My parents, Leon and Julia Winston, were both art teachers in the New York City public schools, and as members of the left-leaning Teachers Union, were threatened with losing their jobs during the McCarthy Era. As a result, I have a great interest in that period, and have done some research about what happened in Vermont during that time. I helped coordinate a 1988 conference on the subject, presented by the Vermont Historical Society, and have written an article for Vermont History, the journal of the Vermont Historical Society, on an incident in Bethel, Vermont, in 1950. I’ve also spoken before the Bethel Rotary Club, the Elder Educational Enrichment program in Burlington, and will be speaking at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (Montpelier) this fall.

 

Here is an article on my parents and my discovery of their Board of Education files.

 

Here is the article “A Sinister Poison” in Vermont History.

 

Here is a Seven Days article on my research into two Burlington controversies of the time.

 

Here is my talk on “The McCarthy Era and the Burlington Press” for the Elder Educational Enrichment program.