Living History Association

Attend the LHA General Membership Meeting to see what is next!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Matterhorn Inn
248 Route 100 North
West Dover, VT 05356

Meeting Schedule

9:00 am            Registration/Coffee Klatch

10:00 am          Meeting Opens—Chairman’s remarks, remarks by President

10:30 am          Revolutionary War Department Report—Past year’s activity, planned year ahead, financial status

10:50 am          Civil War Department Report—Past year’s activity, planned year ahead, financial status

11:05 am          WWII Committee Report—Past year’s activity, planned year ahead, financial status

11:25 am          Ancient & Medieval Department Report—Past year’s activity, planned year ahead, financial status

11:40 am          Administrative Department Report—Past year’s activity, planned year ahead, safety and insurance, fraternity and organization, financial status

12:00 pm          Break

12:45 pm          Lunch provided by the Living History Association and the Matterhorn Inn

1:45 pm            Nomination and election of a new President, followed by nominations of people to run for the board of directors.

2:30 pm            Break

3:00 pm            Introduction of representatives from the Dover Bicentennial Committee with a discussion of their proposed activities and 2010 dates.

3:15 pm            Introduction of representatives from the Celebrate the Valley Committee with a discussion of the Time Line, 2009 & 2010 dates and correlation to Dover Bicentennial Celebration October 2010.

3:30 pm            Introduction of the Wilmington Old Home Week Committee representatives and their plans and needs for August 2010.

4:00 pm            Introduction of the representatives of the Wilmington Historical Society and their wishes for a small 2009 Civil War Event.

4:30 pm            FINAL MEETING ASSEMBLY AND ADJOURNMENT.

5:00 pm            Meeting with Chris Donnelly for those people who want to lecture or host programs for International Elderhostel 2009 & 2010.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

September 25, 2008--Jacksonville, VT

While the Living History Association (LHA) is no stranger to the Deerfield Valley or Mount Snow Region, as it has become known, this is the first time that its General Membership Meeting has been held in West Dover, Vermont. The LHA has maintained a physical office in the town of Wilmington which is right next door to the West Dover Community for nearly 20 of its 30 years of operation. The LHA has never been far from West Dover, having had a full museum and library only 10 miles away in Marlboro, Vermont for five years, as well as its current office in Jacksonville, Vermont again about the same distance away. But the creation of a fund for the Dover Economic Development Committee and the LHA’s own ambitious historical, educational, and promotional plans have brought Dover to the forefront as a possible site for either doing more events or creating a permanent headquarters location, or possibly both. The LHA currently maintains a traveling store, a static display museum, as well as all the trappings for a small living history museum, in storage, an office and a 2,500-plus book library. The LHA has never been fully self-sufficient and therefore will never be able to create a permanent headquarters site without community involvement and/or some other types of substantial help. The seeds for such help were planted in July of 2008 with the enormously successful International Time Line Event held in nearby Wilmington, Vermont. Over 100 reenactors of all time periods participated and large crowds of local people attended the event. The LHA headquarters unit picked up two members, the organization made enough funds from the event to pay its annual liability insurance premiums as well as adding to the general fund. Most importantly, the business community took a special interest and volunteered its help on several future projects. 

In addition, groups that are new to the LHA from the local area have come forward to ask our assistance on events such as: Wilmington’s Old Home Week in 2010, the Dover Bicentennial in 2010, a small Civil War event for the Wilmington Historical Society in 2009, a possible larger Civil War event by Celebrate the Valley in either 2009 or 2010 and the Time Line Event in 2009, International Elderhostel participation for selected LHA historians, and a possible headquarters at some point in the future. Local interest is high and new LHA memberships and activities cannot help but rise because of it.

James Dassatti, LHA Executive Director, stated, “We have Lee & Dot Fisher, who led our Board of Directors through some very trying times, to thank for keeping this organization going these last five years. When they retired last year, Mike Heenan and the new Board took up the challenge, were mindful of the lessons learned from the tenure of the Fishers, and then moved forward building on that foundation. We are stronger now, with more options open to us than ever before, with an ever growing list of exciting projects and educational programs.”

All LHA membership run from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2009.  If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us atinfo@livinghistoryassn.org.

Released January 1, 2009

The 2009 LHA Membership Application is now available for download.  Click here for a downloadable PDF copy.

There will be guided camp tours throughout both days of the event as well as a pre-scheduled clothing review demonstration on Saturday. There will also be pre-scheduled firing demonstrations of various weapons on both Saturday and Sunday. Units will drill and demonstrate aspects in their camps on both days independently.

October 3-4, 2009  23rd International Time Line Event
Held on the grounds of The Matterhorn Inn, West Dover, Vermont

Saturday, October 3rd
10am - 5pm
Sunday, October 4th
10am - 2:30pm 

 Admission:
$5 - Adults
$3 - Children
(Children 6 and under are FREE!)

http://www.celebratethevalley.com/#mount-snow-event

The 23rd Annual LHA Time Line event is an educational walk through man's history and is enjoyable for the whole family, as it is presented with hands on demonstrations. The 23rd International Time Line Event hosted by the Living History Association (LHA) with the help and sponsorship of the Celebrate the Valley Committee is an event that surpasses the educational expectations of all their other events. This is an event which characterizes both the achievements and failures of the human race through history and the event is truly unique in the amount of history that it covers. 

