MAGAZINE
IN THIS ISSUE house give-away ICE FISHING STAY TO STAY RUTLAND COUNTY BY DRONE
Winter 2018 Volume 12, Issue 2 Winter 2018
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LIVE RUTLAND COUNTY Laurie Mecier-Brochu 802.417.3614
Rhonda Nash 802.417.3618
Karen Heath 802.417.3613
Jean Chamberlain 802.417.3610
Nathan Mastroeni 802.417.3605
Sandi Reiber 802.417.3609
Susan Bishop 802.417.3607
Kristina Doty 802.417.3611
Freddie Ann Bohlig 802.417.3608
Leona Minard 802.417.3615
Craig Popkess 802.417.3606
Lisa Bora Hughes 802.417.3616
Miranda Link 802.345.7816
RUTLAND OFFICE 85 N. Main Street | Rutland, VT 05701 | 802. 774.7007 | FourSeasonsSIR.com Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated
Winter 2018
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CONTENTS
Editorial
Departments
8 F rom This Side of the Mountain On a Mission Mount Holly Wonderland Cassie Horner and Tim Sink
68 K itchen to Table The Life of a Chef Chef Peter Ryan Cassie Horner
Features
72 T ime Travels Winter in the 1950s and 60s Mary Ellen Shaw and Cassie Horner
12 O f Spandex, Speed & Special Moments The Story of the Rutland High School Ski Team Karen D. Lorentz
78 S tepping into Nature Afternoon on Ice Cassie Horner 80 S potlight in Business Coming Home to Frozen Lisa Donahue
20 T he Lights Must Go Up! Mary Ellen Shaw 22 G reen Mountain Power Innovation Home Give-away Kim J. Gifford 30 L et’s Go Fishing with Vermont Fish & Wildlife Paul Post 40 H igh Above a Vermont Winter Caleb Kenna
Now Offering Med Spa Services Including Botox And Juvéderm, Pelevé Skin Tightening, Microdermabrasion, Dermafrac And Laser Facials.
52 S tay to Stay Turning Visitors into Vermonters Cassie Horner
86 S chool News Rotary Educational Greenhouses Kim J. Gifford 90 A ll About the Arts Vermont Actors' Rep. Theatre Finds A New Home at College of St Joseph Sandra Stillman Gartner 94 What’s Happening Susan Orzell-Rantanen
60 P resenting Fun Susan Orzell-Rantanen
MAGAZINE
IN THIS ISSUE house give-away
FROM THE COVER Mount Holly photo tim sink
ICE FISHING STAY TO STAY RUTLAND COUNTY BY DRONE
Winter 2018 Volume 12, Issue 2 Winter 2018
Winter 2018 - 103118.indd 1
2
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PUBLISHERS’ NOTES Find us at www .RutlandMagazineOnline. com
KEEPING THE HOME FIRES BURNING
L
ast winter we ran out of wood. There were a number of reasons. One was that we had been overly optimistic in the fall. We determined we did not need to order more because the previous winter had been extraordinarily mild. Reason two was that last winter was not only not mild but extraordinarily cold. We were away after Christmas, spending time at Rye, New Hampshire. It was so cold, with fierce wind and way below zero temperatures that we didn’t walk on the beach much: too dangerous with wind chill. In fact, it was so cold the New
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water hadn’t frozen in temperatures of 25 and 30 below. To keep the house warmer and slow our use of propane, we burned a lot of wood in a short amount of time. By Candlemas Day, February 2 — with its old saying by farmers that they would be okay till spring if they had burned half their wood and fed their livestock half the hay — it was clear we would run out of wood. How quickly was a matter for betting. Luckily, our neighbor Joyce offered us some wood on her porch that she didn’t want. That turned out to be exciting, proving ultimately that a Jeep can go anywhere, but only after getting stuck in an icy patch. It was clear though that at the rate we were burning wood, we would have to get some from somewhere. We would never make it through to spring on March 20, or more realistically, until May! Rudy, who we buy our wood from, had no more to sell by February, nor did the people he suggested we call. The only thing we could think of was a place in Pittsfield that sells kiln-dried wood. And so the adventure began. Sure, they will deliver wood but another option is to take oneself on loca-
tion and bring back however much your vehicle can carry, for a price per pound. Tim outfitted the back of our Jeep with a tarp, and we chugged off over hill and dale. When we arrived, our jeep went on a scale and, after a thumbs up by the person in the office, we were directed to one of the mammoth buildings in the yard where a large pile of kilndried firewood waited. We began our selection and filled the back of “Rutland Red” with the wood. Then, we drove back over to the scale, waited for another thumbs up, paid up and were on our way. Several more trips would follow in the weeks ahead to get us through and, as usual, we would apply the fun formula to the task with a stopover for a great lunch on the way. Good firewood, food and fun. It’s all good! Cassie Horner and Tim Sink
Volume 12 Issue 2 • Winter 2018 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.
Rutland Magazine
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O n A M i s s io n MOUNT HOLLY WONDERLAND
BY TIM SINK • PHOTOS BY CASSIE HORNER & TIM SINK
T
he time always comes when we realize that there is one thing we just have to get out and do, or else, opportunity lost. Hence, seasonal pictures like the winter ones here. The old saying in Vermont is “Don’t like the weather? Stick around five minutes!” Opportunities to capture images can vanish rapidly in a quickly changing environment. After many years of photographing our beautiful surroundings we have learned you just can’t wait! That was our thinking on a late winter day last year when we piled our gear and canine companions in the Jeep to head
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out hunting for winter images for the pages here. We traveled down Route 100 from Plymouth to Route 103. From there we turned up the Shunpike Road near Harry’s in Mount Holly. Then we made a right turn on the Lake Ninevah Road, and we followed it to where, in the summer, Patch Brook Road in Plymouth is open down to Dublin Road that takes you to the Echo Lake Inn on Route 100. A lot of our winter photos were taken in the area of Lake Ninevah amd the upper end of Patch Brook. Rutland County has a true jewel in the Mount Holly/
Rutland Magazine
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Shrewsbury area, and a recent snowfall beckoned us to take the drive. The backroads are pristine and the shapes and forms the snow takes can lend special opportunities. A drive around Lake Ninevah and we get a sense that time has stopped. We get out for a walk and crunch on the snow-covered roads for a short cold walk to revive us and stretch our legs. We see the unusual way snow forms on decks and icicles form on
roof edges. We luckily capture several beautiful barns in perfect mid-day light. Our photos add to our personal appreciation of every season in Vermont. This winter we respectfully suggest you get out there, in your vehicle, on your snowshoes, with your camera or iPhone or without. Just see it, enjoy it. It will invigorate you.
Rutland Magazine
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“I thought of them as my family, not my competitors.” —SAMANTHA SHINN, RHS CLASS OF 2018
After starting the season with injuries, Dylan Roussel shared a special moment after his state GS win with Coach Dawn Adams. photo tom martin 12
Rutland Magazine
, X F E O D N A & SP D E E P L S A I C S E T P N S E M A M E T I O K S M SCHOOL
k G H ORENTZ of s e the I k n i H er h D ht t ort wh win.L g i N D A Y KAREN t people mividual spime is theracing, L T U t B R mos an ind fastest l alpine that go e E l i s o h TH the cho ng a ions F raci on with high s ificat O m o ya Y pers omes t with ra y. R ed b the t a O i c r t t T n it to h or S hen am sp ll of vic differe am wit four w E , i e r s e e t r i ne lso a TH e th racing ds the t ve of th ses of h t a s ar ca nd it’ ki ati i
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eyo dic rew ol s x in far b gh scho m that re — in ve or si fi ers co ste Hi emb al g sy egate s ionally n m i r idu am sco st aggr (occas . d te r indiv y s m e n e a a w e i t m i lo sa in h the by a tly, ow s, est t fast posted oal is t ort wit portan racer rful f g e m ) f ties e main that e re im Ski Tea y wond ay. o m an Th ute to , but S) ew ib es ool (RH e are m long th nd be r t m i n co sa dt ch da her s an High S ents, t learne friend attie, n u r r s ake n Be son land d pa Rut hes, an and les ay to m Kierna n. I w e d fu nda coac riences a great raduat S. n a Li ie, e g exp cing is d 2018 for RH arader l,” said a s “R ” note cam ear rave s. ur y dship, d the t te 1960 e, o v i f t en ple an he la ac raced t r fri who aced fo ing peo acer in t r r e I “ HS me yed d, an R o j n e e e dsp Goo
Winter 2018
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Austin Roussel capped his RHS career with a state slalom win and overall male champion at High School Eastern Championships. photo provided by austin roussel
“I loved how equal it was; everyone was supportive of everyone and there was little hierarchy. I thought of them as my family, not my competitors,” commented 2018 RHS grad Samantha Shinn. “I’m on the RHS Ski Team because I truly enjoy the sport. The team to me is more like family. We are all upbeat and high-spirited at every practice and every race, making the overall vibe of our team great,” noted Dylan Roussel, a junior in his third year on the team. And yes, team members still want to go fast. On the course, they are competitors and individuals who want “to go fast and beat the other guy,” as Dr. Robert Hiller recalled of his years racing in the 1960s. “I consider myself pretty competi14
tive. I am always thinking about how I can be faster or better and what I have to do to achieve that,” Beattie said. “I am constantly trying to be the best, but that is not a test against others, it is against myself,” observed RHS Senior Vera Martin. COACH’S PERSPECTIVE “Ski racing is a competitive challenge, requiring courage, skill, stamina, discipline, a keen sense of judgment, perseverance, and a love of the sport if one is going to be the best,” commented Dawn Adams, RHS head ski coach. Benefits range from “character building” to “good experiences with the opportunity to make friends on long chairlift rides and to make healthy connections with adults, too,” she said, noting a carryover of skills
and sportsmanship into adult life. “Members of a high school team can run the gamut from very serious competitors to recreational skiers who are giving it a try for the first time and finding it fun,” Adams said. A science teacher in her tenth year of coaching at RHS, she explained that high school racing is less expensive than USSA (club and academy) racing and gives new racers access to quality coaching. Like Adams, assistant RHS coaches Lori McClallen and Melissa Patterson have extensive race backgrounds and coach for the Pico Ski Club, where McClallen is director of the program. Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) rules, which govern high school Grand Slalom and Slalom competitions, allow USSA club athletes to Rutland Magazine
compete for their schools so RHS has benefitted from many Pico club athletes racing on its teams. Former MSJ racer Greg McClallen credited Joe Jones, a former local coach, with “instilling racing in us.” After racing in college, McClallen continued the inspiration, coaching RHS ski teams (1972-2008) to 17 state titles and a New England championship. Coaches like Tyler Weideman and Adams have continued the strong Raider tradition of winning meets with fellow high schools and going on to district as well as state championships where both boys and girls have captured runner-up or state championships for many years. Asked what she enjoys about coaching, Adams replied, “The kids! High school kids are great and they’re a lot of fun and I love ski racing and sharing that.” As for a special moment, Adams recalled a Grand Slalom race where her less experienced athletes ran last. With their teammates cheering them on, they were “not intimidated by the conditions of a very rutty course and gave it their all,” Adams said, calling it a shining example of effort and camaraderie that made her proud.
