an evening of good food 1:30-2:30 p.m. Keene games; Rockingham Rec Eating Contest and fun while supporting MAIN STAGE – Idol performs children’s games; Friends Saturday, Aug. 3rd at 1:00 p.m. your community. 7-8:15 a.m. Regis- 2 p.m. Ice Cream Eat- for Change children’s ac- At The Waypoint Center ing Contest with Dari Joy tivities tent; face painting; 2:30-3:30 p.m. Kara- Touch a Monster Truck; Prizes for the first 3 Groups •WITH THIS AD• oke with Aimee Thoreau Touch a big rig truck, fire 2 AgeBUY Groups: ANY SOFT 10 and SERVE Under CONE & AND 10-15 GET A 2ND FREE! 3-4 p.m. Southern Ver- WAFFLE CONES engine, and police car; EXCLUDED mont Nature Museum 667 Jaws of Life demonstra- 0 Years On The Corner presentation tion; Southern Vermont First Run Films • Classic Film Night 3-7 p.m. Nimble Arts 32 Flavors of Hard Ice Cream Nature Museum. 32 16FLAVORS Flavors OFof Fresh HARD Soft ICE Serve CREAM Live Music Events • Live Theater performers Non-Fat16 YogurtFLAVORS •Sorbet FRESH •Sugar-Free SOFT SERVE Ice Cream Meetings • Presentations 3:30-6 p.m. The Little VENDOR Non-Fat Yogurt • Sherbet • Sugar-Free Ice Cream •Hamburgers •Hotdogs •Fries •Chicken Fingers •Onion Rings & More! 2 Venues Available Big Band BOOTHS – 140 RockinghamLARGE S FASTt. • FOOD463-9816 MENU • INCLUDING: BellowS FallS, Vt 6-9 p.m. Road Trash Hamburgers • Hotdogs • Fries • Chicken Fingers • Onion Rings & More! Great Falls Regional Bellows Falls Opera House & Town Hall Lower Theater Band Chamber of Commerce, 140 Rockingham St. | 463-9816 | Bellows Falls, VT www.bfoperahouse.com • 463-4766 • Find us on Facebook DUSK Fireworks over Golden Phoenix School of Martial Arts, Chase Woodworking, Pam- pered Chef, US Cellular, Westminster Women’s Fellowship Quilt Raffle, BFUHS Class of 1980, Designs by Nola, Pa- parazzi Jewelry, Dog Bites, ZEM Open House, Jamaican Cottage Dis- plays, New England Mineral Museum, and so much more. Street vendors will be selling children’s toys, novelties, and glow sticks in the Square, at the Waypoint Center, and on Rockingham and West- ENJOY ROCKINGHAM OLD HOME DAYS! minster streets. BRING IT HOME 5K – A road race has been Choice Meats Since 1926 part of Rockingham’s Old Home Days since the very beginning. Reg- istration is from 7-8:15 LISAI’S MARKET LITTLE LISAI’S DELI a.m. at the Waypoint Center. The race starts 128 Atkinson St. • Bellows Falls, VT Atkinson St. • Bellows Falls, VT at 8:30 a.m. This year’s 802-463-4118 802-463-4118 race is hosted by the Bel- Mon.-Sun. 8am - 8pm Mon.–Sun. 8am - 8pm lows Falls Rotary Club. Bellows Falls Union High All Your BBQ Supplies and Needs Come In, Let Us Cook for You School student Tim Salter Roy is planning the event

