Adventures in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont
Finding Norman Rockwell Discover UpCountry through the artist’s eyes plus
Building a Community: Lessons from Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms,” by Laurie Norton Moffatt A Change of Pace How runner Kent Lemme found his stride
Sticky and Sweet Explore UpCountry’s sugar houses
Waking up for Spring Historic homes emerge from hibernation
March/April 2018
“[Norman Rockwell’s] artworks may speak to us more powerfully today than any time since their creation. His art invites a return to ‘Main Street,’ another of his iconic images, where we know our neighbors, from the local lunch counter to the barbershop; we develop a sense of community and caring for each other. Whether a village Main Street or a bustling urban block, community happens where people come together and know each other as neighbors.” — Laurie Norton Moffatt, “Finding common ground: The making of community,” page 44
Immigrants take an oath of allegiance to receive United States citizenship during the annual naturalization ceremony at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass. Saturday, September 12, 2015. Stephanie Zollshan
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Tony DiTerlizzi . Cover illustration from The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone, 2003 / Image © Tony DiTerlizzi. All rights reserved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
March/April 2018
23
Meanings of Maple
An anthropologist explores New England’s syrup tradition
35
Coming Attractions: Cultural events to look forward to this spring
43
Finding Rockwell:
The artist’s life in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont
One Night in...
Person of Interest
Behind the Scenes
Editor’s Note
06
History and hospitality at the Red Lion Inn 11
Runner Kent Lemme finds his stride 18
Sleeping houses awake for spring. 61
Contributors
07
Off the Shelf
The Roundup
Up Close
Design-Your-Garden Toolkit by Michelle Gervais. 16
UpCo’s sugar houses 25
Well-travelled trunks have a story to tell 66
UpCountry Kitchen Maple syrup makes everything sweeter
Advertiser Index 71 Final Thought
72
28 UpCountryOnline.com | 5
FROM THE EDITOR
UPCOUNTRY
On Jan. 6, 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the 77th Congress in what he called an “unprecedented” moment in U.S. history. In his State of the Union address, Roosevelt set out to prepare America for the inevitable: war. Roosevelt’s challenge was monumental: He rallied Americans to eschew isolationism and rise to protect republics around the globe in order to preserve America itself. And he did so by setting forth the Four Freedoms, which resonated in the hearts of every American then — and still do today: “In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms,” Roosevelt declared. “The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world. “The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world. “The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world. “The fourth is freedom from fear — which, translated into world terms, means a worldwide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor — anywhere in the world.” In 1943, Norman Rockwell illustrated the Four Freedoms as covers for the Saturday Evening Post, images that would later be used to raise $132 million in war bonds and embody each freedom in the mind of every American. Locally, the UpCountry of Southern Vermont and the Berkshires is inextricably linked to Rockwell and the Four Freedoms: Rockwell used his Arlington neighbors as models in the paintings. In “Freedom from Fear,” it’s worth pointing out, the father is holding our Bennington Banner newspaper. The Four Freedoms themselves hang at the Norman Rockwell Museum in the Berkshires. On the 75th anniversary of the paintings, this edition of UpCountry proudly explores Rockwell and the Four Freedoms. To that end, I highly recommend reading the centerpiece feature of this issue: “Finding common ground: The making of community,” an essay by Laurie Norton Moffatt, director and CEO of the Norman Rockwell Museum. A foremost expert on Rockwell, Norton Moffatt writes that the Four Freedoms “awakened in Rockwell a desire to use his artist voice to seek justice for all people.” We here at UpCountry are grateful for her contribution to this magazine. Indeed, the Four Freedoms resonate today. Kevin Moran, Editor kmoran@berkshireeagle.com
On the Cover Instructor Gayle TardifRaser, Duncan Bennett, 8, center, and Liam Seddon, 9, left, check the clear, thawing water for beaver scat during the Winter Vacation Adventure Program at Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lenox, Mass, Feb. 24, 2017. Photo: Stephanie Zollshan. 6 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Adventures in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont
Publisher
Fredric D. Rutberg
Editor
Kevin Moran
Associate Editor
Jennifer L. Huberdeau
Art Director
Kimberly Kirchner
Chief Revenue Officer Jordan Brechenser
Chief Consumer Sales/ Events Officer Warren Dews Jr.
Regional Advertising Managers Berkshire County, Mass.: Kate Teutsch Bennington County, Vt.: Susan Plaisance Windham County, Vt.: Josh Unruh Newsstand price: $5.25 per issue. Discounted subscriptions available. Subscriptions are free for subscribers of The Berkshire Eagle, Bennington Banner, Manchester Journal and Brattleboro Reformer. UpCountry Magazine is a publication of New England Newspapers Inc.
CONTRIBUTORS Ruth Bass, [“Sleeping Houses,� page 61] the former Sunday editor of The Berkshire Eagle, lives in Richmond, Mass., where she continues to ​write a column for the paper. Her website is ruthbass.com.
Family owned and operated. Benjamin Cassidy [“Coming Attractions,� page 35] is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School and the University of Michigan, Benjamin now lives in Dalton, Mass.
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ONE NIGHT IN ...
ABOVE: The Red Lion Inn is known not just for its extensive history, but for the warm and hospitality to be found within. Photo: George Forbes
History and Hospitality The spirit of the past lingers at The Red Lion Inn By Cherise Madigan Ambling along the halls of The Red Lion Inn, you may wonder exactly which century you’ve stepped into. Around one corner, you’ll discover an intimate, yet lively, tavern — its wood walls welcoming you to an evening of warmth. Lifting a frosty mug of Lion’s Ale, you may feel a faint urge to foment revolution — a lingering spirit of the 1773 establishment’s earliest inhabitants. An alternate avenue may lead you to the pleasant and precise brush-strokes of Norman Rockwell, who featured The Red Lion Inn in his depiction of the
“Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas (Home for Christmas), 1967” — on display at the nearby Norman Rockwell Museum. Continuing this odyssey, you’ll discover a collection of antiques, a treasure trove of puzzles and games, and camaraderie around a crackling fire. The warm ambiance doesn’t end around the fireplace, however. Whether a visitor from afar or a hometown explorer, the hospitality found within The Red Lion Inn’s halls makes one feel as though they’ve just returned from a long and weary journey. “When you walk in to the fire-
place roaring and find the welcoming reception of our staff, you feel like you’re coming home,” said Red Lion Inn General Manager Michele Kotek. “We have a lot of return guests, even a lot of generational guests, because they get that warm and fuzzy feeling when they walk in the door.” Though Kotek describes the inn as something akin to a “living museum,” she notes that there’s no dearth of modern amenities including highspeed internet, nightly live music and bi-weekly yoga classes. Italian sheets and fresh flowers hint at luxury, while the inn’s hometown hospitality and
UpCountryOnline.com | 11
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Guests can enjoy live piano music in the lobby on Friday and Saturday nights. Pieces of the Red Lion’s long history decorate the walls of Widow Bingham’s Tavern. While more vintage rooms can be found in the Main Inn, the Maple Glen guest house, pictured here, features a number of modern amenities. Photos: George Forbes
12 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
TOP: You may feel a faint urge to foment revolution within the wood walls of the historic Widow Bingham’s Tavern. BOTTOM: The Red Lion’s formal dining room brings a sense of luxury to compliment the more relaxed vibe of the tavern. Photos: George Forbes
UpCountryOnline.com | 13
ABOVE: Guests collect around the fireplace to converse, read, and enjoy the Red Lion’s atmosphere. Photo: George Forbes
reverence for history ground guests firmly in New England culture. For more than 200 years, this “grand, old lady” of an inn — as Kotek calls it — has been a destination for all sorts of travelers. “The trick is trying to preserve the history while trying to change with the times,” Kotek explained. “The Norman Rockwell portraits hanging throughout the inn really remind people of the quintessential town that Stockbridge is, and what it has to offer.” Located along Stockbridge’s charming Main Street, the inn provides a true taste of the Berkshires — both literally and figuratively. Throughout the summer, cultural institutions like the Berkshire Theatre Group offer performances, some just minutes away.
14 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Resting on your pillow, you’ll find a chocolate mint from Great Barrington’s Catherine’s Chocolates, and ingredients from local farms and distilleries can be found on the tavern’s menu year round. “We’ve just welcomed a new executive chef, Max Kiperman, and we’re excited to see how he continues our philosophy of using local products,” Kotek said. “We’ve been known for warm, comforting food that showcases New England flavors with a little flair,” said Kiperman, an alum of the California Culinary Academy who boasts a global resume. Still, the Marblehead, Mass., native maintains a healthy respect for the flavors of the Northeast. “Caring for our community starts with the local farmers, and parlaying their premium products into our dishes,” he said. “Whether they’re vegetari-
an or paleo, I think the menu is diverse enough to offer choices for everybody.” The Lion’s Den, located downstairs at the inn, carries entertainment every evening of the week with no cover charge. It’s the place “you can have a drink in the tavern and really experience the history” of the place, Kotek said. Both Berkshire natives and starry-eyed travelers frequent The Lion’s Den, said Kotek, who maintains that the Red Lion is the perfect place for locals to enjoy a “staycation.” “A lot of people have the misconception that The Red Lion Inn is just for tourists,” she said. “I’ve found that people often don’t explore enough in their own backyard, but the Berkshires is a fantastic place to do that.” Boasting 125 rooms, the inn provides guests with their choice of
chambers. Those staying in one of the Main Inn’s 81 rooms will enjoy a vintage experience accentuated by flowered wallpaper, four-poster beds and clawfoot tubs. Some rooms in the South Wing even house functional fireplaces, setting the tone for a romantic getaway. For a more modern getaway, the Maple Glen guest house boasts 17 rooms with mini-bars, smart televisions, heated floors and sleek bathrooms. Families also can enjoy full guest houses, where multiple rooms and full kitchens provide the perfect balance between utility and luxury during longer stays. No matter which room you choose, quirky features including a custom coloring book and guest-written stories for bedtime reading bring a sense of community to your stay. The “Lion’s Tales” — a collection of short stories by guests of the inn — is
The Red Lion Inn 30 Main St., Stockbridge, Mass. (413) 298-5545 | redlioninn.com
The Lion’s Den Monday through Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. Sunday, noon to 10 p.m. Entertainment ... Sunday through Thursday, 8 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m. to midnight
Widow Bingham’s Tavern Dinner only. Reservations are recommended. Sunday - Thursday, 5:30 - 9 p.m. Friday - Saturday, 5:30 - 9:30 p.m.
filled with accounts and fantasies of the inn. The inn challenges visitors to craft their own cunning narratives. “The stories accumulated from guests sharing their adventures, and we’ve evolved it into a contest,” said Kotek. Story submissions are accepted for the book’s two annual editions. If a story writer’s piece is selected for “Lion’s Tales,” he or she earns a night’s stay. “It’s really been quite interesting to read all of the stories that guests write,” Kotek said. The tales act as a rolling account of the inn’s history, penned by guests enamored with its elegance, as The Red Lion Inn presses on into its third century. “The Red Lion Inn is full of history and hospitality,” Kotek said. “We pride ourselves in both.” •
ABOVE: On snowy days guests can entertain themselves with an extensive collection of puzzles and games, or with a round of chess in the lobby.. Photo: George Forbes
UpCountryOnline.com | 15
OFF THE SHELF
How Does Your Garden Grow? By Jennifer Huberdeau In the popular English nursery rhyme, “Mary, Mary, quite contrary,” the secret to Mary’s garden success is quite peculiar in nature: “With silver bells and cockleshells. And pretty maids all in a row.” Cultivating your own lush oasis of plants and flowers, like those seen in gardening magazines, should be a simple task that brings hours of enjoyment — and shouldn’t require the decryption of elusive gardening secrets. After 15 years in the field as an editor and photographer for “Fine Gardening” magazine, Michelle Gervais set out to create a simple guide to help her plan and grow a garden worthy of those she spent years writing about. “Being exposed to gorgeous gardens is wonderful, but back in my own garden, it was hard to recreate the wonderfully lush and colorful beds I admired. I often found myself leafing through plant catalogs and garden magazines, tempted to cut out pictures of individual plants so I could rearrange them at will,” she writes in the introduc-
tion of “Design-Your-Garden Toolkit.” Her first attempts were futile, as Gervais found herself struggling to find full photos of plants or images that were
proportional. She eventually realized she would have to create the pictures for herself. The result? An 80-page book filled with basics on garden planning, plant combinations
and gardening basics, along with 150 reusable stickers featuring common flora and cultivators that can be arranged and rearranged on a dual-sided planner.
