Rutland Magazine Fall 2019

MAGAZINE

IN THIS ISSUE 30 th Poultney Chili Cookoof Rutland Rugby Club Chaffee Student Exhibit Vermont Marble Museum 100 Years of Rutland Rotary

Fall 2019 Volume 13, Issue 1 Fall 2019

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CONTENTS Editorial

Departments

8 F rom This Side of the Mountain 30 Years Old Poultney Rotary Chili Cook-off

68 S tepping into Nature Elfin Housekeeping SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN AND

CASSIE HORNER

CASSIE HORNER

74 T ime Travels My Mother’s Style

Features

TIM SINK

78 K itchen to Table Belmont Suppers Benefit the Community

12 R utland Rotary Club 100 Years of Service KIM J. GIFFORD

CASSIE HORNER

22 Rutland Rugby Club Athletic Warriors

84 S potlight on Business Vermont Marble Museum A Monumental Heritage

PAUL POST

28 V isiting Cuba

PAUL POST

SANDRA STILLMAN GARTNER

38 B oarding and Company Houses in Rutland County A Place to Lay Your Head

92 A ll About the Arts Local Author Christie Kelly Healing Through Fiction CASSIE HORNER

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94 What’s Happening

46 C haffee Art Center Student Exhibit Ann McFarren Exhibit A Palette of Creativity

SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN

SANDRA STILLMAN GARTNER

MAGAZINE

60 Fall From Above and Up Close CALEB KENNA

IN THIS ISSUE 30 th Poultney Chili Cookoof Rutland Rugby Club Chaffee Student Exhibit

FROM THE COVER Deer Leap in Killington photo cassie horner

Vermont Marble Museum 100 Years of Rutland Rotary

Fall 2019 Volume 13, Issue 1 Fall 2019

Fall 2019 8219.indd 1

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PUBLISHERS’ NOTES Find us at www .RutlandMagazineOnline. com

ENOUGH WITH THE WORK HISTORY WE MET BACK IN THE SUMMER OF 1986 AT OUR WORKPLACE, THE WOODSTOCK INN & RESORT. Tim was there for the summer, as an intern in the kitchen. He attended New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier. Cassie was working in the gift shop after completing college

in Montpelier the year before. They never met in Montpelier but it was pretty much love at first sight in that lower kitchen corridor where the gift shop storage and office were located.

You know what’s it’s like when you’re getting to know one another. Stories and factoids fly back

above Tim mans the patio grill at the Woodstock Inn & Resort.

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VOLUME 13 ISSUE 1 • FALL 2019 Published by Mad Dog Ink, L.L.C. www.rutlandmagazineonline.com PO Box 264 Woodstock Vermont 05091 802-672-2411 Publishers: Cassie Horner and Tim Sink Editor: Cassie Horner e-mail: rutlandmag@vermontel.net Advertising: Tim Sink e-mail: rutlandmagads@vermontel.net Layout: Jenny Buono e-mail: jenny.buono@gmail.com Rutland Magazine is a quarterly publication of Mad Dog Ink L.L.C. Both Rutland Magazine and Mad Dog Ink L.L.C. are registered trade marks. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the express written consent of the publisher. Rutland Magazine and Mad Dog Ink L.L.C. assume no liability for any unsolicited material including but not limited to: manuscripts, photographs, artwork or historical documents.

Cassie works in the resource center at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

and forth. Cassie grew up in Woodstock, Tim in Sayre, Pennsylvania. We both like the outdoors, swimming and hiking and biking. We both liked to enjoy a good book on a sunny dock by the lake. He liked to cook and she liked to eat. All well and good — and those things are as true today.

The quakey ground turned out to be Jobs! Drum roll, please. Cassie summed up her history pretty quickly: baby sitting(not so great), White Cottage Snack Bar (loved it), ditto with walking dachshund Ritz for a quarter and candy, pill packager and clerk at a pharmacy in the Upper Valley, Pizza Chef staff (three days and tears — who knew how hard it would be to pour beer without more foam than beer) and Woodstock Inn Gift Shop (mostly good and she did meet him there!)

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Tim’s tale of the job trail turned out to be a very different story. Can she remember from heart, after hearing it so many times? Pretty much yes. Just ask and she’ll recite paper boy, roofer, car detailer, printer, cook in a French restaurant, College residence manager, dishwasher. And that is only up to the 1980s. Health food cook, short order cook, nursing home cook, printer. The eyes of Cassie begin to glaze over.

We bet you are analyzing correctly where this essay is going. Over 30 years into this happy relationship, guess who can’t talk about his jobs anymore? Enough already, Tim, with the work history.

Cassie Horner and Tim Sink Rutland Magazine

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From This Side of the Mountain

30 YEARS OF THE POULTNEY ROTARY

GREAT BOWLS OF FIRE CHILI COOK-OFF

BY CASSIE HORNER • PHOTOS PROVIDED BY POULTNEY ROTARY CLUB

TAKE A BEAUTIFUL VERMONT FALL DAY IN A CHARMING LITTLE TOWN, ADD SOME TALENTED COOKS, AND YOU HAVE A TREAT FOR THE TASTE BUDS IN ITS 30TH YEAR: THE POULTNEY ROTARY CHILI COOK-OFF, SPONSORED BY THE POULTNEY ROTARY CLUB. The 2019 event is set for Saturday, September 28 in downtown Poultney. Other activities include a silent auction, a D.J., The Chili Bowl with a football and a soccer game, a 5k run/walk and much more.

The Poultney Rotary Chili Cook-off attracts lots of people from Poultney and beyond. “It brings everyone together,” says Kim Rupe. “This is a great way for people to support one another and bring folks from outside the community to support local businesses. We hear all the time how much people love it.”

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Part of the excitement comes from the fact that part of Main Street is blocked off, giving attendees the chance to see friends and meet new people. The event offers everyone the opportunity to expand their connections within and beyond the community of Poultney.

The chili cook-off part of the event has been a highlight for all 30 years. Chuck Colvin, who started it with fellow Rotarian Harry Stanyon, recalls that the club was looking for a fundraiser to support its local projects. They were having coffee at a downtown restaurant when the owner described a chili cook-off in Texas he thought could be a good event for Poultney. “We tried it and it was a very good success from the first year,” Colvin says. “It has changed with younger people in the Rotary expanding it.

This is a great fit for the community. It is Rotary’s major fundraiser.” Funds support high school senior scholarships, students competing in a state history contest, the local food shelf and more.

Poultney Rotary has always cooked chili for the event.

“Every year the chili is different,” Colvin says. “Somebody puts in a little more spice or adds something new. People joke around with each other. There’s a lot of camaraderie.”

Cooking areas of the 25 or so cooking teams are festively 10

decorated. The cooking starts at 7 a.m. The D.J. gets kids dancing in the street. When the tasting begins at 11 a.m., people buy cups and then sample as many kinds as they want. There is a People’s Choice winner, and esteemed judges select additional winners.

The Chili Bowl, starting at 1 p.m., features a football game at Poultney High School between Poultney and Woodstock, and a soccer game at the elementary school between Poultney and West Rutland.

Another tradition in recent years is the 5k run/walk sponsored by Donna Johnson Physical Therapy in Poultney. “The race promotes people being out and exercising,” says Ryan Mahar, a physical therapist. “It’s healthy and beneficial.” The walk/run style race for all ages starts at 10 a.m. on Main Street. Each year features a new route but it is always quite a flat course. People can sign up ahead of the day on runsignup.com or the day of the event in front of the physical therapy office. Participants receive a free tee shirt. All of the proceeds benefit the Rotary event.

Join in the fun celebrating 30 years at the Poultney Rotary Chili Cook-off. It’s guaranteed to be a fun day! If you are interested in being a chili chef, contact Valerie Broughton at (802) 236-2790.

Rutland Magazine

Service Above SElf

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY KIM J. GIFFORD

right top to bottom Pig roast organizer and long-time Rotarian Dick Rohe.

Rotarian Barbara Giancola Rotarians Mary Cohen and Tina Torres-Buzzell 12

ONE HUNDRED YEARS IS CERTAINLY SOMETHING WORTH CELEBRATING AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT THE ROTARY CLUB OF RUTLAND DID, MARKING ITS CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY BY HOSTING A COMMUNITY PICNIC AND CELEBRATION ON JULY 14TH AT MEADOW STREET PARK IN RUTLAND. Reed Wilcox, club president at the time of the event, explained, “The community has been there supporting us in our good works for 100 years, so we thought it would be great to have a big ‘thank you’ for all the partnerships and great relationships we had with the community and its development over the years.”

To celebrate, the Rotary held a free family pig roast and barbeque with Terence Lernihan of Vermont Pig Roasts providing his signature fully dressed roasted pigs, presented on a bed of fruit, and his special sauce.

Lernihan is known for having competed against and placing above two-time Grand Champion of the Jack Daniel’s World Championship BBQ Invitational, Johnny Twigg, but it was not these accolades, but the taste-testing of his specially prepared pork that won the crowds over.

Complementing the pork were other such goodies as barbeque burgers and hot dogs, pre-

pared on four grills, slow-roasted corn-on-thecob in its husks, pasta salads, veggies, popcorn and lemonade. Recent Rotarian Greg Cox of Vermont Farmers’ Food Center (VFFC), recipient of the Rotary Club of Rutland’s centennial donation of almost $100,000 total toward the funding of two large educational greenhouses, also donated salad fixings. The picnic feast was topped off with the chance for adults and children alike to make their own ice cream sundaes with various toppings.

Food was not the only offering of the day with plenty of entertainment including lawn games for kids of all ages. Rotarian Brian Perkins, a competitive table tennis player, provided a fast-hitting table tennis demonstration with his coach. There was a friendly but competitive inter-Rotary kickball tournament with Rutland’s other Rotary club, Rutland South; face painting for the kids; magician Tom Joyce; a bouncy house and slide; and a photo tent relying on green screen technology to snap photos of Rutland’s superheroes young and old, allowing them to take a photo home as a souvenir of the day. Star Wars’ enthusiasts were treated to characters in costume; artist Peter Huntoon gave a live demonstration of his work; and the Rutland Magazine

Rutland Fire Department was on hand. Over 100 door prizes totalling more than $3,000 were given out including everything from $25 gift certificates to Sushi Yoshi on the mountain to green fees at the Rutland Country Club.

