DVD wins the 2007 VT Historical Society Hathaway Award
October 2007: Strengthening the Future by Illuminating the Past
This 14 minute DVD captures some of the best stories of women that emerged at the Vermont History Expo 2006 when the theme was Women in Vermont History. Over 40 Local Historical Societies dug into their collections and the history of their communities to discover women who had made a difference.
Through interviews with people from the Local Historical Societies at the Expo, the DVD features stories of well known women such as Grace Coolidge, and less well known but equally interesting women such Jane Stickney and Dewees Cochoran. Most of these women’s stories were on the verge of disappearing, despite the fact that the women themselves and the types of work they did were often quite well known in their time.
The DVD is available for a $30 donation to the Vermont Commission on Women Education and Research Foundation which will be used to support the work of the Vermont Women’s History Project.
Contact Judith Irving at 802-828-5940 to order your copy. It would make a great gift to your local library or school.
Press Release
Vermont Historical Society Announces the 2007
Winners of the Richard O. Hathaway Award
for Outstanding Vermont History
The Vermont Historical Society is pleased to announce two winners for the Society’s prestigious 2007 Richard O. Hathaway Award announced on September 15, 2007 at the Vermont State House. UVM Library Associate Professor and Director of Research Collections Jeffrey D. Marshall was honored for his 2006 historical novel, The Inquest, published by Hardscrabble Books, a division of the University Press of New England. Described by the judges as “creative and skillful – clearly an outstanding and innovative project,” Marshall’s captivating story takes place in Burlington, UVM and the medical school in the 1830s.
The Vermont Women’s History Project received the award for their work on documenting the historical achievements of a number of Vermont women in an engaging 14-minute DVD, “Strengthening the Future by Illuminating the Past.” Judith Irving, Director of the Vermont Women’s History Project, Vermont Commission on Women, accepted the award on their behalf. The project resulted from hundreds of hours of filmed interviews based on research and exhibits from historical societies throughout Vermont on the history of the extraordinary women, some famous, some now obscure, who lived in their towns. The project received accolades for its “excellence as a visionary work” and for stimulating interest in Vermont women’s history, acknowledged by the judges as “long overdue.
Irving and Marshall each received a $500 prize and a commemorative plaque. The award, created in 2006, commemorates the legacy of professor of history Richard O. Hathaway, who taught at Goddard College, Norwich University and Vermont College. Hathaway also served as VHS trustee, president of the Vermont Labor History Society and as a humanities scholar with the Vermont Humanities Council. For more information, or to make a contribution to the VHS Richard O. Hathaway Fund, please contact Karen Stites, 802-479-8501.