“Clothespins,” featured at the Kent Museum in Calais. Courtesy Flywheel Industrial Arts.
Montpelier Aims to Bring Clothespins Back to Their Historic Home
Montpelier was once the clothespin capital of the world. Montpelier Alive and the Montpelier Public Art Commission aim to celebrate this history by acquiring a sculpture of three large clothespins made by local artists and installing it near the historic home of one of Montpelier’s clothespin factories.
The National Clothespin Factory (on Stone Cutters Way) and the U.S. Clothespin Factory (near the current location of Shaw’s), dominated clothespin manufacturing for parts of three centuries. The U.S. Clothespin Factory building was notable for one unusual feature, a giant clothespin that adorned its roof from 1897 to 1924, proclaiming itself “The World’s Largest Working Clothespin.” Inspired by this sign, in 2020, local artists Ben Cheney, Jesse Cooper, and Chris Eaton of Flywheel Industrial Arts created a sculpture of three clothespins that has been displayed locally at the Kent gallery in Calais and the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.
Montpelier Alive and the Montpelier Public Art Commission hope to bring this unique sculpture to the vacant lot beside the Drawing Board on Main Street, close to the historic site of the “World’s Largest Working Clothespin.” Generous donors have already contributed $6,000 toward the $12,000 cost of acquiring and installing the piece. The public is invited to help close the gap and honor Montpelier’s history with this artwork. Contributions can be made at montpelieralive.com/clothespins or to Montpelier Alive, 39 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602.
—press release
Local Students Win Historical Society Fellowships
The Vermont Historical Society has awarded paid fellowships to three students from central Vermont. The awards are designed to support scholarly research into Vermont’s history.
This year’s Mario D. and Rose T. Lorenzini Fellowship, a $2000 stipend for the summer of 2022, was awarded to Montpelier High School student Louisa Braun. The fellowship entails approximately 100 hours of work, culminating in a final product relating to the immigrant experience in Vermont. Braun will conduct her work at the Vermont History Center in Barre.
The Mario D. and Rose T. Lorenzini Fellowship is underwritten by the estate of Mario D. Lorenzini and individual donors for a student engaged in work related to the immigrant experience in Vermont, including, but not limited to Italian culture and foodways.
This year’s recipients of the Geiger Fellowship are U32 student Rory McLane and University of Vermont student Jake Pehle. They’ll be working to assist the cataloging of the Vermont History Center collection, launching a new exhibit, “A New American Globe: James Wilson of Vermont.”
The Geiger Fellowship, underwritten by Harvey and Pamela Geiger, is a $1,500 stipend awarded to two Vermont high school juniors or seniors for work related to the center’s collections, archives, or exhibits. Awardees will work on activities that include learning to use historical artifacts or artwork to tell cultural stories, learning about museum collections standards, and assisting with ongoing exhibitions and Vermont Historical Society programming.
—press release
Annual Nurse Pinning Ceremony Celebrates 88 Nursing Students
In a ceremony dating back to 1860, Anna Richardson of Berlin and Winter Gascoyne of Montpelier were among the 88 members of the nursing class of 2022 who received their Saint Anselm College nurse’s pin at the pinning ceremony this spring. The annual event celebrates the graduates as they enter the nursing profession.
The ceremony celebrates the seniors’ completion of the highly respected and rigorous nursing program, earning the credential of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Upon completion of a licensing examination, the graduates will have earned the credential of Registered Nurses.
—press release
