Today started off with an early morning assist to a motorist. Ken Wheeler, who delivers the Times Argus in this area, somehow found himself in a snowbank just past our driveway on West Shore Road. Fred called Cabot Garage and Mike Cookson came with his wrecker. It took some time and held up some traffic, but Mike got Mr. Wheeler out and he continued on his route. We aren't sure what contributed to his going off the road, but it's a good thing there was a nice big snowbank to catch him. Of course, Fred took pictures . . .


We're expecting more snow or sleet by the weekend so everyone has been busy clearing off snow on already overloaded roofs. Here are more pictures of our beautiful snowy countryside. That's one of the mountains in NH as seen from our house; the horses belong to Dave and Val Covell on Brickett's Crossing Road; the others are cottages along West Shore Road that you'll perhaps recognize. The moon shot was Fred's idea - taken around four o'clock in the afternoon yesterday (Tuesday).

You've no doubt noticed I've changed the blog design. It's sort of like when you get spring fever and start moving the furniture around, I guess. Anyway, I hope you like it and find it a little easier to navigate.

You may be interested that Eben and Lana Bodach-Turner have sold their log cabin at the head of Sandy Beach Road. I can't tell you yet who bought it, but I'll try to find out and it will be in the spring newsletter. We'll miss Eben, Lana and their little daughter, Ayla. They are a really nice young family. Lana is expecting again this spring, so it's good they were able to get the move out of the way now. We understand they are staying temporarily with Eben's parents in the Montpelier area where both Eben and Lana work, and they hope to find a house there soon. We wish them well, and we welcome the new owner(s) of the log cabin. More on that later.

Here is a nice article from the Times Argus about our own Don Walker:

February 27, 2007 By Tom Herzig Correspondent

Don Walker, right, was back at his usual position at the scorers' table Wednesday as the Barre Basketball Tournament got under way at the Auditorium. Photo: Stefan Hard/Times Argus When the ball is tossed to start the Division II girls basketball semifinal between Vergennes and Mt. Abraham Wednesday night at the Barre Auditorium, official scorer Don Walker will begin tabulating his 600th consecutive high school tournament game. There's been no indication that you'll hear a retirement speech anytime soon. Last year, the streak was temporarily in doubt while Walker, 80, recuperated from open-heart surgery performed at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center less than a month before the tournament got under way. "After a week or so, I began gaining strength and everything went fine," Walker said. "It probably did me a lot of good to have the job waiting for me." Since the outset in 1974, Walker has had only two instances that jeopardized his streak. He chose to attend his grandson Geoffrey's hockey tournament game at Norwich in '96 and announced plans to make it to the Aud by halftime. "I actually made it back earlier than that," Walker recalled, "but I waited until the third quarter to jump in." "In 2000, the year the Norwich University hockey team won the national title, I was leaving a playoff game there, fell coming down the steps and dislocated my right thumb – and I'm right-handed," Walker said. "I was at the Central Vermont Medical Center until 2 a.m., then went and scored three boys' championship games the next afternoon. My hand was throbbing so bad I had to keep raising it up in the air. I went back to the hospital that night and they put a pin in." Walker resides in Montpelier with Audrey, his wife of 59 years. "Audrey has gone to some hockey games when there was a Walker family member involved, but no, she doesn't go the basketball games," he said. "The year after we were married in 1948, we went on a vacation in New York City and along with a Broadway show and such, she went with me to the entire National Invitational Tournament (NIT) — about 16 games in all — and she hasn't been back to one since." Not surprisingly, Walker has all the scorebooks of those games "somewhere in the house" As a 7-year-old, Walker was allowed to walk from his home to Rutland High School varsity games and soon he began scoring them on his own. At the end of World War II, as a good typist and dependable statistician, he was stationed at a Great Lakes Naval base that processed and discharged troops returning home. Beginning in the '70s, he was the Spaulding High scorekeeper for 22 years. For the past 15 years, he has been working the table at Montpelier High School. Tonight, with a one-day break in the action at the Aud, he's scheduled to be scoring the Milton-Montpelier boys Division II opening round game. "There have been many memorable and emotional moments as you can imagine; I wouldn't want to try and single anything or anyone out," Walker said. "There have been so many wonderful kids and outstanding performances. It's not always the top scorers that perform the best. I would estimate that probably as many as 50 of the games have gone into overtime. On the whole, with a few exceptions, everybody – players, coaches, fans, officials and staff — have conducted themselves with class and dignity." Walker has every scorebook he used along the way at the Aud. As for occasional trips over the years to Fenway Park – you guessed it. Game scored and scorecard on file – somewhere in the house.

