FAIRFAX HISTORICAL SOCIETY HOLDS ANNUAL PICNIC SUNDAY 8/15

Hi all,

On Sunday, August 15, 2004, The Fairfax Historical Society had a picnic at Elaine Kirkpatrick’s on the Chaffee Road. Elaine Kirkpatrick and The Fairfax Historical Society provided drinks and desserts. Fortunately, Hurricane Charley fizzled out making it a very pleasant evening for the get together. Among those in attendance were, Keith and Sally Billado, Mike and Margie Cain, Carol Graves, Elaine Kirkpatrick, Paul and Pauline Lavallee, Steve Overton and Wayne and Sally Sweet.

Thanks to a very generous donation to The Fairfax Historical Society by Steve Overton and Toni Stone, new folding chairs, much, much more comfortable than the old ones we had were utilized for the first time at this event.

After the picnic, some of the members took a stroll around the area and visited the site where a cellar hole still exists that was the former home of Liza Bevins, as well as the remains of an old mill, just across the road from the Kirkpatrick home. A brief business meeting was held and the slate of officers remains the same. Mike Cain, President, Henry Raymond, Vice President, Sally Billado, Secretary, Elaine Kirkpatrick, Treasurer and Lucien Hayes outgoing trustee re-elected for a term of three years. The term of office for Trustees Marion Chaffee and Paul Lavallee is not up at this time.

The Pie & Ice Cream Social was indeed a success. Plans are being made for a trip to The Chester A. Arthur Birthplace and The St. Albans Museum sometime this fall and Mike Cain will provide us with the details when arrangements can be made. The trip will be available to the public.

Members and guests were asks to bring items that reflect past history, such as scrapbooks, personal history, momentos, etc. Some very interesting things indeed were brought in.

Sally (Wilkins) Sweet brought in some very interesting items found in the home of Albert W. Rich who passed away May 9, 2004.

Sally (Wilkins) Sweet is shown above holding a bottle of “Hooch” which is probably a partial bottle of homemade wine. The label on the bottle says “Mabel Goodall 1860-61.” A check in my records indicates that Mabel was born in 1869 and died in 1942. Her mother was a Sanderson who married Truman Drew and later married Marty Hicks, which is probably where Albert got this bottle of “Hooch.” Mabel actually lived in the old Goodall house, later known as The Jim Brown House on Main Street. Among other things Sally found in the house and brought in were a lot of old newspaper clippings dating as far back as 1903 pasted in State General Assembly books. What an interesting piece of “Yankee Ingenuity.” Utilizing these old books as scrapbooks. Maryann and I were talking last night and I bet they didn’t buy any glue either as I remember as a child that a paste made of flour and water made excellent glue and was cheap too. If this bottle of “Hooch” could only talk, what an interesting tale it could probably tell. Sally also brought several items including the old Fire Alarm Card and an old Weed Orchestra Schedule for 1927. From stories told by my wife’s parents, I know that they attended many dances with Albert & Harriet where music was played by Weed’s Orchestra.

Pauline (Webb) Lavallee is shown above with the Baby Books given them by their mothers. Paul’s included a lock of curly hair from his first haircut and the date he had the haircut. Paul stated he has never had a curl in his hair since. They also brought a few of their favorite books they enjoyed as a child. Paul had a replica of the Shrine at Ste. Anne de Beaupre in Quebec City that was given to him when he was seven years old by a couple who took a trip to the shrine on their honeymoon. The replica was made of metal, something you won’t find now as all of these replicas are now made of plastic.

Margie Cain is shown above reading from one of her mother’s diaries. These diaries date back to 1950 and her mother’s thoughts on family and local community activities as well as world events are expressed in these diaries. Margie stated at one time she had asked her mother if she had ever had the chicken pox, but her mother couldn’t remember if she had or not. The truth was finally revealed – “Yes, Margie did have the chicken pox,” as indicated in her mother’s diary and on what date it occurred. Other local community events were also mentioned in the diary such as bridal showers, weddings, birthday celebrations, etc.

Mike Cain, Margie’s brother and President of The Fairfax Historical Society brought in some of his personal scrapbooks. Mike’s interest are Car Racing and Baseball, but he seemed to have a special attraction to a scrapbook his mother gave him at graduation which included special events and awards. He proudly showed his high school picture in his baseball uniform where he says he weighed about a hundred pounds less than he weighs now. He also showed a new scrapbook he has started on The Iraqi Crisis and has personally started a daily diary.

I, Henry Raymond brought in a couple of items. One was a family genealogy book of my wife Maryann’s side of the family, which shows what can be done with a simple genealogy program. I also emphasized the fact that for future generations, it is nice to have in your own words what you did, where you lived and bits and pieces of your life you would like to share in the future. I also brought in a CD ROM of photos of ancestors and family through the years explaining that even though many of these photos were taken under duress, they appear to be very much appreciated now. The CD ROM cover and label were designed by Maryann.

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Hopefully, if you haven’t done it yet, take the time to put important momentos of your life in one place, briefly record the important events of your life (revising will be necessary as you will forget some you want to include), and last but not least, share them with your loved ones while you are still alive.

A special thanks to Elaine Kirkpatrick for hosting this event, and our very dedicated President of The Fairfax Historical Society, Mike Cain, for organizing it. It made for a truly wonderful evening.