Sunday, July 14 1:30 p.m.
Dummerston Grange Hall
Vermont’s Flood of 1927: A New Look
by Dr. Nicholas Clifford
The Flood of ‘27 is remembered as the greatest natural disaster in Vermont history. Stories of loss, tragedy, and heroism abound. And yet more important in many ways than the flood itself is the way in which Vermont and Vermonters responded to the catastrophe, from the moment when the waters rose to the days, weeks, and months afterwards, when the cleanup and recovery took place. Although there was some limited outside help from the Federal Government and the American Red Cross, by and large Vermont was thrown back on its own resources. The ways it met the emergency tell us a great deal about what sort of a place the State was in those days. The flood is far more than an episode restricted to the history of a single state. It is not simply a Vermont story or a piece of local or regional history; it is part of American history, and from it, one can learn much about what sort of a place America was eighty-odd years ago as well. As the coming of Irene in August, 2011 proved -- though there are certainly similarities between the way Vermonters met the flood of 1927 and met Irene -- our society, our country, and our State have changed enormously in the intervening years.
This examination of the flood and reconstruction by retired Middlebury College historian, Nicholas Clifford, sheds light on important facets of our national history, and helps us understand better America’s passage through the often anxious and difficult years of the 1920s.
Nicholas Clifford is a graduate of Princeton and holds a PhD from Harvard. He taught at MIT, Princeton, and Middlebury College, where he was also Provost for eight years. His book, The Troubled Roar of the Waters (about the great Flood of 1927) was a collaborative effort with his wife, Deborah, also a writer, and the first woman president of the Vermont Historical Society. Deborah died in 2008, the same year The Troubled Roar of Waters received the Vermont Historical Society’s Hathaway Award. Dr. Nicholas Clifford lives in Middlebury.
Saturday, August 17 10:00 - 4:00
(See History Fair page for more details!)
Friday, August 23 5:00
Annual Meeting, Pot-Luck and Special Program (to be announced)
NewBrook Fire House, Newfane