We are saddened by the loss of another Joe's Pond Association member. Clarence F. Powers of West Danville, died Friday evening, February 23, 2007, at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, following complications recovering from an auto accident in November. He was 63.

Many of you knew Clarence as "Buster" or "Buzzy" Powers. He leaves his wife, Terry, two sons, Michael Powers and his wife, Carrie of St. Johnsbury, and Eric Powers and his fiancee, Amanda Shields of Concord, also three grandchildren, Emma, Hannah and Gehrig Powers, and many close friends.

"Buzzy" was an expert bowler, and enjoyed his home and fishing at Joe's Pond. He was a good friend to many in our community and will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this very sad time.

Jane Larrabee will officiate at a memorial service on Friday, March 2, 11 a.m., at the Guibord Funeral Home in Lyndonville. Condolences may be shared online with the family at www.guibordfh.com, or by regular mail to: Mrs. Theresa Powers, P.O. Box 172, West Danville VT 05873.

Cabot School New Orleans Dinner and Dancing

On Saturday, March 17, in the Cabot School Dining Hall and Gym, from 5-7 p.m., there will be a New Orleans dinner to benefit the trip by Cabot AP Biology students to New Orleans from May 19 to May 26, 2007. The dinner will be buffet style and will include:

On the tables:

Corn Bread and Biscuits
Celery Seed Coleslaw

Sides:

Maque Chou (Classic Baked Corn)
Red Beans and Rice

Main Dishes:

Vegetarian Jambalaya
Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Blackened Catfish

Desserts:

White Chocolate Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Pecan Pie

Tickets purchased by Thursday, March 15, will be as follows: adults $15; children under twelve and senior citizens over 60, $10; and a family of four, two adults and two children under twelve, $40. Prices after that will be $5 more each. The reason for this is to be able to plan and prepare enough for all who wish to partake. Take out is available, but in order to protect the landfill, we are asking you to bring your own containers. To buy tickets, call Helen Morrison at school 563-2289 ext. 243 or at home 563-2488. Leave a message with your name and phone number and the number and kind of tickets you wish to purchase. New Orleans jazz will be provided by the students of the Cabot School small band, and by the professional group, Maple Leaf Seven, from St. Johnsbury. There will be room to kick off your shoes and dance.

The trip to New Orleans will be to volunteer to help with clean up, to help in clinics or at shelters for abandoned pets, and to work at food kitchens. One interesting possibility is to work to restore gardens and to plant trees around the city. In addition, students will be doing some research on how various human activities/structures made the devastation from Hurricane Katrina even worse. And finally, they will be exploring a bit of the societal and cultural aspects of New Orleans. Their final exam in June will be a presentation to interested community
members on their experiences and findings.

Here is more information about Jean Hamilton's death, from the Times Argus (www.timesargus.com) obituaries:

SOUTH RYEGATE - Jean L. Hamilton, 83, of Creamery Road, died Sunday, Feb. 18, 2007, at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.

Born September 29, 1923 in Barre, she was the daughter of Alfred and Catherine (Littlejohn) Simpson. She attended Barre schools and graduated from Spaulding High School in 1941.

On June 24, 1946 she married Jean B. Hamilton in Barre. They made their home in Burlington; Barre; Glens Falls NY; and since 1984, in South Ryegate. The were also longtime summer residents at Joe's Pond. He died Feb. 26, 2002.

In earlier years, she had been employed at the National Life Insurance Company in Montpelier. She volunteered with the American Red Cross, and her special interests were raising gladioli, swimming, playing cards and skiing. She was a member of the So. Ryegate Presbyterian Church and had worked with the senior meals program there.

Survivors include her three daughters, Laurie Cote of Williamsburg, MA; Lynn Hamilton of So. Ryegate; Ann Dingman and husband, Karl of Brant Lake, NY; two sons, Russel Hamilton of NYC and John E.B. Hamilton and wife, Jill of Saratoga Springs NY. She had eight grandchildren, Logan, Ian, Casey and Ryan Hamilton, William and Cameron Cote, Malia Hamilton and Noah Dingman. Also surviving are three sisters, Dorothy Burbank of Jericho, Margaret Hoare of Montpelier and Virginia Milne of Barre, a brother, William Simpson of Silver Springs, MD, and nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by a sister, Mary Chatot, and two brothers, Howard Simpson and Alfred Simpson.

