Monday, June 05, 2017

I'm hoping someone will be able to identify the musicians in this photo of the H. Guy Dunbar band - taken probably in the late 1930's or early 1940's.  We know Hollis Steeves, second from left, H. Guy Dunbar in the white jacket, and Red Harpin at the piano.  The band was popular at venues in this area for many years, playing regularly at Point Comfort pavilion here at Joe's Pond, and at the pavilion at Harvey's Lake, where we believe this photo was taken.  Contact me, janebrowncabot@gmail.com if you can identify more of the musicians.

Hollis Steeves was liquor inspector for the State of Vermont when I knew him, and he was our neighbor when we lived on Lynwood Terrace in St. Johnsbury.  It seems to me Red Harpin worked at one of the local hardware stores - perhaps Peck's.  It was a long time ago, but surely there must be someone who will recognize these musicians.

We are enjoying (?) gentle rain again today.  That wouldn't be so bad except the temperature stays in the low 50s; it was in the 40s overnight.  Fred managed to get most of the lawn mowed yesterday, but we were rained out while doing some much needed yard work.  Things are getting way away from me in that department.  Work on the deck has been slowed due to the rainy weather, so I haven't been able to do much in the flower beds around it.  It's either raining or I'm waiting for the ground to dry out a little.  Either way, weeds grow and so does my frustration.  We'll get there, and the deck is going to be beautiful.   The old one was in worse shape than we'd realized, so it's good we decided to do it when we did - in spite of picking the wettest spring in years to do it.  The only one more frustrated than I am is our carpenter, Bill Jones.  He's been dodging rain from the very start of the project.

I'll be meeting with the West Danville History Committee this afternoon.  We are making progress on the book, but it's amazing how much information we have - and how many questions that information has raised that need to be researched further.  That, too will move ahead, but slowly.  We long ago realized there will be things we'll miss, and some things covered that could have been left out, but we'll do our best and hope our readers will understand.  It's a huge undertaking.  I have great respect for Susannah Clifford, who wrote Village in the hills, a history of Danville Vermont, in 1995.  She came to that project without the benefit of having lived here, unlike all of us on this committee who grew up here.  I'm the outsider, having grown up on Cabot Plain; but I've known Joe's Pond all my life and went to school briefly in West Danville.  We all have a deep appreciation of the history and a strong sense of place.  I think for that reason we're being especially meticulous and trying to "do it right."


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