2 2019 Rockingham Old Home Days Events Schedule August 2-4

tional Historic Landmark. pole, and The Shopper. Vegetables provided by Thank you also to our Harlow’s Farm Stand. contributors: The Ameri- The Great Falls Region- can Truck Society – Green al Chamber of Commerce Mountain Chapter, Silver would not be able to offer Forest of Vermont, Vil- all of these fun-filled activ- lage Square Booksellers, ities without the generos- The Bellows Falls Rotary, ity of our sponsors and Athens Pizza, Dari Joy, community volunteers. A Allen Brothers, and Cota special thank you to all & Cota. of our sponsors: The Ver- For more information, mont Country Store, Best contact the Great Falls Septic, Halladay’s Florist Regional Chamber of Saturday, Aug. 3 is the last chance to see the zero energy modular home Don’t miss the fireworks show at dusk on Saturday! and Harvest Barn, Chro- Commerce at 802-463- STOCK PHOTO at the Waypoint Center before it moves on to Rutland. ma, Hennessey Electric, 4280 or [email protected]. PHOTO PROVIDED take on North Walpole and the ROHD commit- Savings Bank of Wal- Find us on Facebook. as his senior project this games Magic the Gath- and Walpole Fire Depart- tee takes place at dusk. year. The course starts ering and Pokémon, from ments in tug-o-war. Cheer Donate to the Fireworks and finishes at the Great 1-4 p.m. on your favorite depart- Fund. Send donations Falls Regional Chamber ment! to Great Falls Regional of Commerce office at BELLOWS FALLS Chamber of Commerce, the Waypoint Center, HISTORICAL GREEN 17 Depot St., Bellows 17 Depot St. in Bellows SOCIETY – MOUNTAIN Falls, VT 05101. Look Falls. Preregistration is The Bellows Falls His- RAILROAD for volunteers collecting available at www.stillmil- torical Society will be FIREWORKS funds on the street prior ing.com/rockingham-old- open in their new loca- TRAIN – to the fireworks. home-days-bring-it-home- tion at 31 Westminster Avoid the traffic in Bel- 5k. St., Saturday 1-3 p.m. lows Falls and take the Sunday, 8/4 Stop in and explore our train from Chester to the ANTIQUE TRUCK area’s history on display. Rockingham Old Home Finish the weekend SHOW – The Adams Grist Mill Days fireworks show. celebrating the 113th Green Mountain Chap- will be open for a walk Enjoy free parking at the annual pilgrimage at the Have a Great Time at Old Home Days! ter of the American Truck back in time Saturday Chester Depot and a reli- Rockingham Meeting Society will host its 21st and Sunday, 11 a.m. able and enjoyable com- House at 1 p.m. on Meet- annual Antique Truck -3 p.m., courtesy of the mute to Bellows Falls. The ing House Road off Route Show from 8 a.m.- 2 p.m. Historical Society’s volun- train departs Chester at 7 103 in Rockingham. Ste- at the Bellows Falls Union teers. p.m. and arrives in Bel- ve Perkins, director of the High School. No admis- lows Falls at 8 p.m. There Vermont Historical Socie- sion fee for spectators. VOTER will also be boarding at ty, will host the activities Walpole Valley Tire REGISTRATION – the Bartonsville covered with the theme “Vermont Eats.” Food and fun fol- Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 - 5:00 • Saturday 8:00 - Noon ZERO ENERGY The Rockingham Ver- bridge at approximately lows at Rockingham’s Na- W MODULAR HOME mont Democratic Town 7:15 p.m. After the show, Route 12 • alpole, NH • 603-445-2060 TOUR – Committee will have a the train departs Bellows Ever wondered how table set up under the Falls at 10:15 p.m. and healthy, comfortable, awning at Village Square arrives in Chester at and resilient a new zero Booksellers for voter reg- 11:15 p.m. For more in- energy modular home istration from 10 a.m. to formation about tickets, This Supplement is could be? Come tour an 2 p.m. go to www.rails-vt.com/ all-electric ZEM home oldhomedays. Webrought keepto you by it local. that makes as much en- TUG-O-WAR – FIREWORKS – ergy as it uses. See solar Before dusk, come to The Vermont Journal and battery storage in ac- the bridge to see Bellows The fantastic fireworks & The Shopper tion and learn about as- Falls Fire Department display over the Connect- sociated affordable hous- icut River by Brent Lisai ing opportunities here in Vermont. The model home features a ramp for accessibility. Saturday is the final day for folks to get a first-hand look at the ZEM home be- fore it moves to another town. Super-efficient and cooled by a cold climate Enjoy Rockingham heat pump, the ZEM ROBERT MILLER, Publisher [email protected] home is a perfect place Old Home Days! to take a break from the hot weather. Learn more SHAWNTAE STILLWELL, Ad Designer [email protected] about the state of the art of energy efficiency, and AMANDA WEDEGIS, Editor [email protected] talk to Efficiency Vermont staff about programs SHARON HUNTLEY, Billing [email protected] available to make your home more affordable and more comfortable SHARON HUNTLEY, Event Listings [email protected] too. SIDEWALK SALES We’re located at: 8 High Street in Ludlow • 802-228-3600 IN THE SQUARE – Fax:฀802-228-3464฀•฀(Above the Black River Senior Center)฀•฀Handicapped Accessible Shop ‘til you drop at OUR OWN TOMATOES all the stores in the Bel- SWEET CORN lows Falls Square. The BEANS & CUCUMBERS merchants are all offering Do you have a press release? Send it to: specials and great sales during their regular busi- Enjoy Rockingham ness hours. Village Square Book- Old Home Days! sellers hosts strategy

