Graduation Special pg. 7
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VERMONT
June 8, 2019
Published by Denton Publications, Inc.
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
MUHS student receives ‘fullride’ scholarship By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
Wagner Hodgson received a 2019 Vermont Public Places Honor Award for the design of Middlebury’s new downtown green-space park. Photo provided
TOUR TO EXPLORE DOWNTOWN PARK By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | On Saturday, June 8, starting at 10 a.m. Middlebury’s Sheldon Museum, will host landscape architect Theodore “Ted” Adams of Wagner Hodgson on a tour of the new Middlebury Town Park located within a block of the museum. According to musuem Associate Director Mary Ward Manley, “come and enjoy
the park and learn more about its design.” Manley’s highlight of the tour noted that Hodgson will describe “the creative process” involved in creating the new park. Described as a “play lawn”, the new downtown park includes plenty of seating, picnic opportunities on the lawn or using tables. The unusual park also includes informative historic markers and public art displays. “In 2019, Wagner Hodgson received a Vermont Public Places Honor Award
for the design of the park,” according to Manley. Wagner Hodgson, a landscape architecture and design studio, was founded in 1987 and maintains offices in Burlington, Vermont and Hudson, New York. “Structured as a traditional open design studio, Wagner Hodgson encourages and fosters a collaborative design process amongst our team and clients,” according to the firm’s own business history.
MIDDEBURY | Officials of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation announced that Nico Brayton, a student at Middlebury Union High School (MUHS), received one of their organization’s prestigious, full-ride 2019 Coolidge Scholarship awards. “This year more than 3,400 students, the most ever, competed for this Nico Brayton Photo provided full-ride merit scholarship, which can be used at any accredited college or university in the United States. The scholarship covers tuition, fees, room, and board for four years of undergraduate study. In addition to the four scholars, the Foundation has named the top 100 overall applicants Coolidge Senators,” according to Rob Hammer of the Vermont-based foundation.
» Park Cont. on pg. 6
» Scholarship Cont. on pg. 8
Rutland sculpture honors African-American soldiers By Steve Costello GUEST W RITER
RUTLAND | Celebrating a largely unknown piece of important local history, a new sculpture honoring 20 men who joined the first AfricanAmerican Civil War regiment in the north was added last month to the Rutland Sculpture Trail. The sculpture, honoring three draftees and 17 volunteers who enlisted in Rutland to join the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, features a scene from the Battle of Olustee, where they earned recognition for their brave fighting in pine barrens and swampland. Three men with local ties were injured in the battle. The relief sculpture by local artist Don Ramey was created at the Carving Studio and Sculpture Center (CSSC), in Danby marble donated by Vermont Quarries. Ramey used photos of descendants of 54th Regiment soldiers as models for the detailed and moving depiction of soldiers at war. “After researching the history of this regiment, of these men, exemplary soldiers under fire as well as steadfast equal rights campaigners, I became more at ease with depicting them in battle,” Ramey said. “Rutland’s current residents can be rightly proud of their legacy.” The regiment was credited with demonstrating incredible bravery, changing military views of African Americans common at the time, and exhibiting tre-
Rev. Arnold Thomas: “While Vermont is one of the whitest states in the Union, it has a rich African-American history of national significance, with Rutland playing a key role.” Photo provided
mendous leadership in rejecting military pay until their demands for equal pay were met. Lisa Ryan, a charter member of the Rutland NAACP and member of the Rutland City Board of Aldermen, said as an African American woman, she is proud of the sculpture. The Rev. Arnold Thomas, a former board member of Vermont Partnership for Fairness and Diversity and supporter of the Vermont African American Heritage Trail, said the artwork would be added to the trail later this year, and would inspire students and visitors alike. “While Vermont is one of the whitest states in the Union, it has a rich AfricanAmerican history of national significance, with Rutland playing a key role,” Thomas said. Mayor Dave Allaire and MKF Properties President Mark Foley Jr. unveiled the artwork near the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row, as Carol Driscoll unveiled an accompanying bronze plaque. “It’s a tremendous piece of art honoring bravery and service,” Driscoll said. Added Foley, who owns the building, “I am honored to be able to celebrate this important piece of Rutland history, and share it with locals and visitors alike.” Organizers will continue work on plans and fundraising for other sculptures. The series is intended to honor important local people and history, create community pride, beautify downtown Rutland and draw locals and tourists into the city center. ■
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