A new initiative is under way to commemorate and perpetuate the Tuttle legacy.  The Freeman Foundation, long a major force on the Vermont cultural heritage scene, has issued a challenge grant to the Vermont Historical Society in memory of Reiko and Charles E. Tuttle, Jr.  The grant will establish a fund for support of the VHS library’s efforts to collect and make accessible books, maps, manuscripts, pamphlets, newspapers, photographs, and other sources on our state’s past.  Founded six years after the first Tuttle book store opened in Rutland, VHS has been collecting Vermont history ever since, and the Society library is a significant resource for all Vermonters interested in their family, local and state heritage.

            A Tuttle fund at VHS is an appropriate tribute, since the family and the Society have deep connections.  Charles E. Tuttle, Sr. worked closely with VHS in the early decades of the 20^th century, supplying hundreds of pieces of choice Vermontiana to fill gaps in the library collection.  When the 1927 Flood devastated Montpelier and inundated important VHS holdings there, Mr. Tuttle drove over from Rutland to direct the salvage operation on irreplaceable historic materials that would otherwise have been lost.  His efforts were the key factor in minimizing damage to the VHS collections, and VHS trustee Dorman B. E. Kent reported, “It was fortunate indeed that he came to Montpelier.”  Charles E. Tuttle Jr. maintained those VHS ties during his career as an international publisher with interests in Japan and Vermont, and when he and Reiko retired to Rutland they strengthened their commitment to the Green Mountain State through Tuttle Antiquarian Books, involvement with the Vermont Antiquarian Booksellers Association, and other good work here.         

            The Freeman Foundation’s challenge grant asks the Historical Society to raise a total of $25,000 in matching contributions within the next year, and VHS is eager to reach that goal.  A new fund for the library will allow VHS to enhance its collecting program and to build upon such areas of strength as 18^th-century Vermont, the Civil War, local and county history, historic photographs, maps, genealogy, industry, transportation, agriculture, social history, and other threads in the tapestry of Vermont’s heritage.  Thousands of researchers, from Vermont school children writing their first social studies papers to distinguished scholars researching Green Mountain aspects of national history, use the VHS library every year.  The members of Vermont’s 197 local historical societies call on the library whenever they begin work on new projects in their communities, and Americans with Vermont roots come from all over the country to trace their ancestry at VHS.  The Society library is an important resource for all Vermonters and Vermonters at heart who appreciate the role that our history and traditions play in the quality of life here.

            Charles and Reiko Tuttle epitomized Vermont’s tradition of making a difference without fanfare or self-congratulation.  As generations of Tuttles did before them, they made Vermont a better place through their community work and their generosity.  The Freeman Foundation initiative offers a way to honor that legacy and to benefit Vermont now and in the future.  The Vermont Historical Society is grateful to the Foundation for this opportunity, and we look forward to hearing from Vermonters who want to help VHS bring it to fruition.