Buoys lost

It's normal every spring that items along the waterfront are missing or something washes up on your beach that doesn't belong there.  We received this message from Marti Talbot today: 

We are missing 2 lobster pot buoys.  One left our water line yesterday and one left during the spring.
Can you put on the blog a request for anyone that has found one?
We don't have a name on it..the last one was black and white.  The earlier one had orange on it, I think.
Thanks
Marti

If you have seen one of these buoys, please give Marti a call, 802-563-3335.

This came today from Helen Morrison:

It's that time of year again...time for the Bark in the Park tennis ball raffle. $5 per tennis ball, your name goes inside, and then we put all the balls out in the park after the St. J Pet Parade, and Canine Officer Bodie of the St. J Police will pick 5 balls. The lucky person inside of one will win $500. Two more will win $100. And two more will win $50. Awesome. You can see on the poster where they will be sold. Or you can contact me and we will work out how you can purchase a tennis ball. Thanks for supporting Kingdom Animal Shelter.  My number is 563-2488.  (Click to make the image larger.)

 

Helen also mentioned: 

We'd love any returnable bottles and cans that people are willing to donate for KAS.  Just leave them in front of my garage on West Shore Road.  (936 West Shore Road).

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

So far this has been a perfect weekend, weather-wise.  With the possible exception that it's been a tad too hot and humid, but we all hesitate to complain.  This is what we've all been waiting for - some nice warm weather without dreadful cold snaps taking all the fun out of it.

We stopped at the Anderson's Friday and found them enjoying the late afternoon on their pontoon boat with Tom and Camilla Dente.  There are suddenly lots of boats on the water - we can hear them from here, but cannot see thim from our house.  I think we have some boats in the water at our camp, too - but we haven't been down yet.  The boys take care of that kind of stuff now. 

We had a family party on Saturday evening, minus three because Bob and Theresa couldn't come at the last minute, and Jo-Ann had to be at school.  It was Bill's birthday, so we added a few extra calories with cake and ice cream.  It was really hot, but we had cold ham and salads, and I had done my cooking/baking well ahead, mostly during cool evenings. Marie brought her really good pasta salad - always a treat.  Tangeni was happy to see Aunt Marie and Uncle Jamie.  We missed Bob and Tee, but there will be other get-togethers, I'm sure.

I began digitizing some old - very old! - slides this weekend.  Actually what I was doing was picking out some memorable pictures of Bill for his birthday card.  This is one I used, from around 1980 of Bill, Jamie and Bob when Fred and I were living at camp - it was Christmas.  Finding these old pictures developed into a whole other project and I barely scuffed the surface.   Below is another I found that will bring back memories for lots of folks who where "kids" back then - Bob with Roger Hamilton on his shoulders.   So man great memories.  I will be good to have them preserved.  They are getting pretty gritty, and some have turned color slightly.

There are literally thousands of slides, dating back to 1953 or so, until we got a digital camera.  I still used film for a while even after that, I think, to do stories for the newspapers - black and white back then.  I still have all that equipment and some black and white film, I believe.  Probably no good after all this time.  I used to buy big reals of Ilford 400 film and manually wind it on spools to take 8 or 12 pictures, which was all I needed for a story. 

I should title this entry, "Memories on Memorial Day Weekend."

 

Here we are, almost at the unofficial beginning of summer, Memorial Day Weekend.  It seems we are going to enjoy a very nice weekend - warm to hot weather, plenty of sunshine with maybe just an occasional evening shower.  Can't get much better than that.  I distinctly remember standing in cold rain more than once to watch the Memorial Day Parade in St. Johnsbury and then arriving at camp afterwards for a picnic and being apologetic to invited guests for the occasional snowflakes in the air.  When I was a kid, we always hoped to go swimming on Memorial Day, but I don't think that happened very often.  Back then the ice was barely out of the pond by May 30th.   It could happen this year, but this kid won't be going swimming . . . I'm more than happy to cool off in the shower, if need be.

I was curious about displaying the flag on Memorial Day.  There was something in the back of my mind that made me think there was some special rule about that, and sure enough, flags displayed outside are flown at half mast until noon, and then raised to full mast.  Here is the site that addresses that policy. Flag Etiquette. 

It's very nice to go to the cemeteries and put flowers on relative's graves, and Memorial Day is a great time to do that; but the day was designated to remember fallen soldiers.  Here is the History of Memorial Day I found interesting.   

I'm sitting here listening to June bugs bounce off the window above my computer screen.  I've heard them for a couple of nights now - but I haven't seen any outside.  I usually find them in the morning, motionless on the deck, a result of banging against the window pane, I suppose.

The air is sweet with the scent of apple blossoms - I had a rush of

fleeting memory today as I started off on my noon-time walk - it took me back just for an instant to years ago, no specific time or place, just one of those precious moments that nudge your memory and then are gone before you can grasp it, leaving you feeling a little nostalgic. 

The apple trees are blooming - the one across the road from our mailboxes (top) and our old tree (bottom). We're surprised our old tree is loaded with blossoms again this year.  Pretty amazing since for years it only had fruit every other year for years.  Then Fred pruned it a while back and since then we've had a bumper crop every year.  We haven't been down on the lower lawn to see how the transparent apple tree is doing - maybe we'll do that tomorrow.  The lawn has been mowed for the first time this year - another indicator summer has begun.

Our summer weather continues!  Even though rain has been forecast for just about every day this week, we didn't get much today.  I think it sprinkled once or twice, but never amounted to much.  It's been warm and wonderful - except for the black flies.  But they will be mostly gone soon.  I was looking on line for something about how long black fly season usually is in Vermont and came up with a this: "Mother brings them, Father takes them away," that refers to Mother's Day in early May and Father's Day in June.  A few people took issue with that post saying Vermont sometimes has them until at least late in June, depending on whether there's lots of wet weather and running water.  Black Flies hatch in running water, but mosquitoes breed in stagnant water, so if it isn't one pest, it's another.  They all like me - a lot.

