Stowe Guide & Magazine Summer/Fall 2022 by Stowe Guide & Magazine

STOWE SUMMER / FALL 2022 FREE

PEOPLE • ARTS & EVENTS • DINING • SHOPPING • OUTDOORS • LIFESTYLE • THINGS TO DO

CONTENTS s u m m e r

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features

First serve: Stowe Tennis

Club celebrates 50 years by Avalon Styles Ashley

A town responds: Stowe steps up when Percy family loses barn, cows to fire by Robert Kiener

Man of steel: Sculptor David Stromeyer by Robert Kiener

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Guided hikes: Book excerpt: “Hiking the Greens” by Mark Aiken

Whys guy: State forest commish on ways of the woods

ALL PHOTOS GORDON MILLER EXCEPT AS NOTED; SCULPTURE: PAUL ROGERS; TENNIS: ARCHIVES

by Tommy Gardner

122

Kaleidoscope: Memories meet mythology in the studio of artist Harlan Mack by Avalon Styles Ashley

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Tipsy Trout: Spruce Peak reimagines mountainside dining by Aaron Calvin

178

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Just big enough: Longtime Stowe architectural designer builds new home to ‘age in place’ by Robert Kiener

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STOWE’S BEST BIKE RENTALS Perfectly Located at the Start of the Stowe Bike Path FULL SUSPENSION

GRAVEL

CRUISER

Refined Bicycle Sales & Service 4081 MOUNTAIN ROAD, STOWE, VT • 802-253-4531 • MOUNTAINOPSVT.COM

CONTENTS essentials

Contributors

Rural route: Stuck trucks • Stowe’s new pastor • Keewaydin Farm Buffalo man • Globetrotters

Outdoor primer: Paddle sports Swimming • In the mountains Golf • Recreation paths

Things to do: Exhibits and openings • Theater Stowe Performing Arts • Mixed media and music • Goings on

144

Edibles: Two Sons Bakehouse Coffee wars • Community oven

departments 12

First person: Gaylord Gale

Rural route

Trail journal: Smugglers Notch

Sweet spot: Joe’s Pond

On mountain: Weather patterns

Fish story: Small stream life

Bike zone: Clear the tabletop

Rail trail: All aboard!

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The Current: Stowe’s center for contemporary art

104

Music in the Meadow

106

Cool places: Elmore Store saved

110

Road trip: Old Stone House Museum

136

Found in Vermont: Shopping list

138

History lesson: Snowflake Bentley

180

House for sale: Stowe estate

190

Spotlight: Tim Meehan

194

Stowe people: Sweet dreams, Gar

GETTING OUTDOORS

SHOPPING & GALLERIES

142

DINING & LODGING

178

REAL ESTATE & HOMES

229

BUSINESSES & SERVICES

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ON OUR COVER

This summer’s cover, “Percy Farm in Stowe,” is an original oil on panel, 44"x56", by Pennsylvania-based artist Jim Rodgers, whose painterly and impressionistic style perfectly captures the essence of perhaps Stowe’s most famous farm. He paints a range of subjects, from lush landscapes to elegant still life and floral renderings, rich in tone and color.

GETTING AROUND 48

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He prefers to “capture the mood of a scene en plein air and then paint in studio. “I try to evoke an emotional response from the viewer through a poetic portrayal of nature,” he said. Born and raised in rural, suburban northern New Jersey, Rodgers studied at the Art Students League in New York City and attended the Ridgewood Art Institute. He has been affiliated with the Salmagundi Club in New York City and the Delaware Art Museum, and has received numerous awards for his work. More at jimrodgersfineart.com.

AT TOP: GORDON MILLER; BELOW: COURTESY PHOTOS

s u m m e r

‘THE GIRLS’ I can’t think about the cows. The herd of 130 Jersey girls who worked hard every day for Stowe’s Percy family on their farm, those creatures of habit who so appreciate a daily routine—when to eat, when to head to pasture, when to be milked. They all perished last winter in a devastating fire that destroyed several of the family’s landmark barns on the corner of Weeks Hill and Percy Hill roads in Stowe. It is truly unimaginable, unfathomable, unreal. We enjoyed some Jersey girls for a time on our little gentleman’s farm—six at most, plus one lucky Hereford named Dinah. Aretha, Umby, and Peanut went to a farm down the road after six months, but Billie, Bessie, and Hack lived with us for 10, 11, and 12 years, respectively. We milked Bessie and Billie for a time until, as my farmhand partner would say, “Until my hands gave out.” We were no farmers. Not like the Percys. Still, every time one of our girls died, it hurt like hell. If you are ever lucky enough to watch Ryan Percy with his cows—he manages much of the farm operation these days—it becomes instantly clear: He loves those girls. As Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s secretary of agriculture, farm, and markets, and a Percy family friend, said when talking about Paul Percy, Ryan’s dad: “Losing one cow can be heartbreaking but more than a hundred ...” as his voice trailed off. Seven, 3-month-old calves were saved. The town of Stowe and its people quickly mobilized. Meals were cooked and delivered. Artists sold paintings to raise money for the family. Friends and strangers donated several hundred thousand dollars to help the Percys cope with the loss and make any possible rebuilding easier. Percy family friend Leighton Detora put it best to explain this outpouring of support: “The Percys represent a lot of the hard work that has made Stowe what it is. Their farm is Stowe’s thumbprint in that it seems to have always been here and hasn’t changed—until this. The family also harkens back to a time when neighborliness was so highly valued.” Seems, it still is. Rest easy, sweet girls. n Rob Kiener writes about the Percy’s loss in this issue—see page 74—and our cover painting by artist Jim Rodgers is a scene of the farm.

Correction Our apologies to Dedalus general manager Nick Wilson, who we referred to as Rick Wilson in our story last winter.

GREG POPA

SARAH WINCH

FROM THE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

GUIDE & MAGAZINE Gregory J. Popa

Bryan Meszkat, Patrick Immordino, Judy Kearns, Wendy Ewing, Michael Kitchen, and Nicole Brock

Gregory J. Popa

Katerina Hrdlicka

Kate Carter, Robert Kiener, and Tommy Gardner

Leslie Lafountain

Gordon Miller

Stuart Bertland, Kate Carter, Orah Moore, Paul Rogers, Kevin Walsh

Mark Aiken, Avalon Styles Ashley, Kate Carter, Nancy

ROB KIENER

IN THIS ISSUE: Buffalo man, p.40

IN THIS ISSUE: Percy fire, p.74

Mulhern, Amy Kolb Noyes, David Rocchio, Julia Shipley,

Behind the scenes: Sometimes all you need for a story idea is to have your editor see a photograph of a burly, amiable, half-Scot, half-German man wearing a milkmaid dress at an Oktoberfest event. You track that guy down via LinkedIn and just start talking about beer. When you find out two months later that man quit his job as a banker to become a brewer, life seems a little better. Prost!

Most memorable takeaway: Everyone I interviewed for our story on the Percy Farm fire told me how devastated they were by the family’s loss. Lee Percy explained it best: “So many people called and stopped by, asking what they could do. Sometimes they didn’t need to say anything. You could see, by the expression on their faces, how much the loss of the cows and the barns meant to them. It was as if they were giving us a virtual hug.”

Nancy Wolfe Stead, Kevin Walsh

Currently: Rob, a frequent contributor to the Stowe

Winter/Spring & Summer/Fall

Currently: Tommy is news editor for the Vermont Community Newspaper Group who once attended a Halloween heavy metal show wearing a French maid’s outfit.

AARON CALVIN IN THIS ISSUE: Tipsy Trout, p.160 Behind the scenes: I feel it is my ethical duty as a journalist to disclose that, though my meal at Tipsy Trout was paid for upfront, Jessica Quiet, the restaurant’s pastry chef and a St. Johnsbury native, managed to slip in some gifted, off-menu macarons before I could protest. For the sake of my taste buds, I’m glad I didn’t. Most memorable takeaway: The panoramic view of the mountainside afforded to those who sit in one section of Tipsy Trout is truly astounding. During my mid-winter meal, the ski trails and snow-laden pine trees made for quite a dramatic backdrop. Currently: Aaron lives in northern Vermont with his partner, son, and two cats. He’s a staff writer for the Stowe Reporter and News & Citizen where he covers everything from barn fires to municipal policy. His work has also appeared in The Guardian, Vice, The Intercept, and other publications. More at aaroncalvin.com.

Crowe, Willy Dietrich, Biddle Duke, Elinor Earle, Tommy

TOMMY GARDNER

Guide & Magazine, has been an editor and staff writer with Reader’s Digest in Asia, Europe, and Canada,

Gardner, Robert Kiener, Brian Lindner, Peter Miller, Mike

Stowe Guide & Magazine & Stowe-Smugglers’ Guide & Magazine are published twice a year:

Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC

and now writes for the magazine and other publications from his base in Stowe. robertkiener.com.

P.O. Box 489, Stowe VT 05672

AVALON STYLES ASHLEY

Editorial inquiries: gpopa@stowereporter.com

IN THIS ISSUE: Harlan Mack, p.122

Ad submission: ads@stowereporter.com

Most memorable takeaway: What didn’t make it into this profile was Harlan Mack’s description of how while growing up he and his siblings watched movies on a clunky radio television—think boom box with a tiny screen. “Our driveway is like half a mile long and three quarters of the year you can’t drive up it, so we would drag a car battery all the way up the driveway and attach it with, essentially, jumper cables to watch movies,” he said. One of his favorites was “Stand By Me.” “‘Oh shit, Chris,’ is burned into my brain,” he says, laughing, of one of the movie’s most famous lines.

Phone: (802) 253-2101 Fax: (802) 253-8332

Currently: Avalon is a staff writer for the Vermont Community Newspaper Group and contributor to the Stowe Guide & Magazine. On your average Sunday afternoon, you might find this California native hiking Camels Hump, reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or canning dilly beans.

Website: stowetoday.com, vtcng.com

Copyright: Articles and photographs are protected by copyright and cannot be used without permission. Editorial submissions are welcome: Vermont Community Newspaper Group P.O. Box 489, Stowe VT 05672 Publication is not guaranteed. Enclose SASE for return. Subscriptions are $15 per year. Check or money order to Stowe Guide, P.O. Box 489, Stowe, 05672 Advertising inquiries are welcome. Best Niche Publication, New England Newspaper & Press Association 2010 through 2018, 2021

FIRST PERSON Clockwise from top: Gaylord Gale helps run the American Legion concession on July 4. With one of his beloved dogs, Val, short for Valentine. Gale in a Stowe Reporter newspaper clipping titled “A tribute to Gaylord Gale” celebrating his many accomplishments as a family man, in service to the town of Stowe, Stowe Community Church, and Armed Services, and as Stowe postmaster and educator. Gale and his wife, Thelma, mid 1990s. On page 16: Paying tribute, Memorial

Day, 1997, Riverbank Cemetery in Stowe with Roy Durgan, Pete Mandigo, and Gordie Rhodes.

ESSAY

/ David Rocchio

Stowe Resort Homes

GAYLORD GALE Memories of neighbors, friendship, and a darn good mechanic When our neighbor, Gaylord Gale, died several years ago, his son gave us a wonderful gift to remember his dad by. It is a massive International Harvester snowblower, easily 30 years old. The monster machine runs on bulldozer treads and has a bright headlight. It has a plug-in electric start, five forward speeds, and three to back the beast up. It weighs about the same as the now all-but-retired Boeing 747, Queen of the Skies, and was probably put into service along with that lovely passenger jet sometime in the mid 1970s. The blower will throw dry snow from one town to the other. The auger is overbuilt to the point that I am sure with some reconfiguring I could use it to tunnel to Underhill. It would certainly handle the concrete-like snowfall the good Lord threw at us the other day. Heavy, wet snow is no match for this red-meat eating beast. Nothing lasts forever though. The machine is all but dead. But I am lucky, because as any self-respecting soul nestled in these green mountains does, I have a good friend who is a small-engine mechanic. This past fall, he replaced the handpull and cleaned so much gunk out of the carburetor I worried he’d need a special permit. He got the electric starter to work, and I was back in business. We started it up and drove it around the lawn. I parked it in ready position at the front of the barn. The reality, though, is I don’t really need a snowblower. Our house sits on flat river bottom land. The driveway is short, straight and plowed professionally—and that’s a whole ’nother story. The path from the driveway to the house, too, is flat and short with just a small curve. The only hard bit to shovel when it does snow is the distance from the driveway to the heating oil intake valve, which is just a kindness to shovel, really. >>

FIRST PERSON Although I did not need it, when Don Gale gave me his father’s machine I was so pleased. Don could not have made me happier if he’d given me a Zamboni. Having something of Gaylord’s to muck around with itself was a gift, as Gaylord was a tinkerer and gardener and took great pride in his yard. It used to be the prettiest lawn and vegetable garden in Stowe. He snowblowed his entire drive with that machine, and for me to be able to use the machine keeps my old friend just a little closer. Having a good snowblower lets you go a little crazy, too. When the machine worked, I’d clear an area for the dog to hang out and do his business. I’d cut a path to our neighbors to the north, so we could easily walk back and forth. I’d clear the area in from the mailbox, so our rural delivery team could reach the mailbox without a long pole. And, clearing the snow with the machine meant full combat gear. Parka, snowpants, thick mittens and hat, goggles, hood. The thing chewed the snow so fast and with so much energy—and with an auger chute brittle and broken—that snow flew everywhere during a mission. I’d come inside looking like a man that’d run the Iditarod tied to a mad dog team, but the paths would be clear as a runway at the Burlington International Airport. So, my buddy fixed the machine and it was back in the barn before one flake fell this winter. And then it did not snow. At all. I broomed the path a few times, dusting the light fluff off the ground. I did break out a shovel once or twice. I even shoveled a path for the oilman, but when he came he just ran the long hose across the lawn at

an angle where the snow was meager. There was just never the need to fire up the old International Harvester. Finally, it came, a heavy, wet snow. Flakes as big as dinner plates, falling straight down from a gray sky. Trees bent under the weight. Traffic slowed and a car or two tossed into a field. It was time to fire up the beast. I plugged the monster in. I primed the carburetor with fresh, clean fuel. I opened the choke and throttle. I pushed the starter button and the starter ground around and around and the barn filled with sound and fury but no spark fired, no auger turned. I tried the hand-pull but that effort did nothing but cause a sweat. She was dead again. Well, as I said at the beginning, I don’t really need a snowblower. It is a luxury. It just gives me something to do, really. My buddy said he’d give it another look, but these are busy times. So far this year there’s not been much cause for a plow or a shovel or a snowblower. That will change, though. I’ll muddle through with a shovel. I’ll keep the beast of a blower, as it reminds me of my old friend, Gaylord, and if we get it fixed it gives me something to look forward to on cold, dark winter days. n David M. Rocchio lives, works, and writes in Stowe.

INSET: GORDON MILLER; GREG POPA

RURAL ROUTE

ill 2022 set a new record? A record number of stuck tractor trailer trucks in Smugglers Notch, the scenic, narrow mountain pass between the towns of Cambridge and Stowe, that is. Since 2009, an average of 8.4 trucks have gotten stuck in the Notch per year. About 2,000 vehicles pass through the area each day while it’s open, according to the Vermont Agency of Transportation. A common theme among stuck truckers is their seeming unwillingness to read the large flashing signs the agency has placed along the road as well as a general unfamiliarity with the area. Along with a South Carolina driver who blocked the Notch last August, a Quebecois truck driver, Jean Daigneault, 51, from Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, also caused a hold up. Daigneault closed the road for three hours and was fined $2,347. Both Mykola V. Onuykevych, the South Carolinian driver, and Daigneault admitted to seeing, reading, and failing to follow the warnings presented by the copious signage—despite warnings in English and French— placed on the road leading to Smugglers Notch on either side of the Route 108 highway. The tendency for truck drivers to willfully ignore, misunderstand, or simply not see the warning signs trying to keep them off one of Vermont’s most unique and scenic roads—where hairpin turns trimmed with large boulders at its peak ensure a tractor trailer will be rendered immobile—has officially been ruled a public crisis by state transportation officials.

“Tractor-trailer trucks getting stuck on Vermont 108 in Smugglers Notch is a serious public safety matter, and potentially a serious environmental safety matter,” Joe Flynn, secretary of transportation, wrote in a letter to the Stowe Selectboard informing them of ongoing initiatives to curb the issue. “Road closures for hours on end deny use for commuters, residents, local businesses, and visitors here to enjoy Vermont’s natural beauty. The agency believes more must be done and additional measures taken at this time.” The tight, treacherous road was originally forged through Mt. Mansfield as a route for smuggling British goods into the United States through Canada in the early 19th century, according to folklore. Smugglers, however, didn’t have GPS. “We have contacted GPS companies to try and fix the problem of routing trucks through the Notch,” Amy Tatko, the agency’s public outreach manager, said. “This effort has helped by ensuring that drivers using GPS software specific to trucks will not be routed that way. It has not, however, fixed the problem of drivers using off-the-shelf GPS that is not intended for truckers. We are still seeking a solution to that.” No data is available on the cumulative number of hours these stuck trucks have closed the road, which can vary widely depending on how badly a truck gets wedged between the boulders lining the narrow pass. Frank Ewing, a truck driver from Duluth, Ga., who got stuck in the Notch in June 2021, shut down the road to commuters and visitors for close to five hours. — Aaron Calvin

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INSET: COURTESY; GORDON MILLER

RURAL ROUTE NEW GUY IN TOWN You know the Stowe Community Church, with its infinitely photographed steeple and mountainous background, is a different house of worship when it hosts a “Blessing of the Costumes” Halloween event led by a Grim Reaper, a zombie, a cowgirl, Mary Poppins, a gaggle of princesses, and two Star Wars characters. Bonus: the boy leading the faithful in a recitation of “The Lord’s Prayer” while dressed as Kylo Ren was the new pastor’s kid. Rev. Dan Haugh— he’s been on the job for almost a year now—said it just might be possible that the way to get Gen X-ers and millennials back into the fold is to have the children lead the way. Inset: Haugh and Lauretta with their two children.

New Stowe pastor brings

people to the steeple “We’ve got a really dynamic program for kids, and we’re growing that,” Haugh said during an interview on last year’s All Saints Day. “It’s gotten to the point where kids want to go on Sunday mornings, and they’re actually bringing their parents.” Before coming to Stowe at the end of last summer, Haugh, 42, served as pastor at Round Hill Community Church in Greenwich, Conn. Before that, he was an associate pastor for youth and young adults at the American Church in Paris. His wife, Lauretta, teaches at Morristown Elementary School. He agrees “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. Haugh was raised with religion, with his father trying different types of Protestant faiths, and perhaps that’s what shaped Haugh’s ministry. All three of the churches where he’s worked as pastor are classified as ecumenical, a concept where Christians from various denominations come together under one roof. This concept serves a heavily touristed town like Stowe well, where churchgoing visitors unfamiliar with the worship options in town can likely find a fellowship to their liking. Haugh said at a recent Saturday service he welcomed visitors from 18 different states in the span of a few hours. “Ecumenical churches also tend to be very more open, affirming, and interfaith as well,” Haugh said. That mindset made Haugh feel right at home in Stowe, which has a strong Interfaith Coalition made up of leaders from different houses of worship, several weeks before he even moved to Stowe. He was used to that kind of intermingled structure in Greenwich, which had 35 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship. He said the key to working together as religions is recognizing they all don’t agree on things, and it comes as no surprise to anyone who has lived through 9/11 or the rise of white supremacy that Christians don’t always see eye to eye with Muslims or Jews.

He said a rabbi friend once told him it’s best for Haugh to be even more authentically Christian. “He said, ‘If you invite me to a service at your church, and it’s a Christian church, it should be a Christian service.’ He would invite me and my family to some of their services, and they were authentically Jewish.”

Church, the counterculture Americans are more sharply divided than ever over everything, whether it’s politics or science, and with the rise of Trumpism and The Big Lie, often the dividing line dovetails with the dividing line between evangelical or fundamentalist Christians or progressive interfaith churches. “One part of my ministry, and calling as a pastor, is to provide a different narrative, where science is welcome, and where all people are welcome,” Haugh said. “Some of our visitors, because of the states that some of them come from, didn’t agree with our policies of wearing masks indoors or at services, so we had to politely say, ‘Well, this is what we’re doing here. We’re trying to follow what we believe to be true.’” But even the most conversative person of faith has a little bit of counterculture in them. “Sometimes a message of faith is countercultural,” Haugh said. “When the culture talks about individualism or consumerism, our faith actually needs to stand against that.” Haugh said it can be dicey to even be perceived as delivering a political message from the pulpit, and that’s partly why he thinks back to something one his mentors, Scott Herr, at the American Church in Paris, said to him. “He often told me, ‘Dan, preach the text, and let the text speak for itself. When you do that, you will often find that it ends up speaking on those issues, or makes it clear,’” Haugh said. —Tommy Gardner

ESSENTIALS: Sundays, 9:30 a.m. ••• In case you missed it, 137 Main St. ••• (802) 253-7257 ••• stowecommunitychurch.org 20

No fear: Jeremy Moselle ‘A life chasing adventures’

Jeremy Moselle is a long-time Stowe bartender, currently mixing drinks, pulling draft beers, and serving food at Idletyme Brewing Company. He lives in Hardwick with his wife Katya, their almost 3-year-old son Skyler, and two Weimaraners, Willow and Seamus.

GORDON

MILLER

the intErviEw

How did you end up in Stowe?

I grew up in upstate New York near Lake George and learned to ski at West Mountain. I moved to Florida for 11 years, then came to Stowe to be near my sister and cousin. My sister, Heather, is head of ticket sales at the mountain. She’s pretty stressed right now, but loves her job. I met my wife Katya in college, and we reconnected in Florida. I convinced her to join me in Stowe. We got married when I was 39 and had our first kid when I was 42. This area is a wonderful place to raise a kid. We don’t do day care. I work four long shifts a week, the equivalent of six, and have Monday and Tuesday off, when Katya waits tables at Idletyme. We both have Sunday off for family time.

What is the best thing about your job? I love the go-go-go. I’m constantly multitasking, which I’m good at because I have ADHD. When you’re in school, that is a curse, but as a bartender it’s ideal, because you’re constantly moving and doing 20 different things at once.

Where were you before Idletyme? I was at the Matterhorn for seven years. I came to Idletyme in 2018.

What are some of the strangest things you’ve seen while serving drinks? When people talk to each other at the bar, they don’t realize that the bartender can hear everything, and I’ve heard a lot of things. During COVID-19 people couldn’t sit at the bar and I really missed the social interaction. You get to meet new people, not just be in a bubble. When I was in Florida, I served drinks at a tiki bar at Cocoa Beach. It was really fun. We were right on the beach and there’d be surfing competitions and live bands. There was a sign on the beach that read, “No more than one gallon of liquor per person on the beach.” About once a week I’d have to tell a couple to get off the table and get a room. It’s a lot more toned down in Stowe.

Do people come to Idletyme just for the beer? All the time. Brewmaster Will Gilson does a really great job. Our bestseller is the Idletyme, a citrusy New England-style double IPA. My favorite is the Pink n’ Pale, a traditional American-style pale ale fermented with pink grapefruit. But I don’t drink much. My mom died in 2010 from drinking. She drank a lot of wine every day since I was a kid, and that’s why I don’t drink all that much. INTERVIEW CONDUCTED & COMPILED BY KATE CARTER

RURAL ROUTE

How did the pandemic effect your job? Thank goodness we had the patio, which was put in prior to COVID-19. It saved us. We were really lucky we never had to shut down. Plus, our seasoned staff stayed on, which meant we could remain consistent, which is so important in the restaurant business. Our management has been great at finding help. We have several J1 exchange visitors, and we’ll hire anyone and give them a chance to show us what they can do.

What changes have you seen over the years?

breakfast • lunch • weekend brunch • catering espresso • lattes • locally roasted coffee • fresh juice unique art + gifts from VT + beyond

Summer is busier every year, more now than ski season. The town has gotten much busier and ski season has been crazy. One car with bad tires messes up the whole town. It sucks trying to get to work some days when it snows. Should I leave 45 minutes to get to work, or an hour and 45 minutes?

What do you do in your spare time? We’re big kayakers. A few years ago, I kayaked down the Grand Canyon for two weeks on a guided tour led by a friend. It was a four-week tour, but I left after two weeks and hiked out, while someone else hiked in and took my place. It was an amazing experience. Around here we flatwater kayak in rivers and lakes and always bring Skyler along. We also do river hiking with the dogs. That’s a lot of fun, just picking your way up a river. I like doing stuff around the house. We bought an 1890s farmhouse with attached barn as an investment. We’re hoping to fix it up and rent it after we build a small house on our 22-acre property. This spring I’m building about 15 raised beds for Katya, so she can get her hands dirty.

Wednesday - Friday: 7:30 am - 2:00 pm • Saturday + Sunday: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm 29 Stowe St., Waterbury • 882-8229 • StoweStreetCafe.com

What is something people don’t know about you? Well, I’m pretty much an open book, but most people don’t know that I have zero fear factor. When I was 16, I broke my back skiing at West Mountain. It was a life-changing event. I was laid up for six months, but I’m fully recovered. I like rock climbing and bouldering, sky diving, and I’m a crazy mountain biker. But I won’t let myself ride a motorcycle. Another thing most people don’t know is I worked on a long-line commercial fishing boat for a year, living in the middle of the ocean. There’s nothing like jumping on the back of a 16-foot shark to cut his head off. It was a great life adventure. I love adventures. My life has been spent chasing adventures. I’ve been to 14 countries.

What are you reading right now? News. I’m focused on what’s going on in the world today. n

RURAL ROUTE CULTURE CENTER Architect Zena Howard, center, with Vermont artists Myra Flynn and John Hughes during a community planning session at the Big Barn at the Clemmons Farm. The exterior of the Big Barn at the Clemmons farm in Charlotte. CLEMMONS FAMILY FARM; BARN: NANI CLEMMONS

ALEX MILL ATTIC AND BARN BA&SH BAUM UND PFERDGARTEN BRODIE CHRISTY LYNN COTELAC DEMYLEE EMERSON FRY RACHEL COMEY STINE GOYA SUNCOO URSA MAJOR VILAGALLO 0039 ITALY

The Big Barn at the Clemmons Family Farm is already considered a hub for Vermont’s community of Black artists. Now, with federal funds secured for the historic, 148-acre farm, the barn will soon be transformed into a venue for African American and African diaspora visual and performing arts programs. In March, Vermont received $167 million in funding for specific Vermont projects across the state, including $500,000 for the African American Arts & Culture Center at the Clemmons Family Farm—one of the 22 landmarks on the state’s African American Heritage Trail. Lydia Clemmons, president and executive director of the farm, said the majority of the money will go toward continuing work on the big barn as a visual and performing arts center. “It’s just amazing. This is just setting us on the trajectory toward converting the whole farm into a center for the public, for everybody to learn about my parents’ legacy, but also African American and African

diaspora history, and to just come together as a community,” she said. Zena Howard, the award-winning architect who designed the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., will collaborate on the project. She visited the center in 2018 to support early creative placemaking for the barn. The rest of the funds, meanwhile, will be used to renovate the upstairs level of the Authentica African Imports and Art Gallery, specifically to create an in-house residency for local artists. Like the rest of the farm, this building has incredible history itself. The building was “the venue for the very first African art, import, and mail order business in the country,” Clemmons said, started by her mother and father, Lydia and Jackson Clemmons.

ESSENTIALS: Greenbush Road, Charlotte. clemmonsfamilyfarm.org.

FIRENZE | VOZ | ASKK NEW YORK

XXjoin us on instagram and instagram live at wellheeledstowe — private appointments available upon special request — 2850 MOUNTAIN RD | STOWE, VERMONT | 802.253.6077 | WELLHEELEDSTOWE.COM | OPEN DAILY 11 - 5

RURAL ROUTE

FROM LEFT: COURTESY PHOTO; GORDON MILLER

SCHUSS SHOW Carol and Erica Skinger, who grew up in Stowe, turned up for the 85th anniversary celebration of lift-serviced skiing March 26 at Midway Lodge. Carol, now a Pittsburgh-based artist, and Erica, a former World Cup ski racer—she had eight, top 10 finishes—grew up on the Mountain Road in the now-gone Tucker House Lodge where their father, Joe, also operated Silver by Skinger. His famous sterling silver slalom rings are still sold at the the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, which co-hosted the event. Amanda, Emily, and JoAnne pose for a photo in a restored gondola car. Museum hosts Poppy Gall and Nancy Andrews.

This year marks 85 years of lift-served skiing on Mount Mansfield, which the ski area and Vermont Ski & Snowboard Museum celebrated in March. This season also marks the 90th anniversary of Stowe as a destination ski resort. Roland Palmedo and the Amateur Ski Club of New York “discovered” Stowe in the 1931-32 ski season. Palmedo was the scout for the ski club, exploring possible skiing terrain further and further from metropolitan New York. He came to Stowe in February 1932 and found a kindred spirit in Stowe’s Craig Burt, who was more than willing to have his son Craig Burt Jr. show Palmedo the skiing terrain on Mansfield. The first lift was a rope tow located on the Toll House slopes. The tow was installed in the fall of 1936, but due to a bad snow year it didn’t operate until February 1937. The centerpiece for the celebration was an original, completely restored Stowe gondola. (Actually, I’m not sure the original gondolas ever looked that good!) That gondola car probably feels right at home—it was on display at Midway for a few weeks this winter—as the lodge was the base station for the old gondola. In the old days, skiers loaded into the gondola in the main cafeteria with a line that wrapped around inside the building. And, on busy days that line extended well out of and around the building. The original gondola began operation in 1968, and an accident early that season shut it down for a period. My first ski days at Stowe were in spring 1969 and I don’t think we ever went near the gondola. I was being “guided” by a couple of Catamounts from University of Vermont who knew their way around, so I’m not sure our neglect of the gondola was because of the accident or just sticking to what we knew. In subsequent years, we definitely incorporated the gondola into our Stowe skiing routine. The gondola development was a big expansion for Stowe. If you look at Stowe’s timeline, there have been four major upgrades. First, of course, was the single chair in 1940, and at the time the longest chairlift in the world. Then came the expansion to the Spruce side of the ski area in 1954. Third was the installation of the gondola in 1968, followed by the recent upgrade of Spruce Peak at Stowe. The idea for the gondola and trails is attributed to Charlie Lord. There were already ski trails under the Chin. Rimrock, Perry Merrill, and Chin Clip appear on trail maps long before the gondola, but with perhaps the exception of Rimrock, today’s versions take different routes down the mountain. The gondola project started in 1967. Trails were laid out and cut and two complete lodges were built. The Cliff House featured rest rooms and a restaurant, which meant water and sewage sys-

tems had to be built. I mention that because the 1954 Spruce project never involved indoor plumbing at the top—and, for that matter, still doesn’t. And, of course, the gondola had to be installed. A four-person gondola was chosen because at that time it could get more people up the mountain quicker than any available chairlift. Those who remember riding the old gondola in its later years are probably surprised to hear that, particularly after their first high-speed quad experience. The old gondola was replaced by the current high-speed, eight-passenger gondola in 1991. The former gondola base was converted to the Midway Lodge used today. Whenever I have lunch at Midway, I marvel at that upgrade. It’s hard to picture the old bullwheel, where the cars were stored, and how it was open to the outside on the uphill end. —Greg Morrill Greg Morrill, a retired computer programmer and college professor, contributes a weekly column to the Stowe Reporter. More at retro-skiing.com.

ESSENTIALS: 1 South Main St., Stowe, (802) 253-9911, vtssm.org

RURAL ROUTE

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1. How do you say Stowe? In 2011, Globetrotters included a photo of the Nelson grandchildren from Waterford, Conn., Voluntown, Conn., and Millis, Mass., who said Stowe best—with T-shirts. From the original post, from left, Karas, 4, Tyler, 4, Nathan, 2, Alex, 2, and James, 1. Keith Boluch of Waterford sent us the picture and told us that every June his family, including his parents, two siblings and their families, and his aunt and uncle and their families, spend a week together at Trapp Family Lodge, where this photo was taken. Fast forward to 2021 ... “We missed the 10th anniversary due to COVID-19, but attached is a photo 11 years later,” Keith says. “The back row includes the original five—Karas, Tyler, Nathan, Alex and James, along with five additions to the clan: Neve, Emma, Dom, Sammy, and Lucy. They’d be very excited to see the update in next summer’s edition.” 2. Sara and Bob Schlosser of Sandiwood Farm in Wolcott got away in January 2022 to Jamaica with their favorite reading material.

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Do you have a photo of our magazine on some far-flung island or rugged mountain peak? Send it along to us at ads@stowereporter.com, with Stowe Magazine in the subject line. We’ll pick the best one—or two!—and run it in the next edition.

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RURAL ROUTE

ne summer day, I was relaxing on the bank of a secluded pond watching mallards forage when a dark shape broke the stillness of the water. It was a North American river otter, swimming with its head and back emerging from the surface, sleek body over two feet long, tapered tail trailing behind. It dove beneath the surface without a splash. Seconds later, its round head emerged at the edge of the pond. We stared at each other. Making eye contact with a river otter was a first for me, and likely unusual for the animal as well. River otters (Lontra canadensis) tend to be most active from dusk through dawn. This member of the weasel family will travel large distances through its territory, over land and through water, and can explore up to 20 miles of waterway in search of prey. Otters may hunt and swim together in family groups of a mother and babies or in social groups. They are excellent swimmers, aided by several traits that help them maneuver underwater. “Their bodies are so flexible,” said Margaret Gillespie, a naturalist at Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in New Hampshire. “The way they manipulate themselves is pretty amazing.” Otters swim acrobatically, curling and weaving through the water. Using their powerful webbed hind feet and their strong tails, which also help to steer, otters may swim as fast as eight miles per hour. For comparison, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps tops out at five miles per hour, while a more average human swimmer may reach two miles per hour.

River otters have dense fur that provides insulation, and coarse guard hairs that repel water. They can close valves in their nose and ears while swimming and diving, and they have a transparent third eyelid, which functions like swimming goggles. At nighttime, in dark or murky water, however, sight becomes less important than touch, and river otters brush their sensitive whiskers through the water and along the bottom of a pond or river feeling for movement—perhaps a crayfish crawling in the mud between rocks. Otters mainly hunt fish and shellfish, but they will eat a wide variety of prey including frogs, turtles, birds, and even small mammals. Powerful jaws and sharp teeth crunch through crayfish shells and fish bones. Because catching fish is difficult for river otters in a strong

NATURE’S SWIMSUIT River otters have dense fur that provides insulation, and coarse guard hairs that repel water.

current, they often hunt in still water, including beaver ponds, according to Gillespie. In the late 1800s, the beaver population in New Hampshire had been virtually eliminated, in large part due to unregulated harvest during the fur trade and habitat loss. As a result, otter numbers were also dangerously low. As beaver populations recovered in the mid-1900s, and their dams modified the flow of water, the river otter population grew as well. Turtles, amphibians, and muskrats also use beaver ponds—and sometimes become otter prey. Otter pups—typically between one and three—are born in late winter, furred, toothless and with their eyes closed. River otters often raise their young in abandoned beaver lodges. Otter babies can’t swim for the first several weeks of their lives, and reluctant adolescents avoid the water until their mother drags them in when they are about 2 months old. By late spring, however, the pups are foraging with their mother, and by next winter they’ll be on their own. River otters depend on—and can be indicators of—a healthy and clean ecosystem. Because they are at the top of a long food chain, they may bioaccumulate concentrations of mercury, lead, and PCBs from their prey, which can affect their nervous and endocrine systems, impacting social behavior and pup survival. They may become malnourished if pollution kills their prey. A stable or growing population of river otters is a good indicator that a watershed is thriving: if they are healthy, creatures lower in the food chain are likely doing well. I felt so lucky to see a river otter that summer day, although the experience was brief. Soon after I spotted it, the otter dove toward the edge of the pond and ran up the bank through thick brush. This beautiful animal was a reminder of why we work to conserve wild land and keep waterways clean and free of pollution. — Rey Katz

“The Outside Story” is edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org. Rey Katz lives in Boston (reywrites.com).

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ROBERT FAHEY

MINTED! Working the fields of the now-conserved Ricketson Farm in Stowe with stacks of sileage in the foreground.