2019 Rockingham Old Home Days 3 About Our Town and Our

A view of Bellows Falls looking toward Fall Mountain (or Mount Kilburn), probably early 1900s. The Wells Street School and playground is seen lower left, and the large sand hill in the center is where Williams Street is today. PHOTO PROVIDED

The town of Rockingham tons River. Many others live lighted in this paper. The first European settlers Many new inhabitants came is located in southeastern in or near the small hamlets tried to establish homesteads from previous homes in Bellows Falls Village Vermont on the banks of of Bartonsville, Brockways Rockingham Town in this area during the first Massachusetts and Connect- The village of Bellows the Connecticut River. In Mills, and Cambridgeport. Until about 1825, the half of the 1700s, when the icut. They cleared land and Falls is the largest population population and in its impact (“Hamlet” is another word now-quiet hamlet near the land was still occupied by established homesteads scat- center (about 3,500 residents) on the region, it is the sec- for an unincorporated rural Meeting House was the prin- Native Americans, the Abe- tered throughout the town. within the town of Rocking- ond largest community in village.) All of the town’s set- cipal village of the town in naki, who joined the French The Rockingham Meeting ham and has long served as Windham County. About 40 tlements are located on the business and inhabitants, and in conducting a war against House was erected in roughly the civic, commercial, and square miles in area, Rock- Connecticut River or one of the town offices were located English intruders. Bedrock the geographic center of the cultural hub of the commu- ingham is predominantly two tributaries to the Con- there. The settlement took near the Great Falls retain town in the hamlet that still nity. In the 18th and 19th rural and forested but also necticut, the Williams and form at the base of the small stone carvings known as bears the name of Rocking- centuries, the local topogra- includes densely settled resi- Saxtons rivers. hill where the town meeting petroglyphs that are believed ham. However, industrial and phy of the Connecticut River dential neighborhoods, com- The balance of the town not houses were located. Devel- to have been created by Abe- commercial development af- inspired the construction of mercial centers, and several included in the geographic opment in Bellows Falls in naki at least 300 years ago or ter the Civil War produced a a canal system, bridges, and industrial areas. areas listed above is referred the 19th century shifted the more, during a period when concentration of population mills that took advantage of Of approximately 5,300 to as Rural Rockingham. focus of the town, and a fire in their villages and burial and activity in Bellows Falls, hydropower and plentiful residents, about 4,000 live The area encompassed by 1909 destroyed the stores and grounds were set out here on where it remains today. water. As a transportation within two incorporated vil- the town has a rich and var- post office. The Rockingham the banks of the Connecticut Rockingham takes pride hub and manufacturing lages, Bellows Falls and Sax- ied history, which is high- Meeting House, constructed in present-day Vermont and in its local history and tradi- center, Bellows Falls became 1787-1801, is now operated New Hampshire. tions and seeks to improve its the “market town” for the re- by the town as a museum. It Rockingham was chartered economic condition, cultur- gional agricultural economy. has been declared a National in 1753 by Benning Went- al, and educational outlooks, It has been the seat of town K.BEEBE, INC. Historic Landmark. worth, the colonial governor and quality of life, through government since 1869. The YOUR Indigenous people inhab- sitting in Portsmouth, N.H. community collaborations village itself was incorporat- WATER ited the Connecticut River Since then, a Selectboard and creative approaches. ed in 1909 and since then has SYSTEMS Enjoy Rockingham EXPERT Valley for some 10,000 years. whose members are elected To read more of the history been overseen by a Board of Old Home Days! It is believed that for several by registered voters of the of Rockingham, consult the Trustees elected by residents thousand years they gathered town has governed it. After two town history books: of the village. CABLE TOOL WELL here at the Great Falls on the conclusion of the French • “History of the Town of Today, the tall clock tower DRILLING & HEATING the Connecticut to harvest and Indian War in 1763, Rockingham 1753-1907” by of the brick Town Hall rises migrating salmon and shad. settlement began in earnest. Lyman Simpson Hayes, pub- above a vibrant downtown Pump Sales & Service lished by the town in 1907. that’s gained a regional rep- • “History of the Town of utation for arts and antiques, Your Hometown Full Service Tire Store Rockingham, 1907-1957” by live music, and innovative K. SHELDON BEEBE Frances Stockwell Lovell and bricks-and-mortar projects 802-463-3725 ENJOY THE FIREWORKS & Everett C. Lovell, published that combine economic de- by the town in 1958. velopment and historic pres- Bellows Falls, Vermont 05101 HAVE FUN AT ROCKINGHAM OLD HOME DAYS! Family Owned and Operated Visit CHEEVER TIRE SERVICE, INC. the Rt. 5 North, Bellows Falls, VT Emblem Club 802-463-3320 Booth!

