News

Independence Day BBQ

July 2024. Thank-you to the Friends of Calais (and their many helpers not pictured here) who made a bright day brighter on July 7 when they hosted a happy and tasty community BBQ at Memorial Hall. NCMHA was thrilled to host such a positive and energetic Calais pop-up right here on the shores of Mirror Lake.

Calais Honored by Preservation Trust

June 2024. Over the past few years, the great historical buildings of Calais all hit an age where they were in dire need of serious restoration. In addition to Memorial Hall, this included the Town Hall, the Old West Church, the Robinson Sawmill, and the East Calais General Store. Amazingly, our small town rallied to the cause and managed to restore them all to their previous grandeur…and beyond. In recognition of this achievement, the Preservation Trust of Vermont honored Calais on June 6 with its 2024 Preservation Award. Congrats to our sister buildings and to all the residents of Calais who teamed up to make it happen. What a town! Check out the 5-minute video for the full story.

Prodigal Sons

May 2024. Thank you to the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War for holding their annual encampment at Memorial Hall this weekend. For many years, the SUVCW co-stewarded the Hall with the Women’s Relief Corp. It was a historic day to have them back!

A Priceless Piece of the Past

March 2024. Alonzo Stow was a blacksmith who moved to North Calais village in the 1840s with his wife, Eliza, and lived here until his death in 1894. They raised seven children in North Calais, most of whom settled in the area. In 1861, their son William became the first man from Calais to enlist in the Union army. Three more of their sons soon followed. Three of the four boys, including William, died in the war. In 1883, Grand Army of the Republic Post #29 was formed by Calais Civil War veterans, including Theodore, the surviving Stow son, and was named the Stow Post in honor of William’s heroism in the war. Two years later, they began work on Memorial Hall to serve as a gathering place for the Stow Post veterans and other Calais citizens. Many members of the Stow family are buried in Ainsworth cemetery on Jack Hill Road. Last year, a man named Bill Millican discovered Alonzo Stow’s leather receipt roll from 1839 in a box of antiques in an Alabama barn. Amazingly, Mr. Millican was able to track us down and generously donated this priceless glimpse of a bygone era to Memorial Hall. “It is my honor to return this very unique artifact to the place it belongs,” he wrote. “Hopefully those who see it will contemplate the time and distances involved.” The roll uses a leather belt to divide the contents into 7 sections, each labeled with different letters of the alphabet. Handwritten receipts folded into each section list names and dates and services rendered for various blacksmithing jobs, such as shoeing horses and mending tongs. Both the receipts and leatherwork are stunning. We will be displaying the roll at the next open house, but in the meantime anyone who wants to take a closer look is welcome to contact us. A tremendous thank you to Bill Millican for his amazing find and his generosity!

Memory Lights

December 2023. Each winter, as a fundraiser, Memorial Hall’s windows light up with candles in honor of individuals treasured by our community members. If you would like to contribute $100 to to the Hall’s Capital Fund, we will happily add a candle in the name of your choosing. So far this year, lights have been lit to remember:

Calais Veterans

Maryan Furey Elder

William Esau Evans III

Allan Farnham

Elaine B. Fitch

Stanley H. Fitch

Stanley Fowler

Elizabeth Kent Gay

Gary Jenkins

Richard J. Petit

Paul Silver

Thank you all, and here’s to a joyful 2024!

Just Married!

June 2023. After nine fallow years, vows were again exchanged at Memorial Hall on June 24! Congratulations, Jaqueline & Spencer! You made it beautiful. Here’s to many more.

Mirror Mornings

June 2023. As soon as the rising sun clears Foster Hill, it falls across Mirror Lake and onto the new porch at Memorial Hall, and that’s our new favorite place to be on summer mornings. NCMHA president Debby Haskins met a lively crew of Calais residents for the first of many coffee socials on June 26. Let’s bake up a storm for the next one!

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

Before/After. We’re officially inspected and open for good times! Thanks to all who helped on the six-year ride.

Lighting the Way

December 2022. NCMHA President Debby Haskins lights a holiday candle in remembrance as part of Memorial Hall’s tradition of honoring people and events important to our community. Individuals can donate $100 in the name of a person or occasion of their choice. This year’s lights are in honor of:

Priscilla Backman

Carolyn Beauregard

Tony French

Lucia Haskins

Ellen Leonard

Marion Mears

Peter Peltz

Peter Perkins

Pete Sutherland

Thanks for the lovely photo from Jeb Wallace-Brodeur in the Times Argus. Happy holidays!

Looking sharp!

November 2022. What a difference a fresh coat of paint makes! Memorial Hall is all spruced up…and buttoned up for winter. Exterior painting of Memorial Hall was made possible through the generosity of many donors and an NBRC State Economic & Infrastructure Development grant award and was partially funded by a grant from the 1772 Foundation in cooperation with The Preservation Trust of Vermont. We absolutely couldn’t have done it without these partners’ help. Next up: A celebratory open house in the spring. See you there! Happy winter, everyone.

Sooooooooo Close!