We had to go to Cabot Village today and came back over the old Bayley-Hazen Military Road from Route 215 to Cabot Plains Road.  I had heard that someone was clear cutting along that road, and for sure, there is one spot that is being clear cut.  I'm not sure who the land owner is, but it is land that used to belong to a family by the name of Petit.  There once was a road that went west, down the hill past the Petit farm, connecting the Bayley Hazen Road to what is now Rte. 215.  I don't think there's any sign of the road there now except a fence line with trees and bushes separating the two properties.  I believe access to that farm is now by Tetreault Road.  My Grandfather Bolton once owned the property south of that old road.  It consisted of fields we hayed and sometimes planted potatoes, and a very nice stand of sugar maples.  Our sugar house was in the Petit pasture, a few feet over the property line.  As I recall, rent for using the location was paid in maple syrup.  The Petits didn't sugar.  It was interesting to see all that pasture land cleared.  It actually brought back memories of before it had become so overgrown - when it was still being farmed.  The fields we hayed are fairly well grown in with quite large trees now, and there's a large house  at the crest of the hill.  The field below is where we had potatoes. That's where Bob Davis built his house.  That is also where my grandfather kept a herd of sheep at one time.  

It was all much more open than it is today - the early settlers clear cut so they would have land for farming. As the farmers  disappeared, so did the open fields.  It doesn't take very long for trees to take over.  

The Bayley Hazen Road is in fairly good condition these days, but there is one spot close to the end near Cabot Plains Road that is very steep ledge, and extremely rough.  That was always a tricky spot to ease a big load of hay down.  I don't remember that we ever lost a load there, but we kids were not allowed to ride on the load, just in case.  My job was to rake scattering with the dump rake, so while the men took the load to the barn, I would get busy making windrows of whatever hay had been missed by the loader.  We had a couple of horses on the farm that were really good to rake with, and I always enjoyed working with them.  

One of the things that surprised me today was that so many of the big maples close to the road have been cut.  Some of them had to be at least 200 years old.  Perhaps the plan is to widen the road a bit.  That is understandable, but sad, really, because that section of the old military road is unique in that it had been left pretty much the way it was when the settlers first came to Cabot - a narrow path through maple forest.  Other sections of the road have either been paved or are overgrown and lost.  Change happens - we adapt.

Here is something Peter Dannenberg, the treasurer for Cabot Historical Society, mentioned to me recently: 
 Anyone who buys from Amazon. com can name a registered qualified charity to receive a small percentage of their purchases as a donation from Amazon corporation. 

I registered Cabot Historical Society about a year ago. I hope more people will name C.H.S. as their designated charity in the future. It costs the buyer nothing.

I wasn't aware of this program, but next time I buy from Amazon.com, I will certainly name Cabot Historical Society as my designated charity.  It's very generous of Amazon Corporation, and although probably doesn't amount to much for them, every little bit counts for organizations like the historical society.  We don't have a lot of money and work hard to keep the place going.  Perhaps you will name Cabot Historical Society as your charity, too.  If you do, we thank you.

Such a nice day!  Summer must be here for sure.  

Tim, who works for Larry Rossi, was here today to fix our water problem we've had in the spring from time to time.  We have a basin near the door into our basement and there's ledge involved, so I was afraid we'd have major excavation needed to correct the problem, but Tim came up with what we believe is an easy fix, reconfigured a bit of our lawn and made some other suggestions that made perfect sense.  Now we'll have to wait until next spring to see if it all works.  Our problem happens when the ground is frozen and water has no place to go.  If we have plenty of snow so the ground doesn't freeze solidly, there's no problem, but this year with almost no snow at all, we had water coming over the threshold into our basement - a situation that seems to happen more and more often.

We bought a new lawn mower at Larrabee's this afternoon.  Our old one gave out - actually, it broke during the fall or winter, or maybe something just let go and broke in the cold.  We never found the missing pieces and both of us believe it was operating ok when we put it away last fall.  We'd had it repaired a number of times and figured it might be time to get a new one if it was that brittle.  I like a push mower - but not manual.  I like to be able to raise the deck and lower it onto hummocks or small bushes when necessary, sort of like bushwhacking, and I also have to have something I can mow the stone walkway with.  Fred does most of our lawn with the riding mower, but there are spots that need something smaller.  It actually felt good to mow this afternoon.  I slathered on some bug repellent and got quite a bit done in spite of heat and black flies.  

We have some new folks on the pond. Bradley and Lydia Blackburn bought Bryce Montgomery's camp on Route 2, and Scott and Geraldine Pelok purchased the Richer's home on Sandy Beach Road.  We will be contacting both parties to welcome them to the pond.   Of course, we hope they will  become Joe's Pond Association members, too.

Yesterday we had our annual meeting at the Cabot Historical Society.  We had only a handful of people there, which is usual, even though members get a newsletter and the meeting was announced in the Cabot Chronicle.  Old stuff doesn't have much allure for busy young folks, and the older people have a hard time finding the energy to do meetings, I guess.  We have a great board and such a wonderful building full of interesting items, with new additions each year, it's a pity more people don't take an interest.  