About the Author: Michelle Gervais spent 15 years as an editor at “Fine Gardening” magazine, where she traveled the country visiting and photographing spectacular gardens. She holds a degree in Horticulture from Virginia Tech and is passionate about plants and garden design. She and her family live and garden on a quasiurban half-acre on the banks of the Housatonic River in New Milford, Conn.
About the Book: Design-Your-Garden Toolkit Storey Publishing 80 pages Available in paperback $19.95 Photos courtesy of Storey Publishing
16 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
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A Change of Pace By Jennifer Huberdeau
Ask Kent Lemme about his running career and he’ll tell you he’s always been an athlete, but he wasn’t always a runner. That may sound strange coming from someone who successfully defended his No. 1 spot in the Men’s Elite 50 at the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile in January by running a mile in 4 minutes, 42.76 seconds. Or, from someone who works with and trains local runners on a daily basis at the Berkshire Running Center in Pittsfield, Mass. But that’s what the two-time over-all winner of the Pittsfield Independence Day 5k and three-time Josh Billings RunAground kayak Ironman winner will tell you. “I’ve always been athletic,” said Lemme, 51, a Pittsfield, Mass. resident, who played soccer, golf and basketball in high school and continued with golf and basketball in college. “I always thought it was something you did to get into shape to play a real sport. The way I looked at running was that it was kind of a necessity. To get into shape for this other sport, you’ve had to go out and run. I never really looked at it as a sport of its own.” As an adult, he began running again, but this time it was as a weight-management tool. “I started running a little bit when I had kids, just because I found myself starting to put on some pounds and I didn’t like where it was heading,” he said. “Before it got too bad, I was going to get out there and start running. I had no idea what I was doing as far as training goes, but I was just trying to keep my weight under control.” Running remained a means to an end for Lemme, then the golf course superintendent at the Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, Mass., until September 2001, when he made the decision to make running a
major focus in his life. On the morning of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he was on his way to play in a golf course superintendents tournament at the Country Club of Vermont in Waterbury. “That was my last competitive round of golf,” Lemme said. “On the drive home, I thought
about my life. I was 35 at the time. I said the only two things in my life that I truly was ever passionate about was music and sports. I never felt like I did either one to the fullest of my potential. Since I had done some running, I thought I could be kinda good at this running thing.”
It was on that drive home that Lemme started a vision quest, challenging himself both physically and mentally to become the best runner he could be. “For some reason, it wasn’t like those idle things you sometimes say to yourself. It sunk in,” he said. “So I started this quest
ABOVE: Berkshire Running Center’s Kent and Shiobbean Lemme lead off the 2016 Pittsfield Mayor’s Fitness Challenge, with a stretch and warm-up on the First Street Common in Pittsfield. Photo: Ben Garver LEFT: Ironman Kent Lemme finishes fourth overall during the 41st annual Josh Billings RunAground on Sunday, September 17, 2017. Lemme won the kayak ironman race for the third time in three years, setting a new record time. Photo: Gillian Jones
UpCountryOnline.com | 19
“I was 35 at the time. I said the only two things in my life that I truly was ever passionate about was music and sports. I never felt like I did either one to the fullest of my potential. Since I had done some running, I thought I could be kinda good at this running thing.” — Kent Lemme, owner, Berkshire Running Center
20 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Tips for outdoor running in late winter and early spring Training: Treadmill running is a great way to stay active, but it uses different muscles than outdoor running. Expect your calves and Achilles to be sore when transitioning back outside. If you’ve primarily run on a treadmill during the winter, you’ll need to transition your runs outdoors, a few at a time. Wear spiked tracks, such as Yaktrax, on your sneakers to prevent slips and falls on ice or snow.
Clothing: Layer, layer, layer. An outer shell an be tied around the waist if it needs to be shed. Keep your core warm. Quarter- and half-zip shirts allow you to zip up when cold and unzip as you warm up. Leave the cotton fabrics for after your run. Moisture-wicking fabrics keep sweat off the skin.
Shoes: Worn-out shoes can cause injuries as they lose cushioning and support structures weaken. Replace running shoes every 350 to 500 miles. Wear the right shoes for your feet and running style. Some people need more support than others. Source: Shiobbean and Kent Lemme, owners of the Berkshire Running Center
to train, to learn about this sport, to compete and see how good I could get. The first year or two I would run these local races and would be beat by these two
or three guys all of the time. I started asking myself, ‘What are these guys doing that I’m not?’ I tried figuring it out and just kept working at it.”
Over the next few years, he would train with Coach Ralph White at Williams College and a few others and on his own. He also coached track and field at Mount Greylock Regional High School and cross country running at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. It wouldn’t be until August 2011 that Lemme would consider making a career out of running. At that point he had spent most of his life working on the greens of local golf courses and the prior 17 watching the grass grow at the Taconic Golf Club. “We had this saying that there are two types of golf course superintendents: those who have lost grass and those who will. I was in that latter category for the most part of my life,” he said. “Then there was the year that was a super storm of sorts. I took a weekend off to go to my 25th high school reunion. My daughter moved into college. We had this storm and I kind of wasn’t paying as close attention as I should have and we had a lot of dead grass. I began thinking about what would happen if I lost my job.” As he began considering the possibilities of what he could do,the idea of opening his own running store became an option. “I had always traveled an hour and a half to the running specialty store in Springfield. I always thought that there should be one in Berkshire County. I had this idea that we should open our own run specialty store and I pitched it to my daughter, Kaylene, who was a junior in high school at the time. She kind of looked at me and she said, ‘Dad, this has to be one of those things that you do and not one that you just talk about,’” he said. It was then that he met his wife, then Shiobbean Archy, who had just started the Running Center of the Berkshires. “It was just kind of a billboard at Berkshire Nautilus. She started doing run training and had heard I wanted to open a
store and do some training as well,” Lemme said. “We kind of partnered up business wise and started looking for a space.” The result was the Berkshire Running Center, which was originally run out of Berkshire Nautilus. After five years in its incubator space, and a marriage, the Lemmes moved the running center into its own space at 34 Depot St., Pittsfield, Mass., where they offer spin, cardio-strength and running classes, as well as a store stocked with running supplies and shoes. “We’re potentially expanding our space,” Lemme said. “We’re looking at adding the space next door as a spin studio, leaving this open space for our cardio-strength classes.” The running center also organizes the annual Steel Rail Half-Marathon and 8K on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail at the end of May and Ramblefest, an October version, which will feature a 15K and relay for the first time this year, and numerous 5K races. But even though he’s now helping others reach their running and fitness goals, Lemme said he isn’t done with his own quest. “It’s really hard to say to yourself that’s the best you can do,” he said. “I had a really good season this last year at the age of 50. I won the 2017 USA Track and Field Masters Grand Prix individual 50-54. I liken it to saying I lost the battle, but won the war. I only won the gold in one of my competitions, but I won three silvers and two bronzes. I was the overall winner for my age group for the whole country. “My goal is to keep improving. At my age, improvement might not be getting faster, it might be not slowing down when everyone else is.” To learn more about the Berkshire Running Center go to berkshirerunningcentercom.3dcartstores.com •
LEFT: Ironman Kent Lemme runs to his kayak to begin the second leg at the Stockbridge Bowl for the 40th annual Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon in 2016. Photo: Gillian Jones
UpCountryOnline.com | 21
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Meanings of Maple Anthropologist Michael Lange is educating New Englanders on syrup’s role in their past — and future.
By Kevin O’Connor New Englanders may live amid trees spiked with sap taps, but anthropologist Michael Lange believes a majority are blind to their native sweet spot. “Maple syrup is poorly understood by most of the people who consume it,” Lange says. “It’s even less understood by those who prefer artificially flavored corn syrup.”
That’s why the professor at Vermont’s Champlain College has poured years of research into a new book, “Meanings of Maple: An Ethnography of Sugaring.” “There has been a wealth of academic attention paid to maple in the past, but it has looked at aspects such as the chemistry of the syrup, or the economics of maple sales, or the effects of sugaring on forest health,” Lange
begins the 236-page volume. “Very little attention has been given to the cultural meanings and impacts of maple, and that is a gap I want to fill.” Lange wasn’t born an expert. As a child, the Midwest native thought syrup was something that came from a bottle. “The first time I tasted real maple,” he says, “I remember it being interesting and different — and then I forgot about it.”
Lange was reacquainted when he joined the faculty of his Burlington-based college a decade ago. “I have an interest in how people tell stories about their identity,” he says. “I needed to find a topic of research I could get into without plane tickets or time off.” The professor was considering a study of community fundraising cookbooks when UpCountryOnline.com | 23
LEFT: Vermont anthropologist Michael Lange is author of the new book “Meanings of Maple: An Ethnography of Sugaring.” Provided Photos.
he noticed so many filled with recipes calling for maple. “A lot of people know the standard narrative — 40 gallons of sap for one gallon of product — but I have run into some who think you drill a hole in a tree and syrup comes out.” Sugar makers tell a different story. “I quickly realized when they talk about maple, they don’t just talk about the product, they also talk about the tree, their family, their place — all these things together and how they influence each other. They talk about maple in a complex way.” Such conversations start with taste. “Because of this research, I’ve tried a lot more different maple syrups than most folks,” Lange says. “It has given me a culinary awareness I wouldn’t have had otherwise — and helped me pretend to have a discerning palate.” Next come questions of tradition versus technology. Does real syrup require metal buckets rather than plastic tubing? A steaming wood fire unsupported by a water-extracting reverse osmosis machine? “Authenticity is a hugely complicated and often problematic concept. Where do people draw the line?”
