The Spirit of Giving

 

12/24/25       Journal Opinion

In 1866, financier George Peabody gave the village of Post Mills $5,000 to build and stock a village library. It was the first of a number of donations by others to establish libraries throughout the area. It was a recent visit to the Peabody Library that gave the author the idea for this column. 

 

In 2025, Operation Santa Claus, in its 46th year of giving to area children, provided food baskets, blankets, arts and crafts items, books, and stocking stuffers to hundred of needy families.  It is just one of many such activities that reflect a spirit of giving.   

  In 1968, the Old Fogy column in The United Opinion suggested that while residents may have a “tradition of “penny-pinching,” they are “generous to church, charity and individuals in need.”

While that spirit of generosity is apparent throughout the year, it is especially evident around the holidays.    

Several of the major national charitable giving sites have named Vermont, based on its population, as the most generous state in the nation. New Hampshire was named third after Massachusetts.

This column examines the local traditions of donating to worthy public causes. It covers some of the individual and collective donations that have resulted in buildings, monuments, and other lasting gifts to the area. Fund drives for local and national causes are included. 

One difficulty in writing a column on this topic is that the examples of giving are numerous and varied. I have selected examples that typify the altruism of area residents.

Undoubtedly, readers will immediately think of examples that I have not included as well as area of need that are overlooked by residents.   

Local philanthropy has a long history. Financier George Peabody, a Massachusetts native, is considered to be the father of modern philanthropy. Before his death in 1869, he donated millions to charities in the United States and Great Britain.

In 1866, he gave $5,000 to the village of Post Mills for the construction of a library. This was in recognition of youthful visits to the village. The funds covered the purchase of land, construction of the library and the acquisition of 1,100 books. Opened in 1867, it is considered Vermont’s oldest active library. 

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie continued the tradition of using his wealth to establish libraries across the nation. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries this philanthropist funded over 1,600 local libraries.

A number of local libraries were funded by individuals and families who recognized the value of such institutions.

In 1876, Azuba Latham Barry left Thetford $5,000 to establish a library in honor of her father. In 1892, Erasus Baldwin left a bequest to establish a library in Wells River in honor of his family members.

John L. Woods is one who saw the need for both a library building and a new public school in Bradford in the late 19th century. His 1893 will left $30,000 to build two new buildings. The Woods School Building and the Woods Library Building are the result of that legacy.

In 1894, Ira Whitcher of Benton and Woodsville donated money for a library building. The resulting Whitcher Library Building houses the Woodsville Public Library.  

Seeking a suitable memorial for her father, Martha Tenney donated money for a new library in Newbury village in 1897. That same year, John H. Pearson of Chicago sent funds to renovate the old Haverhill Academy building into a village hall including village library.

In 1902, members of the Blake family donated money for a new library in East Corinth in memory of their parents. In other communities, libraries were established through the efforts of local citizens.

The North Haverhill Library was built in 1912 with donations from various sources. In 1996, an addition and renovations were completed to the building with gifts from the Patten family.

Other public buildings were created by the efforts of local citizens. In 1912, Bradford resident Edward Sawyer donated $12,000 to construct a memorial chapel in the Upper Plain Cemetery.

Community fundraising provided the money establishing public monuments. In 1912, the granite Soldiers Memorial was dedicated in North Haverhill. A public subscription campaign raised funds for a Memorial Park near the Bradford Public Library and, in 1926, a statue of Captain Charles Clark was added.

That same year, the Fairlee Soldier’s Monument was created, the gift of summer resident Arthur Stone.    

In 1937, Herbert A. Clark of Piermont left the Town of Piermont $33,785 in his will. The town invested it and over the years the bequest has grown to over $1.8 million. Recently, the town voted to use the portions of the funds to finance a new municipal building, named for Clark.

From the earliest settlement of area towns, individuals have donated land for public use. Beginning in 1773, locals donated what became Orford’s East and West Commons. The North Common in Haverhill was donated in 1788 by a group led by Col. Charles Johnston.

Bradford’s Low-St. Johns Forest was created in 1946 by a donation from Jessie Blakely Low and enlarged in 1961 by Nina St. John. Throughout the area there are parks and recreation fields donated by and in memory of locals. Bradford’s Elizabeth’s Park, Corinth’s Shea Town Forest, and Wrights and Tucker Mountain sites are just a few of those spots created, in part, by private donations.

Fund drives have been held to raise money for specific local needs. What follows are just some of those.

In 1902, Rev. William Loyne of Woodsville began a fund drive to raise money for a new local hospital. In 1903, the Woodsville Cottage Hospital was the result. Annual drives help to fund its services. In 1957, a special fund was created “with the hope for a new building.” The new building opened in 1960 and, again, annual drives continue to raised funds and enhance its facilities. 

After a 1942 fire destroyed Thetford Academy, a fund drive began to rebuild the school. The new main building opened in 1949. In 1956, a fund drive led to the creation of the Valley Health Center in East Corinth. Funds were collected from throughout the area to add to a significant contribution from Bert and Mary Holland. 

In 1946, the Bradford Community Club began soliciting funds to build what became known as Bradford’s Memorial Field. 