Ricketson Farm contains rare peat bog, forested wetland The 217-acre Ricketson Farm on Route 100 is now protected. On March 23, the farm was conserved by Ken Ricketson with help from the Vermont Land Trust, Stowe Land Trust, and town of Stowe. The Ricketson family has lived on this land for more than a century. Since he sold his dairy herd in 2020, Ricketson has leased his fields to other local farmers and now that it is conserved, he will continue to own the farm and expects to keep leasing it while he works out a transition plan. “Growing up on the farm, we obviously have a strong connection to this land and are excited to see it conserved,” said Rita Ricketson, Ken’s sister. “Knowing that this piece of Stowe’s farming history will stay undeveloped is a great relief, and we hope new generations of farmers will be able to continue our family’s legacy.” A permanent conservation easement guarantees the farmland will not be developed and will remain available for farming. The property includes important forested wetlands, a rare peat bog, and access to a VAST snowmobile trail. A companion river corridor easement will help to improve the health of Moss Glen Brook, visible from Route 100. “This is an amazing farm to conserve,” Al Karnatz of the Vermont Land Trust said. “Ken’s family has cared for this land for generations. The whole community is indebted to him for conserving the farm and for including protections on Moss Glen Brook and the bog.” The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board provided half of the $2.5 million needed, and Stowe Land Trust raised the other half through an ambitious local campaign. More than 400 individual donors participated, and Stowe voters approved contributing $200,000 in town capital

funds. In total, the land trust raised nearly $1.3 million in private donations, exceeding its goal by $16,000. The remaining funds will be earmarked for future land protection projects. “We are extremely grateful to Ken Ricketson, our partners, and everyone who joined with us to conserve this landmark farm,” Kristen Sharpless, executive director of Stowe Land Trust, said. “The overwhelming local support we received demonstrates the importance our community places on ensuring working farms continue to have a home in our town.”

ESSENTIALS: A special event to celebrate the farm’s conservation will be held at Stowe Land Trust’s annual meeting in September. stowelandtrust.org

RURAL ROUTE NOT FOR EVERYONE Kali Brgant and Matt Niklaus of Jeffersonville, seen below, have taken the seasonal vacation rental concept in a different direction, by putting it on wheels. The couple rents their Skoolie, a school bus renovated into a tiny house.

Many people have jumped on the short-term rental bandwagon, renting their first, second, and sometimes even third homes to vacationers. Kali Brgant and Matt Niklaus of Jeffersonville have taken this vacation rental concept in a completely different direction. They are renting out their Skoolie. Skoolies are school buses renovated into tiny houses on wheels. Brgant and Niklaus stumbled on a fully outfitted Skoolie while surfing Craigslist, and much to their surprise, it was located in Hardwick. The couple were considering a tiny house, but this Skoolie was calling their names, so they bought it, named it Magdalena, did some custom renovations to the interior, and lived in it for six months. “We thought we would travel in it cross country, but Skoolies are big and clunky and take a lot of gas. We decided it wasn’t worth it,” said Brgant. “So, we put it on Airbnb, and it started booking up right away.” Magdalena is not your typical Airbnb, with conveniences galore. It is unique and funky and not for everyone. It’s glamping in a school bus. “People who appreciate it most are outdoor enthusiasts in their 20s and early 30s who enjoy camping. It’s designed for a couple and has an

outdoor shower, running water from a hose, and a composting toilet,” said Brgant. It also has a Vermont Castings full-sized woodstove, a queen-size bed with heated mattress pad, two couches that double as single beds, and decorations and pillows Brgant collected while traveling in Thailand, Bali, and India. Magdalena is booked consistently during warm weather, often with repeat guests. It can be rented in the winter unless temps are below zero. “It’s important that our guests have appropriate expectations,” Brgant said. “It has everything you need on a small scale. It’s an enjoyable space, but it’s not an easy stay and takes some work. Often people think it’s in the wilderness yet comes equipped with Wi-Fi.” That said, the location is great, about a mile from Jeffersonville and close to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, mountain biking, fishing, and endless hiking. (Niklaus also owns Bootlegger Bikes in Jeffersonville Village.) It’s on a semi-private dirt road and comes with a hammock, picnic table, and fire pit. Guests have come from close and far, eager to see what it’s like to live in a school bus. Four marriage proposals have taken place during stays, pre-approved pets are welcome, and kids get to tell their friends about their family vacation in a school bus. —Kate Carter

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flashback

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Ford and Lincoln greyhound, first seen in 1927 and used into the 1930s. 1932 Oldsmobile bird in flight. 1930 Chrysler Imperial Eight deer ornament. Ford, The Universal Car.

Sizeable numbers of Stowe residents annually complained about car show week, particularly over the weekend, when hundreds of antique automobile enthusiasts—and their fans—descended on town, parading around, clogging roadways, making downright spectacles of themselves. Several years ago when new owners bought the farm field south of the village—the so-called Nichols Field—they pulled the plug on the show, forcing show organizers 10 miles down the road to Waterbury. Summer’s never been the same. Sure, those traffic jams could be horrendous. My husband and I missed a Saturday wedding once, stupidly forgetting it was the annual Parade of Cars, and more stupidly thinking we could get through town anyway— and still not be late. Seeing all those beauties, however, was its own kind of bliss, and we arrived in time for the best part of the day—the reception. Longtime Stowe resident, Life magazine photographer, and renaissance man Verner Z. Reed shot this study of hood ornamentations for the Stowe Reporter, most likely in the 1960s. They’re too good not to share. —Greg Popa

RURAL ROUTE OKTOBER-BEST Adam Millar left nothing to chance in his quest to meet a von Trapp—arriving at last fall’s Trapp Family Lodge Oktoberfest dressed as a milkmaid. He met both Kristina von Trapp Frame, with Justin Stewart, and family patriarch Johannes von Trapp, inset. Millar also met Sam, Kristina’s brother and Johannes’ son.

DONNING A DIRNDL TO MEET A VON TRAPP

ABUFFALO

In an era where literally breathing could kill you, don’t we all need some stories in our lives that aren’t about a global pandemic, economic doldrums, culture wars, and actual wars? This is one of those stories. It’s a tale of a boy and his braids and his beer. The hills are alive with the sound of “Hey, dude, nice dirndl.” Vermont is a huge craft brew destination, drawing people from around the globe to the Green Mountains, but you can also get a sense of traveling to Austria with a trip to the von Trapp Brewery in Stowe. Adam Millar is a big fan of beer, particularly the German and Austrian lagers that are von Trapp’s stock in trade. “If I could pick an Oktoberfest to visit other than Munich itself, I think von Trapp is the next closest thing,” Millar said. The Buffalo banker-turned-brewer is also just a big man, with Thor-level blond locks and

the physique of a weekend athlete—he plays lacrosse competitively. So, when he attended last year’s Oktoberfest celebration at Trapps, decked out in a dirndl, hair done up in a milkmaid braid, he drew more than a few passing glances. For those not up on their Bavaria-wear, a dirndl is that high-waisted apron/dress traditionally worn by girls and women in countries in German-speaking areas of the Alps, but more likely seen these days by women working at Oktoberfest events or lager halls. The idea of wearing the dress started as a bet among Millar’s friends who were headed to Vermont for the weekend. He arrived at Oktoberfest all dressed up and suddenly afraid to go through with the gag. “I’m like, ‘I don’t want to get out of the car. There’s a line of people right there. They’re gonna start laughing,’” he said. “But it surprisingly worked in our favor, I should say.” He and his friends counted 34 people coming up to the most masculine milkmaid at Trapps to pose for photos with Millar. “That’s just what we know of, because we would see someone, while we were eating, take a picture,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Well, I’d better make sure my legs are crossed.’” Millar was already familiar with being cognizant of going pantsless, because he has a kilt—he’s part Scottish and part German—that he wears to Scottish Highland games while he’s eating haggis and tossing cabers. His father was from the Bruce clan, as in Robert the Bruce, the nobleman turned rebel popularized in “Braveheart” and “Outlaw King.” Oktoberfest marked the third time Millar had made the seven-hour drive to Vermont. The first time he came with his girlfriend on their “babymoon,” a vacation before a couple celebrates the birth of their child. The family came back in April to check out other breweries, as well as Trapps. They went home with matching moose tattoos. Millar likes beer, and he travels a lot, whether with his lacrosse club or for work or on vacations

with friends and family, so he’s always on the lookout for whatever brewery is famous wherever he winds up. He’s not always overly discerning, either. He said he couldn’t pass up a tour of the Coors factory when he was in Colorado, and he tossed back some Pabst Blue Ribbons and Miller Lites when he was in Milwaukee. He just recently left his job as a banker to become a brewer at Big Ditch Brewing Company in Buffalo. But there’s something about Trapps, and getting to meet Johannes von Trapp and his son Sam, and getting Johannes to sign a beer stein, that makes the trip a favorite. He also got a private tour of the brewery, which wasn’t technically open for tours then, and even very briefly toyed with the idea of filling out an application for a brewing job. “Von Trapps tops everything for me. That’s my style of beer. German beer is what I drink,” he said. “I’ve always said the Carolinas (Millar is a die-hard Duke fan) but if I could move somewhere right now, Vermont would be my go-to, even though I’d still have to deal with snow.” Some people collect coins, some collect stamps or baseball cards. Millar is a collector of all things alcohol. He has an extensive stein collection, including some from Germany when it was split into East and West. He recently started getting beer or liquor can or bottle labels autographed by the people associated the brewery or distillery. He has one by the greatgreat-great-grandson of David Yuengling, whose company claims to be the oldest brewery in America. “I treat brewers like famous people, and I look up to brewers and anyone in that industry,” Millar said. “So, like with the von Trapps, the name itself is famous, so having something signed by them that they produced—no, it’s not like Sam was in there making the beer himself—but it is of significant importance.” Millar said although he knows the von Trapp name more through their beer, he has seen “The Sound of Music,” and it was a treat to meet Maria’s son. He would like to meet him again while wearing men’s clothing. He does, however, get a kick out of being interviewed for a magazine story just because he chose to go to Oktoberfest in a dirndl. “I honestly did not expect this to all happen from me putting on a dress,” he said, before revealing a secret. “To be honest, I told everyone it was a bet, but really, I willingly did it. You know, I have the hair for it.” — Tommy Gardner This year’s Oktoberfest is Sept. 17.

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RURAL ROUTE 93 MILES! A bridge crossing in Johnson. Dignitaries cut the ribbon in Morristown in 2016 when a short section of trail opened.

For five years, people have walked, ran, cycled, cross-country skied, snowshoed, and snowmobiled along a 17-mile stretch of Lamoille Valley Rail Trail between Morristown and Cambridge. But that’s only a taste of the entire 93-mile corridor, which runs between St. Johnsbury and Swanton. Now, the state of Vermont has fasttracked the trail’s completion, with nearly $15 million in projects targeted for completion in November. Once done, it will be the longest rail trail in New England. In addition to the 17-mile swath through the heart of Lamoille County, nearly 45 miles are finished, with sections open at the trail’s origin points in both Swanton and St. Johnsbury. The Vermont Association of Snow Travelers did the bulk of the work, completing 33 miles through years of fundraising and volunteer efforts, until the Vermont Agency of Transportation announced in 2018 it would finish the trail, with promises from the governor to have the state fully fund the project. All in all, the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail features five tunnels, 53 bridges, 96 crossings and 525 culverts. It passes through 18 communities and 36 total miles of it are adjacent to the Lamoille River. Michelle Boomhower with the Vermont Agency of Transportation said by taking over management of four rail trails in the state—the other three are the Beebe Spur along the eastern shore of Lake Memphremagog in

Newport; the Missisquoi Valley trail, which runs 26 miles between Richford and St. Albans; and the Delaware and Hudson in the south-central portion of Vermont, roughly between Castleton and Poultney—will

ensure the trails’ existence far into the future, by making them part of the transportation agency’s annual budget. — Tommy Gardner

ESSENTIALS: lvrt.org

MYSTERY BUYER: EDSON HILL PROPERTY SELLS FOR $33 MIL In August, an unknown buyer purchased 185 acres of land on Edson Hill in Stowe for a whopping $33.7 million dollars. The same piece of land, separated into three tracts and covering an expanse just northeast of the Stowehof, an inn and restaurant on Edson Hill Road, sold in August 2018 for just $10 million. The entity that technically purchased the land in 2021 at a 240-per-

property built in 1955 as “very well built for the time.” Does the unprecedented price tag on this sale have any real implications for the broader Stowe real estate market? Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate broker and owner McKee Macdonald doesn’t think so. “That, obviously, is a significant sale for our market and I would consider it an outlier,” he said. Macdonald isn’t privy to

Panorama of Stowe, 1914, Library of Congress.

cent markup is Five Roads Stowe LLC, a limited liability corporation established in Vermont just days before the sale. The property, referred to in town land records as the “Newbury property” after a former owner, was sold to Five Roads Stowe by Wiessner, LLC, whose registered Stowe agent said, “It’s no one’s business,” when she was asked to comment. Before it changed hands in 2018, the property was owned by the Hirschfeld Vermont Revocable Trust. The property sold in 2008 for $3.2 million. Notes taken at the time described a 13-bedroom dwelling on the 42

any of the specifics of the sale, but he doesn’t see it as any kind of market indicator. He does, however, see the real estate market in Stowe continuing to trend upward in terms of expense and downward in terms of inventory. “Stowe ended up experiencing a pretty phenomenal two years in real estate,” he said. “We’re looking at a median home sale of just under a million, which is pretty significant. Stowe is having a sort of real estate renaissance that’s been long overdue when you compare it to other similar luxury ski mountain towns in the country.”

RURAL ROUTE CENTURY MARK An early view of the Keewaydin Farm on Route 100 just before Stowe Village that’s been operated by the Pike Family since 1921. Five generations have run the farm, including the last two—Les and Claire and Suzi and Dan.

100

or 100 years Keewaydin Farm on Route 100 south of Stowe Village has been owned and operated by the Pike family. Carroll and Ruth Pike purchased the 200-acre farm in 1921. The brick farmhouse was built in 1819 with foundation stones cut from ledges bordering the pasture and bricks made on the meadow across the road. A four-bay cattle and hay barn was located south of the house and three other small buildings, including a corn crib, a sheep barn, and a horse barn made up the complex. While the couple were both graduates of the University of Vermont’s Class of 1916, Carroll gave up his Vermont career in education to fulfill his dream of operating a farm. Fourteen milking cattle were included in the sale, and it is said that after his first milking his hands were so swollen he needed to get help. The couple’s first born, Merton, was a year old when they moved to the farm. Two more sons, Milton and Morris followed, with Merton managing the farm for decades in his adulthood. On Saturdays, opera poured from Ruth’s kitchen radio. The men were talented singers with a natural ability for harmony. Sometimes the boys would sing together while milking, sometimes joined by their father. Carroll, who served on the Stowe school board for 40 years, insisted on interviewing all potential new hires. Accordingly, the superintendent had to bring them to the barn during milking. Over the years a large sugarbush owned by Stowe residents Fred Pike (no relation) and the Slaytons, owners of the contiguous farm, was added to Keewaydin. The Pikes were able to put up 700-800 gallons of syrup a year. It was an important business because it brought in cash: maple syrup paid the spring taxes, and potatoes, their other cash product, paid fall bills. But milk was the main business.

The herd averaged 70-80 milkers, the average size of a good working Vermont farm. In the late 1930s the Pikes bought Mansfield Dairy from Clyde Nelson and achieved their goal of owning the full business cycle. They peddled all their own milk in the now-famous Skiing Cow “Mt. Mansfield Thrills Me” bottles. Keewaydin owned the Mansfield Dairy for 28 years, before selling it to the Small family. Five generations of Pikes have now lived on the farm and made it an important fixture in Stowe. From Carroll and Ruth, it passed to Merton and Ora Pike. Their son Les and his wife, Claire, began to take over the farm after marrying in 1971. Now, their daughter, Suzi (Denny) and son, Dan take care of the herd, crops, and machinery. Claire and Les celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in September 2020 with their three children, Suzi, Sara, and Dan, their spouses, and six preschool grandchildren—the fifth generation of Pikes on the Keewaydin Farm in Stowe. —Morris Pike Morris Pike lives at Wake Robin in Shelburne.

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TRAIL JOURNAL

KATE CARTER

GETTING PHYSICAL The Elephant’s Head trail emanating from Smugglers Notch features breathtaking vistas and rugged hiking.

EAST AND WEST Four distinct trails diverge from Smugglers Notch Some of Vermont’s most challenging hiking trails originate in Smugglers Notch, about 9 miles north of Stowe on Route 108. To the east is Spruce Peak, elevation 3,340 feet, and to the west is Mount Mansfield, at 4,393 feet. From the Stowe side, Route 108 begins its steady climb through the Notch at Barnes Camp, elevation 1,400 feet, and STORY / KATE CARTER winds its way to the top at 2,612 feet. Along the way are four trailheads, two to the east and two to the west, so you can expect steep trails with rewarding views on both sides. Here’s a look of the four trails that will leave you literally breathless as you work your way to the top, whether it’s Spruce Peak, or Vermont’s highest, Mount Mansfield.

ELEPHANT’S HEAD Vertical rise: 1,780 feet Distance: An average of 6 miles, depending on choice of routes Hiking time: 4.5 to six hours, depending on pace This hike follows the Long Trail north to the top of the Spruce Peak. Start at the picnic area about a half-mile north of Barnes Camp, on

the right of Route 108, and cross over Notch Brook on a small footbridge. The trail begins to ascend immediately, and requires crossing slippery rock ledge and scrambling over rock slides. It’s not a technical climb but it does require physical effort. At about 2.5 miles the trail descends steeply to the Elephant’s Head spur that leads to an overlook, where the cliff drops off precipitously for 1,000 feet to the road below. Acrophobic types might want to skip the view and continue for another mile to Snuffy’s Trail, a rough road that connects to Spruce Peak ski area to the right and Sterling Pond to the left. At this point you have options: turn right and go to the top of Spruce Peak for fabulous views of Mount Mansfield ski trails and Camels Hump or turn left to reach Sterling Pond. Other options include leaving a car at the bottom of Spruce Peak and descending the work road, or leaving a car at a parking area at the top of Smugglers Notch and descending the Sterling Pond Trail. Or you can return the way you came. Whatever you chose, be prepared for a long day of rugged hiking and fabulous scenery. >>

TRAIL JOURNAL

Vertical rise: 930 feet Distance: 2.2 miles round trip Hiking time: 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on fitness level This is the shortest trail in the Notch, but don’t let the distance fool you. It begins with engineered stairs made of huge rocks, built by trail workers over the years, and climbs steeply and strenuously over boulders and roots. At about a mile you’ll reach Snuffy’s Trail, the rough road noted previously. Turn left and descend to Sterling Pond. From here you can return the way you came, or follow the Long Trail that takes you to the far side of Sterling Pond and Watson Camp. Continue around the pond over rough terrain and arrive back to Snuffy’s for an additional 1-mile loop. From here you can return the way you came on the Sterling Pond trail or go left to the summit of Spruce Peak. For a point-to-point hike, leave a car at the base of Spruce Peak at the ski club parking lot. If you go this way, when you reach the top of the ski lift, look for the trail that takes you to one of the best viewpoints in Vermont.

miles to Taft Lodge. Take that trail, which intersects the Long Trail just below Taft Lodge. Stay on the Long Trail to the summit of Mansfield for a total of 1.8 miles. The 360-degree views at the summit take you west to the Adirondacks, south to Camels Hump, east to the White Mountains, and north to Quebec. Return to Taft Lodge via the Long Trail or Profanity Trail—a better choice for the fear-of-heights types— and stay on the Long Trail for the rest of the descent to Route 108. Unless you dropped a car at the Long Trail trailhead, you’ll need to walk a mile up KATE CARTER Route 108 to your car at Big Springs. Now go have a beer at your favorite watering hole. You sure as hell deserve it!

HELL BROOK

LONG TRAIL

Vertical rise: 2,600 feet Distance: 5 miles Hiking time: 4-5 hours In “Guide to Vermont’s Day Hikes,” author Jared Gange says, “Perhaps the most continuously steep and rough trail in Vermont, Hell Brook is not recommended for beginners.” He adds, “Not advised for the descent, especially when wet.” This paints an accurate picture of Hell Brook trail that should not be taken lightly. There’s a brook, and there’s one hell of a hike. Park at Big Spring parking area, about 1.5 miles past Barnes Camp on the right of Route 108. The trailhead is another 150 feet up the road on the left. After the nearly mile-long relentlessly steep climb, the trail intersects Hell Brook cutoff trail, which branches off to the left and is another 0.9

Vertical rise: 2,800 feet Distance: 5.4 miles up and back Hiking time: 5-6 hours The Long Trail is the most direct and possibly easiest route to the summit of Mount Mansfield from the Notch. But that’s not to say it’s easy. As with any trail to the summit of Vermont’s highest peak, it’s steep, tough, and long. Park at the designated parking a few hundred feet past Barnes Camp, on the left. The trail begins uneventfully, but soon climbs steeply through hardwood forests and several switchbacks, with steps and water bars built of the years by the Green Mountain Club to slow the impact of heavy trail use. Follow the trail to the intersection past the Hell Brook cutoff (see above) and to a junction that leads to Taft

STERLING POND

INTO THE WOODS Clockwise from top left: Sterling Pond. Barnes Camp loop. The brook in Hell Brook.

PAUL ROGERS; STERLING POND,: ROGERS

Lodge. Stay on the Long Trail south, and soon you will have a choice to make: Stay on the Long Trail to the summit, or take the slightly easier Profanity Trail. A word to the wise: The final ascent to the summit via the Long Trail is not recommended for anyone who has a problem with heights. But once you reach the summit you will be treated to distant 360-degree views and an upclose and personal look at the rare and beautiful arctic-alpine plant community.

BONUS! BARNES CAMP LOOP If you’re after a more leisurely stroll, be sure to check out Barnes Camp Loop Trail. It starts at Barnes Camp and features an accessible boardwalk, views of wetlands, cliffs, a beaver dam, a short stream crossing, and a steep climb and descent, all packed into a very attainable distance that can be enjoyed in a short time. Along the mile-long loop are informational signs about the history of the area, the ecological benefits of the wetland, and the animals that live in the neighborhood. It’s an excellent choice for novice hikers and a fun walk for anyone looking for something short and sweet in the outdoors. It can be accessed from either the Barnes Camp Visitor Center or the Smugglers Notch picnic area. n

SWEET SPOT

STOWE LAND TRUST

A BOG’S LIFE Joe’s Pond, conserved forever by the Stancliff family and Stowe Land Trust, is connected to the nearby Morristown Bog Natural Area, which contains protected plant species such as the carnivorous pitcher plant, sphagnum moss, lady’s slipper, shown below, and rare orchids.

JOE’S POND A wonderland of nature between Morristown, Stowe

STORY

/ KEVIN M. WALSH

Joe’s Pond may sound like a swimming hole in someone’s backyard, but in reality this 32-acre local wilderness area is of prime environmental and historical importance. Located in a secluded area of Morristown, the 11.3-acre pond is surrounded by almost 21 acres of marsh and woods. Privately owned by Ron and Judy Stancliff, the natural area is home to beavers, several fish species, birds and other wildlife, and some unusual plant life. “The pond is a fragile environment with a unique ecosystem,” according to the Stowe Land Trust. Through the generosity of the Stancliffs, who donated the easement rights and paid their own legal costs, the Stowe Land Trust conserved Joe’s Pond in December 2005. As a result, the pond area won’t be developed and will always have public access. The area also holds historical significance, according to former Morristown Conservation Commission co-chair Steve Rae, as it is a spot

where Native Americans are believed to have gathered and fished. The pond still offers good fishing. At a maximum depth of about 15 feet, it is home to trout and other species. Canoeing is permitted, but canoes must be carried across a field at the Stancliff Road access point. The land trust cautions that “visitors need to be mindful not to disturb the environment in a harmful way. In 2007, the Stowe Land Trust obtained a second conservation easement on land south of the pond owned by the Valcour family. As a result, that pond is now connected to the nearby Morristown Bog Natural Area, which contains protected plant species such as carnivorous pitcher plants, sphagnum moss, and rare orchids. Both easements act as buffers to help protect the bog’s sensitive plant life. n ESSENTIALS: To access Joe’s Pond and the surrounding area, visit stowelandtrust.org.

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O N M O U N TA I N WHAT GOES UP Autumn in Pleasant Valley in Cambridge and winter on top of Mt. Mansfield—at the same time. Storm clouds over Sterling Mountain. A graphic by Jess Langlois, a meteorologist with WCAX-TV in Burlington, explains orographic lift as it occurs in the mountains.

‘JUST WAIT A MINUTE ...’ Mountains like Mansfield create their own weather systems One summer day several years ago, I enjoyed warm temperatures and sunshine while at the Barnes Camp Visitor Center at the base of Smugglers Notch on its Stowe side, yet a few minutes later, at the top of the Notch, dark, thick clouds suddenly enveloped me and dumped torrential, wind-swept rains, reducing my visibility to barely a few feet in front of my car. Since then, I’ve wondered: How could those two weather extremes exist just a few STORY / KEVIN M. WALSH moments and a very short distance apart? This situation is more common than one might think, and the simple answer is that mountains like Mansfield can create their own weather systems. This meteorological quirk exists in mountainous regions due to an air movement process called orographic lift which, in turn, causes orographic precipitation. It’s that process that explains the kind of weather that can suddenly break out, and which I experienced, only at the higher elevations of Mt. Mansfield. “All mountains often create their own weather. They are generally cooler, windier, cloudier, and wetter, and Mt. Mansfield, being the tallest mountain in Vermont, will be the most extreme example of this,” Gary Sadowsky, a meteorologist with the WCAX Channel 3 weather

department in Burlington, told me. Mt. Mansfield’s self-contained weather systems begin when an air mass moves from a lower elevation upward. As it gains altitude, it cools quickly. Clouds form, and under perfect conditions, precipitation as well. This natural cooling system for rising air masses, without the addition or subtraction of any thermal energy, extra atmospheric conditions, or other weather elements, is called adiabatic cooling. As cool air heads up Mansfield’s slopes, the moisture condenses and forms tiny droplets, Sadowsky explained. As these small droplets cluster together to form larger droplets, they can eventually form clouds right over the mountain. As the clouds rise, if the droplets become too big and

FROM TOP LEFT: KEVIN WALSH; PAUL ROGERS; WCAX-TV

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PARKOUR • TRAMPOLINE • CLIMBING • NINJA WARRIOR • AND MORE! heavy, the clouds dump rain or snow, depending upon the ambient temperature. The amount depends on how much moisture the mountaintop clouds contain. Generally limited to upper elevation areas, the precipitation can spillover on the downwind side of the mountain. But the clouds often lose their precipitation near the top. Once the air that rose up the mountain descends down its opposite side, it has already dried out, causing very little moisture to be deposited on the leeward side, known as the rain-shadow effect. So, even when a lot of weather is happening atop Mt. Mansfield, very little or none at all can be affecting the surrounding valley areas. That’s why it’s always best to be prepared for any kind of weather when heading out on a mountain climb, even on the sunniest and hottest days. So, the bottom line: while on the mountain top, be prepared. The old Mark Twain quip, “If you don’t like our weather just wait a minute,” can be anything but a joke on Mansfield and the mountains of Vermont. n

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FISH STORY CAST OFF Fishing Ranch Brook in Stowe in search of brookies. Inset: A variety of hand-tied flies. Choosing the right “bait” might mean the difference between success and failure, but a day on a small Vermont stream with fly rod in hand is always its best reward.

SMALL STREAM LIFE ‘Wear out a little leather on these Vermont fly fishing gems’

ountless cold-water brooks cascade from the Green Mountains and play host to native brook trout and non-native rainbow and brown trout. Mountain brook fishing is typically about catching smallersized trout, improving your casting accuracy, and getting off the beaten path. Understanding the nature of small mountain streams can be very helpful in pursuing trout in these environments. To survive, trout require cold water or a high amount of dissolved oxygen. Mountain streams in Vermont stay cool in the heat of sumSTORY / WILLY DIETRICH mer when larger rivers are too warm to fish trout. Water temperatures between 50 and 65 degrees are ideal. Water temperatures over 70 degrees can be lethal, so many mountain brooks provide ideal habitat for trout. Elevation, a brook’s origins, vertical drop, and stream stability are important factors in determining productivity. Any high-gradient stream that originates over 2,000 feet in elevation tends to provide cold water. Most high-elevation streams in Vermont are fed by cold groundwater and spring runoff. Due to the

lack of human interference, many of these brooks are also fairly stable and covered in shade. Stability simply means that the brook looks the same from year to year and the pools and riffles do not change. The stream channel maintains its original integrity, and there is not much bank erosion or movement of rocks and sediment. The riparian vegetation along the banks of the stream remains intact and helps to provide shade, which helps to keep the water cooler. Stable, high-gradient mountain brooks cleanse themselves rather quickly during high-water events. In sharp contrast, valley rivers can take a while to clear up after a heavy rain. It is incredible how quickly you can fish a small brook after a heavy rain and still catch trout on dry flies. Small-stream fishing in Vermont is fairly simple. Always work upstream and do not wear brightly colored clothing. The water tends to be

very clear and trout can be spooky creatures. Trout have great peripheral vision, especially in deeper water. A trout will dart for cover the moment it feels threatened. Dry-fly fishing is the most enjoyable approach in a small stream. However, under heavy flows or when fishing a fussy trout, nymphs under a strike indicator are effective. Large gaudy attractor fly patterns tend to work the best. Most mountain streams in Vermont are nutrient poor, meaning there is not a lot of bug life and food can be scarce. Fish tend to be small due to lack of available food and a short growing season. On occasion you will hook a monster brown trout that makes a living eating small brookies. Or you might catch a large rainbow trout that moves into a small stream to reproduce. In low-water years, when thermal stress becomes

PAUL ROGERS; FLYS: GLENN CALLAHAN

an issue, large trout will seek out colder water and end up in a small stream. Equipment used in small-stream fishing is simple, whether casting to large or small fish. Lightweight fly rods between 1weight and 4-weight are ideal for smallstream fishing. Anything under 7 feet, 6 inches in length is good in dealing with the tight confines of certain brooks. Slowaction rods are nice for casting accuracy and playing trout on light tippets. A leader the length of your rod is fine, and match your tippet to the size of the fly you are casting. Small, light fly rods allow the angler to place the fly into tight spots. Remember that small-stream fishing does not require a lot of gear so keep it simple. This summer, do some research and find a high-gradient mountain brook to explore. The trout will be wild and willing and you will only wear out a little leather on your wading boots while enjoying these Vermont fly fishing gems. n ••••• Willy Dietrich is a local fishing guide who only wants to fish.

May-October, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 to 4 Explore exhibits, walk the museum grounds, enjoy the views along the Stevens Branch of the Winooski River, climb the indoor bouldering wall, play bocce ball, or tour the museum grounds by pedal car. 7 Jones Brothers Way, Barre Vermont | vtgranitemuseum.org | 802.476.4605

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④ ⑥ ① MTB & GRAVEL BIKE EVENTS STOWE TRAILS PARTNERSHIP The outfit you want to join for all things MTB in Stowe. Rides, events, trails, more. stowetrails.org. JULY 16: Raid Lamoille Long and short rides. Craftsbury Outdoor Center. grvl.net/raid-lamoille. JULY 29 - 31: Flow State MTB Festival Ascutney Outdoor Center, weekend of rides, family fun. flowstatemtbfestival.com. AUGUST 28: Race to the Top of Vermont 4.3-mile hill climb, bike or run up Mansfield’s Toll Road, 2,564 vertical. rtttovt.com. GOLF: DON LANDWEHRLE. HIKING: KATE CARTER. FISHING: PAUL ROGERS. OTHERS: GLENN CALLAHAN.

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OUTDOOR PRIMER Golf More than a dozen courses are within an hour’s drive, but two of the state’s most spectacular are the 6,213-yard, 18-hole Stowe Country Club, and the private Stowe Mountain Club. Other courses options abound, from Copley Country Club in Morrisville, to options in the Mad River Valley, Burlington and beyond. Adventure mountains Hiking options abound in the Greens. Access the Long Trail from the top of Mansfield and the extensive trail network from the summit area. Routes up Vermont’s highest peak come from all directions— Nebraska Valley, Ranch Camp, Smugglers Notch, and even Underhill, on the mountain’s backside. In addition to Mansfield, the mountain trails around Stowe are too numerous to list, from the Sterling Pond Trail in the Notch to Belvidere Mountain. A good place to get oriented is at the Green Mountain Club headquarters in Waterbury Center. Looking for an adventure? ArborTrek on the Cambridge side of Smugglers Notch offers ziplining, a treetop obstacle course, and more. Paddle sports Local outfitters offer river trips on the Lamoille and Winooski rivers, where you can canoe past dairy farms and through quintessential Vermont villages, all the while soaking in sweeping views. Or if you prefer, launch a kayak on Lake Eden, Lake Elmore, Caspian Lake, Wolcott Pond, or Waterbury Reservoir. Canoes and paddleboards are welcome everywhere, such as Long Pond in Eden, Green River Reservoir in Hyde Park, and Little Elmore Pond.

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PERSONAL TRAINING Home Visits In-Studio Virtual Please contact us to set up a personal training appointment or schedule your classes online. rideindoorcycling.com | 512 Mountain Road, Stowe VT info@rideindoorcycling.com | 802.279.0845

Swimming holes Innumerable mountain streams meander through the Green Mountains, serving up a Vermont-style swimming experience and a unique kind of solitude. Some are a cinch to find: A walk up the Stowe Recreation Path to a spot on the West Branch River, or the well-known Foster’s swimming hole. Better yet, find your own! Bike in the woods Whether you want a gentle ride along the 5.3-mile award-winning Stowe bike path with its views of Mount Mansfield or a teeth-chattering, lung-burning trip through Cady Forest or Adams Camp, strap on your helmet and get riding. Varied terrain and hundreds of miles of trails make the region a perfect biking destination. To get started, stop into a local bike shop or go to stowetrails.org. Stowe Recreation Path & Rail Trail Stowe’s nationally recognized 5.3-mile walking and hiking greenway starts in the village behind the Stowe Community Church. While never far from civilization, the path offers scenic views of the West Branch River and Mt. Mansfield. Other access points are on Weeks Hill Road, Luce Hill Road, on the Mountain Road across from Well Heeled, and at the path’s end on Brook Road. The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail meanders through several of the towns north of Stowe—it’s a great biking, running, and walking path. lvrt.org.

BIKE ZONE

DARREN BENZ

TALENT POOL Ross Scatchard, head coach and program director for Stowe Mountain Bike Academy, says learning new skills and overcoming challenges makes riding more enjoyable, increases access to more trails, and the outdoors.

CLEAR THE TABLETOP! Stowe bike academy gives riders the right stuff Once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget, right? Well, that may be true if you’re riding on roads and rail trails, but if you want to up your game, a little coaching will instill confidence, help you graduate to more challenging terrain, and make riding more enjoyable. >> 60

BIKE ZONE

JACOB SHAPIRO

FOR ALL AGES Kids learn the basics at Stowe Mountain Bike Academy—braking, stopping, steering, balance—but also how to be safe on trail and have fun. But the academy isn’t just for the kids; all ages and skill levels are welcome.

“Some instruction can open the doors to a lot more,” Ross Scatchard, head coach and program director for Stowe Mountain Bike Academy, said. “Learning new skills and overcoming challenges makes riding more fun and increases access to a greater variety of trails and enjoying the outdoors.” Stowe Mountain Bike Academy, a rider development program, is dedicated to inspiring mountain bikers through skills, camaraderie, and adventure. The academy started in 2018 as Stowe Youth Cycling, with a focus on youth instruction and coaching. A year later the owners rebranded as Stowe Mountain Bike Academy and now include adult lessons and skills clinics, youth after-school programs, summer practices, week-long summer camps for kids, the Stowe Mountain Bike Academy Race Team and, new for 2022—long weekend guided rides for adults. From beginner singletrack to racing, programs focus on technique, strength, and instilling respect for our trails and the environment. Programs have a low rider-to-coach ration of 5:1, so coaches can work more closely with individual riders. The academy’s home base is the Golden Eagle Resort, which has direct access to the mountain bike trails at Cady Hill Forest, just off Mountain Road, about a half-mile from Stowe Village. “Cady Hill has great teaching terrain for a variety of abilities and is a good place to introduce new riders to the sport,” Scatchard said. With a clientele primarily from the Stowe area, Scatchard anticipates the addition of summer camps will draw students from surrounding counties, as well as out-of-state vacationers. Riders of any age and ability level are welcome. Kids as young as 5 learn the basics of braking, stopping, steering, balance, and safety, and once they accomplish those skills they move on to trail riding. “Kids who start young are developing skills and endurance at a young age. There will be some real talent coming onto the racing scene in the future,” Scatchard predicted. “Or they can take it as far as they want and just enjoy a lifelong sport.” Scatchard is a good example of both. He and his brother spent hours riding their bikes around their Vermont home as kids. Brother Brooke started racing in 1995 and Ross soon followed.

“I was a pretty serious racer in my teens, and have stayed involved over the years,” he said. “For awhile I helped with Vermont Youth Cycling, a statewide program that helps get middle school and high school kids involved in cycling.” The academy’s staff fluctuates with the seasons, topping out at a dozen or more full- and part-time coaches at the peak of summer. Their certified coaches, including cross-country champions and world-class downhillers, help riders explore new skills, new trails, and new experiences. Most are involved in snow sports in the winter, including Scatchard, who runs Edson Hill Nordic Center and coaches the Stowe High School Nordic team. Scatchard says Stowe has been a great place for the academy to set roots and grow. “Stowe’s mountain biking community, Stowe Trails Partnership, and local businesses have been very supportive,” he said. “Participating in the local mountain bike community means more people can feel comfortable getting into it, hitting the trails, and just being outside. There is a lot of community support in Stowe.” You can stick to the rail trail if that’s your thing, but if you want to learn how to clear a tabletop, navigate a rock garden, or schralp a trail, check out the academy. It will help you achieve those mountain biking goals, no matter how small or big. —Kate Carter ESSENTIALS: stowemtb.com.