A service of rembrance will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2007, at noon in the So. Ryegate Presbyterian Church. Interment will be made in the Hope Cemetery in Barre.

I have sad news to report tonight. Kate Chatot called this evening to let me know that Jean Hamilton (214 Sandy Beach Road and So. Ryegate, Vermont) passed away on Sunday, February 18, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. I will post further information as soon as it is available.

DIGGING OUT!

We are pretty well out from under this storm, and struggling to get ready for the next onslaught sometime next week. We went to St. Johnsbury to shop for groceries today - my normal shopping day is Thursday, but common sense kept me at home and off the roads yesterday. St. Johnsbury streets are passable, and some sidewalks are cleared, but parking is difficult, and once parked, there's no easy way to get from the car to the sidewalk. There were still quite a few cars buried under snow in private drives, and with streets so narrowed by the snowbanks not yet removed, drivers have to be patient when meeting other cars and wait while people navigated turns and discharged or picked up passengers.

We started off by returning Don Encarnacion's Jeep this morning. Last night we noticed Don's driveway hadn't been plowed, so after a lovely evening at the Rossi's, Fred and Bill (Dimick) dug Don's Jeep out of a snowbank and Fred parked it in our drive until Don could get someone to plow his drive. Normally Don plows his own, but yesterday's storm was a little more than he wanted to handle. George Cosgrove got Don's drive cleared this morning.

West Shore Road is a bit narrower than usual, but we now have reasonable snowbanks to catch us if we start to slide. It's pretty wintery, the wind is still a reality, and West Danville has taken on a North Pole appearance. I took some pictures from the parking lot across from Hasting's Store this morning; then we paused at Point Comfort to show you there's still tanning going on at Joe's Pond. I didn't get out of the car for this one - that's me in the car mirror . . .

I would caution those of you who may not be thinking much about your cottages here at the pond to have someone check to see if your roof needs to be shoveled. There have been several barns that caved under the weight of the snow yesterday, and with more coming next week, it's better to be safe than sorry.

We wish everyone a wonderful Presidents' Weekend. Stay safe and warm.

Enough, already!

I think everyone has had their fill of this storm. We're all pretty tired of shoveling, plowing, blowing snow, mired vehicles, treacherous roads, and bitter cold. It's been a day of frustration because snow drifts seemed to appear magically, tilting across newly shoveled walkways and roads in smooth blue-white layers. No matter which way you threw snow off your shovel, a big part of it blew back at you, stinging your face and settling on your aching back. Temperatures were too low for some machines to start properly, tempers where short and the day too long. We saw men clearing snow off the roof at Bertrand's well after dark tonight. From our living room windows we can see plow trucks working along Rt. 15, down Island Drive and North Shore Road. I'm sure they'll work well into the night to get everything opened up.

About the only vehicles moving along W. Shore Road throughout the day were plow trucks. The town finally plowed late this morning with the big grader. We haven't been over by the Plains Cemetery, but I'm betting there are some pretty big heaps of snow there and it would require the biggest rig the town has to get up that hill. Oldest son, Bill (Dimick) said St. Johnsbury got a lot of snow, too, and was in shut-down mode with lots of businesses closed. One restaurant that had offered a special Valentine's Day menu has rescheduled to offer it on Friday. Schools have been closed for two days.

Fred took these pictures after shoveling our walkway. I just hope the gas man appreciates all his hard work. I also hope another big storm doesn't hit right away to fill it all in again . . .

THE MORNING AFTER! (written about 10 a.m. Thursday.)

The wind is still blowing but there's intermittant sunshine, so our world seems calmer than it was last night. Somehow the wind never seems as fierce in the daytime as it does when you're lying in bed listening to it whip through the trees and buffet the house.

Fred took some pictures early this morning as he was headed out to clear the driveway. The wind left beautiful snow sculptures on the log pile (and I might add, on our deck - in fact, by dark last night the deck looked as if I'd never shoveled it). The difference is, now the snow is more firmly packed and is heavier to handle. Temperatures are still only slightly above zero, and the wind, of course, makes it feel something like 20 below.