Speaking of "older people," Erma Perry was telling us at the meeting yesterday that Blanche Lamore, the treasurer of the Historical Society until a few years ago, will be 104 - I think Erma said today is her birthday.  She is in a nursing home now, but lived by herself until a couple years ago - with some help in the last few years, but she was spry at 100, and complaining that she couldn't see well enough to drive anymore.  She sure loved going to meetings, and outlasted groups such as the Woman's Club and Home Dem, but kept her hand in church affairs, Fall Foliage Festival and the Historical Society, not just for the meetings, but she did a fair share of work on suppers, too.  She went berry picking or fishing whenever someone asked - she loved ice fishing.  As a youngster, she had trap lines with her father, and continued on her own as an adult.  She said none of her friends went with her much; they didn't like the long distances she traveled.  Blanche said that was alright with her, they just slowed her down.  This is a picture of Blanche and a few of her fox pelts.  I don't know how much a pelt was worth in 1944, but I'm sure she sold them for a fairly good price.  She told me she finally gave up the business because they weren't worth much anymore.  I'm amazed there were that many foxes around; what she had in this picture must have been taken in one season.  Anyway, all that walking, tending her trap line, probably contributed to her longevity. 

Here is a quote from the website, www.trappingtoday.com:

The “Roaring Twenties” and the iconic ’coon-skin coat that was so popular with the affluent college crowd drove fur prices to astronomical levels. A respectable catch of 50 raw raccoon pelts sent to St. Louis, at $12 a copy, would buy you a new Model “A” Ford.
With only a few minor changes, their price list for 1927 could be republished today. Funsten was offering $15 for mink, $2.85 for muskrats, $28 for otters and $12 to $14 for red foxes. A week’s groceries for an affluent family was about $5. For a trapper’s family, the food bill was significantly less.

The 20s would have been when Blanche and her father were in business.  I don't think the family ever got rich doing trapping, but it certainly helped pay the bills.

 

I just received a link to the official FEMA map of Joe's Pond's flood plain designation.  This is for the Cabot side of the pond (Washington County).  Thanks to Jack LaGue for this.

Also, here is more information on the upcoming Steak Dinner.  It may seem way too early to be thinking about it, but there are a limited number of tickets and they will no doubt go quickly.  Better get yours while you can.  (Click on image in order to enlarge it.)

This picture just came from Henretta Splain, who had a front-row seat at the meeting today and got this great shot of JPA President Tom Dente presenting the certificate and check to this year's Ice-Out Contest winner, Pamela Swift of Barre, a pre-med student at UVM.  In the back looking on are Secretary Jane Brown and Treasurer George Anderson.  

We had a larger than normal turnout for the meeting this morning, and it was another fun meeting.  Good to see so many friends back at the pond ready to start off another great summer of activities and friendship.  

During the meeting, Sam Lewis addressed flood plain issues he has experienced since putting his home on the market.  It seems that Cabot has a new map showing the flood plain along the west shore of the pond; however, properties have not been correctly numbered and identified, so some that are shown as being in the flood plain are actually not in the flood plain area, etc.  Sam explained that it is incumbent upon the property owner to have evidence for proof if contesting the designation, and that seems to be illusive or non-existent unless the property is professionally surveyed for that purpose.  If I understand the issue correctly, banks require properties being mortgaged to have flood insurance if they are in a designated flood plain, and this can add to the overall cost of a property.  Tom Morgan mentioned that regardless of designation, if there is any danger of flooding, it would be prudent to buy flood insurance. Sam urged everyone to investigate whether or not their property is in a designated flood plain.  Property owners may or may not wish have changes made to the mapping, depending on the outcome of their individual investigations.  Apparently, it is not easy to find out the 100 year flood records of each town.  While Cabot has a map, it has flaws, and Danville does not have a map as yet.  Sam is pictured above after the meeting, with the maps and interested JPA members in discussion.

I'll have the minutes ready for posting on the website soon - will let you know.

Don't forget the Joe's Pond Association meeting this morning at 10 a.m. - at the pavilion.

Also, Bob Dimick and "The Hitmen" are playing their groovy classic hits at the Moose Club, Route 2 in St. Johnsbury tonight, 8-12, public welcome, $10 per person.  Drop in and say "Hi" to Bob and the gang.

Grandaughter Tangeni and her dad were out in their back yard taking pictures last night after a rain storm.  It looks close enough to touch, so there must have been a big pot of gold in the woods just over the hill . . . !
 
We had a little rain here, and I looked for a rainbow, but didn't see one.  I had .17 in. of rain in my measuring tube this morning, and everything looks green and fresh!  The leaves are not as open as they seem to be in Waterford (above), but we are a little higher in elevation than they are, I think.  We'll get there!

Here's recycling taken to the disgusting extreme - but I guess it's just normal behavior in the animal kingdom.  Woody has a habit of gulping his food and then regurgitating - yesterday in the driveway.  After he'd come back in the house for a reload, one of our crow friends swooped in for a feast.  Soon after the rain came, problem solved - no cleanup necessary.  I know, I probably shouldn't have shared this, but I'm just impressed with the efficiency of the natural world.  Crows do us a huge favor by keeping the carrion in woods and on roads cleaned up.

We heard a really awful story about nature yesterday.  Fred picked up kitty food at St. Johnsbury Animal Hospital yesterday and happened to ask if the very big hawk we've seen here recently would bother a cat.  That seemed to be debatable, but then the  conversation continued to other large birds and one of the office staff told about logger friends taking down a large tree that unexpectedly had an eagle's nest in it.  In that nest were several cat collars.  I guess that answers the question of whether an eagle can and will take a cat for lunch.  It's horrifying, but again, normal in the natural world.  It's a good reason to keep our pets inside, however.  We are thankful that Woody is not inclined to roam far from the house or back yard these days, and mostly he spends his time sleeping inside during the day and evenings sitting on the deck listening to the frogs singing and observing the nighttime activity of other nocturnal creatures.  We want him to be able to enjoy the outdoors since that has always been his nature; but we also want him to be safe.  He has a full set of very large, sharp claws, just in case.


