Cavendish Update 10/11/24: News/Events
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At tomorrow’s Cider Days in Mt. Holly, the Black River Valley Resources (BRVR) group will be giving out free “Go Kits” to people in Cavendish, Ludlow, Mt. Holly and Plymouth. They will be based at the Mt. Holly fire station. The purpose of the kit is to help households be prepared in the event of an emergency. If you have not picked up a kit and would like one, please e-mail cavendishconnects@gmail.com and we will arrange to get one to you. Please specify the number of people in your household.
Doing Yard Work? Remember DON’T PITCH IN THE DITCH! Keeping our ditches free of debris reduces flooding and risks to property and roads.
10/11/24
1. Malcolm Macmillan (MAC), author of “An Odd Kind of Fame” dies at 95
2. CHS Plant Workshop: The Invasives
3. Cavendish Related News
4. Events Calendar
1. MALCOLM MACMILLAN (MAC) DIES AT 95: Mac, the author of “An Odd Kind of Fame,” has been one of the leading scholars on Phineas Gage. He was also the reason Cavendish marked the 150th anniversary of the Gage accident with a town celebration that brought in people from all over the world .
According to Stacia Spaulding, one of the organizers of this event I need to give credit where credit is due. There would not have been a 150th Anniversary Phineas Gage Celebration in 1998 if not for Mac. He sent an e-mail in 1996 and mentioned that the anniversary was approaching and suggested that Cavendish might do something to commemorate the occasion.
Mac is the one who came up with idea for the bronze plaque that now sits on the Town Green in Cavendish. He worked tirelessly with the designer, Dr. Ross Bastiaan (a periodontist and designer of more than 200 plaques) in Australia, for many many months and raised all of the funds to cover its cost. In fact, the plaque was cast by the Arrow Foundry in Australia.
Mac presented a lecture entitled "Restoring Phineas Gage: A 150th Retrospective" in the Stone Church on Sunday morning of the anniversary weekend, as well as gave a short speech at the plaque's unveiling a short time later.
We exchanged dozens and dozens (maybe hundreds) of e-mails during those many months leading up to the 150th Anniversary. And we exchanged Christmas cards more years than not since then. Mac remained passionate about Gage right up until his death at age 95.
2. CHS PLANT WORKSHOP: THE INVASIVES: When Japanese knotweed is mentioned, people often cringe and tell tales of how it’s taken over parts of their yard and is impossible to kill. However, it’s long been part of traditional medicine in Asia for centuries as a treatment for such ailments as inflammation, infections, skin burns and most recently Lyme Disease.
While knotweed was brought to the Americas in the 1800s as an ornamental plant, other plants that had medicinal properties were brought to the Americas by the colonists. In addition, the “seed trade” was big business, with middle and upper class landowner buying plants from around the world to study in their backyards.
On October 26 (Saturday), the Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) will host their third workshop on plants, this time focusing on the invasives. This talk will feature garlic mustard, plantain, barberry, eucalyptus, ragweed and other plants that were introduced or traveled with settlers. We’ll be exploring plants that can do damage to existing ecosystems yet also offer medicine.
The workshop will take place at the Cavendish Town Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville starting at 2 pm. Dr. Charis Boke, a member of the Dartmouth College faculty in anthropology, will once again be speaking. Boke is currently writing "Poison, Power, and Possibility: Building Relations with Medicinal" which will explore the poetics, politics, and practices of contemporary herbalists in North America, leaning on ethnographic research, botanical histories, and lived experience to examine what it takes to remedy what ails us. Dr. Boke was involved in helping with the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Garden at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia.
For more information, please call 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com
3. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
• Jerry D. Szawerda: It is with sadness and condolences to his family, that we note the passing of Jerry Szawerda, who, in retirement became the bus driver for CTES. His daughter, Amy Jones, a teacher at the school, encouraged her Dad to take the job, which he came to love.
• Fundraising Dinner and Film: The Cavendish Baptist Church is hosting a Taco dinner and a screening of “The Forgotten” on Oct. 19 (Saturday) as a fundraiser for their shelter work. The dinner starts at 6 pm and includes three tacos, dessert and a drink. The film starts at 7 pm. Dinner is $10 and popcorn for the movie is $1.
• Restructuring Plan for Two Rivers Supervisory Union: On Oct 7, the TRSU Superintendent issued a restructuring plan for TRSU, which includes the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) as well as the Ludlow Mt Holly District. Included among the recommendations for Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) are: supporting or maintaining enrollment-the school currently has 61 full time students; establishing a preschool at CTES, which could potentially serve all of the towns in the GMUSD; and all students from Baltimore and those in Andover living closest to Cavendish would attend CTES. Also recommended in the restructuring plan is to merge the two districts so there is just the TRSU and consolidating the four Pre K-6thelementary schools into one modern, centralized school. The plan did not mention Green Mountain Union High School. An open forum was held on Oct. 8th so the community could voice their opinion about the proposed plan. The restructuring plan can be read by clicking here.
• First a lockdown drill, then a real lockdown at GMUHS as Chester Police investigate threat Chester Telegraph
• Springfield Hospital financial health improves as it seek path to future service: Despite a forecast to the contrary outlined in a recent healthcare consultant’s report, Springfield Hospital is proud to report that, year to date, we have a $2.4 million improvement over fiscal year 2023. Springfield Hospital CEO Robert S.Adcock has written a letter to the community about the future of the hospital. We want to communicate to our employees, medical staff, and the communities we serve that the recommendations are just that — recommendations, options to consider. We do not believe the recommendations are reflective of the wants and needs of the communities we serve — nor do they accomplish the goal of equitable and affordable access to care.
4. EVENTS
OCTOBER 13 (SUNDAY) Last Sunday the Museum is open for the 2024 season.
OCTOBER 14 (MONDAY): Indigenous Peoples Day. Town office closed
OCTOBER 19 (SATURDAY): The Cavendish Baptist Church Taco dinner and a screening of “The Forgotten” on Oct. 19 (Saturday) as a fundraiser for their shelter work. The dinner starts at 6 pm and includes three tacos, dessert and a drink. The film starts at 7 pm. Dinner is $10 and popcorn for the movie is $1.
OCTOBER 21 (MONDAY): Cavendish Select Board Meeting, 6:30 pm at the Town Office.
OCTOBER 25 (FRIDAY): Gill Home Haunted Walk. They are currently seeking donations of candy, which can be dropped off at the business office, nurses station, or donation bin located in the lobby.
OCTOBER 26 (SATURDAY) History of the Invasives: Knotweed. 2 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. FMI: margocaulfield@icloud.com or 802-226-7807.
OCTOBER 31 (THURSDAY): HAPPY HALLOWEEN
- Trunk or Treat Benson’s Chevrolet, 25 Pond St. Ludlow 5-7 pm
NOVEMBER 2 (SATURDAY): Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead): Starts 3:30 pm at the Cavendish Library, 573 Main St. Proctorsville. Workshop from 3-5:30 Pot luck supper follows
NOVEMBER 5 (TUESDAY): Election Day. Cavendish voting takes place at the Proctorsville Fire Hall from 10-7. FMI: 802-226-7291.