Romaine Tenney
Romaine Tenney | |
|---|---|
 Romaine Tenney in 1964 | |
| Born | 1900 |
| Died | September 12, 1964 (aged 64) |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Romaine Tenney (1900 - September 12, 1964) was an American farmer, known for committing suicide to protest the seizure of his farm by eminent domain to construct Interstate 91. Instead of waiting for bulldozers to tear down his home and farm buildings, Tenney burned them down himself. He then nailed himself shut in his bedroom and died by self-inflicted gunshot, his body burning with his house.[1]
Early life
[edit]Romaine Tenney was born in 1900, the fourth of nine children of Myron and Rosa Tenney. His father died when he was 14, leaving his mother to raise the family and run the farm. He left the family farm only once for an extended period, to serve in the military.[2]
Death
[edit]In the early morning hours of September 12, 1964, Tenney released his animals, set fire to his barns and shed, and ultimately barricaded himself inside his burning farmhouse. It was later determined he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before the flames claimed him.[3]
Legacy
[edit]Park
[edit]The Romaine Tenney Memorial Park is located at the I-91 Exit 8 park-and-ride in Ascutney, Vermont. The park features a picnic pavilion and the stump of the last large maple tree from Tenney's farm, which was cut down on March 17, 2021, due to poor health.[4][5] The park was built with a $30,000 grant from the Vermont Agency of Transportation.[6]
In remembrance
[edit]Tenney's life has been the inspiration for songs, books, and poetry.
- "The Ballad of Romaine Tenney" by Sean Kelly Murray[7]
- "Spark" by Ben Fuller[8][9]
- "Romaine Tenney" by Dan Lindner[10]
- The fictional book "Just Compensation" by Richard Lechthaler[11]
- A poem by Neil Shepard[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Barry, Ellen (May 27, 2021). "Goodbye to a Yankee Farmer, the Ghost of Exit 8". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "The Vermonter Who Loved His Farm To Death". New England Today. March 31, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Interstates, Burning Farms & Eminent Domain: Remembering Romaine Tenney". Vermont Public Radio. October 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "As Tree Falls, State Ponders How To Memorialize Romaine Tenney's Death, Legacy Of Resistance". Vermont Public Radio. March 22, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Bearse, Provided by deForest (March 20, 2021). "Romaine Tenney tree removed after yearslong battle". The Eagle Times. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Jim, Kenyon (April 10, 2021). "Jim Kenyon: Ascutney farmer's story is a hard one to tell". Valley News.
- ^ eMinor. "The Ballad of Romaine Tenney | Sean Kelly Murray". ReverbNation. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Song commemorates Vermonter who lost farm to Interstate 91". Valley News. November 20, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Adrian, Patrick (October 16, 2019). "Local country musician puts a 'spark' in old history". The Eagle Times. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Lane, Mark Bushnell Life in the Past (March 6, 2016). "An ear for history Dan Lindner puts the past to music". Rutland Herald. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Just Compensation (Paperback) | Northshire Bookstore". www.northshire.com. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ "Promoting the Work of Poets and Writers from New England". Brilliant Light Publishing. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- 1900 births
- 1964 deaths
- 20th-century American farmers
- Suicides by firearm in Vermont
- Arson in the 1960s
- Farmers who died by suicide in the United States
- 1964 fires in the United States
- Residential building arson attacks in the United States
- September 1964 in the United States
- Attacks on farmhouses in the United States
- Deaths by person in Vermont