We are still digging out - I did the deck again this morning, Fred will have to clear paths to get to the tool shed and the wood pile, and so the gas man can
deliver without wading through shoulder deep drifts. We gave up trying to keep the steps from our parking area clear several winters ago, but with all the snow, Fred opened them up so the gas man would have an easier trip to fill our tank. We'll see how long that lasts.

We haven't seen the road crew out plowing West Shore Road yet - school is closed in Cabot and lots of other areas, so I imagine they are concentrating on the areas known to plug up the worst in a storm like this. Fred took a picture of the road by our mailbox where driveways meet. Traffic is moving ok past our place, but there isn't a lot of it. I guess most people are still shoveling out.

I had a couple of e-mails from Liz Randall yesterday, and one had some photos attached of the ice storm they experienced on Long Island. Looks like not much was moving there yesterday, and I expect folks there are still recovering this morning, just like we are.


We hope everyone has a pleasant President's Day weekend.


These pictures were taken yesterday in front of the Randall's home at Miller Place, L. I.

This is payback time for all that nice weather we experienced back in December . . . According to the weather forecasters, this will be an old fashioned blizzard type storm like we haven't had in a couple of years. I took these pictures at around 3 p.m. on Wednesday VALENTINE'S DAY! I've just come in from shoveling and Fred has taken a break from snow blowing, but says he'll be back out again by evening in order to keep our driveway clear.
Because the temperature is holding close to zero, the snow is dry and light - at least in this northern part of the state. Further south there may be more complications with heavy wet snow and ice.

That top picture is Fred's log pile. It's about half of what it was originally - you can see where the rest of it is in the next photo.
That's all new snow you can see on top of the black tarp.

I've taken lots of pictures from our front deck over the past months - there's always something changing, but seldom anything new or surprising. I never fail to appreciate the beauty of where we live, even if it's sometimes a lot of hard work. Blizzards are a pretty normal event, so most of us know how to deal with the wind and snow. That's Fred, dealing with the snow in our driveway.

Now we can settle in and accept winter. For a while I was getting e-mails asking if the Ice-Out Contest will still be held, and I told people spring will come around right on schedule as it always has, in spite of the warm start. I hope now with "real winter" here, folks will feel a little more secure about making a guess as to when the clock will stop. I wish everyone luck. Contact me or Diane Rossi if you want more tickets. The places you can pick up your ticket locally are listed on the web site.

Happy Valentine's Day

I received the following from Patty Pirie Coffrin about her step-mother's passing. We are saddened for her family and friends, but hope they will take comfort in knowing this "second time around" love story Patty has so graciously taken the time to relate. Joe's Pond has been responsible for some wonderful relationships over the years, and this story is a lovely example.

I thought I should let people know that my step-mother, Betty (Hall) Hooper-Pirie passed away last night. [Feb. 8, 2007.] She had been dealing with many health issues the past few months, mostly to do with her lungs, and now can finally be in peace.

She and my Dad [Fred Pirie] met each other over 60 years ago at Joes Pond where both of them had camps while growing up.They lost touch of each other after the war (World War II), both going on to marriages and famlies. Who knew that 50 years later they would be reunited back at Joes pond? But that's what happened. She and her daughter came to Joes Pond one weekend and stopped in the bay to ask me if Fred Pirie still owned the place. Later that day my Dad came up for lunch and I told him about this lady (Betty), asking about him. He tried to find her by going to the camp her family used to own, but no luck. It was only when we saw her daughter go thru the channel in their boat that we were able to track her down. My son (who was around 10years old) ran out to stop her and since I couldn't remember her name, he yelled out, "Hey Lady, my mother wants to talk to you!"

Cherie, her daughter, informed us her Mom was waiting for her at the boat launch, and with that info. my father was gone like a flash, and the rest is history. They spent the next several years enjoying each other, just shy of ten of them were spent in marriage.

Betty grew up in the Danville area. She holds the record for catching the largest lake trout out of Joes Pond, her father holds the second place.

I'm not sure what the funeral arrangements will be, everything might be put on hold till Spring. What I do know, is that Joes Pond held a very special place in her heart and she so very much wanted to make it back there one more time.