RAIL TRAIL

KEVIN WALSH

VERMONT CREW The historic Poland Covered Bridge, below, is a bonus while visiting the Cambridge Junction trailhead on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

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During Cambridge Junction’s heyday as a regional center for train traffic, the call of “All Aboard” was a familiar one. Today, for children who visit the area, a bit of railroad history can be relived in a fun way at the train-themed playground adjacent to the Cambridge Greenway and Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. Kids big and small can climb aboard the multi-section wooden train, built child-sized for using and exploring. In the train’s big, black engine, kids drive the train while blowing the whistle, play an organ-like instrument by pushing paddles, or climb through a tunnel that masquerades as the engine’s boiler. Behind the engine, passenger cars offer wooden tables and benches, good for picnics, playing board games, or a shady rest on a hot day. Trains of yesteryear also needed water to make steam, and so stations often had water towers. Today’s kids can be excused if they fail to appreciate history, but they can still enjoy the circular slide and climbing pole built in the water tower located next to the station. While the kids imitate train engineers, parents might enjoy viewing historic photos and reading about the railroad’s past on informative signboards. And if the kids tire of the train lore, more fun awaits at the nearby historic Poland Covered Bridge, aka the Cambridge Junction Bridge. Built in 1887 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 153-foot-long relic is the second longest, clear-span covered bridge still being used to carry vehicles in Vermont. Windows in the bridge offer great views of canoeists and kayakers as they pass below on the Lamoille River. —Kevin Walsh ESSENTIALS: Access from the Cambridge Greenway or take Route 15 and turn onto Junction Road. lvrt.org.

First serve stowe tennis club celebrates 50 years

KERMIT SPAULDING CONGRATULATES the winner of the men’s booby prize, below. A list of directors, officers, and committee members in the Stowe Tennis Club’s inaugural year, 1972. Clockwise from top, next page: Two regular champions—Gerhard Schmidt and Omar Graddock. A more recent group of women members enjoying lunch on the porch, and ditto for the men, sans the lunch. Two of the club’s top players through the years, Schmidt with Bodo Liewehr. Previous page: Lynn Dwinell, Claudia Elliman, Adi Barnett, and Elinor Earle after the women’s double’s championship, year unknown.

t was 1979, a warm day in late August, and Bob Juzek couldn’t miss. Largely known around Stowe as the local violin maker, Juzek, 41, hadn’t played much socially at the Stowe Tennis Club since moving his business to town a few years prior; his modesty and hip ailment kept his talent with a racket relatively hidden. But in the second round of men’s singles at the club championships, when he went up against the No. 3 seed, a 16-year-old Kenny Wittels, fiery crosscourt forehands and sharp drives between the two players pushed the quiet clubhouse gallery to the edge of their seats. Juzek won the first set in a tiebreaker, the second set went to Wittels. At one point, Wittels dropped his racket in frustration: “C’mon now,” said Bob, in an encouraging tone to his young opponent, “You should be wiping up the court with me,” according to an edition of the Stowe Reporter the Thursday after the match. The tide only turned in the last match when Wittels broke a tie, running off four consecutive points to take his hard-earned win. Not a sore loser in the slightest, Juzek reportedly said, “I’m going to the Shed and celebrate. That’s the best tennis I’ve played in 12 years!” That’s sort of what the Stowe Tennis Club has been known for since a small but mighty crew of tennis enthusiasts founded it in 1948: topnotch competitors, sportsmanship, camaraderie, a little grit, and some of the best tennis on the East Coast. Since the construction of its clubhouse in 1972 and many years before, the club has created and fostered national tennis stars, hosted competitions drawing fans from across the country and Canada, won state, New England and U.S. titles, and still managed to hold onto the small community feeling that brings members back to the courts every spring.

STORY

With such clout as a breeding ground for talent, how has this club stayed tight knit for so many years? Perhaps it’s the unassuming setting in the Green Mountains, where the clubhouse is nestled in a quiet haven off Barrows Road. Perhaps it’s the member-ownership model, which keeps players committed to maintaining their clubhouse, six courts, and pool. Perhaps it’s the longtime friendships made on the court, or the kids who started out in strollers, then picked up a racket as junior members before going on to beat their parents and teachers. “It started as a small group with a wonderful idea. Frankly, it was the envy of many people in other places,” said Art Wittels, 87, one of the club’s founding members and a past president. While the talent was expert level and passion for tennis unquestioned, Wittels noted the heart of the club was kept alive through the members’ commitment: cleaning up the courts, clubhouse and pool every year together; volunteering as board members; instructing youngsters and hosting events. “The people who belonged to the club then were people who just loved to play tennis,” he said. “Its basic premise as a place to play tennis without any great frills has continued.” Adi Barnett, 84, another of the club’s founding members and a past president, general manager, and a nine-time winner of the club championship title has loved the club for as long as she’s lived in Stowe—over 50 years.

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ONE YEAR’S CROP of junior players. Clockwise from top, next page, Gerhard

Schmidt, Roman Wickart, and Adi Yoerg enjoy post match conversation and libations. Rick Barnett celebrates with his young charges. John Torpi, the first pro at Stowe Tennis Club, hands out an award to Stephanie Davison. Below, the original sign to the club, and the men’s champion board in the early 1980s.

“I really loved this club, totally. I felt that it kind of grounded me in the community,” said Barnett in her warm Dutch accent. Originally from the Netherlands, she moved to Stowe in 1966 and almost immediately joined the burgeoning club. She was nicknamed “Good-burn Barnett” in a 1977 issue of the Stowe Reporter, for her dogged game as she fought her way through the finals of the Vermont State Women’s Championships before succumbing to the state champion. Spectators called it “a well-fought strategic battle” and “some of the finest women’s tennis the area has recently seen.” Mentions of the Stowe Tennis Club, players’ victories over their Burlington rivals, or rainy battles to bitter ties, are splashed across the pages of the Reporter stretching back as early as 1959, only a few months after the newspaper’s first issue was published that Christmas. Players like Adi Yoerg, Omar Graddock, Gerhard Schmidt, Laura Batchelder, Claudia Elliman, Elinor Earle, Allister Martin, Bodo Liewehr, Roman Wickart, Ricky Yoerg, and Wendy Wittels dominated the courts and the coverage. Their names and many others are also preserved in the framed list of champions hanging in the clubhouse. Back then, the competition could be fierce, but friendly rivalries always stayed friendly, Barnett said, recalling one memory of Graddock’s court-hogging as he played doubles with her daughter, Carolyn. “I remember at one point, somebody threw up a lob and Omar was about to push my daughter out of the way, and she said, ‘Mine!’ and she pushed him out of the way and won the point. I was so proud,” Barnett said laughing. That was in the 1970s, the decade of the Battle of the Sexes, when the iconic tennis match between 29-year-old Billie Jean King and 55-year-old Bobby Riggs, who claimed that female tennis players were inferior and even at his age he could beat any woman, aired on live television. We all know how that ended: after King entered the court, carried by four barechested men on a feathered litter she proceeded to hug the baseline and keep Riggs sprinting across the court until she won the game. A lot has changed for the Stowe Tennis Club since. In 1961, the club hosted its first tennis clinic attracting 10 junior players. A few years later, the club began toying with the idea of promoting a junior tennis program and this desire, to bring the sport to local young-

sters, blossomed into a robust youth program that churned out stars who would go on to play internationally. “It became huge. We had quite a few counselors who worked with the kids. We went to the U.S. Tennis Association tournament. One year, we won the New England tournament with the juniors,” Barnett said. “I was very proud of the program. I always oversaw it and I very often had to step in to help teach.” One of Barnett’s pupils, Bridget Steers—described in a 1984 edition of the newspaper as “the little red head that looks like the Campbell Soup Kid. You’ve seen her around the Tennis Club or as a ballboy at the Grand Prix Tennis matches”—eventually ended up surpassing her teachers to become the youngest competitor ever to win the club championships. Ricky Yoerg was another athlete who grew up going to the Stowe Tennis Club, starting at age nine. It only took 16 years for Yoerg to eventually dethrone reigning champion Gerhard Schmidt in an intense match in 1982. Despite Schmidt’s “unrelenting pin-point accuracy,” Yoerg “stood his ground and blasted everything back—and then some,” according to the July 29 Stowe Reporter. Schmidt, who boasted a total of 13 club titles and numerous titles in the New England Master’s program by the end of his life, grew up a champion skier in Austria, where he won titles as young as 14 before going on to teach and eventually move to Stowe. His fingerprints are all over the little ski town, from his time managing the Stowehof Inn, to running the Mount Mansfield Company’s hotels, including the Toll House Inn and The Lodge, to his renovation with wife Gucki of the Salzburg Inn. Schmidt died in March 2003. Adi Yoerg, Ricky’s father and another of the club’s founding members, often knocked out Burlington rivals to win the championship title. Also an expert skier, mountaineer, and rock climber, Yoerg served in World War II and worked as a mountain guide before immigrating from Germany to Stowe in the 1950s. In 1969, he opened the Edelweiss Store

on Mountain Road. After his passing in 1997, the club began hosting the popular Adi Yoerg Tennis Tournament in his honor. In 1972, the club hit another major milestone when it decided to build its own clubhouse and tennis courts. Serious planning and discussion occurred under the reign of president Trowbridge Elliman, and after Elliman handed the gavel to Roman Wickart the board finally took action, thanks to a detailed financial plan from player James Dwinell. The Stowe players broke in their new facilities in 1973 by beating their friendly rivals, the Burlington Tennis Club, in a squeaker, 30-28. Their Chittenden County counterparts reportedly described the new facilities as having a “perfect layout,” warning others that “you’ll be so dazzled by the fall colors that you’ll never be able to play tennis.” A few years later, when the English Leather Tennis Grand Prix came to Stowe, club members like Schmidt and Kermit Spaulding helped organize the prestigious tournament. A golfer watching some of the matches reportedly exclaimed, “They’re really fantastic it’s enough to make one want to take up tennis,” prompting a local tennis player to retort: “They’re fantastic alright. It’s enough to make me want to take up golf.” Charlie Lusk, 81, a Stoweite who joined the club in the 1970s, recalled only one contentious issue in the planning over whether to remove some trees to make room for the expansion. In the end, after the trees were gone, Lusk said he felt the renovation “made the place much more cheerful. There’s no question.” He still plays twice a week with what he cheekily called the “geezer team,” also known as Mert’s Men, a club team named in honor of one of its late members. Some separation between new and old Stowe has emerged as the club has evolved and grown into the 21st century, Wittels noted. Many of the original members have died or handed the racket to younger players.

“The original club was in the old Stowe. How it will evolve in the new Stowe remains to be seen,” he said. But the heart of the club—to play tennis, no frills—is “still strong.” Former ski racer and cyclocross athlete Elle Manning took over as general manager from Barnett in 2020 and Steve McLafferty stepped up as club president last year. Uniforms aren’t required of members anymore and the same competition that lit a fire under the club in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s has cooled somewhat, but still maintains a vibrant flame. While the coronavirus pandemic at its peak hurt many industries, leading to the cancellation or rescheduling of many sporting events, it turned out to be a good thing for tennis. A few years before the pandemic hit in 2020, McLafferty noted that interest in tennis was waning slightly nationwide. “Then COVID came along and got us back to where we needed to be,” he said. “It was one of the few activities that you could do with minimal risk.” Participation in tennis increased by 22 percent in 2020 across the country, according to data from the Physical Activity Council’s Participation report. Out of the more than 21 million Americans who said they picked up a racket during the pandemic, nearly 3 million said they were new to the sport—about a 44 percent increase over data from the previous year. McLafferty feels confident in the club’s future, noting its financials are in a good place and the youth program is thriving amid the tennis resurgence. He isn’t cut of the same competitive cloth as his predecessors, but he enjoys coming to the club, playing some round robins, sitting on the clubhouse deck, and sipping a beer with his friends. “We don’t have that real uppity country club vibe of exclusivity. That’s not what we’re striving for,” McLafferty said. “Here, you realize it’s our club: it’s your club and mine.” n

WATCHING A CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH from the porch of the clubhouse. Next page, clockwise from top: An aerial view of the Stowe Tennis Club. Adi Barnett and Elinor Earle raise a toast. Barnett was a nine-time winner of the club championship, while Elinor won the women’s singles trophy twice and the women’s doubles championship five times with Adi Barnett and once with Claudia Elliman. Will Barnett, Rob Foregger, John Kilburn, and Tom Sequist after a junior’s match. Al Schein, a one-time club president, hands out awards to Hannah Sequist and Mike Tamblyn. Carol Stone and Jane Weed.

a town responds After a devastating fire ripped through Stowe’s iconic Percy farm dairy barn, friends, family, and strangers reach out to help

PAUL ROGERS

STORY

: robert kiener

PHOTOGRAPHS

: gordon miller / paul rogers

STOWE FIREFIGHTERS DOUSE THE PERCY’S ICONIC dairy barns with water the morning after the fire, which destroyed the century-old structure and killed 130 of the Percy family’s prized Jersey cows. Stowe fire officials say a spark from a skid loader started the blaze. Ann Marie Hovey, who lives in an apartment in Paul and Lee Percy’s farmhouse across the road from the barns, took this photo after discovering the fire and calling 911. Next page: Father and son, Paul and Ryan Percy. Inset: The Girls cross the road from one meadow to the next.

small, muffled explosion. “What can that be?” Ann Marie Hovey asks herself as she sits on her couch watching television in her cozy apartment on the ground floor of Paul and Lee Percy’s farmhouse in Stowe. It is just past 11 p.m. on Feb. 2. Alarmed, she stands up as Gypsy, her half beagle mutt, starts barking and leaps onto the couch, then looks first at her, then toward the front door. Hovey walks to the door and is startled again when she hears a second boom, and wonders if the noise could be a car or a truck backfiring. “My god!” shouts Hovey as she looks out the apartment’s front window. The barn across the street—the heart of the Percy family’s dairy farm—is ablaze. Flames light up the dark, cold night sky. She immediately calls 911. She then phones upstairs to her mother, Lee, and her brother, Mark, who is visiting. Ann Marie shouts to Mark, “The barn is burning! The barn is burning! The cows can’t get out!” She rushes to her front door to take a picture of the fire, but the heat is so intense she almost burns her hand on the door handle. She watches in horror as crackling flames engulf the barn. It looks to her as if the roof is about to collapse. “The cows!” she shouts again as she grabs Gypsy, bundles her in her arms, and rushes upstairs. It is like a nightmare. •••• Word spreads quickly. Stowe’s volunteer firefighters receive the alert, “confirmed structure fire, Percy Hill Road,” on their pagers and speed to the farm where they are soon joined by members of nine other nearby firefighting teams. Some 30 firefighters fight the blaze, which has now engulfed all the Percy’s barns, parts of which date from the 1860s.

Mark calls his stepfather Paul in Florida where he is on holiday fishing with his nephew, Chip. Paul, 81, was born in the family farmhouse and has been milking cows in the barn since he was a child. The news of the fire is like a gut punch. When he asks his wife Lee about the cows, she tells him, “It doesn’t look good.” Paul is in a daze. He pauses, catches himself, and tells her, “I’ll get a flight home.” Paul phones the farm’s veteran herdsman, David Olcott, who lives just up Weeks Hill Road from the barn. “Barn’s on fire,” Paul tells him. “Sounds bad.” Olcott, who has raised and cared for all of Percy’s Jersey cows since they were calves, rushes to a window and when he sees the barn ablaze, falls to his knees, overcome with emotion. But Olcott soon recovers, tosses on his clothes and runs down to the barn to see it collapsing into itself. “No way,” he thinks as he shields himself from the heat. “It’s too late.” He blinks back tears as he thinks of the 130 Jerseys, who many call simply “The Girls.” Over the years he has come to know each of them, and he knows there is little chance they could survive the fire’s thick smoke or the searing flames. Lee, her son Mark, and other Percy family members and friends who have gathered on the front porch of Lee and Paul’s home can feel the heat from the fire as they watch firefighters, led by Stowe’s Scott Reeves, flood the blaze with water from a phalanx of tanker trucks. Paul’s son Ryan arrives, and he and Mark, Olcott, and others decide to try to rescue the farm’s calves who are penned in a separate holding area. They hurry

PHOTOS THIS PAGE: GORDON MILLER

PAUL PERCY’S FAMILY GENTLY POKES FUN, holding up a framed photo with nine identical photos of Paul with the captions happy, angry, sad, excited, confused, bored, surprised, worried, embarrassed, titled “Guide to Understanding Vermont Expressions.” Paul and Lee Percy on the porch of the family farmhouse on Percy Hill Road. Ryan, his wife, Courtney, Paul, and Lee Percy on their hillside farm in Stowe with the Green Mountains as backdrop. The family in the farmhouse dining room, surrounded by mementos, awards, and family photos. Next page: The iconic view of the barns from Percy Hill Road. Pipette, aka 167, mugs for the camera like any good Jersey girl. Ryan drives tractor in the Stowe 4th of July parade, 2018. The Girls. Inset: After the fire, a thank you from a community member.

into the unburned but dark, smoky barn and manage to release all seven of the three-month-old Jerseys from their pens and manhandle them onto a cattle truck. As everyone on the porch watches the calves dash out of the barn they begin shouting, “They’re out! They’re out.” But the joy is short-lived. The fire is relentless. Despite the best efforts of the assembled firemen, by mid-morning the barn—the much-admired, centuries-old landmark of Stowe—is gone. So are 130 of the Percy family’s cherished Jersey cows, all of whom have perished in the blaze. •••• Paul Percy returned to Stowe the afternoon after the fire. As he drove up Weeks Hill Road a light rain fell onto the scarred, smoldering remains of the barns he had spent a lifetime in. He confesses that he had a hard keeping his emotions in check when he first saw what he had lost. “I knew those barns like the back of my hand,” he says. “I’ve spent my whole life working in them. The farm, and them cows, have been my life.” The first floral wreath appeared as if by magic. Someone, Lee Percy doesn’t know who it was, placed it in the snow alongside the still-smoking embers of the barns, in the early morning of Feb. 3. Then another soon appeared, alongside the first. Someone laid a sign alongside the ruined barn, saying how much they loved “The Girls.” Almost immediately, donations started pouring in to a Go Fund Me

site set up by the Stowe Community Fund and another by local veterinarian Gregg Goodson and his wife, LeeLee. In time the first would raise more than $175,000, the other some $60,000. “So many people called and stopped by, asking what they could do,” remembers Lee Percy. “Sometimes they didn’t need to say anything. You could see, by the expression on their faces, how much the loss of the cows and the barns meant to them. It was as if they were giving us a virtual hug. There was such an outpouring of love. It proved to us how special a place Stowe is.” Paul nods as he listens to his wife. “The response has been unbelievable,” he says. “It still hasn’t fully registered. But it has helped us so much. I guess I’ve never really appreciated how much the people in Stowe love this farm and our cows.” Local artists donated proceeds from sales of paintings and photographs of the farm and its “Percy Girls” to the family. Restaurants sponsored fundraisers. Many donated anonymously, and others included notes—“heartbreaking news,” “from our family to your family,” “the Percys are lovely people” and “because we care.” Leighton Detora, local attorney, longtime Stowe town moderator and friend of the Percy family, was the first person to visit the farm the morning after the fire and offered his condolences. After seeing the ruined barns and hugging Ryan, who was still numb from the tragedy,

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: PAUL ROGERS; GORDON MILLER; GLENN CALLAHAN

Detora himself was so visibly shaken that a fire inspector on the scene came over and asked, “Is this your farm?” As Detora explains, “The Percys represent a lot of the hard work that has made Stowe what it is. Their farm is Stowe’s thumbprint in that it seems to have always been here and hasn’t changed—until this. The family also harkens back to a time when neighborliness was so highly valued.” When Lee Percy told him that she was about to leave to pick up Paul at the Burlington airport, he drove to Mac’s Market and bought every cooked chicken they had. “I knew Lee would need help feeding people,” Detora remembers. “It’s no big deal, it’s just what neighbors do for one another.” Sarah Winch, who had recently moved to Stowe with her husband and often walked along Percy’s pastures admiring and photographing the friendly Jerseys, spoke for many when she wrote in the Stowe Reporter: “My heart aches at the loss of the beautiful, sweet animals, the extended Percy family, and all those who cared for the cows. To the Percy ‘Girls,’ I will never forget you. You were most definitely creatures great and small and all things bright and beautiful.” The donations, phone calls, notes, and visits from locals continued for weeks. While the entire Percy family was amazed at the response, Paul

and Lee were especially moved by the reactions from people they had never met, many strangers, including newcomers who had moved to Stowe “from away.” “You know, there are people who say Stowe has gotten less friendly than it was in the ‘old days’—and I myself may have been one of those—but I don’t think like that anymore,” Paul says. Adds Lee, “This showed us that while Vermonters don’t get too involved in your life, if anything happens, they are there. And they were!” •••• Anyone who knows Paul or Ryan Percy, knows that they are both nononsense, hardworking Vermont dairy farmers, who are more interested in planning for the future than looking back. So, it was not a huge surprise when Paul told a Vermont Public Radio journalist, shortly after the fire, “We’ll probably build something somewhere.” Then he spoke about the family’s loss, adding, “Like I say, there ain’t nothing you can do about it. It’s what it is, you know. It’s a bum deal, but that’s what happened.” “That sounds like Paul, doesn’t it?” says Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s secretary of agriculture, farm, and markets and a longtime friend of the Percy family.

FROM TOP: PAUL ROGERS; GORDON MILLER

DUSK ON PERCY HILL: The barn at the intersection of Percy Hill and Weeks Hill roads has greeted motorists for decades, a constant reminder of Stowe’s agrarian past and peoples’ desire to hold onto it. Previous page: Filling up the manure spreader on a late fall day. A frosty morning, fall 2016. Ryan Percy during a Stowe Land Trust program. Inset: The aftermath under the watchful eye of the Stowe Fire Department.

Tebbetts, who was raised on a dairy farm, adds, “However, I knew that this was going to be a rough time for Paul. Losing one cow can be heartbreaking but more than a hundred ...” Three days after the fire Tebbetts and a staffer visited Paul to go over plans for disposing of the cows. Composting the bodies is a common choice and Tebbetts wanted to offer his advice on the process. “We spent several hours in the kitchen going over details,” remembers Tebbetts. “I also told Paul that it might be best if he didn’t take part in the composting. It could be too emotional.” Paul paused for a moment and then told Tebbetts, “I hear ya. But they are my cows. I want to take care of them.” And he did. Paul and his son Ryan, who manages much of the farm, eventually posted a thank you note to donors on social media: “We continue to be in

awe of the support we have received. Thank you for everything you’ve done for our family, from donating to fundraising to providing meals to offering assistance to sending encouraging notes. It’s been appreciated immensely. It’s uplifting as we work through the process of rebuilding. We have been incredibly moved by how much you appreciate our work as stewards of the land. We understand how much our cows and open lands mean to you, and we will do our best to bring back what was lost.” And they will. n

manofsteel Sculptor David Stromeyer blends science and art

STORY

: robert kiener

PHOTOGRAPHS

: paul rogers

This is exciting. Internationally acclaimed, Vermont-based sculptor David Stromeyer is just back from his winter residence in Austin, Texas, and is unboxing some of the models he created there. They’re small, made from engineered wood and plexiglass, small-scale (often one-inch to one-foot) versions of what he hopes to someday turn into massive, multi-ton steel sculptures that will join scores of others on display in his very own outdoor park, the Cold Hollow Sculpture Park in Enosburg Falls, which is open to the public every summer and fall. Stromeyer, a tall, gray-haired, wiry, fit 75-year-old, chuckles after he cuts open a cardboard box and pulls a small model free from a bundle of plastic packing material. “Well, even though I carried this with me on the plane, it got a bit damaged. Never fails.” He lifts out two, brightly painted 18-inch-high pieces, each formed with the letters P, L, A and Y and sets them on top of a table in what he calls his studio’s “clean room.” (Later, when I ask him why he has named this the “clean room?” he’ll smile and ask me, “Well you’ve seen the rest of my studio, haven’t you? It’s a mess. This is less so!”)

Like most of the more than 470 sculptures he has created over the last half century, this piece began as an idea—what Stromeyer calls a “germ of an idea”—then became a pencil drawing that eventually morphed into this scaleddown model or maquette. Working on small models, he explains, frees him from worrying about the complexities of steel fabrication at this stage: “I can keep playing with the model until I am happy with it.” Also, as he says, “Not everything works out and may not be good enough to work on a larger scale. It’s not always possible to predict if it will work, or if it sings.” However, after he places the two pieces on his clean room’s work table, they do indeed seem to sing. As his wife Sarah looks on, Stromeyer adjusts them a bit, rearranges them again, and stands back to admire his handiwork. “‘Doubleplay,’” he says, as if christening what might someday become the newest addition to his 200-acre outdoor sculpture park. “I like that.” •••• Although Stromeyer and Sarah have only recently returned from their winter in Austin and are busily preparing for the mid-June opening of their outdoor sculpture park, he sat down to answer some questions about his life and work.

WHEN THE PANDEMIC HIT in 2020, sculptor David Stromeyer and his wife Sarah had to close their 200-acre sculpture park. The setback, though, offered Stromeyer the opportunity to continue his “lifelong pursuit of making, by building a major new sculpture,” “Body Politic,” shown above. At left, Stromeyer works on one of several prototypes for the project. The entire making process is documented in Stromeyer’s new book, “Art Making on the Land.”

Let’s start with one of your newest models. Why “P-L-A-Y?” I cannot stress enough how important it is to play. As I get older, I have to work harder to maintain that sense of play. I mean playing like kids do, being open to the environment and whatever stimuli one encounters. I try to approach life, and my art, with the wonderment of a child, without the possibility of failing. As I wrote in my book, “Art Making on the Land,” this sense of play, I believe, loosens thinking, fosters inventiveness, and allows for newness, flow, discovery. I am talking about a mental attitude more than an overt mode of behavior. Physics imposes some strict rules for me with the size, material, and potential danger of what I do, but within that context there is plenty of room to play. As Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Men do not quit playing because they grow old; they grow old because they quit playing.” Many people when they first see your work say, “I didn’t know steel could do that?” Most people think of steel as rigid and stiff, so they are surprised when they see my sculptures and the ways I have worked the steel by bending and twisting it, but not heating it. What I am doing is “pushing” steel and celebrating its plastic qualities. I’ve often said I delight in the plasticity of steel. By celebrating these qualities of steel I can introduce unexpected and unanticipated consequences. That’s really the job of the artist: To provoke a little bit and get the head thinking in different ways. But you didn’t always manipulate steel as much as you do now. How did you learn you could? That’s right. In the 1970s, when I began, I used steel without manipulating it too much. But I suppose I learned it could become flexible—with enough force—by pushing it around. In the mid-1970s I fastened some cast-iron steel to my floor and used my crane to bend it. Once the steel bent and I got a turn in it I said, “Now let’s try to put a twist in it.” Then I took it outside, welded other beams to it and then used the crane to put a twist into it. I looked at what I was creating and said “Wow!” I was like a songwriter who gets an idea and writes an entire song. By the way, this piece is called “Intermittent Rainbows” and it is still in the park. Speaking of changes, you used to not paint your sculptures as often as you do now. How did that change? In my early days because I wasn’t bending steel around it seemed appropriate to keep the steeliness going by not painting my sculptures. But once I started pushing steel, that didn’t seem so important anymore. Paintings exist only by means of color; they have no physicality. But sculpture is thought of as a physical thing. When you combine the two, you have a whole new set of ideas to play with. How you paint a sculpture can really change it. A sculpture has an energy or makes a statement; it can be quiet or contemplative or almost explosive with energy. You can bring that out or contradict it with color. I started painting monochromatic at first in the early 1980s and now I play with color a lot at the model phase. What did you mean by saying that after years of working with steel you can read it? After years of watching steel bend, I can look at a piece of steel and know what it is willing to do. I don’t want to be mystical about this, but I think I have a dialogue with whatever material I am working with. I may pose certain things to a piece of steel, such as, “I want you to be able to bend around a radius or twist this way, or support that weight. Can you do it?” Then it may come back to me and say, “No, I need to be thicker or wider” or “I need to be supported.” There’s the challenge.

SCENES FROM MAKING “BODY POLITIC” From top: Fashioning a steel beam. David Stromeyer directs the action. The sculpture now sited in the park. Inset: Calculations. Previous page: Pulling stainless steel in and around the edges of the plates. Getting the large steel plate ready for the rock drop to form the steel.

How do you stay fresh? How do you keep from repeating yourself? I try to keep my work exciting by embracing new challenges, exploring unexpected combinations, employing new (to me) materials or ways of handling those materials. This is all to the end of bringing to life something new that will resonate in some way for others. You and Sarah opened your sculpture park to the public in 2014. How did you decide to do that? I used to walk through all my sculptures that I had created here and placed on the land and was proud of all that I had accomplished. I was happy displaying my work outdoors, as part of the land, partly because I could never stand going into a gallery where the walls are too covered with art. It’s hard to experience art when there is too much density. But a big outdoor sculpture has a different gestalt, or experience, than work in a gallery. I don’t think my sculpture is complete until it has been sited. In time I became a bit bothered because more people weren’t experiencing the work and the land. As I continued to put more of my work into our fields, our commitment to have the work stay on the land grew. As I got older I began asking myself, “What will become of all this?” So, we decided to open our fields to the public eight years ago and in 2019 we created a nonprofit foundation to help ensure that this will continue after we are gone. I’ve noticed that you normally give only one or two sentences when you describe your works in the park’s visitor’s guide. I want visitors to experience and engage with the work but not get hung up on reading about it. There is a trend in museums to have a huge description of art on the wall and I don’t want people to spend more time reading about the art than looking at the art itself. I want to give the visitor a way into the work. I hope that just listing titles and dimensions and maybe a line or two—at most— about what was going on in my head when I was building a piece, gives the viewer a way into the sculpture, but in no way limits their experience of it. Likewise, I try to be careful selecting titles of pieces. The title should capture some spirit of the piece without describing it. I want visitors to the park to bring whatever they want to bring to the work. I usually encourage viewers not to dwell on the fabrication issues. Typically, the sculptures that appear loose and easy were the most challenging to create. I see myself as the puppeteer controlling the strings to produce the illusion. You know, the whole reason I do all this stuff is to generate an experience with the viewers and create something that will resonate with them. I don’t want to pick the piece apart. It’s enough to just feel that “it works.” Your work has been widely exhibited and purchased by individuals, corporations, and museums such as Washington D.C.’s National Museum of American Art, the Delaware Art Museum, and others. But being able to see so much of your life’s work in this beautiful setting, tucked away in hayfields in the rolling hills of northern Vermont, is a unique experience. Thank you! For 45 years I thought of my sculptures as individual expressions. With the formation of Cold Hollow Sculpture Park, I realize that I have always been working on one big artwork, which is the park. n 88

COLD HOLLOW SCULPTURE PARK 4280 Boston Post Rd., Enosburg Falls. Open for self-guided visits Thursday-Sunday, noon - 6 p.m., June 11 – October 10. Free. coldhollowsculpturepark.com.

ART MAKING ON THE LAND For information about David Stroymeyer’s book, shown at left, go to coldhollowsculpturepark.com/stromeyer-book.html.

FREE WEEKEND PROGRAMS explore “How We Make Things,” Saturdays at 2 p.m., unless noted. All events require registration/RSVP to ensure a safe environment. Subject to change. June 18: “The Joy of Jazz Improv” with Ray Vega — Renowned jazz musician Ray Vega performs with friends and leads a talk on the complex act of improvisation. July 16: “Hidden Algorithms & the Human Experience” — Dan Rockmore, a Dartmouth College mathematics and computer science professor and director of the Neukin Institute for Computational Science, discusses how algorithms affect the human experience.

August 13: “Kisa Sauer: Germany-based Kitemaking Artist” — Artist-inresidence leads a kitemaking and flying workshop. Details online. September 17: “Using Power to Empower” — Bob Freling, executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund, examines ways to create community-focused, renewable systems across widely divergent cultures. October 8: “Science in Words and Pictures: To See the Fantastic with Everyday Eyes” — Sajan Saini, PhD, the education director of the AIM Photonics Academy at MIT explores how to communicate complex ideas with clarity and coherence by using unexpected tools such as humorous and entertaining animation.

Stowe makes the grade in revised ‘Hiking the Green Mountains’

guided hikes

AUTUMN MORNING In the alpine zone on Mount Abraham. 91

A Long Trail sign.

PHOTOS THESE PAGES & OPENING SPREAD: MARK AIKEN

A view of the Monroe skyline with Mt. Mansfield in the distance.

any will remember the summer of 2020 as the time of pandemics, school closures, and cross-state travel restrictions. For my part, those factors played to my advantage. After all, I had a huge job in front of me, and it required lots of exploration and travel—fortunately, all within state lines. GlobePequot Press, the publisher responsible for FalconGuides, the yellow guidebooks on seemingly every possible outdoor topic—hiking guides for everywhere, how-to’s for stargazing, rock climbing, birding, and more—asked me in 2019 to revise and rewrite where necessary Lisa Ballard’s “Hiking the Green Mountains,” the guidebook she wrote in 2008.

Trails change over the course of a decade, and my task was simple: Hike the trails in the book and make any necessary changes. The best part? I got to add some hikes of my own, bringing number of hikes from 35 to 40. (My additions were Bluff Mountain in Island Pond, Stimson Mountain in Bolton, Mount Ellen in Jerusalem, Blue Ridge Mountain in Rutland, and Mount Philo in Hinesburg). Following Lisa’s first edition hikes, I discovered new—to me—secret stashes like Devil’s Gulch and Rittenbush Pond in Eden and classics like Stratton Pond. As I hiked and wrote, I was reminded of what an amazing state we live in. Speaking of amazing, over a quarter of the hikes in the book are in the immediate Stowe area, from Elmore Mountain and several other hikes in the Worcester Range, multiple routes up Mansfield, and the summit of Camels Hump. Several more are within an hour’s drive, like the two excerpted here from “Hiking the Green Mountains: A Guide to 40 of the Region’s Best Hiking Adventures, 2nd edition.” I hiked all of them—as Ballard did 12 years ago. See you on the trail! —Mark Aiken

BOOK

EXCERPTS

: Mark Aiken & Lisa Ballard

PHOTOGRAPHS

: Mark Aiken & Kristen Braley

MOUNT ABRAHAM via the Battell Trail: A persistent ascent through four distinct climate zones to the summit of a 4,000-footer with an alpine summit that gives an expansive 360-degree view of the Adirondacks in New York, the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and a large portion of the Green Mountains in Vermont.

Finding the trailhead: From the junction of River Road and Quaker Street in Lincoln, go 0.6 mile west on Quaker Street. Turn right (east) on Elder Hill Road and go 1.3 miles. Bear right on USFS Road 350 and go another mile. The trailhead and small parking area are on your left. The hike: The Battell Trail (blue blazes) is a popular route to the top of Mount Abraham, particularly if you are on the western side of Vermont. It is named for Joseph Battell, a conservationist, Morgan horse breeder, and former owner of the Bread Loaf Inn. Battell was born in 1839 in Middlebury, Vermont, and served both in the Vermont state legislature and as a trustee of Middlebury College. Unmarried, he bequeathed several large pieces of land to Middlebury College and to the State of Vermont and is thus credited with preserving substantial tracts of forest that hikers continue to enjoy today, including Camel’s Hump State Park and the John Battell Wilderness south of the Breadloaf Wilderness. Middlebury College gradually transferred its portion of Battell’s land to the USDA Forest Service between the 1930s and 1950s, which helped prompt the creation of the northern Green Mountain National Forest. The Battell Trail is a slightly longer route to the summit of Mount Abraham than the Long Trail (LT) from Lincoln Gap, but it is interesting because it passes through four distinct climate zones, which the LT does not. The Battell Trail begins as a smooth footpath through a hardwood forest, with ferns carpeting the sides of the path. At first, the route is a moderate stroll with some short, steep inclines. The stroll is short-lived, however. By 0.2 mile the ascent becomes persistent, winding up the western flank of the mountain. At 0.6 mile the footing becomes noticeably rougher and more rooted, though the angle of ascent eases on a traverse to the south. After crossing two brooks on raised puncheons, the trail becomes smooth again, angling upward to the southeast. At 1.1 miles the trail bends sharply to the left (north). A few minutes later, it enters the boreal zone—predominantly softwoods. Moss and rocks dot the trail, which resembles a dry streamlet. After a short while, the trail reaches a plateau, and the footing improves. It continues uphill, but on a more moderate incline.

