Falling Leaves and Memories

Our foliage is evolving, but around my house the colors are still dull and the leaves are rapidly falling. One good windy day and I think the maples will be stripped clean. On the hillsides in the distance the colors look pretty good, but they don't seem to be as brilliant as I'd hoped; not like we have had some years. The beautiful sunny, warm weather makes up for the lack of color.

I've had a very busy week and on Saturday I was at the Willey Memorial Building in Cabot with my friend and co-author of the Cabot oral history book (1999), Amanda Legare. We were asked to be prepared to talk about Cabot history, so we had a slide show running - but only two people stopped by! We had a good time regardless, and it's always nice to be at the library where Kathleen (Hoyne) is very welcoming and the reading/media room is quite pleasant. 

I remember when that room was the ladies' parlor where the Woman's Club held their meetings. I remember having to address them after they had sponsored me as a candidate at Girls' State in about 1947, I think; and also during those high school years, a small group of us took ballroom dancing lessons from Mrs. Wells who was related to the Coyles and Wiswells somehow. I remember she was a petite, beautiful lady with reddish hair, and who always dressed stylishly. She did a mean tango - but I doubt any of us ever mastered the flourishes even remotely close to her expectations. Waltz and foxtrot, probably, but basically we were clumsy, self-conscious teenagers, most of us far more familiar with "Do Si Do," "Alemande Left," and "Promenade," than the challenges of Spanish dancing.

For many years, our town meetings were held at the third floor auditorium at the Willey Hall. The room would be filled to capacity, including the balcony, and at noon lunch was served in the dining hall on the floor below where the ladies' parlor was cleared and the big double doors that formed a partition between that and a smaller dining room next to the kitchen were opened so that long tables could be set up. It was amazing how much good food came out of that small kitchen. We high school students were called upon to wait tables and help clean up after the meal. It was good experience - we had to be on our toes to get everyone fed and back upstairs for the continuation of town meeting in exactly one hour. Sometimes the meetings went on literally all day - other times they were over shortly after lunch. 

All our high school activities were held there - plays during the years, concerts, music recitals in the auditorium (I learned to despise operettas there - our music instructor, Mr. York, had a cache of costumes that were not only ancient and nearly worn out, but also had never, ever been cleaned. I hated having to get into some gauzy, stinky, faded garment and then stand with similarly garbed smelly bodies and pretend to be happy singing some silly song. We all had to go through the process of putting on an operetta each year. Everyone participated, whether they could sing or not.

There were school plays - each year the seniors had to select and act in a play, but there were never enough senior students to fill all the parts, so lower classes had to fill in, thus many of us were in the "senior play" every year.  Those were more fun than operettas, but I was always the last to learn my lines - I goofed off a lot and ad-libbed which of course threw off the other actors. More than once I was threatened with being replaced, but that didn't happen because I'd buckle down, last minute. In this photo, left to right, Olive Smith, Velma Smith, Reta Shepherd, Norma Lewis  Mary Blodgett, Leatrice Perry (being carried), Frannie Walbridge, Gerald "Red" Bean, Larry Thompson carrying Jimmy Gangitano with Shirley Searles (white top) and Alice Lawson. I don't recall the name of the play, but I believe it was the Class of 1948 - Larry Thompson was the only senior in this photo.

We also had dances there - usually a combination of round and square dances. I remember for the square dancing the lights would always be turned up bright, but then were dimmed when the music changed for ballroom dancing. The jitterbug crazy was just evolving (in the 1940s) and I don't recall any bands attempting that sort of music in Cabot.

Many years later, the Cabot oral history book was debuted in that same auditorium. Cabot, Vermont, A History of the Century Past, was published in 1999 and authors Amanda Legare, Barbara Carpenter, and I joined our editor, Caleb Pitkin in celebrating with a public book-signing. The hall was filled to capacity as townspeople turned out to celebrate with us. We ceremoniously gave copies to each person interviewed for the book and also to families of interviewees who had passed before the book was published. We had an exhibit of some of the artifacts mentioned in the book, and each of us spoke about the process and answered questions. Jamie (youngest son) had just begun working with KATV and did a video of the celebration. I still have the video, but now DVDs are obsolete - although I do have an adapter which never seems to work. Oh, well.

A centennial celebration for the Willey Memorial Building is planned at a later date - I'm sure many memories will be triggered among Cabot residents as that progresses.

I also took time out from everything Thursday evening to meet Jeannie Johnson, editor of the Cabot Chronicle, for a drink at The Headwaters Cafe in Cabot. That was very nice. They just opened in the pretty little white house next to Harry's Hardware. We sat on the spacious and very pleasant open deck overlooking the Winooski River (now placid after wreaking havoc in July and leaving still unhealed wounds all over town). The restaurant opened at 5 o'clock - Jeannie suggested we might "bar-hop" by hitting The Den next door  first, but knowing that I still had work to do to put together a slide show for Saturday, I declined. That might have worked for me in another life, but not anymore

The restaurant has been nicely done over and has a pub, a lounge, and a formal dining room in addition to the outdoor deck (with an awning and one of those outdoor heaters!) When we left a little after six o'clock the place was buzzing with activity. It is very nice to have a restaurant operating in town again. We ordered a cheese board with our drinks, and it was beautifully prepared and so good with cheese, crackers, fruit, and prosciutto. They are not open for lunch - only 5-9 p.m. They were open for lunch on Fall Foliage Day, but I don't believe that is going to be a regular offering. We spoke with the chef Shane Baker who has a wealth of experience in his background. He's charming and obviously knows what he's doing. I hope he has great success. Chef Baker lives in Cabot, and the restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday, from 5-9 p.m.

There were a couple of recent comments on earlier blogs, if you are interested in seeing them.