While numerous Rotarians chipped in to make the day a success, the day’s festivities were organized by long-time Rotarian Dick Rohe, and even several bouts of rain throughout the day did nothing to dampen the crowd’s spirits. Even when the rain poured down, children continued to gather under the tents and dance away to music provided by DJ Brett Myhre.

One hundred years is a long time and many of Fall 2019

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the club’s early endeavors have been lost to memory. Rotary International, which boasts 1.2 million members and 35,000 clubs, is only a little over 110 years old, making Rutland’s branch, which started in 1919, an early member. Interestingly, Rotary International has another important link to the region. Its founder Paul Harris grew up in the nearby village of Wallingford, attending school in the red brick building on Route 7 where the Wallingford Rotary still holds its meetings. The schoolhouse was in fact built in 1818 by Harris’s great-grandfather James Rustin.

Harris launched Rotary in Chicago with a group of other professionals from diverse backgrounds as a means of exchanging ideas. It morphed into a more philanthropic organization in its early years, with an emphasis not only on socializing, but on giving back to the various communities it serves. The name “Rotary” stemmed from the organization’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of its members. Rotary International as an organization has been fundamental in practically eradicating polio worldwide. Its members volunteer more than 16 million people-hours each year.

The Rutland club, launched in 1919, was sponsored by the club in Fitchburg, Mass and in return helped to start numerous other clubs including Claremont, 1921; Burlington, 1922; Montpelier and St. Johnsbury, 1923; Brandon, Poultney and West Rutland, 1927; Fair Haven, 1968, and many more up until the present day.

In fact, Rutland was the first city in the State of Vermont to charter a club, holding its first preliminary meeting at the Bardwell Hotel on November 17, 1919. Its first official meeting began on December 1, 1919, when 25 charter members were inducted. Early members were sought out according to vocation with no more than two of any vocation be14

top left to right Colin Fitzsimmons, Pete Holmes, Stephen Marcoux, Mike Barrett, Seth Bride, Caprice Hover, Pam Clark and Ed Memner bottom left Bob Amelang

ing allowed. Projects over the years included significant donations to Rutland Regional Medical Center, money toward the restoration of the Paramount Theater and the establishment of Rotary Field, just off Main Street, which the club has continued to help maintain through clean up and brush work over the years. Wilcox said, “I believe the Rotary club donated that land to the city in the 1920s and paid for the pool that was there for decades. It is no longer there, but was well-loved and well-utilized by pretty much everyone in the community.”

bottom right Terence Lernihan

Rotarian Will Gormly explains that the club has done such a great job with the beautification of Rotary Field, that for the last couple of years, the parks director for the city hasn’t been able to think of anything else for the group to do. Far from being idle, however, the club has been actively involved in numerous service projects from the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church’s meal challenge to the U.S.P.S. Letter Carrier’s Food Drive. Recent projects have also included painting Pierce’s store in Shrewsbury, beautification work of Beaver Pond Park, and Rutland Magazine

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painting a classroom at the Chaffee Art Center. The club plans on being involved in the New Story Center, a women’s shelter in Rutland.

“We raise and give money to a lot of organizations. Some non-profits bring service projects to us and other members propose projects wherever we see a need,” said Perkins.

Over the last couple of years, the Rotary Club of Rutland also helped provide fencing for the Baxter Street Park, has donated significant money for the creation of the Center Street Marketplace, and in addition to funding the greenhouses for its centennial, has put in substantial work laying brick for the floor of the greenhouses.

“I remember going through the process of being chosen as the centennial project,” said Greg Cox, president of VFFC. “Rotary wants to make sure their projects have a lasting influence on the community and aren’t just going to be a flash in the pan, one time and gone. They looked at us and said, ‘You know, this is what we stand for, this place has the capacity to make a difference and a change in Rutland.

By investing and believing in you, it is going to make it easier for us to accomplish that.’ I was like, ‘Wow, that’s quite a statement.’”

The club may perhaps best be 16

known for its annual Christmas Tree sale, which is a major fundraiser, as is the annual Ten of Nine Golf Tournament. Barb Giancola, a longtime member of the club and the second woman asked to join the Rutland group in 1987, recalled how much things have changed. “When we first started selling the trees we didn’t have a warming hut like we do now or a porta potty or even cell phones. It was a pretty cold project. Now we have hot cider, cell phones, it makes a difference. You don’t realize how things have changed and how much easier it’s become,” she said.

She remembered other projects over the years including repainting the city’s fire hydrants. “Some of the hydrants got really old looking and we would go around with spray cans, painting them. I remember for several years, looking at the results and thinking ‘Wow, how much better they look and feeling a certain sense of pride, although it did make our hands sore,” she noted.

Rotary International first began inviting women to join when a local club in California invited three women to become members in 1978. This resulted in an appeals process that went first to the California Supreme Court and eventually the US Supreme Court

before it was ruled that women could join. The practice became common in the late 1980s. Today Rutland Rotary Club’s President Jeff Guevin estimates that of the club’s approximately 60 members, 69 percent are men and 31 percent are women. “We have a strong membership of women and it’s not just younger members,” he said.

“I think our club has historically had a strong focus on women.”

“When I first joined there was some kind of flap at another club and some men quit. I used to wear my pin when I went to Kiwanis with my husband and people were upset about it,” Barb Giancola said. “It’s one of those things where you just had to get men and women to learn to respect each other and not worry about whether you were a man or a woman, but just doing the projects. It was a little touchy in the beginning, but it all smoothed out and works very well now.”

Being a part of Rotary has meant different things for different members over the years. Long-time member Nick Carmolli, for example, cites not only the local club but Rotary International’s work with youth exchange and what that has meant to his family. Carmolli joined in 1975.

Three of his children were a part of the Youth Exchange in addition to his Rutland Magazine

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John Gifford

family hosting half-a-dozen students in their own home. “We took a trip to Europe in 1989 to visit my daughter’s host family in Belgium. We were gone 23 nights and spent only five of them in hotels, instead being hosted by people involved in the program.

Once you’ve done something for somebody’s kid they can’t do enough for you,” he explained.

This familial feeling is not unique to Carmolli, Reed Wilcox, a relatively younger member, noted, “I think in the past it may have had the reputation of a good old boys club or being kind of stuffy and it’s not that at all. It has morphed into something different for me. Rotary has become my second family. I didn’t grow up in Vermont, I moved here literally knowing nobody and I joined Rotary and made friendships that I hope to carry throughout the rest of my life.”

Will Gormly, too, first joined Rotary because he was new in town and was looking for a way to become more involved in the community.

“I met people from all stripes in the community. It is more familial than formal and it’s just a good way to connect with people who are active in the community and want to make Rutland a better place,” he said. “I think it’s a little bit of a mentorship.

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Cox admits to joining Rotary after the club’s contribution to the greenhouses. “When they were willing to commit to the Food Center, I was like you know what? It’s about time I step up and make the time. We are all busy, we all got stuff,” he said.

Brian Perkins perhaps sums it up best when he acknowledges what Rotary has meant to him. “It has been a real source of pride to be able to be a part of an organization that allows me to do what I certainly couldn’t do on my own. I could never have raised $100,000, to create the greenhouses, but we came together and could do together what we couldn’t do alone and made a lot of friends in the process.

And that is pretty neat,” he concluded.

Kim J. Gifford is a writer, teacher, artist and photographer. She lives in Bethel, VT with her grumble of pugs (yes, that is indeed what a group of pugs is called) Alfie, Waffles and Amore. To view her work and hear their stories visit www. pugsandpics.com.

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RUTLAND

RUGBYCLUB

Athletic Warriors 22

Rutland Magazine

BUMPS, BRUISES AND A LITTLE BLOOD HERE AND THERE ARE ALL PART OF THE GAME. For 80 minutes, players beat the tar out of each other, then laugh and smile about it over an ice-cold beer as bonds forged on the field of battle last a lifetime.

That’s what these athletic warriors love most about the challenging, rough and tumble sport of rugby.

BY PAUL POST • PHOTOS PROVIDED BY KATE TROY

Fall 2019

“It’s the best sport because there’s so much emphasis on being ruthless on the field toward your opponent, yet still being respectful,” said Trevor Cassidy, a pro and former U.S. National Team member. “Also, when you play for a club it doesn’t matter how good you are. What matters is the effort you put in to help the club on and off the field. If you only get 10 minutes of playing time, but put your body on the line for teammates you’ll automatically have friends for life.”

Cassidy is among the hundreds of players, male and female of all ages and ability levels, who got their start with the Rutland Rugby Club whose playing field — called a pitch — is off Marble Street in West Rutland.

The site’s unpaved entrance, through trees and tall reeds, is quite humble, but a number of careers launched there have taken standout players to all parts of the globe since the club’s inception in 1982.

Cassidy has played for teams from Brisbane, Australia to Cape Town, 23

South Africa and now belongs to Rugby United New York, the city’s first pro franchise, which belongs to Major League Rugby, a league entering its third season in 2020.

“We started here in Rutland with a men’s team only,” said club President Nick McCardle, a Blackpool, England native who practically grew up with a rugby ball under his arm. “We just had a bunch of guys who had seen or heard about rugby. They went off to college, came back to town and wanted to play, so we formed a team.

Our first-ever game was against Mad River. We’ve been around ever since.

“We pride ourselves on being a very inclusive sport,” McCardle said. “We have people from all walks of life — painters, electricians, educators, a little bit of everybody. I work in home health.”

He’s also assistant coach of the Middlebury College women’s team.

Molly Mortensen, of Rutland, was introduced to rugby at Plymouth State College in New Hampshire.

“I started because I wanted to make new friends,” she said. “But in this game, you don’t just make friends, you make a family. It’s great.

Everyone is going to have your back no matter what happens on or off the pitch.”

“The game is fast-paced, it doesn’t stop,” Mortensen said. “That’s my favorite part. It’s constant action and everyone gets involved.

I’m not a big person and I have a place on that field.

You can have the biggest guy or girl, it doesn’t matter. Everyone plays.”

Speed, strength and stamina are the main physical requirements, but the game also requires no small amount of mental toughness, determination and intestinal fortitude.

24

“Think about football with some elements of soccer thrown in,” McCardle said. “The whole idea is to advance the ball down the field and score. You can advance the ball by running with it, kicking and chasing it forward, or you can pass to a teammate. But you can only pass laterally, not forward.”

Games are comprised of 15 players to a side, so 30 people are on the field at once with one referee. But despite the fierce competition, there’s an unwritten code of ethics about playing fair and respecting officials, so one ref can control 30 players at a time.

Teamwork is a key to success.