RIP 41 Square, Suite B, Bellows Falls, VT TICKETS ARE Trade in your TIME FOR AN ORGANICALLY Old Mower and Save GROWN Salon: 802-463-3992 • Home: 802-463-3573 AVAILABLE! Email: [email protected] % UPGRADE? OPEN 10 Trade your mower for a New 9AM - 6PM or get up to Masport Lawn Mower $ 00 50OFF Enjoy Rockingham Old Home Days!

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Our Own Organic Sweet Corn Picked Daily

Visit us on Facebook! Enjoy Look us up on the web: HarlowFarm.com Old Home Days! Route 5 • Westminster, Vermont • 802-722-3515 1292 Langdon Road • Charlestown, NH • 603-826-6842 (1/2 Mile North off Exit 5/Interstate 91)

4 2019 Rockingham Old Home Days Neighboring Communities

A colored postcard of the new Arch Bridge, Bellows Falls. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE BELLOWS FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Rockingham Meeting House in 1911. Constructed in 1787, repaired ervation. Within a short walk ed opportunities in the early ter Carnival early in the 20th Bellows Falls. in 1907. Also pictured on the cover. of downtown are residential 19th century for water-pow- century, contributing to the PHOTO PROVIDED neighborhoods that include ered mills that stimulated the creation of New England’s Brockways Mills manufactured spindles for this hamlet lies in each town. many gems of Victorian-era growth of the village. Among winter recreation culture. A high gorge on the Wil- the pews when the Rocking- A drop in elevation of the architecture known as “paint- the early businesses were Student enrollment is around liams River was the site ham Meeting House was re- Saxtons River once furnished ed ladies.” woolen and saw mills, a grist- 250. around 1800 of an unusual stored in 1907. Like Bartons- waterpower to woolen, saw, At Bellows Falls, the Con- mill, tannery, distillery, clock The commercial core of the water-powered mill, which ville, it was once a stop on the grist, and soapstone mills. necticut River long ago cre- manufacturer, and hotel. In village is formed by a general ground flour at one end and Rutland Railroad. Only one mill remains, as a ated a series of level terraces 1820, the town established store, an inn, and a restaurant lumber at the other, and for ruin. The hamlet was named adjacent to a long and narrow boundaries of the village, and and is surrounded by a resi- a time also served as a tan- Cambridgeport after J.T. Cambridge, who gorge known as the Great in 1905, the village of Saxtons dential neighborhood that nery. The sawmill included Located on the town line opened a clothing business Falls. The short distance be- River was incorporated and dates back to the 19th centu- a woodworking shop, which with Grafton, a portion of in 1825. tween shores enabled the since then has been overseen ry and historic mill sites. The construction of the first by a Board of Trustees elect- village center is a National bridge (1785) anywhere on ed by registered voters of the Register Historic District. the entire 410-mile-long riv- village. er, making Bellows Falls an From 1900-1924, the Bel- Bartonsville important river crossroads. lows Falls & Saxtons River This hamlet near the Wil- At a time when travel by riv- Railroad, an electric train liams River drew its name er was more practical than system, linked Rockingham’s from Jeremiah Barton, who overland, a series of eight two villages. The company erected the first mills for locks on the Bellows Falls Ca- created Barber Park east of sawing lumber and grinding nal (1791-1802) lifted boats a Saxtons River to which sum- grains for humans and an- height of more than 50 feet mertime crowds took the imals about 1840. In about around the gorge. It was one trolleys to baseball games 1852, these were rebuilt into of the first transportation ca- and amusement rides. a paper mill, and the com- nals constructed in the coun- Located just outside the munity grew to include two try and was completed more village boundaries – but paper mills, a gristmill, black- than two decades before the a strong influence on the smith shop, store, post