Samantha Shinn racing. photo karen d. lorentz
Winter 2018
RACER INSIGHTS Like several others on the RHS team, Vera Martin grew up skiing at Pico and started racing at a young age through the Pico Ski Club where Adams was one of her earliest coaches (Martin still races for the Pico Club on weekends). “That is when my love of the sport started,” she said, noting, “I think the competitiveness in racing draws me to the sport. A ski race rarely lasts longer than 50 seconds. This is vastly different than a soccer game where you have 90 minutes. In a soccer game if you make a mistake you have your entire team there to support you and cover for you, as well as time to recover. Ski racing doesn't have that luxury. You have to be able to think 15
Rutland High School Ski Team photo andrew shinn
on your feet to recover gracefully. That provides an element that is near impossible to find in any other sport.” Acknowledging being “a pretty competitive person,” who does “not enjoy losing,” Martin said she learned “how to win quietly and to lose with composure. “While I ski for the competition, the people who are right there next to me play a big role. The team is not very large, and many of us have been skiing together since we were very little, so we all get to know each other pretty well.” Dylan Roussel observed, “It’s great to be on a team with a bunch of people that enjoy the sport as much as I do.” COMMUNITY VIBE, LIFELONG CONNECTIONS At a southern district meet hosted by RHS at Pico last February, colorful Spandex-clad racers smacked the gates aside and then watched along with parents and coaches while others crossed the finish line. The cheer16
ing was low key, the hugs abundant, and despite a gate where there were several falls, everyone seemed to take their runs in stride. The relaxed atmosphere seemed indicative of a “do-your-best” approach, and sincere friendliness was evident among the crowd and volunteers. VPA rules require a hosting team to provide officials for each race, so when RHS hosts a meet at Pico many of these officials are Pico Ski Club coaches or members who volunteer their time or are parents trained by Adams. “Putting on a ski meet, even a small regular-season meet, is a huge endeavor so all the ski team parents chip in if they can. We help set up the timing and finish corral, slip the course (to keep ruts down during the race), serve as race announcers, work the scoreboard writing kids’ names and times, etcetera. And unofficially, we bring food for our team and carry coats down from the start if needed and just support the kids. It sounds
like a lot of work, but mostly it’s fun,” parent Peggy Shinn said. Marnie Roussel, whose sons race, sees value in athletes doing “their personal best” but also in “developing really nice relationships with kids throughout the state. They’re an amazing bunch of kids. Every year there’s someone new to racing and teenagers back them up, support them, teach them about things like tuning. That’s nice to see and it’s nice to witness their progress, too. “High school racing has a nice supportive family vibe,” Roussel added, noting that parents meet other parents and there’s definitely a “community feel” at Southern District Marble Valley competitions. Special moments, too, as she experienced when watching son Dylan win the Grand Slalom at the state championships after having started the season with injuries and not even knowing if he’d be able to race! And when son Austin fell in the Grand Slalom and then won the Slalom the next Rutland Magazine
Happy Holidays from Our Family to Yours Happy Holidays from the staff at Marcell Oil Howard Marcell, Ashlee Stevens, Tom Stevens, Jimmy Shortle, Olivia Marcell, Alex Marcell, Nate Marcell, Chad Fox, Greg Anderson, Ian Courcelle and John Willey. Marcell Oil would like to take this time to thank each and every one of you for your continued support over the last 11 years! Our gift certificates make a great stocking stuffer! Don’t forget to call today and purchase one for either a fuel delivery or furnace cleaning! Many thanks again for choosing Marcell Oil for your heating needs!
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A group of happy Marble Valley District skiers at a Pico meet. photo karen d. lorentz
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day, Roussel admitted to being a tad teary-eyed as well as impressed by all the cheering and support for RHS. Describing the efforts of “every team member” to support their teammates last year, Beattie noted, “Our encouragement even got the attention of other teams. Even at the state championship, I was in the starting gate for the race and my teammates were yelling for me. The start official said, ‘Quite the fan club you got, where you from?’” Rutland team efforts go beyond verbal encouragement. They bring down coats or help clean up after a race — pulling gates, slipping the course out, or even tidying up their area in the lodge. Life skills and lessons of sportsmanship, teamwork, and helpfulness are derived from high school racing along with valuable friendships and “an opportunity to develop a love of a lifetime sport,” noted Tim Wigmore, parent of three past and one present RHS racer. That passion for skiing continues after high school, he said, adding that his three oldest sons have participated in inter-school club competitions at the college level and through racing have continued to make good friends. Karen Lorentz is a freelance writer and author of several women's biographies and ski books, including Killington, A Story of Mountains and Men, updated in 2009 and available locally.
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Rutland Magazine
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BY MARY ELLEN SHAW ILLUSTRATION BY CASSIE HORNER
P
eople who know me well are aware that seasons change at our house, not by the calendar, but on a whim – my whim! Nobody seems to mind when I pick a warm day in March to replace my winter fence garlands with those bearing bright yellow forsythias. They are a sign that spring and warmth are coming and that makes most people happy. But when we put Christmas lights on our shrubs and window box in mid-October it probably has people shaking their heads! We have been doing this for several years as dealing with frozen dirt and cold hands is not appealing to a couple of seniors. This year October 18th was the “magic date” to switch out the mums in our window box for boughs of pine, juniper and cypress. Years ago my husband, Peter, and I used to go into the woods and cut boughs as we listened to gunshots being fired at by hunters. I decided that rather than being victims to a stray bullet we would plant the shrubs we needed and cut branches whenever we wanted. The window box is in total shade so the boughs stay fresh until it’s time for pansies. The day after the boughs went into the box the weather was sunny and warm so we decided it was the perfect day to string lights. We always plug them in and test them before we start but often they malfunction after being laid on the boughs. Go figure! Of course, that is exactly what happened again this year. We got all the lights strung and one section had no lights in the middle of the string. No problem…last year we had purchased an extra box so we would be ready for this situation. However, we didn’t notice that the package said “LED” and our other bulbs were not this type. When we hitched the strings together the clear, white lights were totally different. My amazing husband headed to our local hardware store to get the kind we needed. No lights to be had…too early!
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“Come back in a week or so,” he was told. Knowing his wife wanted this project done right now, Peter said to the clerk, “No, I’ve got to get some today.” Why do I have the feeling that he probably told the clerk that his wife can’t wait a week? Smart guy that he is, he headed to another store next. Lots of lights there…just what we needed…might as well get two packages! When Peter got back home we opened one package and the lights were perfect but the cord portion was white not green like the others. No obvious clue to warn us was found on the package. We breathed a sigh of relief when we learned that the “spare package” had a green cord. White would not have blended in with the boughs as the other cords did. We connected all the strands and tested them. All systems were go or so we thought. Peter handed me the lights and told me which shrub I should begin to put them on. Dutiful wife that I am, I did as I was told. When I got to the last shrub there was no plug to go into the outlet. That was on the other end where I had started. Oh, no! A few not so nice words were quietly uttered. After all, there were people walking by at times and we didn’t want them to feel that we needed a referee! As we stood gazing at the end with no prongs we looked at one another wondering how each of us was going to react. Well…neither of us could stop laughing. Why should this year be any different? We never get it right the first time. Let’s face it, we both needed a little “Ho, Ho, Ho” right about then. This story has a happy ending. The lights are up and they tested perfectly. If you want to find out if that holds true on Thanksgiving weekend just take a ride to Howard Avenue in Rutland and look for the house with the lighted window box. A task that was so exasperating to complete will hopefully give pleasure to all, including us!
Rutland Magazine
T H E S T O RY O F S Y LV I A A N D D E B B I E …
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RUTLAND INNOVATION
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Rutland Magazine
M
artin Schreiner, 29, tells about the day the Rutland community welcomed he and his fiancé, Lucas Hough, 31, into their new home on Cleveland Avenue in northwest Rutland. “We had this little boy come up the street after everybody had left. It was eight o’clock and we opened the door and he was so nervous. He had obviously practiced what he wanted to say tons of times. ‘I just want to welcome you to the neighborhood,’ he said, then he hopped on his scooter and left. Meeting everyone was awesome, but having this little kid come and welcome us…” Schreiner suddenly seems at a loss for words, partly because this idyllic sense of community was something he and Hough could only dream of from the daily grind of their New York City apartment,
left: A crowd gathers for the announcement of the winners of the GMP Rutland Innovation Home contest. above: Home winners Lucas Hough and Martin Schreiner stand on the porch of the Cleveland Avenue home they won.
Winter 2018
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Construction work was extensive to rehabilitate the house.
and partly because this unimaginable dream recently became a reality thanks to a contest sponsored by Green Mountain Power (GMP), Naylor & Breen Builders, United Way of Rutland County, NBF Architects, the City of Rutland and dozens of partners, in which Schreiner and Hough won a 1,500-square-foot, fossil-fuelfree home complete with cuttingedge, smart-energy technology. The give-away, modeled after a similar contest 30 years ago in Maine when GMP’s Vice President Steve Costello was a reporter, was designed as a win-win, not only for the contest winners and GMP and its partners, but also for the city of Rutland and the northwest neighborhood in which the house stands. “We wanted to demonstrate what real energy transformation could mean in a home and also help Rutland continue to revitalize the northwest neighborhood,” said Costello. “For many years, GMP has
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Rutland Magazine
Naylor & Breen Builders, Inc. would like to thank the following subcontractors, vendors and donors for their generous donations of time and materials to the successful completion of the GMP Rutland Innovation Home Contest home at 60 Cleveland Avenue in Rutland, Vermont. WE APPRECIATE THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT ON THIS PROJECT!
