I've had an interesting conversation today with a former Cabot resident who bought one of the Cabot oral history books on line. Turns out he's about the same age as a couple of my cousins and he even shared an apartment with one while attending UVM back in the day. He left the area and now wants to read the book we published back in 1999. I'm sure he will find several of his relatives in the book. There were over 100 interviews done for that book, so it covers a lot of the people who were living there at that time, and those who came before them.

After I was through chatting on line with him (I'll call him "Zeke" as that's the name he went by when in college, he told me) I went to the Times Argus web site and learned that his aunt, Dot Therrien, passed away this week. I was very sorry to hear that. Dot was a friend and neighbor when she and her late husband, Russ, lived in Cabot. They lived in East Cabot, not far from the Goodrich Maple Farm. Zeke told me his mother is still living, and that was interesting. I remember her a little - she was a couple of years behind me in high school, but the school was small enough so we knew just about everyone. Also, all classes shared playing basketball, music classes and acting in school plays, etc., as there were usually not enough students in any one class to manage any of those programs or events without borrowing personnel from other classes. It was fun, and although I never thought about it at the time, it really was four very interesting years of my life.

I completed going through Jennie Hastings' diaries today - at least the ones Dot gave to me. She may have more that will need to be sorted through. I think I've done 12 years so far. Her life, especially while her husband, Gilbert, was alive, was very busy and unlike some diaries I've read, Jennie reported only the basics - the weather, illnesses, and deaths were covered briefly, but she tended to exclaim over things like picnics, birthday or anniversary parties, going to the "pictures," and later, getting a "T.V." set in. I don't know why he always used periods when writing TV . . . and then there was the year she went to St. Johnsbury and purchased "a white sink for the kitchen." After it had been installed, she wrote, "Am I going to like that!" Since our chapters have mostly been through the first edit, it's going to be hard to include much from her diaries. Jane (Larrabee) gave them to us this fall - I guess she hadn't been able to locate them earlier.
Jennie and Gilbert were definitely prominent in West Danville for  at least six decades, and a great example of the life style during those years. I'm still working on a way to include as much of that as possible.

In the meantime, we're getting a nice coating of new snow and skiers and boarders will be very happy. I think even the snowmobile trails should be in good shape after this storm. Hopefully, there won't be a switch to rain to wash it all away!