office, famous Erie Canal. character and economy of and railroad station. Howev- In 1849, two railroad lines Saxtons River – is Vermont er, a flood in 1869 changed converged in Bellows Falls, Academy, a private, co-edu- the course of the Williams making the village a railroad cational high school founded River, leaving the village and hub. The railroad stimulated in 1876. Vermont Academy mills some distance away, Saturday, Aug. 3rd the growth of local industries established an annual Win- and the mills were moved to like the Vermont Farm Ma- chine Company, which man- ufactured farm and dairy equipment, and the Bellows Falls Cooperative Creamery, which processed and dis- tributed milk from farms in Flowers, Wine & Gifts the region. After the railroad Dips & Seasoning Blends arrived, the transportation canal became a system of ONLINE VISIT US flumes that directed water www.halladays.com 59 The Square to one of the largest paper- Like us on Facebook Bellows Falls, VT making complexes in the [email protected] 802-463-3331 world. The company that in 1869 was among the first to use wood pulp for making paper was later one of 13 consolidated to form the In- ternational Paper Company in 1898. All of this industrial ac- tivity promoted the growth and evolution of a down- town commercial district and nearby neighborhoods. Grand Opening Aug. 2+3! Three historic districts listed Open Friday 10-8, Saturday 10-6 Fall Foliage Trains in the National Register of Light Refreshments, Door Buster Deals, Historic Places encompass and Get entered in two drawings! September - October industrial, commercial, and 29 Westminster St. Bellows Falls, VT residential areas. Schedules & Tickets Saxtons River Available at: The village of Saxtons Riv- www.rails-vt.com er is the second largest pop- ulation center (about 500 residents) within the town of Rockingham. Several falls on the Saxtons River provid-

2019 Rockingham Old Home Days 5 Celebrate the history of the

The Rockingham Meet- ing House, also known as Old North Meeting House and First Church in Rock- ingham, is a historic civic and religious building on Meeting House Road in Rockingham, Vt. The Meet- ing House was built between 1787 and 1801 and was orig- inally used for both congre- gational church meetings as well as civic and govern- mental meetings. Church services ceased in 1839, but town meetings continued to be held in it until 1869. It “Ye Olde Rockingham Meeting House, Rockingham. Constructed 1787. Repaired 1907.” Interior of the Rockingham Meeting House circa 1920. PHOTO PROVIDED PHOTO PROVIDED was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2000 shares with the town’s orig- two-story timber-frame entrance is flanked by pilas- opens into a central hallway, pulpit area is 7 feet wide and as an exceptionally well-pre- inal burial ground, whose structure, with a side-ga- ters and topped by an entab- through a floor filled with is accessed by stairs on its served “second period” co- oldest marked graves date to ble roof, clapboard siding, lature and triangular ped- box pews to the pulpit area, left side. The pulpit is one of lonial-style meetinghouse. 1776. Meeting House Road and a granite foundation. iment. Enclosed two-story which features the original the few unoriginal elements The Rockingham Meeting is the location of Rocking- The main facade is five bays gable-roofed stairwell ells sounding board. The sec- of the building, having been House is set on the north ham’s original town center wide, with a symmetrical extend from the each side ond-floor gallery, which restored in 1906. The only side of Meeting House laid out after the French and but slightly irregular place- of the building, with a simi- wraps around three sides other significant alterations Road, on a parcel of land Indian War ended in 1763. ment of windows around larly decorated south-facing of the building, is also lined have been to replace win- about 4 acres in size that it The building is a large the center entry. The main entrance. The main entrance with box pews. The elevated dows. Another look at Hetty Green, the

