NEWPORT — In the Newport region, Bruce Cronin and the late Babe Sargent are household names and a part of local lore.
The filmmaker and actor teamed up for a number of comedic short films in the 1970s, which often featured area residents.
“I wouldn’t call it a cult (following), I would call it an affectionate following,” said Priscilla Hagebusch, publicity chairwoman for the Newport Historical Society.
On Tuesday, the historical society will screen the duo’s 1980 PBS “docu-comedy” titled Bruce & Babe. Cronin, who lives in the region, will be present at the screening and participate in a discussion after the film is over.
The free event takes place from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Richards Free Library ballroom, located at 58 N. Main St. in Newport. Light refreshments will be served.
“I’m really looking forward to a really funny remembrance,” Hagebusch said with laughter in her voice. As she put up posters for the event throughout the community, many joined in with stories of their own. “So many people … were saying, ‘Oh I remember them.’ ”
Hagebusch recalled a scene in Cronin’s film Henry Phipps Goes Skiing that featured a scene with Sargent working in a shoe factory.
“It’s very slapstick. If you’ve never seen Babe Sargent, I can’t even give you a word for it,” Hagebusch said. She settled on the phrase “Babe-Sargent funny.”
“You just look at his face and you chuckle,” she said.
For more information about the event, call 603-863-7970.
Historical society
program in Hartford
April 10, 7 p.m.
Greater Hartford United Church of Christ, 1721 Maple St.
Deborah Lee Luskin presents “Getting From Here to There: A History of Roads and Settlements in Vermont.” Free. Handicapped-accessible. 802-295-2123.
Talk: “The Underground Railroad” in Thetford
April 11, 7 p.m.
Thetford Elementary School, 2689 Route 113.
Author and historian Michelle Arnosky Sherburne discusses abolition in Vermont and the network of local houses that secretly protected runaway slaves as they traveled north. Part of the Thetford Historical Society’s spring lecture series on the theme “Migration Nation.” Free. 802-785-2068.
Vermont history talk
in Ascutney
April 14, 2 p.m.
Martin Memorial Hall, 5259 Route 5.
Author Barbara Williams Shepherd talks about Vermont village life in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Free. 802-674-2626.
Vermont’s Counter
Culture Movement of the 1960-1970s in Woodstock
April 15, 7-8 p.m.
Woodstock History Center, 26 Elm St.
Author Yvonne Daley will share excerpts from her book Going Up the Country. She will also lead a discussion about how thousands of young migrants — including her — largely from cities and suburbs of New York and Massachusetts, turned their backs on the establishment of the 1950s and moved to Vermont. Once there, they spawned a revolution in lifestyle, politics, farming, sexuality and business practices that had a profound impact on the state and the nation. Free. 802-457-1822.
Talk: “Springfield
Electric Railway”
in North Springfield, Vt.
April 20, 2-3 p.m.
Springfield Art and Historical Society, 65 Route 106.
Local historian Walter Wallace discusses Vermont’s 19th-century railroad fever, its local control of the Springfield Electric Railway until World War I, the absorption of the railway by the Boston & Maine Railroad in the 1920s and the post-World War II diesel era. Free. 802-886-7935.
Talk: “Lake Champlain’s Rum Runners”
in Springfield, Vt.
April 23, 2 p.m.
Nolin Murray Center, 38 Pleasant St.
Scott McLaughlin, executive director of the Vermont Granite Museum in Barre, explains how smugglers used the open waters of Lake Champlain during Prohibition. $8. Part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute lecture series. 802-885-3094.
Talk: “Vermonters,
Coming and Going”
in Thetford
April 25, 7 p.m.
Thetford Academy, 304 Academy Road.
Historian Jill Mudgett, a member of the Vermont and Morristown historical societies, explores the idea of what is home and what exactly is a Vermonter. There is a long history of people traveling in and out of the state, and this topic is often in the news as Vermont looks to attract, and keep, modern settlers. Part of the Thetford Historical Society’s spring lecture series on the theme of “Migration Nation.” Free. 802-785-2068.
Talk: “Logging in Lyme and the Upper Valley”
in Lyme
April 28, 3 p.m.
Lyme Center Academy, 183 Dorchester Road.
The annual meeting of the Lyme Historians features a film and discussion about Lyme’s logging past. Refreshments. Free. For more information, call Jane Fant at 603-795-4780, email lymehistorians@gmail.com or visit lymehistorians.wordpress.com.
Talk: “Connecticut River Log Drives”
in Springfield, Vt.
April 30, 2 p.m.
Nolin Murray Center, 38 Pleasant St.
Author Helen Pike talks about early log drives down the Connecticut River and the perils and economic hardships faced by the men who built a new nation in the 19th century. $8. Part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute lecture series. 802-885-3094.
