On Sunday, October 20th, at 4:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall of the Pond Village Church the Brookfield Historical Society will host a public presentation on "Arming the Union: Vermont Gunmakers and the Technology that Shaped America" by Carrie Brown.

During the Civil War, the Union army fielded more than two million men, most of them armed with newly-made, highly accurate rifles. How did the North produce all of those weapons in such a short time? What impact did the new rifles have on the conduct and outcome of the war? Then, after the war, how did the new manufacturing technology change American life and popular culture? In an illustrated lecture, historian and museum curator Carrie Brown explores the critical role that Windsor, Vermont, played in producing technology that won the war and changed American life.

Carrie Brown is a writer and historian who uncovers the human story behind historic events and who explores the interplay between technology and culture. Her book "Rosie’s Mom: Forgotten Women Workers of the First World War" explores the lives of women who worked in munitions plants a generation before Rosie the Riveter.

Several important firearms manufactured at Windsor, Vermont, and loaned by the Sullivan Museum of Norwich University, will be on display for the presentation that is co-sponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. It is free, accessible to people with disabilities, and open to the public. A pot luck will follow the presentation. Contact Bonnie Fallon at (802) 276-3105 for more information.