Northfield stonemason Fred Nadon breaks a piece of Northfield slate for the demonstration slate wall he built at the Vermont History Expo in Tunbridge last weekend.Fred used the same techniques that have been used for hundreds of years and he said: "It's a puzzle, but you get to make your own pieces. Fred's work was a part of The Northfield Historical Society's exhibit about the slate industry in Northfield. Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News Northfield’s Historical Society provided one of over eighty displays by towns from all over the state at last weekend’s Vermont History Expo 2010 at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds , and Northfield’s exhibit on the town’s slate industry was very popular throughout the two day event.

“It has been wild,” said the Northfield Historical Society’s Mary Comiskey on Saturday afternoon. People have been drawn to the tools and pictures. And, lots of people have shared their stories.”

The static display of tools and pictures was only one part of the Northfield exhibit. While Mary Comiskey and Bernard Byrne were inside one of the fairgrounds display barns talking to visitors and explaining the history of the slate industry in Northfield, Northfield’s Fred Nadon was just outside on the lawn giving a live demonstration of how to build a slate wall.

Jay Pedley of the Northfield Historical Society was looking on as Fred started his work and Jay thought that “Hands On” displays and “how to” demonstrations were a very effective way to impart history. “ This kind of thing just fascinates people. People really get excited watching the demonstrations or by being able to touch a little bit of history,” Jay said. “ This is the third time we have done something like this. One year we brought a dog powered treadmill and people just couldn’t believe how it worked. Another year we brought one of Gene Nadon’s old knitting machines. People could crank at one end of the machine and watch the sock come out the other end. They were fascinated,” he said.

Being a history buff himself, Jay really likes the concept of the state-wide History Expo. “It’s Fantastic. We’ve been here every year that they have had an expo. It’s so great. It gives everybody an idea of what has gone on in different towns. It energizes the various Historical Societies,” Jay said.

Meanwhile, under threatening skies and protected by a 10 x10 pop up tent, Fred Nadon of Northfield’s Stonescapes was continuing his work on the demonstration wall. Fred was using slate from one of Northfield’s abandoned quarries and techniques that go back hundreds of years.

“It’s a puzzle, but you get to make your own pieces,” Fred said as he chipped away at a piece of slate with a hammer. People strolled by and then moved on after watching the labor-intensive process for a few minutes, only to be replaced by more people stopping by for a little while. Back at the booth visitors stopped in to ask about the demonstration and then they made they way through the thickening crowd in the building to go out and watch Fred at work.

As he worked Fred was explaining just what he was doing to the fascinated on-lookers. “ This is a ‘dry’ wall. That means it has no mortar,” Fred explained. “I might use a little gravel to fill in the spaces in the middle but not sand as some may think. You want any water to drain through.” As the small wall started to take shape Fred continued his explanation. “The object is to cover each joint with a stone and keep it level. You have to make each of the outside walls tip slightly toward the middle. This is a gravity sport. If you don’t lean each side slightly toward the middle, then when the wall lifts (and it will lift due to frost unless you go down about four feet for a foundation in Vermont) the stone will spill out.” Fred explained. Fred put the four largest pieces of Northfield slate that he had brought (about one foot square and two inches thick each) on as a cap and his little demonstration wall was complete – for Saturday. He had to tear the wall down and do another one on Sunday afternoon. But Fred is a man who truly loves his work and he said he was looking forward to doing it all over again.

The Northfield Historical Society’s History Expo display was only one of many things that the Historical Society has going on in the course of a year.

When it comes to Vermont Historical Societies, Northfield is right up near the top. “ We’re very active. We have, I would estimate, over 300 members,” said the Northfield Historical Society’s president, Sally Pedley. “We’re lucky, we have very talented volunteers. People who take our role to preserve and educate people about town history seriously. We are independent and all volunteer. Many Historical Societies don’t have their own home. Many are located in a library or in a town’s municipal offices but we have Paine house. We hold three pot-luck suppers a year, each with a different theme. These help us raise funds and also keep our members interested.”

In keeping with their role as the preservationists of historical objects, artifacts, pictures and papers, and looking forward to preserve the past, the Northfield Historical Society will present the “Glass Negatives Project” at the Paine House from mid-July to October.