General location: Lincoln Distance: 5.8 miles out and back Hiking time: About 5.5 hours Highest point: 4,006 feet Elevation gain: 2,500 feet Difficulty: Very strenuous (due to elevation gain) When to go: Year-round, except during mud season Canine compatibility: Dog friendly, though some scrambling up rock slab on the upper portion of hike. No reliable water. Dogs must be on leash in alpine zone above tree line. Trail surface: Packed dirt, rocks, rocky slab in places Land status: Public Nearest amenities: Huntington Trail users: Hikers, snowshoers, skiers Water availability: None Map: USGS Lincoln quad Special considerations: None Trail contact: Green Mountain Club, (802) 244-7037, greenmountainclub.org

At 2.0 miles the Battell Trail ends at the LT. Continue on the LT–North (white blazes), passing Battell Shelter a little farther up the trail. Battell Shelter is a three- sided lean-to. There is a picnic table and a nearby tent platform for use if the shelter is full. Walk along the left side of the shelter to continue to the summit. The climb remains gentle until it reaches a series of elongated steps. From here it is a steady uphill ascent. After crossing a length of slab, a view of the summit appears ahead. With each successive piece of slab, the views become bigger, with panoramas soon opening to the south and east. The boreal forest gives way to the krummholz zone, where stunted gnarled trees grow just at tree line. After scrambling up three short “chimneys” of rock, the trail passes a huge white quartzite “egg” and then arrives at the bare summit. The summit of Mount Abraham is in the alpine zone, typical of the arctic tundra a thousand miles to the north. It is one of only three alpine zones in Vermont. The other two are on Camel’s Hump and Mount Mansfield. While the alpine zone on Mount Abraham is the smallest of the three peaks, about the size of a large living room, it is home to an array of fragile alpine plants that survive despite an abbreviated twomonth growing season (mid-June to mid-August). The grass on the summit is not common grass, but rare Bigelow’s sedge. Be careful to step on the rocks and not the sedge. Return by the same route. (Miles and directions, edited for space)

DEVIL’S GULCH / Ritterbush Pond Loop: A multifaceted loop that passes by two lovely ponds and through a rock tunnel and a lush, deep ravine to a high perch.

General location: Belvidere Corners Distance: 5.4-mile loop, with a 0.4-mile out- and-back hike through Devil’s Gulch Hiking time: About 3.5 hours Highest point: 2,100 feet Elevation gain: 900 feet Difficulty: Moderate When to go: Year-round, except during mud season Canine compatibility: Dog friendly to the ponds only. Devil’s Gulch is not dog friendly except for extremely experienced and sure- footed dogs. Trail surface: Dirt, rocks, stone steps, lots of boulder scrambling Land status: Public Nearest amenities: Jeffersonville Trail users: Hikers, snowshoers Water availability: Ponds, streams, brooks, spring behind Spruce Ledge Camp Map: USGS Eden quad Special considerations: None Trail contact: Green Mountain Club, (802) 244-7037, greenmountainclub.org

Finding the trailhead: From the junction of Routes 100 and 118 in Eden, turn north on Route 118 and go 4.7 miles. Turn right (northeast) at the sign for the Long Trail Access to find the trailhead parking. The hike: From the trailhead, take the Long Trail (LT)– South (white blazes) back to Route 118 and cross the road. This spot is called Eden Crossing (elevation 1,137 feet) by through-hikers on the LT. On the opposite side of the road, bear left (east) for about 25 yards along the road. At the white arrow on the tree, turn right (south) into the woods. The trail passes through a northern hardwood forest, traversing a hillside as it gently climbs. At a height of land, it rolls along, sometimes up and sometimes down, until it leaves the plateau and begins a more sustained but gentle descent. The first mile of the route lacks many distinguishing landmarks other than rolling hills and intermittent views of farmlands through the trees. At 1.0 mile the path descends gently as it parallels a trickling brook. At 1.7 miles the path comes to a rocky outcropping. Though you are still under the forest canopy, there is a nice view of Ritterbush Pond below you to the south. From here descend, first on steep rocks, then on impressive stone steps, in the direction of the pond. The trail levels off and then runs parallel to the western shoreline, though a distance above it, along the hillside. At 2.0 miles the LT comes to a junction with the Babcock Trail. To check out Ritterbush Pond, turn left (south) on the Babcock Trail, heading downhill a short way to a dirt road by the edge of the pond. Beavers have turned the saplings into stumps along this corner of the shoreline. There is an excellent view across the pond beyond a small frog pool. Retrace your steps to the junction and our route. Continue south (left) on the LT–South, passing the junction with the Babcock Trail, which heads away from the pond. This will be your return route. A third of a mile beyond the trail junction, the LT bends right up a short ladder. At 2.6 miles a sign marks the entrance to Devil’s Gulch. Two enormous disc-shaped boulders form an A-frame tunnel, a portal into the otherworldly canyon beyond. It’s slow going through Devil’s Gulch as you scramble over mossy rocks and marvel at the 175-foot rock walls to either side. It feels like a rain forest, with lush flora and trickles of water welling out of the cliffs and up from the floor of the narrow valley. Devil’s Gulch is less than a quarter mile long, but it is very memorable. From the opposite end of the gulch, the trail heads uphill parallel to a streamlet. At 2.9 miles it crosses the streamlet

PHOTOS BY KRISTEN BRALEY

and then comes to a junction with the spur trail (blue blazes) to Spruce Ledge Camp, a cabin maintained by the Green Mountain Club that is available on a first-come, firstserved basis. Recross the stream, bearing left (east) at the sign, up stone steps toward the cabin. Due to its northern location along a less-traveled section of the LT, Spruce Ledge Camp provides relative solitude even on weekends. Pass the cabin and picnic table, continuing on the footpath to Devil’s Perch, also called Devil’s Gulch Lookout on some maps. From the bench, there is a nice view over Ritterbush Pond to Belvidere Mountain. Belvidere is easy to identify due to the fire tower on its summit and the pile of asbestos tailings from an old mine on the right (east) side of the mountain. After enjoying the view, retrace your steps back through Devil’s Gulch to the junction with the Babcock Trail at 4.0 miles. This time, turn left (north) onto the Babcock Trail, heading uphill. It’s a steady ascent on a rock-strewn footpath under towering maples.

At 4.6 miles there is a break in the canopy as you reach a height of land. The trail then descends gently as you approach the southern tip of Big Muddy Pond. Big Muddy Pond is long and thin, with a beaver dam at its south end. It doesn’t seem very muddy when you look at it from the trail, which runs along the west side of the pond. Just when you think you’ll have to ascend the good-sized hills on the northern end of the pond, the trail bends right (east) around the top of the pond, where you’ll see an impressive beaver lodge. Descend via the pond’s drainage. At 5.1 miles the route levels off and continues through the lush forest. It reaches Route 118 at 5.4 miles at a different spot than the road crossing near the trailhead. Cross the road and then take the Babcock Trail Extension (blue blazes) downhill. The grassy trail ends at a dirt road. Turn right (east) on the road, then turn right again back into the woods. Traverse through a pine grove, crossing a series of puncheons. From here the trail climbs gently into a mixed forest with a carpet of ferns, reaching your car at 5.8 miles. (Miles and directions, edited out for space)

WHYS GUY

State forest commish on the ways of the woods

ichael Snyder has spent his entire life walking in the woods and reading about forests and has contributed enough prose of his own to fill a book that answers scores of questions about that familiar, yet oft-mysterious, world beyond the treeline. Snyder, the commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, is the author of “Woods Whys,” a collection of 63 short, easily digestible and eminently readable essays, each of which tackles a particular topic relating to the hard and soft facts of our hardwood and softwood places. Just a small sampling of the questions he answers: Can your woods be too tidy? Does a hilly acre contain more land than a flat one? Are ski glades bad for the woods? Why are paper birches so white? How do I choose which trees to cut? What is forest fragmentation and why is it a problem? Why are fir and spruce trees so conical? Before starting with the state in 2011, Snyder spent 14 years as the Chittenden County forester, helping property owners and municipalities become better stewards of their land. In a recent interview, he shared an anecdote that kind of illustrates the power of the forest—the time he made that really nice woman cry. He was walking her through her woods and they came upon a slight rise, and he asked her what was over it. She said she didn’t know because the trail they were walking on didn’t go that way. He suggested they go off-trail and check it out and found a magical little bowl containing a mini old-growth stand. “It was gorgeous, just beautiful, and different than all the rest of her land. And I’m carrying on and I’m all excited, like, ‘Oh, look at this thing over here,’ and I look back and she’s sobbing,” he said. He realized they were tears of joy. “She says, ‘You’re just so into it and I

BACKWOODS KNOWHOW Michael Snyder, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, lives in Stowe. Inset: His book, “Woods Whys: An Exploration of Forests and Forestry.”

just realized this is my land and I’ve never even been here. I didn’t even know how wonderful it was.’”

Nose in a book, feet in the woods There was a point in the late 1980s and early ’90s when Snyder, who is in his late 50s, thought he was destined for academia. He’d grown up in New Hampshire’s Lake Sunapee region and tramped in those woods as a child before attending the University of Vermont, “where the magic really happened” and he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in forestry. That’s where he learned he could take a lifelong love of writing and turn that into being able to convey some of the heady lessons he was learning, such as the then-hot topic of acid rain, and make it accessible and readable. “Some people like to make furniture. I like to make sentences,” he said. “There is a craft to it.” Snyder points to a “couple of giants” in the writing world as inspiration—Loren Eiseley, whom Publishers Weekly referred to as “the modern Thoreau,” Michael Pollan, and Outside magazine contributor and book writer David Quammen. But perhaps none stand taller than Aldo Leopold, the Iowan author of best-selling

STORY

/ TOMMY GARDNER

“A Sand County Almanac,” and a person on any shortlist of the most influential conservationists in history. “He was a brilliant forester, wildlife biologist, ecologist, but he was also a great thinker and writer,” Snyder said. “Woods Whys” features an introduction by Snyder’s editor at Northern Woodlands, Stephen Long, whom Snyder says made him a better writer through his “exceptionally sharp, insightful, and tough, but fair, editing.” He also had some local folks who played a kind of unofficial editorial role. He notes when he first moved to Stowe 30 years ago, he met the late Frank Kellogg, “a real Renaissance man,” and a regular reader of Northern Woodlands, who would regularly drill Snyder on his essays at town meeting or elsewhere. Add to that people like farmer Merton Pike and Harry Burnham, both also gone now, and Snyder had himself some locals with plenty of backwoods knowhow to challenge him. He knew he would be called out at some town function if he got something wrong. “I just couldn’t imagine printing something that wouldn’t pass muster with them,” he said. “They were like this extra editorial board of Stowe elders in my life.” n

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EXPLORE

Tom Fruin’s Maxikiosco, a Plexiglass house that resembles a colorful game of Tetris at the opening in 2019 of Exposed, The Current’s annual outdoor sculpture exhibit, on the lawn of the Stowe Free Library and art center. Inset: Once More to Those Happy Birthday Hills, 40"x30", Anne Cady, Artisan Gallery, Waitsfield.

EXHIBITS & GALLERIES ARTISAN GALLERY 20 Bridge St., Waitsfield. Daily 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. 802-496-6256, vtartisansgallery.com. Showcase of 150-plus Vermont artists.

BRYAN MEMORIAL GALLERY 180 Main Street, Jeffersonville. Spring and fall: Thursday – Sunday, 11 - 4; Summer, daily, 11 - 5. (802) 644-5100. bryangallery.org. December 24 – June 23 Legacy 2022 Through June 19 Tell Us a Story June 23 – September 5 Parks & Recreation September 6 – October 6 Light & Land and Water & Air; Let Us Introduce You November 3 – December 24 Gems & Giants

THE CURRENT 90 Pond St., Stowe Village. Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Free, donations welcome. Visit thecurrentnow.org for monthly public events. (802) 253-8358. See The Current, page 102.

LITTLE RIVER HOTGLASS STUDIO 593 Moscow Rd., Moscow. littleriverhotglass.com. (802) 253-0889. Nationally recognized art glass studio, features Stowe artist Michael Trimpol’s studio.

MONTSHIRE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE 1 Montshire Rd., Norwich, Vt. (802) 649-2200. montshire.org. Daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Exhibits include Leonardo da Vinci’s Machines in Motion, Big Blue Blocks, more. Nature trails.

NORTHWOOD GALLERY 151 Main Street, Stowe. (802) 760-6513. northwoodgallery.com. Work by Vermont artisans: jewelry, fiber, wood, pottery, glass, sculpture, illustration, soaps, paintings, photography, more. Rotating demonstrations.

ROBERT PAUL GALLERIES Baggy Knees Shopping Center, 394 Mountain Rd., Stowe. (802) 253-7282. robertpaulgalleries.com. Original paintings, sculpture, and photography from dozens of noted artists.

VISIONS OF VERMONT ART GALLERIES Main Street, Jeffersonville. Wednesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. (802) 760-7396, visionsofvermont.com.

Works of 15 master landscape artists.

GORDON MILLER; INSET: COURTESY

SHOP ARTS

FROM TOP: PAUL ROGERS; COURTESY PHOTO

GOINGS ON

JULY 3 & 4

S T O W E 4 T H O F J U LY n

JULY – OCTOBER

ONGOING

THROUGH OCTOBER 9 Stowe Farmers Market Enjoy breakfast, lunch, live music on the field. Take home local produce, meat, cheese, herbal products, crafts, and jewelry. 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. 2043 Mountain Road. stowefarmersmarket.com.

JUNE – OCTOBER Club Racing at Stowe Yacht Club Watch Soling 1 Meter sailors in action. Monday and Wednesday afternoons, 4:30 6:30 p.m., weather permitting. Commodores Inn, Route 100 South, Stowe. stoweyachtclub.com.

JUNE 24 – 26

Exposed. 2022 Outdoor sculpture exhibit on the lawn of The Current contemporary art gallery and other locations in Stowe. thecurrentnow.org.

JUNE

Joe Kirkwood Memorial Golf Tournament Amateur event honoring Joe Kirkwood, worldfamous trick-shot artist who lived in Stowe. Benefits Stowe junior golf. Stowe Country Club. kirkwoodgolftournament.com.

JUNE 25

JUNE 15 – 19 Green Mountain Regatta Watch remote-control sailboat races. Commodores Inn pond. Region One championships, June 18-19. Route 100, Stowe. stoweyachtclub.com.

Beg, Steal or Borrow.

STARTING JULY 1

Catamount Ultra Marathon 25k & 50k courses through highland pastures and hardwood forest. Trapp Family Lodge trails, Stowe. 7 a.m. start. catamountultra.com.

JUNE 25 – 26 Vermont Renaissance Faire Local craft vendors, fight demos, performance troupes, medieval encampment, Silver Knights Joust Team. Mayo Farm, Stowe. vtrennfaire.com.

Weekends on the Green Artisan market, music, food, movies, lawn games, more. On the village green, Spruce Peak at Stowe. sprucepeak.com/fridays.

JULY 2 – 23 Stowe Free Library Giant Book Sale Community book sale on the porch. New stock daily. Starts at 9 a.m. July 9, then dawn to dusk. Stowe Village. stowelibrary.org.

JULY 14 – AUGUST 18 Main Street Live Music Series Artists and artisans—jewelers, potters, painters, fiber artists, food producers. Music, local food. Park and Main streets and Village Green, downtown Stowe. Thursdays 5 - 8 p.m.; July 4 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. stowevibrancy.com.

JULY

JULY 3 JUNE 18 Rattling Brook Bluegrass Festival Regional bluegrass bands in all-day festival. 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. Admission. Belvidere Center stage, Route 109.

Spruce Peak at Stowe Independence Celebration Live music, entertainment, food, craft beer, fireworks at dusk. On the village green, Spruce Peak, noon - 10 p.m. sprucepeak.com. More goings on, p.114 >>

THE CURRENT: p.102 • • • STOWE PERFORMING ARTS: p.104 • • • THEATER: p.112 • • • MUSIC: p.116 100

JULIA PONTES; INSET: PAUL ROGERS

THE CURRENT

ART VERSUS CLIMATE Exhibit explores changing climate, effects on people THE CURRENT IS YOUR CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY ART. Exhibitions of acclaimed international and Vermont artists and public programs, adult and children’s art classes and private lessons, school tours, student shows, and summer art camps. The Current is made possible through the generous support of the town of Stowe, its members, and sponsors.

THE CURRENT 90 Pond St., Stowe Village. Tuesday – Friday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. - 3p.m. Free, donations welcome. Visit thecurrentnow.org for monthly public events. (802) 253-8358. June 9 – July 23 Members’ Art Show and Sale

Members exhibit their work in a variety of mediums. Opening reception, Thursday, June 9 August 20 – December 10 Main Gallery Exhibition

Dr. Jane Goodall: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” This group exhibition presents diverse voices from visual artists worldwide on the topic of the climate crisis. Artists report on how the crisis is affecting people in their regions. Curated by Rachel Moore and Adriana Letorney. Opening reception, Saturday, August 20.

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August 20 through the fall Exposed. 2022

The Exposed. 2022 outdoor sculpture exhibition highlights works that focuses on identity, contemplation, and the importance of rest or dreams for the healing of the subconscious or internal. Includes a community-wide opening event in the summer that also serves as the kick-off for Stowe Arts Summer: public programs, performances, walking tours, artist walk-throughs, food and drink, and other activities to celebrate the launch of the exhibition and gather the community. Curated by Rachel Moore Spring 2023 Helen Day’s popular spring gala. Lodge at Spruce Peak. Tickets: thecurrentnow.org.

Deborah Margo, “Pamukkale's Paramorph,” 2011 Exposed. exhibit. From Júlia Pontés exhibit “Our Land My Landscape: Paisagens Transitórias” about the mining industry in Brazil and the catastrophic effects it has on the environment, 48"x32".

S TOWE PERFORMING ARTS ON STOWE PERFORMING ARTS’ LINEUP THIS SUMMER From top: Ranky Tanky. Veronica Swift.

MUSIC IN THE MEADOW From classical to funk to the Great American Songbook COURTESY PHOTOS

Stowe Performing Arts presents another stellar lineup of music this summer in the incomparable Trapp Family Lodge concert meadow, kicking off its season July 10 with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra in a program entitled, “Celebrate.”

STOWE PERFORMING ARTS / MUSIC IN THE MEADOW Trapp Family Lodge Concert Meadow, Trapp Hill Road, Stowe. For times and tickets, stoweperformingarts.com. $30. Meadow opens two hours prior to concert. July 10 “Celebrate”: Vermont Symphony Orchestra 2022 Summer Festival tour, with a program that commemorates the birth of the nation, champions American orchestral traditions, and offers a wide array of composers and styles that make up the current American musical landscape. 7:30 p.m. August 14 Veronica Swift: With a repertoire running the gamut from swing to bebop to the Great American Songbook, Swift is a young but fully fledged star on the international jazz scene. Boasting a clear and lilting tone and radiant stage presence, she is also a master of rigorous vocal techniques like vocalese and scat. “Swift might be the best scat singer since Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O’Day, Sarah Vaughan, and Mel Tormé,” says the Wall Street Journal. 7 p.m. August 21 Ranky Tanky: A Gullah phrase for “get funky,” Ranky Tanky has achieved many firsts for South Carolina’s West African-rooted Gullah community since its formation, earning yet another milestone by taking home the

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“Best Regional Roots Album” at the 2019 Grammy Awards. The album, “Good Time,” which also hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart, combines songs carried down through generations in the Sea Islands of the southeastern United States with the band’s own original compositions in the Gullah tradition. 7 p.m. n

COOL PLACES COMING HOME Michael Stanley and Kate Gluckman, new operators of the Elmore Store. Kids from the one-room schoolhouse rally to save the store’s post office.

TO THE RESCUE Famed Elmore Store finds new caretakers Just days into their tenure, the Elmore Store’s newest caretakers faced their first crisis. The Elmore Post Office—a collection of P.O. boxes that have occupied the store nearly as long as it has existed, since the early 19th century—were suddenly, existentially threatened when the U.S. Postal Service planned not to renew its contract in January. But it was in the flames of this fire that Kate Gluckman and Michael Stanley proved their mettle as the new stewards of a centuries-old tradition. “It was really a shock,” Stanley said. “On our fifth day, we got news that they were going to close it. So, it was like this big scramble. We were petitioning and writing the Legislature

and working with Elmore Community Trust and spreading the word. It was five weeks of intense focus on the store, but it was worth it.” The whole Elmore community and then some came out when Rep. Peter Welch paid a visit to the small town to announce that he, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Patrick Leahy, and the town’s residents, had successfully lobbied the postal service and helped ensure the post office’s survival. That freezing cold day was the community’s first time meeting Gluckman and Stanley as they expressed their gratitude alongside the politicians. After the event ended, Gluckman returned to the store to ring up endless cups of coffee while Stanley doled out meatball sandwiches.

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/ AARON CALVIN

PHOTOGRAPHS

“Everybody really rallied together, and we saw great support,” Stanley said. “It was a really excellent way to get to know our community in a way that we probably wouldn’t have if it worked out differently.” “The community really saw how Mike and Kate stepped up and responded to the challenge. They were extremely engaged the whole time and were very keen to point out how important the post office was to the community in general, and they are part of the community,” Trevor Braun, secretary of the Elmore Community Trust, said. The trust was formed in 2020 to ensure the longevity of the historic store after the death of Warren Miller who, along with his wife Kathy,

/ GORDON MILLER

had owned the store since 1986. With money raised among the Elmore community and from state and federal grants, the trust purchased the store the following year and began a search for new storekeepers, a search that eventually led to Gluckman and Stanley. So, it was with winter setting in at the end of 2021 that the couple packed up their belongings and moved from the Mississippi Delta, where Stanley was teaching and Gluckman was running a small bagel bakery, and drove north to their new life as caretakers of the Elmore Store, the only commercial business in a town of approximately 900 people. Not only did taking up stewardship of the store fit with the couple’s long-term plans and personal interests, but the choice to return to Vermont was a deeply personal one for Gluckman, whose father, Larry, died last year, and who was born in Morristown and graduated from Peoples Academy.

“I’m not a religious person, but I did feel my dad’s presence in helping this transition and clearing the way for all the challenges that we had getting back here,” Gluckman said. Larry Gluckman earned a spot rowing on the U.S. national team after beginning the sport as a walk-on at Northeastern University. He went on to coach at prestigious college programs like Princeton and Dartmouth, worked for the rowing machine producer Concept2, and still found time to help coach Peoples Academy basketball teams. “Larry Gluckman was a well-loved man and one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Stanley said. “His death was really sudden, unexpected, and it just sort of shook her world. When your wife is struggling, hurting like that, and she comes to you with this idea, you listen.” Now the couple lives down the road from Gluckman’s hometown and >>

WATCHES WANTED

Collector/Dealer Seeking Vintage and Antique Pocket and Wristwatches. With Special Interest in 1940s-1980s Military, Pilot’s, Diving, and Other Sport/Work Watches. Rolex, Omega, Heuer, Breitling, Longines, Patek Philippe, Hamilton, Elgin, Waltham, Howard, and More. In Any Condition. (Parts, Pieces, and tools Also Desired) ALSO BUYING JEWELRY, COINS, SILVER, ARTWORK & OTHER ANTIQUES.

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COOL PLACES equidistant between her sister in Burlington and mother in Glover. Stanley, a sculptor who specializes in largescale, outdoor works, also taught art professionally at Iowa State University and most recently at Delta State University. He comes from similarly rural but much flatter northwestern Iowa, an area of the country where hogs outnumber people, by some estimates. Now, by taking up the mantle from the Millers, Gluckman and Stanley have not only assumed responsibility of an institution but remade their marriage and their lives around the stewardship of the store. The couple leases the Elmore Store and the second-floor residence from the trust, which retains ownership over the building. Having a built-in rental that came with the business helped ease the transition into Vermont and its tight housing market, but it hasn’t exactly allowed for much separation between work and the rest of their lives. “We understood that the proximity was going to be both a blessing and a curse in a lot of ways,” Gluckman said. “Even though the store has been here for a long time, we’re in startup mode. We came knowing the kind of hours we were going to have to put in for our long-term vision of having a more sustainable sort of work-life balance, but right now it’s all rockets firing.” Already, Gluckman and Stanley are shifting the store to meet their own modern vision of what the local “genny” should be, taking cues from successful neighbors like the Craftsbury General Store. They’ve broadened the selection of craft beer and organic wine and started stocking locally produced coffee, cookies, and other goods. But their ambitions expand beyond the store’s shelves. As soon as they took over, many Elmore folks told Stanley about the need for meal options somewhere closer than Montpelier. Soon he began serving hot lunch specials to compliment Fire Tower Pizza, which operates out of the store during the weekends. Stanley is expanding the operation into a full-fledged deli, with signature sandwiches and a customized roll baked specifically for the store by Elmore Mountain Bread. Capitalizing on Gluckman’s experience with bagel production, the store will soon begin baking and selling its own bagels. Despite their grand plans and modernizing changes, Stanley and Gluckman are sensitive to the democratic process through which the Elmore Store was preserved. They’re always open to and fielding feedback from the community, including Kathy Miller, who still visits the store daily. “People in this community raised the money to save this place, so I feel like they should have a voice and I love it,” Stanley said. “It gives us clear direction. We can’t be everything to everyone, but it gives us great ideas.” n

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ROAD TRIP HERITAGE TRAIL Old Stone House Museum in Brownington, home of first African American college graduate, Alexander Lucius Twilight, from Middlebury College in 1823. Artifacts from the museum. A portrait of Twilight.

OLD STONE HOUSE Museum celebrates Rev. Alexander Twilight’s legacy, Orleans County About an hour’s drive northeast of Stowe is the rural town of Brownington, population 885. Chartered in 1780, this bucolic hamlet in Orleans County has a deep-seated farming history and jaw-dropping quintessential Vermont scenery beyond every turn of its many dirt roads. Brownington was also the home to the first African American college graduate, Alexander Lucius Twilight, from Middlebury College in 1823. Rev. Twilight became Brownington’s school principal and the Congregational Church’s interim pastor in 1829. He was instrumental in building a huge four-story granite block dormitory—the granite was excavated from the local landscape—which he called Athenian Hall. It was ready for student occupation in 1836. The building still stands and is now the Old Stone STORY / KATE CARTER House Museum, which opened in 1925. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the museum chronicles the history of Orleans County through its collections, exhibits, events, and educational programs. A featured stop on Vermont’s African American Heritage Trail, the museum tells the story of Twilight, who was also the only Black state legislator elected in the United States prior to the Civil War. Stepping inside the museum is like traveling through time: The museum’s 30 rooms contain more than 75,000 objects, from tools, textiles, and folk art to furniture and paintings—all the relics of 19th century life in Orleans County. Noted items include wall murals from 19th-century

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artist Rufus Porter, a Civil War-era congressional desk, and the “phantom baby” portrait on the top floor. Two barns feature antique agricultural items, horse-drawn transports, and old-style maple sugaring equipment. The Old Stone House Museum celebrates the life and legacy of, and stands in solidarity with, the Black Lives Matter movement. “Systemic racism, built on the backs of each succeeding generation of African Americans, has no place in our society,” according to a statement from the board. To this end, the board plans programs and exhibits that underline not just how much Black lives matter now, but how much they have always mattered, and it strives

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to reverse societal racism. The museum is well worth the visit, not only for the historical experience, but for the scenic drive and other nearby attractions, such as a walk up Prospect Hill for its views, a drive to Lake Willoughby, or a meditative moment at Twilight’s grave at the adjoining Congregational Church. Brownington village itself is on the National Register of Historic Places. n

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S U M M E R T H E AT E R

From a 2013 Stowe Theatre Guild production of Nine.

SUMMER STOCK STOWE THEATRE GUILD Town Hall Theatre, Main Street, Stowe. Wednesdays – Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Saturday matinee, 2 p.m. Tickets $15/$18/$20. (802) 253-3961, stowetheatre.com. June 12 – 15, June 19 – 22, June 26 – 29, & July 1 & 2 Tru Adapted from the words and works of Truman Capote, Tru takes place in the writer’s New York City apartment the week before Christmas 1975. An excerpt from Capote’s infamous novel, “Answered Prayers,” has recently been published in Esquire, and the author’s friends, recognizing the characters as thinly veiled versions of themselves, have turned their back on the man they once considered a close confidant. July 14 – 16, July 21 – 23, & July 28 – 30 Our Town

The small town of Grover’s Corners in three acts: “Daily Life,” “Love and Marriage,” and “Death and Eternity.” Narrated by a stage manager and performed with minimal props and sets, the play depicts the simple daily lives of the Webb and Gibbs families as their children fall in love, marry and, eventually—in one of the most famous scenes in American theatre—die. August 18 – 20, August 25 – 26, & September 1 – 3 Bullets over Broadway David Shayne is a straight-arrow playwright who plans to stand firm against compromising his work, but quickly forgets it when his producer finds a backer to bring his show to Broadway. There’s just one catch—the backer is a mobster who sees David’s play as a vehicle for his talent-free, uncouth girlfriend. Throw in a diva who worries she’s a has-been, a savant hitman, and a bevy of chorus

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girls and gangsters for a madcap romp back to 1920’s Broadway. September 29 – October 1, October 6 – 8, & October 13 – 15 A Little Night Music Set in 1900 Sweden, A Little Night Music explores the tangled web of affairs centered around actress Desirée Armfeldt and the men who love her: a lawyer named Fredrik Egerman and Count Carl-Magnus Malcom. When the actress performs in Egerman’s town, the estranged lovers’ passion rekindles. This strikes a flurry of jealousy and suspicion, and both men—as well as their jealous wives—agree to join Armfeldt and her family for a weekend in the country at her mother’s estate. With everyone in one place, infinite possibilities of new romances and second chances bring endless surprises.

LAMOILLE COUNTY PLAYERS Hyde Park Opera House, 85 Main Street. Adults $20, seniors/students $15. Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday matinees, 2 p.m. (802) 888-4507. llcplayers.com. July 21 – 24 & July 28 – 31 Elf the Musical

Based on the beloved 2003 movie, follow the adventures of Buddy as he leaves the North Pole in search of his birth father. In the process, he finds a family and true love, and saves Christmas for Santa. Set in New York City, present day, as well as the North Pole. September 30 – October 2 & October 7 – 9 Blue Window

A New York City dinner party of disparate couples and singles gather for a poignant comedy of desires and misconnections as the partygoers struggle to face challenges, independently and interdependently, making them wonder: What do we have in common? This hilarious and human play illustrates the ways people mysteriously connect to, or disconnect from, each other inside the uncertainty of their lives and the events that shape them. n

Jim Westphalen • Photograph

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CELEBRATING 33 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

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PAUL ROGERS

GOINGS ON

JULY 22 – 24

F I E L D D AY S JULY 4 Moscow Parade World-famous shortest 4th of July parade. Starts promptly at 10 a.m. in Moscow Village. Stowe Old-fashioned Fourth of July Music by Maple Run band, food, Art on Park artisan market, and other entertainment—all in Stowe Village. 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Village festivities start after Moscow Parade. Village parade starts at noon. stowevibrancy.com. Stowe Independence Day Celebration & Fireworks 6 p.m. start. Enjoy live music, face painting, balloons, carnival games, ice cream, bouncy house, hay rides, popcorn, cotton candy, more. Fireworks at dusk. Free, but food and gaming fees apply. Mayo Farm events field, Weeks Hill Road.

JULY 10 Gardens of Stowe & Art in the Garden Self-guided tour sweeps through town’s most interesting gardens. Artists create works on the tour, silent auction, garden mart. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Springer-Miller Center, 782 Mountain Road. stowevibrancy.com.

JULY 10 Music in the Meadow—Vermont Symphony Orchestra Summer Tour 7:30 p.m. Trapp Family Lodge concert meadow, Trapp Hill Road, Stowe. stoweperformingarts.com.

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JULY 16 – 17 Green Mountain Games Lax Tournament Comprehensive lacrosse event. Great sport, music, special guests, non-stop fun for the entire family. On fields throughout Stowe. bitterlacrosse.com.

JULY 22 – 24 Lamoille County Field Days Agricultural fair. Horse, pony, and ox pulling, draft horse show, gymkhana, midway, much more. Route 100C, Johnson. lamoillefield zdays.com.

JULY 23 Oxbow Music Festival 2022 Dogs in a Pile, Seth Yacovone and Friends, more. Food on site. 3 p.m., 257 Portland St., Morristown. eventbrite.com.

AUGUST

JULY 30 – AUGUST 14 Phlox Fest Dozens of varieties of phlox displayed at Perennial Pleasures. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. except Mondays. Brick House Road, East Hardwick. perennialpleasures.net.

AUGUST 5 – 7 Stowe Jazz Festival Musical acts play at various venues around Stowe. Afro-Cuban, Gypsy, and Brazilian jazz, big band, smooth, soul, swing, more. Festival main stage is The Alchemist, Cottage Club Road. stowejazzfestival.com.

AUGUST 13 100 on 100 Relay 100-mile team-based distance event along scenic Route 100. Fundraiser for youth charities. Starts at Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe. 100on100relay.com.

AUGUST 14 Music in the Meadow—Veronica Swift Great American songbook. 7 p.m. Trapp Family Lodge concert meadow, Trapp Hill Road, Stowe. stoweperformingarts.com.

AUGUST 19 – 22 Stowe Tango Music Festival U.S.’s premier tango music festival. Worldrenowned tango musicians, festival orchestra, workshops, concerts, milongas, dance. Concert Aug. 20, Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center. Various locations around Stowe. stowetangomusicfestival.com.

AUGUST 21 Music in the Meadow—Ranky Tanky Jazz, funk, roots, more. 7 p.m. Trapp Family Lodge concert meadow, Trapp Hill Road, Stowe. stoweperformingarts.com.

AUGUST 26 – 28 A Taste of New England Region’s best chefs come together for food, wine celebration. Spruce Peak at Stowe, sprucepeak.com. More goings on, p.120 >>

SHERVIN LAINEZ

MUSIC & MIXED MEDIA

BEAUTIFUL SMILES FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS

Rayland Baxter plays Spruce Peak June 30.

SPRUCE PEAK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 122 Hourglass Drive, Spruce Peak at Stowe Mountain Resort. sprucepeakarts.org. (802) 760-4634. June 1

Michael Mwenso A series of listening experiences of gospel, blues, jazz, and other Black roots music forms. Accompanied by Jono Gasparo and Flynn Theatre executive director Jay Wahl, Mwenso will moderate discussions about great influential artists—past, present, and future. 7 p.m. June 5

Stowe Dance Academy Coppelia Svanhilda, a village maiden and her fiancé, Franz, run into misunderstandings with Dr. Coppélius, a mysterious toymaker and his magical doll Coppélia. The ballet is based on short stories by E.T.A Hoffman, the same person who wrote The Nutcracker. 1 and 5 p.m. June 9

ALWAYS WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS 1593 Pucker Street (Route 100N), Stowe 802-253-4157 stowefamilydentistry.com

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Jesse Cook Accomplished guitarist, producer, and filmmaker, Cook creates experiences that delight audiences. He composed his first album, “Tempest,” over 25 years ago. Along with being a global-guitar virtuoso, he’s honed his skills as a composer, producer, arranger, performer, and cultural ambassador. 7 p.m. June 30

Rayland Baxter An American alternative country musician from Nashville. 6 p.m. on the lawn.

July 16

Wilderado American indie folk and rock band: Maxim Rainer (lead vocals, guitar), Tyler Wimpee (guitar, vocals), and Justin Kila (drums). 6 p.m. on the lawn. July 28

Deer Tick John McCauley, Ian O’Neil, Dennis Ryan, and Christopher Ryan. Deer Tick likes to rock out. 6 p.m. on the lawn. August 4

Ruston Kelly American singer-songwriter offering country alternative and Americana pop rock. 6 p.m. on the lawn. August 18 Jamestown Revival Folk duo Zach Chance and Jonathan Clay. The childhood friends from Magnolia, Texas, write songs about everyday life that merge Southern country, Americana, and Western rock music. 6 p.m. on the lawn. September 1 The Lone Bellow Americana, alt-country, indie folk group from Brooklyn. 6 p.m. on the lawn. More music, p.118 >>

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SHERVIN LAINEZ

MUSIC & MIXED MEDIA

31 Lower Main Street in Johnson, VT (802) 635-7483 | (800) 899-6349 marvinscountrystore.com

MAIN STREET LIVE MUSIC SERIES Each week Vermont Jazz Trio welcomes nationally acclaimed guest artists. Thursdays, 5 - 8 p.m. Artists, artisans, live music, local food. stowevibrancy.com. July 14 Michael-Louis Smith & Brooklyn Circle July 21 Cooie & Adlai July 28 Artist TBA August 4 Artist TBA August 11 High Summer August 18

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STOWE JAZZ FESTIVAL Musical acts play at various venues around Stowe. Afro-Cuban, Gypsy, and Brazilian jazz, big band, smooth, soul, swing, more. Festival main stage is The Alchemist, Cottage Club Road. stowejazzfestival.com. August 5 – 7 Dozens of musical acts play at various venues around Stowe. Afro-Cuban, Gypsy, and Brazilian jazz, big band, smooth, soul, swing, more.