The Ammatuna Family • ABC Supply Co., Inc. • A.H. Harris Construction Supply ( Shelter Industries • Stego Industries) A.Tedesco Masonry • Abatiello Design Center • Best Appliance (Frigidaire) Bill Lohsen Plumbing & Heating • Bissette Construction • Black Diamond Builders • Bourne's Energy Builder Specialties (Smart Cabinetry • Warerite Distributors • Rynone Manufacturing Corporation) Camp Precast Concrete Products • Carpenter & Costin • Casella Waste Systems CED/Twin State Electrical Supply ( Schneider Electric ) • Chey Insulation F.W. Webb Company (Spacepak Inc.• Daikin Air Intelligence • Watts Radiant • American Standard • Moen) Fabian Earthmoving • Ferguson Waterworks • Florence Crushed Stone • Gilmore Home Center Green Mountain Drywall (Kamco Supply of Boston) • Green Screen Graphics • GroSolar Hadeka Stone Corporation • Hawk Hill Cabinetry & Custom Woodwork Hubbard Brothers • Hubbards Portable Restrooms & Septic Service J.E. McLaughlin Inc. ( Sto Corp Exterior Insulation & Finish Systems) • JP Carrara & Sons Kaycan Building Products • Kinney Pike Insurance Agency • Kitchen Encounters • Lajeunesse Interiors M&M Lawn Care and Trucking • Marvin Windows and Doors • Misty Meadows • Mountain Top Inn & Resort Naylor & Breen Builders, Inc.• NBF Architects • Omega Electric ( Green Mountain Electric Supply) Pins Fabricating Systems (PFS Inc.) • Pratico's Landscaping & Fence Co. • r.k. Miles, Inc. (Brinc Building Products • Henry Company• Huber Engineered Woods • Boise Cascade/Trex Company, Inc. Riverside Truss • Rockwool • Weyerhauser) • Racette Electric • Rebars & Mesh • Rob Stubbins Electrical and General Contractors • The Royal Group • Rutland Regional Medical Center • Rutland's Magic Brush (Sherwin Williams) • Stafford Tehcnical Center • Sears Hometown• Tesla • The Stove Depot • SunCommon Vaillancourt Tree-Landscape • Vermont Roofing Co.(Owens Corning) • Vermont Wood Pellet
GREEN MOUNTAIN DRYWALL CO. INC Wallingford, VT • 802-446-2491 • Fax 802-446-3533 • Winter 2018
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The GMP Innovation Home
been looking at energy transformation and by that we mean helping customers reduce their carbon footprint, reduce their electrical use and make it more efficient and hopefully reduce their cost overall for energy. We’ve done a lot of work in that northwest neighborhood, recently transforming homes, installing heat pumps and LEDS, all kinds of energy-efficient products, transforming not only homes, but the way people live.” The first home GMP did in this area was the Borkowski house on Baxter Street. Schreiner and Hough’s new house, which Tanner Romano of Naylor & Breen estimates is the equivalent of a half-million-dollar home, includes such innovative technologies as airsource heat pumps, heated floors on
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the first floor, a back-up pellet stove, Tesla powerwalls, a car charger for an electronic car, and a solar array on the roof.” Yet, this contest was about more than simply energy. As Costello notes, “it is about using energy for a force for good,” and in this case, the good was extending to help with the revitalization of Rutland as a whole. “GMP approached us at Naylor & Breen (general contractor on the project) with a pretty global message,” said Romano, “but the piece that resonated with us was letting the greater public know that Rutland is an up-andcoming community and that there are well-paying careers here. From our perspective, there is somewhat of a stigma around the area that is pre-
venting people from coming back and making a lot of people leave, so it is hard as employers to get good, qualified people into our companies and that is the piece employers were like ‘wow, yes, we can relate to that.’ That’s really the hook that grabbed a lot of the businesses we went out and spoke to, to get involved in the project.” Costello estimates that more than 80 businesses donated goods or services, and in some cases both, to the project. Of all the vendors contacted only approximately one or two were not able to do it. “Many mom-and-pop businesses really stepped forward to make substantial contributions,” said Costello, who noted Abatiello Design Center on Route 7 in Rutland as a prime example. “They donated all the
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flooring and installation,” he said. Mike Abatiell of Abatiello Design Center, said participating was a nobrainer for their company. “I have done a lot of work with Naylor & Breen and GMP over the years. They work locally instead of sourcing outside of the area, and this was a way of thanking them for all the business they’ve given me over the years.” The list of all the contributors is too long to note, but numerous local businesses are to be commended. “We had probably a half dozen or more $10,000 or above donors,” said Romano. Relying on donated materials created some challenges, Ed Clark, who served as project architect, noted. “We came up with a nice little design for a house that we thought would fit into the context of the neighborhood. We wanted to make sure it had
Rutland Innovation Home 28
a front porch and that sort of thing. We also wanted to make sure it was as energy efficient as possible, but since just about everything was donated we had to allow for a lot of flexibility in design to accommodate all the different donations of materials as we weren’t entirely certain what was coming in. It was a little tricky but we like those challenges because we had to think on our feet.” GMP selected the Cleveland Avenue property from several the city had available, choosing it in part because there was a Habitat for Humanity House going up down the street. “We thought it would be good to piggyback off of that one because often when someone starts making im-
provements it has a domino effect on others,” said Costello. A board comprised of members of the various partners, neighborhood residents and community interest groups quickly whittled down the 165 applicants to 10 finalists of which Schreiner quickly proved to be the favorite. “Mayor Allaire said it best when he spoke of selecting a winner. He felt the winners should be people who could go out and continue to be a voice for the message and that we shouldn’t just build a house, give it away, and let that be the end of it,” said Romano. Both Schreiner and Hough, who became engaged after winning the Rutland Magazine
house, promise to be strong advocates for Rutland. Schreiner is a food blogger, marketer, and opera singer and Hough is a pathologist’s assistant. “They really want to be a part of the community. They are already forming relationships and getting to know people really quickly. They have incredible energy and are superpositive people. They wanted to be in an area where they could walk to the Farmers’ Market and know the butcher selling them steak or the florist selling them flowers,” said Costello. The couple, however, were not the only ones to impress GMP, who decided to offer the nine finalists a chance to relocate to Rutland as well. “We chose to offer a $10,000 grant to any of the other nine finalists if they moved to the city within a year,” said Costello. Schreiner’s conversation returns to that welcoming day on their front porch. “Growing up as a kid we used to play outside, but you don’t see that in New York City. I was talking to my neighbor Mike, a contractor who also just moved to Rutland from Colorado. We were both in the yard and we heard these kids playing and he was like ‘you don’t hear this anywhere else.’ We have wanted so much to be a part of a community and to be able to contribute. We are overwhelmed by all the groups welcoming us and inviting us places,” he said. “It’s an embarrassment of riches.”
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A Let's Go Fishing Program participant uses a hand auger to drill a hole in the ice at Lake Bomoseen. Hand augers cost about $30. A power auger costs about $200.
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Let’s Go Ice Fishing
with Vermont Fish & Wildlife
ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY PAUL POST
C
orey Hart’s classroom is the nearly two-foot thick ice blanketed with glisten-
ing white snow that covers Lake Bomoseen. Students, of all ages and walks of life, are eager to learn how to reel in a prize catch in the dead of winter. Unlike many people, they don’t like noisy snowmobiles or standing in long chairlift lines at one of Vermont’s many ski resorts.
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Let's Go Fishing clinics include lessons on knot-tying so participants know how to tie hooks to fishing lines correctly. Larger ropes are used for such lessons because they're easier to see than small filament fishing line.
Ice fishing is a sport best enjoyed in quiet solitude, which is a big part of its magnetic attraction. “It’s very peaceful,” Kathy Boyer, of Monkton, said smiling. “I call it a boredom buster, another thing to get me outdoors and get some Vitamin D. And it’s so exciting. Did I get a bite? 32
Did I get a bite?” Hart, a Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department education specialist, leads “Let’s Go Fishing” clinics at sites throughout the Green Mountain State. “Fishing can be quite challenging for people who weren’t brought up with it, especially ice fishing,” he said.
“This is an easy way to learn how to do it, and do it safely. Then hopefully they’ll want to go out and try it on their own.” Edwin Congdon, of Hydeville, has a good reason for learning the sport, too. “My grandson, Tyler Kennedy, who is 8, is suddenly getting very interestRutland Magazine
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ed,” he said. “So I’ve got to get educated. This is a really good thing the Fish & Wildlife Department does.” Hart covers all the basics. The same as any outdoor activity, he emphasizes Safety First! “You always want to check the ice in multiple spots, especially in early season when ice is just forming,” he said. “Use a spud bar (ice chisel) to check for thickness. Four inches is enough to support a person. If it goes through, step back, the ice isn’t safe. If you’ve had a couple days of warm-up, just be cautious. Ice along the shore usually goes first.” “Ice fishing is a really safe sport,” Hart said. “Just know the body of water and also watch where other anglers are going.” Hand-held ice picks, worn around the neck, are also critical. This way, if a person does “go swimming,” they can quickly dig them in the ice and pull themselves out. Hart then goes on to teach people all about knots, bait, lures and how to drill holes in the ice. Next comes the fun part, trying to catch fish, which can be done with tip-ups or by jigging, using a small hand-held rod and reel. “Either can be used,” Hart said. “Typically it’s personal preference of the angler. Jigging is a more active style of fishing that requires the angler to work the rod, while tip-ups are set and attended to when a flag goes up indicating that a fish is on. “The best time of day is early morning, when the sun’s coming up,” he pointed out. “That’s when fish really start biting. They’re just more active. The biggest thing is, if you’re fishing and not catching anything, keep moving. There’s no limit to the number of holes you can drill. However, you can only have eight lines in the water at any time.” Hart even teaches people how to think like the fish they’re trying to catch. “Brown trout are likely right on shore in shallow water, chasing minnows,” he said. “They’re going to be 34
top: Let's Go Fishing Program participants are given a small rod and reel to use, called a jig line. Anglers use lures or live bait such as minnows. middle: Corey Hart demonstrates how to set a tip-up device, which can be used instead of a jig line when ice fishing. Such equipment lets anglers try to catch fish from several different holes at the same time. bottom: After clearing snow from the frozen lake, a tip-up device is set. A baited line hangs from the tip-up.
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where there’s something for them to feed on. I want to set up where there’s a reason for fish to be there. “Yellow perch are extremely sought after in Vermont,” he said. “Anglers love them. They’re a lot of fun to catch.” Mendon resident Steve Kline got hooked on ice fishing after taking Hart’s class last winter. He’s originally from Palm Beach County, in the Sunshine State, a place many “snow birds” escape to during long, cold, dark Northern winters. “I was bartending in South Florida and wanted to quit that lifestyle, when a friend said, ‘Why don’t you take the summer off and scoop ice cream for me at The White Cottage Snack Bar in Woodstock?’” Kline said. “I never went back. I fell in love with the mountains, everything Vermont has to offer.” He even landed a job as manager of Gifford Woods State Park in Killington this past summer. Next year, he hopes to move to a different park with a bigger body of water. Taking Hart’s class has enabled him to become a year-round angler.
“I’m an avid summertime fisherman so I thought, why not try winter, too?” Kline said. “Just being out on the ice really appealed to me, any excuse to be outdoors because with only six hours of daylight it’s kind of easy to sit inside, watch a movie and stoke the woodstove, especially when it’s 35-below. So I do as many winter activities as possible.” However, he quickly discovered that angling in January or February involves a lot more effort than sitting on a dock with a “cold one,” on a lazy summer afternoon. First, ice fishermen have to trudge through deep snow and then clear a spot to drill a hole. “Using a hand auger ($30) was a
chore” Kline admitted. “Power augers ($200) are a lot easier. Hooking live bait through the spine took a certain knack too, which was a bit different. But will I try it again? Most definitely.” Sun sparkling through snow crystals gives the appearance of a million small diamonds spread out across the lake, set against the backdrop of lofty Green Mountain peaks. To many people, the natural beauty is reason enough to be there, no matter how fish are biting. But in some places, ice fishing also creates a sense of fun camaraderie as anglers converge like clockwork on their favorite destinations. “When you go by Chittenden Reservoir you
above: Several different types of tip-up devices are used for ice fishing. Corey Hart demonstrates how to use one during a Let's Go Fishing Program clinic on Lake Bomoseen. below: Sleds are used to haul fishing equipment through the snow out onto frozen lake surfaces. Corey Hart, of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, covers all aspects of the sport with Let's Go Fishing Program participants, left to right, Leon Smith and his son, Ghazi, of Middlebury; Edwin Congdon of Hydeville; and Mark Kutolowski of Strafford. 36
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see all the shanties, four-wheelers and dogs on the ice,” Kline said. “It’s like a party out there.”Outdoor enthusiasts can experience the same type of atmosphere at a large annual Ice Fishing Festival, hosted by Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The free event is moved around the state each year, to give people in different areas a chance to try the sport. This year’s festival is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, January 26 at Knight Point State Park in North Hero. “It’s just like our Let’s Go Fishing clinics, only on a larger scale,” Hart said. “Last year there were more than 300 people at Lake Bomoseen. We have different stations set up where people learn things like knot-tying, lure making, and how to clean and fry a fish. Then we put a jigging rod in their hand and they try their hand at fishing.” Before you head for your favorite fishing spot, always check the Fish & Wildlife Regulations as regulations vary per water body. Paul Post is a reporter for The Saratogian newspaper in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. where his work has been 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.
