Minty Fresh

Pennies are something we see everyday, but once upon a time they didn't exist. But thanks to Reuben Harmon Jr. we do. He was the one minting the pennies for the state of Vermont, the first state to issue copper coinage. On June 15, 1785, at a meeting  of the state legislature in Norwich, Vermont, Reuben was granted the right to coin copper in the state. Up to this time, people traded farm goods for items they need. Reuben's machines could make between 30 to 60 coins per minute using copper from Connecticut as Vermont hadn't started copper mining until 1793.

The 1785 and 1786 issues of pennies had a picture of a rising sun over a wooded mountain with a plow resting in the field below with the words VERMONTIS RES PUBLICA, which is Latin for REPUBLIC OF VERMONT and the date. On the other side was an eye within a circle from which 26 lines radiate (13 long and 13 short) with the words STELLA QUARTA DECIMA, which is Latin for Fourteeth Star. The mountains represent the Green Mountains as they are what the state was named after and the plow represents farming which is our state's number one industry. The other side tells us that while Vermont was an independent republic, it wished to join the original colonies on the flag and be the fourteenth star.

Of course this design isn't what we see today. It was changed into a head in profile with the words VERMON AUCTORI, which is Latin for "by the authority of Vermont" with a seated woman on the other side with the words INDE ETLIBE, which is Latin for Independence and Liberty and the date. This was most likely done to make them look like Connecticut's coins so they could both use the same coin.

In 1782, the United States Mint was established and began minting the country's coins, but Vermont was the start of it all and without Reuben Harmon Jr. minting those pennies for us, it might've been a much longer wait for coins around the country.

Sources: http://vermonthistory.org/images/stories/articles/greenmountaineer/makingamint.pdf

The Year Without Summer

1816-The Year Without A Summer. Sounds a bit like the movie Frozen to me. It didn't snow year-round but the temperatures were quite chilly. 1816 didn't start out cold but there were frosts in May and farmers were getting worried. Farming was what gave Vermonters their food. Farmers weren't the only ones with farming skills as blacksmiths, millers and others depended on farming. Even ministers were given fields to farm as part of their pay. Although there were frosts, some planted anyways thinking it would warm up. On June 5, a heatwave struck and spirits rose. But the heat was short-lived because a northern cold front struck. When the cold, dry air from Canada met the warm, moist air of New England, thunderstorms were created and it rained. The temperature dropped and so did the farmers' hopes. Temperatures in northern Vermont and the mountains dropped to freezing temperatures and the rain changed to heavy flakes of wet snow. On June 8, 1816 six inches of snow fell upon Vermont. By June 10, the town of Craftsbury had a foot of snow.

The snow soon melted but there were many frosts throughout July and August. Vermonters had to buy corn from farmers in New Hampshire and traded maple sugar for fish at Swanton. Some even survived by eating hedgehogs, clover tops and green nettles. The failure of corn didn't just cause starvation for Vermonters for that year but for the next as well because there would be no seed crop for 1817 and seed corn was too expensive for them to buy. Many Vermonters had had enough and left, wanting to try their luck out west. Some did stay though, as they were determined to make it through.

Chilly temperatures didn't just happen in Vermont but all over the country and even in Europe. The memory of "eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death" was in many people's minds and whenever there was a late spring or June hailstorm, they were always prepared for the worst.

Sources: http://vermonthistory.org/images/stories/articles/greenmountaineer/theyearwithout.pdf
http://history1800s.about.com/od/crimesanddisasters/a/The-Year-Without-A-Summer.htm

Civialian Conservation Corps Starts Working

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was formed on March 31, 1933 in the time of the Great Depression. President Roosevelt signed the Emergency Conservation Act which authorized the formation of the Corps. The program gave the opportunity for unemployed men aged 18 through 23 to work on projects in the nation's forests and rural areas. The Labor Department, the Army and the National Park Service helped administer different aspects of the program starting with the Labor Department, who helped select potential workers. The Army provided transportation, food, uniforms and recreational and medical facilities. All the work projects given to the workers were developed and supervised by the National Park Service.

The Corps had an immediate impact on the terrible economy of the times as thousands of men left the cities to work in camps across the country. On June 5, 1933 a group was sent to Danby, Vermont to start work and between 40,868 men went to work in Vermont CCC camps until 1942 when the program ended. 11,243 of these men were Vermonters trying to support their families. Enrollees of the CCC were paid a dollar a day and their day began at 5:30 AM. It may seem like a little, but back then during the Depression it was alot. They made 30 dollars a month, getting to send 25 dollars to their family and having 5 dollars for spending money. It was a big deal and the men took a sense of pride knowing they had money they could send.

The CCC crew at the Ranch Camp in Stowe, Vermont. 

The Vermont section of the Corps accomplished quite a lot. They built 105 miles of road and 197 bridges, planted 1,122,000 trees, cleared 1,030,624 acres of insect pests and developed many of the parks and ski areas that we enjoy today. Thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps, we have those roads, bridges, trees, parks and ski areas to use and enjoy. And the program helped the country through one of its hardest times ever.

Sources: http://vermonthistory.org/images/stories/articles/greenmountaineer/aforestarmy.pdf