Forwards, who tend to be a little larger, do battle up front in scrums.

A scrum is a restarting of play following stoppage caused by a minor rules infringement, such as a forward pass, or the ball becoming unplayable in a maul or ruck (when the player with the ball is tackled).

Forwards are followed by link players including the scrum half, a critical quarterback-type position, always looking up to see where there’s an opportunity. In a scrum, all the forwards and scrum-halves are concentrated in one place on the field, giving the backs a chance to mount an attack using the space created elsewhere.

“The scrum half passes out to the backs who run down the field to get as far as they can,” McCardle said. “Backs are generally a little smaller, but are fast, aggressive runners.”

To score, the ball must reach the opponent’s tri-zone, similar to a football end zone, and be touched to the ground, for five points. An extra-point kick is worth two points.

But unlike football, the kick isn’t automatically taken from the center of the field. The ball is brought back perpendicular to where it reached the tri-zone, so it’s better to score in the

Rutland Magazine

middle of the field instead of a corner.

And unlike football, there are no downs in rugby. The game just flows and doesn’t stop unless there’s a whistle for a major or minor infraction.

The club now has both men’s and women’s teams as well as a high school girls’ team supported by Rutland Recreation. Adult teams are open to all ages, with players ranging from late teens to 50-something.

There’s even an “old boys” team called the Green Mountain Geezers for men 35 and older that generally plays in the 45-and-over division of events it enters each year. Previously there was a high school-age boys team, which the club hopes to revive in the future.

“One of our long-term club goals is to grow the sport from the ground up so we’re are currently working on developing more rookie (ages 5-10) and youth (ages 10-14) rugby opportunities and mini-camps and sessions

Fall 2019

in our area,” said Kate Troy, a player, women’s coach and Rutland club board member.

The men’s team competes in the New England Division 4 League whose season is in autumn, with opponents from Boston to Bennington and New Hampshire as well. The women’s team continues to grow and currently plays a non-league schedule, but hopes to join the New England league soon.

The Under-19 girls team faces foes in and around Vermont and Upstate New York such as Essex, Burlington, Saranac Lake and Saratoga.

“In spring, rugby is all about tournaments,” McCardle said. “We go to tourneys and host our own here every year.”

Most of the summer is spent practicing and training, although players also look forward to a large CanAm event in Saranac Lake featuring more than 100 teams for kids up to ages 60-and-

over, which come from throughout the country.

In addition to Cassidy, many other Rutland teen athletes have gone to excel in the college ranks and beyond.

Juliann Tordonato is a starter for the Glendale (Colorado) Merlins of the Women’s Premier League, the top national women’s circuit. In June, she was selected for the USA Eagle development program, playing with the absolute best women in the country.

Carrie Dubray has played for the U.S. World Cup team, Keegan Bliss competed in the Elite Eight with the University of Vermont last year and McCardle’s daughter, Nicole, is an All-American at Endicott College near Boston.

“I love that rugby encourages women to be big, strong and powerful,” Tordonato said. “In a world that constantly tells women to be smaller and diminutive, rugby promotes the opposite. My body is the most important tool I have.

So I work extremely hard to be as strong and powerful of a force as I can be.”

She also likes the diverse, community aspect of rugby.

“We are all so different, but we come together and use our personal skill sets to further the team,” Tordonato said. “Whether you’re big, strong and powerful, or super fast and agile, or a strategic playmaker, there is a spot for you on the rugby field.”

But unlike men’s Major League Rugby, females aren’t backed financially and must pay to play in the Women’s Premier League along with national camps and tours.

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3 p.m.) so I can immediately leave work and go practice, lift weights and do speed training,” Tordonato said. “I know a lot of high-level players that have to choose between keeping their job and going to a USA camp or playing in the WPL. But, as we pay for everything such as flights, hotels and camp fees it would be impossible to play and not have a job.

So you’re between a real rock and a hard place.

“When I first started playing, someone told me that all rugby players have to be a little crazy to play a sport where the goal is to hit someone as hard as you can,” she said. “I guess that’s true, but I love it. Rugby is tough love, but it is real love.”

Players adhere to the humorous, iconic motto — “Give Blood. Play Rugby” — like a badge of honor. But despite its image and reputation, “rugby is actually one of the safest sports out there,” Troy said.

Football helmets and hockey shoulder pads are supposed to protect athletes. All too often, however, they’re used as weapons to deliver punishing, dangerous hits that may cause serious injury such as concussions.

“In rugby there is no protective equipment or padding, except all players are required to wear a mouth guard,” Troy said. “Rugby tackling is taught in a very specific manner that is designed to protect both the ball carrier and the tackler. Many highlevel college and NFL teams have started bringing in rugby coaches to teach tackling technique, which says a lot about the safety and validity of the rugby tackle.

“For the most part, when people get hurt on the rugby field it tends to be bruises or the types of injuries that can occur in everyday life such as sprains or muscle strains. Yes, rugby is a physical game, but one that is quite controlled by laws, which are respected and followed by all players and referees,” she said.

This, too, explains why rugby is one Rutland Magazine

Women’s rugby teams

of the fastest growing sports in America.

“It’s great outlet for anyone who’s played any sport,” Nick McCardle said. “You don’t have to have grown up playing rugby. We’ll teach you.”

For information he may be contacted by calling (802) 770-4372, by email: limeyrugger@ comcast.net or see the club’s Facebook page.

Paul Post is a former reporter for The Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., where his work was recognized in many state and nationwide contests. He also does extensive freelance writing for a variety of sports, business, regional and agricultural publications and he has written three books.

Fall 2019

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28

V I S I T I N G

a b Cu

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY SANDRA STILLMAN GARTNER Rutland Magazine

left Pedestrians stroll on Havana Street. right Classic cars are parked near the Afro-Cuban Museum.

JANUARY IS A PERFECT MONTH TO VISIT CUBA. While we were there, the weather averaged around 75 degrees and was sunny, except for one day of light rain. The summer months are extremely hot and around the holiday season in December, there are a lot of tourists. If you are looking for a special time, February 2020 would Fall 2019

be it. Havana is celebrating its 500th anniversary. It may be a bit more crowded, but the streets will be filled with wonderful dance, music, exhibitions and fireworks.

With increased travel restrictions from the USA to Cuba, I realize how fortunate I was to visit the Island in January 2019. My trip to Cuba, with

my high school friend Diane and her husband David, was a Bucket List accomplishment. I have always been fascinated by the country, the culture, their struggles and the resilient people who inhabit the island, only 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

When I returned from Cuba, my family and friends asked me what 29

impressed me most. My answer was and remains the people. They are among the most upbeat, resourceful and welcoming group I have encountered.

My friends and I traveled to Cuba through a category called “supporting the Cuban people� which we chose when we purchased our airline tickets. There were 12 categories available and I was surprised at how relatively easy it was to arrange a visit. Prior to our departure, we 30

Rutland Magazine

clockwise from top left A Mural of Artists Beautiful fruit and vegetables were for sale from a vendor’s cart.

Chef Papa poses with the author at Luis’ home.

Mountains adorn the landscape near Vinales.

Children enlivened the neighborhood where the author stayed.

Fall 2019

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clockwise from top left A vendor sells sugar pastries.

Musicians play at a priest’s home.

A waterfall cascades on the San Juan River.

32

purchased a visa for $50 at the airport. We flew on Jet Blue from Fort Lauderdale to Havana, a short flight lasting under an hour.

Rather than sign up for a cruise or a pre-planned itinerary, we opted to create our own adventure. The Airbnb where we stayed in Old Havana was on a narrow street with pastel buildings, balconies, an abundance of cats and dogs and late-night activity. By early morning, the sound of bakers peddling their wares could be heard. Vegetable and fruit vendors took their places on the corners, the carts overflowing with produce.

By working through Airbnb Experiences, we chose from a variety of activities that included historical tours through the city, hands-on dance and music lessons, walking in the footsteps of Hemingway and snorkeling in the Bay of Pigs. All of Rutland Magazine

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these excursions were arranged and paid for prior to our departure. Every tour we chose was with a Cuban resident providing in-depth knowledge of their subject. The government has also wisely invested money into preserving UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Two of Cuba’s nine areas are considered “natural sites” and were nominated primarily for their ecological tributes.

The past glory of many of the homes has dissipated. Where single families used to dwell, there are multiple apartments in one house. After surviving three revolutionary wars, the bulk of the colonial architectural features are still intact and visible to the passersby. The prominent architectural styles are baroque, neo classic, art deco and modern. The government promises a face lift to the inner city, before the anniversary.

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A Cuban journalist I met said, “Havana has been going through renovations since the late 1980’s. It will be a challenge financially and physically to achieve a major improvement in a short time frame. But the celebration of our history will be first class.”

A number of the tour guides we met had previously been employed in government jobs that paid at best, $100 per month. When tourism increased in Cuba, many professionals became taxi drivers or tour guides and opened their homes to visitors, because of the higher wages. One of our guides had been a professor in mathematics at a university, but found he could substantially increase his income by driving his car. He said, “I miss teaching and my students, but I needed to earn more money for my family. It wasn’t an easy choice.”

The beauty of Cuba is varied, vast and breathtaking. We spent most of our time in Havana and some smaller towns nearby. The three of us traveled into the mountains, the jungles, and to the sea. A memorable tour we had was “Discovering Hemingway’s Havana”, which included a trip to his home in Finca Vigia, where he wrote The Old Man and the Sea. Displayed on the property was Hemingway’s fishing boat, a swimming pool used to

entertain screen legend Ava Gardner and the manual typewriter he wrote on while standing up.

Following the Hemingway tour, our guide Luis took us to his family home on the outskirts of the city. Opening the gates to the property, we found ourselves in a large courtyard surrounded by flowers everywhere. Luis’s aunt had created the gardens over the years. She found it to be a pleasant respite from her work as a pediatric surgeon. The best meals we enjoyed were in people’s homes. Luis’s father cooked each of us a whole fish on his outdoor grill. The meal was accompanied with plantains, beans, rice, salad, wine, daiquiris, a sweet fruit dessert and coffee. We had the opportunity to make our own daiquiris at the outdoor bar.

A number of Americans are impressed with the 1950s cars that they see in photographs and postcards from Cuba. In reality, these are the only cars people have for transportation. There is neither the money nor the connection to other countries that would allow them to purchase newer models. What vehicles they have must be resourcefully repaired. Residents of Cuba are provided with free education, comprehensive health care and reduced fuel prices. But beef is rarely from the top A musician’s studio hosts fellow players; A street musician entertains passersby; A drying hut for tobacco can be seen behind the field.