The LHA Time Line Event attracts some of the association's best volunteer historical interpreters from the time periods of Ancient Rome to the jungles of Vietnam. It is not unusual to see Roman soldiers practicing their maneuvers with sword, shield and pilla while a Centurion speaks to you about the accomplishments of the Empire and the desirability of Roman Citizenship. All of the time that he speaks, our modern eye is reminded that he is served by slaves from conquered lands, and there is a certain callous ruthlessness in most of what he professes. Even though you may be repelled by his demeanor, he seems to be unaware of it and tries to recruit one of your family members for service in the Roman Army by encouraging you to feel the heft of his weaponry and the comfort of his armor. While all of this may seem barbaric, those who portray the middle ages seem to have fallen into an even greater pit of despair, and ruthlessness, punctuated by superstition. It is difficult to imagine our own ability to get from that point in history to where we are today. 

But if you move on along this time line of history each camp offers something new, from American colonization and Revolution to Civil Wars and World Wars. Each has their own set of players with a different point of view, some of which will be contrary to your own. Some may even seem offensive in their ideology. Are the interpreters acting, or do they really mean it? They will enthusiastically show you their historical encampments and a huge amount of gear, both reproduction and original. In many cases you get to do more than look, you also get to touch, hear, and smell the history -- from the cutting sounds of a World War II German Machine Gun to the light wood clicking sounds of a colonial spinning wheel, to the competing smell of fresh cooked sausage to GI Rations. One past year's event hosted Vietnam War soldiers and their VW love bug painted war protesters with signs and all their trappings. They even had some good arguments from both sides reminding us that history is not a tidy business. 

So if you are not afraid of being recruited into the Roman Army of the 3rd century, becoming one of General Washington's Camp Followers in the 18th century, or even of having your papers asked for by a German World War II Military Policeman, - then this just might be a great event for you and the whole family! 

Overnight School Programs and Teacher Workshops are sponsored by the Town of Dover, Vermont Economic Development Committee.

January 3, 2010
Information regarding the LHA's Educational Programs is now available on the Living History Association's website.  For detailed information about the different programs that are available, click on the links below:

• Guided Field Trips to Historic Sites
• Overnight School Programs
• In-Classroom Programs
• Teacher Workshops
• Road Scholar (Elderhostel) Programs

All LHA memberships run from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2010.  If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us atinfo@livinghistoryassn.org.

Released December 21, 2009

The 2010 LHA Membership Application is now available for download.  Click herefor a downloadable PDF copy.

Liability insurance once again available for units--and now individuals/families!  For applications and additional information, please see our Membership page.

June 2010

Please note that meeting dates are subject to change.  Please contact the LHA to confirm these dates and times if you plan to attend a meeting.

Updated--September 24, 2010
The LHA Board of Directors announces the LHA Board Meeting schedule for 2010: 

• The next full LHA Board Meeting will be held Saturday, October 30, 2010, during the LHA's General Memberhsip meeting held at the Matterhorn Inn in West Dover, Vermont (248 Route 100).  Click here for more information. 

*** LHA Board of Directors meetings are open to all LHA members ***

This weekend is the LHA's Annual Time Line event.  Sponsored by the Living History Association, Celebrate the Valley, and the Dover Economic Development Committee.  Event schedule can be found here.  Come walk through History!

September 24, 2010

Member's invitations to the LHA's General Membership Meeting have now mailed.  This year's meeting will once again be held at the Matterhorn Inn, and all members--as well as prospective members--are welcome to attend.  Lunch will be provided by the LHA, and the Matterhorn Inn is offering a special $79 per night room rate for those who would like to make a weekend out of it.  For more information, please see the meeting invitation or contact the LHA at 802-368-7913.

September 25, 2010

For additional information and registration information, please download the application here, or contact the LHA at 802-368-7913.

February 3, 2011
Invitations for the LHA's Spring Social, to be held Saturday, April 30th, are being mailed to members and are available to all here.  This year's featured speaker is Paul O’Shaughnessy, of His Majesty’s 10^th Regiment of Foot.  In addition, a number of awards will be presented, and the Civil War short film, Dearest Judith, that was made at the Matterhorn Inn with many LHA reenactors, will be presented by former LHA Board Member, Dennis Seavey-Windsinger,

Please note that meeting dates are subject to change.  Please contact the LHA to confirm these dates and times if you plan to attend a meeting.

Updated April 16, 2011
The LHA Board of Directors announces the LHA Board Meeting schedule for the first part of 2011: 

• The next LHA Board Meeting will be held Saturday, June 25, 2011, at 7pm at the Matterhorn Inn in West Dover, Vermont.

*** LHA Board of Directors meetings are open to all LHA members ***

Updated October 30, 2011
The LHA Board of Directors announces that the first LHA Board Meeting of 2012 will be held on Sunday, January 22, 2012.  Meeting time and location will be announced in December. 

*** LHA Board of Directors meetings are open to all LHA members ***

Please note that meeting dates are subject to change.  Please contact the LHA to confirm these dates and times if you plan to attend a meeting.

December 11, 2011

James Dassatti, Executive Director of the Living History Association and an accomplished speaker on the subject of Colonial and Revolutionary History for schools around New England as well as for Road Scholar programs, will present the second in a monthly series of lectures at the Matterhorn Inn on Thursday December 15th at 7:00 pm. 

All lectures are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month throughout the winter, and admission FREE to the public, with light refreshments served, courtesy of the Matterhorn Inn.

For additional information, please contact either the LHA at 802-268-7913, or the Matterhorn Inn at 802-464-4676.