 

No snow today!  We're back in "spring" mode and looking forward to the rest of the week and weekend being very nice.

Last evening we had a call from Joe's Ponders on Edgewood Avenue that their cottage had been broken into - apparently sometime during the winter.  Strangely, nothing was damage except the lock, and nothing was taken.  However, it this sort of thing was unnerving for them, to say the least.  We haven't heard of anyone else being broken into or having damage over the winter, so perhaps this was an isolated case.  We urged the camp owners to report it to the police, even though nothing was taken.  You never know when something like that is important to a more serious incident.

I went outside this afternoon and gave my peonies a quick sprinkle of fertilizer to get them on their way to better blooms.  I didn't want to stay outside too long because of the black flies.  As long as I keep moving, they usually don't bother, especially if there a good breeze like today.  I should have done the fertilizer routine during those rainy/snowy days, but I had other things to do.

I've kind of lost track of time this week.  For some reason I kept thinking today was Saturday.  I can't imagine why - except that our schedule has been slightly skewed lately because  I veered off our menu pattern.  Let me explain. I've found that when I'm really busy and concentrating on a project it helps to have the menus for each week the same each day, i.e.,  meatless Monday, fish Tuesday, pasta Wednesday, etc.  That way I don't have to wonder what to prepare dinner each night, and it also helps me keep the days straight.  A while back we cooked a turkey breast and I put several packages in the freezer, along with a couple containers of turkey soup.  Those have been all too easy to grab, and consequently, my trusted plan for remembering what day it is by whatever we had for dinner the night before has gone out the window.  In addition, I was getting tired of that schedule anyway, so I've been consciously mixing it up a bit.  I guess I'll have to figure out some other way to tell what day of the week it is . . .  

I really don't have a serious problem - it's just that today seemed like a Saturday.  But salmon steaks with rice for dinner tonight has me back on track, I think.  I may have to sacrifice variety in favor of keeping the days straight when I'm this busy.

I know a few of you either recently arrived at Joe's Pond from points south or will be arriving this week, and I apologize for the weather.  It isn't the warm welcome we would like to have presented.  It's downright depressing, unless you consider all the fresh air circulating down from Canada and the invigorating coolness of the air.  I saw Alice Aime walking her two dogs earlier this morning - she looked cold and I wouldn't be surprised if she cut their walk short once she got a little past our turn to where the north wind hits full force.  The best I can offer is that this snow (I measured 3/4 in. this morning) is likely the last hoorah of our so-called winter, and the weather will probably even off into real spring once this low is out of our region. 

As we came back from our walk around noon yesterday, a humming bird buzzed Fred.  They seem to know they have to remind us humans to get the feeder out for them.  That was the first time we'd seen one this spring, so I expect he had just arrived and no doubt was disappointed there wasn't an easy food source where he left it last fall.  It's out now, but I haven't seen any activity around it.  The poor little guys are probably too cold to fly.  

I want to remind anyone interested in Cabot Historical Society that our Annual Meeting is on Sunday, May 22, at 3 p.m. at the Main Street building.  This would be a good time for you to join, if you are not already a member.  We are a congenial group, dedicated to preserving the history of our town and making it available to the citizens of Cabot and the public in general.  There are wonderful exhibits, books and   photographs on display and a fine resource center to browse.  Dues are only $5 a year.  We welcome new members and urge all to attend the Annual Meeting.

Pontoon Boat Trailer needed

I had this message this morning: 

We are looking for a used Pontoon boat Trailer to fit an 18 foot pontoon.   It's only for Winter Storage so something older and inexpensive would do great.  If you know of anything available, please call:  Marc Gregoire,802-476-7798

Not very nice weather here today - 45 degrees with a north wind  that makes it feel like winter.  Besides that, it's raining off and on.  Things are turning green nicely, and the trees are beginning to soften with leaves.  It's like the seasons move ahead in spite of, or maybe because of the weather - hard to tell which.

I expect before the day is over, we'll have some snow showers.  I looked at our apple tree yesterday and the buds aren't far enough along to be damaged unless the weather gets very cold, but it's still discouraging to have snow in the forecast.  Pretty typical for the middle of May, but all the same, everyone is anxious for things to warm up and stay warmed up - not keep up this yo-yo action we've had for months.

 

 

I received the following request today: 

My husband and I are retired, spend our winters in Florida and would like to rent a cottage/winterized  for 6-7 months.  Excellent references, non smokers and no pets.
If you know of anything would you please contact:
Joe & Lil Swainbank
802-748-9459 (cell)
lswainbank267@gmail.com
Thank you.

Don't forget the celebration at the former North Congregational Church, now United Community Church, in St. Johnsbury tomorrow (Sunday).  Because of the radical change in the weather tomorrow, it will be held inside, so plan to attend and know that you'll be warm and comfortable while you're enjoying all the fun!

Here it is, a Friday on the 13th!  My dear mother didn't like that combination.  She was born on October 13th, and of course had to put up with her birthday falling on Friday the 13th occasionally.  I don't recall that those days were ever really problematic for her, but in her mind, it was a day to beware. I never felt that way, but then, I didn't have a Christmas cactus plant that bloomed whenever someone close or in the family was about to die.  The cursed plant never missed, so after years of anxiety, mother reluctantly (because it had been in the family for many years) put it in our windowless cellar and let it die.  She did, however, take a few slips before "putting it down," and I have one of those still - but I'm lucky if the darned thing blooms for Christmas, let alone any other time of the year.  It's not beautiful anymore - it's showing it's decades and needs some sort of expert attention, I'm afraid.  However, I have taken a slip and have a healthy young plant growing, so the old family heirloom will be continued, whether or not my old plant makes it.  Unless it begins predicting deaths, that is.

