| Woodstock to celebrate its crank phones and library |
| By Alison Aloisio |
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| ERNESTINE THE OPERATOR WILL NOT BE THERE, but on Columbus Day, Oct. 13, Woodstock will celebrate its distinction as the last community in the U.S. where a hand-crank telephone exchange operated. Here, Sculptor Gil Whitman stands next to his 14-foot-tall, 1.5-ton metal sculpture of a crank telephone. The sculpture is currently under wraps and will be unveiled and dedicated on the 13th. On the same day, the Whitman Memorial Library will celebrate its 100th birthday.
Photo by Alison Aloisio
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On Oct. 13, Woodstock will hold a two-part celebration of town history, with the dedication of a 14-foot tall sculpture of a hand-crank telephone and a 100th birthday party for the town library.
Telephone sculpture
Sculptor Gil Whitman’s creation recognizes Bryant Pond as the last community in the U.S. where a hand-crank telephone exchange operated.
The black, 1.5-ton structure was placed on a concrete pad on the common last Thursday.
It will remain covered until the dedication.
The telephone sculpture is part of a larger project, known as “Remembrance Park,” that has been proposed for the common by Whitman, who is a nationally-known sculptor.
In March, he presented a plan that also includes building a two-foot high stone wall around the common’s perimeter, leaving the side facing Route 26 open.
Bluestone squares would be placed on the top of the wall, to provide seating for as many as 100 people.
The wall would stand where a hedge grew for many years. It was cut down several years ago because it became very woody.
Whitman also proposed the construction of a small gazebo on one end of the common, away from the Post Office, where musical entertainment could be staged.
To help finance the project, inscriptions on each bluestone square could be sold to individuals and businesses, Whitman said.
Town Manager Vern Maxfield said the cost of the project could be approximately $40,000.
“Donations and gifts will be needed to see it to reality,” he said.
The dedication on the common is scheduled for 10 a.m.
The telephone sculpture is the second of Whitman’s to be displayed in a public place in Bryant Pond Village.
Last year he donated “Tiger Swallowtail,” a butterly sculpture that sits on the grounds of the Whitman Memorial Library.
The library is named for the sculptor’s great grand-uncle Alanson Mellen Whitman, one of the earliest settlers of Bryant Pond.
Library celebration
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., a celebration of the Whitman Memorial Library’s 100th anniversary will take place.
A variety of activities are planned, according to volunteer organizer Rosalee Poland.
Among them: a Chinese Auction (ticket sale beginning at 11 a.m.); a Chinese checkers tournament for age groups 6-11, 12-15 and 16-120, with signup at 11 and games at 11:30 a.m.; children’s games from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., every half hour; an archery demonstration at 12:30 p.m.; cutting of a birthday cake at 1 p.m.; food sale by the Fire Department and Auxiliary from 11-3; music by the Richard Felt Band from noon to 2 p.m.; and a Schwan’s truck on hand from 11-3. Proceeds will go toward children’s books. |
