Chestnut Hill | Howard C. Rice & Family

About

Howard C. Rice was the first editor/publisher of The Brattleboro Daily Reformer, which printed its first daily edition in 1913. Rice said the decision to publish a daily newspaper was bold for the time, but the Reformer did well from the outset. The house at 105 Chestnut Hill was built in 1912 for Howard and his wife Amy, who resided there until their deaths in 1965, just 9 days apart. Howard’s sister, Marion McCune Rice, was a World War I American Red Cross nurse who resided during the summers and retired in a small cottage on the opposite side of the reservoir at 90 Chestnut Hill until her death in 1955. Howard’s son, Howard C. Rice Jr, lived with his wife at 160 Chestnut Hill. He was Assistant Librarian for Rare Books and Special Collections at Princeton University, and wrote several books on Rudyard Kipling. Howard’s daughter, Marion, married another long-time editor and publisher of the Reformer, John S. Hooper in the rose garden behind the house at 105 Chestnut Hill in 1931.

Research & Production

Audio Producer & Editor: Donna Blackney
Research & Narration: Jackie Hooper
Voice: Shannon Ward
Voice: Riley Goodemote

Music used:
‘Old Strange’ by Black Twig Pickers and Steve Gunn (freemusicarchive.org)
‘Wild Horse of Stony Point’ by Black Twig Pickers and Steve Gunn (freemusicarchive.org)
‘Fisher’s Hornpipe’ (traditional by James A. Fishar) Performed by Adam Boyce and Harold Luce. Archive recording courtesy of Vermont Folk Life Center
‘Not Drunk’ by The Joy Drops (freemusicarchive.org)
‘Dill Pickles’ by Heftone Banjo Orchestra (freemusicarchive.org)
‘Patriotic Songs of America’ by New York Military Band and the American Quartet (freemusicarchive.org)
‘Parisian’ by Kevin MacLeod (freemusicarchive.org)

Ongoing Development and Involvement:

As a community-created project, we encourage ongoing dialogue, questions, and engagement. If you would like to be involved in future developments, have information or a perspective that could deepen others' understanding of this topic, please contact us.