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right with the lightest touch, allowing the pilot to make the smallest adjustments in composition and positioning. Flying a drone in winter above Vermont landscapes allows a photographer to see the bare bones of the Green Mountains; its rivers, fields, roads and towns create aerial patterns of history, nature, and development. I can’t wait for another season of winter drone photography. 50
Caleb Kenna is a photographer based in Brandon, Vermont. He grew up in Vermont and has worked as a freelance photographer/ writer for The New York Times, Boston Globe, National Geographic, The Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Outside, Men’s Journal, Smithsonian, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Frommer’s, Vermont Life, Vermont Land Trust, Seven Days and Yankee Magazine. Rutland Magazine
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Turning Visitors into Vermonters
S T AY TO S TAY
BY CASSIE HORNER • PHOTOS BY TIM SINK
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Rutland Magazine
Winter 2018
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left: Chris, Heather and Sebastian Emerson traveled to Rutland from Michigan. right: Paola Ceballos, Dominican Republic
“ W I T H S T AY T O S T AY, P E O P L E LEARN HOW T O S T AY H E R E FOREVER.” —Mary Cohen, executive director of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce
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T
he Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing launched an innovative new program this year designed to offer out-of-staters interested in moving to the state the opportunities to meet Vermonters and learn about the local communities. Dubbed “exploratory vacations designed for people interested in moving to Vermont,” Stay to Stay invited people to sign up for a designated weekend and book a threenight stay at a participating lodging property. Four towns and cities were involved: Burlington, Brattleboro, Manchester and Rutland. To date, one family, Tom and Darian Fagan, has already closed on a house in Rutland,
and others spent time meeting residents, exploring the area, and talking with realtors and potential employers. “We told Wendy Knight, Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing Commissioner, that we will take one couple, one family at a time moving here,” said Mary Cohen, executive director of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. “With Stay to Stay, people learn how to stay here forever.” The Stay to Stay design of inviting visitors to spend three days meshes with the goals of the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing to increase the average stay of visitors from 2.2 to 3 days. The program runs three
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Vision nights, starting with a Friday evening reception and closing with appointments with employers on Monday. On the weekend, people could explore the area, visiting Killington, taking in a Paramount show, driving to Lake Bomoseen, etc. and touring real estate listings. The third round of the program in August attracted five families to visit Rutland. Interest in Stay to Stay spiked after Governor Phil Scott signed the remote workers grant program, set to begin in January 2019, that offers $10,000 to remote workers who move to Vermont. “People are very interested in moving to our area,” says Cohen. “Wendy Knight came and also the NBC Nightly News Winter 2018
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filmed all that weekend.” The fourth event took place from October 19-22. “People have lots of questions about arts and entertainment, the schools, and employment opportunities,” says Laurie MecierBrochu, board president of the Rutland Region Chamber. “People have a wide range of interests for what makes community for them. It is our community’s time to shine.”
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VINCENT JOST, NEW YORK Vincent Jost and his girlfriend Brittany Sinodinos have friends who are moving to Vermont so decided to check out the area after hearing about Stay to Stay. It was his first visit to the state. “We are interested in moving to Vermont after I complete my graduate program,” he says. “Overall, we thought the area is really lovely. All of the people were very friendly and we enjoyed the community. We found Vermont very refreshing after living in urban New
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THE EMERSON FAMILY Chris Emerson, a voiceover actor, was checking out the remote worker grant program when he saw a link to Stay to Stay. He told his wife Heather about it and they decided to visit Rut-
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land with their son Sebastian. “We’re adventurers,” says Heather. “We’re looking for a change, considering the northern part of the U.S., including Alaska.” After spending time here, the family expressed a keen interest in moving. “We are very motivated to make it work,” Heather says. “It is such a beautiful state and there are many draws for us.” “We had a great time thanks to Stay to Stay,” Chris says. “Mary Cohen at the Rutland Region Chamber was amazing at getting our questions answered. We were happy to meet people, to ask them about the pros and cons of living in Rutland. People were very open.” Heather visited Vermont as a kid; her family traveled the U.S. every summer. This was Chris’ first visit. They enjoyed the Saturday trip to the Farmers Market in the downtown and the evening performance by Branford Marsalis at the Paramount. Wonderfeet Museum was a big hit with Sebastian.
Brittany Sinodinos and Vincent Jost are from New York.
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Heather is an early childhood development specialist. She currently works long hours and is looking for a move that would enable her to spend more time with her son. They are planning on having another child, and she would like to homeschool Sebastian. Chris’ 10-year-old son also spends time with them. One of her concerns is lack of diversity in the area since she comes from a larger area where cultural diversity is much more common. “One of my other concerns I have been thinking a lot about is that the state is almost disappearing a little bit and I wonder if there is enough growth and opportunity.” The family is seriously considering a move to Vermont within about a year. They really appreciate the community, and people’s willingness to answer questions openly, honestly and transparently. Stay to Stay offered the Emersons lots of opportunities to meet residents and business people, and explore Rutland.
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Rutland Magazine
BY SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, A partridge in a pear tree.” It is winter, and the gift-giving celebrations of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa are upon us, with their accompanying hoop-la of holiday sights and sounds. A carol called “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, first surfaces as a poem in London in 1780 and continues to be heard in musical form today. The ditty was introduced as part of a whimsical little book called Mirth Without Mischief. The chant is known as “cumulative poetry” in which each stanza's lines are repeated many times to end in the grand crescendo of the last verse. These design origins have been lost,
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and the song, a roster of the gifts someone bestowed on a true love, is now taken at face value. The recipient starts out accepting a single partridge in one pear tree. Each day of the season brings the same gifts all over again, augmented by yet another one. On the last day, the giftee welcomes “twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, ten ladies dancing, nine lords a-leaping, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree” and remember, these gifts have been replicated a dozen times. Taken literally, the “true love” must now provide a hostel for 276 musicians; luxury suites for 228 members of the royalty; quarters for 96 farm hands and a byre for 96 milk cows; a coop for upwards of 200 poultry; an aviary for 24 song birds; and land for a fruit tree orchard. Thanks a lot. And while this example is extreme, I venture to say that many of us have felt similarly overwhelmed by the holiday aftermath. Largess may have been admired in England in the 1780s, which was the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, but not today. Older folk are downsizing, parting with endless heaps of possessions that are no longer wanted or needed. Younger people, eschewing the preceding generation's “conspicuous consumption”, embrace its opposite: minimalism. Few adults want more “stuff” just because a festival rolls around again. Having said all that with conviction, I must confess: I am a compulsive gift-giver. I even give presents to other people on my own birthday, with the excuse that such is the custom of hobbits (fictional characters in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.) It's a tangible form of “I love
you”. And there are lots of equally incorrigible folks like me out there. We just won't stop. What to do? Everyone must solve this dilemma in his own way, but I'll tell you how I did it, not only to everyone's satisfaction but to everyone's downright glee. This is not suggesting that people forego giving gifts during the holidays, leading to retail collapse and economic havoc. The shift here is from the obligatory to the heartfelt and from the generalized to the dead-on targeted. The source can range from an upscale boutique to a flea market but the end goal is the same: an audible reaction of genuine delight. Enough rhetoric! Bring on some examples! My brother has opened many such gifts. Remembering family history makes him an easy mark. I know that as a young boy he loved the 1954-1955 Davy Crockett television series and had a coonskin cap just like the title character's. If he were to wear such a thing today, he has considerably less hair to tuck under it. Combining these two intimate facts led me to attach a replica of a coonskin cap to a somewhat wild wig. Charming! Roll back the years. I am fortunate to have a like-minded friend with whom I exchange penand-ink correspondence. One holiday I bought some linen envelopes and, in calligraphy, wrote across the back of each this quote by Ezra Pound, “The art of letters will come to an end before AD 2000. I shall survive as curiosity.” It celebrates the commonality in our relationship. My eldest sister still tears up the basketball court much like she did on her high school team during the 1960s. This year I have for her a unique Christmas ornament: a tiny Rutland Magazine
porcelain basketball. She doesn't want another bauble, and this isn't one. Rather, it is a trophy to her athleticism and resilience and pure spunk that she can display all year. A cousin received an antique mirror with a sepia picture of our grandmother's aged face on the side opposite the mirror, so that she could gaze on it and then flip it around and view her own. The past, the present, and the future all fits in her hand. In 1985 a Canadian friend and I began a tradition in which we mail a pair of Santa-themed socks across the U.S./Canadian border each December. One year I wear them. The next she does. It is a hoot to report “used socks” on the customs document. Children rarely welcome socks as gifts, but this exchange reminds of the wacky, impractical girls we once were together. And then there is presentation. One year for Friend Brenda I hunted all year for scarves, which she fancies, and then tied them all together end to end and stuffed them in a tissue box. She pulled and she pulled until a pile of colorful silk lay on her lap. Another year some friends received a gift certificate to a restaurant wrapped in a box along with heavy cans of baked beans from the store to throw them off the scent. Their children misinterpreted this guise to mean that their parents got to enjoy a fancy meal while they stayed home and ate canned beans! It was camouflage gone hysterically awry and lives on in memory. Disregarding Santa Claus, gifts can be supposedly “given” by any number of “people” who mean something to the recipient, opening up a world of mystery. For example, the above-mentioned wig and coonskin
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cap ensemble could be “from” Davy Crockett; the linen envelopes could be “from” a fictional Acme Poetry Society; and the basketball ornament could be “from” The Harlem Globetrotters. And when creating those gift tags, the sky's the limit. All of this assumes that there is one-on-one gift giving, which is not always the case in adult households. Some families play parlor games with the winner choosing from a pile of wrapped parcels of generic gifts, usually consumables like chocolate or wine. Nobody in my family can carry a tune. We enjoy a raucous game in which a volunteer belts out a song with her eyes closed, while a package is passed from person to person like a hot potato. When the singer abruptly stops, whoever is holding the gift must open it. I say “must” because it is usually a “gag” gift which could be anything. One year in my living room a long parade of yellow bathtub ducks paraded on the floor in and out among the furniture. Each had a number, and that number corresponded with a gift. Here's where intimate knowledge can again come in handy, to wit: the person who broke an arm in a horseback riding accident takes duck #5; the person who once owned a 1965 Mustang convertible takes duck #9; the person planning to visit Paris in 2019 takes duck #3. Can you see the possibilities? Susan Orzell-Rantanen has worked as an editor and freelance writer in the Rutland area for the past 31 years. A seventh generation Vermonter, she holds degrees in animal husbandry and journalism. She lives in Rutland with her husband, two badly spoiled dogs and an opinionated cat.
