News Post

Archivist Lillian Wentworth Contributes to Historical Documentary

Posted 01/04/2013 01:16PM

A consistent source of pride in the Thayer academic community is our longtime connection to archivist emerita Lillian Wentworth. Mrs. Wentworth has acquired an impressive array of experiences in the academic world, and she has shared benefits of her extensive knowledge with Thayer Academy through the many roles she has played since her arrival on campus in 1961:

Head archivist
Library director
Director of public relations and communications
Teacher of English and political science

In April, 2013, Mrs. Wentworth will celebrate her 100th birthday, and she continues to serve as a valuable resource here and in larger circles outside the Academy. At Thayer, she joins archivists Larry Carlson and Dan Forrest for a meeting every Thursday. Outside of Thayer, she is often consulted as an expert in many fields. Most recently, she was interviewed for the making of a documentary film about events that took place in her hometown of Southbury, Connecticut in 1937. That was when Hitler was poised to make his first move toward world domination; a time when most people had no clue about the emerging power of the Nazi party.

The film, Home of the Brave: When Southbury Said No to the Nazis, made by award-winning documentarian Scott Sniffen, was partly based on the thesis Mrs. Wentworth wrote in 1938 to complete her University of Virginia master’s degree in political science. To film this story, Scott Sniffen worked with the Southbury Historical Society, townspeople who were present at the time (or their relatives), and Mrs. Wentworth, who was able to play a dual role in the film as witness and historian.

The film premiered in November 2012, kicking off a number of activities to honor the 75th anniversary of the community’s stand against a German-American Bund (association) that planned to set up a training camp in the town of Southbury. Included in the celebratory events were an essay contest for high school and middle school students, exhibits in the Southbury library and the Historical Society Museum, plus an interfaith service at South Britain Congregational Church. The pastor of the Congregational church at that time was Rev. M.E.N. Lindsay, who took the lead in a campaign to prevent the Bund from settling into a large tract of land in Southbury. Reverend Lindsay managed to convince voters to update zoning laws so that it would be illegal for any organization other than the U.S. armed forces to use town land for military training purposes.

Film director Scott Sniffen had this to say about working with Lillian:

"Lillian was a delight to work with. A little hard of hearing, and a bit unsteady on her feet, but her mind is as sharp as a knife. Though our conversation covered many issues of the Southbury story, I found her answer to one question asked of all the interviewees, the most compelling.

I asked: 'Didn't the Bund have a right to have a camp in Southbury based on Freedom of Speech in this country?' Her comment was informed and unlike any of the others interviewed. To paraphrase her answer, she talked about how freedoms meet each other and how one person's or organization's idea of freedom can be detrimental to the freedom of the greater community. I have not stated it here as eloquently as she did, but it just made sense. I could have talked to her for hours. She is very educated, and I was fascinated that she had two master's degrees - amazing for a woman of the late 1930s. She said, 'I was interested in many things.' "

View the trailer for the film:

Read this article by Sarah C. Ginolfl, a junior at Yale Divinity School about the role of Reverend Lindsay and his family in this historic event»