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accessible or affordable, a restaurant menu doesn’t reflect what is really available and grocery stores have vacant shelves.

A couple of tours we participated in did have wonderfully maintained convertibles from the 1950s used to cruise around Havana. It was great fun to explore the city in a classic convertible and pose behind the wheel for a photo. However, the majority of cars were without shocks and had no anti-pollution devices. As a passenger, you bumped your way down the streets and highways, almost like riding a horse.

With eight full days in Cuba, we chose to experience as many cultures as possible including the Afro-Cuban experience, Chinatown, Jewish footprints in Old Havana, Synagogues, the Gran Teatro, churches visited by presidents of the U.S. and popes, and the Columbus Cemetery filled with history and art. At a music studio, we took lessons on handheld percussion instruments and drums with professional musicians and jammed with them afterwards. In a small apartment, we learned the beginning steps of salsa from a charming young woman and her longtime dance partner.

After our introduction to Salsa, we went to a rooftop club to enjoy an evening of dance. Salsa and the Rumba are the two signature dances in Havana. The accomplished performers took to the center of the dance floor with their amazing twists and dips. We hung back and watched, but soon were dancing with people who made us feel like experts with their guidance and enthusiasm. Your age, place of origin or current circumstances didn’t matter. We were in this together to have fun and a shared experience.

One of the older theatres in the western hemisphere is located in Havana: the Gran Teatro de la Habana 36

as we engaged in conversation.

There was little hesitancy in our decision to accept help from strangers.

Havana is considered a safe city. The Cuban culture is a blend of hundreds of years of immigration from many countries. Although the country has a history of slavery, revolutions and economic fluctuation, the people appear accepting of each other’s differences.

A couple of days before our trip ended, we took an excursion to the Bay of Pigs, where we snorkeled in beautiful, clear blue waters and swam in a deep pool formed by a collapsed cave. Our caravan to the outdoor adventure traveled in two cabs. We stopped along the way for a coffee and chatted with five young professional women who worked in Boston. The conversation turned to where we all grew up. The women on our tour came from Italy, Colombia, Pakistan, Florida and Vermont.

Not only was one of the young Kids enjoy a game of street soccer. woman a graduate of Rutland High School, she was best friends with my next-door neighbor’s rium was stunning and the dancers daughters. extraordinary. I had seen the ballet Through travel, your eyes are company before at the Saratoga Peropened to the reality that we interact forming Arts Center. However, there is something special about experienc- and meet in unforeseen ways. Earth is our home filled with a large, global ing a performance in a company’s community. It’s imperative that we home base. protect it for future generations. Let Havana is an easy city to navigate us embrace the other, whether recon foot. It’s divided into four main ognizing Cuba and its citizens or the squares and the residents of the city other cultures and people that inhabit are willing to provide directions if you get lost. One evening, my friends this world. and I were returning from a memoraA former editorial assistant at Glamour ble music and dance performance at Magazine, Sandra Stillman Gartner's the world-famous Buena Vista Social articles have been published in such periClub. Half-way home to our Airbnb, odicals as Lady's Circle and Yankee. She we stopped and pondered which way to turn. A middle-aged couple offered is a published poet and screenplay writer, to walk us to a familiar location, so we and is one of three producing directors of could easily find our home. We readi- Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre and ly accepted and the time went quickly performs on stage, television and in film.

Alicia Alonso. The ornate neo-baroque theatre was erected between 1907 and 1914 and originally served as a Galician Social Club, before becoming a performance hall. The theatre was renovated in 1914 and 2004. It is home to the International Ballet of Cuba, created by the world-renowned ballerina Alicia Alonso. The architecture has been described as brilliant and the building a gem of culture.

We did a tour of the Gran Teatro theatre, and had the pleasure of seeing a performance of the International Ballet of Cuba. The audito-

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Cooney’s Boarding House

38

Rutland Magazine

BY MARY ELLEN SHAW PHOTOS PROVIDED BY THE RUTLAND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Boarding & Company

Houses in Rutland County A Place to Lay Your Head Fall 2019

In the 1800s and early 1900s living in a boarding or company house was a way of life for certain people. The majority of houses were occupied by mill or factory workers but some had long-term boarders who simply needed a place to live. Those living in private homes usually had their own bedroom but shared a bathroom down the hall (if the house had indoor plumbing).

In places like New York City the number of occupants per house tended to be high, often a dozen or more. Most places offered two or three meals a day and these were shared in a large kitchen or dining room with all the boarders gathered round the table.

For those away from their families the boarding houses offered a safe and clean environment and camaraderie with others.

Boarding houses closest to railroad depots were particularly appealing.

This was true in Rutland, Vermont as well as New York City. I found many ads that referenced the distance from the houses to the various train stations. In the Delaware and Hudson Book of Excursions from 1896 not only were hotels listed but also boarding houses for Rutland and the surrounding towns. By the 1960s and 70s this type of housing began to lose its appeal.

Vermont had its own reasons for needing boarding houses. The slate and marble industry brought workers here who needed a place to stay at a reasonable cost. But these professions weren’t the only ones to attract boarders. This type of housing also had a special appeal to teachers.

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Men gather for a photo at E. Thomas Boarding House, probably in Proctor. (Note the tomfoolery with the daisy.”)

Elaine Purdy of Proctor told me that female teachers were frequent boarders in that town in the 1930s and 40s. There was a large house on the corner of South and Grove Streets that always housed several teachers.

They would rent rooms but had to prepare their own meals. The Proctor Inn also boarded teachers but meals were served there.

There was a rather unique reason for needing a boarding house in the Town of Rutland around 1900.

Vermont Marble Company in Proctor needed a new source of sand.

The site chosen was in the vicinity of North Grove Street and Cedar Avenue in Rutland Town. Because many of their workers came from Europe they needed housing. Some of them stayed in a boarding house attached to Dick Creed’s old farmhouse at the head of Pinnacle Ridge Road. Purdy heard that the workers sometimes rode to work in the sand buckets which were on a tramway. This took them over Pine Hill as they went from Rutland

to Proctor.

The Slate Valley, which extends from Granville, New York to Fair Haven, needed workers when slate deposits were found. Three hundred workers were recruited from Wales in 1891. Immigrants from other countries arrived about this same time and continued to come in large numbers into the early 1900s. These men were already skilled quarrymen in their native countries. Several homes in this area were run as boarding houses for these men. They stayed in this type of housing until they established themselves and then sent for their families. Many of the men who began their lives here in a boarding house eventually progressed to becoming homeowners themselves over time.

All of these workers added diversity to Vermont.

The town of Wallingford had its share of boarding houses, too. Patty Pickett Brogren, a Wallingford native, recalls Hazel Bellany running a boarding house on North Main Street Rutland Magazine

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This photo is also labeled E. Thomas Boarding House. Perhaps it was taken at a separate entrance from the page 40 photo.

in that town. It was next to the Paul Harris building. As a young girl, back in the 60s, she would stop and talk to two of the boarders, Harrison Savery and Orange Harrington.

Brogren was gracious enough to browse through a 1920 census for Wallingford where she found reference to one building that housed over a dozen boarders. Because street addresses are not listed in the census there is no way to know where the building was located. I was surprised to see the name, Harold J Mooney, 42

among the boarders. He was 19 years old at the time and was my cousin.

Brogren was also surprised to see the name of one of her relatives, Michael Lane, listed at the same address. It’s a small world sometimes!

Wallingford also had “company houses” to board workers for employees of American Fork and Hoe later known as Ames/True Temper. Brogren explained that sometimes houses were built with higher management in mind but lower-level employees were often boarded in them, too.

These houses were located on Franklin, Railroad, and parts of River and Main Streets – all close to the men’s place of employment. Minnie Hill’s house on the corner of Main and Mill Streets in Wallingford also boarded the men who worked at this factory.

It was beneficial for the various companies in the area to build inexpensive housing to board their workers. “Company houses” became boarding houses for the influx of immigrants. This was the case in West Rutland, Center Rutland, Sutherland Rutland Magazine

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Falls and Proctor back in the 1850s and 1860s. The houses were built close together on rectangular plots.

When possible they were situated near railroad tracks and were close to quarries or mills where the men worked. Outhouses sat on the back sections of the lots. As more families arrived, the single workers lived in residential boarding houses and the families in the company houses.

Mary Reczek, from the West Rutland Historical Society, provided the following information about company houses in her town, “To our knowledge, the earliest housing was on the far northern end of Pleasant Street, where there was a variety ranging from single dwellings, some like sheds, up to three- and fourfamily apartments. Those houses are now gone. Some cellar holes remain, but the only record we have been able to find is on the Beers maps during the mid 1860s.”

The city of Rutland had numerous houses for boarders according to the H A Manning Directories from the late 1800s and early 1900s. There was a trend toward downtown locations but there were also boarding houses scattered throughout the city.

Rutland hotels in this time period had boarders living in them not just overnight guests as is the trend today. The Bates House, which is now the Mead Building on the corner of Merchants Row and Center Street, had over a dozen boarders listed with occupations ranging from architect and supreme court judge to a mechanic and a plumber. The Bardwell House on Merchants Row tended to attract boarders who were employed by the railroad. Another downtown hotel, The Berwick, also had its share of boarders. The fact that all these places had a restaurant was a plus I’m sure.

Sometimes private homes were listed in publications to attract boarders. A sample ad from the 1896 Delaware and Hudson Excursion Rutland Magazine

Book reads as follows: “44 N Main Street – Rutland, Vermont – Private Residence - Miss Knowlson, Proprietress, 1 mile from station, accommodates 10, Adults $6/wk, transients $1, livery”. Apparently you could board your horse as well as yourself! (Point of interest – Miss Knowlson did not own the boarding house of which she was the proprietress. My deed research did not show anyone by that name owning property on N Main Street. Some house numbers have changed over the years. Thus the boarding house from 1896 is probably not the same building as Aldous Funeral Home which is today’s 44 N Main Street.)

Back in 1905 the “Official Catholic Directory” shows Mount Saint Joseph as a boarding school. Fifty boarders were listed as well as 38 professed sisters and 13 novices.

Apparently all was not calm and peaceful at some boarding houses. I found the following on the Danby/ Tabor Historical Society website: “Charles Buffum was found dead by a hunter near the Barrett shanty. He was supposed to have been killed in a drunken row at a boarding house near the Hapgood lumber job…” Also, “Leonard Law cut his throat while boarding at Henry Stone’s and died a few days later.”

