“Life in Orleans County” to Come Alive in a Movie in Newport on Saturday, January 19

By Scott Wheeler

The movie does an outstanding job at telling the story of
Orleans County in an earlier time, particularly of life on the farm.

Travel back to an earlier time in life in Orleans County through the words and faces of the men and women who lived it. Come to the Goodrich Memorial Library on Saturday, January 19 at 1 p.m. to watch a showing of “Life in Orleans County”. The movie was produced by students in Professor Bill Doyle’s Vermont History and Government course at Johnson State College, in collaboration with videographer Vince Franke of Peregrine Productions.
The first showing of this fine movie was held a few weeks ago in Barton, but inclement weather kept the turn out low. So moved by the quality of this production, Scott Wheeler of Derby, the publisher of “Vermont’s Northland Journal”, has decided to host this showing as part of his ongoing history discussions at the Goodrich. He wants many more people to have the opportunity to experience this great slice of Orleans County history.

Students in Mr. Doyle’s course, with the help of Mr. Wheeler and the members of the Orleans County Historical Society, tracked down and interviewed one person in each Orleans County community, many who have memories of that particularly community that go far back into the first half of the 20th. Those interviewed include: Chester Carpenter, Bob Clark, Richard Colburn, Yves Daigle, Ruth Damon, Paul Daniels, George Douglas, Emeline Harmon, Evelyn Page, Andy Pepin, John Miller, Horace Strong, Ralph Swett, and Eugene Webster.

The 30-minute movie was enhanced by the wide-array of photos that Mr. Wheeler, the Orleans County Historical Society, and other photos offered up by a host of other people and groups who are dedicated to preserving the history of Orleans County. Peggy Day Gibson, the coordinator of the Orleans County Historical Society, did a fine job at narrating the movie. And the music by the Bobbin Mill Players brings back the sounds of Orleans County from an earlier time.

Mr. Doyle and Mr. Franke plan to be on hand at the Saturday event. Hopes are that as many of the people who were interviewed for this movie will also be able to attendance.
This event is free and open to the public. Copies of the video will be on sale at the event for $15, with $7 of each sale benefiting the Orleans County Historical Society.
People with questions about this event can contact Scott Wheeler at (802) 334-5920 or by email at northlandjournal@gmail.com