Take advantage of the numerous and varied historic events taking place throughout northern New England this summer. 

Through July 31: Art of Homesteading Exhibit in Tamworth, New Hampshire. Learn how early homesteaders lived and worked. www.remickmuseum.org

Through Sept. 20: The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls Exhibit at the Museum of African American History in Boston. Find out how three enslaved men and their families escaped on a Confederate ship during the Civil War. www.maah.org

Through Oct. 30: "True and Honest Before the World" Exhibition at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Mass. Part of their 50th anniversary celebration, this event features thirty celebrity curators. www.hancockshakervillage.org

July 17: Cherryfield Historic House Tour in Cherryfield, Maine; Visit private homes, churches, and other historic buildings at this Cherryfield-Narraguagus Historical Society event. www.cherryfieldhistorical.com.

July 24-25: Soldiers Atop the Mount. This living-history weekend at Mount Independence State Historic Site includes demonstrations of military tactics, camp life, colonial crafts and cooking, and much more! www.historicvermont.org/events

July 25: Shipbuilding Odyssey at a Brick Store Museum in Kennebunk, Maine. Learn about Kennebunks' interesting shipbuilding past. www.brickstoremuseum.org

July 29: By the Light of the Silvery Moon. Learn about the magic of moonlight in Vermont at Hubbardton Battlefield State Historic Site. www.historicvermont.org/events

July 30-August 1: Rockingham Old Home Days.Event features an annual pig roast, sidewalk sale, face painting, antique truck show, Roaming Railroad, and food court. 
www.villagesquarebooks.com/rockingham-old-home-days

July 31-Sept. 30: George Washington Carver Exhibit at the Museum of Science in Boston. www.mos.org/exhibits_shows/current_exhibits&d=4421

August 1: Hike into History. Walk in the footsteps of soldiers from the Revolutionary War at Mount Independence State Historic Site; hike guided by Steven Zeoli, Mount Independence Coalition president. www.historicvermont.org/events

August 7: Plymouth Old Home Day. Come celebrate the grand opening of the new President Calvin Coolidge Museum & Education Center, an event that will be attended by Governor Jim Douglas and other dignitaries.  Other Old Home Day activities include wagon rides, sheep shearing, old time fiddling, traditional Vermont craft demonstrations,  children's activities, and chicken barbecue.  l0:00 a.m -  4:00 p.m. www.Coolidge@HistoricVermont.org

August 8: Grace Coolidge Musicale #1; "Tunes of the 1920s and 1930s" performed by Pianist Abigail Charbeneau and soprano Jane Berlin Pauley at President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. www.historicvermont.org/events

August 12: Star Light, Star Bright Star Night; View the constellations, planets, meteor showers, and satellites with experienced stargazers at Hubbardton State Historic Site. www.historicvermont.org/events

August 12-15: Wilmington Old Home Week. Every 10 years, Wilmington hosts a town reunion, celebrating our citizens - past, present and future - and honoring our history.  Events include a parade, town banquet, ice-cream social, class and family reunions, and tours of local points of interest. Of particular interest, this year's Old Home Week will feature an oral-history component, as our students will help record our memories and stories. www.oldhomeweek2010.com

August 14: Craftsbury Old Home Day. Join us the Common at 9:30 AM for our annual Pet Show, followed by a line-up of  fun, family-friendly activities, including kids' games, a dunking booth, pie eating contest, and parade. View exhibits on Craftsbury history at the Craftsbury Historical Society, and enjoy lunch served by The Craftsbury Fire Department. The annual performance of the Craftsbury Summer Shakespeare Camp follows the parade. www.townofcraftsbury.com

August 14–15: Weekend Anniversary Celebration of the Battle of Bennington; This Living History Encampment at the Bennington Battle Monument features drill presentations, musket and artillery demonstrations, educational exhibits, and activities for children. www.historicvermont.org/events

So, the family picnic at the lake or annual 4th of July cookout at Uncle Marvin's is over … and we hunker down through another 12 months of silence in our extended families, as hectic schedules and incompatible time zones make correspondence virtually impossible. 

But there's hope. Many families have turned to the ease of electronic newsletter programs to keep the conversation rolling throughout the year. The e-newsletter programs that are available today are extremely affordable (most are FREE!), easy to use, and customizable. 

Here's what you need to do to get started:

1. Announce your intentions. Tell your family members about your plan. You may be surprised who might step up to the plate to help with your newsletter endeavor. "Many hands make light work," as they say.

2. Begin collecting email addresses. At your next family gathering, pass around a sheet of paper asking for everyone's current contact information (might as well update your address book, while you're at it). Then start an email chain to collect email addresses from those family members with whom you may not be in direct contact.