Today is not as pretty as the last two, but it's mild - 65 degrees, a nice temperature to be outside, but the black flies have arrived.  It seems a bit early for them - I think they usually arrive about the time the cherry trees bloom, and I haven't seen any blossoms around here yet.  I'm a magnet for black flies, and they chew me ferociously.  I hate wearing insect repellent, but really can't go outside to work without it or I pay a dear price.

Speaking of price - we have a new page on the website where you can purchase Vermont books on line.  It's an experiment for us - we don't really have much to sell except the few books I've done, but if anyone is interested, that is now available.

I spent a couple of hours at the Danville Historical Society yesterday afternoon, searching through old town reports for any information about West Danville.  I had questioned a while back why Danville Green became the business center of the Town of Danville rather than West Danville, a community that seemed to have much more going for it early on with Leavenworth's mills and the large body of water as a resource.  Patty Conley, president of the DHS, told me it was because the Green was in the geographic center of the town.  That, of course, makes sense; Cabot did the same thing in the early years, but eventually the business of town moved a couple of miles down the hill from the Center to the Winooski River where the village is today, and where the water power was then.  

That didn't happen at Danville, but there were mills on brooks within a short distance of the Green - at North Danville, West Danville, Greenbanks Hollow, etc.  I think I have mentioned that my great, great grandfather, John Bolton, who was born in Shirley, Massachusetts in 1774, built mills in Danville, including the woolen mill that was later sold to Greenbank.  He was sort of the Jesse Leavenworth of that region, I guess.  John died in 1843, when his youngest son John, my great grandfather, was only 12 years old.  Young John grew up in Danville and eventually he and his younger son, my grandfather, Aaron Bolton, owned a large farm on what is now Cabot Plain.  His older son, John, became an industrialist in Massachusettes.

Back to my original thought:  I learned from the town reports that in about 1920 the State of Vermont passed new Health Laws that required quarantining for measles, mumps, chickenpox, whooping cough and German measles.  Children were not allowed to attend school if they were known to have been exposed to scarlet fever, diphtheria or "paralysis," and a fine of not less than $25 or more than $100 could be imposed for non-compliance.  

The state also initiated free medical inspection of all schools and examinations of students for "physical defects such as enlarged tonsils, spinal curvature, defective teeth, disease of the heart or of the lungs."  Each successive year's report included the total children examined and a breakdown of "defects" found.  Most were teeth and throat problems.  The incidence of serious illnesses decreased after 1922 when flush toilets were installed and drinking water was available at the West Danville school.  Until then, there had been outside privvies and drinking water was in a bucket carried from a nearby well or spring.  Most early schools had a single dipper that all the children drank from - easy transmission of diseases.  The health laws also stated that if children had "head lice or other infestations" they were not allowed to come to school until pronounced free of whatever they had.  

Before these regulations went into effect, whole communities went through serious bouts of disease and schools often had to close.  Life became easier after people learned how to contain these outbreaks with better hygiene and staying in quarantine; and of course doctors were being better educated, as well.

 ____________________________

Upcoming Events at the Jaquith Public Library

For more info: 802-426-3581 jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com

Who’s There? Films about Identity: Wednesday, May 18 at 7 p.m.

 (1959) Jean Cocteau’s final film is a dream-like journey through the psyche of the poet. Who’s there? Sphinxes, man horses, game shows, characters from previous films unhappy with their fates, Pablo Picasso, and Yul Brynner.

Spring Bird Walk with Bob Popp:

Saturday, May 21 (Rain date May 22) from 7:30 a.m. -11 a.m.

Bob is a botanist for the State of Vermont and has been bird watching since he was a teenager. We will meet at the Stranahan Forest parking lot at the beginning of Thompson Road (right off of Hollister Hill Road).

Art & Author Night: Friday, May 27 at 6 p.m.

Stairs with artist Janet Van Fleet

My husband RD Eno and I have just come back from 6 weeks in New Orleans, where I took a lot of photographs of the fronts of houses and paired them with objects I found.  Stairs are literally and metaphorically a transition from the outside to the inside, from the public to the private, so there's a lot going on there!  The show runs from May 23 to July 16. 7 p.m. Reading with RD Eno

Friend’s Annual Plant Swap:

Saturday, May 28 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Bring plants to swap, make sure to label them,  

no invasive plants please.

     

Film and Discussion about Climate Change:  Thursday, June 2 at 7 p.m.

Filmed over 211 shoot days in nine countries and five continents over four years, this film, based on the book by Naomi Klein, is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change. A discussion will follow the film. Sponsored by the Marshfield Energy Committee.

--

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

We cannot complain about the weather we've had today, for sure.  I went to Cabot and spent some time on the west hill side of town at Barbara Carpenter's - stopping to pick up a supply of oral history books from Caleb Pitkin on the way.  That is such pretty country, and unlike the Plain, has farming going on.  Caleb's farm is very picturesque, with sloping fields and a charming renovated elderly farmhouse.  Barbara's farm is particularly lovely this time of the year with apple trees and flowers blooming, and of course her house is also very old - hand-hewn timbers and big old fashioned kitchen wood stove.  It's a step back in time to be there.  All along Ducharme Road there are farms of one sort or another; I saw a rooster with half a dozen chickens in the middle of a field near one house; lots of newly prepared garden plots; and beautiful maple orchards.  The views are spectacular, especially on a day like this.

