Saturday, January 23, 2021

Jewish Arrivals in Vermont After the Civil War: Cemetery Restoration


There has been good documentation of the German Jews who began to arrive in Vermont's Slate Valley around 1868, establishing a Jewish community in today's Poultney. Middlebury Professor Robert S. Schine explored the pinkas of their congregation, introducing them to modern readers: http://americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/2008_60_01_02_doc_schine.pdf

Even so, members of the strong and growing Orthodox community in southern Vermont today aren't always aware of the remains of earlier Jewish residents in the region. In November 2020, a high school senior named Netanel Crispe began to raise attention to the early congregation's burial ground, seeking to repair and restore the stones and their surroundings:
https://forward.com/news/459640/vermont-jewish-cemetery

It is still possible to donate to the project, which has already exceeded its initial funding goal: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-vermont-oldest-jewish-cemetery

Restoration work is anticipated to begin in spring of 2021.


No comments:

Post a Comment