Between 1973 and 1979, locals raised $250,000 to rebuild the Bedell Bridge on the Connecticut. Only 2 months after it was the renovation was rededicated, it was destroyed by a windstorm.

In 2018, the Margaret Pratt Community Center opened in Bradford after 20 years of planning. It sits on land donated by George and Hazel Pratt. Dr. James Barton, who led the project from its inception, and the Pratt family were among the major donors.

There were other local fund drives to support charitable causes. Service groups such as the VFW, the Bradford Community Club, Women’s clubs, and local chapters of the Grange, Rotary, and Lions collected funds and passed them along to community causes.

Youth groups such as the 4-H and scouts, as well as student groups conducted fundraising to support their activities.

Churches have been recipients of bequests, some of which had designated purposes such as ministerial support or building maintenance.

 Churches were also the source of charitable giving. The Catholic Bishop’s Fund holds an annual fundraising drive, a portion of which went to charities. Protestant churches provide funds for both local needs, such as heating oil or food, and relief efforts during natural disasters elsewhere.

For 20 years, the Community Action program provided food and other emergency needs for residents of the Bradford Area. When the program closed in 1995, a group of local churches created an emergency food shelf that is still operational at the Bradford Academy building.

This is just one of the food shelves that operate throughout the area.  Donations from local food and fund drives, as well as business donations replenished their shelves.

 This is just one example of the spirit of neighborliness of area residents. Despite what might be considered a reluctance to create a deep spirit of camaraderie, they are first up when a neighbor is in need.

In 1891, The United Opinion reflected: “Farmers assisted each other in gathering the harvest, and for that farmer who is sick, the neighbors… all turned in to help him get his crops into the garner.”  To this day, farmers rally to assist in the case of illness or tragedy.

This spirt is reflected in community efforts to help others.  An example of neighbors helping neighbors occurred in Jan 1958 when the home of the Glen Marsh family of Orfordville burned, leaving them with little.

Within two weeks, a town-wide event was held at the Orfordville town hall, complete with gifts of household items and money. Pledges of labor and materials to rebuild the Marsh home were accepted.  A farm produce auction and square dance rounded out the evening.

National fund drives have been one way in which locals have contributed to worthwhile causes. The American Red Cross was founded in 1881, and during World War One it began conducting local fund drives to support its efforts.

 The Salvation Army established a presence in Vermont in 1885, with the effort being led by members from New Hampshire. The “red little kettle” drive to bring Christmas cheer to the less fortunate was first mentioned in 1909.

In 1936, the American Cancer Society began an annual fund drive.

In 1938, the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis was established, and its March of Dimes program reached into local elementary schools. In 1949, the American Heart Association began annual drives, and in 1964 designated February as Heart Month.

In 1949, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute established the Jimmy Fund to support pediatric cancer research.

In all of these drives, each local town had a fund chairman and volunteers striving to reach an announced goal. The local newspapers carried frequent notices of all aspects of the campaigns. This was significant when a town’s goal efforts were especially successful or not. 

In the early years of these drives, it was common for volunteers to conduct a door-to-door campaign. Donation cans in local stores were also used. Volunteers also collected funds from audiences at events such as motion picture showings and ball games.

In recent years, these national drives have depended on mail solicitations, although local chair names are still mentioned. 

Many individuals, families, and businesses have been generous in their support of local causes. The following three are examples of this generosity.

In 1999, Bradford resident Walter E. Lee left a large bequest in trust to the Town of Bradford. The focus of the Lee fund has been supporting youth recreation. Elizabeth’s Park and Bradford Youth Sports have been recipients of the fund’s interest account.  

The late Walter and Carole Young, residents of Haverhill and Bath, established a record of donations to area causes. Their foundation gave scholarships to local high school graduates and donations to Cottage Hospital. They donated funds for the construction of the Haverhill Corner Fire Department building. A major donation to Dartmouth Hitchcock created the pancreas center that bears their names.

There are few local causes that the Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation has not assisted.  Created in 1999 by the Hanover-Etna couple, the foundation has dispensed millions of dollars helping literally hundreds of community organizations.  

Significant contributions have been made by the foundation to Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Hitchcock. The Jack Byrne Center for Palliative and Hospice Care and the Dartmouth Cancer Center are examples of the foundation’s dedication to those causes.

The foundation has also targeted the needs of low-income residents and the unhoused, with the Haven in White River Jct. a major recipient. 

More locally, the foundation is generous responding to requests form student groups, libraries, and community projects. A well-written personal letter to the foundation often results in a check for $5,000. Recently, Mrs. Byrne sent such a check to the Bradford Public Library to help with building repairs.

In 1962, The New Hampshire Charitable Foundation was established. The Vermont Community Foundation was established in 1986. Both offer people access to professional assistance with their acts of generosity and service.  They collect and disperse funds to “achieve charitable goals.”

The holiday season offers additional opportunities to share with the those in need. Programs such as Operation Santa Claus, Red Stocking, Toys for Tots, and Ryegate Santa help brighten Christmas for low-income children.

It should be noted that the needs of those who are without often over whelms the ability of locals to respond fully.

Regardless, ask anyone who is involved in any of the charitable activities mentioned above.  They will agree that the joy that is felt by the recipients of good will is reflected back on those who offer it.