That Hetty Green hoard- to buy broken cookies in ed her vast Gilded Age for- bulk, and once spent hours tune and lived like a pau- looking for a two-cent per, there can be no doubt. stamp. That she was as bad as peo- According to the most ple say is open to question. damning story about Het- Nicknamed the “Witch ty Green, she wouldn’t pay of Wall Street,” she amassed for a good doctor when her a fortune worth as much as son injured his leg in a sled- $3.8 billion in today’s mon- ding accident. Doctors lat- ey. She always wore an old er amputated his leg. Here’s black dress, walked blocks something else, though:

Enjoy Rockingham Old Home Days!

Have fun, and be safe! The Hetty Green residence in Bellows Falls, no longer standing. PHOTO PROVIDED

She loved her son and took own terms. People weren’t Hetty read the financial a son and a daughter, him to many doctors to used to a woman who car- news to her weak-eyed Ned and Sylvia. Eventual- The Full Service mend his leg. Like many ried a gun and used salty father, who was astute ly, the family returned to Print Shop of the stories about her, the language picked up on the enough to get out of whal- Edward’s family home in Village tale of her refusal to pay for New Bedford docks. Nor ing before the industry col- Bellows Falls, Vt. It was an 1-4 Color Offset good medical care for her were they used to a woman lapsed. odd match: Green was a & Digital Printing son was an exaggeration. who managed her invest- When she turned 20, her wealthy silk and tea mer- Printers And the stories about the ments spectacularly well at Quaker father bought her chant. He dressed well, 5 Canal Street Wide Format good things Hetty did were a time when women wer- a closet full of expensive, enjoyed clubs, appreciated Bellows Falls, VT 05101 Digital Printing rarely, if ever, reported. en’t trusted with money. fashionable dresses so she fine food, and tipped gen- ph/fax: 802-463-9697 Perhaps her greatest sin Hetty Howland Robin- could snag a wealthy hus- erously. When he squan- [email protected] in the eyes of the world was son was born Nov. 21, 1834 band. She sold the dresses dered his own fortune and Laminating living her life boldly on her in New Bedford, Mass. and bought government cost her some of hers, she She was the only child of bonds with the money. Her packed her bags and their Edward Mott Robinson, father left her $7.5 million children and walked out a well-to-do businessman when he died in 1864. on him. She set up shop in who married Abby How- She married Edward an office at Chemical Bank, land, heiress to a whaling Green. They moved to where she built her fortune. fortune. As a young girl, London, where they had She developed a strategy of investing for value, which made her the richest wom- Oil • Propane an in the world. Diesel • Kerosene Hetty Green didn’t buy We are a full service company Wood/Pellet Stoves • Boilers stocks on margin. She in- equipped to meet all your In Business for 51 Years! vested in real estate and plumbing and heating needs bonds, railroads and Prompt & Reliable Service mines. She bought cheap, Competitive Pricing sold dear, and kept her head during financial pan- ics. In 1907, she bailed out Bellows Falls, VT the city of New York when 802-463-3166 • JamesFuels.com the banks wouldn’t.

