Wet and Wild Morning and Book News

 Our weather is finally quieting down a bit, but it was a very wet and wild morning with rain pelting down and the wind whipping leaves off the trees - even some green ones!

I spent almost the entire morning putting together a call list on my new cell phone. Yes, I finally am up and shuffling (certainly not up and running!) with my new gadget that I have resisted for probably too long. I might have had more brain cells to work with if I'd done this sooner, I'll admit - but Jamie is a patient teacher and I think I'll eventually be comfortable with it. I'm still much more comfortable with a land line and using my computer for written messages. 

It was a busy day yesterday with Randy here to put in the screens, and I had a couple of meetings in St. Johnsbury in the morning. By the time I got home, Randy was wrapping things up because he had run out of material for the wood strapping that holds the screens in place. That will probably be available in a few more days, so next week should finish it. In the meantime, the screens that are in place look great - hardly noticeable to look through, but they will be very effective in keeping bugs out!

Also yesterday, I had a flurry of emails among the book committee members and our editor and the graphic designer. The result was this gorgeous (we think!) image of what our book will look like. We were able to settle on the front and back covers and the information on the spine, and we are very pleased with the results. The drone photo for the front is one-of-a-kind, and we are very proud of it. I hope you like it, as well.
The book is quite large - 9 x 12 inches, and as you can see, it is pretty thick. It will run about 500 pages with the text, photo, index and everything included. This has been our goal in order to keep the price reasonable. The Danville Historical Society has set the price at $45 plus shipping and handling. You are still able to indicate your interest in purchasing the book by sending your contact information in an email to: book@danvillevthistorical.org. You do not have to pay now, but by getting your name on the list and noting how many books you are likely to want, you will be notified as soon as the book is back from the printer. This should get your order to you well before the holidays, if you intend to give copies for Christmas. It will make a wonderful gift to anyone interested in local history. Here is a list of just some of the chapters in the book:

Early History that includes stories about Indian Joe and Molly, the Bayley-Hazen Road, etc.; a chapter called Settlement and Growth, that includes early businesses, lumbering, farming practices, etc. There are chapters about Road Building, Schools, the Church, Ice Cutting, and the Granite Quarries; extensive chapters on the St. J. & L. C. Railroad, the Power Plant, and getting telephone service to the area; chapters on the evolution of Joe's Pond from being mostly utilitarian to being the year around resort community it is today; also chapters on things like accidents, fires,drownings, crimes,  prohibition, and the weather. I've left out some, but you get the idea. There are over thirty chapters that contain well-documented information and literally hundreds of photographs, all compiled in easy-to-understand, chronological sequence. You will find familiar names, funny stories, sad stories and surprising revelations in every chapter. It is a keepsake, a reference book, a "coffee-table" volume, and an all-around interesting book to own and to read.

Can you tell I'm very proud and enthusiastic about it? We have all waited so long for this to happen, and now it's finally here, it's almost unbelievable. I expect some people will be thinking, "I'll wait until I can actually hold a copy in my hand before I believe it," and believe me, Patty and I get it! We are very excited, but also so sad that Dot Larrabee is not here to celebrate this achievement with us; but we have her in mind, always, as we move ahead with getting the word out and formulating plans to get the book to customers as quickly and efficiently as possible. Covid-19 may slow us down a bit, but we're going to work around that in every safe way we can. I will keep all of you posted here about where books will be available and more, so please feel free to pass the above photo of the book and how to get one's name on the wish list to purchase one, out to all your friends on whatever social media works for you. Help us spread the word, please. 

I especially want to thank all of you who have been so very supportive of this project over the past eight years. We do appreciate that so many of you have stuck with us through it all. We've had deadlines pass and months turn into years. We've been frustrated and discouraged, but believe me, it was worth the anxiety and pain. We've seen it through and it is not only a beautiful book on the outside, it's a worthwhile book to own and read.