Women often had a predominant role in running boarding houses.

Doing so allowed them to stay at home and boost household income as well as letting them achieve some independence by earning their own money.

Times have changed since the days of boarding and company houses.

But they are a part of history and played an important role in the dayto-day life of those who chose them.

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Fall 2019

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CHAFFEE ART CENTER STUDENT EXHIBIT

A Palette of Creativity

BY SANDRA STILLMAN GARTNER PHOTOS BY TIM SINK

Britton Farwell // Fair Haven Grade School 1st Grade // Over and Under Winter Habitat painted paper collage

ON THE EVENING OF THE 2019 STUDENT ART EXHIBIT OPENING AT THE CHAFFEE ART CENTER, A FAMILY OF FOUR ENTERED THE FRONT DOOR OF THE 1890S HISTORICAL MANSION ON MAIN STREET IN RUTLAND. Running ahead and passing the group behind him, a seven-year-old young man said, “I’m the artist in here.” Welcome to the new age of arts at the Chaffee. Originally, the event featured paintings and drawings from local students with submissions from grades K thru 12.

The 2019 Annual Student Exhibition, titled “It’s All About the Arts” featured work that covered all spectrums.

Executive Director of the Chaffee, Sherri Birkheimer Rooker said, “This year we chose to exhibit arts from every genre including pottery, stained glass, acrylics, digital arts, web design, illustration, graphic designs, photography and paintings. We plan to continue the format for the 2020 Annual Student Exhibition next summer.

Our goal is to also include the literary arts, musical and theatrical performances, with food created by students in the culinary arts.”

Skye Schaumloffel // Fair Haven Grade School 1st Grade // Over and Under Winter Habitat painted paper collage right Rory Charleston // Rutland High School 12th Grade // So, sue me. acrylic, fur, sunglasses on coardboard 46

Rutland Magazine

The Chaffee showcases young artists from over 25 Vermont public/private schools and home school groups in grades K-12.

Fall 2019

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Rutland Intermediate School Student Artwork

Left to right Emma Gonzales // Rutland High School 12th grade // Nostradamus // acrylic and petals on canvas Animal collages // Fair Haven Grade School 5th grade // mixed media Abigail Sumner, Brian Dugan, Anthony Towle, Mandy Helm, and Victoria Grenier Masa Moore // Rutland High School 11th grade // Diana // acrylic on cardboard 50

Rutland Magazine

Emmie Lovko // Rutland High School 12th Grade // Lady of the Night acrylic on canvas

Fall 2019

The Chaffee showcases young artists from over 25 Vermont public/ private schools and home school groups in grades K-12. “The Chaffee takes great pleasure in presenting the opportunity for these artistic young people to be inspired by seeing their work, and the works of others, displayed in our professional gallery,” Birkheimer Rooker said.

The show covers territory from south of Middlebury to north of Manchester, as far west as Poultney and east of Killington. Each school pays between $60 and $100 to the Chaffee and may submit a number of pieces based on their size. The average age of a young artist ranges from Kindergarten to 18 years. The director said, “We hope to find a few community sponsors who can help to underwrite the expenses for the show. Then the schools will be able to pay less or nothing for their entry fee.”

Throughout opening night of the exhibit music floated throughout the mansion. Attendees were treated to light refreshments, some made by the Culinary Arts Students at Stafford Technical Center. A fountain flowed with dark chocolate and bowls of fruit, pretzels and homemade cookies for dipping surrounded the fountain. In another room, visitors were invited to make cut-outs of their hands and place them on a display wall.

Besides the students, teachers, parents and other family members, a number of community members

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Krista Boudreau // Poultney High School 10th Grade // Gaia paint

Rutland Intermediate School top Artist Mannikins // 5th Grade // left Isabel Wade right Dominic Anderson bottom Self-portraits // 4th Grade // Colton Thayer left right Sarah Yelvington

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come to the exhibit for other reasons. One gentleman said, “The student art exhibit has always been part of our family. I remember coming to see my children’s art work on the walls and then my grandchildren’s. Now I return because it’s an annual tradition for me and brings back so many wonderful memories.”

Summer 2019 saw the launch of the Chaffee Art Center’s Students of heART display space, housed in the former kitchen, which features art year-round by young people primarily ages 13 to 18. The Center also plans to exhibit preschool Rutland Magazine

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Bryanna Gloss // Poultney High School 9th Grade // Holland Tulip Field mixed media

to 12-year-old aspiring artists in their classroom display space. The Chaffee featured the “Restricted” series of photographs by student artist Lea-Or “Tooti” Zafati-Eirmann, who soon might be a juried artist at the center.

Originally, Tooti’s work had been taken down at Mill River Union High School. At the Chaffee, the artist found a place for free expression.

The Chaffee Art Center, originally known (still is, dba Chaffee Art Center) as The Rutland Art Association, was established in 1961 to promote Fall 2019

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Ann McFarren and 50 years of ART Award-winning Rutland artist Ann McFarren chose the Chaffee Art Center for her celebration of 50 years of art. She said, “That’s where my career began and it was the perfect place to host my exhibit ‘A Celebration of heART.’” Along with more than 100 pieces of her artwork, the Rutland Garden Club presented Art in Bloom with 13 different floral arrangements each representing a different one of her paintings. Juried artist members’ works were on display and showcased in the second-floor galleries.

McFarren said, “I started at the Chaffee in 1969. Katherine King Johnson took me under her wing. During

Senior Portraits Donna Wilkins Photography 802-446-2494 802-770-9037 donnawilkinsphotography.com

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that time, I often painted with artist Robert Frick, and affiliated with many others. We offered critiques of each other’s work and that’s how we grew professionally. It’s so gratifying to see fellow artists here and it’s a wonderful tribute which will always be with me.”

The artist added, “For over 50 years, I have painted the Vermont landscape with its trees, mountains, its many brooks and lakes, all liberally sprinkled with charming little villages. I can never resist the call of the back roads and where they might lead. I am also drawn to the sea, more specifically the coast of Maine.

For many years I have been going

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Rutland Magazine

there observing and trying to capture the many moods of the rugged coast.”

McFarren teaches at her gallery and studio at 56 Terrill St. in Rutland.

“I tell my students that their canvas becomes a mirror of their soul.” Each year she participates in many juried shows throughout New England. The artist also teaches at the Chaffee and has been a longtime participant in the annual Art in the Park.

In 2007, her painting “Majesty in the Forest”, a 30 X 40-inch oil, was chosen by jury to go to Washington, DC as part of the Capitol’s Christmas Tree Project. The tree was selected from the Green Mountain National Forest. McFarren traveled to DC to unveil her painting and attended the Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Capitol Lawn.

To contact the artist please e-mail her at: annmcfarren@gmail.com to request information on gallery hours.

the arts in Rutland County. The Center continues to preserve a unique part of Rutland’s history while providing a critical resource for visual arts and art education in Central Vermont. One of the four founders of the art association, the late Katherine King Johnson, said in 1972, “The success of the 1961 Bicentennial endeavor prompted a small group of citizens to immediately form an association for the sole purpose of establishing a permanent art center in the area.”

Today, the Chaffee presents kids’ programs throughout the year and special summer camps. Some of the classes are: All About the Arts, Paint & Sip for Kids, Let’s Get Crafty and the heart of Cooking. For adults, there are such classes as: Sip N Dip Painting Class, Ukulele Lessons, Oil Painting, Henna Class, Lettering Shapes Class, Fall 2019

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For further information please contact the Chaffee Art Center at (802) 775-0356 or email info@ chaffeeartcenter.org. Please check for gallery hours before visiting, since they vary by the season. The Chaffee Art Center is always happy to have volunteers join them in their mission to bring art, education and collaboration to the Rutland Community. One of the more popular events for volunteers is Chaffee’s Art in the Park Summer Festival and the Fall Festival. If interested please call Sherri Birkheimer Rooker at (802) 775-0356.

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Taylor Bissitte // Stafford Technical Center // Phono Eye digital arts 58

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A VERMONT FALL

FROM ABOVE AND UP CLOSE PHOTO ESSAY BY CALEB KENNA

left Fall leaves in Brandon, Vermont right Fall colors along Route 73 at Brandon Gap in Rochester, Vermont.

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Rutland Magazine

Fall 2019

61

IN THE MIDST OF SUMMER WHEN THE GREEN VERMONT LANDSCAPE RESEMBLES A COUNTRY JUNGLE, IT’S HARD TO IMAGINE THE STRANGE RIOTOUS COLORS OF AUTUMN. Every year, the fall colors never seem to come and then suddenly are finished before you know it. Two of my favorite ways to capture fall in pictures is from above and up close. From above, whether from a hill or drone, you can see the overall patterns of colors, a patchwork of reds, oranges and yellows. Up close with a macro lens and preferably lying down in dewy grass, you can see the incredible detail of fall leaves. Fall is that ephemeral

Fall is that ephemeral transitional time between the verdant summer and icy dark winter.

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Rutland Magazine

left and above Fall in Brandon, Vermont.

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transitional time between the verdant summer and icy dark winter. The days are getting shorter and the pressure is on to get good pictures while the colorful landscapes hang on. Soon stick season will come and we’ll have to wait another year for the annual autumnal explosion of color.

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On fall days when the sky is cloudy, it can be helpful to shoot down towards the ground, excluding the sky. Without a gray sky as distraction, fall colors become more vibrant and saturated. From a drone, the fall forest looks like a rolling carpet of reds, yellows and oranges. Looking down

on a fall leaf in green grass, a photographer might see natural patterns that mimic a meandering river. Sometimes photographs of details can be as effective as stunning wide landscapes.

Using a steady tripod in a fast moving stream, you can use a long exposure to contrast the rushing water with a Rutland Magazine

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Fall 2019

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sharply focused red leaf. When the sun is out, shooting in the golden hours around sunrise and sunset can make for dramatic photographs. Sometimes shooting with a scene backlit can make great images. Whether shooting from above, up close or on a tripod, making photographs in fall forces you to slow down and savor the last colors of the season.

Caleb Kenna is a freelance photographer and certified drone pilot based in Brandon, Vermont. More of his work can be seen at www.calebkenna.com.

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stepping into nature

Elfin Housekeeping

BY SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN & CASSIE HORNER

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Rutland Magazine

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELVES AND FAIRIES? The answer is simple: work ethic. Fairies have none. On the other hand elves are the worker bees of the fantasy world. This state of affairs, curiously, is not mutually exclusive in terms of relationships between the captivating creatures.