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Kitchen to Table
The life of a chef
C H E F P E T E R R YA N (1950-2018) BY CASSIE HORNER Peter with Julia Child
Peter and his mother Lee Bove Ryan
Peter wins an award Casa Bianca Restaurant on Grove Street in Rutland
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Peter accepts an award at the Crab Cooking Olympics in Baltimore, Maryland
T
he family aspiration for Peter Ryan was that he would follow in the footsteps of his uncle Peter Bove, a Rutland lawyer, politician who held the Lieutenant Governor’s office and liquor inspector who also once ran for governor and ended up as comptroller in the Virgin Islands. Ryan, who graduated from Rutland High School in 1968, made the first step in that career when he attended the American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts, studying political science. But cooking was what was near and dear to him. Ultimately, he followed in the footsteps of his Rutland restaurateur mother Lee Bove
Ryan. “Food was his passion,” his sister Judy Taranovich recalls. “He grew up in the well-known Casa Bianca restaurant. 76 Grove was dining and 78 Grove was our home. On any given day when he played sports in high school, he brought members the team home and cooked for them. The joke was that my mom kept the teams well fed with veal parm, sandwiches and huge plates of pasta.” Ryan’s career never left the culinary realm, continuing in South Carolina where he lived for 28 years. Ryan’s first solo venture was called Pete’s Place, a snack bar on the corner of Grove and Williams Streets in Rutland. “He and his wife Linda Crampton were one of the first to introduce Mexican food to Rutland,” Taranovich said. A number of years later, he traveled to Ogunquit, Maine to start The Dancing Fan. Unfortunately, the timing was bad. A summer of torrential rain coupled with the gas shortage that year discouraged tourism and caused him to return home to Vermont. After some false starts (the restaurant business is notoriously difficult), Ryan went back to cook with his mother at Casa Bianca. The restaurant was doing very well but with Ryan starting a family of his own and the restaurant only capable of seating 80 people, it was unable to support both families. Ryan’s next step proved life changing. He accepted the position of executive chef at Litchfield by the Sea in Litchfield, South Carolina. His wife Linda, no stranger to the real estate industry accepted a position with the same organization selling beachfront property. “He loved living there and he loved his job,” Taranovich says. “He started a restaurant consulting business that did really well. He became the Go to Guy for golf course restaurant start ups.” Golf courses were booming in South Carolina along the Grand Strand, and he dealt with the food and beverage part of the businesses. Winter 2018
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Peter with his sister Judy and his mother.
Peter and his mom with Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams.
Sisters Anna Popovich and Pauline Kapitanski worked at the restaurant.
“I tried several times to get him to come home to Vermont, but he had turned into a South Carolina boy,” his sister says. “He didn’t like the cold, even after years of expert skiing.” She recounted a story based on her brother meeting people from the Wide World of Sports television series who were dining at Casa Bianca. He was always very charismatic and enjoyed people so it was no surprise when they invited him to go skiing with them. One of the sportscasters told Ryan’s sous chef, “If you want to learn perfect form, ski behind your boss. His style is textbook.” Highlights of Ryan’s culinary career include his founding of the Taste of Vermont with Ernie Royal of Royal’s Hearthside and several other members of the Rutland Restaurant association. He also entered the Crab Cooking Olympics in Baltimore where he won gold using Vermont maple syrup in his dish. This win entitled him to compete in San Francisco where his last-second addition of a garnish took him from first to second place. Years after the crab cooking competition, Ryan’s sous chef and lifelong friend Ericksson Hill, who runs a culinary catering business, still has fond memories of his mentor. Hill, a culinary student at the time of the Baltimore competition was assigned to Ryan as a student chef. All of 70
the culinary students were assigned a chef who was competing. And all of the students were hoping to be paired with someone famous. Hill was teamed up with Ryan.” Who was Peter Ryan and where in the world was Rutland, Vermont! he wondered. Not the pick he was hoping for or at least so he thought. What Hill quickly discovered was that Ryan was a special person. Ryan sought out Hill, took him to dinner, got to know him, and they became fast friends and colleagues. Ryan invited him to come to Casa Bianca and a dynamic duo was born. “People say that if you have one true friend you are blessed. Peter had a thosuand,” Taranovich says. “If he made a friend, he always made an effort to stay connected. He had that kind of personality. When you met him you wanted him to be your friend.” The culinary world has lost an advocate, a talent and a true mentor and Rutland has lost a good friend. Rutland Magazine
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TIME TRAVELS
in the 1950s in Rutland City BY MARY ELLEN SHAW If you were a child on Howard Avenue back in the 1950s, you would have had an entirely different winter experience than one would have today. I was too young to actually have a memory of my first adventure into freshly fallen snow. But my mother told me about it when I was older. She, along with three other neighborhood mothers, put their children in wooden sleighs equipped with metal runners and a wrought iron handle. They were deep enough for us to sit propped up against the back section. There was plenty of room to bundle us in blankets if we needed more warmth than our snowsuits provided. Apparently the city streets weren’t plowed as quickly as they are today. So the mothers took advantage of the unplowed streets to get some fresh air, exercise and adult conversation! I still have the sleigh but its white finish has been painted brick red. My handy husband, Peter,
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Mary Ellen peeks out of her handy blanket tent.
Rutland Magazine
in the 1960s BY CASSIE HORNER The front yard was a ski mountain, for trolls that is. I was perhaps 10 years old and loved my growing collection of trolls with the bright-colored hair, ranging from inch-high minis to big, hulky six inchers. These were friendly trolls, not gruff under-the-bridge trolls. I fashioned clothes for them out of felt and scraps of cloth, and made matching, beaded hair bands to tame the wild locks. One little troll with a big grin, bright green eyes and light orange hair sported a custom-made Santa suit complete with a red cap with a white ball on the end. Imagine my delight when I spotted a pair of red skis designed to fit the feet of the intermediate sized 4-inch-high trolls. Talk about a must-have purchase! Fitted out in the handsome skis, the lucky troll I selected Cassie is ready for winter with sunglasses and a snowball.
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Mary Ellen enjoys a snowy day on Howard Avenue.
made shelves that fit inside the sleigh. It now holds pansies in the spring, geraniums in the summer and mums in the fall. Since I live in the home that my parents bought over 70 years ago, I have witnessed first-hand many changes in the neighborhood. There used to be an empty lot with quite a steep incline just down the street from our house. We would hop onto our sleds or metal coasters and off we went. We picked up some serious speed if the snow was icy. There were no houses on Taft Avenue back then. Today we would be traversing people’s backyards! We were dressed in so many layers that we could hardly bend our bodies to get onto the sleds. We just kind of plopped down on them and tried to go 74
as fast as we could. There were at least a dozen kids in the neighborhood, all about the same age, so somebody was always on “the hill”. I was the envy of the gang the day I showed up with a jack-jumper that my father had made. If you have never seen one, picture a single wooden ski with a seat on top of a raised post. Everyone wanted to try it. I remember it was a balancing act to sit on it and steer with your body. I was too young to appreciate my father’s skills but he knew that we all enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to this fun piece of equipment. Of course, kids get bored doing just one thing so at some point our interest switched over to ice skating.
Our neighbors, Gordon and Eleanor Goodrich, flooded a large section of the empty lot next to their house. The rink had lights and we were invited to use it any time. How generous was that? The only mishap I recall is when one blade of Alan Meyers’ skates connected with the eyebrow of my friend Betty Clark. There was a trail of blood as I walked her home. She still has a scar to remind her of that mishap. We also had a pond nearby on Piedmont Parkway. We were told to stay off it but, of course, we didn’t. Four of us headed there after school one day and after just a few minutes on the ice one of the boys fell in. Fortunately, he wasn’t in a deep section and got out with a helping hand from the rest of us. He was chilled to the bone as he Rutland Magazine
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Cassie and a friend make a snowman.
for an adventure accompanied me out the front door to the walkway piled high on both sides with snow. I made ski trails down the mountain and soon had the troll showing off its winter prowess. That was in the 1960s and those skis and some of the trolls have hung around in my possessions long enough to be current again with the popularity of the movie Trolls and its offspring. I loved winter, and embraced the activities that went with it. My winter world was based around the house where I grew up, with its handy front yard facing the street and its big backyard that handily sloped enough for spinning down on my aluminum saucer. There was plenty of snow and room to build snowmen, and giantsized (to a kid) piles of snow to pose on in glamorous sunglasses. One unforgettable year, my friend Peter, his little brother and I were chosen for a winter photo shoot for the cover of a J.C. Penney winter catalogue. We each got a modeling fee of $100, a lot of money for a kid in the 1960s. We trekked through snowy fields on a brilliant sunny day for the Winter 2018
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walked home. We all learned a lesson that day and stayed off the pond from then on. There were a couple of swampy areas near our homes and in spite of having a nice skating rink we took shovels and cleared the swampy ponds so we could skate. One was in a rather wooded area at the base of what is now Rutland Street. I guess it must have seemed like an adventure to skate in our “secret place”. Winter “camps” also popped up in this same area. My father was often missing some boards, a hammer and nails as we built camps with walls made from rugs. One such camp even “graced” our back yard. Back in the day we never thought it was too cold to be outside. When our mothers decided we had been out long enough we reluctantly went in. I remember my mother making hot chocolate with marshmallows to warm me up. Now that houses abound in my neighborhood, the winter fun that we had as kids can never be recreated by today’s youth. However, for me, the memories live on. They always bring a smile to my face! Mary Ellen Shaw is a graduate of Trinity College. She is the author of the book, "Kittenhood 101," and is also a freelance writer for several publications.
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Mary Ellen pauses a moment on the skating rink.
Rutland Magazine
Cassie and her friend Peter Johnston head for the skating rink.
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photographer. It felt like play, and the reward was the glossy, full-color cover on a catalogue. Peter and I also liked to skate at the Rec Center rink. It was nothing fancy, just an open space beckoning with its rectangle of ice. We tied our laces together and draped our skates stylishly around our necks, leaving our hands free for the 10-minute walk from our neighborhood through the village to the west side of town. We walked everywhere, especially since my parents didn’t drive in the winter. They garaged the bottle green 1956 Chevy, removing the tires and putting the car on blocks. How easy that made the winter when anything you needed or wanted was within walking distance. What comes to mind as I think of winter in the 1960s was how little it had changed since Mary Ellen’s 1950s and even my mother’s 1920s. Making snowmen, skating, skiing, just hanging out on a snowpile were the ingredients for a good time. The good news is that nothing much has changed since then.
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stepping into nature
AFTERNOON ON ICE ARTICLE & PHOTO BY CASSIE HORNER
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W
hy Does the Canada Goose Stand on the Ice? Ever complain that your feet are cold? You add a pair of wool socks, buy warmer boots, wriggle your toes, throw another piece of wood on the stove. That’s all well and good if you’re human but if you’re a goose, what then? Last winter I found myself gazing at a small flock of Canada Geese standing picturesquely on the thin, snowcovered ice where the Black River enters Lake Amherst in Plymouth. As usual with these hardy survivors, a watch goose was in position, keeping at eye on the surroundings. Some of the birds stood like statues, others moved into the water, some walked along the edge of the ice. I knew they had some method of keeping the featherless legs and feet warm. What was it? Start by understanding that geese don’t put as much energy as humans do into keeping those parts of the body Winter 2018
warm. The answer is something called countercurrent heat exchange. A human’s legs and feet are comprised of veins and arteries that are quite far apart. This means that by the time the warm arterial blood reaches the feet, it has cooled down as it heads back up. In contrast, the veins and arteries in a goose’s legs are intertwined, enabling the warmth to transfer from vein to artery so very little heat is lost through the feet. This system of countercurrent heat exchange works well, but sometimes the cold intensifies to the point that the bird pulls one leg up into its feathers for a warming session, posing easily on one leg before switching. The next time you stand wriggling your cold toes or feeling the wind slice through your pant legs, consider the Canada Goose and its special warming mechanism. Cold feet begone!
