Button, Button, Who's Got The Button? A Dream of Nuclear War
Please join the Strafford Historical Society for a special evening on Sunday, November 15th at 5:00pm, at the newly renovated SHS Building and Community Center, 232 VT Route 132, South Strafford.
The Historical Society is pleased to present this newly digitized film (approx 20 minutes long). Following the presentation, there will be a panel discussion with participants - many of whom still live in Strafford and joined in the production - including Carol Langstaff (creator), Juan Mandelbaum (producer), and Frank Cantor (director).
Snacks and drinks will be provided, with a suggested $20 donation to the SHS.
In August 1980, more than 100 Strafford artists and residents were involved in a production of political theater: "Button, Button, Who's Got The Button? A Dream of Nuclear War", created by Carol Langstaff. The Elizabeth Mine's abandoned copper flats set the stage for the show, and nearly a thousand people turned out to see it over two days.
The subject of Button Button was, simply, nuclear war and the prospect of nuclear annihilation. It was at the height of tensions between the U.S. and Russia at the beginning of the Reagan Presidency. The theatrical production was of monumental scale, constructed with mime, performance, and storytelling.
The following year, the production was taken on the road to a number of communities in Vermont. Subsequently it was also made into a short, powerful film, included in 1983 in the Museum of Modern Art's department of film releases.
Ed Hathaway Memorial Bench Dedication
Friday, October 30, 2026 | 11:00 a.m.
Friends, former coworkers, and colleagues of Ed Hathaway have contributed to the installation of an engraved granite memorial bench at the historic Elizabeth Mine site in Strafford.
A dedication ceremony will take place at the school bus turnaround on Mine Road, with an opportunity for those attending to share memories of Ed.
A reception will follow at Barrett Memorial Hall.
The memorial bench honoring Ed bears this inscription:
“We thank Ed for his dedication, vision, creativity, and collaborative leadership that helped reclaim this site.
His efforts were key to restoring polluted waterways and preserving historical resources at the Elizabeth Mine.”
The inscription based on the Vermont Legislature's 2025 tribute to Ed has been carved into the granite. The bench, which was commissioned and purchased by his many friends, colleagues and co-workers, was installed last week at the scenic overlook on Mine Road at the center of the array of Elizabeth Mine historical and interpretive panels, to celebrate the 150-year history of the copper mining industry in Strafford and Vermont.
Our thanks to John Schmeltzer, formerly of the Vermont ANR, and Tim Ullman of Northwoods Construction, who made this memorial possible. It has been co-sponsored by the Strafford Historical Society.
About Ed Hathaway
For 26 years, Ed Hathaway served as the EPA’s project manager for the Elizabeth Mine Superfund Site. Ed played a central role in the reclamation of one of Strafford’s most significant historic and environmental sites.
Ed Hathaway died in 2025 of pancreatic cancer. His legacy is the remediation of these mines and the restoration of the Ompompanoosuc River watershed.
Photographs and a report on the dedication will be added following the ceremony.
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News
Join the Strafford Historical Society Sunday, Nov. 15 at 5pm for “Button, Button,” a film of Strafford’s 1980 theater production about nuclear war, followed by a panel with its creators and participants. At the SHS Building and Community Center. Refreshments provided. Suggested donation: $20.
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Blog
Our frequent blog posts contain stories about the people, places, things, and events that shaped Strafford's past and present. There are posts about people like Jedediah Harris and his wife Judith, Samuel Pennock, Harlow Lent and Gile Kendall, places like Dublin Corner, historic things like horse-drawn snowplows, and events like the annual full moon skiing at Lion's rope tow on Harrington Hill.
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Restoration
Our new home is being restored! In September 2021, the Strafford Historical Society received a Vermont's Art Council Cultural Facilities grant for $18,040 to be used toward the installation of an energy-efficient heat pump system and was also awarded $51,520 in Tax Credits through the Agency of Commerce's Downtown & Village Center Program to be used toward roof repairs. The Northfield Savings Bank will purchase the Tax Credits.
The new home of the Strafford Historical Society, and future Community Center
Blake Spencer and his crew of talented carpenters have been very busy lately rectifying the structural issues of our new home. Take a look »
Please help us with its restoration.
A letter sent 27 years ago… finally answered
In 1998 Strafford Historian Gwenda Smith wrote a letter to Eilzabeth Markin of The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Connecticut. Markin had published an article in the November 1976 issue of The Magazine Antiques on the early 19th century portrait painter Zedekiah Belknap.
Smith was writing in regards to the portraits of Jedediah Harris and his wife Judith Harris which hang in the Morrill Memorial Library. Smith felt they might well be among the over 200 hundred portraits done by Belknap.
Strafford’s stores
As two of Strafford‘s store buildings merit special mention this year —Coburns’ Store building having reached its 100th birthday in I985, and the old White Store in the upper village having been extensively restored —it seems fitting to present here a brief history of our main commercial structures.
The Elizabeth Mine: A New Life for a Vermont Superfund Site
Strafford’s Elizabeth Mine has undergone an extraordinary transformation—from one of the nation’s significant copper producers to an abandoned and contaminated industrial site, and ultimately to a reclaimed landscape and source of solar power.
In an article originally published in the Fall 2024 issue of Estuary, author John Buck traces the mine’s history, its environmental legacy, and the massive cleanup completed in 2022. The article also includes a historic photograph from the Strafford Historical Society’s collection.
Elizabeth Mine mining operations shed from Copperas Hill c. 1900.