Gardeners gifted with whimsy have recently made “fairy gardens� popular. Stores from garden centers to gift shops sell everything from wee furniture to miniature fountains (that really work) so that a little bit of nature can be devoted to fairy habitat. Fairies love running water and gardens full of flowers with fanciful names like angel trumpets, bellflowers, snowdrops, moonflowers, snapdragons, and sweet peas as well as Jupiter's Beard, butterfly bush, and silver lace vine. Fairies flock to dainty cottages with faux gem patios for al fresco dining and faux gem paths to dance upon and arbors to dance through. It is rare to catch a fairy working.

Conversely, work figures prominently in stories about elves. In the Grimm's tale of the Elves and the Shoemaker, three elves turn cobblers at night to help a fellow unable to make a living at making shoes. Of course, Santa Claus employs elves at the North Pole. To attract such industrious folk, it is necessary to provide housing that includes room for a business. Elves love order in their lives. As shown in this pictorial, house plans are standard, and each contains a dreamatorium, cookery, conservatory, ballroom, great hall, conference chamber and, most of all, a workshop. Elves are pragmatic folk, a trait which regulates their gardening. They want berry bushes, stands of mushrooms, and plots of wood sorrel (to flavor their afternoon tea).

They do not waste energy tending plants they cannot eat. As for hardscape, bee hives are good.

Fall 2019

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clockwise from top The dreamatorium is a quiet oasis; The cozy kitchen is well-stocked; The workshop is set up for a tidy business in floral arrangements.

But in magical kingdoms, the boundaries are fluid...among realms themselves, and between fantasy and reality. Elves and fairies respect one another's idiosyncrasies. Thus, a fairy can perch on a mushroom in a utilitarian elvish fungi garden and read a book of poetry without unnerving passersby. Should an elf notice, he will

admire the glint of sunshine through the fairy's gossamer wings and simultaneously calculate the amount of light the crop of mushrooms are getting. Since fairies love to be cherished, and elves love to be productive, it is a symbiotic relationship if ever there was one.

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We had interesting discussions, such as what might actually go on in the workshop and what was suitable for pillows on the bed. We assembled

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Rutland Magazine

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Fall 2019

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A guest fairy enjoys a pleasant afternoon reading in the elves’ garden.

a series of rooms filled with tiny things, much to our mutual delight.

There was a restful dreamatorium, a practical kitchen and a workshop set up to create flower arrangements.

To cap off the afternoon, we went outdoors to make a satisfactory garden, complete with stick fence, chickens and a cow. There was certainly a special spot for a visiting fairy to sit and read, and for another to just stand and be beautiful.

Friendship takes on all different sorts of forms. Susan and I were happy to walk together back into days where imagination ruled. clockwise from top left Fragrant bleeding hearts gardens encroach here, providing harvests for a florist-minded entrepreneur. The previous owner had an in-home shop for nosegays and tussie-mussies.

Cassie Horner

At the edge of a quiet cul-de-sac in a paved Medieval elfin courtyard, this home is a former family compound.

In back is a greensward for cavorting children and grandchildren.

A ferny glade surrounds this model, providing a cash crop of feathery fronds for elfin bonnets. In the front, a mature geranium traps luck from the winds amid a carpet of clover.

A haunting horizon awaits a writer or other solitary sort. This home is perched at the end of windswept dunes, and located just a birthstone’s throw from the ocean shore.

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Rutland Magazine

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TIME TRAVELS

IN ADDITION TO BEING PETITE AND PRETTY, MY MOM WAS ALWAYS “DRESSED TO THE NINES.”

MY MOTHER’S

Style

BY TIM SINK

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Rutland Magazine

MY MOM LIKED TO DRESS UP. Growing up I remember she liked nice clothes, and a clean, pretty house with nice furnishings. Home was everything to my mom and she did not venture far with the exception of their honeymoon in the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York, a trip to the Adirondacks we took when we were kids, and a trip to Florida that my mother said would “never happen again”. After that trip I don’t think she ever went anywhere very far from home.

My mother liked living well. She grew up in a poor family in Northeast Pennsylvania during the Great Depression. She was the oldest child and worked from a young age. I have many old photos, including her younger years before she met my dad. In addition to being petite and pretty, she was always dressed “to the nines” as the old saying goes. In her later years when cancer came calling she still dressed up and wore wigs to look nice. I can remember her fixing up with a new wig and her friends’ eyes welling up with tears.

My parents met at a roller skating rink, indoors with a wooden floor. My dad struck up a conversation with her and that was that. My mother told me this story of how they started dating, and as they got to know one another mom struck

left My mother plays pools in the Rec room of her brother’s home c. 1960s. right Mom was ready for church on Easter Sunday 1946.

Fall 2019

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My mother poses with a good friend.

up a conversation with my dad about the suits he wore on their dates. She learned that they were secondhand suits that had belonged to my grandfather that my grandmother re-tailored for him.

Mom was not impressed, and gently suggested to dad, “maybe it would be fun to pick out a new suit!” So off they went, and a lifetime began of my mother dressing my father, who was color blind and whose choices needed guidance. As their lives went along mom was always redecorating our home and striving for the finer things. My dad loved the home he worked hard for and she created.

For parochial school and Sunday Mass, she made sure my brother and I were in white shirts and ties. She loved seeing the whole family dress up for Easter. I had a job in college in

construction, and I came home from work one day so dirty that she cried.

She used to always say she “liked to see her men looking neat”. During my early adult years she appreciated seeing me drop the hippie shop boy look and take an interest in nicer clothes.

In addition to her appreciation of the finer things that were in reach to her, she loved to cook, eat and enter-

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Rutland Magazine

tain. There was always plenty of great food and often a houseful of relatives. Recently, my Aunt Shirley sent me the photo of my mom in a splashy print outfit at a pool table. This photo was taken in the rec room in one of my uncles’ homes, most likely from my parents’ usual social outings — a casual evening of cards and chatting, but still dressed “to the nines”.

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Kitchen to Table

THE LINE STARTS EARLY WITH EAGER, HUNGRY FOLKS WAITING FOR THE OPENING HOUR AT 5 P.M. when the serving begins at the Odd Fellows Hall in Belmont for a tasty community supper. From May through October, a diverse group of nonprofits benefits from meals that help raise funds for their missions and bring people together to enjoy a companionable evening.

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Rutland Magazine

BELMONT SUPPERS BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY

BY CASSIE HORNER PHOTOS BY TIM SINK

left Clinton Woolley carves the roast beef. top right Woolley and Gary Norton check the potatoes. bottom right Woolley tests the temperature of the roast.

Fall 2019

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Clockwise from top left Cash Woods, Clinton Woolley, and Brian Buffum mash a giant pot of potatoes; Lori Norton and her daughter Tiffany have fun in the kitchen; A crowd of diners enjoy a great meal.

Groups hosting a dinner include the Fire Department Auxiliary, Colfax Lodge, Mount Moriah Masonic Lodge, the Community Historical Museum, the rescue squad, the Gill Home, IOOF, and Mount Holly Community Association. Menus range from turkey or ham to roast beef or pork, and all the fixings of coleslaw, rolls, veggies, mashed potato, and pie. ( The July 4th chicken BBQ is a midday event.)

“It’s an opportunity for all nonprofits in the town to be involved in 80

another setting to build on our community spirit,” says Dennis Devereux.

“It’s a very active community and that takes a lot of people.” He has been a member of the local Odd Fellows Lodge for 45 years. His father, who was a lead cook in a medical unit in World War II, was the head cook for the Belmont suppers for many years starting with their inception in the early 1980s. The schedule grew from a couple dinners for the Lodge in the summer to a full calendar after other

organizations asked if they could also hold suppers to raise money.

The suppers are held in the historical two-story building located next to the Star Lake public beach area.

That structure and a neighboring house were occupied from 1863-1889 by a toy company owned by brothers Phillips and A. P. Chase. The local chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows, a fraternal organization founded in 1819, took over the upstairs of the former toy factory building for Rutland Magazine

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its lodge hall in the early 1900s, and purchased the property about 1915.

At the June roast beef supper, that benefited the Fire Department, the kitchen was a busy, merry place with lots of volunteers who did everything from mashing potatoes to cutting 82

pies. Many hands and a lot of laughter made the work go swiftly and smoothly.

For a fun and filling meal look for the schedule of suppers in the monthly Mount Holly Chit Chat and other news sources.

October 12 Mount Holly Community Association (roast beef) October 26 Gill Home 100F (ham) $12 Price for adults; $6 for children under 12

Rutland Magazine

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VERMONT MARBLE MUSEUM

A MONUMENTAL HERITAGE

BY PAUL POST HISTORICAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF VERMONT MARBLE MUSEUM

Back in those days people really took great pride in what they did for a living.... They saw things through from start to finish.

— Deborah Dewey

LIKE AMERICA ITSELF, VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY WAS A MELTING POT OF HARD-WORKING IMMIGRANTS WHOSE SKILLED HANDS MADE MANY OF THE NATION’S MOST BEAUTIFUL AND ICONIC LANDMARKS. The U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court building, Jefferson Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier all contain marble cut, quarried or finished in and around Proctor, a veritable United Nations of industry whose employees came from places such as Poland, Sweden, Italy, Germany and Czechoslovakia.

At its peak, in the early 20th century, the firm employed several thousand people, which made Proctor 84

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Fall 2019

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photos courtesy of vermont marble museum

one of the country’s first true company towns and Vermont Marble the world’s largest U.S.-based corporation.

“We have marble in our veins,” said Deborah Dewey, whose grandparents, parents, an aunt and uncle all worked there. “I take great pride in it. My grandfather and grandmother both worked in the mill at Proctor. At the end of the day they’d walk down the road to their house in the Garden of Eden, a local neighborhood.”

“Back in those days people really took great pride in what they did for a living,” she said. “They saw things through from start to finish.

My father was a marble expert. He picked marble for certain jobs and would oversee its cutting, polishing, design and application. I remember dad coming down here on weekends, when there was an issue with a job, to straighten things out.”

Today, Dewey welcomes guests to Vermont Marble Museum, housed in the former company’s sprawling and massive main building where guests learn company history, view stunning exhibits such as the Hall of

Presidents and meet and visit with sculptor-in-residence, Allen Vail Dwight, who’s worked there 41 years.

“Marble is one of the best sculpture mediums there is because the finished product’s material is so beautiful,” he said. “Nothing really lasts forever, but it does have a sense of permanence to it.”