CRAFTSBURY CHAMBER PLAYERS

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World-class musicians with music director Frances Rowell. Wednesdays, Elley-Long Music Center, St. Michael’s College, Burlington, 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Hardwick Town House, 7:30 p.m. $25; students $10; 12 & under free. craftsburychamberplayers.org. July 13 & 14 Music of lutenist and composer John Dowland, Kenji Bunch’s 2017 composition for string quartet entitled “Apocryphal Dances,” Robert Beaser’s Mountain Songs for flute and guitar, and Mozart’s Quartet for piano and strings in G minor.

Michael-Louis Smith and Brooklyn Circle.

July 20 & 21 Bold pieces with familiar names: Beethoven duo, Schubert violin fantasy, and a Grieg quartet. July 27 & 28 A pairing of two works by young composers written around1825: a viola sonata by 21-year-old Mikhail Glinka and a piano quartet by 16-year-old Felix Mendelssohn. August 3 & 4 Italian musical masters: To start, a cello sonata by Antonio Vivaldi, arguably the most popular Italian composer of all time, with an accompaniment updated in the 1950s for the modern piano by Mario Dalapiccola, a 20th century Italian master of 12-tone music. A string trio from by Mario Castelnuevo-Tedesco and an epic quintet for piano and string quartet by Giuseppe Martucci follows. August 10 & 11 Brahms, Haydn, and Rachmaninoff. August 17 & 18 A celebration of Beethoven’s 250th with music spanning the most traumatic five years of his creative life: the onset and total descent into profound deafness. n

Beautiful Variety

YARNS

Classes • Workshops • Events Friendly Fiber Community 80 S. Main St Waterbury, VT (802) 2412244

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FROM TOP: PAUL ROGERS; COURTESY PHOTO

GOINGS ON

SEPTEMBER 9 – 11

B R I T I S H I N VA S I O N AUGUST 28 Race to the Top of Vermont A 4.3-mile hill climb up Mount Mansfield Toll Road in Stowe. Run, mountain bike, or hike to the summit—2,564 vertical feet. BBQ, music, prizes. rtttovt.com.

SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER 9 British Invasion Block Party The British invade Main Street, Stowe. From 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. dance to Joey Leone’s Chop Shop and mingle among beautiful British cars. Food court and beer garden. stowevibrancy.com.

SEPTEMBER 9 – 11 British Invasion Car Show North America’s largest British classic sports car and motorcycle event. Cultural activities, crafts, auto jumble, and the car corral. Over 600 cars on field. Stowe Events Field, Weeks Hill Road, Stowe. Admission. britishinvasion.com.

SEPTEMBER 15 – 18 Tunbridge World’s Fair Old-fashioned Vermont country fair. Tractor pulls, midway, food, music, animals. Tunbridge, Vt. tunbridgeworldsfair.com.

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SEPTEMBER 17

OCTOBER 8

Trapp Family Lodge Oktoberfest All things Austrian, all things Trapp! All day. Trapp Family Lodge, Trapp Hill Road, Stowe. trappfamily.com.

SEPTEMBER 18 Trapp Cabin 5k, 10k & Half Marathon Races to Trapp cabin. Return on single track or take a shorter but thrilling route. Party, prizes, bib raffle, food. Benefits Friends of Stowe Adaptive Sports. stoweadaptive.org.

OCTOBER 16 Heady Trotter Four-miler, food and music festival, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Alchemist Brewery, Cottage Club Road, Stowe.

SEPTEMBER 25 Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival Send the pumpkins flying. Music, kids’ activities, 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Chili cookoff. $10, free for kids under 4. Stoweflake Resort, Mountain Road, Stowe. vtpumpkinchuckin.blogspot.com.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Rock! Native American culture, education, and music, including blessings by tribal leaders, drummers, singers, storytellers, artisans, more. Music by Joe Louis Walker, Dave Keller, and others. 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Concert 3:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Rain date: Oct. 9) Mayo Farm field, Weeks Hill Road, Stowe. stowevibrancy.com.

NOVEMBER 6

Joe Louis Walker

OCTOBER 7 – 9 Stowe Foliage Arts Festival 150 artists—fine art, craft, cuisine. Wine tasting, music, craft demos. Vermont beer and sausage. Under heated Camelot-style tents. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. $10. Topnotch field, Mountain Road. craftproducers.com.

Vermont 10-miler Challenging run through Stowe countryside. Benefits Stowe Land Trust. 10 a.m. Mayo Farm Events Field. vermont10miler.com. n

OPENING FALL 2022

FINE CRYSTALS & MINERALS FOR HOME DÉCOR, SERIOUS COLLECTORS & THE SIMPLY CURIOUS Nicholas Stolowitz Fine Minerals LLC 80 Depot Street Stowe, Vermont

Harlan Mack in his studio, Johnson, Vermont

Future Kin, unmounted detail, 2014, forged steel, roughly 7'x5.5'x3.5'

Memories meet mythology in the studio of Harlan Mack

STORY

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PORTRAITS

: gordon miller |

C A N VA S S E S

: harlan mack

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hen I first met Harlan Mack after trekking through three feet of snow to the Vermont Studio Center, we talked for four hours about the world he had created—or rather, was still discovering—through his art, as the winter sun slowly bent shadows around the studio then sank into darkness. In a soft voice, Mack told me about his grandmother’s kitchen table and his affinity for math as a child, about how he spent a summer making 2,000 steel dragonflies for his senior thesis at Vermont State University in Johnson, about audiobooks, afro-futurism, and G.I Joe.

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Mack recalled the sound his mother made while flossing her teeth and introduced me to Death with a capital “D,” a figure that in some ways is at the center of his artistic narrative but who does not appear with a cloak and scythe on canvas. Another half hour or more, we veered into the mysteries, humor, and racism within TikTok, the social media fad that’s stormed Gen Z. This is sort of how a conversation with Mack, a multidisciplinary artist living in Johnson and working at the studio center, goes. It’s a kaleidoscopic stream of thought that Virginia Woolf might envy in which Mack zooms in and out to describe his art, process, and inspiration. But somehow, his musings on dragonflies and lifeboats, pink fences, and the “Pirates of Penzance” come full circle and the journey makes sense. They’re strings in a grand narrative, a sort of futuristic mythology he’s unearthed that guide much of his art, which ranges from large-

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Future Kin, forged steel faces with painted reclaimed fence frames, 2015

scale paintings to steel sculptures to wooden collages. Some art critics have described Mack’s style as afro-futuristic, apocalyptic, graphic novelesque. But while much of his art fits into those boxes, he doesn’t stick to a strict label, seeing his art as more of a way for himself to figure things out: identity, home, loss, human emotions, nature, family. “My practice is almost primarily this narrative world-building practice. It’s exactly how I used to play as a child. >>

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Harlan Mack in his studio.

I would walk home from school and just have an entire movie playing in my head,” Mack said. Or he play-acted with sticks in the woods until he could break out his toys and continue the story at home. It wasn’t until he was in his master’s program at Johnson State College (now Vermont State University) that he realized he still does that. “This is just as much playing with my G.I. Joes after school as anything, it just took me a long time to realize that. That has been the common thread in my work, essentially the expression of play,” Mack said. Growing up in the boonies, in a house his father built in Washington, Vermont—a town just over 1,000 people at the end of the world—Mack’s childhood was filled with a glorious mess of family, afternoons spent in daydream, and adventures through the woods. “We moved on top of the coldest mountain in town and built a house. I was born when there were still blankets for doors,” Mack said. His mother, who he remembered as a strong woman he was enthralled by, died when he was young. He lived with her for a few years in California before she died, but after moving back to the Green Mountain State where the rest of his family lived, Mack sank into the stripped down, rural lifestyle. That meant heating water on the woodstove and hauling it to the bathroom for baths and showers and gas lights and candles until they got solar power. “Having to get firewood in the middle of the winter because you ran out is just about as free as you get to me,” Mack said. “When the weather is so bad you can’t get to work, or when you live on top of a mountain eight miles away from school, some days you’re just not going. Literally, the weather has decided for you … When reality strikes, it’s the only time you’re really free.” He appreciates it more as an adult, Mack admits, adding that growing up the way he did taught him “how to dig deep and find ways to enjoy things, or find what it is that I enjoy about the things that I’m involved in.” Except taxes, he hasn’t found anything he enjoys about those yet. His formative years also had a lasting effect on his art, which sometimes has a nostalgic feeling to it that you can’t quite put your finger on, and his style as an artist, recycling materials to create something new. The latter was one of my first observations upon meeting him, as he stepped out of his truck into the fresh snow, buttoned one of the last buttons hanging onto a paint speckled jacket, and shook my hand. The jacket, Mack said, is one part of a three-piece suit he sewed out of his old Carhartt work clothes, but like any piece of clothing well-loved, nearly every button has fallen off. >>

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Note To Self, Perpetually Unfinished, acrylic on canvas, 84"x60"

Indentation, painted reclaimed fencewood collage, 2019, 36"x36"

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ne of Mack’s sculpture pieces called “Future Kin” features 50 picture-frame type structures, each with the head of a shovel, pounded into the smooth hills of a face, at the center. Some of the wood he used for the frames was from an old fence behind the studio center that a fellow artist painted pink. The shovels he’d incorporated in his paintings for years, as they seemed the “perfect symbol for labor,” but their importance went beyond symbolic, Mack said. “The first time I was allowed to work with my dad as a kid was shoveling out our woodshed. I wouldn’t come inside for dinner. He gave me a shovel that was as tall as me,” he recalled, grinning. To Leila Bandar, one of Mack’s former art teachers and now his coworker at the Vermont Studio Center, his “intentionality” with materials, and the fluid ways he uses them, deepens the meaning in his artwork. “Even the way that he talks, in a sense, is like a material. It’s the kind of cadence and slowing down. He helps me also to slow down and notice,” Bandar, who now works as the center’s visual arts program manager, said. The two met nearly 20 years ago when Mack took a sculpture class from Bandar at Johnson State. He later earned his bachelor’s and master of fine arts degrees there. “I remember almost vividly looking at some of his pieces and saying to myself, ‘Wow, that touch or the way that the clay is handled—it feels like it’s a connection, not just to the artist, but to the thing that they’re representing,’” she said. “There’s a sort of physicality to handling emotions that I think he’s embodied in his work.” She also praised his relationship with other artists as both a supportive friend and collaborator, recalling one time in March when she stopped by to see him. “He was making a tool for another artist at the studio center. That kind of just sums it up right there: when he’s not making his own work, he’s probably making a tool for someone to support their process.” Rachel Moore, the executive director and director of exhibitions at The Current in Stowe, worked with Mack when she curated one of his pieces for a show featuring the art of six Black artists called “Unbroken Current” in 2019. In the promotional material for the show, Moore noted that while his piece in the exhibit, “Revival Lineage,” featuring another iteration of his shovel faces, is about Mack’s identity as a Black artist, it’s also about him as a rural Vermont artist, a member of a family, and a human. >>

In Light of Disuse, hand-forged steel and painted reclaimed wood fence, 2019, 60"x60"x4"

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Forecast Revival, steel and wood, 7'x8'x8'

Once Abound and Unborn, 2019, reclaimed steel, 4.5m by 2.3m by 2m, Laoting Tangshan, China

Waking Rage, steel, wood, and tarpaper, 16'x16'x11'

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Unicorn Skies, detail.

“His work is fascinating and aesthetically so appealing. It is layered, complex, filled with narratives, other worlds, and storytelling,” said Moore, who described Mack as an incredibly kind and thoughtful friend whose art rings with a haunting beauty. “I think it captures me because there are so many different elements, histories and techniques—street art, graffiti, tarpaper, painting, blacksmithing, (reclaimed) woodworking, and sewing, to name a few. Each has meaning and intention, yet the volume is significant as if the ideas need to be released quickly,” she said.

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Warm Nights.

ack’s art has been shown throughout the state, the country, and abroad, and he’s attended both an esteemed residency at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in Captiva, Fla., in 2018 and an international sculpture symposium in China in 2019. In the early 2000s, he spent time in Amsterdam making art and interning at galleries though he ultimately returned home where he’s lived for the last 20 years or so. Some of Mack’s newer art, like his wooden collages, which he crafts by painting pieces of wood and then cutting them to fit over a drawing, have been inspired by his life. One colorful piece called “Indentation” is of himself doing homework in his grandmother’s kitchen. A piece still in the works is of himself and a childhood friend crowded around a boxy nineinch television. But the concept of Mack’s “newer art” is in itself slightly convoluted, as his guiding narrative isn’t linear and some of his pieces seem to be in motion, regardless of if the painting or sculpture looks complete to the viewer. >>

Through Smugglers' Notch from Stowe lies Jeffersonvolle and Visions of Vermont Art Gallery. We feature work of more than 20 master artists who continue the century long history of plein air painting in our region.

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Egress Access, 2018, forged steel shovels mounted on painted reclaimed fencewood collage, 90"x90"

One giant canvas covering a wall of his studio is alive with color, rabbits, giant dragonflies, a distant city sinking into water, looming storm clouds, and a young boy at the center. The scene looks complete, but underneath this iteration of paint are layers and layers of other scenes, of messages and notes Mack wrote to himself, of different faces. At another point in our conversation, which drifted to 3-D renderings of black holes, to illustrate something I wasn’t understanding, Mack took out a pen and started drawing on a giant canvas on the adjoining wall that featured a scene perhaps from the same world as the other painting. “There are whole buildings under here,” he said, gazing up at the large canvases. Mack likened his process to writing poetry—constellated, non-linear, metaphorical, and up for interpretation. As a viewer and listener, without that front seat into Mack’s head, the narrative feels almost too tentacular to write down. He hasn’t written any of it down, he added, although the way he declaims the world in which these paintings live, the reasons why certain creatures like dragonflies feel to him intimately attached to human emotion, life, and death, it seems like the story must be written somewhere in his mind.

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But then again, the way he talks about it, it’s like he’s discovering why he’s painted what he’s painted, not making it up as he goes. The best way to get a peek is to sit down with Harlan Mack on a creaky stool in his studio in Johnson and hear him tell the tale. You might spend an hour ruminating on the concept of daydreams or on the underbelly of Dungeons and Dragons, but by the time it’s dark outside, it will feel like no time has passed at all. n

•••• ESSENTIALS: Mack’s biggest project this year is to transform a barn at his Johnson home into his “forever studio,” where he can access all his art mediums but also create a space for mentorship, skill-sharing, and hosting creative community activities. To see Mack’s art, visit Whirligig Brewing in St. Johnsbury and, later this year, the North Bennington Outdoor Sculpture Show and Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte. Mack’s art is also returning to The Current in Stowe this summer. For more, visit harlanmack.com.

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FOUND IN VERMONT GEMS OF THE SEAS With the goal of feeding hungry children across America, Christine Bohler of Stowe launched a jewelry business, Bella Kai Pearls. Inspired by her mother growing up hungry in Germany during World War II, Bohler, a jeweler, decided to put her creativity and talent to good use. She donates 5 percent of all sales to No Kid Hungry, and to date, the business has provided well over 4,000 meals for kids across America. Bohler’s jewelry line uses both freshwater, mostly large baroque, and saltwater—Tahitian and akoya—pearls paired with leather, gold, or sterling silver chains, turquoise, and uncut pave diamonds. Her first collection was designed for women, but Bohler has plans to develop a line for men, kids, and custom wedding jewelry for bridal parties. Bella Kai Pearls’ studio and showroom is open by appointment only, or the line can be found in the Topnotch Resort spa gift shop. INFO: bellakaipearls.com

SALUMI, UMBRIAN-STYLE Peter Roscini Colman grew up on Cate Farm in Plainfield, where he learned the importance of sustainable farming techniques. Lucky for us, he spent his summers with his grandparents in Umbria, Italy. There, he discovered prosciutto. He loved prosciutto so much he decided to learn how to make it, and lucky for us again, he apprenticed with the Norcini, the famed traveling butchers of Umbria, who taught him the centuries-old traditions of salumimaking. Colman’s mission is to produce great food in the Italian tradition, from simple ingredients and antibiotic-free pork. His company, Vermont Salumi, is based in Barre, and makes whole muscle salumi recipes, using responsibly sourced pork and beef in small-batch artisanal production. INFO: vermontsalumi.com

WE DIG DUG NAP

For a burst of energy and to support gorillas, dive into a Garuka bar, made fresh weekly with Vermont raw honey, roasted peanuts, whole grain flakes, and dried cranberries. The name Garuka Bars® comes from one of the few remaining mountain gorillas living in the volcanic forests of the Virunga Massif in Rwanda, one of only a few places gorillas still exist in the wild. A percentage of each sale goes toward gorilla conservation. The bars’ packaging is 100-percent recyclable and partly clear, so you can actually see what you’re going to eat. This Vermont company is all about sustainability, so buy a few bars for your own sustenance—they’re delicious—and you’ll help sustain Garuka and other gorillas just like him as well.

The wit and wisdom of Vermont folk artist Dug Nap is offbeat, colorful, satirical. As a storyteller, he combines images with text to create thoughtful, sometimes funny, sometimes dark, reflections of everyday life. Born and raised in Vermont, Nap’s paintings are in many private collections and his work has been part of group exhibitions in New York City. Today, Nap’s prints are sold in 28 shops and galleries around the U.S. Quips like “Down with toilet seats,” “The late worm avoids the bird,” and “I need my cat, my cat kneads me,” combined with colorful paintings of the subjects, will bring levity to your day. His themes include thoughts from dogs and cats, wild animals and farm animals, Vermont, some abstracts, and some contemporary social angst: “Don’t hide the pride,” “A mask is a must,” and “Add some Bernie to your journey.”

INFO: garukabars.com

INFO: dugnap.com

GARUKA, GORILLA

COMPILED BY KATE CARTER Have a product you’d like us to feature? Send us, not your sales rep, a two-sentence description of why our readers need to know to news@stowereporter.com.

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TWIST AND SPICE For the finest, most beautiful salt and pepper mills you will ever see, look no further than Northwood Gallery in Stowe, where you’ll find Detlev Hundsdoerfer’s handcrafted mills. Born in Hamburg, Germany, Hundsdoerfer traveled the world as a professional photographer, and now lives in Jericho. He combined his love of woodworking, food, and the desire to make functional art to produce one-of-akind salt and pepper mills. He uses native hardwoods as well as exotic species to shape the mills on a lathe, then installs the grinding hardware. In 2021 he was one of 100 artists selected for the prestigious 2021 Smithsonian Craft Show. “These mills are intended to please and appeal to our visual impression and even more importantly to our sense of touch ... and, of course, to grind pepper and salt,” he said. INFO: holzkopf-dh.com and northwoodgallery.com

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JERICHO HISTORICAL SOCIETY

WORLD RENOWN Snowflake Bentley behind the special camera and microscope device he used to create close-up photos of snowflakes. His snowflake photographs.

WILSON ‘SNOWFLAKE’ BENTLEY Each flake of snow is a unique work of art In the middle of winter, it’s hard to believe there is anything special about snow, except that in Vermont there’s lots of it. But back in the late 1800s, a Jericho farm boy proved that in all those piles of snow, each of the countless, individual snowflakes was a different and unique miracle of nature. Meet Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, the master of a device that recorded close-up photographs of individual snowflakes and proved in over 5,300 images that each one was distinct. Around these parts, it’s easy to get acquainted with Snowflake Bentley at a small, but interesting museum in Jericho that honors him and his life’s work. Described as intelligent and inquisitive, Bentley was different than most. Born in 1865, he was educated mostly at home by his schoolteacher mother and lived at the family home in Jericho all his life. The life-long bachelor lacked formal education, but the inveterate reader developed a love of the natural sciences, particularly meteorology, and he enjoyed studying and measuring most anything that fell from the sky.

With a microscope he got from his mother, Bentley grew to love looking at the world in miniature. Since snowstorms and Vermont have always been synonymous, it was probably natural for Bentley to develop a fondness for snowflakes. Not one to be half-hearted in pursuit of his passions, Bentley spent hours and hours outdoors developing his expertise in snowflakes. Using a blackboard to collect them, Bentley would then use a feather to quickly push the snowflakes onto a glass slide so it could then be studied under his prized microscope. Soon he looked for a way to permanently record the beautiful designs he saw. “Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty, and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others,” Bentley said. “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost.” But figuring out how to save snowflakes long enough to photograph proved troublesome, that is until his parents bought him an expensive bellows camera. At a time when land in Jericho sold for about $6 an acre, Bentley’s parents bought this special camera in 1882 for $100, a hugely expensive sum, one made possible through a fortuitous family inheritance. With new camera and microscope in hand, this precocious teenager jury-

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JERICHO HISTORICAL SOCIETY; OLD MILL: KEVIN WALSH

HISTORIC SITE Old Red Mill Building houses the Snowflake Bentley Museum in Jericho Center.

rigged a system that combined both a stringbased pully system to focus the microscope to “snap” a photograph. After hundreds of hours of practice and experimentation over several years, Bentley finally succeeded in January 1885 to take a quality photomicrograph of a snowflake. He was 20. For the next 46 years, Bentley used this unique camera setup to further develop and perfect his snowflake photography. Before his death from pneumonia at 66, Bentley took more than 5,300 photos of snowflake crystals, and in the process proved that, once the snowflakes fell toward the ground, no two of them looked the same. “The snow crystals were, in the truest sense, exquisite works of art in themselves,” he said. Bentley eventually sold prints of his many snowflakes and published his photos and descriptions of his photographic efforts and procedures in more than 100 magazines and newspapers, including some of the era’s most popular publications like National Geographic and Popular Mechanics. So popular were Bentley’s enlarged prints of these beautiful snowflakes that Harvard University bought hundreds of them for its mineralogical museum, while others of his micrographs ended up in museums and academic institutions all over the world. In 1919, the prestigious American Meteorological Society awarded Bentley the first monetary grant the society had ever given. Years of success with the sales of his prints

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eventually resulted in Bentley’s well-received 1931 book “Snow Crystals,” which is still in print today. In fact, so valuable and culturally important were Bentley’s snowflake prints that some of them now appear in Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian Museum. Not wanting the memory of Bentley’s unique achievements to be lost to time, the Jericho Historical Society created a small museum to honor Bentley’s life and his unique works of meteorological art. Located on Route 15 in the rear of Jericho’s historic Old Red Mill (formerly known as the Chittenden Mills), which itself is a registered National Historic Site, the Snowflake Bentley Museum contains framed prints of the snowflake crystals, as well as the actual bellows camera and microscope device that Bentley used to create his many one-of-a-kind images. New museum exhibits are also soon to be installed. The museum won’t take a long time to visit, but it conveys a sense of the wonder and beauty of the natural world and also an appreciation and admiration for a small-town Vermonter who gained worldwide fame for doing what he loved. n ESSENTIALS: The museum is on Route 15 in Jericho, about an hour’s drive from Stowe. Museum hours vary. Call ahead at (802) 899-3225. The Smithsonian Institute’s archives contain a wealth of information at s.si.edu/3M7s7J5. snowflakebentley.com.

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STOWE MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

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The Stowe area boasts a variety of cuisines and dining atmospheres, from swanky bistros that embrace the local food movement to fine-dining establishments featuring award-winning chefs and busy pubs with the latest microbrews—and everything in between! Check out the area’s great places to stay, as well, from full-service resorts to quaint country inns. Our guide to dining and lodging outlines the myriad choices from which to choose.

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EDIBLES

GIRAFFE, ANYONE? Sean Dalton, center, manages Stowe’s newest coffee shop, Girakofi. Crayons let kids adorn the cafe’s window with gir-art.

STOWE COUNTER CULTURE Following a coffee drought, café scene is vibrant and diverse This summer, the coffee is flowing through Stowe more robustly than ever, a welcome change from the beginning of the pandemic, when the café scene was a slow drip. In 2020, Stowe was downright decaffeinated, as the two primary coffee houses in town, Black Cap and PK, shuttered their doors, the former for a lengthy renovation and the latter at the whim of its landlord. Not only were there only a handful of places available to grab a coffee or tea to go, but

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the pandemic also put a long pause on people lingering long over a cup, either alone with a lengthy internet session, an unfinished novel or leisurely crossword puzzle, or with a regular coffee klatch, discussing the issues of the day, “I remember at the beginning, when we were still open at PK, people would just hang out in the parking lot,” Matt Carrell, owner of Woodland Baking and Coffee, said of the days when the pandemic was just starting and his old café’s days were about to end. “I mean, that’s the whole reason you live in a small town, right? You know people and you see them when you’re out, you check in and catch up, and that was all gone.” While Black Cap was shut down for months for a major overhaul of the Main Street building, the downtime afforded owner Laura Vilalta to expand her caffeinated kingdom to Church Street in Burlington, and she is now opening a fourth Black Cap in downtown Waterbury. Meanwhile, during that shutdown, changes were afoot at Gale Farm Center that would turn one café into three different ones. >>

PHOTOGRAPHS / GORDON MILLER

EDIBLES

The Mountain Road coffee scene is something like a game of musical chairs. PK Coffee had been in the Gale Farm Center since 2016, but it had to leave in August 2020 when the landlord decided not to extend its lease. PK’s owners, Katrina Veerman and Carrell, went their separate coffee ways, but didn’t go far, especially in Veerman’s case, who reopened PK in the next driveway up from the old location—according to Google Maps, it’s a 1-minute drive of 164 feet. Or you could just walk. Carrell went on to open Woodland Coffee in the Baggy Knees Shopping Center, a mile and a half down the road. In the meantime, the owner who had ended PK’s lease brought in Girakofi, whose name was very simply derived by the first thing someone sees when they pull into the parking lot. “Our oddly named coffee shop was named after the giraffe head that was already out there before we opened,” general manager Sean Dalton said. “So, we just decided

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HOME BAKED Sue Kern and Matt Carrell use all local grains for Woodland’s baked goods. The cafe’s delectable croissants are oven-ready. Coffee drink mix.

to use that as a landmark and go from there.” The giraffe theme stuck, and the café had a bench made reflecting the mascot and a nearby woodcarver is currently working on an actual full-size giraffe. Giraffes adorn the windows, drawn by kids who are given window crayons

Center, just a few miles south on Route 100. The café also mixes it up on the weekend with specialty roasts from Berlinbased Big Gear Coffee, which names all its

and encouraged to tap their inner artists. Beans at Girakofi come mainly from Vermont Artisan Coffee and Tea in Waterbury

products after mountain bike life, like Full Suspension and Sweet Ride, the latter infused with Vermont maple syrup. >>

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EDIBLES

Dalton said Joe Fish, the Stowe businessman who owns Girakofi, and who was PK’s landlord until he wasn’t, doesn’t like to be a spokesperson for the business. Dalton and sidekick Mackenzie Bakker are the faces of the business—and, in Dalton’s case, likely the voice of the place, with his new-to-Vermont Australian accent. He moved to Vermont two years ago, as the pandemic was starting, a year before Girakofi opened. Bakker said staff at Girakofi get creative with their drinks—there’s a shaken drink that incorporates instant coffee in a manner so it drips down into the rest of the cup as it settles, and there are modern takes on Italian sodas, using energy drinks as the base. The baristas will also crank out frappuccino’s or other frozen drinks, Bakker said.

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COFFEE GRIND A barista at Black Cap prepares the raw materials for a handcrafted coffee. Leea Seaver helps make a selection from the Cap’s popular pastry case.

“I haven’t seen a lot of places around here that have those other types of offerings,” she said. Dalton added, “We also make sure that our coffee to milk ratio is correct.” He said some cafés will give a customer the same number of espresso shots in a 12-ounce drink as in an 8ounce version. “I mean, you’re putting more milk in it. Why wouldn’t you put in another shot of coffee?” he wondered. Bakker held up the largest to-go cup Girakofi has and added, “We’re the only shop that offers four shots in a certain size.” Girakofi is also something of a sleeper option for getting a sandwich, because customers can custom-order sandwiches in arguably the most granular method anywhere around. Add some ham? That’s a buck. Red onion? Fifteen cents. Mustard or everything aioli? A dime apiece. According to the internet, there are more than 1 billion—with a B— combinations. >>

EDIBLES

Carrell said after his split from PK, he started questioning what he wanted to do next. He had been a schoolteacher for years before entering the café scene, but he wasn’t ready to jump back into that grind—a worthy vocation, to be sure, but there has been something of an exodus of teachers during the pandemic. The other realm he enjoyed and had found success in was food. He had particularly grown fond of baking, which he first learned while at PK. Woodland’s baked goods are made of local grains from local farms like N.E.K. Grains in Glover and Nitty Gritty Grains in Charlotte, and ground up by New American Stone Mills in Elmore, the same folks behind Elmore Mountain Bread. Carrel said there is no plain white flour in the shop. “We got a shipment of flour yesterday that was literally milled that morning and I used it, like, two minutes later in croissant dough, less than four or five hours from being milled,” he said. “That’s ridiculous.” This flour-forward approach is applied to all of Woodland’s muffins and breads and bars and laminated offerings like COFFEE KLATCH croissants, both savory—everything A PK Coffee barista bagel with cream cheese or ham and steams and froths some milk. Swiss—or sweet. The espresso machine finishes off a shot with a rich crema Carrell may lean into the baked layer. Artistic flair tops goods at Woodland, but he also a PK matcha latte. makes sure to have a good selection of beverages. Beans come from Carrier Roasting in Northfield and Vivid Coffee Roasters in Burlington. There’s also a mushroom chocolate drink, with ground fungus in lieu of ground coffee, for a different type of energy boost. He may curate the beans with care, but he doesn’t care much for coffee snobbery. He knows people like what people like, and he knows people go where they like—Black Cap is always busy in the village, and one of the most loyal coffee klatches meets at Café on Main, while others hit

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up Stowe Bee Bakery and Café, about equidistant between Woodland and the PK/Girakofi neighborhood. Some are loyal to one; others rotate through them all. “We have a person who works here who goes to Dunkin’ Donuts,” he said. “Coffee is deeply personal, whether you think it is or not.” Despite PK’s unceremonious ending and subsequent new beginning, Bakker and Dalton say there seems to enough demand for diversity of local cafés that it’s not diluting the scene. Dalton said he walks over to the PK occasionally for a change of scene. And Bakker said she talks with all the workers at PK, and, “One day we got together and we were just, like, ‘We’re gonna squash this beef right now.’” Carrell said Stowe has plenty of visitors and locals and that coffee competition is a good thing—who gets upset when another craft brewery opens in the towns along Route 100? It might as well be called the IPA highway. Plus, with the ongoing labor shortage, having only one or two cafes in a tourist town would leave them with lines out the door and likely diminish the experience for the locals wanting to catch up or read a magazine story about coffee. “Most of us can’t go to fancy restaurants all the time, but a cup of coffee and maybe a baked good? That’s a win,” Carrell said. n

EDIBLES SANDWICH BOARD Travis Ives helps a customer at Edelweiss, whose selection and quality of sammies is unequaled in Stowe.

SMALL SCALE, BIG VISION Long Trail hike leads to Edelweiss Mountain Deli Jeff Clarke is the first to admit that when he and his wife, Kris Ryan-Clarke, bought Edelweiss Mountain Deli, they didn’t really know what they were doing—they had no retail, food, or deli experience. What they did have was a vision. With backgrounds in philanthropy and a focus on building stable and strong communities, they take note of small businesses and the impact they can have on a neighborhood. “We thought we’d invest in a community we cared about, where we could work and play,” Jeff said. “We love food and beverage and the outdoors and Stowe has all those elements. Our business concept is local food and beverage and Vermont is the best place in the U.S. for that.”

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The couple already had roots in New England: Jeff grew up in Brattleboro and was familiar with Stowe, while Kris grew up in New York. The couple, who lived in Anchorage and then Seattle, took a reconnaissance trip East in 2016. They hiked the Long Trail end-to-end and stopped at Edelweiss for supplies. A year later, it was for sale. It met all three of their requirements: food, beverage, and outdoor activities, plus, they wanted a multi-use building with retail and housing. They bought it in 2018, and still live in one of its two upstairs long-term apartments. Their mission was to approximate an indoor, year-round farmers’ market experience. “We bought a convenience store that sold sandwiches. We changed that immediately and introduced high-quality, locally inspired food. We work with 200 producers across Vermont to bring in their products,” Jeff said. “We can’t compete with large grocery stores, so we’re working with small-scale, artisanal, handcrafted, family-owned businesses that have high-quality products.” >>

PHOTOGRAPHS

/ GORDON MILLER

EDIBLES EDEL-WISE Owner Jeff Clarke rings up a customer. Edelweiss has endured for decades through a series of caretakers. Grillmaster Mel Allen.

Edelweiss has been a cornerstone on the Mountain Road for half a century. Anyone going to the mountain or returning to town can stop for breakfast, lunch, snacks, baked goods, beer, wine, take-out, and local news. It has undergone a transformation since the couple acquired it. “The bakery and prepared food are powering everything,” Jeff said. “We have transitioned to a restaurant to go.” The pandemic helped that transition. When most restaurants were struggling, the couple went all in with take-out, and it’s grown to 90 percent of their business. Jeff is the front of house and also handles ordering, accounting, renovations, while Kris focuses on the back-end culinary and daily deli operations. The staff grew from five to 15. “We have a great team and are looking for more great people to join our team,” Jeff said. Mel Allen has been with Edelweiss since long before the couple acquired it and is Kris’s right-hand person. Jessica Coté is also a lifer, going from part-time to full-time baker during COVID-19. >>

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She now runs the bakery with her daughter, Abi Coté. Bakery items—breakfast pastries, cookies, bars, and pies—are baked fresh from scratch daily and put on display in glass deli cabinet. Talk about eye candy! Customers stop by daily just for an Edelweiss chocolate chip cookie. As a to-go restaurant, they offer eight dinner options, 10-to-15 rotating small-batch salads—chicken, tuna, egg, Greek, Thai, potato, green— housemade soups, including a veggie and a meat, and a house chili. Not to mention every deli sandwich you can think of, all served on locally made Two Sons Bakehouse bread from Jeffersonville. On a busy summer day, the deli crew turns out 500600 sandwiches, all made same day. Best sellers in the prepared-food department include lasagna, chicken or beef pot pies, chicken salad, marinated glazed salmon, chili, breakfast burritos, and a recent addition, grain bowls. Best-selling sammies are Dano’s Italian and the Waitsfield, filled with cranberry, stuffing, and turkey. But, oh, that meatloaf sandwich!

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SLAW, ANYONE? Jeff and Kris-Ryan Clarke. To check out at Edelweiss, one must pass by this case of baked goodies.

To the back of the deli is a nook where Black Flannel Brewing & Distilling Co. holds tastings and sells its liquor and beer. There’s a cooler filled with Vermont craft beer and other beverages, a freezer loaded with ice cream from three local creameries, and shelves stocked with interesting and irresistible temptations. “Stowe is the epicenter of food and beverage and outdoor activities,” Jeff said. “We feel we hit the bull’s eye. We are living our values.” n ESSENTIALS: 2251 Mountain Road, Stowe. edelweissstowe.com.

Your one stop shop for great food and unique finds! Our artisan and antique market has over 100 vendors selling arts, antiques, furniture, gifts and more!

Breakfast and lunch served all day, every day! OPEN

7 DAYS A WEEK | CHECK OUR WEBSITE FOR SEASONAL HOURS

39 Edson Hill Road, Stowe | 802.253.7223 | info@roundhearth.com | roundhearth.com

GORDON MILLER

EDIBLES

TWO SONS BAKEHOUSE Each day, ongoing operations at Bill Hoag’s Two Sons Bakehouse relies on his most mercurial, yet essential, coworker to keep things running. “It’s been with me since I started really,” Hoag said. “It gets cranky when it’s really cold or if it’s really hot and humid. You’ve got to baby it and understand what’s going on around you to make it work.” The coworker in question is, of course, the 17-year-old sourdough starter. It’s the living, breathing container of wild yeast that is an essential part of the crusty artisan bread bearing the twin boar insignia and the brand named for his two children that has proliferated throughout Lamoille County restaurants and grocers since 2020. Hoag’s wholesale operation has proliferated rapidly since he established a base of operations near the mouth of Smugglers Notch in Cambridge two years ago. With about 50 wholesale accounts, Hoag sought a new outpost for his operation. He found one in Hyde Park, a turnkey sale at the former location of the Fork and Gavel restaurant, and the prime location to expand his growing customer-facing operation.