October 2022. Yes, amazing as it seems, after five years of work, we are really close to the finish line. Floors? In! Kitchen? In! Porch? On! Hedges? Gone! There’s paint on the walls inside and out, and wait until you see the upstairs dance floor. Just a few more weeks to get things ship-shape, then all is on track for a 2023 opening. We hope you’ll come celebrate with us next spring!

Carrying a Torch for 2022

January 2022. Happy new year to everyone! We’re looking forward to some very exciting plans for 2022, and hope to share those soon. For now, enjoy the winter. Thank you to NCMHA President Debby Haskins for the lovely lights.

Deck the Hall!

December 2021. Memorial Hall was just gifted a handmade evergreen wreath to brighten up her clapboards this cold & white December. Bedecked with a red ribbon, it was thoughtfully made by our East Calais neighbor Meliss B, one of many volunteers in town taking part in an annual tradition of locals making wreaths to adorn our local town, public, and, in this case, historic community-treasured buildings. We’re so excited North Calais made the list this year! Thanks to Meliss, and to Donna J of Maple Corner, for reaching out to NCMHA and thanks to a couple of trusty NCMHA board members for tracking down hammer & nail and trekking over to hang it up.

Northern Borders Grant!

Amazing news: NORTH CALAIS MEMORIAL HALL ASSOCIATION has been awarded a $222,000 Northern Border Regional Commission State Economic & Infrastructure Development grant for the construction work remaining for the complete rehabilitation of MEMORIAL HALL. This matching grant will cover 50 percent of the construction project. As grantee, NCMHA must match the awarded funds by securing the other 50 percent, another $222,000. Happily, NCMHA has already raised $100,000 in matching funds! Now we need to raise the difference, $122,000, in order to begin construction. Would you like to be a part of this historic effort to bring Memorial Hall back? PLEASE JOIN US BY DONATING HERE. THANK YOU!

The Hall in (pre)Winter

November 2021. Thank you to North Calais photographer Jane English for spectacularly capturing Memorial Hall in that moment of transition before the lake freezes and the blanket of winter descends on the Hall for a few dark, quiet months. Happy November, everyone.

Open House 2021!

October 2021. The North Calais Memorial Hall Association wants to thank everyone who braved Saturday’s rain and cold to see the outstanding work accomplished by Spates Construction over the past 6 months. Their crucial stabilization work and other updates will ensure the Hall serves as a community gathering place for generations to come. We had a fantastic time showing off the good work of the builders, architect, engineers and others — plus a lot of fun sharing old photos and memories with friends and neighbors. Thanks to the generosity and incredible support of the community, the Open House raised $500 toward our goal of reopening the Hall. Consider making a donation to help us achieve our goals for 2022: Finishing the interior and exterior, installing a lift to the second floor for those who can’t use the stairs, and restoring the famed two-story porch!

Ancient Secrets Revealed

July 2021. You never know what lurks beneath the accretions of time in an old building. As the restoration crew cleared out a few layers of “improvements” in a doorway near the entrance of Memorial Hall, they discovered a message in the original plaster from 1886, when the building was consecrated, and an addendum from 1930. We’re now working to preserve this blast from the past. If all goes well, you can come see it on the wall next year.

We Have a Foundation!

June 2021. Members of the North Calais Memorial Hall Association board examine the brand-new basement and foundation with Gus Seelig of Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and hall architect Ryan Edwards. The new posts and joists are more than enough to support a hundred dancing and dining people, as the Hall has been doing since 1886. Next up: New walls, wiring, and floors on the ground level!

Old Marries New

May 2021. Memorial Hall has seen a lot of unions since 1886! Union soldiers who served in the Civil War and preserved the union built the Hall and gathered here. Dozens of reunions have been celebrated here. And uncountable marital unions began in this building. Now, with the union of old, original timbers and new ones to make the foundation strong again, we look forward to forging a new generation of bonds.

Up, Up, and Away!

May 2021. Restoration of Memorial Hall begins! With a lift from Geddes Building Movers, all 65 tons of Memorial Hall is in the air. In the coming months, we’ll be giving the old building a new foundation, beams, tie rods, and other structural upgrades. Take a peek when you pass by on the road, but please keep your distance–you don’t want 65 tons coming down on your toe!

A HUGE LIFT. The work required to save, restore, and reopen the Hall is, as the saying goes, a huge lift. We’re grateful for the help of many professionals and other advisors who helped us develop a multi-phase scope of work for this historic rehabilitation effort. 

GETTING STARTED. The contract for the first phase of work has been awarded to Spates Construction. The Spates team has already gotten started and will work with other specialists to tackle the monumental task of lifting Memorial Hall, digging out the cellar, pouring foundation and footings, and rebuilding the supporting structural timbers that have deteriorated to an unsafe and unsalvageable state.  

CONNECT WITH US. Moving forward, we hope you’ll follow the Hall’s progress here and on Instagram, where we’ll periodically post project photos and updates. For questions, comments, or offers of help or contributions, please reach out to us. 

