There are a couple sad items to report today. First, we learned yesterday of the death of Nira Gherardi, JPA treasurer George Anderson's sister. There is a complete obituary in the Barre Times: Nira Gherardi

Also in the Barre Times is the obituary of Joseph Sancibrian, youngest brother of Frank Sancibrian. Here is that obituary: Joseph Sancibrian

My heartfelt sympathy goes to the families of both Mrs. Gherardi and Mr. Sancibrian.

Tucky Sancibrian, Frank's wife, contacted me several years ago after reading the blog, and through our correspondence we have become good friends although we have not met in person. She and Frank have strong ties to the Barre community and she has often helped me make connections to former Joe's Ponders, and I have sometimes been able to assist her as she researches Spaulding High School alumni. We share a passion for preserving history, although Tucky is a much better investigator than I.

Our day is best described as "blah" today. I measured just a skimming of new snow and the temperature is hanging out around 25 degrees. I have lots to do here at the "history desk" and will keep busy most of the day putting together material about the Bayley-Hazen Road, the historic Yellow House on Cabot Plain, and Injun Joe. All courtesy of Cabot's beloved late historian, Jennie (Smith) Donaldson. Jennie was a long-time teacher and saved many of the notes she used in teaching her students. When Jennie died in 2004, we lost a treasured resource for area history. Her papers and photos were donated to the historical society late this fall. I have been sorting and scanning them, and now have a treasure trove of material that I will record and make available for research.

This is a picture from her collection. As you can see, it is a horse-powered saw. There are two horses on treadmills that power the saw at the far right of the picture. You can see the wood pile in the foreground. This was probably taken at the Smith farm on Whittier Hill where Jennie grew up, in Cabot.