But he as his operation expanded, Hoag’s hands are still marked by flour and scraps of dough as he still manages day-to-day operations of his growing gluten empire. Curly haired, bespectacled, and flannel wearing, the only part of Hoag that gives away his roots in southern New Jersey is the worn Philadelphia 76ers cap on his head. The baker came to Vermont when his wife took a job teaching kindergarten in Johnson. The cou-

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TWO SONS CREW: Bill Hoag, Laura Bradford, and Adam Noë. Hoag brings freshly baked bread from the oven at the Hyde Park location.

ple was only planning to stay a couple years, but that was 20 years ago. Hoag, who has been cooking since he was 16, took a job at Stowe’s Harvest Market in 2005. When the bakery closed in 2020, he struck out on his own. Hoag brought with him another veteran of Harvest Market. Laura Bradford, who is originally from San Francisco, is now pastry chef at Two Sons. Bradford rounds out the bakery’s sourdough bread, bagels, and non-sourdough brioches and burger buns with finelycrafted croissants—the unassailable plain iteration along with other constructions that include ham and cheese as well as an inspired turkey, cheese, and caramelized onion— and other pastries. After offering a menu that included customizable sandwiches firmly grounded in— what else?—the bagel and bread produced at the Jeffersonville location, opening a cafe with an expanded breakfast menus in Hyde Park was a natural path forward. The Hyde Park menu does have a breakfast sandwich—scrambled eggs, hash browns, cheddar cheese garlic sausage, bacon, sausage or capicola—but it also has a lot more: traditional pancakes and French toast, a French toast made from cardamom babka topped with a splendor of caramel and maple, a house-made English muffin is the base for a hollandaise and capicola eggs benedict, while cheddar and chive biscuits serve as the foundation for the biscuits and gravy. Hoag has no plans to stop at breakfast and lunch. He teamed up with Adam Noë— a Tennessean chef whose culinary pedigree recently includes Stowe Mountain Lodge, Topnotch, and The Inn at Essex—to eventually expand the menus and offerings at both locations. Brunch has now taken over the weekends and lunch choices include burgers, falafel, and other sandwiches, among other dishes. Dinner is on the horizon, but details remain under wraps. The Jeffersonville location isn’t standing still either. Hoag and his team have been offering pizza specials on Fridays and Saturdays with white, margherita and pesto pies and customizable toppings. Though Hoag’s business has grown about as fast as a loaf of his sourdough, he’s really aiming for longevity and sustainability while looking forward to filling a void in the village of Hyde Park. “It’s nice to be part of the community and add another dimension to it,” he said. “I’m humbled to come in behind John (Decker of Fork and Gavel) and start something and hopefully we can live up to his expectations and what he’s already started.” —Aaron Calvin ESSENTIALS: For hours and offerings at both the Main Street location in Hyde Park and in Jeffersonville, go to twosonsbakehouse.com.

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tipsy trout Spruce Peak at Stowe reimagines its mountainside dining

S T O R Y : aaron calvin

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: gordon miller |

FOOD

STYLING

: spruce peak at stowe

EARTH TONES

FREEMAN FRENCH FREEMAN architects partnered with the hospitality concept and design firm RoseBernard Studio of San Francisco to re-envision Spruce Peak at Stowe’s front of house eateries, Tipsy Trout and Alpine Hall. The design is meant to “evoke the feel of mountain terrain with rich, contrasting textures and lush, earthen colors.” Tipsy Trout features 130 seats including an18-seat bar, a six-seat raw bar and, of course, views of Mt. Mansfield. Previous page: The Tipsy apple: apple-shaped sponge cake, a glaze of smoked honey, base of Speculoos oat crunch, and whiskey-infused apple compote innards.

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Wood Fired Napoletana Pizza | Home Made Pasta | Prime Wood Fired Steak | Fresh Seafood

CHEF OWNED CUCINA

18 Edson Hill Road Stowe, Vermont 802.253.5677 | salutevt.com

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CHEF SEAN BLOMGREN tops one of Tipsy Trout’s signature dishes, the uni bucatini with roe, and nori, below right. The finished dish marries uni cream, caramelized parsnip, trout roe, nori, and yuzu over a generous portion of bucatini pasta. An artisan cocktail.

hen dining at the Tipsy Trout, you might pop a piece of sashimi in your mouth or slurp a number from the restaurant’s selection of fresh oysters and, with eyes closed, might find yourself for a moment on a rocky beach in Maine or a pier on the south Boston waterfront. But open your eyes and you won’t see ocean but the corrugated rooftops of The Lodge at Spruce Peak or a panoramic, broadside view of the mountain itself, depending on where in the restaurant you’re seated. For chef Sean Blomgren, Tipsy Trout is the culmination of a culinary life spent among the wharfs of Boston, summering on the coast of Maine, and a career spent in service of mountain resort crowds in destinations such as Aspen. When looking to helm a restaurant in Stowe, he saw

the opportunity for shore-fresh seafood in the Green Mountains. “We’re only three hours to Boston, three and a half hours to Portland, which is where most of our seafood comes from,” Blomgren said. “So even though we’re technically the West Coast of New England, if you will, there’s still a great proximity to the ocean.” >>

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“THE NEW KITCHEN FEATURES an additional 15 feet of cook line, reconfigured access to the dining areas, and an expanded display kitchen that provides diners an elevated culinary experience,” the architectural firm Freeman French Freeman said of the $6 million restaurant renovations. “Finishes, lighting, and furnishings were updated throughout, and new millwork screens open up previously closed walls to provide additional light and ambiance.”

It is around this simple fact that Tipsy Trout’s menu, an array of fresh fish in nearly any conceivable fashion, is arranged. This allows for a flexible experience tailored to however deep a diner would like to wade into the veritable ocean of saltwater offerings. The uni bucatini is this dinner menu’s highlight. It’s a dish that brings together the naturally complementary Japanese and Italian cuisines. Rather than demanding explanation, its existence is self-evident, like all good fusion. A heap of yellow bucatini, cooked to the tooth, is crowned with a soft pile of uni, the nuclear orange-colored edible part of a sea urchin, and garnished with nori, trout roe, caramelized parsnips, and yuzu. The result is a creamy, intensely savory pasta dish, a surprising but accessible trip for the taste buds. The dish is rich and the serving generous, but each bite is so tantalizing that you may not realize how filling it is until it’s nearly finished. “The uni bucatini kind of combines classic French and Italian technique using Maine sea urchin. It’s something that’s really interesting and you’re not going to see everywhere, but it’s grounded in classic technique using really fresh and local seafood,” Blomgren said. For the less adventurous or those simply craving a more traditional vehicle for fresh fish, Blomgren and his team play the hits too. There’s a Maine lobster roll with butter on a brioche bun, grilled swordfish au poivre with black garlic, Atlantic striped bass with French lentils spiced up with a >>

LIGHTSHOW

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MOUNTAIN MAC CIDER COMPANY at Happy Valley Orchard in Middlebury, VT - 217 Quarry Road, Middlebury VT

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Open April to October

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FOOD PORN

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Roasted beet salad with hand-dipped ricotta, tarragon crumble, piquillo, arugula, and lemon. Charred cauliflower with Szechuan peppercorn, peanut, kung pao, celery, and cilantro. Nachos, Tipsy-style. Stuffed clam hushpuppies—Nitty Gritty cornmeal, linguiça, and harissa-lime aioli. Beef tartare sliders feature Thai herbs, spicy mustard, fried shallot, and crispy garlic on a Hawaiian roll.

walnut muhammara, and a New Bedford fisherman’s stew, which contains hearty potatoes and linguiça sausage and is exactly the kind of thing you might imagine an 18th-century whaler would eat. For those who somehow wind up at a restaurant with “trout” in its name, but are uninterested in or averse to seafood in general, a full-size roasted pheasant with butternut fondant and the 8-ounce steak shipped from Denver are also available. The fish business is seasonal by nature, but Blomgren expects the menu to feature this steady cast with some revolving changes.

TWO SONS BAKEHOUSE — CAREFULLY CRAFTED LOCALLY SOURCED — BREAKFAST & BRUNCH MENU | BREADS & PASTRIES | SPECIALTY ORDERS 246 Main Street Hyde Park, Vermont | 802-851-8414 | twosonsbakehouse.com

You have to work your way up to big dishes like this, of course. The clam chowder is a good place to start. Blomgren took first place at Stowe’s Chowderpalooza festival in 2019 with a breakfast chowder and, though the Tipsy Trout iteration is more traditional, Blomgren is showing off here, too: bacon fat and clam morsels float around in a rich, herbaceous broth with soft potatoes, and, to its merit, the restaurant is not too highbrow for oyster crackers. The endive salad with a tahini dressing and other accents is a crowd favorite, stuffed clam hush puppies are exactly as good as that sounds, beef tartare sliders bring a bit of French daring to the old pub fare, and grilled octopus on crispy polenta is enough to get anyone going. >>

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OCEAN VIBE Bookend the meal with the dessert de resistance, the tipsy apple, the high-concept arrangement from local pastry chef Jessica Quiet, who arrived in Stowe via St. Johnsbury. This dessert features an appleshaped sponge cake with a glaze of smoked honey set atop a base of Speculoos oat crunch. A swipe of a fork reveals a whiskey-infused apple compote within. Each bite can be completed by pairing it with the attendant kisses of whipped cream or chocolate mousse.

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The dessert menu also includes key lime pie and a dish called runaway chocolate, which involves popcorn choux pastry and a hazelnut tart, and with any luck Quiet will let you sample some of her off-menu macarons with their perfectly baked, crispy exteriors that give way to a soft, chewy interior. This meal must be paired with a selection from the restaurant’s extensive wine list, which goes long on whites and bubblies, naturally. Blomgren had a personal hand in curating the selection and its

TIPSY TROUT’S oyster spread.

emphasis on southern European provenance. The Yves Leccia, a 2020 Corsican rosé, is a favorite of his. The list is flexible enough that you could spend less than $100 on a bottle of wine but could easily spend much more. If a more casual experience is what you’re looking for, a raw bar, which includes a revolving selection of fresh bivalves sourced from the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Maine, and even cocktail shrimp originating from the Carolinian coast, can be placed at your fingertips. Crudos, or a selection of raw fish dishes where light accents of citrus and vinegar are employed to bring out the freshness of the fish, are also available, with a selection ranging from King Salmon, Maine bluefin tuna, scallops, and classic ceviche. If raw bar isn’t your preferred form for uncooked fish, there’s a selection of nigiri, sashimi, and every classic variation of the sushi roll you could imagine. But a restaurant like Tipsy Trout is primarily a destination, a place to celebrate or mark some occasion. Its dinner menu fulfills its purpose, offering a range of dishes you’re unlikely to find anywhere else in Stowe, let alone Vermont. n ESSENTIALS: 7412 Mountain Road, Stowe. sprucepeak.com, (802) 760-4735.

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GORDON MILLER

EDIBLES

SKATE & BAKE Johnson’s community oven gets a workout in winter, too, as folks come out to skate and enjoy cookies and sweet and savory hand pies.

GATHERING PLACE Community oven brings Johnsonites together for summer fun STORY

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/ KATE CARTER

802.253.4525

1880 Mountain Road Stowe VT 05672 Mon.-Sat. 10-7 • Sun. 11-6

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JOHNSON WORKS

PIZZA NIGHT Pizza dough at the ready for Monday night pizza bake on Johnson’s Legion Field. Making the right selection. The donation jar.

If you’re driving around Johnson on a Monday evening in July or August, you might see a large crowd huddled around a monolithic structure, right at the edge of a big open field. It’s Monday Community Pizza Bake at Legion Field, and that colossal thing that has everyone’s attention is the Johnson Community Oven. Mark Woodward and Jennifer Burton of Johnson built the oven in 2017 as a community gathering place where people could visit with friends and family, eat freshly made wood-fired pizza, and play Frisbee in the field. Five years later, pizza on Mondays has become a gem of Johnson’s summers. Jasmine Yuris, chair of the Johnson Community Oven Committee, got involved because her fixer-upper house was across the street from Legion Field. “We started out very slowly with Monday night pizza. About eight people would show up every week. They were hesitant, and there was a lot of concern about insurance, vandals, and other things, so to get started we had the idea to provide the dough and sauce and people could bring various toppings. It quickly grew to 30-40 people, and it’s been a positive and fun experience for everyone,” she said. To fund the project, Yuris wrote grants and asked for donations. Blair Marvin, coowner of Elmore Mountain Bread, provides dough for 90 pizzas, while toppings come from local farmers and cheeses from Jasper Hill. “Now people don’t have to bring anything, and it’s grown to about 100 people,” Yuris said. “They wait in line, place an order, go socialize, and we call them when their pizza is ready.” Cash donations are welcome, of course, and the prep work and baking are done by experienced volunteers. To keep waste to a minimum, the >>

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EDIBLES ‘HI, NEIGHBOR!’ Community members gather mid-winter to check in, skate on the nearby rink, and enjoy oven-baked treats. Cookies, right out of the oven.

committee asked people to bring a baking sheet so they can slide the pizza onto the sheet instead of into a cardboard box.

15, T 20 2016

VOTED 19! B 0 2

CAL MA T LO R S E

, 20 017 18 & ,2

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The wood-fired oven and prep tables are sheltered under a timberframe structure. The oven is fired up three hours before baking begins and burns about a cord of wood each summer. “It’s not like popping cookies into the oven. A lot of skill is involved, and a lot of wood. We ask for wood donations each spring, and we often have to say no, we have enough,” Yuris said. Sophia Berard is official dough tosser—oh, and the committee’s secretary. She’s been stretching the dough since the oven was first built as she worked for Elmore Mountain Bread. “Before COVID-19, the model was inclusive. I made the dough and people brought toppings. We had a community table for slices. It was a more open format, and lots of fun.” When the pandemic arrived, the group streamlined the process to only committee members in the baking space and made three types of pizzas: cheese, pepperoni, and a veggie pie that changed every week. People came, placed their order, and took a pizza home. That streamlined process evolved to what it is today, with people placing orders for up to two pies per family and spreading out in the field to eat at picnic tables or in the shade of maple trees. This past winter, the committee’s focus was Skate & Bake, with people skating on the adjacent ice rink and stopping by for sweet and savory hand pies, cookies, hot chocolate and coffee, and more. Everyone is looking forward to a summer of more picnics and Frisbee on the grassy green, hands covered in flour, and pizzas adorned with locavore delights. n

GORDON MILLER

YOUR PERSONAL CHEF Epic Food for your discerning palate

Vermont Locally Sourced handpicked ingredients

Steven Lecchi Stowe Supper Club

NY Times reviewed Chef to the Stars See website for bio, reviews and sample menus

Supper Club

stowesupperclub.com 802.323.2683 | stowesupperclub@gmail.com 177

R E A L E S TAT E

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HOMES Are you searching for the perfect home or vacation getaway? Looking to update your 1970s kitchen, add a great room, or find a stone mason to redo your uneven terrace? Well, the search is over. Our guide to real estate and homes is your one-stop shop to find a new home or connect with the finest architects, interior designers, builders, and other craftsmen and suppliers for everything home-related. Our newspapers and websites—Stowe Reporter (stowetoday.com and stowereporter.com) and News & Citizen (newsandcitizen.com)—are great community

Pall Spera Co. Photo

and real estate resources.

Handcrafted Quality in Building 59 Old Creamery Road 178

Morrisville, VT

802.888.3629

stowebuilder.com

HOUSE FOR SALE The main house is sited in an east/west orientation, taking full advantage of morning and afternoon light and fabulous 180-degree views of Mount Mansfield. A Chris Curtis sculpture greets visitors at the main entrance, while a John Matusz sculpture of a giant head overlooks the pond.

COUNTRY ESTATE At $16 million, Vermont’s most expensive home for sale STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS

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/ KATE CARTER

HOUSE FOR SALE The main entrance to the guest house is filled with light and art by local artists, such as the chandelier by Mad River Antler, while each staircase leads to an en-suite bedroom. A custom bathroom sink in the gallery house. A walkway and hallway connect the gym to the gallery house.

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Magnificent contemporary estate with spectacular surroundings 10,055 square feet, 68.47 acres Year built: 1991 Taxes: $133,097 Architect: Bud Wilson, Wilson Architecture Builder: MTB Builders Landscape architect: Keith Wagner, Wagner Hodgson Landscape Architecture Agent: Pall Spera Company Realtors dramatic sanctuary anchoring 360-degree mountain views, an enchanting landscape, parklike woodlands, and a house where no stone was left unturned. This is just a snapshot of Vermont’s most expensive home currently on the market. Serenity infuses this property. The gated estate has seven remarkable structures, each with its own purpose: main residence, guest house, art gallery, barn, six-bay garage, equipment building, and tennis pavilion, all situated seamlessly within the bucolic landscape. Natural attributes include two ponds, a stream, vast lawns, and forest trails. In total there are 17 rooms, 11 bedrooms, and 16 bathrooms, each with its own welcoming personality and attention to detail. Indoor and outdoor gathering spaces make this multifaceted property suitable as a private or business retreat, with the added convenience of a helicopter landing site. For outdoor fun, there’s an exhilarating zip line, a championship miniature golf course that will challenge the most accurate putter, tennis court, sunken hot tub, walking and ATV trails, and endless space for lawn games. The main house has a grand entrance, cathedral ceiling, home theater wiring, surround sound, a commanding bedroom suite with two separate bathrooms, five additional en suite bedrooms, game room, entertainment room, office, modern kitchen, sunroom ... the list goes on. The guest house is equally spectacular, with its own fabulous views, two en suite bedrooms, a massive living area, contemporary kitchen, and extensive game room. There’s a total of 12 garage spaces throughout the property, and let’s just say the gallery is mind-blowing. The entire estate is nothing short of astonishing and worth every penny. The house sits near Trapp Family Lodge, a luxury ski resort. “It has the most commanding views looking right at the mountains. The setting of the property is stunning,” said listing agent Pall Spera. >>

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HOUSE FOR SALE The guest house overlooks the pond on the west side of the house and has views of Mount Mansfield. Custom doors spruce up the pool house. Everyone needs a sixcar garage! A metal bench shaped as an open book is one of many lawn sculptures. The miniature golf course has a dreamy, park-like setting.

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HOUSE FOR SALE A semi-modern, sleek-looking kitchen is achieved by installing custom cabinets that have no drawer or door pulls. The sun-filled dining room is adjacent to the curved eat-at counter and decorated with sculptures collected by the owner.

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HOUSE FOR SALE The circular owner’s suite has views of Mount Mansfield, and a pop-up TV is at the foot of the bed. Out of 16 bathrooms on the property, this one has a jetted tub for soaks with a view. The owner’s bath suite and walk-in closet.

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SPOTLIGHT

TIM MEEHAN Longtime Stoweite loves ‘renovating old houses’ STORY & PORTRAIT

/ KATE CARTER

When it comes to longevity, Tim Meehan as it in spades. He’s lived in Stowe for 45 years and is a general contractor and owner of Tim Meehan Builders, with an office on South Main Street. He lives just around the corner on River Road with his wife Barry. They have been married for as long as they’ve been in Stowe and have three adult children, ages 33, 30, and 27. The highlight of late is becoming grandparents. The baby looks remarkably like grandpa.

Why Stowe? It’s a long and circuitous story, but basically, I knew a guy. I come from Long Island and had been going to college. Then my dad died, I dropped out of college, and started attending night school to become a writer. At the same time a friend asked me to be a carpenter on his crew. I joined the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and became an apprentice carpenter. My first job in the union was building forms for a 55-floor building overlooking the East River in the city. Then I drifted out to California for a while, doing the surf bum thing and working in the tree business. I thought I’d go to Alaska to work

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on the pipeline, but life was too good at the beach. In 1977 I thought about coming back east to Killington, but that guy I knew said, “Come to Stowe.” He gave me a job as a carpenter at a house on Edson Hill. I’ve been here ever since.

Have you been doing carpentry all this time? No, in 1978 I opened a hot tub business. I was beating myself up skiing and wanted to soak in a hot tub, but back then you couldn’t find a single one around town, so I started a hot tub business with a friend and eventually bought him out. Then Benny Wax joined me. It made sense to >>

COURTESY PHOTOS

SPOTLIGHT

‘GREAT IDEAS, GOOD EYE’ Clockwise from top left: A 3,000-square-foot new home completed in six months. In this vintage barn restoration, Tim Meehan salvaged an old guest house, added a new foundation, windows, and siding. Foam insulation on the exterior walls preserved the vintage interior barn boards. This 1840 Vermont farmhouse renovation was a whole-house project. The integrity of the historic farmhouse was kept intact, but made more modern, functional, and comfortable. Here is an aerial view of the old farmhouse estate made new.

branch out doing custom hot tub installations in gazabos and such. I realized the remodeling projects were more fun than the hot tub business, so I made the switch to construction in 1991 and got out of the hot tub business.

What is your company’s scope of work? I only work in Stowe and I love renovating old houses. I’ve done a lot of them. My office was built in 1820 and my house in 1830. I love working around my house, knowing I’m its keeper. Most of the Civil War-era houses have been remodeled by now, so now I take what comes down the pike. About 30 percent of what I do is new homes and 70 percent is renovations. I believe the value is in remodeling, rather than building new and paying for the infrastructure.

How many people are on your staff?

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How did the pandemic affect your business? We were working on a new build in Stowe Hollow at the peak of the pandemic, and we all stayed in our own pods. Thankfully we all got through it without getting the virus. Most construction crews were less concerned and we all wore dust masks anyway. The only problem was I couldn’t get help. I think we lost a generation of builders, not to COVID-19, but to the opioid epidemic. The quality of people went down, then the supply of labor just stopped. I have no empirical data to support that, but it started well before the pandemic. When it hit, we knew there would be bumps in the road. The supply chain was crazy. It tanked. The price of lumber doubled. We made deals up front and it would take five to six months for materials to come in. The supply has improved, but cost has not. The cost of some lumber is higher than it was a year ago.

What are you working on now? The MileAway on Mountain Road. It’s a “gut reno,” meaning we are totally gutting it. We started in July 2021 and expect to finish in June 2022. We get to watch the traffic go buy, sometimes at 60 mph. It can be dangerous with trucks coming and going from the construction site. I recently put out a sign in front of MileAway that says “SLOW.”

What are some other projects you’ve done? We did AJs’ post & beam ski shop, the round porch at Stowe Inn, the indoor pool at Commodores Inn, and the Stoware mall, to name a few.

Five carpenters. My foreman, John Morin, has been with me for 20 years, and I use the same subcontractors over and over.

What is a favorite project?

What do you think is the most important about being a general contractor?

Over the years we’ve worked on a house on Strawberry Hill for three different owners, including Arthur Kreizel, who owned Topnotch Resort at the time. It’s a really sweet place. You can’t see anything except Mount Mansfield and Trapp Family Lodge. My two daughters were married there.

The client and builder have to get along. They will be working together for a while. There has to be a bond, respect, and trust.

What is one of your more memorable construction experiences? I worked for a week at the World Trade Center in 2002 at ground zero erecting panels to contain the pit and memorialize those who died. It was humbling beyond belief. I will never forget it. n

DECORATIVE BATH

& ARCHITECTURAL HARDWARE OPEN BY APPOINTMENT 257 PINE STREET BURLINGTON, VT 802.861.3200 CLOSETOHOMEVT.COM

STOWE PEOPLE BARN DANCE Gar Anderson in front of his famed Rusty Nail nightclub on Stowe’s Mountain Road. Yes, there was a bull. The latest incarnation of the club closed this winter. Opposite: Sterling Falls Gorge.

SWEET DREAMS, MR. ANDERSON Known by all as Gar, a man who left his mark on Stowe Gary “Gar” Moore Anderson was 78 when he died, peacefully, surrounded by his loving family in the comfort of his home in Sterling Valley, on Dec. 30, 2021, following an eight-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease. Growing up, Gar and his parents, Betty and Earle, made frequent trips to Stowe to ski Mt. Mansfield, igniting Gar’s love affair with Stowe. An often-shared ski memory of Gar’s took place on a class trip with Wilbraham & Monson Academy. Finding themselves short of bunks at the Round Hearth ski dorm, Gar and some of his classmates went to stay at the Trapp Family Lodge, where Gar was promptly seated beside Maria von Trapp for dinner—a night he never forgot. At Johnson State College—where he excelled in all things extracurricular—he skied on the ski team, drove the bus for the soccer team, and chaired the Johnson State Social Club where he famously booked Simon & Garfunkel to perform in a packed gymnasium one winter carnival night. After some time away, Gar eventually made his way back to Vermont and his first job as a permanent Stowe resident was painting towers for the new gondola that opened for the 1968-69 season. Over the years, he worked on the Stowe Ski Patrol, bought the Gale farmhouse and barn and ran a boarding house for fellow ski bums, turning the lower floor of the big barn into Stowe’s first shopping center. And he opened the famed Rusty Nail nightclub, a staple on the Stowe ski bum, party, and music scenes for decades.

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Later, Gar ran other successful businesses in town, including Le Chateaubriand, a fine dining restaurant, a florist shop, and, in partnership with childhood friend Vinny Buonanno, Stowe Cinema. He worked as vice president of the Vermont Hospitality & Travel Association and as a lobbyist for the Vermont Lodging & Restaurant Association, served as executive director of the Vermont Association of Realtors and, eventually, vice president of leadership development at the National Association of Realtors in Chicago. Gar only took that last gig if he could continue to live in Stowe. They said yes, of course. For a time, Gar seemed to serve—and often lead—every board, commission, and committee in the town of Stowe: He chaired its planning and conservation commissions, served as president of Stowe Community Church, helped revive Stowe Winter Carnival, and was the town’s consummate fireworks showman. Perhaps what Gar would most like to be remembered for was his key role in conserving Sterling Gorge and the surrounding forest for the Stowe community. The story that follows on the next few pages was first published in Vermont Life magazine in its summer 2003 edition. Gar was survived by his former wife, Moira Durnin, daughters, Metzi and Robyn, and sons-in-law, Ross Scatchard and Walt May.

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PAUL ROGERS

STOWE PEOPLE

NATALIE STULTZ

STREAMSIDE Gar and Moira with their daughters, Metzi, left, and Robyn on Sterling Brook, July 2002, for a story first published in Vermont Life magazine, 2003.

NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED The making of Sterling Gorge Natural Area He’s not an especially tall man, just 5 feet, 10 inches, but he seems taller, thanks to his ramrod-straight Connecticut Yankee spine. A crown of white hair tops his weather-beaten brow, and his intense blue eyes seem lit from within. His smile … well, his smile is magical, inviting, makes you want to pause and talk a while. “Hi,” he says to me the first time I meet him as I hike past his property and see him cleaning a walkway, “I’m Earle. And what’s your name?” That’s all it took, and we were off and running, talking about the weather, stone walls, STORY / ROBERT KIENER leaf peepers, and who knows what else. Earle Anderson, 83, is one of those people who make you feel instantly welcome to his world. His “world” is a tiny bit of paradise in the far northern reaches of Stowe that boasts one of the state’s most startlingly stunning series of waterfalls and pools of swirling waters. Visitors know it as the Sterling Falls Gorge Natural Area but to those of us who live hereabouts, it’s simply “The Gorge.” When I first met him, Earle lived next to the gorge

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with his son Gar, Gar’s wife Moira, and their two daughters. I live a quarter mile from the Andersons, just down Sterling Brook, a meandering slip of a waterway that cuts my property in two, as it winds its way to Stowe’s Little River. I regularly hike to the gorge. This is a ruggedly beautiful slice of northern Vermont, rich with hemlocks, maples, spruce, aspens, birch, and beech, and home to whitetail deer, moose, otters, fox, fisher cats, and the horribly shy black bear. Admittedly I see few of these creatures on my twice-weekly hikes down my hill, across the brook, and through the woods to the gorge, but I know they are there. When I reach the gorge, I usually see Earle spreading woodchips on the half-mile long Sterling Falls Gorge Natural Area’s pathways, replacing a signpost, clearing brush, or leading a visitor to the best vantage point for photographing Sterling Falls. Clearly, he has fallen in love with this special place and has become its “unofficial ambassador.” In time, I too fell under the spell of the area. I’d hike, snowshoe and cross-country ski across it and bring friends to it whenever they visit. >>

STOWE PEOPLE

ARCHIVES: LOWER RIGHT, COURTESY OF THE ANDERSON FAMILY

THE GORGE TRUST Gar was a fixture at Stowe’s Town Meeting. A celebration of his life was held in May. Donations can be made in his memory to Sterling Falls Gorge Natural Area Trust, c/o Jared Hendler, 91 Sterling Gorge Rd, Stowe VT 05672.

We’d stand at the gorge’s edge, mesmerized, watching the water tumble 105 feet down a series of falls and cascades. Then one day, as I watched a whitetail buck chase a doe into a stand of birch near the gorge, I asked myself, “I wonder who saved this special bit of Vermont?” The story of how one man protected a cherished bit of his adopted hometown began in the 1970s. After Gar Anderson, Earle’s son, graduated from Vermont’s Johnson State College in the late 1960s, he settled in Stowe. Lured by its great skiing and hiking, the tall, rangy, Connecticut-born Anderson tried his hand at a variety of jobs—tavern owner, marketing director, builder, and commercial developer. Beginning in the 1970s he built the first of five homes in the Sterling Valley region of Stowe, then a beautiful but isolated section of Stowe with few residents and fewer roads. He loved to hike and ski and there was no better place for both than Sterling Valley, some seven miles north of the town’s picturesque Main Street. On free winter afternoons and weekends, he’d pile his snowshoes and cross-country skis into his Jeep and head off onto one of the valley’s old logging roads. He’d drive as far as he could and would then spend blissful hours gliding across old pastures and bushwhacking between stands of aspens and beech trees. At Sterling Valley Gorge he’d explore the ruins of a century-old lumber mill, foundations of farmhouses, a ruined boarding house, and marvel at the way the falls had chiseled out potholes, or Devil’s kettles, in the schist. He hardly ever saw another person in this remote wonderland. One of his few neighbors saw how much this young flatlander loved the area and one day in 1978 surprised him with a telephone call, “You

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know that land of mine up by the gorge?” “I sure do,” said the 33-year-old Anderson. “If you want to buy it, it’s yours. Send me a check for $2,000 and pay me the rest when you get it.” It was the chance of a lifetime. Soon, with his father’s help, Gar Anderson owned 64 acres of some of the choicest real estate in Northern Vermont. The property was miles from the nearest road, had no electric or telephone lines but Gar made himself a promise, “Someday, I will build a home there.” On his free afternoons Gar would explore “his” property, that special piece of the Sterling Valley that had literally fallen into his hands. He also combed history books and talked to old timers, some of whom remembered the town of Sterling and the sawmill that was built by Paphro D. Pike in 1860. Cellars, foundations, stone walls, and long-abandoned apple orchards are all that remain of the town of Sterling, chartered in February 1782. It was home to numerous families, including Moses Vilas, his wife, and their 10 children. One of them, William, helped settle Burlington and became president of the powerful Burlington Savings Bank. Samuel made millions and founded the Vilas National Bank. Levi served in the Vermont Legislature. As the Vermont Historical Gazetteer noted, “There have been some of the smartest men in the country born in Sterling. It has proved this to be a good place to be born in.” >>

STOWE PEOPLE

FROM LEFT: GLENN CALLAHAN; PAUL ROGERS

SWEET SPOT A stone walkway at the gorge. Sterling Brook.

Gar married and had a child, then another. To help make his dream a reality, he spent countless free hours wielding his chainsaw, clearing by himself thousands of trees on the land on which he hoped to one day build his home. The more time he spent near Sterling Gorge, the more he realized he had to somehow preserve its pristine beauty. As he remembers today, “The idea came to me that the gorge needed to be protected. I knew I had to do something.” Putting in a road to the gorge and stringing telephone and electric lines to the site of his proposed home would cost Anderson tens of thousands of dollars. He realized he had to develop his 64-acre parcel, which included the Sterling Falls Gorge, if he ever hoped to build his home. But he knew the ecology of the gorge was fragile. “Building too close to the gorge could prove disastrous,” he explains. “To preserve the stream channel, for example, you have to keep it shaded. You can’t touch the trees.” He also knew that he needed help. In the spring of 1988, the then 45year-old father-of-two businessman enrolled in a land management course at the University of Vermont. A term later he emerged with an A+, a blueprint for the Sterling Falls Gorge Natural Area Trust, and an adviser, his former teacher, University of Vermont professor Richard Paradis. Later that year, after countless letters, reports, hearings, testimonies, and legal bills, the trust was born. Anderson sold off several of his lots to like-minded conservationists who agreed (as would subsequent buyers) to pay 2.5 percent of their purchase price into the trust, for the perpetual upkeep of the Sterling Gorge. The Anderson family agreed to match those donations out of their own pockets. Gar and his parents donated 7.3 acres that encompass and surround the gorge to the newly formed trust.

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Now the gorge would be protected forever and open to anyone who wanted to explore its unique beauty. The town of Stowe was so impressed with Anderson’s plan to preserve the gorge that residents voted to buy a 3.8-acre lot that abuts the gorge. An August 1989 frontpage headline in the Stowe Reporter trumpeted, “Gorge land preserved for posterity.” It was the town’s first-ever conservation purchase. Gar Anderson did build his dream house, a massive, five-bedroom stone villa within earshot of the waterfalls and cascades that make Sterling Falls Gorge one of Vermont’s most-treasured beauty spots. He included an apartment for his mother Betty and his father Earle in the plans and coaxed them to move up from Connecticut. As we walk across Gar’s broad expanse of lawn, I notice a car of visitors to the Gorge driving into its parking lot across from his home. Some people, I tell him, might consider this an intrusion on their privacy. He pauses, then says, “I like my privacy, but I also enjoy people. I love the looks on their faces when they experience the beauty of the gorge for themselves. There’s no greater thrill.” As I leave the Anderson’s home and begin the hike to my home across the now-protected Sterling Gorge and through the former farmsteads that once comprised the long-vanished town of Sterling, I am reminded that one man, one family, can make a difference. All it takes is a devotion to the land and the desire to protect it. Look around Vermont. There are scores of unheralded Gar Andersons. We are all the wealthier for having them in our midst. n •••• GETTING THERE: The gorge is located at the end of Sterling Valley Road.

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just big enough longtime stowe architectural designer builds new home to ‘age in place’

STORY

: robert kiener 203

as milford cushman

sits back on his comfy living room couch

inside his newly built 2,400-square-foot, three-bedroom Hyde Park home with his wife Terri Gregory, the well-known Stowebased architectural designer tells a visitor, “We’ve decided to call this home Yellow Birches for the wonderful trees that surround us.” He pauses for a beat, smiles, and adds, “There’s another way we describe it. We call it ‘a just big enough house’ because that’s exactly what it is—not too big, not too small, but just big enough.” Cushman, 75, confesses that he and Gregory had no plans to sell their former—much larger—home, Raven Beach, until a few years ago. “After completing a major renovation on it we thought we’d be there forever. It was gorgeous. It was like living in a park,” says the award-winning designer. “But then, one day, we realized that maintaining the home, with its 10 acres of forest and its 5,000 square feet of gardens was going to be a bigger and bigger challenge the older we got. We decided that we needed a home that was simpler, easier to live in, and not as expensive to take care of. And we wanted a design that would allow us to age in place.” The couple’s work—Gregory is an interior design specialist—has long been based, as Cushman says, “around our clients’ yearning to be healthy and happy and content with their surroundings, physically, psychologically, and spiritually. So, we took that same approach when we set out to design our new home.” story, p.222

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While Cushman and Gregory produced “loads” of sketches as they collaborated on the design of their new home, both admit they were hugely inspired by a recent Cushman Design Group project, a modest, open-plan fishing cabin the firm had completed for a client in rural northern Vermont. “I liked its shed roof because it helped open the cabin to the outdoors,” says Gregory. “We both loved the cabin’s intimacy and the way it was connected to the land. Most of all, we admired the cabin’s simplicity.” First, the couple drew up a list of must haves for their new home. “We wanted to be within a half hour of Stowe, have access to southern (winter) light, and we needed highspeed internet service,” says Cushman. Accessibility was also a key part of the design plan. For example, doors had to be wide enough for a wheelchair and a stairway large enough to perhaps one day accommodate a stair lift. After finding land just a few miles from their former home, they put pen to paper and soon broke ground. Taking their cue from the fishing cabin, the pair opted for a shed roof because, as they explain, this would allow for banks of windows that would fill the home with light. They also chose to keep the house narrow to cut down building costs. The open-plan living, dining, and kitchen area is only 16-feet wide. “Sixteen feet is a really sweet dimension,” explains Cushman. “It is intimate and with windows on both sides, the nearly 10-foothigh room is filled with light, and you are inexorably and immediately connected to the outdoors. The proportions are perfect.” He also notes that the narrow size allows the >>

617.458.9915 | PO Box 1272 Stowe, VT | siteformstudio.com

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use of two-by-12 joists and rafters, rather than more expensive larger pieces. Because the home is smaller than their previous one, the couple spent a lot of time “editing” and making an inventory of what furniture would or wouldn’t fit in the new plan. “The dining table was too big, and it had to go,” says Gregory. Cushman adds, “This really gave us a new appreciation for what a client goes through when they are deciding on the design of a new house. You need a lot of discipline, and it is important to decide as a couple, so the new design satisfies both of you.” Keeping to a budget also involved sacrifices. “We had a Sub-Zero refrigerator in the other house but that was too pricey,” says Gregory. “I admit I miss it.” Ditto a fireplace—too costly. But the kitchen does have something both have long wanted: a 6-foot long, his-and-hers double workstation sink. “We can cook together and not get in each other’s way,” jokes Gregory. Because aging in place was also a prime design consideration, the home includes many accessibility-related features. For example, all interior doors are pocket doors, which are easier for a wheelchair-bound person to open than standard doors. The master bedroom is on the main floor. (Two more bedrooms are on the home’s lower level.) The home’s front door and entryway are wide and flat enough to easily accommodate a wheelchair, and the shower has no curb, making it easy to roll into. “The idea was to design a home that a nonambulatory person can stay in longer than a standard home,” says Cushman. “This design should also increase resale value because there are more and more of us who will be looking for places that are more readily accessible as we age.” Gregory chose a neutral palette of grays and off-white tones that would not detract from the native wood, marble, and slate that was used throughout the house. Window treatments and trim were kept to a minimum so as not to obscure or conflict with the home’s near and distant views. >>

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“The simple design helps bring the outside in,” says Gregory. A narrow screened-in porch, accessed from the main living area, leads to a small open deck. Both overlook the perennial gardens, which are one tenth the size of the couple’s gardens in their previous home, and the forest and mountains beyond. Thanks largely to the couple’s experience and skill in keeping the design straightforward, construction, handled by Tell Gregory of Morrisville-based contractor Gregory Construction, went smoothly. “There were no huge surprises or setbacks in this project,” says Gregory, Terri Gregory’s nephew. “I am sure that was due to Milford and Terri’s years of experience.” The builder acknowledges the home was designed to be “super tight.” He explains, “We exceeded insulation guidelines by a lot; the R-factor is more than double what the codes ask for.” The extra spray foam insulation in the walls and ceilings has paid off; even on the coldest of winter days the main floor of the home can be heated solely by a small but remarkably efficient Tula wood-burning stove. “We go through less than a cord of wood a winter,” says Cushman. Just as they were with their previous home, the couple was adamant about protecting the trees on their lot. Indeed, they even moved their first planned home site so they wouldn’t have to remove some elegant yellow birch trees. “In my design process the land is always the starting point,” says Cushman, who was once an Outward Bound wilderness instructor. “The most exciting designs take their lead from the surrounding land, not from traditional floor plans. The site, the land, is sacred.” Case in point: When they encountered thick ledge while excavating for the foundation, they decided against blasting—“Too disrespectful to the land,” says Gregory— but supported part of the home with concrete piers. Just 2.5 acres of the 17.5-acre lot was developed; the rest was untouched. Milford Cushman has long claimed that one of the primary goals of contemporary design is to use materials to foster a sense of comfort, to help homeowners feel like they are in a sanctuary. In fact, it’s almost his mantra. As he looks out the bank of south-facing windows from his maple-floored living room to the nearby perennial gardens and trees and the more distant mountains, he smiles and admits, “A sanctuary. Yes, that’s exactly what we’ve created here.” Not bad for a house that is, as Cushman says, “Just big enough.” n Photos courtesy of Cushman Design Group and photographer Ryan Bent.

