Author: Marjorie Power

Bakery Open—Fresh Bread for You at Last!

Jim Haas, resident baker in the restored Bakery

UPDATE: The Bakery Window has extended its hours it is now open on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12:30 to 6:00 pm
How can bread be both fresh and historic? If you buy it directly from the "Rise Up Bakery" window at the historic Union Cooperative Store bakery building—now restored as a modern wood fired bakery.

You can now purchase bread right from the wood fired oven.

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Scott Skinner Dies — Former Board Member and Volunteer

Scott Skinner in front of the Old Labor Hall

Scott Skinner, former board member and long time Barre Historical Society volunteer died on December 18, 2018. For many years, he served on the Board as the Secretary, and as Chair of the Bricks and Mortar Committee, essentially the building manager, general contractor, and minder.

He brought several major and complex projects to completion, including the Fire Code compliance and the FEMA flood. mitigation project.

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Union Cooperative Store Bakery Building Reopening as “Rise Up Bakery”

Carolyn Shapiro stoking the wood-fired oven in the Bakery

Saturday, December 15, 2018 from 4:00 to 9:00 pm

The Barre Historical Society announces the grand reopening of the Bakery building, exactly 105 years to the day from its first opening.
The restored Bakery building is now ready to bake. The sewer has been connected and the heating and electricity, and all the other amenities have now been installed to complement the wood-fired oven. The Bakery is already to make the baked goods from start to finish—all right on the premises. Let the festivities begin!

For schedule . . .

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The Bakery rises up!

Bakery building before and after restoration 2017

The first phase of the restoration of the Union Cooperative Store bakery building is nearing completion. If all goes well, on Labor Day weekend, the doors of this historic building will reopen with a grand celebration as the “Rise Up Bakery”.

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Tom Davis Memorial

Tom Davis in front of the Old Labor Hall (photo Mark Greenberg)

Barre Historical Society and Vermont Labor History Society Board Member, Tom Davis, died unexpectedly on February 16 at age 85. His was a life well lived to the very last. His contributions to the people of Vermont cannot be overstated.

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New Year—New Website—New URL

Webmaster putting final touches on website

The Barre Historical Society and the Old Labor Hall have finally unveiled the new website and our new web address oldlaborhall.org. (Please update your bookmark). A long time in the making (as might be expected for a project created using aged, volunteer, manual labor), the new website is now live. We can now add and up-date content without …

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Barre’s Past is Present at the Vermont History Center

Karen Lane, Director of the Aldrich Public Library speaking at the donation of the Barre archives collection to the Vermont Historical Society

Today at the Vermont History Center in Barre (originally the Spaulding Graded School), Barre’s history officially moved into the safekeeping of the Vermont Historical Society. Anointed with drinks and cookies, the Aldrich Public Library, represented by its director Karen Lane passed the torch. As she described it, the collection has had a checkered past. Originally based …

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