Patty (Pirie) Coffrin

Patty's mailing address is 432 Hollister Hill Rd., Plainfield VT 05667

With our town auditing duties nearly over, Diane Rossi and I are now concentrating on other, more interesting endeavors. Diane is skiing as often as she can - but it's been pretty cold and windy, so not as enjoyable some days as it could be. We tapped Liz Harvey to fill Sherry LaPrade's term as auditor when Sherry became a "snowbird" and moved to Florida. Liz came to the job mid-term, but has pitched in and been a big help. She says she is happy to have free time again as she and her husband, Doug, want to get in more ice fishing. As for me - I have a pile of Historical Society material waiting to be sorted, scanned and catalogued, but before I do, I have another pile of newspapers and magazines I've neglected for several weeks.

I ran onto an interesting article by Bill Christiansen, former science teacher at St. Johnsbury Academy, in the January 2007 North Star Monthly. In the column, "String Worth Saving," on page 24, Bill explains how ice is formed on a lake or pond, the difference between cloudy and clear ice, and what the booming sounds are all about.

"The old timers referred to this sound as 'the lake making ice.' . . . ", he says. But this is not quite the case. According to Bill, that rumbling and booming is caused because, ". . . As the ice forms, air bubbles, snow crystals and other 'impurities' create stresses in the lattice. When the stress reaches a critical level, the energy is released with a 'boom'. The release of stress in one place creates new and higher stress levels in another, and they too are released and the sound rumbles around until the system reaches equilibrium."

Anyone who has lived on Joe's Pond during the winter knows the thunderous sounds. When out on the ice, it is quite unnerving, especially when it seems to follow you as you walk or ski across. I really prefer to listen with my feet firmly planted on solid ground. Bill Christiensen mentions how when he was growing up near a lake it was common for automobiles to race, skid, spin out on the ice. I remember a very few times that would be possible on Joe's Pond because the ice must be clear of snow, and that has only happened two or three times in my memory. I recall one winter about 1946 when we could skate the whole length of the pond, and another time in the early 80's when Fred and I were living at camp. And even those years the ice was clear for only a few days before snow came to blanket it and spoil the fun.

You may also be interested that I have once again been contacted by a reporter about our Ice-Out Contest. This time it was John Curran who writes for the Associated Press in Montpelier. Mr. Curran is doing a piece on the recent warming trend in New England, and asked for contacts for our Ice-Out Contest, which I gave him. I'm asking that he alert me when/where the article is published. I'll keep you posted.

Along that same line of thought - I haven't heard anything from Rob Cohen who wanted to do a documentary on the Ice-Out Contest. Again, I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, here are pictures of snow in the night. Yes, sometimes we can't resist and we take a walk in the moonlight.

JOE'S POND COOKBOOK NEWS!

The Cookbook Committee has decided to re-order the Joe's Pond Cookbook so it will be available this summer. The committee asks that everyone review their recipes and report any omissions or errors before March 1 to either me or to Evelyn so corrections can be included. [No NEW recipes can be accepted for this edition as that would change the indexing of pages.]

Contacts: Evelyn Richer at rloonnest@fairpoint.net, 802-563-3083;
Jane Brown at janebrown@fairpoint.net, 802-563-2381;
or by mail to JPA, PO Box 111, W Danville VT 05873.

Someone inquired recently about whether our cookbook won an award from the printing company. The answer is that we did not. For a list of winners, go to: http://morriscookbooks.com/mcca/winners06.asp

Don't forget to click on blog pictures to enlarge them.

We had a few inches of Snow last night - today is one of those brilliant, sparkling, dazzelingly beautiful winter days we all appreciate so much. There is a mantle of very light, dry snow clinging to the trees and just a little breeze sifting the snow off tree branches. The temperature is due to drop and the wind will pick up by this afternoon, so we expect there will be lots of snow in the air and not much left on the trees, but it sure is pretty right now. Fred was out early this morning to clear the driveway, and took these pictures. Bet you wish you were here . . .

Last week I mentioned that due to the weather there were some auto accidents and chimney fires. Saturday evening a Cabot family was burned out of their home and nearly lost their lives. Had it not been for the youngest Hansen boy alerting his family, all may have been seriously hurt or killed. As it was, they lost all their possessions, including the family car. The Hanson family lived near the Mollys Falls Dam, just off of Route 2 going west. The Town is rallying to aid them, thanks to the Cabot School Crisis Team's efforts, and Winnie Mundinger (426-3254) is coordinating the drive. Cabot School has a list of items this family will need which includes things such as bedding, towels, kitchen ware, dishes, small appliances, lamps, etc. Winnie will be able to tell you what is needed at this point. Any help will be most appreciated, I'm sure. The Hanson boys are in grades 4, 10, and 11 at Cabot School.