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STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY ANTIQUES BITTNER ANTIQUES Third-generation Vermont antique dealer Brian Bittner: broad experience with pocket and wristwatches, jewelry, silver, artwork, coins/paper money, historical/military, older collectibles, heirlooms. Free house visits, (802) 489-5210, info@bittnerantiques.com, bittnerantiques.com.

ARCHITECTS ANDREW VOLANSKY, AIA / VOLANSKY STUDIO ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING The term studio speaks to an open process of collaborating with our clients and general contractors who execute our designs. This respectful approach has proven to contribute significantly to project success. (802) 793-4999, volanskystudio.com.

ECK MACNEELY ARCHITECTS Home is a place where comfort is found and given. Since 1976, we have considered every design detail an opportunity to create the spirit of home. 560 Harrison Ave., Suite 403, Boston 02118. (617) 367-9696. eckmacneely.com.

ELD ARCHITECTURE Creating thoughtful, site-specific designs with an emphasis on custom residential projects throughout New England. We utilize state-of-the-art software to help our clients envision their home before construction begins. eldarchitecture.com. (802) 521-7101.

ELIZABETH HERRMANN ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN EHA+D is an award-winning residential architecture firm based in Central Vermont. We specialize in designing exceptionally beautiful, well-crafted, energy-efficient homes. (802) 453-6401, eharchitect.com.

HARRY HUNT ARCHITECTS Modern green homes—true to the spirit of Vermont. Member American Institute of Architects. Certified passive house designer. (802) 253-2374, harryhuntarchitects.com.

MAD MOOSE ARCHITECTURE Mad Moose Architecture was founded on a commitment to provide a more thoughtful way of designing shelter, with reverence for the environment and respect for the earth and its inhabitants. madmoosearchitecture.com, (802) 234-5720,

METHOD ARCHITECTURE STUDIO PLLC A Stowe-based architectural studio specializing in energy efficient, modern timber frame, custom home designs. View our process, portfolio, and client stories at methodarch.com. 1799 Mountain Rd., Stowe. (802) 585-3161.

PASTELLA BURNS A full-service architectural design and building firm. As specialists in luxury homes and hospitality, we focus on developing unique architectural designs that echo our clients’ personalities and compliment their lifestyle. (267) 750-0452. pastellaburns.com.

SAM SCOFIELD, ARCHITECT, AIA Professional architectural services for all phases of design and construction. Residential and commercial. Carlson Building, Main Street, Stowe. samscofieldarchitect.com. (802) 253-9948.

SHOPE RENO WHARTON Shope Reno Wharton (SRW) is a nationally acclaimed architectural firm, known for designing beautiful, functional, and enduring homes that enrich the lives of their residents. Each design is guided by unique sensibilities derived from a true love of building and craft. shoperenowharton.com.

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN CUSHMAN DESIGN GROUP Architectural, interior, and landscape design featuring beauty, craftsmanship, and excellent energy efficiency. Creative, intuitive, functional, efficient. (802) 253-2169. cushmandesign.com.

BRYAN MEMORIAL GALLERY Vermont’s premier gallery for landscape painting features over 200 artists in a year-round exhibition schedule. Thurs.Sun. 11-4 through June 19. Daily 11-5 June 23-Oct. 10, and by appointment. 180 Main St., Jeffersonville. (802) 644-5100. bryangallery.org.

THE CURRENT A center for contemporary art and art education, established in 1981. Exhibitions of acclaimed artists. Art classes. Cultural events. Schedule: Tuesday-Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-3. 90 Pond St., Stowe. (802) 253-8358, thecurrentnow.org.

NICHOLAS STOLOWITZ FINE MINERALS Beautiful crystals and minerals from world-class museum quality specimens to decorative desk-table-mantel-cabinet pieces, Nicholas Stolowitz Fine Mineral’s gallery will enthrall, dazzle, and excite. 80 Depot St., behind Shaw’s, Stowe village.

NORTHWOOD GALLERY Gallery exclusively featuring Vermont artisans. Jewelry, pottery, prints, and more. We host artist workshops, live demonstrations, and provide custom woodwork. 151 Main St., Stowe. (802) 760-6513. info.northwoodgallery@gmail.com.

ROBERT PAUL GALLERIES An outstanding selection of original paintings, sculpture, and fine art glass by locally, nationally, and internationally acclaimed artists. Celebrating 31 years. 394 Mountain Road, Baggy Knees Shopping Center, Stowe. robertpaulgalleries.com. (802) 253-7282.

VISIONS OF VERMONT We feature Eric Tobin, Aldro Hibbard, Thomas Curtin, Emile Gruppe, Alden Bryan, and many more. A century of painting history is made on the Jeffersonville side of Smugglers Notch. (802) 644-8183. visionsofvermont.org.

J. GRAHAM GOLDSMITH, ARCHITECTS Quality design and professional architectural services specializing in high-end residential development. Member Stowe Area. (800) 862-4053. jggarchitects.com. Email: vt@jggarchitects.com.

LEE HUNTER ARCHITECT, AIA Stowe-based architectural firm offering a personal approach to creative, elegant design. Residential, commercial, and renovations. (802) 253-9928. leehunterarchitect.com.

ART GALLERIES ARTISANS’ GALLERY An inspired collection of fine art and craft from Vermont’s established and emerging artists. A must-see destination. Gifts and cards for every occasion. 11-6 daily. Historic Bridge Street, Waitsfield 05674. (802) 496-6256. vtartisansgallery.com.

ART SOURCING AXEL’S FRAME SHOP & GALLERY Inspiration to installation—comprehensive consulting and sourcing services to help you shape your space. Let us help you in your search. Discover the hundreds of artists we’ve worked with. 5 Stowe St., Waterbury. (802) 244-7801. axelsgallery.com.

MTB, anyone? The greater Mansfield region all · Stowe,around Waterbury, MorrisvilleStowe. and beyond Pick upMt. RIDE,

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STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY AWNINGS OTTER CREEK AWNINGS Expand your outdoor living space with the help of Otter Creek Awnings. Providing custom outdoor shading solutions since 1976. Free onsite estimates. Showroom at 19 Echo Place, Williston, or othercreekawnings.com. (802) 864-3009.

BAKERIES BLACK CAP COFFEE & BAKERY OF VERMONT Croissants, danishes, muffins, scones, tarts, cakes. Everything made in house. Gluten-free/vegan options. A fun place to work, meet, or hang out. Open daily. Stowe village, downtown Morrisville, Waterbury Train Station, Church Street in Burlington. blackcapvermont.com.

BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS DONALD P. BLAKE JR INC. Handcrafted quality in building, offering experienced and reliable contracting services since 1985. Specializing in custom home new construction, renovations, commercial construction, construction management, property services. (802) 888-3629, stowebuilder.com.

HITCHHIKER BIKE SHOP We are Stowe’s premier mountain and gravel bike shop offering service, new bikes, parts, clothing, and accessories. We can get you back out on the trails in no time. 394 Mountain Road. hitchhikerbikes.com. (802) 585-3344.

MOUNTAINOPS High-quality bikes and best location guarantee—exclusive access to the Stowe Recreation Path across from Topnotch Resort. Hiking information, trail maps and accessories, extensive line of camping gear. Daily at 9 a.m. (802) 253-4531. mountainops.com.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE OUTDOOR CENTER Over 25 miles of mountain biking trails in woodlands and meadows with spectacular mountain views. Trails to von Trapp Bierhall. Private, group instruction, rentals, retail shop. (802) 253-8511.

BOUTIQUE MOONWAKE STOWE A curated boutique featuring unique, bold, and gorgeous authentic vintage as well as vintage-style looks, handmade artisan products, and a wellness apothecary featuring handcrafted products from female-owned businesses. Katie Shanley, 6 Sunset St. moonwake.life, @moonwake.stowe, @moonwake.millerton.

BREWERIES THE ALCHEMIST A family owned and operated craft brewery specializing in fresh, unfiltered IPA. Open for curbside sales 11 a.m. - 6 p.m., 7 days a week. Order online at alchemistbeer.com. 100 Cottage Club Road, Stowe.

ROCK ART BREWERY Brewing beers we love for you to enjoy. Visit our brewery tasting room and Vermont artisan gallery. Relax on the porch with your samples and grab cans to go. (802) 888-9400. rockartbrewery.com.

VON TRAPP BREWING & BIERHALL Located at Trapp Family Lodge, the von Trapp Brewing Bierhall is situated on the lodge’s cross country and mountain bike trails. Fresh lagers and a selection of freshly prepared Austrian lunch and dinner selections. (802) 253-5750. vontrappbrewing.com.

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CAMARA SLATE National supplier of roofing slate, slate flooring, flagstone, countertops, and other structural components. Committed to delivering a standard beyond our competitors’ abilities with excellent service and quality-valued products. Fair Haven, Vt. (802) 265-3200, camaraslate.com, info@camaraslate.com.

LOEWEN WINDOW CENTER OF VT & NH GYLLENBORG CONSTRUCTION Recognized for high-quality craftsmanship. Our priority is to encourage and promote environmentally friendly living. Individualized customer service and attention to detail for custom homebuilding, renovations, and additions. Established 1995. gyllenborgconstruction.com. (802) 888-9288.

MOUNTAIN LOGWORKS, LLC

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Handcrafted log homes. Specializing in Scandinavian Full Scribe and Adirondack-style log structures with log diameters up to 30 inches. In-house design service available. (802) 748-5929. mountainlogworks.com

PATTERSON & SMITH CONSTRUCTION, INC. Custom builder, remodeling firm, and general contractor in Stowe. Our mission is to provide each customer and their designer/architect with the highest degree of customer service, management, and craftsmanship. (802) 253-3757. pattersonandsmith.com.

RED HOUSE BULDERS Full-service, employee-owned building company with an emphasis on timeless craftsmanship. Meeting the challenges of unique and demanding building projects, from contemporary mountain retreats to meticulously restored historic buildings and high-efficiency homes. (802) 655-0043. redhousebuilding.com.

SISLER BUILDERS INC. Custom home building, remodeling, woodworking, home energy audits and retrofits, quality craftsmanship, resource efficient construction, modest additions to multi-million-dollar estates. Over 35 years in Stowe. References available. sislerbuilders.com. (802) 253-5672.

TIM MEEHAN BUILDERS Building excellence, exceptional homes, professional project management, and creative remodeling. 30 years plus in Stowe. Tim Meehan, (802) 777-0283. timmeehanbuilders.com.

WINTERWOOD TIMBER FRAMES, LLC Hand-crafted, custom-designed timber-frame structures and woodwork, SIPs insulation, sourcing local timber and fine hardwoods, building in the Vermont vernacular. Cabinetry, flooring, butcher-block tops, and staircases. (802) 229-7770. winterwoodtimberframes.com.

YANKEE BARN HOMES For over 50 years, Yankee Barn Homes has been designing and prefabricating custom post-and-beam homes built with the finest materials for durability, weather protection, and energy conservation. (800) 258-9786. yankeebarnhomes.com.

Beautifully crafted Douglas fir windows and doors for the discerning homeowner. Double- and triple-glazed options available in aluminum, copper, and bronze clad. Style Inspired by You. loewenvtnh.com, (802) 295-6555, info@loewenvtnh.com.

NORTHSHORE BARN DOORS We create and install functional artisan sliding barn doors that are beautiful statements inside your home or business. The “barndoorist” has come to Stowe every season for 30 years. northshorebarndoors.com.

RK MILES Founded in 1940, rk Miles is a family-owned company providing services and materials for all types of building and design. Ten locations serving Vermont and western Massachusetts. rkmiles.com.

CHURCHES & SYNAGOGUES BLESSED SACRAMENT CATHOLIC CHURCH Mass schedule: Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Sunday, 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. See bulletin for daily masses. Confession Saturday 3:30-4 p.m. Father John Schnobrich, pastor. 728 Mountain Road, POB 27, Stowe. (802) 253-7536.

HUNGER MOUNTAIN CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY Route 100, Waterbury Center. Sunday worship service at 10 a.m. (802) 244-5921.

JEWISH COMMUNITY OF GREATER STOWE For information regarding services, holiday gatherings, classes, and workshops: JCOGS, Stowe, Vt. 05672. 1189 Cape Cod Road, Stowe. (802) 253-1800 or jcogs.org.

THE MOUNTAIN CHAPEL At the halfway point on the Mt. Mansfield Toll Road. A place for meditation, prayer and praise for skiers, hikers, and tourists. Seasonal Sunday services.

ST. JOHN’S IN THE MOUNTAINS EPISCOPAL At the crossroads of Mountain and Luce Hill roads in Stowe. Holy Eucharist Sundays at 10 a.m., in person and online. St. Johns is wheelchair friendly, visitors and children welcome. Rev. Rick Swanson, rector. (802) 253-7578, stjohnsinthemountains.com.

STOWE COMMUNITY CHURCH The iconic church on Stowe’s Main Street is multi-denominational, inclusive, and welcoming. Services every Sunday at 9:30 a.m., and home to many public and private events. Join us. (802) 253-7257. stowecommunitychurch.org.

UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP Sunday services at 4:30 p.m., St. John’s in the Mountains Episcopal Church, Mountain and Luce Hill roads, Stowe. Weekly from September to June.. All welcome. For information: (802) 253-8291, UU Fellowship of Stowe on Facebook, or bit.ly/stoweuu.

WATERBURY CENTER COMMUNITY Route 100 next to the Cider Mill. We warmly welcome visitors. (802) 244-6286. Sunday worship 10 a.m. Handicapped accessible. Church is a National Historic Place. Pastor Shirley Nolan.

CLOSETS INSPIRED CLOSETS Vermont largest and most experienced custom closet company. Our professionals will help you to transform any space in your home. Visit our showroom, 17 Echo Place, Williston. (802) 658-0000, inspiredclosetsvt.com.

GREEN ENVY Boutique for the discerning woman. Nili Lotan, Rag & Bone, Tata Harper, Golden Goose, Levi’s, Mother, Herno. On-trend luxe clothing, shoes, jewelry, accessories, home goods. Over 300 designers. Unparalleled selection of premium denim. 1800 Mountain Road, Stowe. 3 Main St., Burlington. (802) 253-2661, vermontenvy.com.

HELLY HANSEN BURLINGTON

CLOTHING & ACCESSORIES ARCHERY CLOSE Women’s clothing boutique with a curated collection of emerging designers, trend-setting styles, and cult brands. 25 S. Main St., Stowe. archeryclose.com, @archeryclose. (802) 242-0448.

BOUTIQUE AT STOWE MERCANTILE Fabulous contemporary fashion for women. From casual to professional, Boutique can make you feel beautiful any time. Lingerie, dresses, skirts, tops, jeans, sweaters, more. We’ll dress you for any occasion. Depot Building, Main Street, Stowe. (802) 253-3712.

FORGET-ME-NOT-SHOP Treasure hunt through our huge selection of famous label off price clothing for men, women, and teens at 60%-80% off. Route 15 Johnson, just 1.5 miles west of Johnson Village. Open 10-7.

Making professional-grade gear to help people stay and feel alive for more than 140 years. Come in to shop our latest selection of hiking, sailing, ski, and mountain lifestyle apparel. 66 Church St., Burlington. (802) 651-7010.

IN COMPANY CLOTHING Celebrating 22 years. Specializing in personalized service and top designer labels. Come see what’s in. 10-5 daily. 344 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-4595. incompanyclothing.com, @incompanyclothing.

JESS BOUTIQUE Jess Boutique pairs an extensive, uniquely curated collection with exceptional, personalized service for women seeking the perfect ensemble for any special occasion or event, including bridal parties, mothers, and guests. jessboutique.com.

JOHNSON WOOLEN MILLS Home of famous Johnson Woolen Outerwear and headquarters for Carhartt, Filson, Pendleton, Woolrich, woolen blankets, fine men’s and ladies sportswear, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, socks. Since 1842. Johnson, Vt. (802) 635-2271. johnsonwoolenmills.com.

MOUNTAIN ROAD OUTFITTERS / MALOJA (MAH-LOW-YA) FLAGSHIP STORE Made for the mountains. A European outdoor sport, lifestyle, apparel, and accessories brand. Winter: Nordic and alpine ski. Summer: mountain and road bike. 409 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 760-6605. mountainroadoutfitters.com.

VERMONT FLANNEL Find the “Feel of Vermont™” at our cozy store in Johnson. Our flannels, made with organic cotton, are tightly woven and double-brushed, making them so soft. Handcrafted in the USA. 164 Vermont Route 15E, Johnson. (802) 635-3682. vermontflannel.com.

WELL HEELED Sophisticated collection of shoes, boots, clothing, and accessories for an effortlessly chic lifestyle. Stylish interior combined with personalized service and by appointment shopping available—a #mustdoinstowe. Daily 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. (802) 253-6077, wellheeledstowe.com.

YELLOW TURTLE Clothing, toys, baby rentals and gifts for your baby, kids, and teens. 1799 Mountain Road, Stowe. yellow-turtle.com

COFFEE HOUSES BLACK CAP COFFEE & BAKERY OF VERMONT Locally roasted coffee. Lattes, smoothies, teas, chais. Fresh pastries, breakfast, lunch. Gluten-free/vegan options. A fun place to work, meet, or hang out. Open daily. Stowe village, downtown Morrisville, Waterbury Train Station, Church Street in Burlington. blackcapvermont.com. More coffee l

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STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY GIRAKOFI Coffee your way. Locally roasted espresso and drip coffees. Customizable sandwiches and freshly baked pastries. Lunch options. Indoor and undercover patio seating. Wi-Fi, knowledgeable staff, and Vermont gifts. 1880 Mountain Road, Stowe. girakofi.com, (802) 585-7710.

PK COFFEE Coffee, espresso drinks, tea, housemade treats—all using the freshest ingredients. Online ordering available. Join us for the food and drink, stay for the conversation. 1940 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 585-7711, pkcoffee.com.

EDUCATION & COLLEGES NORTHERN VERMONT UNIVERSITY One university, two unique campuses. With our Lyndon and Johnson campuses, NVU combines the best of our nationally recognized liberal arts and professional programs. northernvermont.edu.

SAINT MICHAEL’S COLLEGE Ranked a “Best Northeastern College” by the Princeton Review, St. Mike’s is home to 40-plus majors, 21 varsity teams, an adventure sports center, Center for the Environment, and more. smcvt.edu.

STOWE STREET CAFÉ Discover our community-oriented cafe featuring local coffee, food, and art, including breakfast, lunch, and weekend brunch. Shop our unique collection of art and gifts made in Vermont and beyond. 29 Stowe St., Waterbury. stowestreetcafe.com.

DELICATESSEN

ENGINEERS MUMLEY ENGINEERING INC. Civil engineering services for residential and commercial land development, including subdivisions, site plans, wastewater and water systems, and stormwater management. Permitting for local zoning, state, and Act 250. Contact tyler@mumleyinc.com, (802) 881-6314.

THE BAGEL Bagels boiled and baked daily. Breakfast and lunch sandwiches, baked goods. Gluten-free options available. Seasonal specialties. 394 Mountain Rd, Stowe. (802) 253-9943. 6:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. daily.

EDELWEISS MOUNTAIN DELI Farm-to-table prepared foods. Delicious deli sandwiches, salads, soups, and baked goods. Craft beer, wine, and local spirits. Daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 2251 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-4157.

STOWE DENTAL ASSOCIATES Christopher P. Altadonna, DDS, and Jeffrey R. McKechnie, DMD. (802) 253-7932. stowedentalassociates.com. stowedentist@gmail.com.

STOWE FAMILY DENTISTRY Creating beautiful smiles for over 40 years. Always welcoming new patients. 1593 Pucker St., Stowe. (802) 253-4157.

DISTILLERIES GREEN MOUNTAIN DISTILLERY Vermont’s No. 1 organic distillery. Vodkas, gin, maple liqueur, and small-batch whiskey. 171 Whiskey Run, (Route 100 between Stowe and Morrisville; turn on Goeltz Road). (802) 253-0064, greendistillers.com.

DALE E. PERCY, INC. Excavating contractors, commercial and residential. Earthmoving equipment. Site work, trucking, sand, gravel, soil, sewer, water, drainage systems, and supplies. Snow removal, salting, sanding. Weeks Hill Road. (802) 253-8503.

FARMERS MARKET Every Sunday through Oct. 9, 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Enjoy breakfast, lunch, live music on the field. Take home local produce, meat, cheese, herbal products, crafts, and jewelry. 2043 Mountain Road. stowefarmersmarket.com.

FISHING & HUNTING FLY ROD SHOP Vermont’s most experienced guide service. Guided fly fishing, ice fishing and family tours. Weekly taste of Vermont tours. Fly tackle, fly tying supplies, spin and ice fishing tackle. Route 100 South, Stowe. flyrodshop.com, (802) 253-7346.

E-BIKES & BOATS VERMONT CANOE & KAYAK / LAMOILLE VALLEY BIKE TOURS Pedal the rail trail then paddle the river on Vermont Canoe & Kayak and Lamoille Valley Bike Tour’s combined Vermont adventure. lamoillevalleybiketours.com and vtcanoeandkayak.com. (802) 730-0161 or (802) 644-8336.

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STOWE KITCHEN BATH & LINENS Explore our new furniture store full of unique, affordable grab-and-go furniture and decor. Let our interior decorators curate your dream home or create a custom Lee Industries piece. Ship and deliver. 1813 Mountain Road. (802) 253-8050, stowekitchen.net.

GARAGE DOORS SIMPSON SALES UNLIMITED, INC. For all your garage door needs since 1991. Sales, service, installation, and more. Showroom: 250 Depot St., Hyde Park. simpsonsalesvt@comcast.net, (802) 888-3997, simpsonsalesvt.com.

BLACK CAP COFFEE & BAKERY OF VERMONT Fun selection of gifts and cards within Stowe’s favorite coffee shop and bakery. A fun place to work, meet, or hang out. Open daily. Stowe village, downtown Morrisville, Waterbury Train Station, Church Street in Burlington. blackcapvermont.com.

THE BODY LOUNGE A natural body and bath shop with an additionally large selection of whimsical gifts, cards, beautiful artisan jewelry and local art. Red Barn Shops, 1799 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-7333. bodyloungevt.com.

BUTTERNUT MOUNTAIN FARM & MARVIN’S COUNTRY STORE Country store focused on all things maple—a carefully curated selection of our favorite products. Specialty cheeses, honey, jams, Vermont-made products, crafts, and gifts. (800) 899-6349, marvinscountrystore.com.

THE COUNTRY STORE ON MAIN Luxury bedding, dreamy candles, kitchen gadgets, children’s items, pet goods, rugs, frames, clocks, greeting cards, and more. Located in the former Lackey’s building next to Stowe Community Church. 109 Main Street, (802) 253-7653, countrystorevt.com.

GREEN MOUNTAIN DRY GOODS

FITNESS EQUIPMENT TOTAL FITNESS EQUIPMENT Vermont’s premier specialty fitness equipment company. Visit our huge showrooms in South Burlington and Manchester to see the latest treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, indoor cycles, home gyms, and more. (802) 860-1030. totalfitnessequipment.com.

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH DISTILLERY Come taste our award-winning vodkas, gins, rum, bourbon, maple bourbon, and rye whiskey. Tasting rooms in Jeffersonville, Waterbury Center, and Burlington for samples, sales and more. Daily. (802) 309-3077, smugglersnotchdistillery.com.

The area’s largest selection of beautiful furniture and mattresses, combined with professional home design and decorating services to give your home that special touch. 1021 Route 302, Berlin. (802) 476-7900. novellofurniture.com.

GIFT & SPECIALTY SHOPS EXCAVATING

STOWE FARMERS MARKET

DENTISTRY

NOVELLO FURNITURE

FLOORING FLOORING AMERICA Customize your home with flooring that compliments your space while honoring your style. Choose from our leading collection of hardwood, carpet, tile, laminate, vinyl, and rug selections. Williston, (802) 862-5757, flooringamerica-vt.com.

FURNITURE BURLINGTON FURNITURE Vermont’s destination for contemporary furniture, outdoor furniture, lighting, rugs, and interior design services. Voted Best Furniture Store, 10 years in a row. Visit us at 747 Pine St., Burlington. burlingtonfurniture.us, (802) 862-5056.

A well-curated collection of Vermont-designed, Vermontmade, Vermont-inspired gifts for all ages. We’re the gateway to your Waterbury-Stowe Road shopping experience. 132 Waterbury-Stowe Road, Waterbury.

MOSS BOUTIQUE Artist-owned boutique featuring contemporary Vermont oil paintings by Jennifer Hubbard alongside crafts by other independent designers, as well as beautiful and unique home furnishings, decor, gifts, and jewelry. Portland Street, downtown Morrisville. (802) 851-8461, mossboutiquevt.com.

STOWE MERCANTILE Fabulous old country store, Vermont specialty foods, penny candy, clothing, bath and body, wine, craft beer and cider, and toys. Play a game of checkers or a tune on our piano. Depot Building, Main Street. (802) 253-4554. stowemercantile.com.

TANGERINE AND OLIVE Independent makers from across North America. Clothing, jewelry, letterpress cards and stationery, maple syrup, and inspired gifts for the outdoor lover. Downer Farm Shops, 232 Mountain Road. (802) 760-6692, tangerineandolive.com.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE GIFT & SPORT SHOPS Trapp Family Lodge books, music, clothing, and food. Austrian specialty gifts, gourmet products, Vermont-made products, and maple syrup. Visit our two locations or shop online: trappfamily.com. (802) 253-8511. trappfamily.com.

GOLF STOWE COUNTRY CLUB At the heart of Stowe village sits a course showcasing beautiful fairways, manicured greens, and 360-degree mountain views. Weekly and seasonal memberships available. Tuesday concert and cookout series starts June 15. 744 Cape Cod Road, Stowe. stowecountryclub.com, (802) 760-4653.

HARDWARE STOWE HARDWARE & DRY GOODS Unique hardware store providing North Country necessities and quality products. Craftsman tools, Cabot Stain, complete selection of fasteners, housewares, home-care products. Open 8-4 Mon.-Sat., Sundays 9-3:30. 430 Mountain Rd. Established 1829. (802) 253-7205.

HEALTH CARE

HEALTH & FITNESS CLUBS

COPLEY HOSPITAL

ELEVATE MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE

Exceptional care. Community focused. 24-hour emergency services, The Women’s Center, Mansfield Orthopaedics, general surgery, cardiology, neurology, diagnostic imaging, oncology, pulmonary and sleep disorders, tele-health services and rehabilitation. Morrisville. (802) 888-8888, copleyvt.org.

LAMOILLE HEALTH FAMILY MEDICINE, STOWE Providing routine and urgent medical care for all ages. Walk-ins welcome and Saturday hours for your convenience. (802) 253-4853. lamoillehealthpartners.org.

MANSFIELD ORTHOPAEDICS Orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists. Comprehensive orthopedic care, sports medicine and foot care. Nicholas Antell, MD; Brian Aros, MD; Ciara Hollister, DPM; John Macy, MD; Joseph McLaughlin, MD; Kevin McNamara, DPM; and Bryan Monier, MD. Morrisville and Waterbury. (802) 888-8405, mansfieldorthopaedics.com.

MAYO HEALTHCARE Caring for life in the heart of Central Vermont. Offering residential care services, expert rehabilitation, and skilled nursing. Robust activity program and family support. Community oriented nonprofit. Northfield. (802) 485-3161, mayohc.org.

Multi-sport training facility promoting health and wellness through physical education and community engagement. Camps, classes, and open gyms for kids and adults to train parkour, trampoline, climbing, ninja warrior, and much more. Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 585-0579, elevatemovementcollective.com.

RIDE State-of-the-art studio with indoor cycling and fitness classes that leave you feeling empowered and exhilarated. Smooth bikes with live time data, incredible instructors and music, welcoming community. Memberships, packages, and drop-in rates. rideindoorcycling.com. (802) 279-0845.

SWIMMING HOLE A nonprofit community pool and fitness center. Olympicsized lap pool, toddler pool, waterslide. Learn to swim classes, masters swimming, aqua-aerobics, personal training, group fitness classes, yoga. Memberships, day guests, and drop-in. (802) 253-9229, theswimmingholestowe.com.

HEATING, AC & PLUMBING FRED’S ENERGY Experienced, licensed professionals. Plumbing, heating, AC installation/service; water heaters/softeners; sewer pumps; generators; bathroom remodels; 24/7 emergency service. Morrisville: (802) 888-3827, Derby: (802) 766-4949, Lyndonville: (802) 626-4588, Richford: (802) 848-3164. callfreds.com.

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STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY HOME ENTERTAINMENT & SMART HOMES VERMONT ELECTRONICS Providing local support for custom design and installation of home theater, whole house audio, lighting control, shade control, thermostat control, home automation, and your security needs. (802) 253-6509. info@vermontelectronics.biz.

ICE CREAM RED BARN ICE CREAM SHOP Ice cream, creemees, shakes, blizzards, floats, chocolates, candies, cookies, desserts, snacks, CBDs, maple products, salsa, cold beverages, hot chocolate, coffee. Open April to October. Summer hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fall hours: noon-8 p.m. 1799 Mountain Road, Stowe (802) 760-6425. redbarnicecreamshop.com

STOWE SWEETS Ice cream and treats. Serving up the yummiest ice cream and more. Stop in while riding the Stowe bike path. See the white church steeple? We’re right next door. 109 Main St., Stowe. stowesweets.com.

INNS & RESORTS FIELD GUIDE LODGE Located in the heart of Stowe, Field Guide Lodge is a fresh take on a classic ski haus with chic rooms, lounge space, outdoor pool, and hot tub. (802) 253-8088. fieldguidestowe.com.

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT, VERMONT America’s Family Resort. Mountainside lodging. Award-winning kids’ programs. Zipline canopy tours. Winter: Three interconnected mountains, 2,610 vertical. FunZone 2.0 entertainment complex. Summer: 8 pools, 4 waterslides, disc golf, mountain bike park. (888) 256-7623, smuggs.com/sg.

THE STOWEHOF & FRITZ BAR + RESTAURANT Classic alpine hotel on 26 acres. Fritz Bar + Restaurant open daily. Mountain views, fabulous outdoor pool with poolside dining, living room with 180-degree views. Outdoor firepit every evening. 434 Edson Hill Rd., (802) 253-9722, thestowehof.com.

TALTA LODGE Designed with the adventurer in mind and ideally located along the Stowe Recreation Path. Talta features gear storage, a pump track, indoor pool, and sauna. (802) 2537525. bluebirdhotels.com/hotels/talta-lodge.

TOPNOTCH RESORT & SPA Stowe’s only luxury boutique resort wows with contemporary rooms, suites, and 2- to 3-bedroom resort homes, airy bar and restaurant, top-ranked bistro, world-class spa and tennis center, indoor/outdoor pools. (802) 253-8585. topnotchresort.com.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE Mountain resort in the European tradition. 96 rooms and suites, panoramic mountain views and over 28 miles of biking/hiking trails. European-style cuisine, fitness center, shops, climbing wall, yoga, von Trapp family history tours. (800) 826-7000. trappfamily.com.

INSURANCE STOWE INSURANCE AGENCY, INC. Stowe’s premier multi-line insurance agency since 1955. Our pricing and service is second to none. Glenn Mink, Teela Leach, Robert Mink, and Renee Davis. (802) 253-4855.

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INTERIOR DESIGN AMBER HODGINS DESIGN Full-service interior architecture and design. Specializing in décor, renovations and new construction for residential and commercial projects. (802) 585-5544. amberhodgins.com.

BRENNA B INTERIORS Our mission is to help transform your space into one you can’t wait to get home to. Bringing client inspirations into functional, comfortable, and beautiful interior design. Monday to Saturday, 10-5, Sunday, 12-5. 132 Mountain Road, Stowe. brennabinteriors.com. (802) 760-6499.

DESIGN STUDIO OF STOWE Creating beautiful interiors from classic to modern with respect to client’s taste, property, budget, deadline. New construction, renovations, and updates to existing spaces. Residential to light commercial projects. Allied Member ASID. 626 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-9600. designstudiovt.com.

STOWE KITCHEN BATH AND LINENS Complementary interior decorating services offer unique, affordable, hand-curated furniture and décor for your home. Specializing in take-home furniture, bedding, rugs, lighting, cookware. In-home consultations, delivery. 1813 Mountain Rd., Stowe. Book a meeting at design@stowekitchen.net. (802) 253-8050.

JEWELRY FERRO ESTATE & CUSTOM JEWELERS Stowe’s premier full-service jeweler since 2006. We specialize in estate jewelry, fine diamonds, custom design, jewelry repair, and appraisals. In-house repair studio. American Gem Society. 91 Main St. (802) 253-3033. ferrojewelers.com/stowe. @ferro_jewelers_stowe.

VON BARGEN’S JEWELRY A second-generation family business with five locations in Vermont and New Hampshire, including a jewelry making studio. Specializing in ideal cut diamonds, fine handmade artisan jewelry, and custom jewelry creation. (802) 253-2942. vonbargens.com.

SITEFORM STUDIO We combine an understanding of people, place, and environment to craft resilient, site-specific landscapes through creative design solutions that blend the user, site, architecture, and ecology. Member ASLA. (617) 458-9915, siteformstudio.com.

WAGNER HODGSON LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE The process of uniting program, context, form and materials provides the basis for our work, crafting modern sculptural landscapes expressing the essential inherent beauty of natural materials. (802) 864-0010. wagnerhodgson.com.

LAWYERS ANDERSON & ASSOCIATES A general practice of law: civil, family, child custody, probate, business law, and transactions. 954 South Main St., Stowe. (802) 253-4011. andersonlawvt.com.

BARR LAW GROUP Complex litigation and commercial transactions, including class actions, securities litigation, EB-5 fraud, arbitrations, trials, appeals, criminal defense, corporate mergers/acquisitions, Native American/tribal matters, real estate, aviation, personal injury/wrongful death. Licensed in Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. Offices at 125 Mountain Road, Stowe, (802) 253-6272; 100 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y., (212) 486-3910. barrlaw.com.