FOR YOUR SAFETY. CONSTRUCTION ZONE. Due to safety, liability, and contractual concerns, no public access to Memorial Hall or the grounds surrounding it will be allowed until further notice. PLEASE do not trespass. 

RESPONSIBLE VISITORS. The small grassy “parking triangle” and the traditionally established access area for swimmers (just off G.A.R. Road) will remain available for use by responsible visitors. 

G.A.R. ROAD. In addition to Memorial Hall, a number of camps and homes are accessed via G.A.R. Road. Please respect the No Parking ordinance on G.A.R. Road. Please respect vehicles, use extreme caution on this narrow road, and look out for pedestrians, bicyclists, and pets in the neighborhood. Be safe.

***

Memorial Hall Memories

by Bill Davis, NCMHA Board Member

March 2021. Going through an old sea chest, chock-full of saved letters from my Great Grandfather, Colonel Herbert Foster, I found little things saved. A ticket at Memorial Hall for a Social Dance and Oyster Supper on December 30, 1910 – Music by Van Ornum’s orchestra. A trifold card of the 1903 official roster of the Stowe Post number 29, Grand Army of the Republic, and the Stowe (Women’s) Relief Corps #36. (Many Calais family names in there.) In 1932, Colonel Foster was taken home by a friend during a function at Memorial Hall and died soon thereafter. In the early 1900s he had retired from the Army and returned to Foster Hill, the home of his birth, to take charge of the farm. He was very active with nearby Memorial Hall, the place designed, erected, and managed by his neighbors, and friends, and some of his family.

History is only as good as our memory. Some things are worth remembering and others are not. Memorial Hall, in North Calais, is threatened with the ravages of time. The first floor is destined to end up in the cellar if something is not done, and soon. I shan’t repeat further what has been written about the history of the Hall, this website does a better job. Please take a look at it.

Memorial Hall is more than a building. It is a true marker in time. A time when those people living in the town rose up and left their families, and their fragile existences, and then travelled long distances to unfamiliar areas to do what they could to preserve the Union that is our country. A time when, in the reconstruction of cities, and of their lives, local people realized the need to be together. Not only to remember the sacrifice but to honor it with a place to celebrate life. Of course we know this period now as the Civil War and their campaign together as the Grand Army of the Republic. Their work after the war to build and enjoy the Hall I’m sure was therapy for their souls.

Perhaps some of you remember a play, a dinner, a dance, a graduation, a happy time. Memorial Hall has hosted many of these and it is time for it to do so again. As we come out of this year of uncertainty, darkness, and separation we will need a place to celebrate life and to enjoy each other again. We want to restore the building so it can continue its service to the area. To preserve as much of the past as possible while ensuring the survival of this landmark and the land surrounding it. Memorial Hall needs new memories to be created there.

Yes, we have received grants and funding and we are very thankful for that and for the seemingly tireless efforts of those who worked hard to secure them. But it is not enough. While what we have secured so far will keep the floor out of the basement, it will not be enough to reopen the Hall. We need the last bit of funding to do that. We need it to install a lift to the second floor so those with a disability can also partake in the events in that grand upstairs space. We need it to restore the two-story porch on the East side. I can’t describe what that will feel like to me.

I hope this is as important to you as it is to me. I hope you’ll please consider giving to this endeavor.

***

Memorial Day 2020

Thanks to everyone who visited the Hall to remember Calais veterans and others who are no longer with us. It was a stunning day, and the mission of Memorial Hall felt more vital than ever!

***

Memorial Hall Wins $100,000 Paul Bruhn Historic Revitalization Grant!

January 2020. We are incredibly grateful to Senator Leahy, Paul Bruhn, and the Preservation Trust of Vermont for this tremendous award, which puts our small and dedicated group much closer to our goals, including starting construction to stabilize the building this spring! Learn more about the Bruhn Grant at PTV’s announcement here.

 ***

Design Team Begins Work

December 2019. We’re excited to be working with architect Ryan Edwards of R. Edwards & Co. of East Calais and engineer Robert Neeld of Engineering Ventures to develop plans this winter. And we’re thrilled to have Brian Clark of Maple Corner on board as our Project Manager. Designs are being finalized so that restoration work can begin in 2020.

***

Times Argus Photo Spread

December 2019. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur of the Times Argus came by the hall and captured its best (hardwood dance floor and pressed tin ceilings) and worst (mold throughout the basement and foundation). Our immediate goal is to remove all mold, revamp the basement, and stabilize the building. That’s going to take a lot of funds, as our board explained in this Letter to the Editor. Check out the photos below, then help us get the hall ready for new celebrations.

***

Open House!

October 2019. Thank you to all who came out for our first ever open house! We had a gorgeously sunny, clear, and crisp autumn day. We welcomed many visitors, some for the very first time, to explore the hall before it begins its major renovation in 2020. The Calais Historical Society joined us to share photographs, paintings, and many wonderful stories of the Hall from back in the day. Many thanks to Linda Balentine Emerson for capturing this aerial view during Calais’s Fall Foliage Weekend and sending it our way! We love it.