Then there’s the subject of climate change. Sap flows when the weather teeter-totters between warm days and cold nights. But the University of Vermont’s Proctor Maple Research Center, the oldest
viewed bunch,” Lange says. “A lot think in intergenerational terms.” The future, they know, could morph into a sticky situation if the region continues to feel the heat of global warming. For the
‘It is a personal story’ “Some forms of industrialization have been incorporated into the sugaring industry, but the family operation still dominates. When standing in the aisle of the supermarket, weighing the real maple syrup against the corn-based stuff, this idea is the first thing to remember. The corn-based stuff is made in an industrial factory somewhere that takes in truckload after truckload of corn or corn syrup. But real maple is very likely made by individuals who are tapping their own trees and boiling their own sap. It happens on a personal scale, which is why I think it is important to tell maple’s story. It is a personal story.”
— Michael Lange, from his book “Meanings of Maple: An Ethnography of Sugaring”
and largest such facility in the world, finds the sugaring season is starting “significantly earlier” than it did a half-century ago and its duration has decreased by an average of 10 percent. “Sugar makers are a long-
24 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
author, the sum total isn’t a story of gallons, but instead one of reminding people “how systems interact,” be it on a farm, in a community or around the Earth. “As an academic, I get to take all of this experience, wis-
dom and knowledge and put it together,” he says. “I have the side effect of being able to validate things. It makes people feel this topic is important.” And so the author is promoting his book, published by, of all places, the University of Arkansas Press. “There were others that showed interest,” he says, “but in academic publishing, you go with who says yes.” Lange is receiving support from such fellow Vermonters as Bill McKibben, an environmental activist and author of the first book on global warming for a general audience. “It’s about time maple syrup got the literary respect it deserves,” McKibben says. “The author has worked almost as hard to harvest his data as sugar makers work to gather March’s sap. Read it and you’ll never buy Aunt Jemima brand again!” That said, Lange stresses his book isn’t an advertisement for maple, although he hopes it helps New Englanders see the importance of keeping the regional market sustainable. “I try to get people thinking and talking,” he concludes. “The sheer variety of meanings that can be made with something as simple as a jar of syrup is obvious, but only if one looks.” •
THE ROUNDUP
ABOVE: Sample bottles of maple syrup sit in a window at Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton, Mass. Photo: Ben Garver.
Explore: Sugar Houses Massachusetts 1. Ioka Valley Farm
6. Jennings Brook Farm
10. Crystal Brook Farm
3475 MA-43, Hancock
83 Beach Hill Road, New Ashford
189 Main Road, Tyringham
413-738-5915 or iokavalleyfarm.com
2. Sweet Brook Farm 580 Oblong Road, Williamstown 413-884-4912 or sweetbrookfarm.com
3. Caproni Family Sugarbush 452 Walker Street, North Adams 413-663-7330
4. Holiday Brook Farm 100 Holiday Cottage Road, Dalton 413-684-0444 holidaybrookfarm.com
5. Mill Brook Sugarhouse 409 ½ New Lenox Road, Lenox
413-458-8438 or jenningsbrookfarm.com
7. Mission Maple at Ramblewild 110 Brodie Mountain Road, Lanesborough 413-499-9914 or missionmaple.com
413-243-3237 or facebook.com/CrystalBrook-Farm-172290059594924/
11. Deer Run Maples Sugar House 135 Ed Jones Road, Otis
413-269-7588
8. Windsor Hill Sugar House
12. Moose Mountain Maples
1155 Savoy road, Windsor
172 West Center Road, Otis
413-684-1410 or facebook.com/WindsorHill-Sugar-House-100850043323479/
413-269-4270 or facebook.com/ MooseMountainMaples/
9. Turner Farms Sugarhouse
13. Middleton Maples
11 Philips Road, South Egremont
214 Monterey Road, Otis
413-528-5710 or turnerfarmmaplesyrup.com
413-297-6315 or facebook. com/MiddletonMaples/
413-298-3473 or facebook.com/pg/ MillBrookSugarHouse01240/
UpCountryOnline.com | 25
14. Windy Hill Farm 1 Sam Hill Road, Worthington 413-238-5869
17. Berkshire Sweet Gold Maple Farm 21 Rowe Road, Heath 888-55Maple or berkshiresweetgold.com
15. The Red Bucket Sugar Shack
18. Fourniers Sugarhose
584 Kinne Brook Road, Worthington 413-238-7710 or facebook.com/The-RedBucket-Sugar-Shack-188141037877472/
16. Blue Heron Farm 8 Warner Hill Road, Charlemont
206 S. Central Street, Plainfield 413-634-0299 or fournierssugarhouse.com
19. Thatcher’s Sugarhouse
20. Country Maple Farm 139 Old Greenfield Road, Shelburne 413-772-9384 or countrymaplefarms.com
21. Gould’s Maple Sugarhouse 570 Mohawk Trail, Shelburne 413-625-6170 or facebook. com/GouldsSugarHouse/
12 Broom Street, Plainfield 413-634-5582 or thatcherssugarhouse.com
413-339-4045 or blueheronfarm.com
Vermont
Maple Open House Weekend: March 24 and 25
22. The Robb Family Farm
30. Franklin Farm
37. The Wing Farm
822 Ames Hill Road, Brattleboro
4708 Weatherhead Road, Guilford
599 Townline Road, Shaftsbury
802-257-0163 or robbfamilyfarm.com
23. Harlow’s Sugar House 563 Bellows Falls Road, Putney 802-387-5852
24. Ball Brook Maple Niles School Road, Pownal 802-379-0337 or benningtonmaple.org
25. The Sugar Shack 118 Sugar Shack Lane, Arlington 802-375-6747 or Sugarshackvt.com
26. Paradise Farm Sugarhouse 828 Marlboro Road, Brattleboro 802-258-2026 or paradisefarmsugarhouse.com
27. Matt’s Maple Syrup 370 Higley Hill Road, Brattleboro 802-464-9788 or mattsmaplesyrup.com
28. Dutton’s Farm Stand Routes 11 and 30, Manchester Center 802-362-3083 or duttonberryfarm.com
29. Lilac Ridge Farm
802-254-2228 or franklinfarm.net
802-345-3966 or WingFarmVermont.com
31. Sprague & Son Sugarhouse
38. Peacock’s Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
VT-100, Jacksonville
133 Lake Paren Road, Shaftsbury
802-368-2776 or facebook.com/SpragueSon-Sugarhouse-290671490950920/
32. Evans Maple Farm 61 Spalding Hill Road, East Dummerston
802-442-8063 or BenningtonMaple.org
39. Maple Hill Maple 207 Maple Hill Road, Shaftsbury 802-375-2251 or BenningtonMaple.org
802-257-0262 or evansmaplefarm.com
33. Mance Family Tree Farm 217 Holiday Drive, Shaftsbury
40. Armstrong Farm 614 U.S. 7-Pownal Road, Bennington 802-442-6715 or BenningtonMaple.org
802-688-3506 or benningtonmaple.com
34. Merck Forest & Farmland Center 3270 Route 315, Rupert 802-394-7836 or merckforest.org
35. Hidden Springs Maple 162 Westminster West Road, Putney
41. Loomis Family Sugar House 708 West Mountain Road, Shaftsbury 802-447-2226 or vermontmaple.org
42. Glastenview Maple Farm 571 Glastenview Maple Farm, Shaftsbury
802-387-5200 or hiddenspringsmaple.com
802-442-4687 or facebook.com/ glastenview-maple-farm-444281132311024
36. Mountain Valley Maple
43. The Gateway Farm
1498 State Highway 153, West Rupert
506 N 116 Road, Bristol
802-394-2928 or facebook.com/pg/MountainValley-Maple-Farm-1505964339719762/
264 Ames Hill Road, Brattleboro 802-258-2000 or lilacridgevt.com
26 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
802-453-5263 or thegatewayfarm.com
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THE UPCOUNTRY KITCHEN
28 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Maple Syrup Makes Everything Taste a Bit Sweeter Pouring rich, thick pure maple syrup over a short stack of pancakes or French toast is a timeless ritual in New England, where sugar makers turn sap into sweet, sticky goodness. While maple syrup has long been a breakfast staple, it has myriad uses as an alternative sweetener. Author Ken Haedrich offers over 100 breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes that use pure maple syrup as the main sweetener in “The Maple Syrup Cookbook.”
Divided into four sections, the cookbook offers an introduction to the sugaring process and basic guidelines to cooking with maple syrup, sweet and savory breakfast recipes, a variety of recipes for soups, starters, vegetable sides and main dishes and a chapter of sweets — pies, pastries, cookies and candies. Described as “treasure chest of delightful recipes you’ll turn to again and again,” the cookbook, now in its third edition, features full-color photos of recipes ranging from banana crêpes with maple rum sauce and crispy maple spare ribs to the more off-beat maple bread-and-butter pickles. -Jennifer Huberdeau
Maple Sticky Buns Yield: 9 servings If you like sticky buns but can seldom find the time to make the real thing, these are for you. I’ve taken an ordinary biscuit recipe and turned it into something quite extraordinary with the help of a maple glaze. And I seal the deal with a brown sugar, walnut, and cinnamon filling. You’ll want to make these for a special Sunday breakfast.
INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon cold butter 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup milk 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the walnuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. 2. In a small saucepan, bring the maple syrup and 4 tablespoons of the butter to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 30 seconds, then scrape into a 9-inch square baking pan or a 10-inch deepdish pie plate. Set aside.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Toss to mix. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into 1/2-inch pieces, add to the flour mixture, and cut it in until the butter is roughly the size of split peas. Make a well in the mixture and add the milk. Stir gently, just until the mixture forms a damp, cohesive mass. If the dough seems a bit wet, work in a tad more flour with the back of a wooden spoon. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan. 4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently five or six times. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into the best 9- by 12-inch rectangle you can manage; don’t worry if it isn’t perfect. Brush the surface with the melted butter. 5. Cover the dough evenly with the brown sugar mixture, patting it gently with your hands. Starting at the 9-inch edge, roll up the dough like a carpet, pinching at the seam to seal. Cut into nine 1-inch slices and lay them flat in the baking pan with the syrup. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert onto a large plate; do this quickly but carefully, being aware that the syrup is very hot. Oven mitts are a good precaution. Scrape any syrupy stuff from the pan and spread over the buns. Excerpted from “The Maple Syrup Cookbook” © by Ken Haedrich, photography © by Michael Piazza Photography, used with permission from Storey Publishing.
UpCountryOnline.com | 29
Maple-Glazed Brussels Sprouts YIELD: 4 servings Brussels sprouts have a special affinity for maple syrup, and it gets even better when you dress them up with bacon. Serve them at the holidays or anytime you cook a roast. These are so delicious that I’ve seen these open the most steadfastly closed Brussels sprouts minds.