One especially nice piece he fashioned, called “Ocean,” was once featured on the PBS Mister Rogers Show.

“I feel like I’m continuing the tradition of Greeks and Italians, although I certainly don’t think I’m keeping up the Michelangelo,” Dwight said smiling. “Those would be big shoes to fill! But I think I’m keeping this art form alive in that people who see me working might have an interest in taking up sculpture. The unique thing here is that you can come in and see a sculptor work, come into his studio and talk to the artist.

People can interrupt me, if they’re nice, and get answers to their questions. We’ve had people here from all over the world.”

Guests may even try their own

above right Herb Johnson is a fourth-generation marble worker who owns Johnson Marble & Granite, founded by his grandfather and father in 1981. It’s located adjacent to Vermont Marble Museum, housed in former Vermont Marble Company headquarters in Proctor. middle First cousins Carl Johnson, left, and Deborah Dewey, right, admire a Vermont Marble Museum exhibit that honors the heritage of company workers who immigrated to America from many different countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their grandfather, from Sweden, passed through Ellis Island. below Proctor marble is used in many U.S. monuments 86

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Donna Wilkins Photography

Johnson Marble And Granite Residential and Commercial Service Just North of the Vermont Marble Exhibit

Assistance in the Stone Selection Process ďż˝ Custom Fabrication with Accuracy and Quality Template and Installation

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Herb Johnson, Owner

Fall 2019

54 Main St. Proctor, VT. 05765 802-459-3303

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LIAMBRU TASTY

A SMALL BATCH BREWERY IN PROCTOR

BY CASSIE HORNER What grew into Liambru Tasty, a small-batch brewery in Proctor, started out as an enthusiastic hobby in Amy and Josh Ridlon’s basement. Today the seven-barrel brewery is a family business, selling wholesale through its distribution company to stores and some restaurants in Rutland County, Stowe, Winooski, Ludlow, Jamaica and Dorset. The two IPAs (a third is in the works) are a single IPA, Van Wicked, and a double, Not Nice Barb.

Each one has a quirky story recounted on the beer cans. Van Wicked, complete with horns, sold his soul for a copper mine but only found water. However, he persisted and created beer! As a single IPA, VanWicked is lighter in alcohol but still hazy and hoppy. Not Nice Barb’s tale of woe was her own undoing (and that of unwary others who stayed at her miserable lodge). This double IPA is bolder, hoppier and higher in alcohol content. “We want people to think of our cans as just something fun and entertaining while drinking the beer,” Amy says. “We want to be lighthearted.”

Liambru Tasty is working towards moving to new quarters in the Vermont Marble Museum building in Proctor where they will brew the beer and offer tastings. “We are very excited to be part of the revitalization of that space,” she says.

“IPAs are a very popular beer in New England,” says Amy. “Josh started brewing beer about five years ago in the basement. We really enjoyed experimenting with hops and the taste-testing process.”

“We started talking about turning this into a business in 2016 and began research, along with permitting and licensing.” Josh completely renovated the garage. Last year, the couple bought the equipment with a loan from VEDA (Vermont Economic Development 88

Association). “VEDA provides business loans to Vermonters,” she explains. “It really helps small businesses grow in Vermont.”

Both of the Ridlons have full-time jobs.

Amy, who grew up mostly in Massachusetts, is a school nurse. Josh, originally from Cuttingsville, is a carpenter. They have three children: Liam, Evan and Gracie. The company name is a play on Liam’s name that started as a joke and then stuck. With two jobs, kids and the brewing company, life is very busy but rewarding.

“We love having our own business,” Amy says. “Especially one with a fun product we enjoy, it lets us explore our creativity. And we are very excited at the prospect of expanding right here in Proctor.”

Contact LiambruTasty@gmail.com for more information.

Amy and Josh Ridlon

hand at sculpting by chipping away at a marble block in Dwight’s studio.

Dewey’s cousin, Carl Johnson, recently led a 60th class reunion of Rutland High School graduates to Vermont Marble Museum. He still remembers the painstaking work done by his grandfather, a Swedish immigrant who passed through Ellis Island. Operations weren’t confined to Proctor, however.

“On Saturday mornings my father would take me to Center Rutland about a mile from home to see where grandpa worked,” Johnson said. “He would be running a large polishing machine. It had a rotary table and just above it was a rotating head with an abrasive that would come down onto the marble that was to be polished.

There was a slurry of water and sand, the sand being the abrasive, which actually did the polishing.”

“Beside the building was the railroad track that went through Rutland,” he said. “Flatbed cars would

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Homes Priced to Sell

Allen Vail Dwight has been sculptor-in-residence at Vermont Marble Museum for the past 41 years. Guests are invited to visit his studio and learn about this fine art form and the history of Vermont Marble Company.

come in with huge blocks of marble, six-foot by six-foot and maybe 10 feet long. They’d take them off and put them onto machines that had multiple steel blades. Blades were three inches high and a quarter-inch thick with no teeth. The saw would go back and forth at up to 80 strokes per minute and water mixed with sand poured on top of the blades and marble at the same time.”

Sand, the abrasive, would become imbedded in the marble and do the cutting.

“So they would go down through this entire six-foot thick piece of marble in an eight-hour period,” Johnson said. “Then these slabs would be moved to an inventory station and another one would be unloaded.”

The region’s rich marble deposits have a variety of colors with distinc-

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tive names such as Royal Danby, Champlain Black, Mariposa Danby, Montclair Danby and Verde Antique.

Their end uses were and still are equally diverse, from fine art to tile floors and walls.

Vermont marble was also used to mark the final resting place of thousands of American heroes at Arlington National Cemetery, in addition to numerous local old burying grounds.

Its legacy is also still evident in prominent area buildings such as the former Rutland Savings Bank, at the corner of Merchants Row and Center Street, whose first-floor façade and teller area are made entirely of Verde Antique Green marble. Likewise, many local churches, libraries and bridges were constructed of Vermont

Open daily 10 am to 5 pm vermontmarblemuseum.org • (800) 427-1396 52 Main Street • Proctor, VT 05765 The Museum is committed to accessibility for all visitors. For general access information, call (800) 427-1396, or e-mail info@vermontmarblemuseum.org

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A defunct quarry, just up the road from Vermont Marble Museum, shows the extensive work people did during Vermont Marble Company’s heyday.

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marble.

The quarry in Proctor, previously called Sutherland Falls, first opened in 1836. Redfield Proctor, for whom the town was renamed, founded Vermont Marble Company in 1880.

It became an industry giant and acquired rights to all the marble deposits in Vermont, Colorado and Alaska over the course of its life, for the next century.

But like almost every business, this one’s heyday eventually passed as marble gave way to modern concrete, glass and steel construction.

Herb Johnson, unrelated to Carl, owns Johnson Marble & Granite adjacent to Vermont Marble Museum.

The firm, specializing in custom work such as tiling and counter tops, was founded by his grandfather and father in 1981 after they were laid off at Vermont Marble.

He’s a fourth-generation marble worker as his great-grandfather also worked in the industry.

“We do big high-end houses all over,” Johnson said. “It’s interesting. There’s always something different. You’re never doing the same thing over and over. Every kitchen is different. Mostly, we’re making something for someone’s house that they’re going to use for the rest of their life. That’s kind of gratifying to know we had a little part in that.”

“It also makes you feel good to know we’re carrying on something with the Johnson name,” he said. “What I find most fascinating is looking at old pictures of those guys 150 years ago, how they mined everything without this modern equipment and how well they did it. That’s what really fascinates me more than anything, the history of it. Even this old building, which dates to around 1900, is still being used for marble. It’s kind of neat.”

Fall 2019

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a l l a b o u t the arts

LOCAL AUTHOR HEALS THROUGH FICTION The Six Gifts

BY CASSIE HORNER PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CHRISTIE KELLY READERS AND WRITERS ARE DRAWN TO BOOKS FOR DIVERSE REASONS, RANGING FROM ENTERTAINMENT AND KNOWLEDGE TO EXCITEMENT, RELAXATION AND HEALING. Local author Christie Kelly of Chittenden found her way to healing from a near-death experience through her series of novels, The Six Gifts, beginning with the first one, Secrets. For Kelly, after 11 passes at trying to capture her story in nonfiction, fiction became her salvation.

“I had moved on to painting because I have always been an artist,” she says.

“I was creating life story canvases and worked on one of the earth when a sudden idea of how to write my story fell into me. It felt like a solid thing, a fully formed idea.”

The books tell the story of one family’s epic saga steeped in magical realism.

Comprised of a series of flashbacks, each book has a different protagonist whose story flashes back to childhood, and then flashes back in time to previous centuries such as the 17th and 18th. She did a lot of 92

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Christie Kelly and her publisher Bruce Farr

Fall 2019

research to create those past eras.

The six gifts originate in the 1600s.

Book one tells about the gifts; book two follows one of the gifts from the 1600s to the present day; book three shows all the gifts together in the present. “The gifts have power when they come together,” Kelly says. “The primary message is that we need to take better care of the planet. In the books, the planet takes care of itself via a cleanse, and the family is part of the plan.”

Kelly and her husband Michael were poisoned in 2007 by methane and hydrogen sulfide gases in their own home in New Jersey. She spent weeks in oxygen chambers and suffered from seizures. “I had to fight for my life,” she says. “It is hard not to sound like a preacher when you go through things and survive. I lean toward nature a lot, particularly in healing. I am living a very natural life in medicine and in food, eating clean and using botanical remedies.

It is important to follow signs and symbols and listen to your intuition.

I believe following my intuition is what kept me alive.”

Coming to Vermont was key to Kelly’s healing. It was in Vermont that she began to recover and began to write. “I was always artistic but that side of me really came out of my neardeath experience.” She writes with a constant sense of her readers. “I read back to myself constantly, thinking how people are going to see it.”

Asked how fiction is healing, Kelly reflects on her connection to the stories in her books. “Even though I am writing through a protagonist, I’m facing things that happened to me in the past,” she says. “It’s a catharsis.

You find your own ending. You look at life and find a story. I love to take reality and work it into fiction.”

Book Two will be out on October 10 and Book Three next April. There will eventually be five in total. For more information about the author and her books, visit christiekelly.com 93

WHAT'S HAPPENING

BY SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN

FARMERS MARKETS Rutland County Farmers Market The outdoor season continues through October 26 in Depot Park in downtown Rutland on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Consumers and farmers interact with one another as all of the products are sold by the people that produce them.

