'Branch Club' Played

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Vital Role in Tiny Valley

By Emily Marshia

The First Branch of the White River meanders through a narrow, rolling valley in Chelsea, through Tunbridge to South Royalton, defining farmland and homesteads as it goes, connecting the families who have settled its banks.

It was along the headwaters of this modest brook—a four-mile stretch north of Chelsea village—that a group of women banded together 90 years ago this year.

And it was a little one-room schoolhouse hard by the brook on Route 110 that taught their families unforgettable lessons in neighborly ways of life, along with their ABCs.

The "Ladies of the First Branch Club" originated at a small gathering for Margaret Gilman at a baby shower following the birth of her son David in September, 1916. Family and neighbors found that they so enjoyed each other’s company that they pledged to make the get-togethers a monthly occasion. The women took turns hosting their neighbors and soon became a booster club of sorts for nearby schoolhouse #5.

Earlier this month, the Ladies of the First Branch gathered for their 90^th anniversary, bringing their families, according to the summer picnic tradition. Forty people gathered at Bill and Rhoda (Gilman) Ackerman’s farm on Sunday, Aug. 6.

Some were senior members of the club; others were children of original members. Some were relatively new residents of this crooked, green valley, and others were honorary members, who had gained membership either because they used to live in the valley, or because they happened to stop by during a meeting once upon a time and kept coming back.

Grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren of the original members still live and work in the same valley—the Gilmans, Bramans, McAllisters, and Melvins. Relatives of former members also still attend the picnics each summer.

This year, Margaret Gilman’s great-great grandchildren, Grace and Gordon Parikh, made the trip from Skokie, Ill. Others traveled from New Jersey, New York City, Washington D.C., Connecticut, and New Hampshire, demonstrating the strong tug of the First Branch’s current in these family histories.

Rich Traditions

The history of the club is rich with simple traditions. Notes are taken. Books are donated to the public library in memory of past members. Together, club members have created countless quilts for friends, neighbors, and raffles. All new residents who move into the valley are welcomed with a hot meal and a personal visit.

There are collections of past notebooks, pictures, and letters between members. Each month they snack or dine together, tour gardens or greenhouses, or visit friends and relatives around the state. The neighborhood is very much connected.

Now, "neighborhood" is a loose term here because the homesteads along the north branch are spread out along a four-mile stretch of the Route 110 valley. The "neighborhood" is linear, bending with the ebb and flow of the river. Houses and barns speckle the valley sparsely, with no two homes facing each other directly. This speaks to the isolation on each farm in the early days of the club.

Although they were technically neighbors, the women who lived in the valley in the early 1900’s did not stray from their chores often enough to become friends. It was considered rather unusual for women to take the time to simply socialize. But these women quickly found that they not only understood each other’s lives, they could also make life in their valley, on the whole, more pleasant by pooling their friendships and their resources.

The youngest member of the club at the time of its inception was Clara Gilman. Now, at 84, she is its senior member. She still makes her home in a large, white colonial on the east side of Route 110, grows acres upon acres of pumpkins, and hand carves rustic wooden figures and animals. Gilman families still reside in six homes along the First Branch.

There are currently 16 active members, but many others still send letters and cards when they cannot attend gatherings. Anyone who lives along the First Branch of the White River north of Chelsea village is invited to be a member. Right now the youngest descendents of the original members who live along the branch are Katelyn Johnson, the great-great-granddaughter of original member Sue Braman, and Jacob Gilman, the great-grandson of Margaret Gilman.

Adopting the School

Very early on, the ladies of the club began providing meals and necessities to the #5 schoolhouse. Early photographs depict the women tying quilts outside the school.

When the school started providing lunch, the club bought a set of silverware for the school, and families took turns preparing and delivering the hot lunches. Each family purchased an enamel container and lid for the lunches to be served in. The club also provided boxes of candy popcorn, Christmas parties, and sometimes even housing for the teacher.

Some of today’s Branch Club members or members of their family were students in schoolhouse #5, which was decommissioned in the 1950’s.

Bob and Amy Pollack, who have lived in the former schoolhouse for 20 years, hosted a reunion for their home’s former students on July 23. Ten former students attended the gathering and posed on the raised stage where they used to sing songs and give reports.

The stage is actually now a small, narrow kitchen, but the steps remain and the main classroom below is still one large, open room. You can still see the holes in the wood floor where each desk was nailed to the floor.

"You share everything in a one-room school," remembers Rhoda Ackerman, who is active in keeping the history of both the club and the school alive.

"There were a lot of happy times and there were also some tough times too, and you had no choice but to share them all," she recalled.

The Pollacks relish the history of their home and have fostered camaraderie with their neighbors by delving into that history every chance they get.

In fact, Bob prepared a commemorative historical booklet for each former student at the reunion. The excerpts and pictures make clear that, while most one-room schoolhouses were deeply connected to the neighborhoods they served, the families of the First Branch valley went the extra mile.

In fact, they actually helped move the school across the road.

Back in 1926, George Tutherly asked the town for support in standardizing schoolhouse #5. This project involved moving the school from the west to the east side of what is now Route 110. The entire building was moved onto a new foundation, renovated, and the stage was built. However, the school district taxed the town only half the total cost—because the valley families pitched in much of the materials and labor.

An excerpt from the October 27, 1927 edition of the Chelsea Herald reads, "As a result of all this labor on the part of a little group of people in the northern part of town, there no longer stands by the side of the road in District No. 5 the ‘little red schoolhouse’ so typical of Vermont fifty years ago…Altogether it is school of which Chelsea may be proud, not only because it has the building for an expenditure of less than half its cost, but because it has citizens who are willing to give their time and money for such a purpose." The article went on to list all the branch families who contributed time or money to the project.

Newcomers!

The timeless lament for how Vermont has changed was evident even then, almost 80 years ago, and indeed, even in the First Branch valley, homesteads have changed hands, newcomers have arrived, and farming has become less visible. Not everyone who lives there now was raised there.

This fact, however, has had no effect on the sense of kinship within the neighborhood.

For Bob Pollack, this summer's two gatherings clarified that living with and in the history of the First Branch valley is not so much about "where you come from, but about why you value the place."

Such an assertion of the primacy of place may seem radical in these transitory times; it's the idea that the traditions and people are intrinsically unique and special simply because they live their lives where they do.

This may have been a common sentiment for those in decades past who attended the school and participated in the activities of the First Branch club. What is amazing is to see it flourishing today as it does in the First Branch valley.

"It is so important to say that this way of life is not a museum," observes Pollack. "People are living this way. People are taking care of each other this way."

It is a way of life that flows as nonchalantly and steadily as the river that trickles through it.