Museum event opens pages of new calendar

Richard Cummings unveils the St. Albans Raid Commemorative Calendar on Thursday evening, Oct. 3, in the Bliss Room at the St. Albans Historical Museum. The calendar used artwork submitted by local and Vermont artists to depict the historic St. Albans Raid, which the community will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.
Photo By IAN LORD, St. Albans Messenger

ST. ALBANS — A calendar for next year celebrates St. Albans’ most infamous historical event from 150 years ago.

The St. Albans Raid Calendar was unveiled Thursday, Oct. 4, 2013, at the St. Albans Historical Museum amid a gala including local musicians, wine and art.

The 13-month calendar, running from January 2014 to January 2015 features a handful of Vermont artists who contributed their interpretations of the Raid’s events and characters.

Calendar project organizer Richard Cummings asked that artists depict scenes from the 1864 raid that hadn’t been as thoroughly discussed as other well-known recollections.

The raid involved 20 or so Confederate soldiers infiltrating St. Albans, who staged three bank robberies and attempted to burn the town. The Oct. 19, 1864 raid resulted in gunshot wounds and the death of one man.

Eight artists’ works were selected for the 13-month calendar, but the event Thursday showcased paintings from about 20 artists who submitted pieces for consideration.

“We couldn’t have done this without the artists,” said Cummings.

Dan Pattullo and Chad Bourgeois, of the Village Frame Shoppe, helped Cummings put the calendar together. Pattullo said the business had to digitize each piece of artwork submitted and design the actual calendar around each painting or drawing.

Pattullo also contributed two pieces of artwork. He painted October’s piece, a depiction of the scene where the raiders fired upon the raid’s lone casualty in front of a millinery shop; and December’s; an aerial depiction of the village of Sheldon, where the raiders were chased by a posse formed by Captain George Parker Conger, of St. Albans.

“It was quite an opportunity to be able to do this,” Pattullo said of working with Cummings on the calendar.

The Village Frame Shoppe also framed all the original artwork for Thursday’s gallery, and developed special printouts of the calendar artwork given to the eight artists selected for the project.

Cummings thanked Pattullo and Bourgeois for the work they did to make the calendar project a possibility.

“Those guys were never a disappointment,” Cummings said. “They were just amazing.”

Each piece of artwork was displayed on a projector screen, one of the new features of the recently improved St. Albans Historical Museum’s Bliss Room. Cummings, doing his best award-show impression, announced each artist and greeted those present with the individualized printouts of their work.

Stylistically, the artworks are varied, but most are oil paintings highlighting St. Albans’ historical scenery, from Main Street buildings to Taylor Park. April’s piece is a pencil drawn depiction of the First National Bank – one of three banks the raiders robbed. It was done by the widely known artist, Fred Swan.

Artist Janet Bonneau submitted impressionist paintings that were selected for the months of February and July. February’s piece depicts Lt. Bennett Young, the dashing and young Confederate leader of the raiders, with a mystery woman he was rumored to be meeting. The painting showed the couple in Taylor Park in the days leading up to the raid.

Bob Eldridge, of Swanton, had his piece selected to illustrate the month of November. It shows the raiders riding through town and is also featured on the calendar’s cover.

While he explained each piece of art to the audience, Cummings also took time to comment on what St. Albans’ most infamous piece of history is really about.

“Here we are commemorating a bunch of thieves, huh?” Cummings said.

Before the calendar’s artwork was unveiled, the small group of attendees mingled, checked out the framed pieces and enjoyed wine and appetizers provided by Boyden Valley Winery of Cambridge. The Missisquoi River Band played bluegrass music, including the famous Civil War-inspired tune, “Ashokan Farewell.”

The calendars are being sold for $20 each as promotional material for the October 2014 Raid anniversary event. Cummings said more than 2,500 calendars were printed and they are available for sale at the Historical Museum on Church Street in St. Albans City, the Village Frame Shoppe and from other downtown merchants.

IAN LORD, St. Albans Messenger