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spotlight on business
COMING HOME TO
FROZEN FATE PUTS YOU WHERE YOU NEED TO BE ARTICLE & PHOTOS BY LISA M. CUZYDLO-DONOHUE, MA, LMT
“ H ouston, we have a problem...” —joe donohue
A
s a flatlander I knew that I would never be “from here” but rather “of” here. For whatever rhyme or reason, I’ve always been “energetically” attracted to the building at 190 West Street in Rutland, home to Keyser Energy. Never quite sure why, nor what fate would have in store. This story begins at 10:45 p.m. on New Year’s Eve of 2017, when that connection was tested. After an eight-hour ride from visiting our family in Western New York for Christmas, we bounded out of the pickup truck into the 15 below zero night, amid snowdrifts and wind, with good eats, televised ball drops or maybe a special meditation in mind to welcome the new year. This was only to hear my husband, Joe, say after he unlocked the door, “Houston, we have a problem. Our thermostat is reading minus 20 degrees downstairs and 0 upstairs.” I’ll say ball drop; it was like a cast iron, angelic bowling ball, hurled into our midst broadside. I recited to myself: “Now Lisa, you did say throughout 2017 that this WAS THE YEAR OF THE HOUSE did you not”? Be careful what you wish for. Just days before, I had been saying, “With this ongoing cold snap, might we be concerned about deep freezes at the house and office?” To which my husband said, “Nope, I am not worried at all about the house.” The kitchen pipe might do its usual seize-up at Thrive, our late-1800s office building, but we are both used to dealing with that. At 11:00 p.m., we were on the phone calling the toll-free emergency number for Keyser Energy. One of their rigs was said to be in Killington with 35 gallons of oil with
A cut in the wall reveals frozen pipes.
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Rutland Magazine
Myles eats pizza amidst the chaos caused by frozen pipes.
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KEYSER ENERGY // CHRIS KEYSER Chris Keyser of Keyser Energy started out his career after college in the field of recreation management at Quechee Lakes. He made a quick switch into the fuel business, however, thanks to a friend of his father who was a local oil dealer in Proctor. “I was lucky because I was able to stay in Vermont,” recalls Keyser. He was born in Chelsea, then moved with his family to Proctor when his father took a job at the Vermont Marble Company. He graduated from Proctor High School in 1971. “I liked to be outdoors and work with my hands,” Keyser says. “I got involved in the local fuel business and learned to love the ability to do business deals. We made nine purchases of other companies when I owned the business.” His business interests tied into community involvement. He served as president of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. He was president of REDC (Rutland Economic Development Corporation), and is currently on its finance committee. He was also involved with the Vermont Economic Progress Council. “I saw the ability to grow, personally and in business in a small community,” he says. “I was able to give back to the community in the same way my father and grandfather instilled in me.” One challenge resulting from the multiple acquisitions was finding a way to talk to people about who the growing company was. In 2009, Keyser brought in a consultant to explore how the company was perceived in the marketplace. “We did some soul searching,” he says. “People didn’t know who we were so we needed to come up with a new name. The decision was to go with the name of the owner.” The name Keyser Energy reflects the positive nature of name recognition. The name recognition within the 82
company includes Keyser’s daughter Mary-Rachel Keyser, customer-care manager. “There was an understanding in my family that the children could do anything they wanted but when they were sixteen they had to get a job,” he says. “Mary was the one of my three children who wanted to come into the business with me.” This move was carefully set up. She had to graduate from college with a business degree and then work outside the company before returning to the family business. She worked two years for the trade association in energy in Washington, D.C. She also got her CDL and drove fuel trucks. She was the youngest ever to receive a Bronze Oil Burner Service Certificate. Keyser is proud of all of his children. His eldest, Ariana, is the mother of two children and is a brand manager for LEGO. His youngest, Troy, is married and lives in Roanoke, Virginia, working in the medical field. An important reflection on the name Keyser Energy is the responsiveness of the employees to customers. “I get to work with people who are called out at 2 a.m. for emergency service and who want to be out fixing problems,” Keyser says. “This is a special way of thinking by a really special group of people who are like firefighters and EMTs because people’s welfare is at stake.” Asked to reflect on the guiding principles of running Keyser Energy, Keyser says, “It all comes down to integrity and fair dealing. Anybody who represents something to a customer or supplier is using my name. I am very clear with people who represent me what is expected. The only reason customers call us is because they have a problem so we have to be problem solvers. We need a straightforward approach so the outcome is win-win. We look for what is right for customers.” —Cassie Horner
them – give or take. They cautioned though, that without a plumber we could have a huge mess on our hands, with leaks springing everywhere. Joe looked to me and said, “What should we do?” A quick check in with self said, “Bring the oil!” While we were waiting, we searched our minds: what did we forget? We had paid in full by the previous July to save an extra 10 percent and for the automatic delivery option so, phew, that couldn’t be it! My mind raced back to 12/24 before we left for New York: Did I see a delivery ticket on the garage side door window? Perhaps it blew away? In all the years we have been here, we have never run out of fuel before. By 1:30 AM, the fuel truck arrived and they confirmed we were out of oil and not to blame. They were out the door by 3:30 a.m. Fortunately, the plan worked and we were able to stabilize the basement and first floor, although the second floor was long gone. We had no idea what we were in for, but decided to stay and Rutland Magazine
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keep vigil over our home, piling high all the blankets and sleeping bags we could for a family camp-out in the living room. We settled in until 6:30 a.m. when I awoke to a balmy what? The increase in temperature did not move the thermostat. So there we were trying to stay warm, and simultaneously becoming one of the umpteen callers per minute that Keyser Energy was fielding as were probably a lot of other energy companies. By mid-day on January 1, I recall, the temperature was managing to get up to about 45-ish in the house, with us methodically re-warming all pipes as instructed, and eating whatever I could cobble together. After many calls to the badly beleagured Keyser Energy Company, we got through to the man, the myth, and the legend himself, Mr. Chris Keyser! After some dialog and what boiled down to trust, I called the Holiday Inn and we packed up a quick bag for who knew how long. By mid-evening we were settled in and preparing to the best of our Winter 2018
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ability for our son’s first day back to school and attending to the needs of our business Thrive. We treated it like an adventure. Why not? The amenities and breakfast buffet were a hit and the staff could not be any nicer, or more helpful. The following Saturday we moved to the Hampton Inn because of previous bookings / availability. It was winter, after all. And they too were beyond reproach, and could not do enough to help us. While we had many offers from friends to stay with them we thought it best to have our own space for the first few weeks. As for Keyser Energy, they were and are pure class; accepting responsibility and covering all of our related expenses. But, back to the problem at the house. I often say if you lead a good life, living by example, people are there for you when you need them. Wasn’t it Ernest Hemingway who said, "The way to make people trustworthy is to trust them." Here and there we were feeling both a bit overwhelmed and paralyzed. To our good fortune, despite the mess, contractor James (Jim) Osmer, a tremendously skilled individual and a laugh a minute, was miraculously available and was willing and wanting to help us. With each day that I could visit the house, I had the opportunity to get to know this Vermonter. Add to that, the capable hands of Killingtonbased plumber Bob Evegan. “He too took time out of his over-booked work schedule to help us. With breaks to both the heating system on the second floor and the water on both the first and second floors, we had no choice but to open up the walls and tear down ceilings to locate the damaged pipes. Thus, our house would soon look a bit like Swiss cheese with upwards of over 40 breaks in the pipes. Chris Keyser arrived personally at our home, to assess the damage. After that night, I had a new appreciation for “Mr. Chris of Keyser Energy”. 84
Many in the business community said choice. Choice is life. Life is choice. While not “from” here, the amount he was the true meaning and measure of a gentleman. I could not agree of “of” here support, kindness, and additional resilience we received was more. and is still remarkable. Human perspective was at work When I asked our 11-year-old son here. Humor heals and hedges a bet in a new direction. So in my own way what he thought we learned in all of this, Myles said, “You have to pay atI set out to make Chris laugh a lot, tention to things, for deep learning.” which his co-worker and daughter While no one is perfect, it’s comfortMary said I achieved. He claimed he had never encountered someone quite ing to know that if something goes wrong there is a company like Keyser like me before in business dealings Energy who will step up to the plate Have you ever encountered someand ensure your total satisfaction. one who has an imaginary headdress Do yourself a favor; do not hesifollowing her? That pretty much tate in trusting them with all of your sums it up regarding this empathic, heating oil needs for the warmth and optimistic, steady beam of sunshine: safety of your loved ones and home. business maven Mary-Rachel Keyser Once you get to meet and work with who also happens to be Chris’ daughter. As January was drawing to a close, them, you won’t only be “drawn” to just their building… she visited us at our office asking what more that they could do to help Lisa Marie Donohue has served as the us, and I said right off the bat, “How Director/Catalyst of the Rutland County about for starters…some of those truffles that I heard you were sending Worksite Wellness Initiative since June out to customers?” HA! From that mo- of 2000. Lisa holds a Bachelors Degree in ment forward I am convinced that our Marketing from Canisius College of Buffalo and a dual Masters Degree in Health friendship was forged. By February 16, we were back in our Promotion and Marketing from The Ohio State University. Lisa enjoys her family, house. It is far from perfect but we camping and numerous other interests. are here, and all of the repair work is done. While just “stuff”, I get to see some things that mean something to me, some of which keep me anchored with just a glance. Like most Americans we often find ourselves as a “work in progress,” running the bases with a daily, reprioritized list amid the stressors of living life’s dynamics. As a wise friend of mine, Darci, often says, “You can do anything, but not everything.” Things often take longer than one thinks because of all the moving parts. Commitment to our practice, Thrive, takes a lot of our time and ambient energies. And that too is a The house was in a jumble after moving furniture and other belongings. Rutland Magazine
She was a hardscrabble New England farmer. She went from poverty to property. Along the way she had 5 husbands, including an arsonist.
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Winter 2018
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school news
BY KIM J. GIFFORD • PHOTO BY TIM SINK
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Rutland Magazine
O
ne day last spring, the sun shone brightly on the Vermont Farmers Food Center’s (VFFC’s) new educational greenhouse at 251 West Street in Rutland. It was challenging to remember the cold Vermont days to come when it will be used to teach greenhouse management and winter greens production, although that is exactly its purpose. Today, in late spring, things are only beginning to grow like the tomato seedlings that a group of fourth-graders started from Russian seeds. “They will be fifth-graders next year and then we are going to ferment [the juice and seeds], save the seeds, and then have them name the tomato and design a seed packet. They are going to learn how to market them and sell them,” said VFFC Board President Greg Cox. This is just one example of the type of learning that will be taking place in the greenhouse. VFFC secretary and advisory council member Sara Meling says, “One of the programs we’ve asked if schools would be interested in, is teaching kids how to be entrepreneurial and set up a stand at the Farmers Market. Then they would design and figure out all the aspects that go into thinking about the product such as branding. We want to do that because it is a real-life situation.”