INGREDIENTS 4 slices bacon 1 tablespoon butter 1 cup finely chopped sweet onion 1–1 1/4 pounds Brussels sprouts, halved 1/2 cup chicken broth 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard Salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
30 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels and let cool. Tilt the skillet and spoon off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat. 2. Add the butter and onions to the skillet. Saute the onions over medium heat until translucent, 7 to 8 minutes. Stir in the Brussels sprouts and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the chicken broth. 3. Cover and braise the Brussels sprouts until not quite tender, about 3 minutes. Uncover the pan, stir in the mustard, and add salt and pepper to taste. Continue to cook, uncovered, until the Brussels sprouts are tender and the liquid is reduced to a glaze, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup just before taking them off the heat. Transfer to a serving plate and crumble the bacon over the top. Serve immediately. Excerpted from “The Maple Syrup Cookbook” © by Ken Haedrich, photography © by Michael Piazza Photography, used with permission from Storey Publishing.
Buttermilk-Maple Spice Cake Yields 9-12 servings I like to make simple cakes, such as this one, in general. The spices can be increased, but don’t go too heavy on them or you’ll mask the subtle maple flavour. A good snack item for brown baggers or for dessert, with whipped cream.
INGREDIENTS 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg Pinch of cayenne pepper 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 /3 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup pure maple syrup 1 /3 cup vegetable oil 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
PREPARATION 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan. 2. Sift the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt, cloves, nutmeg, and cayenne into a large bowl. Set aside. 3. In a separate bowl, blend the eggs, buttermilk, maple syrup, oil, and molasses. 4. Make a well in the dry mixture and stir in the egg mixture, just until smooth; do not beat. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan. Excerpted from “The Maple Syrup Cookbook” © by Ken Haedrich, photography © by Michael Piazza Photography, used with permission from Storey Publishing.
32 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Banana Crêpes in Maple-Rum Sauce YIELD: 4 servings Whether for a special breakfast, brunch, or even dessert, this recipe is easy to make. If the bananas are large, three should be enough. The bananas could be served plain, but the crêpes make for an elegant presentation. For dessert, instead of the crêpes, you can also serve the bananas on pound cake, topped with vanilla ice cream.
INGREDIENTS
2. Heat a small nonstick skillet or crêpe pan over medium heat, then melt 1 teaspoon of butter in it. Spread the butter to cover the bottom and part of the sides of the pan. 3. Pour a little less than 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and quickly tip the pan, moving it in a circular fashion to evenly spread the batter over the bottom and sides. Cook for about 2 minutes; flip the crêpe and cook for 30 seconds longer. 4. Repeat with the remaining batter. As you finish cooking the crêpes, stack them between sheets of waxed paper to prevent them from sticking. (Crêpes may be frozen, unfilled; leave the waxed paper between them.)
Crêpes 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1 ¾ cups milk, plus more if needed 4 eggs 4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus 2 2/3 tablespoons for greasing skillet 1/2 teaspoon salt
FOR THE BANANAS: 5. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a large ovenproof skillet or casserole dish and lay the bananas in it, flat side down.
Bananas Butter for greasing skillet 4 small to medium bananas, peeled, halved lengthwise and then crosswise 2 tablespoons butter 1 /3 cup pure maple syrup 1/4 cup dark rum 1 tablespoon lemon juice
FOR THE CRÊPES: 1. In a food processor or blender, process the flour, milk, eggs, butter, and salt until smooth. Add more milk if necessary; the batter should have the consistency of light cream. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the maple syrup. Bring to a boil, boil for a moment, then add the rum and lemon juice. As soon as the syrup returns to a boil, remove from the heat and pour over the bananas. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, basting once or twice. 7. Remove the bananas from the oven. Using a slotted spatula, transfer two banana slices to a crêpe and roll the crêpe; place on a dish. Repeat with the remaining bananas to fill seven more crêpes (two per dish). 8. Put the skillet on a burner over high heat, or transfer the liquid to a saucepan if you used a casserole dish, and quickly reduce the liquid to a thick syrup. Spoon the sauce over the crêpes. Excerpted from “The Maple Syrup Cookbook” © by Ken Haedrich, photography © by Michael Piazza Photography, used with permission from Storey Publishing.
About the author: Ken Haedrich is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including “The Maple Syrup Cookbook” and “Home for the Holidays,” a winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Award. His articles have appeared in many publications, including Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking Light, and Bon Appétit. He can be found online at thepieacademy.com.
About the book: The Maple Syrup Cookbook Storey Publishing Retails for $14.95 192 pages Available in paperback and ebook UpCountryOnline.com | 33
ANIMALS
BABY ON THE
SHAKER FARM
TANGLEWOOD POPULAR ARTISTS JUNE 15 FRIDAY, 8PM Roger Daltrey performs The Who’s TOMMY with the Boston Pops
Kick off the 2018 Tanglewood Season and join Roger Daltrey performing The Who’s TOMMY with the Boston Pops. Witness the seminal rock opera like you’ve never heard it before!
ApRil 14-MAy 6 Fri–Wed 10-4 • Thurs 10-5
Meet our newest additions - lambs, piglets, calves, chicks, and kids in the Round Stone Barn.
HANCOCK SHAKER VILLAGE
Behind the Scenes Farm Tours Reserve your seat online and save 10%. Use code: UpCOUNTRy Cannot be combined with other discounts
ROUTES 20&41 • 413.443.0188 • HancOckSHakerVillagE.ORg
JUNE 17 SUNDAY, 2:30PM Stephen Stills & Judy Collins
Two icons of folk will join forces for their first tour together singing their own hits as well as songs from their 2017 album.
JULY 2 MONDAY, 7PM Steve Miller Band with Peter Frampton
Coming off an extraordinary 2017, Rock n’ Roll Hall of Famer Steve Miller is excited to join special guest Peter Frampton at Tanglewood this summer!
tanglewood.org 888-266-1200 F O R FU L L S C H E D U L E, P RO G RA M S A N D D E TA I LS V I S I T TA N G L EWO O D.O RG
FIND YOUR SEAT and savor the moment...
Fine & Casual Dining. Nightly Entertainment in the Lion’s Den. redlioninn.com
S N O I T C A R T T A G COMIN By Benjamin Cassidy
Mud season is music season this year in the UpCountry of the Berkshires and Southern Vermont. While the region is only a couple months away from a robust lineup of theater, dance, music and art events, March and April belong to singers and instrumentalists. At Mass MoCA, Bon Iver and Sylvan Esso will bring a slew of folks to North Adams, Mass., with new electronic sounds. Philip Glass will share his decades of wisdom with an audience at Oldcastle Theatre in Bennington, Vt. And the Cassatt String Quartet and Patty Larkin will show off their instrumental expertise at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and Next Stage Arts Project in Putney, Vt. Theater certainly isn’t in a rut. David Sedaris will amuse at The Colonial Theatre in the Berkshires, and a production of Terrence McNally’s “Mothers and Sons” by The Dorset Players in Vermont will strive to move their audiences. Still, music will reign on stages across the region.
Photo: Matt Botsford/Unsplash
UpCountryOnline.com | 35
E C N A D U T & BON IVER
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art 1040 Mass MoCA Way, North Adams, Mass.
Last mud season, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art was mere weeks away from unveiling its latest expansion: Building 6, the 130,000-square-foot space exhibiting works by artists such as Laurie Anderson and James Turrell. This mud season, the North Adams institution will turn up the volume by bringing in a top musical act. On March 24 (8 p.m.) and 25 (2 p.m.), it will host two-time Grammy winner Bon Iver for a pair of work-in-progress shows with TU Dance, a 10-person company based in St. Paul, Minn. What will they perform? Well, that’s still in development. The groups will be in residence during the week leading up to the show, putting the finishing touches on a piece they’ll ultimately perform at St. Paul’s Palace Theatre on April 19. Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon will be penning the music; you can exMORE HIGHLIGHTS High Mud Comedy with Mike Birbiglia: March 16 - 17 in the Hunter Center. This American Life regular Mike Birbiglia is joined by comedic songstress Nellie McKay, former Saturday Night Live cast member Sasheer Zamata, Reductress contributor Taylor Garron, Comedy Central-favorite Matteo Lane and many others for two days of laughs. Sylvan Esso, March 31, 8 p.m., at the Hunter Center: Bennington College graduate Amelia Meath sings in this Grammy-nominated electronic duo. Etel Adnan, “A yellow sun A green sun a yellow sun A red sun a blue sun,” opens April 7: An exhibit of abstract landscapes as well as written works raises questions about their relationship.
pect a mix of indie folk instrumentals and vocals with a shifting tone throughout. With two major festivals and a smattering of indie folk and rock concerts, Mass MoCA has established that music isn’t background noise for its art; it’s a soundtrack. Yet, Bon Iver brings a new level of acclaim and fame to MoCA’s musical menu. You may know Bon Iver best for its falsetto-filled, guitar-heavy debut album, “For Emma, Forever Ago” (2006), which featured arguably its most famous track, “Skinny Love.” But in the decade between its first and most recent (“22, a Million”) full-lengths, Bon Iver has become increasingly electronic. Is MoCA’s musical lineup moving in the same direction? The week after Bon Iver plays the Hunter Center, Grammy-nominated electronic duo Sylvan Esso will take the stage. Fret not, Freshgrass faithful. Banjos and mandos will be back in September. The museum’s foray into more modern, commercially viable musical territory isn’t a departure; it’s another expansion.
DAVID SEDARI
Berkshire Theatre Group The Colonial Theatre, 111 South St., Pittsfield, Mass.
In April, many Berkshire Theatre Group devotees may find themselves on Broadway, devouring a second helping of “Children of a Lesser God.” (Those who didn’t catch the production on the Fitzpatrick Main Stage should gobble up tickets, too.) But all would be wise to save some room in April for a David Sedaris show in the familiar confines of The Colonial Theatre. Be warned: A Sedaris performance doesn’t always go down easy. When the author and humorist brings his brand of shrewd cultural commentary to Pittsfield on April 13 (8 p.m.), he will undoubtedly say things about family, politics and other matters that annoy, even infuriate, some. His honesty, however, is undeniable; few writers would delve deep into the details of a family member’s suicide, as Sedaris did in 2013 in a piece for The New Yorker about his sister, Tiffany. Sedaris is currently touring after the release of his latest book, “Theft by Finding: Diaries (1977-2002).” His personal entries track his rise to fame — and its aftermath — after growing up in Raleigh, N.C. In 1992, Sedaris’ big break came when NPR broadcasted a reading of his “SantaLand Diaries” about his time as an elf at Macy’s in New York City. The subject matter in the diaries is often much weightier. Alcoholism, for example, is at the fore in parts of the book. Navigating this terrain with a dry delivery distinguishes Sedaris’ readings and other live performances. The Sedaris show is one of a few Berkshire Theatre Group comedy events during mud season, with JR De Guzman and Matthew Broussard coming in March and April, respectively, to perform as part of the $5 Comedy Garage series in the Colonial’s lobby. There will be plenty of belly laughs to go around.
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MORE HIGHLIGHTS Che Malambo, April 22, 2 p.m., at The Colonial Theatre: An Argentine dance company brings a percussive performance filled with fast footwork to Pittsfield. JR De Guzman, March 15, 7:30 p.m., at the Garage (in the Colonial lobby). With a guitar in hand, JR evokes laughter about life after college and family. Matthew Broussard, April 26, 7:30 p.m., at the Garage. The up-and-coming comedian who appears on MTV2’s “Guy Code” and “Not Exactly News” works the room.