I picked up the pictures to scan for Barbara's upcoming article for the Cabot Chronicle, and we had a long chat - mostly about history, but we also shared bits of local news.  I came home with some of her books - copies of Adolphus, about Adolphus Perry, a  Civil War soldier from Cabot, and a very nice little booklet, "Worms, Caterpillars and Me," that she wrote for her family and lent to me to read.  After lunch I read all but the last two pages before I was interrupted by a phone call and then other events that kept me from my desk, but tonight I was able to finish.  I never knew about spinochordes tellina, or "Horsehair Worms," that are very weird.  I'm familiar with the other worms and bugs in the book; but it's the stories that make it so much fun as she tells about her first experience with each of these creatures.  

I stopped at Cabot's Visitors' Center and chatted with our neighbor, Erica Burke, who is manager.  It's amazing how many people were visiting today - I didn't expect that in mid-week.  The Visitors' Center will be a new outlet for Joe's Pond Ice-Out tickets.  I'll get them stocked within a week or so, thanks to Erica. 

 Here is a reminder from Helen Morrison:
Because the weather looks like it is going to be chilly, cloudy, damp, and maybe even rainy, we will be having the event inside the church where it will be warm and toasty.

Upstairs will be the Latin Salsa Jazz Band and the pinatas.

Downstairs will be the Taco Bar, the desserts, the raffle, face painting, pin the tail on the gato, and more.

     What a great thing to do on a dreary Sunday afternoon.

Click on the image to make it large enough to read easily.

Tomorrow - it's going to be another beautiful day here, and I hope wherever you are you are enjoying lovely spring weather, too. 

Busy, busy weekend.  Saturday we went to our granddaughters'  dance recital - "Dance Express" - at Lyndon Institute auditorium.  The camera we now have doesn't do well when we ask it to zoom in on something, so we didn't get really good pictures of the performers.  We thought we'd get there early enough to get seats close to the stage this year, but a whole lot of other people had the same idea and got there earlier than we did, so we were relegated to a seat towards the back of the auditorium.  It was still fun to watch, even though our pictures were few and didn't turn out very well.  I made a short slide show - we focused on getting pictures of our grands, so apologize for presenting a very limited review of the many routines that were presented. 

Today we've had Mother's Day visits from our kids, and that's always fun.  Bob and Theresa brought sticky buns, so we had a special treat with coffee while they were here.  Bob also left a poster for a Hitmen concert.  It should be fun.
Bob said they aren't playing Danville Fair this year - Bruce James, their drummer, will be away.  Lots of folks will be disappointed they aren't at the fair, I think, but I'm sure there will be another good band to take their place.

Weather today has been cold and rainy.  A little after noon there were snowflakes mixed with the raindrops for a few minutes.  The temperature now, at 6 p.m., is only 40 degrees.  I knew that nice weather was only a teaser!

I spoke with Diane Rossi this morning, and she told me Bill's mom, Alba, moved to Lincoln House in Barre yesterday.  Alba has been living alone and this will give her more social contacts and assure her safety.  Diane said Alba has already met some women she knows, and seemed to settle in very well.  Her new address is:
Mrs. Alba Rossi, Lincoln House, Room 11, 120 Hill Street, Barre, VT 05641.  

Diane also told me they really haven't begun digging for the foundation of the addition on their house; the septic tanks must be relocated first.  Lots going on in the Rossi family these days.

And to all you moms, Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

The Marshfield Planning Commission and the Jaquith Public Library regret to inform you that the Vermont's Rare and Endangered Plants Program on May 19 is canceled due to the very important Planning Commission meeting on the same night at 6 p.m. 

Susan Green

Director

Jaquith Public Library

122 School St. RM 2

Marshfield, VT 05658

802-426-3581

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Today was the kind of day you wish would set the design for the whole summer.  72 degrees, bright sunshine, not too hot, not too cool, a little breeze, no bugs.  What more could you ask?

I say no bugs, but there are a few of the non-biting variety waking up and that really bothered granddaughter, Tangeni.  She has a big problem with any flying bug - they are all bees, as far as she is concerned.  She was with us today and we were outside a good part of the day. By afternoon she was pointing out real bumble bees and telling me they wouldn't hurt me as long as I didn't hurt them.  She still had a bit of a problem when some little moth or fly would buzz by her, but we had a long conversation about "good" bugs vs. the biting kind, like mosquitoes and black flies. 

After lunch, she and I had doughnut holes and tea on the deck.  She kindly left a little pinch of doughnut on the railing for some nice bumble bee.

We made some tissue paper flowers and Woody got lots of attention.  He enjoyed the nice weather and being able to go outside when he got tired of his best friend's petting and brushing.  He didn't stay out very long and even allowed Tangeni some big hugs - which he will hardly ever put up with from either Fred or me.  He refuses to be "held" in any way that is the least bit confining.  The closest he comes is to let me transfer him, still curled up, from my lap to my chair when necessary, and that procedure took several years to develop.  He seems to understand Tangeni.

Tomorrow we will go to Tangeni and JoAnn's dance recital.  Tangeni demonstrated her "cat dance" today, and explained that "we can't talk when we're on the stage."  That seemed to be uppermost in her mind, probably because she's normally a non-stop talker and for her, not being able to talk may be the hardest part of dance lessons.  Last night was the first of three performances, and she was looking forward to tonight and Saturday's.  This will be our fifth dance recital - we have watched Jo-Ann's progress over the years and then last year Tangeni's first performance, in the baby group.  

We have a resident hawk in our area.  We've spotted him whenever the weather is reasonably good, sometimes circling high above the house and other times gliding among the trees up back.  The crows were objection to his presence today.  They made a big fuss about the same time we had seen the big hawk, so I expect they have chicks in their nests by now that they are protecting.