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Children have also been learning about food preservation and mapping the parts of the plant they are eating. The most recent session has been doing a weekly journey through their bodies starting with their mouths and tongues and taste buds in addition to cooking things that they can in turn, relate to different parts of their bodies. VFFC has already been offering some classes at Cox’s Boardman Hill Farm, but the new educational greenhouse will allow VFFC to really expand the educational opportunities and work with area schools as part of their curriculum. “We need to connect kids back to the land, back to nature, back to food, back to their own bodies. That’s how you affect change in the community,” said Cox. The educational greenhouse is part of VFFC’s mission to rebuild the local food system, but as Cox explains, “We realized that in developing a food system, you can’t start with the fiftyyear-olds, you have to start with the children and build up. Also, because these programs are pilots, you have to prove yourself and you can’t get a B, you have to get an A+ to affect change,” Cox said, explaining why VFFC has been careful in its planning and slowly developing teaching opportunities. They approached the Rutland School system and have been in conversations with the superintendent and assistant superintendent, who Cox says have been “jazzed” about the potential of having a K-12 integrated, farm-based education program. “I teach at Green Mountain College and you can run art, English, science, math, all around food. The best way to realize potential is to eat well,” he said. Cox explains that everything starts slowly. “First, you begin working with these institutions and do everything pro bono to show you have value. Next, you set up a field trip where you receive x amount of dollars for each student that shows, and third, you get into the school budget and become 88
part of the curriculum. We are at the beginning steps.” VFFC has an integrated and multilayered vision for its future with many pieces already in place and others yet to come. This vision includes the winter Farmers Market, the shared-use commercial kitchen, a food storage and aggregation building, and the educational greenhouse, among other components. “We had this business plan. This is number one, this is number two, this is number three and the educational greenhouse was number four until the Rotary began looking for a centennial project. We were one of 50 to 60 projects they were considering and lo and behold they chose us. Part of it was because of the education component that we were building towards. Because once again when you are trying to figure out how you grow a food system and change the habits of people who don’t want to hear it. It's difficult because they’ve been doing it the same way for so long,” said Cox. “If we can build a farm-based, experiential, education program, it will help ramp up science scores, give people a place-based, project-driven education, link them with their food and nutrition, and get them out of the classroom to experience other things.” A PROJECT IS BORN The educational greenhouse is actually two greenhouses, explains builder Brian Harrington of Harrington Custom Building: one 30’ x 60’ structure with an attached 30’ x 84’ structure. “We’ve constructed a number of small residential greenhouses mostly for Cox’s Boardman Hill Farm, but nothing on this scale before. I’m a home builder by trade and we didn’t touch one piece of wood the whole time we were on this project, which was interesting for us,” he said. Cox praises Harrington, his team and the greenhouse. “This is state-ofthe-art, triple wall glazing. These are
12-foot high walls, which offer huge volume.” For winter production, Cox explained, they will create a greenhouse inside a greenhouse by adding small “space capsule structures over the plants,” for added warmth. “We will be able on a regular basis to grow spinach, Swiss chard, different types of kale, mustard greens, arugula etc., which is so important when you are trying to encourage proper eating habits.” As Cox noted, the Rutland Rotary Club made the whole greenhouse project possible through an $81,996 donation for its centennial celebration. The Rotary Club started in Rutland in 1919, and so it will be celebrating its centennial next year in 2019. The club, however, chose a project to commemorate this event a year early, donating a little over $100,000 back to the community through the greenhouse donation as well as a donation to the City of Rutland for its Center Street Marketplace. The Rotary raised money for the donations through its annual golf tournament and other fundraisers of which it sets 40 percent aside for long-term projects. Chuck Rose, president of Rutland Rotary Club, explained that the group looked at a number of potential projects before deciding on the greenhouse, but one of the significant decision makers was indeed the educational component. “There are some tenets of Rotary called Avenues of Service and we try to focus on these. One of these is supporting education. If you look at the sign on the greenhouse, it reads, ‘The Rutland Rotary Educational Greenhouse,’ because they are going to be having classes there with school kids to learn about agriculture, planting, and healthy activities. There is a real connection with all the schools, with some of the food even being used in the school lunch programs, so it was a very strong fit with Rotary’s Avenues of Service and we wanted to make this something that was lasting and touched as many people as we could Rutland Magazine
around town,” said Rose. The greenhouse, which has only been in operation after a Comcastsponsored clean-up day at the end of April, has already touched the lives of students. “The kids are blown away,” said Meling. “One of the teachers called and said the kids are so stunned by how much growth they already saw. If you think about it, it is magic to put a seed into the ground and end up with something you have actually grown and know how to take care of. What a concept! It is very empowering to produce something that you end up eating.” As Cox explained, there is no end to the types of learning the project opens up. For example, there is also an opportunity to teach students about solar energy and how energy is stored. “The kids always ask why it is so hot in the greenhouse and we can explain about the sun and how we are all stored solar energy,” he said. In addition to holding class lessons and onsite seed planting for Rutland school students, the greenhouse will also be used by Green Mountain College and other educational programs. Other food grown will be given to those in need through one of VFFC’s many health-related programs. When Cox and Meling first began asking fourth-graders where their food came from many of them simply answered “the store.” They were that removed from the source. With the new greenhouse, this will hopefully no longer be the case. “The value of community is directly linked to its individuals. We want to affect real change,” and as Cox noted earlier, the result is not only a healthier community, but an economically viable one as well. 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. Winter 2018
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a l l a b o u t the arts
ART
Finds a New Home at College of St Joseph
CSJ students creat artwork for the theater.
BY SANDRA STILLMAN GARTNER • PHOTOS BY TIM SINK 90
Rutland Magazine
front left to right: Virginia Smith (Marjorie in Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison); Dr. Jennifer Scott, President of CSJ; Eva Clark, Graduate Student & Communications Coordinator; Jennifer Arnado, Assistant Director of Development & Special Events Coordinator, CSJ; Sandra Gartner, Producing Director, ART back row left to right: Susan Gladding-Heitzman, Director of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie; Lexi Laubach, Company Photographer, ART; Danielle McKeighan, Set Designer, ART; Kathy Aicher, Director of Marketing & Communications, CSJ standing: William Cruikshank, Technical Director, ART
W
alking down the aisle of Tuttle Hall Theater at the College of St. Joseph (CSJ) in Rutland felt like coming home. Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre (ART), Rutland’s regional community theater, had a partnership in the 1990s with the college that included acting classes, a drama club and performances. Now, ART and CSJ have entered into a new collaboration beginning with the theatre company’s 14th season featuring three main stage productions, student workshops, improvisation and story telling. The first show of the season in the fall was Marjorie Prime by Jordan Harrison and directed by Joanne Greenberg of Montpelier. The play was an examination of artificial intelligence and how memory shapes us. The next show of the ART season is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and directed by Susan Gladding-Heitzman. It will be presented at Tuttle Hall Theater on February 7-10 and February 14-16. Ten guilty strangers are trapped on an island. One by one they are accused of murder; one by one they start to die. In this superlative mystery comedy, statuettes of little soldiers drop off the mantel in this house and crash to the floor as those in the house succumb. CSJ president Dr. Jennifer Scott, who has a theater
Winter 2018
background, will perform in the Agatha Christie show. “Having ART on campus provides cultural capital for our students,” said Scott about the partnership. “Opening a new door creates different kinds of conversations with other people. Some of our students may not have had this experience.” The Last Night of Ballyhoo by Alfred Uhry and directed by Alex Nicosia will be presented at Tuttle Hall Theater on April 4-7 and April 11-13 as the final full play of the season. The show takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, in December of 1939. Gone With The Wind is having its world premiere, and Hitler is invading Poland, but Atlanta’s elitist German Jews are much more concerned with who is going to Ballyhoo, the social event of the season. For 13 seasons, ART was the company in residence at the Paramount Theatre in Rutland. With the Paramount’s plans for a new construction phase, the company needed to find a new home. “After visiting many sites in the Rutland area, we reached out to CSJ and were warmly welcomed to the campus and the gorgeous Tuttle Hall Theater,” ART’s producing director Sandra Gartner said. “I checked the distance from downtown. The distance is only 1.7 miles and there is a large parking lot. The theater is a gem and a wonderful place to experience shows. We hope 91
it will become a destination for our former and new patrons.” Another change for ART is the addition of Associate Producer Kristen Hixon, who has worked in many capacities with the company including stage manager, and in the properties and costumes departments. Hixon said, “CSJ and ART have overlapping goals. CSJ wanted to bring the arts to their student body and ART wanted to remain in Rutland where we’ve been supported over the years by our community.” Jennifer Arnado, Assistant Director of Development and Special Events Coordinator at CSJ, was instrumental in helping to set up the partnership. “We haven’t had drama at the college for a long time,” she said. “It’s our goal to introduce the students to theater and let them have a rich experience in the arts. It’s a way to bring people together in a constructive and entertaining way.” ART and CSJ are also exploring drama as a possible elective in the curriculum. ART offers the opportunity for CSJ students to be involved through internships and volunteer activities throughout the 2018-2019 season. Kimberly Rupe, Director of Community Engagement and Alumni Relations at CSJ, added, “As a community-minded school, we support integration of service and connection to the people we live with. Working with ART will also be fun and exciting for the faculty and staff.” A trademark for ART has always been the experience of provocative theater in an intimate space. Producing director Gartner explained, “ART will still be ART and that includes the close setting audiences have come to know and love. The seating capacity for Tuttle Hall Theater is 211, but ART has used room dividers to create a 75-seat theater.” Arnado added, “I like it because it feels homey and isn’t overwhelming. It’s a lovely space 92
with marble donated by Gawet, maple hardwood floors, oak trim and a community feel.” In January, Michael Kingsbury will bring Theatrical Improv to the campus. This show will be presented in the lounge at Tuttle Hall in a cabaret setting. Tables will be set up and comfortable seating, including large beanbags, will be available for those who want a relaxed experience. Kingsbury, who is an ART board member and founder of the RUMPUS, a storytelling event, will offer a workshop for
students and faculty who want to participate in the Theatrical Improv event. There will be familiar faces from previous Theatrical Improv shows in the past. “Since Theatrical Improv happens in the moment, it’s a great way for people to get used to performance without having to learn a script,” Kingsbury said. ART will offer an evening of storytelling with performers from around Vermont. Kingsbury will run a workshop on storytelling for both CSJ students and faculty, with the opportunity for participants to perform on Rutland Magazine
April 27th at Tuttle Hall Theater. Melissa A. Paradee, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, added, “I’d like to have our faculty take a look at the play themes and integrate it into their curriculum. This is a real partnership, and it will give everyone a chance to grow and share their ideas.” Tickets for ART’s 14th season are available on the company’s Facebook page or website at: www.actorsrepvt. org or at the door the night of the performance. To reach ART for more information, please e-mail: producer@actorsrepvt.org. A former editorial assistant at Glamour Magazine, Sandra Stillman Gartner's articles have been published in such periodicals as Lady's Circle and Yankee. She is a published poet and screenplay writer, and is one of three producing directors of Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre and performs on stage, television and in film.
