New England Poor Houses and Town Farms – OLLI Program

Steve Taylor, a farmer, writer, and “Scholar of All Things Rural,” will present the OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program on Tuesday October 24, “New England Poor Houses and Town Farms.”

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New England Poor Houses and Town Farms – OLLI Program October 15, 2017 SPRINGFILD, Vt. — New England Poor Houses and Town Farms – OLLI ProgramIt will be presented at 2 p.m. at the Nolin Murray Center next to St. Mary’s Catholic Church on Pleasant St. Taylor, a farmer, writer, and “Scholar of All Things Rural,” comes from a varied background of experience. He was the Commissioner of New Hampshire Agriculture Department for 25 years, a local town public official as well as a reporter and editor for the Valley News. He continues with his family farm business, especially maple sugaring in Meriden, N.H. He is well known throughout the area as an engaging and informative speaker. From its earliest settlements New England has struggled with issues surrounding the treatment of its poor. The early Northeastern colonies followed the lead of England’s 1601 Poor Law, which imposed compulsory taxes for maintenance of the poor but made no distinction between the “vagrant, vicious poor” and the helpless and honest poor. This confusion persisted for generations and led directly to establishment in most of the states’ towns of alms houses and poor farms and, later, county institutions which would collectively come to form a dark chapter in New England history. Taylor will examine how paupers were treated in these facilities and how reformers eventually succeeded in closing them down. OLLI-Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, affiliated with the University of Vermont, is a local membership program geared towards seniors 50 years and older who want to engage in meaningful learning, “just for the fun of it!” People of all ages are welcome to attend. The OLLI program are selected with input from the local members and carry varied themes from semester to semester including history, art, music, literature, health, nature, science and current events. Programs are held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons and last about an hour and a half. The following OLLI program will be just one week later on October 31, and the title will be “The Brain: How Does It Work Anyway?” with Dr. Robert Hamill, Professor Emeritus of Neurological Science, the University of Vermont. Brochures have been distributed throughout the area towns at businesses, the local libraries, town halls and Chamber of Commerce offices. The complete Springfield and State-wide program list is available on the internet at www.learn.uvm.edu/olli.