Shelly Walker has settled into her new home on West Shore Road.  She has posted some great pictures of it on her Facebook page.  The addition at Bill and Diane Rossi's is getting started.  They are digging for the foundation this week.  Right now it isn't pretty, and some of Diane's lovely flowers had to be removed, but by getting  started this early in the spring, the lawn and flowers will be back in shape in no time.  Next week looks like it will be mostly dry - a good opportunity for construction.

    Iain MacHarg Fundraiser Concert: Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m.

Iain MacHarg will be performing a concert on the Scottish bagpipes for the Jaquith Library. MacHarg is one of the region’s leading pipers. His reputation as a teacher and performer has gained widespread acclaim. He is a founder of the Celtic rock bands Whiskey Before Breakfast and Prydein.  This is a fundraiser and the proceeds will go toward youth services. Cost: $8-10 for Adults, children are free. Please come join us at the Fritz’s barn in Marshfield on McCrillis Rd. Call 426-3581 or 426-3190 for directions.

 Mother’s Day Spring Wildflower Walk: Sunday, May 8 from 1- 4 p.m.

With Brett Engstrom. Sponsored by the Marshfield Conservation Commission and the Jaquith Library. We will meet at the Stranahan Forest parking lot at the beginning of Thompson Road (right off of Hollister Hill Road).

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It's strange how quickly time passes when you are deeply involved in a project.  For the past few days, in between the normal everyday stuff, I've been corresponding with my friend, Barbara Carpenter over in the southwest corner of Cabot.  Barbara is writing a short article for next month's Cabot Chronicle, and together we are paring it to somewhere near the preferred 400 words.  The article is about a diary written by a young Cabot man, Adolphus Perry, who served in the Civil War and died of starvation at Andersonville prison in 1865. 

The diary had no name in it, no family members named to give clues as to who was writing it, but since it had been in the possession of the Carpenter family all those years, it  was thought to have been written by one George Carpenter.  Barbara is a wonderful researcher, and realized the author of the diary was not Carpenter, but Adolphus Perry.  She has been able to piece together personal details from the diary with historical data recorded on the war to create a wonderful report of the hardships and bloodshed Perry experienced.

 

The owners don't know where the original diary is now - probably lost in someone's attic,  so Barbara's report is a very important piece of history.  Watch for her article in the next Chronicle.

Also, Peter Dannenberg brought to my attention this week a discrepancy in historical accounts of the shooting of Brigadier General Patrick Gordon by Lieut. Benjamin Whitcomb.  This story is recorded in the Vermont Historical Magazine, in the Cabot portion, written by John M. Fisher, published about 1865.  This account makes it seem as if Whitcomb saved Gen. Hazen's camp on Cabot Plain from attack by the British soldiers, led by Gen. Gordon; there is a marker in the woods north of 215 on the route of the Bayley-Hazen Military road designating where Gordon was supposedly shot.  

However, other accounts put Whitcomb in the role of sniper on the outskirts of the British position near St. John's and LaPrairie, in Canada, and Gordon was alone and unarmed, thus making Whitcomb a murderer in the eyes of the British; another has Whitcomb observing a group of British soldiers near St. John's and taking aim at the officer and wounding him, sending the soldiers back to Quebec with their wounded leader.  

The story many of us have accepted for years has been the one written by Fisher, but according to the findings Peter has cited for me, it appears that is more folklore than fact, and Whitcomb was likely sent from Fort Ticonderoga to scout the British positions in Canada and Gordon was shot there, not in Cabot.  Gordon died in Chamblee, Quebec, about 130 miles from Fort Ticonderoga.

I need to pull all of this together and present the stories on our Cabot Historical Society website. We may never know the exact truth of what happened back in 1776, but one thing we will try to do is find that granite marker in the swamp off of Route 215 to see exactly what it has written on it.  I believe it was the Judith Lyford Woman's Club that set out granite markers years ago showing where the Hazen's soldiers camped, the site of the old military road, the yellow tavern, first school, and where Gen. Gordon was shot.  It's possible they got it wrong. 

 We are saddened to learn that Paige Crosby's father, Silas Axtell, passed away on April 27.  Friends who wish to send condolences to Paige and the family should use the following address:  Mr. & Mrs. Peter Crosby, 144 Highland Ave., St. Johnsbury VT 05819. 

This is another cool day with no sunshine and sprinkles of rain.  Much more like weather we would expect to have in April, but each week we see the temperature rise a degree or two, so there must be better, warmer weather somewhere down the road apiece.  It's good weather to be working outside, if you can dodge the showers.  The grass is greening up, but slowly, but the greatest sign of real spring is the birds.  When I walked at noon, the jays and woodpeckers were busy calling back and forth - there were some geese honking somewhere towards the pond (we hope they are just passing through, not building nests).  The birds know there's only a brief window for them to build nests and raise a family before it's time to head south again.  

I haven't paid much attention to the web cam at the osprey nest in Brennan, Maine this year, but "Rachel" and "Steve" returned on schedule in mid-April.  Rachel laid her first egg on April 29th, the 2nd one appeared on May 2, and there may be a third perhaps  tomorrow.  Last year she laid three eggs, but one didn't hatch; then disaster struck when an eagle swooped in and got first one baby and then the remaining one.  Steve and Rachel remained at the nest for a while, and by summer's end were only there intermittently.  The summer before last I watched them raise three healthy youngsters, and it was very interesting.  I hope there's no predator that will interfere with their family this year.