6 2019 Rockingham Old Home Days Rockingham Meeting House

After being unused for many years, it was restored by the town in 1906 and the first Old Home Day and Pilgrimage to the Meeting House was held in August 1907. It narrowly escaped the fire, which burned much of the adjacent Rockingham village April 14, 1908. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was declared a National His- toric Landmark in 2000. It is an extremely well-preserved Rockingham Meeting House and cemetary. An old storage crypt-vault in the Rockingham Meeting House Cemetary. example of a “second peri- PHOTO PROVIDED PHOTO PROVIDED od” colonial meeting house, The town of Rockingham That building remained in 1792, at which time it was gregational group ending its pulpit area were removed. in which the principle en- was first settled by white use until the construction not complete. The town in services in 1838. The build- Although the building was trance was on the long wall settlers after the French and of this one, which was ap- that year approved use of the ing continued to be used for vacant for many years, its and is placed in a setting Indian War ended in 1763. proved by the town meeting building by local Christian town meetings until a new exterior was maintained. reminiscent of how it would Discussion around the con- in 1787. Documentation congregations for services. town hall was constructed The interior was subjected have appeared at the time struction of a meetinghouse is unclear about when the The various church con- in Bellows Falls in 1869. The to vandalism and the theft of its construction. Its land- began in 1771 and culminat- building was completed: the gregations built their own original pulpit was removed of artifacts, including door mark designation includes ed in the construction of a first recorded town meeting buildings over the ensuing about 1850, and most of the hardware and hand-cut the building, cemetery, and building at this site in 1774. was held in this building in years, with the original con- original benches lining the nails. receiving tomb. Witch of Wall Street

Hetty Green. PHOTO PROVIDED Firework donations

On Saturday, Aug. 3, the Rockingham Old Home Days fireworks Corn will begin around 9:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed to help collect & funds beginning at 8 p.m. Anyone wanting to donate to the fire- work fund, send to Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce, 17 2017 Hetty Green reenactment. Tomatoes Depot St., Bellows Falls, VT 05101. PHOTO BY MARY ELLEN are now in! PHOTO BY BRANDY PATTERSON Her Quaker upbringing lived for 14 more years, dy- Enjoy Rockingham taught her that a gift to be ing July 3, 1916. Before she bragged about is not a gift died, Hetty Green convert- Old Home Days! in the eyes of the Lord. ed to the Episcopal faith. Fresh-Picked Locally Grown Vegetables JUDD’S She loaned money at be- That allowed her to be bur- low-market rates to at least ied next to her husband in Open Daily 9-7 | Route 12 in Walpole, NH | Facebook POWER EQUIPMENT 30 churches. According to the Immanuel Episcopal her son, she secretly gave Church cemetery in Bel- GRAND OPENING AUG. 3 many gifts to charitable lows Falls. Green Mountain Chapter ATHS causes and supported at least 30 families with regu- Source: “Hetty: The 21st Annual Antique Truck Show lar incomes. Genius and Madness of Saturday, August 3, 2019 Certified Toward the end of her America’s First Female life, Hetty Green reconciled Tycoon” by Charles Slack. 8:00 am - 2:00 pm Husqvarna Dealership with her husband, nurs- Photographs courtesy Li- Bellows Falls Union High School ing him through his final brary of Congress. This sto- illness. He died March 19, ry about Hetty Green was No admission charge for viewers 1902 in Bellows Falls. She updated in 2018. For more info, contact Roger Martin 802-439-5797 or [email protected] 802-722-4200 David & Elaine Judd 30th 6109 US Route 5, Westminster, VT 05158 Open Mon - Sat 7:30 am - 5:00 pm, Closed Sunday Sales & Service 30% Small Engine Repair • Automotive Repairs August 2nd & 3rd We Offer Pick up and Delivery

Dave’s Back!

2019 Rockingham Old Home Days 7 Thank You to all our Rockingham Old Home Days Sponsors!

PLATINUM SPONSOR: Vermont Country Store EVENT CONTRIBUTORS Silver Forest of Vermont, American Truck Society - Green GOLD SPONSOR: Best Septic Mountain Chapter of Vermont, Village Square Booksellers, Athens Pizza, Allen Brothers Farm, Dari Joy, The Rockingham SILVER SPONSORS: Chroma, Halladay’s Harvest Barn & Recreation Department, Greater Falls Connections, The Florist, Hennessy Electric, and Savings Bank of Walpole Bellows Falls Rotary, Great Eastern Radio, Wool Radio, The Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of BRONZE SPONSORS: The Shopper and Cota & Cota Directors, and our most Valuable Volunteers

8 2019 Rockingham Old Home Days