The original Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre was developed over 30 years ago when several transplants from urban areas and local actors decided they wanted to create a regional theatre in southern Vermont. The mission was to provide an opportunity for actors to work together and grow as an ensemble and to provide a level of performance and production excellence for the audience. Over the years, the original founders went on to other artistic endeavors, but the company continued as a very successful community theatre group way into the 1990’s, led by the late Howard and Sylvia Willard. Early on in 2004, Ilene Blackman, Sandra Gartner and Peter Marsh decided to revisit the original concept for ART. The three formed a partnership, received a 501c status as a non-profit company, and opened their first season at the Paramount Theatre in the winter of 2005. Blackman and Marsh have gone on to pursue other theatrical and dance projects. Gartner continues as the Producing Director with Associate Producer Hixon. “We will continue to present playful, poignant and provocative theatre. ART’s season runs from November through April and includes fully mounted productions, improvisational theatre, storytelling and special events, including dinner opportunities before the show,” Gartner said.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING BY SUSAN ORZELL-RANTANEN
RUTLAND COUNTY FARMERS MARKET
CHRISTMAS FAIR Join in the festivities of the annual Rutland County Farmers Market Christmas Fair at the College of St. Joseph Gymnasium on Clement Road in Rutland on Friday, November 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 1 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. More than 60 vendors from the area offer crafts, wines and cheese, jams and jellies, fresh vegetables, baked goods including artisan breads and holiday specialty foods, and more. For more information, visit www. refmvt.og or call (802) 773-4813. VERMONT FARMERS MARKET AND CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY SHOW The Vermont Farmers Market set up in the Depot Park on Merchants 94
Row in mid-downtown Rutland for the spring, summer and fall months moves to the spacious facility at 251 West Street Rutland for the winter. The market is open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Vermont Farmers’ Market Christmas Holiday Show takes place on Saturday December 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn on Route 7 South in Rutland. There is free admission and free parking. A plethora of vendors sell crafts, prepared foods, fabric arts, health and beauty items, wood products, Christmas greenery, handmade woolen items, jewelry and accessories and more. For more information on the weekly market or the Christmas Holiday Show visit vtfarmersmarket.org or call (802) 342-4727.
COOLIDGE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE Coolidge Holiday Open House day on Saturday, December 1, draws people to the Coolidge Historic Site at 3780 Route 100A in Plymouth to see the hamlet where 30th president Calvin Coolidge was born. From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the site is open and decorated for Christmas circa 1872, the year of his birth. Sleigh rides, traditional music, demonstrations of old-time crafts, and refreshments at the Wilder House add to the feel of a yuletide long past. There are holiday activities especially for children at this family-oriented event. Visit the Coolidge family homestead and the homes of his neighbors, along with community buildings such as the church, post office, schoolhouse, Rutland Magazine
cheese factory and general store. For more information call (802) 672-1195 CATAMOUNT RADIO'S SANTA TRAIN 2018 On Saturday, December 1, Catamount Radio's Santa Train 2018 leaves from the Jeffords Train Station (Amtrak) in downtown Rutland. There are five departure times throughout the day of 10:00 a.m., 12:00 noon, and 1:30, 3:00 and 4:30 p.m. for a 45-minute ride through a magical Santa's Village. The beautifully decorated Santa Train includes refreshments, stories, songs and more for all ages. For more information visit www.catamountradio.com/ events or call (802) 776-7633. CASTLETON MUSICAL PROGRAMS The Casella Theater on the campus of Castleton University is the stage for the Soundings music programs, all starting at 7:00 p.m., on several days in December. On Tuesday, December 4, the Castleton Jazz Ensemble presents a mix of jazz standards and fusion pieces. On Friday, December 7, the Castleton University Collegiate Chorale and Chamber Singers present their stunning range of vocals in a variety of challenging selections. On Tuesday, December 11, the Castleton Wind Ensemble plays selections for woodwinds, brass and percussion from various musical eras. On Thursday, December 13, audiences enjoy a production of “The Other Mozart: the Forgotten Story of Mozart's Genius Sister”, a fascinating, educational look at classical music history. For more information, including ticket prices, contact the Castleton University Casella Theater Box Office at (802) 468-1119. VERMONT HOLIDAY FESTIVAL The Vermont Holiday Festival enlivens the Killington Grand Resort Hotel on Friday, December 7 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 8 from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. On Friday only, the cost of admission is one non-perishable food item Winter 2018
Festival of Trees On December 1, the Paramount Theatre at 30 Center Street in downtown Rutland presents the eagerly awaited 2018 Festival of Trees Benefit Auction, the Theatre's gala fundraiser of the year and now a community tradition. To start off the evening, a silent auction will offer dining packages, unique gifts, sports tickets and more, all donated by local businesses in support of the Paramount's programming. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. so that attendees may enjoy the Christmas lights and holiday theme, leisurely peruse the silent auction, and preview the items on stage awaiting the live auction which begins at 7:15. Local auctioneer Bob Prozzo oversees fast-paced bidding on a huge selection of assorted items including home furnishings, tickets for vacation getaways, sport ticket packages, gift certificates, tickets for one-of-a-kind experiences and more. According to organizers, each year's auction list includes “a few surprises.” Prior years have included, for example, a week's stay on a property in France. A highlight for 2018 is the auctioning off of a new Chevrolet Volt automobile, donated by Alderman's Chevrolet of Rutland. A popular way to kick off the holidays in Rutland, the event is catered by the local Roots the Restaurant, supplying hors d'oeuvres. A Dozen Eggs Bake Shoppe of Mount Holly provides a towering dessert table including cupcakes and cookies easily transported and eaten while walking the floor. A cash bar, which opens at 5:30, offers wine, beer and soft drinks. The Festival of Trees began as a fundraiser auctioning artificial trees with whimsical and traditional decorations which became so popular that the organization pursued the idea to encompass a much greater scope, while keeping the holiday theme. The Festival is always held on the first Saturday in December. Laurie Mecier-Brochu, chair of the Festival and board member (and past president) of the Paramount Theatre's Board of Directors comments that “the Festival is an amazing testament to our community and how much we give” to support the arts. “There's always something for everyone... from fifteen-dollar items in the silent auction to items worth thousands of dollars in the live auction,” she notes. In past years the Paramount Theatre has shared money realized from larger donated items with organizations such as Wonderfeet, the Farmers' Markets and others. Tickets for the event are $10. For more information call the Paramount Theatre Box Office at (802) 775-0903. 95
to be donated to the Community Cupboard (food donations encouraged on Saturday as well). On Friday, the Festival of Trees & Jack Frost Marketplace runs from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Santa's Workshop is abuzz with activities at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. (Santa's Workshop costs an additional $10 per child.) Sleigh rides, with a sleigh leaving every 15 minutes, tour the grounds from 5:00 to 6:15 and from 6:45 to 8:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Festival of Trees & Jack Frost Marketplace welcomes visitors from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. Santa's Workshop is open at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. Sleigh rides are available from 1:30 to 3:30 and 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. For more information and for entrance ticket prices, which vary, visit www.killingtonpico.org or call (802) 773-4181. VERMONT ACTORS' REPERTORY THEATRE On February 7-10 and on February 14-16 the Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre presents the mystery And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. The director is Susan Gladding-Heitzman. The venue is Tuttle Hall on the campus of the College of St. Joseph on Clement Road in Rutland. In this story, 10 strangers trapped on an island become involved in intrigue and mystery. The Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre works with professional and nonprofessional actors and technicians to promote collaboration with rural community and educational groups. For more information visit www. actorsrepvt.org. CORRECTION
In the Rutland Young Professionals article in the fall edition these photos were incorrectly credited. Pages: 17 (the bottom image), 20 (top image), 22/23 bottom middle, 24 (top, small). They are the work of V3 photography. His ad appears in this edition.
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THE PARAMOUNT THEATRE PRESENTS The historical Paramount Theatre at 30 Center Street in downtown Rutland offers memorable entertainment for the 2018-2019 winter season. Slated for December 8 at 7:30 p.m. is John van der Put, a comedian and magician from the United Kingdom as Piff the Magic Dragon. Helping Piff in his show is Mr. Piffles, billed as “the world's only magic-performing Chihuahua”. Soldout shows across Vermont and Canada; a residency at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino is Las Vegas: and shows at Radio City Music Hall, Shakespeare's Globe, and the London and Sydney Opera House testify to the popularity of the fanciful program. On December 17 at 8:00 p.m. the boy band 98 Degrees takes the stage for an evening of “98 Degrees at Christmas” celebrating the 20th anniversary of their platinum 1999 holiday album. The show is “creating a Volume 2 of beloved holiday tunes” in the group's signature style of rhythm-and-blues inspired, four-part harmonies. Tickets cost $65 - $85. On December 23, the classic ballet The Nutcracker, a favorite of all ages, is presented by Miss Lorraine's School of Dance of Rutland at 12:55 p.m. Area dance students enact this holiday treat, considered the most performed ballet in the world. Lavish costumes, soaring music and “imaginative choreography” tell the story of a girl's first love set to Tchaikovsky's classical scores. Performances are at 1:00 and 6:00 p.m. Cost of tickets are $25 - $35. Welcoming the new year of 2019, on January 12, with performances at 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., Jack Hanna's Into the Wild Live is presented by Nationwide. “Jungle Jack”, known as one of the world's “most visible and respected animal ambassadors”, entertains audiences with stories and footage from his world-wide adventures. Joining him are live cheetahs, kangaroos, penguins and more. Tickets cost $25 - $35. On January 19 at 8:00 p.m., the pen-
dulum swings to offer Kashmir: the Live Led Zeppelin Show, created by Jean Violet in 2000. This Led Zeppelin cover band has toured internationally and is described as capturing the raw energy of a Led Zeppelin concert. Tickets cost $29 - $39. Taking the stage on January 26 at 8:00 p.m. is Comedian Bob Marley. A native of Maine, Marley is a regular guest on late-night television, has cut more than 20 comedy CDs and DVDs, appeared in more than 100 television shows, and toured the U.S., Canada, Europe, Kuwait and Iraq. Tickets cost $25 - $40. Heading into February, the Capitol Steps bring riotous political humor to Rutland on February 1 at 8:00 p.m. The Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and place that employed them. Not all the members of today's group are former Washington staffers, but taken together the performers have worked in a total of 18 Congressional offices. The Capitol Steps have recorded more than 30 albums and been featured on major television stations including the BBC and PBS. The tickets cost $39. On February 16 at 7:30 p.m., Ronnie Spector & the Ronnettes take fanciers of early rock 'n' roll back to the 1960s. The Ronnettes have been billed as “the heart, soul and passion of female rock singers” from that era. They were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 2007. Tickets cost $39 - $59. On February 26 at 7:00 p.m. Dein Perry's Tap Dogs launch their exhibition billed as “part theatre, part dance, part rock concert and part construction site”. The trademark blend of live music and tap dance on a creative stage set is “high-voltage”, whether in water, upside-down, or cavorting through scaffolding. The Tap Dogs have entertained audiences for more than 20 years. Tickets cost $49. For a complete listing and ticket information, visit paramountvt.org. Rutland Magazine
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