Notes On Life In Vernon, Compiled In The Depression Era, Become New History Book

VERNON, CT — Detailed notes about life in Vernon and Rockville, drafted in 1936, have been turned into book that can now be purchased through the local historical society.

It's called, "The History of Vernon and Rockville By Mrs. Gardner Stanley" and can be acquired for $19.

The book's manuscript dates back to an initiative during the Great Depression, when the Federal Writers Project hired local writers to prepare "books" that told the stories of towns and states.

In 1936, Mrs. Gardner Stanley took on the project. Her first name was Betsey, but that's how women tended to be addressed in those days. She completed a draft of her book on life, past and present, in Vernon and Rockville, but the manuscript was never prepared for publication. It wound up being stored in the Local History Collection at the Rockville Public Library for more than 75 years, local historians said.

Vernon Historical Society Museum Director Jean Luddy and Local Historian Jon Roe took the rough draft of the manuscript and prepared it for publication. Photos taken before 1940 and in the historical society files were added to the text to reflect Vernon and Rockville as the writer saw it, they said.

"Before World War II, the City of Rockville was a thriving center of textile production," according to the authors. "Life in rural Vernon revolved around family farms. The book reveals some forgotten aspects of life in the early 20th century."

Roe quipped that he just happened to find the manuscript while browsing the the "old bookshelf" at the library.

"It was going through it — volume by volume — to see if I missed anything," he said. "Then, I noticed the manuscript and said, 'Wow this is an interesting document.' Jean had seen it but it kind of got put away."

Roe Continued, "The manuscript was compiled at a point in time, during the Depression, when national organizations were looking at various ways to put people to work and that extended to the state and many of the towns. These weren't necessarily professional writers, but people who could do it."

Gardner was supplied with an outline and chapter headers and went to work, Roe said.

"She did a pretty good job putting it all together," he said. "She had one more iteration left on it and it was cancelled."

Luddy took a lot of time with the photos to make sure they matched the themes in the manuscript.

The book highlights, among other topics:

• One room rural schoolhouses
• Traveling by railroad and trolley
• Two newspapers published in town
• Shopping in downtown Rockville
• Local dairy farms
• A wide variety of clubs and organizations

Roe said he and Luddy plan to present copy of the book to the mayor at the next Town Council meeting