Behind the Scenes: The Making of Mill To Mall

All the research and interviews for our latest exhibit, Mill to Mall: Historic Space Reimagined were conducted by local historian Erica Donnis. Now its Erica’s turn to be interviewed!

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a local historian and a native of Essex, Vermont. I’ve had the pleasure of working for the Mill Museum since October on a part-time basis. I also manage the Special Collections program at Champlain College.

What drew you to this exhibition project?
I am passionate about local history and the history of everyday life. Mill to Mall was a wonderful opportunity to combine both of these aspects of my work. I also had a personal connection to the topic, having shopped at the Champlain Mill during its heyday in the 1980s and 1990s. I blew a lot of my allowance on stickers and fancy colored  pens at the Paper Peddler as a tween and bought my high school prom dress at Clay’s.

How did you research Mill to Mall?
Over the course of several months, I did a deep dive into the recent history of the Champlain Mill and its importance to our local community. My work included conducting in depth interviews with almost thirty people, including former Winooski city officials, entrepreneurs who owned businesses in the mall, and some of their employees. I spent hours on newspapers.com reviewing articles and advertisements in The Burlington Free Press to understand contemporary perceptions of the project and verify details of specific businesses. Although the lead architect, James Lamphere, has since passed away, I was able to obtain a full set of architectural plans from his Colchester firm, Wiemann Lamphere. I sifted through correspondence and reports filed at the Vermont Division of Historic Preservation to understand the architectural significance of the building as well as how the mall project was a pioneer for the newly enacted federal historic preservation tax credit program. The City of Winooski’s files also turned out to be a goldmine; they have a trove of images by local photographer Sandy Milens documenting the Mill’s refurbishment and grand opening, which feature prominently in the exhibition.

What was the most meaningful aspect of the project?
I was amazed and touched by all the personal memories and stories we received from the local community. Dozens of people replied to a Facebook post, and others sat for interviews at the Winooski Senior Center. Their stories provide a wonderful window into the everyday life and experiences of the Champlain Mill’s shoppers, diners, business owners, and their employees – one that collapses the distance of the last forty years in ways that continue to resonate.
For example, one contributor wrote about working a part time job at the Have a Heart gift shop when she was a student at Saint Michael’s College. She befriended a University of Vermont student who worked at Chessy’s Frozen Custard, and they enjoyed Diet Coke and Funyuns together on their breaks. I love hearing about the seemingly minor details of everyday life like people’s favorite junk food in the 1980s!

What are you working on next for the Mill Museum?
I am contributing to the research of the Museum’s new permanent exhibition on child labor, which is in the planning stages. I’ve been studying census records to understand the demographics of the local area circa 1910, when photographer Lewis Hine took his famous photographs of children working in the mills and elsewhere in the Burlington area.

Thank you Erica!