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CASSATT STRING QUARTET Williams College Bernhard Music Center, 54 Chapin Hall Drive, Williamstown, Mass.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS Soovin Kim, April 3, 8 p.m., at Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall: The violinist shows off his wide range the day before offering a master class. Lionel Loueke Trio, April 9, 8 p.m., at Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall: West African guitarist Lionel Loueke strums as part of the Ernest Brown World Music Series.
Like maple sugarmakers in the Berkshires and Vermont, music-goers have plenty of rich sources to draw from in the region. But sometimes a world-class academic institution in the middle of these two spheres is overlooked as a place that produces some pretty sweet sounds. Among its other musical offerings this mud season, Williams College will bring the Cassatt String Quartet to the Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on March 15 (8 p.m.). Featuring Muneko Otani (violin), Jennifer Leshnower (violin), Ah Ling Neu (viola) and Elizabeth Anderson (cello), this ensemble may have some audience members thinking about warmer times at Tanglewood. The group has, among a slew of other honors, been awarded a chamber music fellowship from the Lenox institution. 38 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Founded in 1985, the quartet doesn’t mind playing classics or contemporary music. It has worked with acclaimed artists across multiple genres, including pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the Trisha Brown Dance Company. It also isn’t immune to some internal changes; in 2014, for example, Anderson replaced cellist Nicole Johnson. The Cassatt String Quartet is one of several chamber-oriented acts arriving in Williamstown in March and April. Pianist Robert Levin and violinist Soovin Kim will also play, giving the northern Berkshires an early taste of Ozawa Hall sounds.
PHILIP GLAS
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Oldcastle Theatre Company 331 Main St., Bennington, Vt.
The Oldcastle Theatre Company has been consistent; it aims to produce one new play every season. Since a handful of New York actors founded the organization in 1972, that’s quite a few productions over the years. But the Bennington institution is defying historical precedent in a different artistic arena: music. Though it hasn’t been a destination for topnotch music, Oldcastle will certainly be just that on March 24 (7:30 p.m.) when it hosts legendary composer Philip Glass for a benefit event. Glass will play compositions on the piano and be in conversation with maestro Thomas Lawrence Toscano during the evening. “This is an opportunity to experience Mr. Glass’s musicianship in an intimate setting while also listening in as two extraordinary composers chat,” Oldcastle’s Producing Artistic Director Eric Peterson said. Glass’ status as one of the foremost musicians of the 20th century stems from the dozens of symphonies, operas, ballets and film scores he has penned. “Einstein on the Beach” and “Satyagraha” are among his operatic works, and he authored music for Martin Scorsese’s “Kundun.” He is often labeled a minimalist, a term he disdains; he prefers to view his creations as music with repetitive structures. Not all listeners view Glass as a master. Some find his experimental style odd and elusive, which is why an evening with the musician that includes hearing from the man himself will prove illuminating to all.
ALSO The Magic Show with Ben Zabin, March 31, 7 p.m., at Oldcastle Theatre: A magician aims to avoid the old tricks in this show.
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PATTY LARKIN Next Stage Arts Project 15 Kimball Hill, Putney, Vt.
Founded in 2011, Next Stage Arts Project is a relative newcomer to the region’s arts and culture scene. That doesn’t mean word hasn’t spread far and wide about the organization operating out of a renovated old church building in Putney, Vt. Its musical offerings have certainly pulled some ears toward the town. The nonprofit regularly works with Yellow Barn to host classical music events and frequently books folk and rock acts. Patty Larkin belongs to this latter group. The folk singer-songwriter, who will play at Next Stage on April 14 (7:30 p.m.), knows how to work a guitar. Her sound straddles the pop and rock spheres. Her ties to Boston have led many to label her music as urban folk. Larkin is a name in her own right, earning acclaim in the early 1990s for a string of records and, more recently, for a CD, “Watch the Sky,” in 2008. But for those who need reference points, she has drawn comparisons to Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams. Larkin’s instrument guides her penwork, which is at the fore in her most recent CD, “Song Poems.” (The Next Stage concert is a special CD release event.) Larkin studied many of her favorite poets to produce the songs on this CD. Larkin describes the tracks as poems set to music. Where Larkin’s work moves from here is anyone’s guess, but there are less apropos places to pass through than Next Stage to launch that journey.
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MORE HIGHLIGHTS Claudia Schmidt, March 10, 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage: The Michigan native who blends jazz, blues and folk takes the stage to promote a new CD, “Hark the Dark.” Cantrip and Lindsay Straw, April 21, 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage: A Celtic music trio and an instrumentalist play driving tunes to commemorate Cantrip’s 20th anniversary.
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The Dorset Playhouse 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, Vt.
ALSO “15th Annual One Act Festival,” April 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 at 2 p.m., at the Dorset Playhouse: Several one-act dramas and comedies performed on these dates.
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Rockwell in downtown Stockbridge, 1971. Photo by Louie Lamone.
The artist’s life in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont
Rockwell in UpCountry UpCountryOnline.com | 43
44 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
By Laurie Norton Moffatt
The making of community
I attended a Town of Stockbridge Planning Board meeting one recent evening, when about 250 citizens from our small village of 2,500 came out on a cold winter night to learn about proposed changes to the town’s zoning bylaws. The committee briefly outlined the issues and then invited citizens to queue and speak. About three dozen individuals waited patiently to speak over the two-hour meeting. One citizen carried with him a large matted print of Norman Rockwell’s Freedom of Speech painting, referencing the First Amendment right to freedom of expression, depicting the central Lincolnesque figure standing tall to speak his mind. However, what he called to our attention were the dozen figures in the painting who, like the audience assembled, were respectfully listening and learning from the speaker, noting that to permit one to speak freely, it is essential that others must be willing to listen. This is the essence of our democracy, and this is the essential quality in Norman Rockwell’s artworks that have made him beloved across the nation: his portrayal of community, gatherings of individuals who respect the people around them. Family, friends, strangers — Rockwell’s people are always kind. Sure, they enjoy a good laugh, sometimes a prank or a joke, but they are always respectful and courteous. And interestingly, wherever Rockwell’s work is shown, people always think he represents their
LEFT: Stockbridge resident Dr. Charles Kenney brought a print of Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech” to reiterate his point as he spoke out against changing the town’s bylaws at a Planning Board public hearing. Photo: Stephanie Zollshan.
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community. That is why he is equally at home in New England, the Midwest, South and West — and even internationally when his work has been shared abroad. We know him as our Berkshire neighbor and friend, from his hometowns nestled in the ribs of the Berkshire Hills and Green Mountains of Arlington, Vt., and Stockbridge, Mass. But he was a true citizen of the world and he loved people everywhere.
ABOVE: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom from Fear, 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 ¾” x 35 ½”. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 13, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
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As public dialogue becomes increasingly discordant and polarized in recent times — intensified and broadcast by the unfiltered echo chamber of social media; as income inequality becomes ever-more extreme; and as the free press is subject to continual attack, the very notion of the common good, and of civic engagement and civil discourse — all of them central to Norman Rockwell’s work — are called into question. Are they still relevant as organizing principles of civil society or have they joined the mores of a bygone era? Can we find anew an esprit-de-corps in our communities or are we destined to devolve in outrage and stridency to impose one’s views over another? The United States of America was founded upon passionately held beliefs and contentious issues, ranging from religious freedom, to the rejection of taxation without representation, to individual liberty, to the pursuit of wealth, among others. The nation was shaped by both the Greek and Roman ideals of sovereignty by the people and a colonizing philosophy derived from a notion of European entitlement that included slavery and the appropriation of land from indigenous peoples. These are not foundational premises of harmony and accord. Indeed, the establishment of founding principles for the new nation was fraught with controversy and discord: The Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights were the products of fierce intellectual debate by our nation’s
Founding Fathers. Can the America of today truly come together in common cause? Are there binding principles or beliefs around which a majority of people can agree? Or is this simply an idealistic notion of a peaceable kingdom? Is respectful discourse with the free expression of ideas merely a utopian ideal framed in the Bill of Rights? Civic engagement, thoughtful discourse, listening, tolerance and a sense of community, whether on the local or national level: These are themes that Rockwell turns to again and again in his artworks. He does so explicitly in his painting, “Golden Rule”: Do unto others as one would have them do unto you. Here, peoples of all religions, races and ethnicities live together in harmony, bound by the fundamental premise of universal humanity and respect. In this aspirational image, Rockwell paints what I believe was his personal philosophy of love for all peoples as a single, common humanity. How did he come to portray the ideals of universal human goodness? It started with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s rhetoric describing four essential freedoms.
BELOW: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom from Want, 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 ¾” x 35 ½”. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
The Four Freedoms President Roosevelt was confronted simultaneously with both the domestic crisis of the Great Depression and the urgency to go to war to defend our ally nations and secure freedom around the globe. Mobilizing Americans behind a war on foreign soil while they were struggling to recover not only from the Depression but also from World War I was among the greatest challenges of his presidency. In striving to put forth a set of values that Americans could rally around, Roosevelt articulated four universal freedoms — Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want and Freedom from Fear — as rights that everyone, everywhere, should enjoy. While the first two of these rights UpCountryOnline.com | 47
BELOW: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom of Speech, 1943. Oil on canvas, 45 ¾” x 35 ½” Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 20, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
“These [Four Freedoms] are four of the most important and influential images in American art. These paintings brought the country together in defense of universal human rights. They mobilized a nation to act in defense of freedom around the globe ...
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are embedded in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, the other two were among the goals of the president’s aspirational and controversial New Deal, intended to provide a social safety-net for Americans through Social Security and other government-supported programs. They remain widely debated even today. Roosevelt and his administration had a difficult time garnering attention and support for the Four Freedoms. They appealed to artists to give them visual form, hoping to create a compelling narrative of the necessity of America’s entrance into World War II. Few of these efforts resonated with the public, however. In the meantime, Rockwell, wanting to support the war effort (and perhaps also spurred by regret that he had been too young to contribute to the World War I poster campaign organized by the Society of Illustrators), retreated to his studio in the tightly knit New England community of Arlington, Vt., to ponder how to visually communicate the “big idea of freedom.” After much introspection, he decided to express these enduring ideals through familiar genre scenes of everyday community and domestic life, his common and universally beloved subjects. The Four Freedoms paintings are compelling expressions of Rockwell’s ideals of respect, courtesy, tolerance, generosity, caring and community, and they helped Americans find common ground at a time of world peril. The paintings were not only an immediate success, garnering public support for the war effort and claiming their place among the most indelible images in the history of American art: They were also a turning point for Rockwell himself, who thereafter remained attuned to calls for social justice. Over the next two decades, he aspired to paint images that tackled big ideas, such as “United Nations” (whose founding charter was framed around the Four Freedoms series); the “Golden Rule” cover image for the Saturday Evening Post; and three powerful paintings,
commissioned by Look magazine, documenting the Civil Rights Movement, when America faced head-on the climb toward freedom and equality for all. America was and is imperfect, and Rockwell was aware that many Americans did not enjoy the freedoms he attempted to illuminate. Roosevelt’s enduring ideals, expressed in the Four Freedoms, were a call to do better in America and across the world. They awakened in Rockwell a desire to use his artist voice to seek justice for all people. Can these paintings once again remind us of what it means to be American — to be generous, inclusive, kind, respectful, forgiving, nurturing, brave and virtuous? Will these paintings inspire America and the world to a return to the ideals of civic virtue, civic engagement and civility? Or is it unrealistic to think that these images can bring a sense of common purpose and unity to a nation fiercely divided over notions of human rights and social justice, engaged in a drama played out in the increasingly angry national debate over immigration, race relations, taxation, health care, education, stewardship of the environment and America’s diplomatic role in the world? Norman Rockwell came to know the power of his artistic voice through the Four Freedoms paintings. He became an artist activist in the second half of his life, using his position as an elder statesman and plying his brush and canvas to advocate for human rights. His artworks may speak to us more powerfully today than any time since their creation. His art invites a return to “Main Street,” another of his iconic images, where we know our neighbors, from the local lunch counter to the barbershop; we develop a sense of community and caring for each other. Whether a village Main Street or a bustling urban block, community happens where people come together and know each other as neighbors.
