State of Vermont
House of Representatives
Montpelier, Vermont
Concurrent House Resolution
H.C.R. 224
House concurrent resolution honoring Wes and Miriam Herwig and
thanking Miriam Herwig for the gift to the state house of an historic clock
Offered by: Representatives French of Randolph and Hutchinson of
Randolph
Offered by:
Senator MacDonald
Whereas, Wes Herwig came to Vermont from Connecticut in 1944 and
became as true a Vermonter as did another Connecticut son, Ethan Allen, and
Whereas, in 1946, Wes Herwig married Miriam Boyce, an eighth
generation Vermonter, and they served the causes of Vermont history and
preservation ever faithfully, through more than 57 years of married life, until
his death in 2003, and
Whereas, Wes and Mim Herwig together published 40 books, most of them
about Vermont, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig for 16 years traveled from farm to farm as a milk
tester, coming to know hill-farm Vermont as few did, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig chronicled Vermont as an award-winning
photographer and as a writer, producing countless articles for the Herald of
Randolph (as the White River Valley Herald until 1989), where he worked for
25 years, the Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Rural New Yorker, the
Rutland Herald, and other publications, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig was an expert on the circus and each year helped to
bring the big top to Vermont, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig loved railroads, and his long-awaited book A Whistle
Up the Valley, the history of the Peavine Railroad that once served the White
River Valley from Bethel to Rochester, will be published this year, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig gave untiring service to Vermont as a trustee of the
Vermont Historical Society and the Kent Museum and as a participant in the
important issues of his time, including his support for the law that banished
billboards, even though he made a part of his living as a sign painter, and
Whereas, Wes Herwig served his home community of Randolph Center and
his home town of Randolph “mightily,” in the words of the local newspaper, as
a founder and president of the Randolph Historical Society, a school director,
water district board member, a library trustee, and as the local chair of the state
and national bicentennials, and
Whereas, Wes was one of 100 shareholders in the Tunbridge Fair that he so
loved, and
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Whereas, the Herald of Randolph observed on his death that “Wes always
spoke with the voice of common sense and deep understanding both of people
and issues” and “was one of Vermont’s finest local historians,” and
Whereas, Wes Herwig executed on the glass door of an 1840s clock he
owned a reverse painting of the second Vermont state house, a clock which
Mim Herwig has now donated to the state house in his memory, and
Whereas, this unusual clock will reside in the lieutenant governor’s office,
because the Herwig home is the Lebbeus Egerton House in Randolph Center,
home of five-term Lieutenant Governor Egerton who served from 1831 to
1835, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly honors Wes and Miriam Herwig for their many
civic, cultural, and journalistic contributions that have enhanced the quality of
life in Vermont and thanks Miriam Herwig for the gift of an 1840s clock to the
state house, and be it further
Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this
resolution to Miriam Herwig in Randolph.
Attested to:
Brian E. Dubie
President of the Senate
Donald G. Milne
Clerk, House of Representatives
Date:_______________________
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