Mostly cloudy skies. Low 47F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..
Mostly cloudy skies. Low 47F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
In the 1920s, Charles Crane was commissioned by Vermont National Bank to produce these little booklets, "With Interest," that are full of information and photos about Brattleboro and sometimes surrounding towns.
In the 1920s, Charles Crane was commissioned by Vermont National Bank to produce these little booklets, "With Interest," that are full of information and photos about Brattleboro and sometimes surrounding towns.
Some people have passed through Brattleboro, stayed a few years and moved on, leaving barely a trace. But others have passed through our fair town, stayed 10 years and given us a treasure trove of history and significant information which touches our lives at the Historical Society every day. One such man was Charles Edward Crane (1884-1960). His 10 years in Brattleboro were so well lived and rich that he is still remembered and beloved by researchers for his contributions to the written history of Brattleboro, 100 years later.
Crane was born in Illinois in 1884 and when he was just 8 years old, his family moved to Ludlow, Vermont where his father bought the local newspaper, the Vermont Tribune. This was only the beginning of Charles’ exposure to and love of journalism, growing up immersed in the newspaper publishing world. Both he and his older brother attended Black River Academy. Charles graduated in 1902, and from there, was accepted into Dartmouth College. His love of journalism, writing and speaking was honed and kept alive, but he did not graduate.
Instead, he began his impressive newspaper career when he took a job with The Associated Press in Boston. His ambition and drive found him heading the AP Bureau in Portland, Maine, at the young age of 21. He stayed there for two years, and in 1906, he traveled to Europe and expanded his world and continued to sharpen his skills. We can only imagine the experience he gained from becoming a features writer in London. Moving back to Massachusetts briefly, then to New York City and back to the AP, he transformed the sports service, then continued on to revamp the AP bureau in Pittsburgh and headed the morning AP bureau in NYC where he originated and ran the features service. In 1914 he was offered the opportunity to go back to London to cover the impending World War I, but he declined due to the birth of his son.
After his 15 years with the AP, Charles moved back to Vermont, where he bought the Middlebury Register and ran it for three years during the Great War. Upon selling the Middlebury paper, he came to Brattleboro and became part of the printing/publishing world here, joining Vermont Printing Co., of which his brother Ephram was owner and president, and the Brattleboro Daily Reformer. With all that previous Associated Press experience under his belt, at the age of 36, Mr. Crane took over the responsibilities of our daily newspaper. Being a columnist and editing for the Reformer was a job in itself, but Charles went many steps further. In the 1920s, he was commissioned to produce the invaluable booklets sponsored by Vermont National Bank, “With Interest.” These little booklets were put out every few months and are chock-full of information and photos about Brattleboro and sometimes surrounding towns, on every subject from schools to the railroad, and even trees, to name just a few. They were published from July 1922 to April 1932, and contain many photos not seen anywhere else.
Also during this time, he wrote a column in the Reformer called “Pendrift.” This column was often humorous and always pointed out the idiosyncrasies of life in this town and state. It was a much anticipated triweekly read in the paper and so popular that in 1931, he compiled what was thought to be the best of his columns into a book aptly named “Pendrift,” (Currently available at Brooks Memorial Library).
Charles changed careers around 1932 and left Brattleboro, but didn’t ever leave Vermont. He moved his family to Montpelier where he became the director of publicity for National Life Insurance Co., and later the owner’s assistant. He was also a sought after speaker throughout Vermont. His wit and wisdom of our lovely state was a joy to many who attended his talks, and he continued to publish books about our state — “Made in Vermont,” “Let Me Show You Vermont” and “Winter in Vermont.”
But Brattleboro must have left a special place in his heart, for when he passed away at the age of 76 in 1960, he was buried in Brattleboro, in the Meetinghouse Hill Cemetery. The researchers at Brattleboro Historical Society are indebted to Charles Crane for the amazing written work he left us during his short 10 years in our town.
His words are perhaps even more significant today than they were years ago: “If one will but screw up his courage to the sticking point, shake off the smug laziness of the couch hammock, the reading lamp or the car, and take a three- or four-day hike on the sky line, he will find many surprises in store. His greatest discovery will not be the grand panorama that he will get from the summits, but the better perspective that he gets of himself.”
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