Lola Aiken

A tribute to Lola Aiken

Lola Aiken, Vermont's 'State Treasure,' Honored at Annual Legislative Reception in Montpelier

About 70 people attended the legislative reception which honored Montpelier native Lola P. Aiken. The reception was held on January 29 in the Snelling Room of the Vermont Historical Society Museum in Montpelier. Lola Aiken and her husband, the late Senator George D. Aiken, worked with Vermont and American leaders through four decades, from the 1930s through the 1970s, representing the very best of Vermont’s traditions of public service and commitment to our state. As a token of appreciation for her lifelong work on behalf of Vermont, the Vermont Historical Society presented Mrs. Aiken with a book of memories written by many of the state and community leaders who have worked with her through the years.The Vermont Historical Society takes great pride in presenting some of the testimonials:

Click on the links below to read these testimonials.

Connell B. Gallagher, Library Professor Emeritus, University of Vermont

Frank M. Bryan, Special Collections, Bailey/Howe Library

Jeffrey D. Marshall, Director of Research Collections, Special Collections, Bailey/Howe Library

Madeleine Kunin, former Governor of Vermont

Sam Hand, Former University of Vermont History Professor

Tom Slayton, Former Editor, Vermont Life Magazine

Connell B. Gallagher, Library Professor Emeritus

University of Vermont
January 29, 2008

I first met Senator and Mrs. George D. Aiken in 1975, just after the Governor retired from the U.S. Senate, 1941-1975. My boss, John Buechler and I met a large trailer truck that arrived at UVM in January of 1975 filled with the Aiken Papers, and we helped unload approximately 75 wooden crates that would represent the legacy of Aiken’s years representing Vermont on the national level. A few days later, UVM Professor Nick Muller brought the Aikens down to 200 Church Street, the then UVM Library Research Annex, to see where the papers would reside. This was when I met Lola. Lola was the one who looked after the Governor’s papers in Washington. She saw that they were properly arranged and described and that each box had a typewritten label describing the contents. The papers were usable from day one thanks to Lola’s work on them and her interest in documenting this most important Vermont legacy. Lola walked me through the crates and boxes for the first of many times over the next ten years. The Governor was a visiting professor at the university, and Lola made sure that her big yellow Jeep made a trip to the papers on every visit to campus. The Aikens took me under their wing from the beginning, and they gave me a college education in the ins and outs of public policy during the Aiken years. Reading the typewritten box labels would remind the Governor of a story, and he loved to tell stories about Eisenhower, Nixon and Kennedy, but particularly about “Lyndon.” Lola always had a list of topics she needed to check to answer the many questions she received by letter and telephone, and I would help her locate the documents she needed.

These were great years in my life, for they awakened an interest in politics and particularly in the U.S. Congress and its workings. This experience with the Aikens led to my decision to go to Washington on my second sabbatical to work for Senator’s Robert T. Stafford and Patrick Leahy, and it opened a specialty in my archival career as a congressional archivist. Lola appointed me and my mentor, UVM Professor Sam Hand, to the Aiken Lectures Board in the 1980s, and we were asked by the UVM Provost to chair the Tenth Anniversary Aiken Lecture on the Legacy of George D. Aiken. Sam and I co-taught a seminar on the Governor that same semester. The Lectures are as much Lola’s legacy as they are the Governor’s, for she has been active choosing topics and speakers from the beginning. Lola has made sure that the Lectures always include a nice balance of community leaders and academics. The annual Aiken Lecture is one of the most important ways that UVM provides service to the State of Vermont thanks to Lola. Lola and I have continued to have lunch a few times each year to reminisce on the Aiken years, talk about the annual Aiken Lecture, and to catch up on the doings in Montpelier. She continues to add books, photographs and papers to the collection every year, and we have quietly began to build a complementary Lola Aiken Papers as well to document her great career of service to the state of Vermont. Lola is a great lady in her own right, but to me and many others she will always be a great friend.

Frank M. Bryan

January 23, 2008

Dear Lola,

It is one of the most satisfying things about my life─that we are on a first name basis.

Thank you so much for honoring me with your friendship. It is a compliment and a joy I will forever cherish.

You are one of those rare ladies who make a Vermonter like me think: I bet we'd have had good times if we'd crossed paths when we were kids!

Frank

Special Collections
Bailey/Howe Library
University of Vermont
Burlington, VT 05405

Jeffrey D. Marshall

January 29, 2008

Dear Lola,

It is with great pleasure and affection that I join in spirit with many of your friends and associates who have gathered to honor you today. I regret that I cannot be there in person, but I couldn’t let the occasion pass without expressing my appreciation for your friendship and support. As the Honorary Curator of the George D. Aiken Papers, you have worked constantly to promote the Governor’s legacy, adding materials to the collection and advising both librarians and researchers. You have also been a loyal and generous member of the Friends of Special Collections at the University of Vermont for many years. When the history—makers contribute so unselfishly to support the history—keepers, the result is a much richer cultural heritage for the people of Vermont.

Thank you, Lola.

Sincerely,
Jeffrey D. Marshall
Director of Research Collections

Madeleine Kunin

January 23, 2008

Dear Lola,

I remember some years ago when I met you and the Governor for lunch at a restaurant in Putney. He brought me a box of raspberries. What a wonderful gift.

You have not only kept his memory alive for all of us, you have become an extraordinary person in your own right. Your courage, your ability to say exactly what you think, and your love for the State of Vermont shine through everything you do. I am so glad that you are being honored tonight. You and the Governor have represented what is best about Vermont and what is so badly needed in politics today—an ability to rise above party differences and respect one another for who we are and what we stand for.

I was always filled with awe whenever I met your husband. I have always wanted to smile whenever we met because I felt your warmth and friendship. May that continue for many years to come.

With warm good wishes,

Madeleine

Samuel B. Hand

January 23, 2008

Dear Lola,

Our first meeting, and I forgive you if you don’t remember it, was over forty years ago. As a young UVM instructor I had come to Washington to see about a grant that I had applied for and so dropped by the governor’s office where we met. You welcomed me and were very gracious. After I received the grant I visited the office more regularly. I recall with some embarrassment that on a number of occasions you would identify me to the governor by reminding him that he and I shared a birthday, a point I made to you at every opportunity. You never seem to have forgotten a name or a face.

After the governor retired from the Senate and came to UVM we saw you more often and it was then that my wife, Harriet, first met with you. Soon after you nominated me to serve on the Aiken Lectures Board and it continues to give me great pleasure to serve. When I was president of the VHS you were always supportive and continue to contribute generously to a multitude of local causes.

Harriet and I can assure you that you deserve all the honors that are bestowed on you.

Cordially,

Sam Hand

Tom Slayton

January 25, 2008

Lola,

You are a very special person, both for Montpelier and Vermont. Thanks for your years of service, your energy, intelligence, and all you have done for this community!

Your Friend,

Tom Slayton