Popular Posts

  • 'No Rum for Me!"
    This 19th century poster utilized the mother and child motif to drive home the benefits of making alcohol consumption illegal. A call f...
  • Influenza and Other Epidemics
    Spanish influenza caused the deaths of 100 million people world-wide in a major pandemic in 1917-1920. This 1918 illustration from the St. ...
  • March 1933: FDR's New Deal
    These top three photographs of Bradford area families were taken by the Farm Security Administration photographer. They show the poverty ex...
  • Hurricane of 1938
    Many old orchards, such as this apple orchard, were ruined by the fierce winds of the Hurricane of 1938 (photo: Farm Security Administrati...
  • Going to Summer Camp
    Early in the 20th century train-loads of campers arrived in the Upper Valley for summer residential youth camps established by pioneers in ...
  • Holy Cow! A River of Milk
    The face of area dairy farming is represented by the Newmont Farm of Fairlee and the other two neighboring farms pictured below. Establishe...
  • Village Fires (Part 1)
    On June 14, 1913, a "great conflagration" destroyed the center of Newbury Village destroying over 25 structures. On December 19, 1947, ...
  • Lost Golf Courses
    Created in the early 1960s, Fairlee's 9-hole Bonnie Oakes Country Club operated for about 20 years (photo: Marge Smith). Dressed for a ro...
  • The French in Vermont: 400 years of history
    In July 1609 Samuel de Champlain came to the area that would become Vermont. He visited the lake the natives called Bitawbagok , "the wat...
  • (no title)

Statcounter

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Parade Float Kicks Off Wilson Globe Bicentennial


The Bradford Historical Society sponsored a float in the 2009 Orford-Fairlee Fourth of July parade. It made a second appearance in the Connecticut Valley Fair Parade on Bradford's Main Street on Thursday, August 17. The float featured two 3' x 8' banners declaring Bradford's James Wilson as America's first globemaker. A 40" paper mache globe was a rough recreation of Wilson's first globe. The BHS banner decorated the rear of the float. It was a real learning tool for those who viewed it passing by along the routes of the two parades. Reactions from the adults was almost as enthusiastic about the float as among the children for the candy thrown from the cab.
In January, 1810, Wilson, a Bradford farmer, sold the first American-made globe. It had been created in his workshop off what is now Fairground Road. It was the result of 14 years of experimentation and is an example of Yankee ingenuity and perseverance. More on Wilson's story to follow in later postings.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)