There is also a live camera at the Washington, D.C. nest of a pair of bald eagles, "Mr. President" and "First Lady."  Two apparently healthy chicks have hatched.  I don't know what the wildlife folks have named the chicks - I haven't visited the site often, but there are probably comments and information there, too, like the Maine site.  Most of the time it's fun to be able to see wild creatures raising their young, but when predators or some other catastrophe strike, it's really hard to watch. 


 

Mark your calendar - plan to join the fun, North Church, now United community Church, in St. Johnsbury. Click on the poster to make it larger so you can read the fine print!

Friends of George Karnady, who recently lost his wife, Pat, will be happy to know his family joined forces and worked out a plan for him to move from Florida so he can be closer to his children and grand children - I think there's even one great grand child!  How time does fly!  I've had word from his daughter, Jody, saying the four Karnedy Kids, their spouses and children have all pitched in and are "circling the wagons" to assure George has a safe, comfy home with lots of loving support.

Here's the new contact information for George --

Until 7/1:

George Karnedy

77 Deer Park Road

New Canaan, CT 06840

203-972-7561

After 7/1:

14 Karas Way

Goffstown, NH 03045

No phone yet for Goffstown, but Jody's number is 603-497-8593.

George will close on his new house in Goffstown soon.  Jody said it is within about 8 minutes from her home.  In the meantime, he's with Scott and family in New Canaan (Jody's house has lots of difficult stairs; Scott's house has a first floor nanny's suite that George has settled into nicely).  

Sounds to me like George is doing well, thanks to Jody, Scott, Mike and Gary, et al.
 

Interesting idea!

2016 Road Pitch Event Scheduled!

John Mandeville, jtmandeville@yahoo.com, School St, East Hardwick
Announcement

Shelburne, Vermont…. Road Pitch, a five day motorcycle tour of Vermont in which a gang of “business bikers” (comprised of investors, entrepreneurs and business advisors) ride around the state and stop in various towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts has announced its 2016 schedule. Road Pitch was founded in 2014 by Cairn Cross co-founder of FreshTracks Capital. “I gathered together close to 30 other founding riders during 2014” said Cross, “and we proved the Road Pitch concept by riding 500 miles through Vermont stopping in various towns and listening to more than 30 pitches. In 2015 we heard 42.” The idea behind Road Pitch is to bring advice and possibly investment to businesses around the state and to help connect entrepreneurs to various resources that are available to them and to promote Vermont as a perfect motorcycle touring destination.
For 2016 Road Pitch will stop in 10 towns during the first week in August. The schedule is:
Monday August 1st (morning), opening stop in Essex Junction at Green Mountain Harley Davidson. The local event coordinator is Greg Morgan. He can be reached at gsmorgan@yahoo.com
Monday August 1st (afternoon), Rutland. The local event coordinator is Lyle Jepson. He can be reached at: lyle.jepson@castleton.edu.
Tuesday August 2nd (morning), Bennington. The local event coordinator is Brian McKenna. He can be reached at: brian.mckenna@dbmckenna.com.
Tuesday August 2nd (afternoon), Brattleboro The local event coordinator is Orly Munzing. She can be reached at: orlymunzing@gmail.com.
Wednesday August 3rd (morning), Barre at the Granite Museum. The local event coordinator is David Rubel. He can be reached at: drubel@communitynationalbank.com.
Wednesday August 3rd (afternoon), Randolph at VTC. The local event coordinator is Daniel Smith. He can be reached at: dsmith5@vtc.vsc.edu.
Thursday August 4th (morning), St. Johnsbury at the Catamount Art Center. The local coordinator is Joe Kasprzak. He can be reached at: jkasprzak@stjvt.com.
Thursday August 4th (afternoon), Lowell, “Barn Pitch.” The local event coordinators are Steve Mason and Trish Sears. They can be reached at: steve@kingdomcommons.com or trish@kingdomcommons.com.
Friday, August 5th, (morning), Hyde Park at Green Mountain Technology & Career Center. The local coordinator is John Mandeville. He can be reached at: john@lamoilleeconomy.org.
Friday, August 5th, (afternoon), Champlain Islands. The local coordinator is Jan Marinelli. She may be reached at: jan@champlainislands.com
Entrepreneurs interesting in pitching their business concept to the riders should contact the local event coordinator in their town or region and make an application. Each local event will screen the applicants and select and coach the final presenters. The event is open to both start up and established businesses. More information about the Road Pitch event is available on the Road Pitch website at www.freshtracksontheroad.weebly.com
About Road Pitch: Road Pitch is a multi-day motorcycling event where motorcyclists with investing, business advising or entrepreneurial experience ride through Vermont stopping in small towns to listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business concepts. Riders provide advice, connect the entrepreneurs with resources where appropriate, and occasionally make an investment in a business opportunity. The ride also promotes Vermont as a terrific place to do business as well as a perfect motorcycling destination with lots of scenic twisting roads, picturesque small towns, and plenty of locally sourced food and beverage.
About FreshTracks Capital: (www.freshtrackscap.com) is a venture capital firm based in Shelburne, VT with 3 funds and 30 portfolio companies. Some of the firm’s most notable Vermont investments include: EatingWell (acquired by Meredith), Vermont Teddy Bear, Draker Energy, NEHP (acquired by Critical Process Systems), Quirky, Ello, Bridj, Faraday, and SunCommon. FreshTracks focuses its investment in private growth-oriented businesses, primarily companies in Vermont or in close geographic proximity to Vermont. The firm was founded by Cairn Cross and Charlie Kireker in 2000, and is currently managed by General Partners Cairn Cross, Tim Davis & Lee Bouyea, whose bios can be found here.
Contact: John Mandeville
Lamoille Economic Development Corporation
Phone (802) 888-5640
Fax (802) 851-1136 P.O. Box 455
Morrisville, VT 05661