3. Come up with a plan. Who will receive your newsletter and how often do you plan on sending it? Monthly? Quarterly? Biannually? Then decide what categories of news you'd like to include. Special announcements (births, marriages, graduations)? Family history tidbits? Family recipes? 

4. Select an e-newsletter service. There are a number of great programs available. A couple to consider: www.mailchimp.com and www.ConstantContact.com.

5. Follow the directions, and you're off and running! M newsletter program will walk you through a simple step-by-step process to getting started. And once you've selected your design and loaded your contacts, the next issues will be a snap!

July is the most popular month of the year for families to gather and share their unique family history, whether it's a backyard barbecue or a lakeside party. 

It's true that some families are more committed to these annual celebrations than others. And in every family, there is always a ringleader or two who leads the charge in making sure that the festivities go on year after year. 

Months ahead of time, these dedicated few will begin sending out friendly reminders to make sure that the big event makes its way onto everyone's calendars. But no matter how hard they might try, they will never succeed in convincing every  aunt, uncle, or cousin that this annual event is worth the hassle to attend. 

I'll admit that I've missed my fair share of reunions over the years.

But here's the thing - our presence at these family affairs may mean more to our elderly relatives than we realize. They may look forward to this event all year long, cherishing the opportunity to gather with cousins, siblings, nieces, and nephews to share stories and rehash old tales of well-loved people and places. 

Just looking around and seeing the younger generations of their family continuing the tradition and making time for each other is a gift beyond measure. It reassures them that the family they've helped knit together will stay together as the years roll on. 

And the reunion experience is just as powerful for the newest members of our extended clans - grandchildren and great-grandchildren - though for markedly different reasons. Their grandparents and great-grandparents grew up in a "familial cocoon," of sorts, made up of a vast network of family members who also lived and worked in their community. 

But the youngest generation of our families is living in a world where the day-to-day "family experience" is limited to mothers, fathers, siblings, and grandparents, at best. So it's a powerful experience for these young people to feel the power of family history - to listen to the stories of great aunts and uncles and understand their place in the magnificent web of their family heritage.

So if you're thinking of skipping out on the reunion festivities this year, you may want to reconsider. There is more to gain - for both you and your loved ones - than you may have thought.

Before moving to Vermont, I had never heard the term, "Old Home Day." But it's one of the nicest traditions I've discovered in the Green Mountain State. The celebration of a town's history and heritage, Old Home Day brings together generations of residents - near and far - to play games, demonstrate traditional crafts, share meals, play music, and partake in a variety of fun and unusual contests. As one town's website explains, it's a town reunion.

But for those of us who didn't grow up in a particular Vermont village, the good news is that we're still invited to partake in the festivities. These celebrations are a wonderful way to appreciate a place in a really unique, meaningful way. Imagine how well you'd get to know someone by attending their family reunion. What better way to discover the people and places of some of Vermont's most beautiful little towns than by attending their Old Home Day celebration? 

Some towns host Old Home Days events every ten years, while others put them on every year. Here are a few upcoming celebrations in the area:

July 30-August 1: Rockingham Old Home Days. Event features an annual pig roast, sidewalk sale, face painting, antique truck show, Roaming Railroad, and food court. 
www.villagesquarebooks.com/rockingham-old-home-days

August 7:  Plymouth Old Home Day
Come celebrate the grand opening of the new President Calvin Coolidge Museum & Education Center, an event that will be attended by Governor Jim Douglas and other dignitaries.  Other Old Home Day activities include wagon rides, sheep shearing, old time fiddling, traditional Vermont craft demonstrations,  children's activities, and chicken barbecue.  l0:00 a.m -  4:00 p.m. www.Coolidge@HistoricVermont.org.

August 12-15: Wilmington Old Home Week
Every 10 years, Wilmington hosts a town reunion, celebrating our citizens - past, present and future - and honoring our history.  Events include a parade, town banquet, ice-cream social, class and family reunions, and tours of local points of interest. Of particular interest, this year's Old Home Week will feature an oral-history component, as our students will help record our memories and stories. www.oldhomeweek2010.com

August 14: Craftsbury Old Home Day
Join us the Common at 9:30 AM for our annual Pet Show, followed by a line-up of  fun, family-friendly activities, including kids' games, a dunking booth, pie eating contest, and parade. View exhibits on Craftsbury history at the Craftsbury Historical Society, and enjoy lunch served by The Craftsbury Fire Department. The annual performance of the Craftsbury Summer Shakespeare Camp follows the parade. www.townofcraftsbury.com.