DARBY KOLTER & ROBERTS, LLP General civil practice: commercial and residential, real estate, environmental, estate planning/administration, personal injury & worker’s comp, mediation services, business formation, family law. Stowe: 166 South Main St., (802) 253-7165; Waterbury: 89 S. Main St., (802) 244-7352.

LAJOIE GOLDFINE, LLC General practice including family law, civil litigation, personal injury, real estate, corporate, estate planning/estate and trust administration. Located in Stowe’s lower village, 638 S. Main St. (802) 760-6480. lglawvt.com.

OLSON & SEABOLT, PLC General law practice: commercial and residential real estate, business representation (formation, maintenance, and asset purchases/sales), estate planning and LGBTQ matters. 188 S. Main St., Stowe. (802) 253-7810, olsonplc.net.

STACKPOLE AND FRENCH

KITCHENS & BATHS CLOSE TO HOME Founded in 1999, specializing in the finest bathroom fixtures, vanities, kitchen faucets/sinks, architectural hardware, and more for discerning homeowners. From simple to spectacular with a culture of customer service. By appointment. 257 Pine St., Burlington. (802) 861-3200, closetohomevt.com.

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE KNAUF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE We transform landscapes into beautiful outdoor living spaces that ignite the senses and seamlessly connect inside and outside with balance and harmony. Member ASLA. (802) 522-0676. cynthiaknauf.com.

LANDSHAPES Serving Vermont’s residential and commercial landscapes with design, installations, and property maintenance. Projects include unlimited varieties of stonework, gardens, water features, and installation of San Juan pools and spas. (802) 434-3500. landshapes.net.

Litigation: plaintiff and defendant representation, real estate, timeshares, corporate, utility, trust and estate planning and administration, probate, and general counsel services. Offices in Stowe, Jeffersonville, Waterbury, and Shelburne. (802) 253-7339. stackpolefrench.com.

STEVENS LAW OFFICE Full service: We provide over 30-plus years of experience and in-depth representation in real estate, estate planning, family and criminal law, and business formation. Stowe, Derby offices. (802) 253-8547 or (866) 786-9530. stowelawyers.com.

LIGHTING BARRE ELECTRIC & LIGHTING SUPPLY, INC. Indoor and outdoor lighting, fans and home accents. The supplier of choice for area electricians and builders. Come visit our 3,000-square foot showroom featuring working displays for kitchen and bath lighting. Route 302, Barre. (802) 476-0280. barreelectric.com.

MAD RIVER ANTLER Handcrafted one-of-a-kind antler creations in the form of chandeliers, sconces, table lamps, floor lamps, and custom creations using naturally shed antler from moose, deer, and elk. (802) 496-9290, madriverantler.com.

MARKETS COMMODITIES NATURAL MARKET Best market 2015-2019. One-stop grocery shopping featuring organic produce, groceries, artisanal cheeses, bread, local meats, craft beer and wine, bulk, gluten-free, wellness, CBD products. Open daily. (802) 253-4464. commoditiesnaturalmarket.com.

MASSAGE & BODYWORK BRAD HIGHBERGER, LMT, RCST Specializing in chronic pain and injuries. Twenty-five plus years of experience working with neuromuscular therapy, myofascial release, and biodynamic cranio-sacral therapy in Stowe. vtpaintreatment.com. (802) 730-4955.

KATE GRAVES, CMT, BHS Relaxation, deep tissue, moist heat, facilitated stretching, IASTM, crystal singing bowls, Thai, energy work (Brennan Healing Science graduate 2000). In practice over 35 years. Competitive rates. Stowe Yoga Center, 515 Moscow Rd. kgravesmt@gmail.com, stoweyoga.com. (802) 253-8427.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE FITNESS CENTER Massage therapists use a blend of techniques including Swedish, deep tissue, acupressure, and Shiatsu. Other treatments include reflexology, salt glows, and hot stone therapy. Appointments available daily. trappfamily.com.

MATTRESSES

CIVIL ENGINEERS – LAND USE PLANNERS Land Development Projects Subdivisions & Site Plan Design Residential & Commercial Local, State, and Act 250 Permitting Water & Wastewater Systems Stormwater Drainage Design

11 MOSS GLEN FALLS ROAD STOWE, VT 05672 802-881-6314 tyler@mumleyinc.com www.mumleyengineering.com

BURLINGTON MATTRESS Restorative sleep is crucial for your health and well-being. Visit our store and talk to our sleep experts for guidance to a more restful night of sleep. Your wellness journey starts here. Visit us at 747 Pine St., Burlington. (802) 8627167, burlingtonmattress.us.

MULTI-SPECIALTY CLINIC ADAM KUNIN, MD, CARDIOLOGIST Personalized cardiac care. Board-certified in cardiology, nuclear cardiology, and internal medicine. Providing general cardiology, advanced cardiac tests, and imaging. Morrisville, (802) 888-8372. copleyvt.org.

DONALD DUPUIS & COURTNEY OLMSTEAD, GENERAL SURGEONS Board-certified general surgeons. Specializing in advanced laparoscopic procedures. Providing a wide spectrum of inpatient and outpatient surgical care, including breast care. Morrisville, (802) 888-8372. copleyvt.org.

JEANMARIE PRUNTY, MD, NEUROLOGY Board certified through the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Dr. Prunty offers comprehensive, compassionate care for patients with neurological disorders and diseases. Morrisville., (802) 888-8260.

THE WOMEN’S CENTER (OB/GYN) Board-certified specialist William Ellis, MD, and certified nurse midwives Kipp Bovey, Rebecca Gloss, Erinn Mandeville and April Vanderveer. Specialists in women’s health. Comprehensive gynecological care and obstetrics. Morrisville, (802) 888-8100, copleyvt.org.

Join us for the 20th Annual Phlox Fest JULY 30-AUGUST 14 Free Garden Tours sundays at 1 pm Garden Hats for Men & Women a Speciality

NATURAL FOODS ROGUE HERBALIST Bringing back the local apothecary. Handcrafted herbal teas, tinctures, supplements, and CBD products from organic, local, or wildcrafted ingredients. Follow us on Instagram @rogue_herbalist for news and upcoming events.

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STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY NURSERIES SUMMERSWEET GARDENS AT PERENNIAL PLEASURES NURSERY Stroll through beautiful display gardens, shop for flowers and herbs. Enjoy tea or light lunches in the tea room, browse for hats in the gift shop. Free Sunday garden tours at 1 p.m. East Hardwick. (802) 472-5104. summersweetgardens.com.

PERSONAL CHEF STOWE SUPPER CLUB Your personal chef, Culinary Institute of America grad who has worked at St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan, Italy, and France. Customized clientele and menus. Vermont farm fresh to meet your discerning pallet and dietary needs. Steven Lecchi, stowesupperclub@gmail.com, stowesupperclub.com, (802) 323-2683.

SWEET & SAVORY PERSONAL CHEF SERVICES Sweet & Savory’s goal is to prepare and deliver high-quality, healthy, and delicious meals to locals and visiting out-oftowners. Personal chef services, weekly meals, catering for all occasions. Easier than takeout. (802) 730-2792, sweetsavorystowe.com.

PHYSICAL THERAPY COPLEY REHABILITATION SERVICES Therapies include physical, occupational, hand, speech, aquatic, pediatric, cardiac, and pulmonary, work conditioning, brain injury program and other comprehensive rehab services. Clinics in Hardwick and Morrisville (Tamarack Family Medicine and Copley Hospital). (802) 888-8303, copleyvt.org.

PINNACLE PHYSICAL THERAPY Skilled physical therapy for orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions, sports, family wellness, pre- and post-surgery. Personal, professional care: 1878 Mountain Rd., Stowe. Appointment within 24 hours, M-F. (802) 253-2273. info@pinnacleptvermont.com or pinnacleptvermont.com.

PICTURE FRAMING AXEL’S FRAME SHOP & GALLERY Providing quality picture framing to the Central Vermont community for nearly 40 years. Affordable framing is just as important to us as providing incredible customer and design service. 5 Stowe St., Waterbury. (802) 244-7801. axelsgallery.com.

FRAME GAME Custom picture framing, mirror framing, plaque lamination and canvas stretching. Vermont’s largest selection of frames with locations in South Burlington and Stowe. (802) 760-6699, vermontframegame.com.

POLITICAL CANDIDATE SCOTT FOR STOWE I’m running for the House of Representatives’ seat because Stowe deserves a fresh voice to represent our town in Montpelier. Join me at scottforstowe.com. scottforstowe@gmail.com.

PRINTING THE UPS STORE From blueprints and banners to business cards and brochures, we print it. Shipping, scanning, and every other business service you can think of, we are your locally owned business partner. 112 S. Main St., Stowe. (802) 253-2233. store2614@theupsstore.com.

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THE X PRESS Custom business and personal print, copy, and design services. Brochures, letterhead, business cards, forms, labels, invitations, banners, specialty products for over 30 years. Office supplies, shipping, scanning/fax. (802) 253-7883 (fax). Stowe Village, M-F, 8-4:30. (802) 253-9788. thexpressink.com.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT RURAL RESOURCES Comprehensive property and household management services. Full-service professional management team specializing in the details of preserving your investment. Concierge/ housekeeping, vendor management, design/remodels, much more. admin@ruralresourcesvt.com. (802) 253-9496,

STOWE COUNTRY HOMES Property management, maintenance, repair, and renovations specialists. Lawn and garden care, landscaping, trash removal, etc. Renovations large and small. Quality work guaranteed—on budget and schedule. stowecountryhomes.com. jeanette@stowecountryhomes.com or (802) 253-8132, ext. 102.

PUBS BURT’S IRISH PUB Stowe’s local Irish pub for over 45 years. Come enjoy our popular brunch specials out on the lawn every Sunday or stop in any time for a cold drink and a quick bite to eat. Luce Hill Road, Stowe. (802) 253-6071.

REAL ESTATE & RENTALS ATLAS VACATION PROPERTIES Boutique vacation property management working with select properties to maximize owner investment and provide 5-star experience for owners and guests. Contact for a free analysis. atlas-vacations.com, (833) VACAY33.

COLDWELL BANKER CARLSON REAL ESTATE Real estate services representing Stowe and surrounding communities. Our talented team leads the industry in technology, innovation, and expertise. Located at 91 Main St., Stowe (802) 253-7358, and 74 Portland St., Morrisville, (802) 521-7962. cbcarlsonrealestate.com.

ELEMENT REAL ESTATE Element Real Estate is a boutique firm out to transfer the real estate experience from one of sales to one of service, one transaction at a time. Please visit is on Stowe’s Mountain Road, at realestatevt.com or call us at (802) 253-1553.

FOUR SEASONS SOTHEBY’S INT’L REALTY Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty strives every day to exceed our clients’ expectations. To learn how we can put the power of our brand to work for you, visit us at fourseasonssir.com or (802) 253-7267.

HICKEY & FOSTER REAL ESTATE AT KW VERMONT–STOWE Our dedicated team can help you with residential, vacation, investment, and commercial real estate sales and marketing. KW Vermont’s extensive resources and innovative technology will give you a distinctive advantage. 1056 Mountain Road, Suite 1, Stowe. (802) 760-3100. hickeyfosterrealestate.com.

LOVE2LIVEINVT TEAM Award-winning Realtors passionate about Vermont. The Love2LiveInVT team helps buyers open doors to the Vermont lifestyle and guides sellers every step of the way. We Love2LiveInVT and can’t wait to share it with you. love2liveinvt.com. Brooke, (802) 696-2251 and Karen, (802) 793-2454.

RED BARN REALTY OF VERMONT An office of dynamic professionals, each with a unique love of Vermont. We look forward to helping you fulfill your real estate sales and rental needs. 394 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-4994. redbarnvt.com.

STOWE COUNTRY HOMES Property management, maintenance, repair, and renovations specialists. Lawn and garden care, landscaping, trash removal, and more. Renovations large and small. Quality work guaranteed—on budget and schedule. stowecountryhomes.com. jeanette@stowecountryhomes.com or (802) 253-8132, ext. 102.

STOWE RESORT HOMES Luxury vacation homes for the savvy traveler. Book some of Stowe’s best resort homes—online. Well-appointed, tastefully decorated homes at Topnotch, Spruce Peak, and throughout Stowe. (802) 760-1157. stoweresorthomes.com.

WILLIAM RAVEIS STOWE REALTY We combine the marketing and technology of one of the largest brokerages in the U.S. with the local knowledge and community focus of a Vermont family business. You can count on our family to be there for yours. (802) 253-8484, raveis.com.

RESTAURANTS ALFIE’S WILD RIDE Full bar. 24 taps. Authentic Mexican street food. Live music. 150-foot projection screen. 22-foot shuffle puck. Darts, corn hole, arcade. Large patio. 8,200 square feet. Après every day. 942 Mountain Road, Stowe.

ALPINE HALL At Alpine Hall we celebrate Vermont mountain culture by bringing the work of our region’s best growers, farmers, makers, and artisans to our family tables and grand bar. At Spruce Peak. sprucepeak.com/dine.

BENCH Unique to Stowe, wood-fired comfort food including pizza. Local ingredients in a relaxed, rustic modern Vermont atmosphere. Enjoy après ski or dinner with family and friends. 28 taps, craft beer, cocktails, and extensive wine list. Daily. 492 Mountain Rd., Stowe. benchvt.com or (802) 253-5100.

BLACK CAP COFFEE & BAKERY OF VERMONT Serving breakfast and lunch. Breakfast burritos and sandwiches, quiches, lunch sandwiches. Gluten-free/vegan options. A fun place to work, meet, or hang out. Open daily. Stowe village, downtown Morrisville, Waterbury Train Station, Church Street in Burlington. blackcapvermont.com.

HARRISON’S RESTAURANT Located in historic Stowe Village serving elevated takes on American dishes with wine, craft beers and cocktails in a unique, parlor-like space. Patio dining in summer and fall. Reservations accepted. (802) 253-7773, harrisonsstowe.com.

IDLETYME BREWING COMPANY LANDVEST LandVest, an exclusive Christie’s International Real Estate affiliate, is a leading provider of real estate services to clients in Vermont and beyond. Discover the LandVest difference: (802) 318-6034, mkauffman@landvest.com.

Small-batch craft lagers and ales. Lunch and dinner daily from 11:30 a.m. Innovative cocktails, extensive wine list, family friendly, fireplace dining. Outdoor patio. Perfect for special events. Beer to go. 1859 Mountain Road, Stowe. (802) 253-4765, idletymebrewing.com.

MICHAEL’S ON THE HILL Enjoy the ultimate Vermont dining experience in a relaxed, warm atmosphere with spectacular views from our 1820 farmhouse. Award-winning, Swiss chef-owned, events. Wine spectator award. Dinner from 5-9 p.m. Closed Tuesdays. 5 minutes from Stowe. Route 100, Waterbury Center. (802) 244-7476. michaelsonthehill.com.

PIECASSO PIZZERIA & LOUNGE Traditional, hand-tossed New York style pizza with modern style, eclectic music, and great vibes. Creative entrees, craft beer, gluten-free menu, online ordering, takeout, delivery. A local favorite, voted a “Top 11 Slice in the Country” by travelandleisure.com. (802) 253-4411, piecasso.com.

THE RESERVOIR RESTAURANT In the heart of downtown Waterbury. We specialize in local Vermont based comfort food and some of the best beers available. Private second floor events space for up to 50 people. Dinner daily, lunch Saturday and Sunday. (802) 244-7827, waterburyreservoir.com.

ROUND HEARTH CAFÉ & MARKETPLACE Breakfast and lunch daily, with shopping while you wait. Check seasonal hours at roundhearth.com. Located at 39 Edson Hill Road, Stowe. (802) 253-7223.

SALUTE STOWE Chef owned and operated. Authentic Italian cuisine. Homemade pasta, prime wood-fired steaks, fresh seafood, lasagna and veal, fresh baked bread, desserts, daily specials, craft cocktails. Outdoor sitting. Catering. 18 Edson Hill Rd., Stowe. (802) 253-5677, salutevt.com.

THE SKINNY PANCAKE Locally sourced sweet and savory crepes, coffee and espresso, burgers, beer and wine. Takeout and dine-in. 454 Mountain Road, Stowe. skinnypancake.com.

TIPSY TROUT At Tipsy Trout we combine the region’s premium seafood with an unmistakably Vermont culinary approach, with an energetic coastal-inspired menu featuring raw bar, shareable apps, and distinctive wine program. At Spruce Peak. sprucepeak.com/dine.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE KAFFEEHAUS Offering a variety of European pastries, soups, salads, sandwiches, wine, and our von Trapp lagers. Open daily. For hours call (800) 826-7000. trappfamily.com.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE—LOUNGE & DINING ROOM Our dining room offers seasonal menus for breakfast and dinner reflecting both Austrian and Vermont traditions, featuring farm-to-table cuisine. Lounge has great seasonal lunch offerings. Daily. Reservations: (802) 253-5733. trappfamily.com.

TWO SONS BAKEHOUSE Our Hyde Park location offers a carefully crafted breakfast and brunch menu from local farms and ingredients. Fresh bread and pastries available daily, specialty orders welcome upon request. 246 Main St., Hyde Park. (802) 851-8414, twosonsbakehouse.com.

RETIREMENT COMMUNITY COPLEY WOODLANDS Come home to Stowe, where retirement living is easy. Spacious condos, fine dining, activities. Available for adults 55 plus. Copley Woodlands, 125 Thomas Lane, Stowe. (802) 253-7200, copleywoodlands.com.

WAKE ROBIN A vibrant non-profit life-care community located on 136 acres just south of Burlington in Shelburne, Vt. Residents enjoy independent living in cottages and apartments and comprehensive, on-site health care for life. wakerobin.com, (802) 264-5100.

ROOFS PROSPECT CONTRACTING LLC Recognized for our attention to detail, quality, and craftsmanship, we specialize in standing-seam, slate, EcoStar, and copper roofs. Offering long-lasting roof replacement, repairs, fabrication, and installation for new or existing construction. 25 years of experience. (802) 582-8669. prospectcontracting.com.

SHOE STORES WELL HEELED Unique collection of shoes, boots, handbags, belts, clothing, and jewelry in a chicly updated Vermont farmhouse halfway up Stowe’s Mountain Road. Shoes are our specialty and effortlessly chic our motto. Daily 11 to 5 and private appointments. Insta: wellheeledstowe. (802) 253-6077, wellheeledstowe.com.

SPA MIRROR MIRROR Your premiere destinations for luxury beauty, wellness, and home accessories, with stores and day spas in Burlington and now in Stowe. (802) 585-7713. mirrormirrorvt.com.

SPA AT SPRUCE PEAK Experience a complete wellness journey included with every spa or salon treatment—including access to our outdoor pool, guided fitness and adventure classes, and more the day of your treatment. 7412 Mountain Road, Stowe. sprucepeak.com.

• • • • •

Housewares Cabot stains Painting supplies Electrical supplies Ice and snow removal • Cleaning supplies • Minwax stains • Best selection of fasteners

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS ARBORTREK CANOPY ADVENTURES AT SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH Family-friendly, year-round treetop adventures including an award-winning zip line canopy tour, treetop obstacle course, and climbing adventure. Adventures from serene to extreme. Ages 4 and up. Good to moderate health. Reservations recommended. (802) 644-9300. arbortrek.com.

BRAGG FARM SUGARHOUSE & GIFTS 8th generation sugarhouse, using traditional sugaring methods. Free daily tours and tastings, walk the maple trail. World’s best maple creemees, farm animals, large gift shop, mail order. 1005 Route 14N, East Montpelier. (802) 223-5757, (800) 376-5757.

CHURCH STREET MARKETPLACE “America’s No. 1 Best Public Square,” USA Today 2022. Explore 100-plus local shops and restaurants. Enjoy live music and feel the magi of the Marketplace—the heart of Burlington. churchstmarketplace.com.

LITTLE RIVER HOTGLASS STUDIO Walk into the studio and experience the art of glassblowing up close. Adjacent gallery features work of resident artist Michael Trimpol. Thursday to Monday 10-5. (802) 253-0889. littleriverhotglass.com.

430 Mountain Road, Stowe

253-7205 Mon-Sat 8-4 • Sun 9-3:30 237

STOWE GUIDE & MAGAZINE BUSINESS DIRECTORY MONTPELIER ALIVE

STOWE VIBRANCY

American’s No. 1 small town for shopping is just a half an hour’s drive from Stowe village. Visit downtown Montpelier and experience the joy of shopping again. Ext 8 off Interstate 89.

MONTSHIRE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE Award-winning hands-on science center on 110 acres near Connecticut River, with 150-plus interactive exhibits, family programming, seasonal outdoor and water experiences. Miles of nature trails. Norwich. (802) 649-2200. montshire.org.

SPRUCE PEAK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Our region’s curated window to the world, using the stage to expand perspectives and enrich lives. Spruce Peak Arts is dedicated to uncovering the profound in each performance it brings to the stage. Visit sprucepeakarts.org or call (802) 760-4634 for more information.

SPRUCE PEAK SUMMER CONCERT SERIES Experience amazing music by celebrated artists in a magical Green Mountain setting. The Spruce Peak Summer Concert Series returns with a full slate of unforgettable performances on the Village Green. sprucepeak.com.

SPRUCE PEAK SUMMER ON THE GREEN The Village Green at Spruce Peak at Stowe comes to life every weekend this summer. Featuring the Friday market, music, and movies every Friday afternoon, creemees and barbecue, local brews, and family lawn games. sprucepeak.com.

STOWE HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM Preserving Stowe’s rich history. Museum at the West Branch and Bloody Brook Schoolhouses, next to Stowe Library. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 1-4 p.m., and when the flags are out. (802) 253-1518. stowehistoricalsociety.org, info@stowehistoricalsociety.org.

UMIAK OUTDOOR OUTFITTERS

Enhancing the artistic, musical, social, recreational, cultural, economic, and physical characteristics of Stowe. We produce major events recognized by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, and partner with the town and local businesses to support economic development. See our events at stowevibrancy.com.

TASTE OF NEW ENGLAND Spruce Peak welcomes top chefs, farms, and producers from around New England to showcase their passions, skills, and dedication to culinary excellence for a weekend celebration of food and wine. sprucepeak.com.

VERMONT GRANITE MUSEUM Explore history, art, science, technology, and people of Vermont’s granite industry. Create a clay sculpture, climbing wall, pedal cars to explore the grounds. May to October, Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. 7 Jones Brothers Way, Barre. (802) 476-4605. vtgranitemuseum.org.

Great music in beautiful settings. Classical, jazz, Americana, orchestral, vocal, country, and chamber music. Music in the Meadow and Noon Music in May, May through August. stoweperformingarts.com.

TOYS & GAMES ONCE UPON A TIME TOYS Make every day a play day with our amazing Airfort®. Test your agility on a ninjaline. Traditional toys like Lego® to eclectic ones like loveable monsters. Vermont’s most exciting store for 45 years. Birthday? Get a free balloon. (802) 253-8319, fun@stowetoys.com, stowetoys.com.

TRAVEL & TOURS 4 POINTS TOURS

SPECIALTY FOODS LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHOCOLATES What the New York Times calls “some of the best chocolate in the country.” Made from fair-trade certified chocolate, using Vermont cream, honey, and maple syrup. Caramels, truffles, clusters, ice cream, factory seconds. (802) 241-4150. lakechamplainchocolates.com.

SPORTING GOODS ONION RIVER OUTDOORS Gear, clothing, and expert advice for all your outdoor adventures. Friendly, knowledgeable sales and service of bikes, skis, and car racks. Visit onionriver.com or find us on Langdon Street in beautiful, downtown Montpelier.

Let 4 Points help you enjoy our local attractions. Brewery, artisan, scenic, or custom tours. Perfect for bachelor or bachelorette parties, reunions, corporate outings. Call Rick at (802) 793-9246, 4pointsvt.com.

SAVOR VERMONT Savor Vermont has been bringing guests to taste the region’s best beers, hard ciders, wines, spirits, and foods. Leave the driving to us and enjoy as we take you from one tasting to another. info@savorvermonttours.com, (802) 917-6656.

WEDDING FACILITIES EDSON HILL

OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE

STOWE PERFORMING ARTS

Let the adventure begin with Umiak. Offering kayaks, canoes, and SUPs for purchase or rent. If you’ve never paddled before, join our staff for a lesson or demo boats at our store. 849 S. Main St., Stowe. (802) 253-2317, umiak.com.

Locally owned since 1995, offering the area’s best prices, service, and selection of gear and clothing for camping, hiking, climbing, paddling, and a life lived outdoors. Open 7 days. Burlington. 888-547-4327. gearx.com.

Edson Hill offers you an exclusive, quintessential Vermont private estate with picturesque views, 22 luxurious guestrooms, and a talented culinary team to help create the wedding of your dreams. edsonhill.com, (802) 253-7371.

HOUSE SITE PREPARATION UNDERGROUND UTILITY INSTALLATION SEPTIC SYSTEMS | DRIVEWAYS DRAINAGE | LANDSCAPING | PONDS

LANDSCAPING AND EXCAVATING

802.777.0169

238

INC.

CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE

STOWE COMMUNITY CHURCH Getting married in Stowe? Tie the knot in a cherished ceremony at the historic, interfaith based Stowe Community Church. Couples treasure the iconic 19thcentury building and high steeple as a wedding backdrop. Its spacious sanctuary, Simmons Tracker pipe organ, and Steinway grand piano make it a perfect choice. stowecommunitychurch.org, (802) 253-7257, info@stowechurch.org.

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE From intimate ceremonies in our lodge to grand receptions under a tent with spectacular mountain views, we tailor to individual tastes and budgets. European-style cuisine and accommodations. (800) 826-7000. trappfamily.com.

WINDOWS AND DOORS ACME GLASS Source for everything residential and commercial glass. Custom cut glass, insulated units, custom glass showers, screen porches, more. Sierra Pacific, Thermatru, Larson dealer. Our team will provide you or your contractor with expert knowledge. Professional installation available. info@acmeglassvt.com, (802) 658-1400.

WINE, BEER, & SPIRITS BLACK CAP COFFEE & BAKERY OF VERMONT Craft beer store and selection of wines, within Stowe’s favorite coffee shop and bakery. A fun place to work, meet, or hang out. Open daily. Stowe village, downtown Morrisville, Waterbury Train Station, Church Street in Burlington. blackcapvermont.com.

DEDALUS Dedalus is one of the county’s best indie wine shops with a curated selection of sustainably produced wine, artisanal cheese and charcuterie, and housemade bread and pastries. 1031 Mountain Road, Stowe. dedaluswine.com.

FINE WINE CELLARS Fantastic wine selections from around the world. Great prices. From the rare to the exceptional value. Under $10$100-plus. We’re nuts about wine. Please see our ad on page 2. (802) 253-2630. finewinecellars.us.

MOUNTAIN MAC CIDER CO. Our hard cider is unfiltered, unprocessed, and all natural with locally grown fruits and wild yeasts. Every cider is small-batch, and you can expect delightfully unique ciders in each batch. mountainmaccider.com.

STOWE BEVERAGE Full-service wine, beer, liquor, mixers, snacks. Stowe’s best wine and beer selection. Best price in town on Vermont maple syrup. Cigars. Free local paper with wine purchases. Monday through Saturday 10-7; Sunday 11-6. (802) 253-4525.

STOWE PUBLIC HOUSE Over 700 craft beers, cider, mead, and wine. Mix and match in any quantity. Curated selection of Vermont cheeses and specialty foods. Bar open daily. 109 Main St., Stowe. (802) 585-5785, stowepublichouse.com.

OTHER HOUSES OF WORSHIP See more, page 230

Cambridge Christian Fellowship, Main St., (802) 335-2084

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Johnson, 635-2009 Church of the Nazarene, Johnson, 635-2988

Elmore United Methodist Church, Elmore, 888-7890

First Congregational Church of Christ, Morrisville, 888-2225

Grace Bible Church, Stowe, 585-3343

YARN

Grace Brethren, Morrisville, 888-3339

YARN

Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jeffersonville,

Yarn offers a wide selection of yarns from near and far as well as needles, accessories, gifts, inspiration, classes, and a friendly fiber community. 80 S. Main St., Suite 3, Waterbury. (802) 241-2244. yarnvt.com.

644-5322; Morrisville, 888-5610

Living Hope Wesleyan Church, Waterbury Center, 244-6345

YOGA

Morrisville Baptist Church, 888-5276

STOWE YOGA CENTER

Most Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Morrisville, 888-3318

Practice yoga in a beautiful space. Carpeted studio with windows and high ceilings. Beginner friendly, weekly schedule online. Special series: chakra yoga, prenatal, chair yoga, meditation. Privates available. Kate Graves, 515 Moscow Rd. kgravesmt@gmail.com, (802) 253-8427, stoweyoga.com.

New Beginning Miracle Fellowship, Morrisville, 888-4730

United Community Church of Morrisville, 888-2225 OVER 30 YEARS OF QUALITY SERVICE

Second Congregational Church, Hyde Park, 888-3636; Jeffersonville, 644-5533

Seventh-Day Adventist, Morrisville, 888-7884

St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Cambridge, 644-1909

Trinity Assembly of God, Hyde Park, 888-7326

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Stowe, (617) 835-5425

United Church of Johnson, 635-7249 Waterbury Alliance Church, 244-6463 Wesley United Methodist Church, Waterbury, 244-6677

Wolcott Mennonite Church, 888-5774 239

INDEX

ADVERTISERS

ACME GLASS

197

IDLETYME BREWING CO.

159

SIMPSON SALES

ALCHEMIST BREWERY

145

IN COMPANY CLOTHING

111

SISLER BUILDERS

224

ALFIE’S WILD RIDE

153

INSPIRED CLOSETS

224

SHOPE RENO WHARTON

223

ALPINE HALL

151

J. GRAHAM GOLDSMITH ARCHITECTS

189

SITEFORM STUDIO

223

BACK COVER

SKINNY PANCAKE

163 173

228

ARBORTREK CANOPY ADVENTURES

JESS BOUTIQUE

ARCHERY CLOSE

JOHNSON WOOLEN MILLS

231

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH DISTILLERY

140

KNAUF LANDSCAPE DESIGN

219

SMUGGLERS’ NOTCH RESORT

KW VERMONT / HICKEY & FOSTER RE

185

SPA AT SPRUCE PEAK

169

SPRUCE PEAK ARTS

ARTISANS’ GALLERY AXEL’S FRAME SHOP & GALLERY

23, 137

BAGEL, THE

176

LAKE CHAMPLAIN CHOCOLATES

BARRE ELECTRIC

228

LAMOILLE HEALTH PARTNERS

BENCH

149

LAMOILLE VALLEY BIKE TOURS

BITTNER ANTIQUES

107

LANDSHAPES

213

BLACK CAP COFFEE

LANDVEST / CHRISTIE’S INT’L REAL ESTATE

181

BODY LOUNGE

107

LITTLE RIVER HOTGLASS STUDIO & GALLERY

135

BOUTIQUE

101

LOEWEN WINDOW CENTER OF VT & NH

221

BRAGG FARM SUGARHOUSE

BRENNA B INTERIORS

INSIDE BACK

BRYAN MEMORIAL GALLERY

141

BURLINGTON FURNITURE & MATTRESS

21, 187

LOVE2LIVEINVT REAL ESTATE MAD MOOSE ARCHITECTURE MAD RIVER ANTLER MARVIN’S COUNTRY STORE

BURT’S PUB

156

MAYO HEALTH CARE

BUTTERNUT MOUNTAIN FARM

118

METHOD ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

1 201 41 118 46 183

CAMARA SLATE PRODUCTS

226

MICHAEL’S ON THE HILL

147

CHURCH STREET MARKETPLACE

115

MIRROR MIRROR

129

CLOSE TO HOME COLDWELL BANKER CARLSON RE COMMODITIES NATURAL MARKET COPLEY WOODLANDS

193 INSIDE FRONT, 1 176 16

MONTSHIRE MUSEUM

SPRUCE PEAK SUMMER CONCERTS SPRUCE PEAK TASTE OF NEW ENGLAND

105 17 155

SPRUCE PEAK WEEKENDS ON THE GREEN

175

STEVENS LAW OFFICE

233

STOWE BEVERAGE & LIQUOR STORE

173

STOWE COMMUNITY CHURCH

116

STOWE COUNTRY HOMES

189

STOWE FAMILY DENTISTRY

116

STOWE FARMERS MARKET

175

STOWE HARDWARE & DRY GOODS

237

STOWE HISTORICAL SOCIETY STOWE KITCHEN BATH & LINENS STOWE MERCANTILE STOWE PERFORMING ARTS

112 31, 137 103 13

MOONWAKE

139

STOWE PUBLIC HOUSE

153

MOSS BOUTIQUE

108

STOWE RESORT HOMES

MOUNTAIN MAC CIDER CO

167

STOWE STREET CAFE

201

STOWE SWEETS

125

COUNTRY STORE ON MAIN

125

MOUNTAIN LOGWORKS

CUSHMAN DESIGN GROUP

217

MOUNTAINOPS OUTDOOR GEAR

STOWE VIBRANCY

DEDALUS WINE SHOP & MARKET

142

MOUNTAINOPS MTB DEMO CENTER

STOWEHOF RESORT

155

DESIGN STUDIO OF STOWE

222

MOUNTAIN ROAD OUTFITTERS

SUMMERSWEET GARDENS

235

DONALD P BLAKE JR BUILDER

178

MUMLEY ENGINEERING

235

SUPPER CLUB PERSONAL CHEF

177

DOWNTOWN MONTPELIER

131

NICHOLAS STOLOWITZ FINE MINERALS

121

SWEET & SAVORY PERSONAL CHEF

170

ECK MACNEELY ARCHITECTS

227

NORTHERN VERMONT UNIVERSITY

EDELWEISS DELI

SWIMMING HOLE

49 37

NORTHSIDE BARN DOORS

222

TALTA LODGE

EDSON HILL MANOR

143

NORTHWOOD GALLERY

127

TANGERINE & OLIVE

ELD ARCHITECTURE

219

NOVELLO FURNITURE

199

THE CURRENT

TIM MEEHAN BUILDERS

211

TIPSY TROUT

151

ELEVATE MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE

ONCE UPON A TIME TOYS

141

ELEMENT REAL ESTATE VERMONT

8-9

ONION RIVER OUTDOORS

ELIZABETH HERRMANN ARCHITECTURE/DESIGN 225

OTTER CREEK AWNINGS

FARRELL DISTRIBUTING

OUTDOOR GEAR EXCHANGE

FERRO ESTATE & CUSTOM JEWELERS

PASTELLA BURNS

FIELD GUIDE LODGE

PATTERSON & SMITH CONSTRUCTION

207

PIECASSO PIZZERIA & LOUNGE

159

PINNACLE PHYSICAL THERAPY

FINE WINE CELLARS FLOORING AMERICA FLY ROD SHOP FORGET-ME-NOT-SHOP FOUR POINTS VERMONT

240

2 191 53 118 59

209 57 38,39

PK COFFEE

173

PROSPECT CONTRACTING

228

RED BARN ICE CREAM

167

FOUR SEASONS SOTHEBY’S RE

179

RED BARN REALTY OF VERMONT

211

FRAME GAME

117

RED HOUSE FINE HOMEBUILDING

225

FRED’S ENERGY

228

RESERVOIR RESTAURANT & TAPROOM

149

FRITZ BAR & RESTAURANT

155

RIDE

TOPNOTCH RESORT & SPA

TOTAL FITNESS EQUIPMENT

141

TRAPP FAMILY LODGE

TWIN GOATS CLOTHING

133

TWO SONS BAKEHOUSE

169

UMIAK OUTDOOR OUTFITTERS VERMONT CANOE & KAYAK

63 46

VERMONT ELECTRONICS

229

VERMONT FLANNEL

135

VERMONT GRANITE MUSEUM VISIONS OF VERMONT

57 133

VISIT MONTPELIER

131 209

FURNITURE SHOP, THE

222

RK MILES

213

VOLANSKY ARCHITECTURE & PLANNING

GIRAKOFI

165

ROBERT PAUL GALLERIES

113

VON BARGEN’S JEWELRY

GREEN ENVY BOUTIQUE

109

ROCK ART BREWERY

171

WAGNER HODGSON LANDSCAPE ARCH

221

GREEN MOUNTAIN DISTILLERS

171

ROGUE HERBALIST APOTHECARY

108

WAKE ROBIN

139

GREEN MOUNTAIN DRY GOODS

119

ROUND HEARTH CARE & MARKETPLACE

157

WELL HEELED

GYLLENBORG CONSTRUCTION

215

RURAL RESOURCES

226

WILLIAM RAVEIS REAL ESTATE

227

HARRISON’S RESTAURANT

165

SAINT MICHEAL’S COLLEGE

117

WINTERWOOD TIMBER FRAMES

209

HARRY HUNT ARCHITECTS

215

SALUTE

163

YANKEE BARN HOMES

217

HELLY HANSEN

SAVOR VERMONT TOURS

YARN

119

HITCHHIKER BIKE SHOP

SCOTT FOR STOWE

YELLOW TURTLE

133