... These images convey Rockwell’s respect for community, for civic engagement, for tolerance and careful listening. They hold out hope that a set of common values can bind a nation or a community.”
ABOVE: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Freedom of Worship, 1943. Oil on canvas, 46” x 35 ½”. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, February 27, 1943. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Publishing, Indianapolis, IN
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“America was and is imperfect, and Rockwell was aware that many Americans did not enjoy the freedoms he attempted to illuminate. Roosevelt’s enduring ideals, expressed in the Four Freedoms, were a call to do better in America and across the world. They awakened in Rockwell a desire to use his artist voice to seek justice for all people.”
LEFT: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Murder in Mississippi, 1965. Oil on canvas, 53” x 42”. Painting intended as the final illustration for Southern Justice by Charles Morgan, Jr., Look, June 29, 1965, unpublished. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. All rights reserved.
“Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms,” a traveling exhibition of these seminal paintings, will bring the images that rallied Americans to the defense of freedom across the globe to a broad public in the United States and on the 75th anniversary of the Allied landings in France. These are four of the most important and influential images in American art. These paintings brought the country together in defense of universal human rights. They mobilized a nation to act in defense of freedom around the globe. These images convey Rockwell’s respect for community, for civic engagement, for tolerance and careful listening. They hold out hope that a set of common values can bind a nation or a community. It is my hope that Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms and his powerful artworks advocating for generosity and equality will once again inspire people to join in common cause for greater public good and remind us that it is as important to listen as it is to speak. Therein lie the ties that form our community bonds of respect and caring for each other, whether in the literal town square or our virtual social communities. These artworks still hold a story for our times. • Laurie Norton Moffatt is director and CEO at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass.
Photo: Ben Garver
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ABOVE: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), New Kids in the Neighborhood, 1967. Oil on canvas, 36 ½” x 57 ½”. Story illustration for Look, May 16, 1967. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. All rights reserved.
Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms In his January 1941 address to Congress, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated his vision for a postwar world founded on four basic human freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. In the spring of 1942, Norman Rockwell was working on a piece commissioned by the Ordnance Department of the U.S. Army, a painting of a machine gunner in need of ammunition. Posters of the gunner, titled “Let’s Give Him Enough And On Time,” were distributed to ordnance plants throughout the country to encourage production. But Rockwell wanted to do more for the war effort and decided he would illustrate Roosevelt’s four freedoms. Finding new ideas for paintings never came easily, but this was a greater challenge. “It was so darned high-blown,” Rockwell said, “Somehow I just couldn’t get my mind around it.” While mulling it over, Rockwell, by chance, attended a town meeting where one man rose among his neighbors and voiced an unpopular view. That night Rockwell awoke with the realization that he could paint the freedoms best from the perspective of his own hometown experiences using everyday, simple scenes such as his own town meeting. Rockwell made some rough sketches and, accompanied by fellow Post cover artist Mead Schaeffer, went to Washington to propose his poster idea. The timing was wrong. The Ordnance Department didn’t have the resources for another commission. On his way back to Vermont, Rockwell stopped at Curtis Publishing Company, publisher of The Saturday Evening Post, and showed his 52 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
sketches to editor Ben Hibbs. Hibbs immediately made plans to use the illustrations in the Post. Rockwell was given permission to interrupt his work for the magazine — typically one cover per month — for three months. But Rockwell “got a bad case of stage fright,” and it was two and a half months before he even began the project. “It was a job that should have been tackled by Michelangelo,” he said in a New Yorker interview three years later. The paintings were a phenomenal success. After their publication, the Post received 25,000 requests for reprints. In May 1943, representatives from the Post and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a joint campaign to sell war bonds and stamps. They would send the Four Freedoms paintings along with 1,000 original cartoons and paintings by other illustrators and original manuscripts from The Saturday Evening Post on a national tour. Traveling to 16 cities, the exhibition was visited by more than a million people who purchased $133 million in war bonds and stamps. Bonds were sold in denominations of $25, $100 and $1,000, and each person who purchased one received a set of prints of the four paintings. In addition, the Office of War Information printed 4 million sets of posters of the paintings. Each was printed with the words “Buy War Bonds.” They were distributed in United States schools and institutions, and overseas. The Four Freedoms are now part of the permanent collection of Norman Rockwell Museum and reside in their own specially designed gallery space, inviting visitors to reflect on their inspiring message. — via the Norman Rockwell Museum, nrm.org
‘Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms’ Norman Rockwell’s iconic Four Freedoms illustrations are going on six-city tour in a first-ever comprehensive exhibition titled “Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms.” The exhibition illuminates the historic context in which President Franklin Delano Roosevelt articulated the Four Freedoms and the role of Rockwell’s paintings in bringing them to life for millions of people, rallying the public behind the World War II effort and changing the tenor of the times. In demonstrating how Rockwell’s works were transformed from a series of paintings into a national movement, “Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms” displays the power of illustration in communicating ideas and inspiring change. In addition to the Four Freedoms illustrations, the exhibition brings together numerous other examples of painting, illustration and more, by both Rockwell and a broad range of his contemporaries — from J.C. Leyendecker and Mead Schaeffer, to Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange and Gordon Parks, among others — as well as historical documents, photographs, videos and artifacts; interactive digital displays; and immersive settings. The exhibition begins in May in New York City and will arrive at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., in September 2020. Until they are packed up for their tour, the Four Freedoms are on view through April at the Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Glendale Road/Route 183, in Stockbridge.
Here is the tour itinerary, if you’re in these areas: The New York Historical Society, New York: May 25 to Sept. 2, 2018. The Henry Ford, Dearborn, Mich.: Oct. 13, 2018, to Jan. 13, 2019. The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.: Feb. 9, 2019, to May 6, 2019. Mémorial de Caen, Normandy, France: June 4 to Oct. 27, 2019. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston: Dec. 15, 2019, March 22, 2020. Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge: September 2020 to November 2020. Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms and its six-city tour are organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum. The exhibition has been co-curated by Stephanie Haboush Plunkett, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Norman Rockwell Museum, and James J. Kimble, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Communication & the Arts, Seton Hall University. SUPPORT Major support for Enduring Ideals: Rockwell, Roosevelt & the Four Freedoms has been generously provided by Jay Alix | The Alix Foundation and George Lucas Family Foundation, and by national presenting sponsor The Travelers Companies, Inc. Additional support is provided by an anonymous donor, Michael Bakwin, Helen Bing, Elephant Rock Foundation, Ford Foundation, Annie and Ned Lamont, National Endowment for the Arts, and Ted Slavin. Media sponsors include: Curtis Licensing, a division of The Saturday Evening Post, and Norman Rockwell Family Agency.
ABOVE: Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), The Problem We All Live With, 1963. Oil on canvas, 36” x 58”. Illustration for Look, January 14, 1964. Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©Norman Rockwell Family Agency. All rights reserved.
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In the Footsteps of Norman Rockwell
ABOVE: The Norman Rockwell Studio and Inn in West Arlington, Vt. Photo courtesy of the Norman Rockwell Studio and Inn.
By Telly Halkias
If ever a region could be called “Rockwell Country,” it would be southwest Vermont and the Berkshires of Massachusetts. In these places, the great American illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) lived, laughed, loved, and brought to life some of the most iconic images of American life. Along the way, Rockwell left his mark on the area, where today locals recognize and celebrate him for the joy his art brought to millions of people. Here are several venues worthy of any visitor, from Rutland, Vt., in the north to Stockbridge, Mass., in the south, where his name is still spoken with reverence.
Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont, Rutland It’s a modest building on the outside that looks like it could be a working barn plucked from any Vermont dairy farm. On the inside, however, it’s a reverent tribute to the famed American illustrator. It’s also a repository of just about any Rockwell print, magazine cover and other memorabilia for sale to collectors. And if you are a collector, you will love this place. While this museum focuses on Rockwell’s years in Vermont, it holds more than 2,500 Rockwell pieces including magazine covers, advertisements, and paintings. The exhibitions therein excel at exploring Rockwell’s evolution as an illustrator, both commercial and aesthetic, and deftly connects his work to the cultural and economic history of the United States. Established in 1976, the Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont is known widely as a destination spot for Rutland visitors over the past four decades, and its nationally recognized collection of Rockwell’s art venerates the diversity of his entire career (1911-1978). Address: 654 US-4, Rutland, Vermont. Phone: 802-773-6095 Directions, full contact info and hours: normanrockwellvt.com
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Norman Rockwell Exhibition at The Sugar Shack, Arlington, Vt. This venue screams “Vermont!” more than any other Rockwell spot. The village of Arlington is where the famed artist called home from 1939 to 1953, and is often cited by visitors as having the perfect balance between being quaint and real. There might have been no better place, then, for Rockwell to have chosen and used 200 locals as models for his iconic magazine covers and other illustrations. The exhibition, in true Vermont fashion, is co-located with the Sugar Shack, a country bakery that also specializes in Vermont maple syrup. But step past the Sugar Shack and take in a very informative 18-minute film on Rockwell’s life while he lived and painted in Arlington. Along with the many legendary Rockwell images on display, one room in the exhibit showcases the models. As guests browse, they learn about the people Rockwell painted who actually lived and worked in Arlington. And if you are lucky, two surviving Rockwell models periodically come in and speak to bus tours that stop by in the summer and fall. They are Ruth Skellie, 90, who posed for Rockwell’s 1939 Saturday Evening Post cover “Marble Shooter” and Don Fisher, 84, the subject of Rockwell’s 1954 Post cover “Breaking Home Ties.” Address: 118 Sugar Shack Lane, Arlington, Vt. Phone: 802-375-6747 Directions, full contact info: sugarshackvt.com/norman-rockwell-exhibit
The Norman Rockwell Studio and Inn, West Arlington, Vt. Rockwell lived and worked in Arlington for 14 gloriously productive years. This property — now known as the Norman Rockwell Studio and Inn (formerly the Inn on Covered Bridge Green) — was Rockwell’s second (in the town) and sits in West Arlington. When the studio at his former Arlington home burned down in 1943, Rockwell said: “It was my own fault ... ashes must have dropped out of my pipe onto the cushion of a window seat.” So he purchased a large farmhouse in West Arlington, which now is the Norman Rockwell Inn. The structure itself was raised circa
1792 as a tavern. Today, it offers well-appointed accommodations and tributes to Rockwell’s years spent there. Rockwell then found a picturesque spot with excellent natural light at the southern tip of his land, and there he rebuilt the studio 150 feet behind the well-appointed inn. There, he did the majority of his Vermont work with many of local models to create hundreds of illustrations that later went on to international acclaim. This tidy barn-red cabin, as of spring 2018, also doubles as the home of The American Creator Seminars. This organization brings together some of the nation’s top illustrators, painters, writers and other working artists to hold weekend classes, workshops and singular colloquia for up to 14 very fortunate students at a time. Address: 3587 River Road, Arlington, Vt. Phone: 802-375-9489 Directions, full contact info: coveredbridgegreen.com
Joe’s Diner, Lee, Mass. Joe’s Diner doesn’t need an introduction to locals or tourists; it’s already a well-known eatery forged in the tradition of first generation offspring of Mediterranean immigrant families making good in the New World, all while starting with just a few bucks in their pockets. Joe’s is now in its third ownership. Yet, for all its success as a local landmark for more than six decades, it’s one moment of global fame is when Norman Rockwell, who was looking for a quintessential small-town New England backdrop, found it at Joe’s and created what is arguably one of his most memorialized Post covers from 1958 “The Runaway.” The illustration depicts a warm, idyllic scene of a young boy, a Massachusetts state trooper and the counter boss. Since its publication, it has come to grace the walls of police stations and diners nationwide as a symbol of community safety and the embracing of youth under any circumstances. Once again, real life New Englanders helped Rockwell, as local boy Ed Locke and a Massachusetts state trooper, the late Dick Clemens, posed for illustration. Rockwell knew something of how Joe’s added to the milieu; you, too can find it out first-hand. Address: 85 Center St., Lee, Mass. Phone: 413-243-9756
ABOVE: Joe’s Diner in Lee, Mass. was the backdrop for Rockwell’s famous painting, “The Runaway.” Photo: Stephanie Zollshan.