I'll be bringing my kids to the Vermont History Expo this year, because I can't think of a better way to show them that history can be fun and meaningful. That it isn't what I grew up thinking it was. If someone had helped me understand earlier on that history was really a fascinating, ongoing story about interesting people and the events in their lives and communities, then I probably wouldn't have hated it so much.

But for me, history class was always such a bore. It was nothing more than names, dates, and battleships. I felt so disconnected from the information that I was memorizing. I had no idea that history was really about people - the way they lived and the decisions they made. And that, in a nutshell, we are who we are today because of those who came before us. So history matters.

I'll never forget my first trip to Williamsburg or Washington D.C.  or Charleston, S.C. Suddenly, history meant something else entirely. It was a story. And I've always loved stories!

So give your kids the best history lesson of their lives --- by showing them that history lives and breathes outside of a classroom or textbook … and that they're a part of the story, too.

Vermont History Expo
June 26-27
10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Tunbridge Fairgrounds, Tunbridge, VT
Admission: $10 adults; $5 students (ages 5 and under are free); $20 family pass

You don't need to be a history buff to enjoy the festivities at Tunbridge Fairgrounds later this month. The theme this year is, "Back to the Land, Again! Vermont Heritage Ways for Today." What a wonderful way to celebrate our state's rich heritage. Personally, I can't wait!

Here are some of the events to look forward to:

• Tons of exhibits from over 150 historical societies, museums, and heritage organizations
• Hands-on History Demonstrations (Timber Framing and Brick Making)
• Old-fashioned games and activities for the kids (stilts, hopscotch, beanbags, etc.)
• Animal Power Demonstrations
• Live Music
• Historical Presentations & Reenactments
• The Little Dig: Hands-on Field Archaeology
• History-on-PARADE
• Live Country Auction
• Heritage & Rare-Breed Animal Presentations
• A Collection of Vermont Scales
• And of course, plenty of food!

For more information, visit the Vermont Historical Society website. 

I hope to see you there!

Thanks to the Veterans History Project, initiated by the U.S. Congress in 2000, over 2,400 collections (which include written memoirs, oral interviews, letters, diaries, photos, and scrapbooks) have been digitized and archived in the Library of Congress.

If you or a loved one are a veteran and are interested in taking part in this nationwide effort to preserve our veterans' stories, a step-by-step guide will walk you through the process. 

Last weekend, a friend of mine sent me a link to an article in the Burlington Free Press by Chris Bojahlian, whose uncle was a D-Day war hero. What the writer knows about his uncle's history and what he did on that fateful day takes your breath away. But what seems to haunt him - and all of us who have lost important people in our lives - is what he doesn't know about his uncle's story. We may have the basic facts covered, but it's the "story," itself, that is often missing. 

But when it comes to our war veterans, the process of collecting these stories is not always easy. No one wants to put their loved one in an uncomfortable situation by dredging up memories that have been buried for years. But sometimes, after decades of silence, our veterans are ready to share. 

The question is, are we prepared to listen? An article in the Beacon News last month tells the story of a veteran who wonders whether his grandchildren are interested in the stories that he is eager to tell. If we don't ask, then the assumption may be that we don't care.  And what a tragic misunderstanding that would be.

So if you have a veteran in your family or community, don't make assumptions. Take the time to ask a few general questions about their military experiences, and then see what happens. You may be surprised.

Many things that our parents and grandparents consider "ordinary" or uninteresting about their lives are riveting to younger generations. The world that our children are growing up in is a dramatically different place from the one their grandparents knew as young people.

A Different World
Personally, I've always loved living-history museums. I enjoy seeing how earlier generations cooked, slept, worked, and played. In our culture, it's amazing how quickly we bury the past as new technologies and ways of life become available to us.

Most children today have never heard of a "party line" or could imagine a home without at least one or two televisions, a microwave, and a computer. My children think that it's rather commonplace to carry a phone around in your pocket and to be able to access a world of information with a few keystrokes. What ever happened to the traveling encyclopedia salesman? 

A Personal Account of Days Gone By
Day-to-day living has changed immensely over the past 100 years, and there are people in your life who can share firsthand experiences about growing up in the early 20th century. 

So the next time you're sitting around the dinner table with an older relative, throw out a few questions about life in "the good old days," and see what comes back to you. At the very least, I guarantee a big smile and a few hearty laughs.

Here are a few questions to get you started:

• Did you have any favorite radio shows when you were growing up?
• When did your family first get a television? Did you have a car? What kind? 
• Did you have a telephone in your home?
• What advertising jungles, brand-name products, and comics do you recall?
• How did you get to school? What other memories do you have of school days?
• What did you bring for lunch, or did you go home for lunch?
• What do you remember about your childhood games and toys?
• What were the typical meals served in your home?

Enjoy!