Shop for everything from produce to specialty and prepared foods to baked goods to cheeses. This direct communication between consumers and producers is crucial to the thriving localvore movement gaining momentum throughout Vermont. For more information visit rcfmvt.org.

VERMONT FARMERS MARKET The Vermont Farmers Market comes to Depot Park in downtown Rutland on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Along with agricultural and food products this market features hand-produced crafts and health/beauty items. The outdoor season closes on Saturday, October 26. It reopens on Saturday, November 2 in the spacious facility at 251 West Street in Rutland. The winter hours are Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. For more information visit Vtfarmersmarket.org PARAMOUNT THEATRE FALL VENUE The Paramount Theatre, located at 30 Center Street in downtown Rutland, offers a variety of entertainment for the Fall 2019 season. For a preview of the exciting line-up of comedy, music, exhibitions and other memorable performances coming to the local stage or for information about tickets or seating arrangements, visit paramountvt.org call (802) 775-0570.

photo by caleb kenna

HATHAWAY FARM & CORN MAZE Opening on Saturday, July 27 and running through Sunday, October 27, the Hathaway Farm & Corn Maze at 741 Prospect Road Hill in Rutland welcomes visitors ready for an adventure or just looking to meet the 94

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friendly animals in the livestock barn.

The maze theme for 2019 is “Kids and Kindness”. The 12-acre maze, livestock barn, play area, mini maze, snack shack and weekend wagon rides entertain visitors to the area as well as locals who take on the challenge of the big maze year after year.

Saturdays in September and October offer a special treat with admission from 5 :00 to 9:00 p.m. for Moonlight Madness when people can explore the maze under the stars. Except for Tuesday when the farm is closed, the hours of operation the rest of the week are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Pick-your-own pumpkins is a weekend activity during harvest season, or pumpkins are available in the Farm Shop as well. There are Smartphone games and a GPS for the maze to help people orient themselves amid the cornstalks. The admission is $12 for people 12 years and older; $10 for children ages 4 to 11 and for seniors over 65, and includes all activities. Youngsters age 3 and under are admitted free. The operation is closed during inclement weather. For more information visit www.hathawayfarm. com or call (802) 775-2624.

RUTLAND FREE LIBRARY BOOK SALES The Rutland Free Library, located at 10 Court Street in Rutland, is the site of several book sales this fall. These sales are run by the Friends of the Rutland Library and support a variety of library collections and activities.

The fall events start with a sale on Friday, September 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The sales in October are run on Friday, October 4 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. In November the sales are on Friday, November 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 and Saturday, November 2 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The inventory of “gently used” items includes hardcover books, paperbacks, CDs and DVDs for all age groups and interests. For more Fall 2019

information call (802) 773-1860 or visit www.rutlandfree.org.

SEPTEMBER

B-17 FLYING FORTRESS VISITS RUTLAND The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) annually tours its B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, Aluminum Overcast, around the country, and this year it will be making its first visit to Vermont on September 20-22, 2019, at Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport in North Clarendon.

This WWII aircraft is flying history, and the tour offers both paid flights and ground tours, as well as an opportunity to just watch this magnificent airplane come and go. Chapter 968 of EAA will be hosting the tour stop, and on Saturday and/or Sunday of that weekend will be offering Young Eagles flights -- introductory flights in light aircraft -- to children ages 8-17 (parents or guardians must be present), while the B-17 is parked in the afternoons for ground tours. See B17. org for general information about the plane and flights, and www.968. eaachapter.org or https://www.facebook.com/EAAKRUT for local information about the event.

Contact EAA968@vermontel.net (e-mail or text) or 802-259-3749 (leave message) with questions.

BRANDON HARVESTFEST Brandon HarvestFest, a playful and creative welcome to the fall foliage season, takes place on Sunday, October 6 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Estabrook Park on Route 7 north of town. It is here than many of the “harvest people”...leaf people, stick figures and scarecrows...which greet visitors to the town and provide many an alter ego to the locals, are crafted by townsfolk. The first “harvest person” made by each family or individual is free to take home to decorate houses and yards. Each subsequent figure costs $5 to make. There are hay rides, food, pumpkins and fall activities for adults and children. The event is cosponsored by Brandon Area Chamber

of Commerce, Brandon Recreation Department and the Neshobe Parent/ Teacher Association. For more information call Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce at (802) 247-6401.

OCTOBER

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL AND SILENT AUCTION The Rutland United Methodist Church (RUMC) will be holding its 10th annual Chocolate Festival and Silent Auction on Friday, October 11, 2019 at the Holiday Inn, 476 US Route 7 South in Rutland, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. $5 admission tickets may be purchased in advance or at the door. A ticket includes a sampling of numerous decadent chocolate desserts, along with a bidding number to participate in the continuous bidding throughout the evening.

Door prizes will also be awarded.

There will be approximately 300 pieces on display to bid on, including many attractive and useful items from local businesses and artisans, and gift certificates.

Stop by and start your holiday shopping!

The fundraiser will help to support local organizations and programs for those in need in our area, including an emergency fund for people directly asking for help from RUMC. Thanks to the generosity of businesses and auction goers, this annual event has contributed over $100,000 to our neighbors in need.

DANCING WITH THE RUTLAND STARS The VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region (VNAHSR) holds its fundraiser Dancing With the Rutland Starson October 12 at the Paramount Theatre. The event benefits Kids on the Move and the Pediatric High-Tech program of the VNAHSR. This year's cast includes star Jenna Baird, of Baird Family Farm, dancing with professional William Kelley, Practitioner at Pyramid Holistic Wellness Center; star Chandler Burgess (“The King of Spring”), marketing 95

manager at Killington/Pico Mountain, dancing with Sheila McCutcheon, coowner/instructor of Born to Dance; star Phil Hall, current assistant principal at Mount St. Joseph, dancing with Katrina Werbinski, instructor at Miss Lorraine's School of Dance; star Gene Jennings, image consultant at A Signature Day Spa, dancing with Sam Ho, instructor at Cobra Gymnastics & Dance Center; star Kate King, showroom manager at Frank Webb Home, dancing with Adam King, fitness instructor at Studio Fitness; star Kevin Markowski of McCormack, Guyette & Associates, PC, dancing with Kylee Lawrence, owner/instructor at Studio 15; and star Tyler White, ATC, iSPORT training coordinator (a department of Vermont Orthopaedic Clinic and Rutland Regional Medical Center), dancing with Tracy Tedesco, owner/instructor at Fitness Made Fun. Returning to the Judges Booth are Dave Correll, general manager at Best Western Inn & Suites Rutland-Killington; Bernadette Robin, director of business development and marketing for VNAHSR; and Claus P. Bartenstein, P.E., LEED-AP, principal at Engineering Services of Vermont LLC. Tickets for the event go on sale on September 5 at 11:00 a.m. at paramountvt.org For more information contact Patricia McDonald at (802) 362-6511 or email patricia.mcdonald@ vnahsr.org.

PITTSFORD SHEEP FESTIVAL The Rutland Area Shepherds (RAS) present the 26th annual Pittsford Sheep Festival from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 13 at the Pittsford Recreation Center on Furnace Road in Pittsford. Admission is free. The festival features a variety of sheep and wool products and industryrelated activities. A variety of sheep breeds that thrive in Vermont's harsh environment are on the grounds, and the herding skills of sheepdogs captivate spectators. Sheep-shearing demonstrations are part of the educational demonstrations. A number of vendors offer wool and fiber products for sale, with some vendors demonstrating their crafts. RAS is a nonprofit group 96

representing local shepherds and supporting the agricultural community. For more information call (802) 483-2931.

FALL FOLIAGE ART IN THE PARK The Chaffee Art Center of Rutland presents the 58th annual Fall Foliage Art in the Park gala on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13.

The Fine Art and Craft Festival focuses on the work of area artists and artisans and also features specialty foods, activities for children, musical entertainment and art demonstrations.

The show is held rain or shine in Main Street Park at the junction of Routes 4 and 7 in Rutland. The hours are Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Donations are accepted at the gate and support the Chaffee Art Center's exhibits and educational and community outreach programs. For more information visit www.chaffeeartcenter.org CHAMPLAIN PHILHARMONIC The Champlain Philharmonic, conducted by Matt LaRocca, presents its Fall Concert Series on Saturday, October 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury and Sunday, October 20 at 4:00 p.m. at Grace Congregational Church in Rutland.

This jazz-themed program will feature a performance of the American masterpiece “Rhapsody in Blue” for piano and orchestra. The program will also include “Wood Notes” by William Grant Still who is often referred to as the Dean of African-American composers, as well as a work entitled “Man's Tune” by Vermont composer Erik Nielsen. More information is available by visiting http://champlainphilharmonic.org MAKING STRIDES OF SOUTHERN VERMONT FUNDRAISING WALK The annual fundraising walk for Making Strides of Southern Vermont, the local arm of the national Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Organization, steps out on Sunday, October 20 at Castleton University in

Castleton. Organized and run by local volunteers, the event is launched at 11:00 a.m. at the Pavilion building on the campus with on-site registration.

The walk of 3.5 miles through the pastoral countryside in western Vermont is followed by a reception at the Pavilion. Participants are encouraged to join business or community-oriented groups and register in advance but individuals are welcome to sign up to walk the day of the fundraiser. The walk is designed to raise awareness of how to reduce the risk of breast cancer and raises money to help the American Cancer Society fight the disease with research, informational services and access to mammograms.

For more information or to register visit www.makingstrideswalk.org/ southernvt or call (802) 872-6305.

RUTLAND HALLOWEEN PARADE The Rutland Halloween Parade, billed as one of Vermont's largest and liveliest Halloween extravaganzas, showcases swarms of merrymakers, many in costume, amassed to watch the procession which steps off at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 26. More than 100 floats and exhibits, created by organizations including area school groups, scout troops, commercial businesses and political entities promenade along Merchants Row, West Street and Wales Street in downtown Rutland. For more information contact the Rutland Chamber of Commerce at (802) 773-2747.

NOVEMBER

RUTLAND FALL FAIR The Vermont Farmers Market helps kick off the busy gift-giving December holidays with the Rutland Fall Holiday Fair at the Holiday Inn on Route 7 South in Rutland on Saturday, November 9. Market members line tables and booths with Vermont-produced or -created items including specialty foods, traditional fall products, handcrafted articles and seasonal treats.

The hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. both days. For more information visit www.vtfarmersmarket.org Rutland Magazine

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