UpCountryOnline.com | 55
Main Street Historic District, Stockbridge, Mass.
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, Mass.
It’s December 1967. A holiday season like no other, and Norman Rockwell, who has settled in the Berkshires after his years north of the border in Vermont, ventures forth to capture the spirit of the season. Nowhere in town is there a better spot than right across from the classic building fronts on Main Street and so the artist produced his defining holiday oil painting “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas (Home for Christmas).” The artist’s own studio is marked with a Christmas tree in the window above the market. The town of Stockbridges celebrate the start of each holiday season with a popular reenactment of the painting, right down to which vehicles were parked in front of which storefront. But the appeal of the Main Street Historic District goes far past Rockwell’s painting, and once more, we see how his sixth sense must have grasped this very point. Today, Main Street remains almost frozen in time, with building fronts virtually unchanged and a visitor’s experience second to none, between shops, the arts, and the anchor Red Lion Inn, a stately grande dame that welcomes both lodgers and those who wish to have a meal at one of their stops in the footsteps of the great Norman Rockwell.
Known globally, but very much a regional Berkshires fixture, the Norman Rockwell Museum is the authoritative location for all things Rockwell. Here, both fans and scholars can appreciate and study the artist’s work and his contributions to popular culture and social commentary. The museum, founded with the help of Norman and Molly Rockwell in 1969, is home to the largest public assemblage of Rockwell’s art — almost 1,000 original paintings and drawings are held in its collection. Rockwell’s Stockbridge studio has been moved to the museum grounds and is open to visitors in the summer and fall. The author Paul Johnson once famously note that the Norman Rockwell museum had to be the quintessential venue at which to appreciate the artist’s greatness as it is “crammed from dawn till dusk with delighted visitors crowding round the originals of much-loved paintings … in the nearby little towns you can recognize among the locals the children and grandchildren of those whom Rockwell painted with dedicated veracity.” The museum is also the perfect place to culminate a trek down Route 7 from the northernmost point of Rutland Vt., in a valley where Norman Rockwell found his place those he loved and admired most: the common New Englander.
Address: 50 Main St, Stockbridge, Mass. (Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center) Phone: 413-298-5200 Directions, full contact info: stockbridgechamber.org
Address: 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge, Mass. Phone: 413-298-4100 Directions, and full contact info: nrm.org
BELOW: Classic cars line Main St. in Stockbridge, Mass. as part of the town’s annual recreation of Rockwell’s “Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas (Home for Christmas).” Photo: Gillian Jones.
56 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
Rockwell Trivia Compiled by Jennifer Huberdeau
LEFT: Norman Rockwell plays tennis at the Stockbridge Golf Club, circa 1954. Photo by William Tague. BELOW: Norman Rockwell poses with John Wayne in his Stockbridge studio during studies for the actor’s portrait, December 3, 1973. Wayne stayed at the Red Lion Inn. Photo by Louie Lamone
3.
1. Norman Rockwell’s first Saturday Evening Post cover was published on May 20, 1916. The illustration, “Boy with Baby Carriage,” was one of two paintings Rockwell brought to unscheduled visit the Post’s Philadelphia office in early 1916. The Post bought the two paintings for $75 each. During his 47-year relationship with the magazine, he painted a total of 321 covers. His last cover was a portrait of John F. Kennedy, which ran a week after the president’s assassination. 2. In January 1977, Rockwell was one of 29 individuals awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. Among the other honorees were Joe DiMaggio, artist Georgia O’Keefe, and Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson. Four other Berkshire County residents were honored, at the same time: North Adams authors William and Ariel Durant, Boston Pops conductor Arthur Fiedler and artist Alexander Calder (posthumous). Unable to attend the ceremony at the White House personally, the award was accepted on his behalf by his son, Jarvis. 3. In an interview at the age of 80, Rockwell was still plodding away, keeping an eight-hour-a-day, seven-daya-week schedule. He was filling his days with portraiture. At the time of the article, he was completing a portrait or John Wayne for the National Cowboy Hall of Fame. Also in the studio were portraits of Sen. Leverett Saltonstall and the real-life Colonel Sanders, Col. Harland David Sanders, businessman and founder of KFC. 4. Rockwell is credited as appearing as “Busted Flush” in the 1966 feature UpCountryOnline.com | 57
8. To mark Rockwell’s 24th year as a resident of Stockbridge, the town held a 90 minute parade in his honor on May 23, 1976. The parade drew about 10,000 spectators and featured more than 100 units, 25 floats and a total of 2,000 participants. Many of the marchers were former Rockwell models. Rockwell, 82, and his wife, Molly, watched from wicker chairs atop a flatbed truck with his sons, Jarvis and Thomas.
8. film “Stagecoach.” Rockwell illustrated the movie poster for “Stagecoach,” as well as several other feature films, including “The Magnificent Ambersons” (1942), “The Song of Bernadette” (1943), “Along Came Jones” (1945), “The Razor’s Edge” (1946), and “Cinderfella” (1960).
10. Rockwell’s Main Street studio was located above The Back Door, the real-life restaurant owned by Alice in Arlo Guthrie’s ballad, “Alice’s Restaurant.”
5. On July 1, 1994, the U.S. Post Office issued a 29 cent commemorative postage stamp celebrating his 100th birthday. The stamp’s design was based on his painting, “Triple Self-Portrait.” A souvenir sheet of four stamps, based on “The Four Freedoms,” was issued at the same time.
11. In 1943, a fire destroyed Rockwell’s studio at his Arlington, Vt., home. The fire consumed not only the studio, but also numerous props and costumes, paintings and photography supplies.
6. Massachusetts designated Norman Rockwell as the official state artist in 2008. 7. In 1943, the Four Freedoms toured the United States in an exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the Saturday Evening Post and the U.S. Treasury Department. $133 million was raised through the sale of war bonds during the tour.
9. Stockbridge, Mass. Police Chief William J. Obanhein, made famous as Officer Obie in Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant,” posed for Rockwell on several occasions, including the 1959 black-and-white sketch “Policeman With Boys,” which was used in nationwide advertisements for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company.
TOP: Norman Rockwell sits in a grandstand in Stockbridge with Molly Rockwell. The Stockbridge town selectmen declared a holiday, Norman Rockwell Day, and held a parade on May 23, 1976. Photo by Joel Librizzi. BOTTOM: Ginger Toutill, Peggy Best and Norman Rockwell judge a child’s picture in a Junior League art contest at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, February 24, 1965. Photo by Eugene Mitchell
58 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
12. 4,000: Once thought to be the know number of works of art created by Norman Rockwell during his lifetime. The number is much higher according to museum officials. 13. 21: The average number of days it took Rockwell to create a painting. •
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BEHIND THE SCENES
Sleeping Houses Across the Berkshires, historic homes are emerging from hibernation By Ruth Bass It’s March. The month of blizzards – or mud. And the month of awakenings. About now, the hundreds of black bears are rubbing their eyes, stretching and thinking about hunting down a bird feeder or two. Daffodil buds are stirring, tree buds are plumping up. And many of the Berkshires’ historic cottages are being shaken awake by their keepers. It takes awhile for the former residences of the Frenches, the Choates, Suzy Frelinghuy-
sen and George L.K. Morris, the Ashleys and John Sergeant to get going in the spring. That’s because so many things were done to these venerable tourist attractions last fall to ensure their survival in hibernation. Drained, blanketed, insulated and shrouded, they have been asleep for months. Still, as any parents or guardians would do, the caretakers of these treasures peep in often to be sure all is well. They check to see that everything is where they left it, they make sure water isn’t dripping, that no wild
animal, nor uninvited human, has gotten in (Naumkeag had a raccoon once). Some rooms at Naumkeag, the summer home of Joseph Hodges Choate and his family in Stockbridge, Mass., look normal except for a few draped sheets. Others, like the dining room, stand stark in winter. But soon, in hopes of an April opening this year, the rugs will be unrolled, tablecloths put in place, dishware dusted and returned to tables. The operation, says Mark Wilson, curator of collections for the west region
of The Trustees of Reservations, pretty much duplicates what the Choates did every year, as they rotated between their house in Stockbridge and their Manhattan mansion. The Choates had servants for the tasks now performed by the regular crew and volunteers. The family use of Chesterwood was much the same. Daniel Chester French razed the farmhouse on the place the family bought in 1896 and built a summer house, not insulated for winter, despite the fact that the sculptor is on record as re-
ABOVE: Looking up at Naumkeag in Stockbridge with the famous birch-lined stairway at the right. Photo by Ruth Bass.
