VCW partnered with the Vermont Historical Society (VHS) to honor Women's History Month (March) each year. Along with VHS, we also collaborated with Vermont Public Radio (VPR) to offer a corresponding-themed commentary series.
Women of the Counterculture Movement in 1970s Vermont
In 2017 with VHS, we presented this evening roundtable discussion moderated by Amanda Gustin, Vermont Historical Society's Public Program Coordinator, and featured Euan Bear, Bridget Downey-Meyer, Louise Andrews, Melinda Moulton and Verandah Porche, reflecting on what brought them into this movement, what their experience was like, and what lasting impact it’s had on their own lives and on Vermont society. Link here to watch the event recorded on VT Historical Society’s Facebook Stream
VPR's Women's History Month 2017 Commentary Series: Counterculture Women In Vermont
*panelists at our event. Special note: Melinda Moulton served as a VCW Commissioner. More 2017 Counterculture event details on our Facebook event page. Cyndy Bittinger's Women of the Counterculture in 1970s Vermont piece from Vermont Woman's April/May 2017 Issue.
Women of the Long Trail
Kathleen Norris, Catherine Robbins and Hilda M. Kurth, also known as “The Three Musketeers” were the first women to hike the Long Trail end-to-end in 1927. They became a national sensation and the most famous of many who have completed the country’s oldest long-distance footpath. In 2016 at the Green Mountain Club, our history month event featured VHS librarian Reidun Nuquist’s archival photos and the stories that brought to life the women who hiked, built, and maintained the Long Trail.
VPR's Women's History Month 2016 Commentary Series: Women of the Green Mountains
- Reidun Nuquist: Women of The Green Mt. Club
- Cara Clifford Nelson: Catherine Robbins Clifford
- Jeanie McIntyre: Sylvia Appleton
- Cyndy Bittinger: Caroline Crane Marsh
- Kathryn Stearns: Mary Lincoln Beckwith
Event article in Seven Days.
Do We Still Need Women's History?
In partnership with the VHS, our 2015 event was a brownbag lunch panel moderated by VCW Executive Director Cary Brown, panelists included VCW Commissioner Dr. Felicia Kornbluh, the Director of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of Vermont, Dr. Marilyn Blackwell, independent historian, and Holly Allen, Assistant Professor of American Studies at Middlebury College.
VPR's Women's History Month 2015 Commentary Series: Do We Still Need Women's History?
- Still Teaching Women's History by Cyndy Bittinger
- Researching Women's History by Dr. Marilyn Blackwell
- Beyond Women's History by Dr. Felicia Kornbluh
- The First Woman by Cary Brown
- Women Shaping History by Kathryn Stearns
- Paid Sick Leave by Governor Madeleine Kunin
- Women's History as Context by Holly Allen
2015 History Month Resolution H.C.R.92, the House concurrent resolution designating March as Women’s History Month in Vermont.
Vermont Women in the Arts
Our 2014 history month event shared the accomplishments and perspectives of talented and creative women working in Vermont in a variety of visual media, and to reflect on how their experiences have changed as the role of women has changed in the last half century, particularly in Vermont. Mickey Myers of the Bryan Memorial Gallery in Jeffersonville provided an introduction, Mara Williams of the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center moderated the panel which included Alisa Dworsky, installation artist; Carol MacDonald, printmaker; and Katharine Montstream, painter
VPR's Women's History Month 2014 Commentary Series: Vermont Women in the Arts
- Vermont Women In The Arts by Betty Smith-Mastaler
- Everyday Heroes by Anne Averyt
- Ruth Mould, portrait artist by VCW Executive Director Cary Brown
- Rachael Robinson Elmer by Jane Williamson
- Sibling Bonds by Jill Mudgett
- Dewees Cochran by Nancy Osgood
- Counting Bow Ties by Linda Radtke
- Clara Sipprell by Cyndy Bittinger
- Martha and Hilda Belcher by Mickey Myers
Vermont Women in Journalism
In 2013 the history month lunch hour discussion included Anne Galloway of Vermont Digger, Nina Keck of Vermont Public Radio, Kristin Carlson of WCAX, and Terri Hallenbeck of the Burlington Free Press, and featured moderator Rickey Gard Diamond, the editor of Vermont Woman. Historian Marilyn Blackwell provided context and set the stage with detailed stories of women who blazed this trail.
Women of Change: Making Strides in Women’s Legal Rights in the 70s and 80s
The 2012 event featured a panel discussion moderated by Vermont Law School Professor Cheryl Hanna, with panelists Sandy Baird, Esquire; Senator Peg Flory; the Honorable Denise Johnson; and Mary Just Skinner, Esquire. The audience learned about how the battle for women’s names to appear in the phonebook was won; what it was like to be one of the first 100 female lawyers in practice; what influenced decisions to run for public office; and what it’s like to serve and represent women, particularly survivors of domestic violence. This event coincided with the release of the VCW’s 6th edition of The Legal Rights of Women in Vermont, a handbook to help the layperson understand legal rights and responsibilities under state and federal law. Special thanks to Action Circles for capturing this discussion in a video.
Vermont Women in Military Service
2011's event honored and acknowledged the military service of Vermont women. This was a day-long event and the highlight was a noontime panel of Vermont women veterans sharing their stories and experiences, including a woman soldier stationed in Afghanistan, a nurse serving in a makeshift field hospital in Vietnam, and nurses stationed at a convalescent home for wounded troops at a castle in England.
Vermont Public Radio’s Women's History Month Commentary Series 2010 - 2007
Very special thanks to VPR producer Betty Smith-Mastaler and to Cyndy Bittinger for making this series possible.