UpCountryOnline.com | 61
Daniel Chester French created the Lincoln Memorial in this studio, which is closed for the winter. Photo: Ruth Bass.
luctant to return to New York each October. And as, perhaps, pioneers among locavores, both the Choates and Frenches had vegetables from their country estates, both which had functioning farms on them, sent to them in the city for as long as autumn frosts held off. At Chesterwood, also in Stockbridge, where Daniel Chester French created the seated Lincoln statue for the Lincoln Memorial, veteran caretaker Gerry Blache drained and blew out all the pipes in the house, barn gallery and studio in late October. Of the ten structures on the 122-acre property, only the red cottage – the offices – stays open. The buildings are without heat except for the studio, which is kept at 32 degrees, maintaining a steady temperature to avoid moisture. Blache also doesn’t “want movement in that building anymore.” In the fall, he and his crew move sculptures, box in the bas relief pieces on the studio porch, shut down the fountains, spread a couple inches of straw on the gardens designed by French and worry about the century-old pines that tower over the standing Lincoln statue and the nearby nature trails, which were also designed by the sculptor. “We pride ourselves that the center core is kept in a century-old manner,” he said. Thus, in spring, he and his crew go into sharp reverse to plant the annals the Frenches would have, take care of the hydrangea trees that line the walk, and put the sculptures back. Even Executive Director Donna Hassler will put aside working on a new gallery space, which will include showing not only plaster studies of sculptures
but French’s paintings. She’ll be climbing ladders to dust plaster casts and do whatever else spurs the race to spring. Moisture is the demon in all these houses. At Naumkeag, they stopped covering some furniture pieces after they found mold on the undersides of tables. The stucco construction at Chesterwood makes moisture a constant concern, and regular inspections include making sure the walls aren’t actually wet. Dampness is the enemy of antique wallpaper at Naumkeag as well as wood veneers on the elegant furniture. Brian Cruey, general manager of Naumkeag for the Trustees of Reservations, says heating can actually damage the collections, especially major fluctuations in temperature. Right now, the cold inside the shuttered house is bone-chilling, but apparently the china thrives on it. Upstairs, Wilson points out blue-checked sheets that shroud mattresses, chaises and beds. They may not be valuable, but they’re enduring – they’re the same ones the Choates used. One year, Wilson says, the family decided to try a Berkshire winter. It was 1887, and they stayed through Christmas. In January, they gave it up and fled to Florida. Care must also be taken with Naumkeag’s gardens, created after the death of the senior Choates. The water through the birch-lined stairway to Mable Choate’s gardens will soon run again, and the Diana statue in the linden alley will be uncovered. Other sculptures will come out of storage. At the Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio in Lenox, Mass., cold air, large expanses of
LEFT, FROM TOP: Moisture is the demon of winter at these historic houses, especially when artists like Suzy Frelinghuysen painted frescos directly on the dining room’s walls. Kinney Frelinghuysen, director of the Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio, discusses one of the house’s murals, which are carefully protected from the cold and damp each winter. A large window at Frelinghuysen Morris House and Studio was boarded up for the winter in appropriately abstract style. All photos: Ruth Bass
64 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
glass and moisture combine as threats to art. Director Kinney Frelinghuysen keeps an eye out for leaks in the vulnerable flat roof of the International Style house where his aunt Suzy Frelinghuysen and uncle George L.K. Morris lived. The first attempt at climate control for Morris’s enormous outdoor mural actually trapped moisture, so an old framework that Morris used has been installed in a new way, actually creating a little closet for the mural. That provides air, plus room for space heaters. It’s not glamorous, especially with the ragged edge of an insulating blanket visible on the flat room above. But so far, it’s doing the job. Like the house and studio at Chesterwood, the Frelinghuysen Morris house is stucco, so interior walls easily start to sweat if conditions are right – or, more accurately, wrong. But here preservation is even more vital because Morris painted abstract works right on the walls of the living room. Frelinghuysen did the same in the dining room. Again, low tech solutions have been put in place, creating insulation on the windows. Unlike Naumkeag and Chesterwood, this museum is heated in the 60-degree range all winter. “We don’t mothball the house,” Kinney Frelinghuysen said, although it is open only to staff. Even with daily visits and heat, he admits, “If we get really nervous, we leave some faucets running.” Morris built the studio on his parent’s Lenox estate, Brookhurst, in 1931. Nine years later, Berkshire architect John Butler Swann designed the connecting house where summer visitors enjoy the Frelinghuysen
and Morris works, plus their collection of masterpieces. Some of the art is boxed for the winter some not, since this building is more snoozing than snoring. But it’s all vulnerable to the vagaries of Berkshire weather and must be protected in fall, unveiled in spring. Things are simpler at Mission House and Ashley House, also Trustees of Reservations properties, since neither has infrastructure. They date back to the 1740s, so running water and other amenities don’t exist. Originally situated across the street from Naumkeag, Mission House, once the home of missionary John Sergeant, stands now at the corner of Sergeant and Main streets in downtown Stockbridge. Ashley House gets the award as best sleeper in this small survey, not opening for tours until July and August, although the grounds are basically accessible all year. Situated in Ashley Falls, a village of Sheffield, Mass., it’s famous for being at the core of the town of Sheffield’s early cries for independence and, ironically, for being the Berkshire home for the famous slave MumBett, also known as Elizabeth Freeman, who supposedly overheard some of the independence talk as she did her chores. She set out to gain her freedom and successfully sued for it. But whether ready early in April, Memorial Day weekend or a bit later, these houses – and several others in the county – wake slowly. It takes time to close the doors at the end of the season, and just as much time to throw them open again. Blache puts it succinctly, “April is crazy.” •
RIGHT, FROM TOP: Most Daniel Chester French sculptures stand outdoors. This snow-covered rail track carried his works outside so he could get a true picture of the effect of light and shadow. Linens are removed and stored at Naumkeag, mattresses covered. This was Mabel Choate’s original bedroom. Glass panels cover the long abstract mural George L. K. Morris painted on an outside wall. Behind the panels is a closet-like space to protect the painting in the winter. Space heaters and insulation on the glass help prevent temperature fluctuations. Elegantly furnished in summer, the dining room at Naumkeag is bleak in winter. All photos: Ruth Bass.
UpCountryOnline.com | 65
UP CLOSE
A Well-Traveled Pair By Jennifer Huberdeau If only this well-traveled pair could talk! If they could, we’re sure these two vintage traveling trunks, which once belonged to members of the Morgan family of Ventfort Hall in Lenox,, Mass., would have so many stories to tell. Travel labels, still present on the trunks, hint of journeys to Italy, France and Germany. The trunks, a vintage Louis Vuitton travel trunk thought to have been purchased in 1896 and a Moynat womens travel trunk believed to be from 1918, belonged to George Hale Morgan and his daughter-in-law, Josephine Adams Perry Morgan. George Hale Morgan’s wife, Sarah Spencer Morgan, sister of the financier, J.P. Morgan, built Ventfort Hall with a portion of her inheritance. The custom-made men’s travel trunk, which is lined with canvas painted with tan hemp oil and a red stripe at each end, still has the original Louis Vuitton label with its registration number. The number was recorded by the company to allow the owner to have repairs made or new luggage fashioned from the same design. The style of the label and its location indicate it was built and purchased between 1893 and 1900. Today, the trunk still has George Mogran’s initials G.H.M. painted on each end, with an ‘S’ below, perhaps indicating his wife, Sarah. A sticker still affixed to the trunk indicates it was used for travel in Europe in 1896. That year, George traveled to Germany with Sarah, where she visited many German spas in hopes of curing her ailments. Sarah succumbed to a heart condition in July 1896 while traveling in Germany. The trunk is believed to have been in the couple’s New York City home at the time of George Morgan’s death in 1911. Several trunks were transferred from the Manhattan home to Constitution
66 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
FROM LEFT: Josephine Perry Morgan. George Morgan, at Ventfort Hall with one of his grandchildren. Photos provided by Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum.
Hill, the Princeton, N.J., home of their son Julius Spencer Morgan and his wife, Josephine. Junius and Josephine Morgan separated in 1909, formalizing the arrangement in 1912. The couple remained married, but never reconciled. Josephine remained in Princeton, where she retained her status among its social elite. Her trunk, crafted by Moynat in purple, is lined with canvas dressed with a purple ribbon. The outside is still adorned with many travel labels from ships and trains. Having traveled the world, the trunks were eventually tucked away in attic of Constitution Hill. Here the trunks remained until 1978, when Alexander Perry Morgan Jr., grandson to Josephine and Junius, hired William Doyle Galleries of New York City to auction the contents of the mansion. The trunks were purchased from the 1978 auction by Wendy Benchley, a global activist for the protection of sharks, and wife of Peter Benchley, author of the novel “Jaws� and co-writer of the screenplay for the movie of the same name. Benchley donated the trunks to a charity in Princeton, where they were purchased by Daniel Popkin, of Princeton, N.J., who in turn donated them to Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in early 2017. Information provided by Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum, 104 Walker St., Lenox, Mass. More info: gildedage.org
Turn the page for a closer look. F Photo: Stephanie Zollshan
UpCountryOnline.com | 67
Louis Vuitton men’s travel trunk, c. 1896 G.H.M.: The initials of George Hale Morgan, brotherin-law of financier J.P. Morgan. The ‘S.’ is believed to denote first initial of his wife, Sarah Spencer Morgan, who built the 28-room summer cottage, Ventfort Hall, in Lenox, Mass.
LOUIS VUITTON LABEL: The label establishes several things, including that it is an authentic Louis Vuitton design and that it was made after the 1893 World’s Fair. The label’s registration mark allowed the company’s Heritage Department to confirm that it was made by the company. The purchase was made by someone other than Morgan, perhaps by a domestic employee. However, without the name of the person who purchased the trunk on his behalf, the company cannot reveal details about its owner, purchase or commission.
A.
“MILANO CENTRALE” LABEL: Milano Centrale is the main railway station in Milan, Italy, indicating Josephine traveled throughout Europe. A hotel sticker shows she traveled to Florence. J.P.M.: The initials of Josephine Adams Perry Morgan, Princeton socialite and estranged wife of financier Junius Spencer Morgan, nephew of the famous banker J.P. Morgan. “HOTEL D’AIX” LABEL: One of several hotel labels from Europe.
B.
C.
MOYNAT LABEL: Josephine would have purchased this trunk from the Moynat Parisian boutique, the only place it was possible to purchase a genuine Moynat trunk. It is believed she purchased the trunk in 1918 on her way home from Paris. She made yearly trips abroad and was known to stay at the Crillon Hotel in Paris.
D.
OVAL CUNARD LINE LABELS: Josephine Morgan traveled frequently to Europe on the Cunard Line, a British cruise ship line. She traveled by Cunard Line in 1918, as well as in 1921, 1922 and 1924. Two “hold” baggage stickers show she traveled first class on the “RMS Berengaria” leaving Cherbourg, Normandy, France on Oct. 25, 1924 and arriving in port of New York on Nov. 1, 1924.
MAILING LABEL: This mailing label shows that Mrs. Junius Morgan shipped the trunk from her Princeton estate, Constitution Hill, to her New York apartment at 17 East 84th Street. Josephine spent the winters at her New York apartment, as it was too expensive to heat and maintain the New Jersey mansion during the latter months of the year.
Moynat travel trunk, circa 1918 All photos: Stephanie Zollshan
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FINAL THOUGHT
“The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.” — Norman Rockwell
Norman Rockwell outside his Stockbridge, Mass. studio, 1971. Photo: Louie Lamone.
72 | UPCOUNTRY MAGAZINE | March/April 2018
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